(Silver) Binary Sunset

Episode IV- A New Hope

Is there a more iconic moment in all of Star Wars? Here is a scene that had been duplicated not once, not twice, but three times in the course of the saga (I'm not counting the sunset shot in Attack of the Clones and Return of the Jedi because they have a completely different mood to them). The imagery and power of this scene is so potent that all those other scenes are made great too. This is also the first instance of "pure cinema" used in Star Wars. "The Force Theme," that immortal music, carries the emotion. I think it embodies a hopefulness of bigger and better things. It also captures the yearning to leave home, knowing that there's a great big world out there (or galaxy in this case) where you can have all sorts of adventures. Little does Luke know that he is on the cusp of such an adventure. Many people can identify with this, which is why this scene is so beloved, but personally speaking, the world terrified me and I wanted to stay home. As fate would have it though, I wound up leaving my parents' home when I was 21 and never went back. How ironic.