Directed By: George Lucas

Written By: George Lucas

Cast: (main characters only)

Opening Crawl:

Plot Synopsis:

After the opening crawl fades away, the view of stars pans down to show the desert world of Tattooine. Suddenly a ship rockets past, pursued by a massive triangle-shaped ship (an Imperial Star Destroyer) which is firing at it. The larger ship quickly overtakes the smaller one. We then see a white corridor in which people are running around. A golden protocol droid (C-3PO) wanders the corridor, looking for his counterpart R2-D2. As he wanders, the ship shudders violently and loud clanging noises are heard. From outside, we see that the smaller ship is being pulled into a large bay on the underside of the Star Destroyer. C-3PO then locates R2-D2, who is in a maintenance area with a white-robed figure. The figure (Princess Leia) is kneeling in front of the astromech droid and then presses something on his front. She then looks up to see C-3PO and quickly disappears further into the maintenance shaft. The two droids wander off into the corridors of the ship, bickering back and forth.

Elsewhere in the ship, members of the crew line up in a corridor, pointing their rifles towards the door at the end of the corridor as they nervously glance upwards towards the various clanging noises. A few seconds after the noises stop, the far end of the corridor explodes and men in white armor (Imperial stormtroopers) start pouring through the hole. The crew valiantly attempt to defend the ship but are soon decimated by the stormtroopers. Once the corridor is secure, a large figure in black armor (Darth Vader) strides through, glances around at the dead crew, and then proceeds forward into the ship. At the end of the corridor, he is met by an Imperial officer in black and two troopers who are holding a member of the ship's crew, the Captain. Vader picks the Captain up by the throat and demands to know the whereabouts of the stolen plans. When the Captain denies knowing anything about plans and claims that the ship is a diplomatic courier, Vader replies that they know the plans were sent to the ship and received by someone on board. He then snaps the Captain's neck and drops him before ordering his men to tear the ship apart and find the plans.

At the mouth of the maintenance shaft we saw earlier, three stormtroopers stoop to check a body and notice Leia hiding further back in the shaft. As they head into the shaft, she steps out and fires a rifle at them, killing the one in the lead. The next one in line fires and a blue wave hits Leia, dropping her to the deck. The trooper mentions to his partner that she is just stunned and will be fine. Across the ship, R2-D2 is getting into an escape pod with C-3PO reluctantly following. The pod rockets off towards Tattooine. On the bridge of the Star Destroyer, two officers notice the pod but ignore it since there are no detectable lifeforms aboard. We next see Princess Leia marching defiantly up to Darth Vader, her hands cuffed behind her back. She tells him that only he would be so bold as to attack a diplomatic courier and arrest a Senator, and he responds by telling her that she is a traitor to the Empire and a Rebel sympathizer. As the troopers march her off, the officer in black informs Vader that a lifepod was ejected and landed somewhere on the planet below. Vader deduces that Leia hid the plans in the pod, and orders his men to get down there and find it.

Down on Tattooine, in the middle of a vast desert, the two droids have walked some distance from the pod. After fussing at each other, the two take off in opposite directions. Hours later, C-3PO sees a reflection off of a nearby transport vehicle, and begins waving at it. On the other side of the desert, now evening, R2-D2 is rolling through a canyon when he suspects he is being watched. Suddenly a small figure in a brown robe (a Jawa) jumps out and fires an electric pulse at the droid, shutting him down. They then load him onto the same transport that C-3PO flagged down earlier. When R2-D2 is left in a storage area full of broken and worn down droids, he finds C-3PO there as well, who immediately starts fussing that they're doomed.

At the shuttlepod crash site, several stormtroopers are searching the area. One holds up a piston ring, identifying droids, and the squad begins following the tracks left in the sand. Back on the transport, several droids are thrown to the floor as the transport lurches into a stop. C-3PO and R2-D2 are herded outside along with a few other droids. Outside the transport, we see the Lars homestead (see Episode 2), where an older, gruff man (Owen Lars) is walking out towards the transport with a younger man (Luke Skywalker). As they walk towards the transport, Luke is called over to the courtyard, where an older woman (Beru Lars) tells him to remind his uncle (Owen) about a droid she needs. Luke then hurries back to his uncle at the transport. They look over the droids and end up buying C-3PO and another droid similar to R2-D2. The astromech they buy, however, short-circuits after a few steps, and C-3PO recommends they purchase R2-D2 instead. Luke's uncle agrees, and the two droids follow Luke off towards the workshop/garage while Owen haggles with the lead Jawa over the price.

Later that evening in the workshop, C-3PO is lowered into an oil bath while Luke attempts to clean up R2-D2. While attempting to dislodge something stuck in the droid's casing, he slips and a 2-foot tall hologram of Princess Leia appears, repeating the words "Help me Obi-Wan Kenobi -- you're my only hope...". After a few repetitions of the message, R2 shuts off the hologram. Luke, obviously enamoured with the beautiful princess, demands that the droid play back the entire message. The little astromech denies any knowledge of a message, and replies that it must find its master, Obi-Wan Kenobi. C-3PO is unable to pry any further information out of him, and a frustrated Luke heads in for dinner.

