Saari 1 Sydney Saari Mr.

Newman Rhetoric 16 October 2013 May the Review Be With You The idea of space has people always wondering if we are the only ones in the universe. The science fiction movie genre has always captivated its viewers with the capability of many different ideas and inventions; the movie that usually mesmerizes viewers with its creativity is Star Wars. George Luca releases Star Wars Episode IV: A New Hope, captivating audiences everywhere with the story of a young galactic heros journey to rescue a princess, while learning about his new powers, and fighting the galactic tyrannical empire along the way. Roger Ebert and Penelope Gilliatt both review Star Wars, and while they both enjoy the movie, they look at different aspects of the movie. While they both analyze the components that Lucas uses to make it an inventive science fiction film, both Ebert and Gilliatt take a different approach to their reviews, and analyze and discuss the various characters differently as well. Science fiction has a way of fascinating audiences by showing a viewer a universe of imagination, while tying several familiar aspects to give a feeling that what they are viewing could be possible. Penelope Gilliatts review of Star Wars starts with mans fascination with the moon. She ties mans fascination with the moon to scientific discovery, and the ruined fantasies by scientific discovery. She states that, It remains for filmmakers to restore dreams of humanoids on other planets, other moons, explaining how the science fiction movie genre restores the ruined dreams of space that scientific discovery destroys (Gilliatt). Ebert also makes a similar comment on the movie, in saying that, Star Wars is a fairy tale, a fantasy, a legend, finding its roots in some of our most popular fictions, similarly going along with Gilliatts

Saari 2 comment on the mans dreams of space, and him saying that Star Wars takes place in those dreams. Both Gilliatt and Ebert believe that the movie embodies the dreams and fantasies that man has of space, and brings it to life. Although Ebert and Gilliatt both viewed Star Wars as an imaginative movie, Ebert and Gilliatt both review the movie from different sides. Ebert starts off his review by stating his outof-the-body experience with Star Wars, and how he is fully involved with the movie, and everything that is going on in it. He goes into an in-depth analysis on why Star Wars is such a unique experience for him. Ebert states that Star Wars is structured from the most basic storytelling form known to man, the Journey, making it the focal point the movie, and as well as what he decides to make the focus of his review on. Unlike Ebert, Gilliatt decides to focus more on the religious aspects that she found throughout the movie for her review. She finds one of the heroic character in the movie as a non-denominational Jesus and the main villain as an archetypal messiah, comparing religious figures to characters in the movie. Gilliatt takes a more religious analysis to her review, while Ebert takes a more plot-orientated and structure analysis with his. Another point that both Ebert and Gilliatt both take separate views on is the discussion of the characters in the movie. Eberts main focus in his review was the overall story and structure of the movie, so he briefly discusses the characters in Star Wars. He says that the characters that Lucas creates are so strongly and simply drawn and have so many small foibles and large, they make the viewer able to relate and identify with them, making the experience more realistic (Ebert). He also touches on the extraterrestrial alcoholics and bugeyed martini drinkers that Lucas adds into his movie, making them exhibit characteristics that were universally human and more realistic to the viewer then just a foreign creature (Ebert).

Saari 3 In Gilliatts review, she goes more into one actors performance of their character rather than character structure like Eberts review. She chooses to analyze Alec Guinnesss character ObiWan Kenobi, and the different elements he put into his character. She describes his character as an ancient sage and one that speaks in the phrases of a non-denominational Jesus, tying her character analysis to her overall approach to her review (Gilliatt). As well as her character analysis on Guinness, she briefly mentions the other characters played by Carrie Fisher, Harrison Ford and Mark Hamill, as well as their robotic companions, unlike Ebert. Even though both Ebert and Gilliatt discuss the characters in Star Wars, Gilliatt goes more into the characters, while Ebert just makes a brief overview of the overall structure of the characters, not going into specifics like Gilliatt. Star Wars Episode IV: A New Hope is a movie that takes a person to a galaxy far, far away, and opens to them to a realm of strange new worlds and endless possibilities. The story is one that takes the viewer on a heros journey, and teaches some lessons along the way. Ebert and Gilliatt both took notice to different aspects of the movie, and formed a few different opinions on the movie, but both overall enjoyed the movie. They agree that the movie is a creative science fiction movie masterpiece, and that it is a movie that can be relatable and enjoyable to the viewer. Star Wars Episode IV: A New Hope is a science fiction movie that many people enjoy and view as an iconic film in its genre, and as a movie in general.

Saari 4 Works Cited Ebert, Roger. "Star Wars." Rev. of Star Wars Episode IV: A New Hope. The Sun Times [Chicago] 1 Jan. 1977: n. pag. Rotten Tomatoes. Web. 07 Oct. 2013. Gilliatt, Penelope. "Galaxy Crisis." Rev. of Star Wars Episode IV: A New Hope. The New Yorker 3 June 1977: n. pag. Rotten Tomatoes. Web. 07 Oct. 2013.
Purpose (25): Successful (A+ thru B):
Demonstrates a superior understanding of two critics reviews of the same film and shows how they agree and differ about various aspects of said film Utilizes point-by-point or block format effectively in the analysis

Genre (25): Successful (A+ thru B): Contains a thesis in the last sentence of the intro that effectively captures the areas that are being compared and contrasted. Demonstrates a sophisticated evaluation of the films regarding the aspects chosen for analysis

Design/Layout (25): Successful (A+ thru B): Uses a 12-point, Times New Roman font with a double-spaced page Includes a creative title, appropriately placed and formatted headers, heading, and page numbers A Works Cited list is included on its own page at the end that includes both reviews and possibly the film

Audience (25): Successful (A+ thru B): Uses vocabulary, grammar, spelling, and usage appropriate for a college audience Assumes a level of intelligence and sophistication for the audience Offers an intriguing mix of comparisons and contrasts in an intellectual way

Stance (25):

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Successful (A+ thru B): Demonstrates an understanding of each critics stance through textual support Includes a consistent tone that presents the critics reviews fairly