During the dinner, Luke mentions that the droids might be stolen, referring to R2's statement about Obi-Wan Kenobi. He says he was thinking of checking with Ben Kenobi, an old hermit who lives out in the desert. Owen becomes adamant that Luke stay away from Ben, calling him a crazy old wizard. Attempting to change the subject, Luke then tells his uncle that, with the purchase of the two new droids, he can leave and join the Academy to become a pilot. His uncle refuses, telling him that he needs his help around the farm and can leave next season instead. The two have a heated argument and Luke storms out. Beru gently reprimands Owen, commenting that Luke is too much like his father to live the life of a farmer. Owen agrees, but says that's what he afraid of. Outside, a frustrated and saddened Luke watches the twin suns as they set across the desert, then returns to the workshop. When he gets there, he finds C-3PO hiding behind some machinery, and R2-D2 is gone. Racing out to peer across the desert with his binoculars, Luke states that it's too dangerous to travel across the desert at night -- they'll look for him in the morning.

The next morning, we see Luke and C-3PO speeding across the desert in Luke's speeder. Luke sees something on the scanner, and they race forward. They find R2, but he detects several lifeforms approaching. A few minutes later Luke is up on a cliff peering downwards with his binoculars. As he watches a large, shaggy beast, he tells C-3PO that he sees a Tusken Raider, but that there should be more. Suddenly something blocks his view, and he looks up to see a screaming Tusken Raider. We next see two of the raiders drag an unconscious Luke and then drop him beside his speeder. As they start to rummage through the speeder, a high-pitched wail comes from behind the hill, and they scatter off in the opposite direction. All of this is seen from the viewpoint of R2-D2, who is hiding across the clearing in a small crevice. A brown-robed figure makes its way over the hill, and kneels beside Luke, checking his vital signs. The figure then senses that he's being watched, and lowers his hood to reveal a kindly old face (Ben Kenobi). Ben assures the droid that Luke will be fine, and assists the young man to his feet. Luke is glad to see Ben, and explains the situation with the droids. Ben confesses that he is Obi-Wan, although he hasn't used that name in a long time. A somewhat confused Luke then remembers C-3PO, and they rush to his side. Gathering C-3PO and his dismembered arm, they all leave, as Ben states that the raiders will return.

At Ben's house, he explains to Luke that he was friends with Anakin Skywalker, Luke's father, and that Anakin and Ben were both once Jedi Knights. He goes on to explain that the Jedi were guardians of the universe, using an energy field called the Force to perform amazing feats. Luke doesn't believe it at first, explaining that his father was a pilot on a freighter -- a story revealed by Obi-Wan as something Owen told to him so that he wouldn't race off to adventure like his father. When Luke still doesn't believe, Obi-Wan presents him with his father's lightsaber, a sword whose blade is composed of pure energy. As Luke stares in awe at the weapon, Obi-Wan explains that, during the Clone Wars, Anakin was killed by an evil Sith Lord named Darth Vader.

As Luke ponders this new information, Obi-Wan walks over and presses a button on R2-D2. The little droid begins playing the recording of Leia, from the beginning this time. She explains that Obi-Wan was once a general who fought with her father Bail Organa during the Clone Wars, and that her father was sending her to Tattooine to bring the elderly Jedi Knight back into the conflict against the Empire. She also mentions that R2-D2 carries within him the plans for the Empire's ultimate weapon, the Death Star -- a battle station capable of destroying entire planets. She states that her ship is under attack from the Empire, and implores Obi-Wan to take the droid to her father on Alderaan. At the end of the message, she utters the line Luke saw before - "Help me Obi-Wan Kenobi -- you're my only hope...". A thoughtful Obi-Wan sits back for a few moments, and then asks Luke to come with him. Luke says he can't, claiming that he has to stay and help his uncle with the farm. Obi-Wan is disappointed, but tells Luke he must do what his heart tells him.

In a conference room aboard the Death Star, several admirals are seated around the table arguing when a tall, gaunt man (Grand Moff Tarkin) walks in followed by Darth Vader. He tells the officers that the Emperor has disbanded the Senate and assumed full control of the Empire. When they wonder how even the Emperor will control so many systems, Tarkin replies that fear will keep the systems in control -- fear of the Death Star. One of the generals explains that, until the plans are recaptured, the station is vulnerable, much to the chagrin of the station's commander, Admiral Motti. Vader assures the men that the plans will be recaptured, but he is nearly interrupted by Motti, who states that any attempt to attack the station would be futile. Vader admonishes the admiral that even his battle station is insignificant compared to the power of the Force, and the rash Motti begins to berate Vader and even goes so far as to comment that Vader's "powers" haven't helped him locate the plans. Vader raises a hand as he begins to walk around the table, and Motti's tirade is interrupted as he begins to choke and claw at his collar. After a few seconds, Tarkin commands Vader to stop, and the silenced Motti begins gasping for air. Tarkin expresses his confidence that Vader will locate the plans and that the Death Star will crush the rebellion.

On the way to the closest town, Anchorage, Luke and Obi-Wan come across the Jawa transport that the droids were on earlier. It is burned and destroyed, with Jawa bodies littering the ground around it. Obi-Wan states that it was done by Imperial stormtroopers, despite obvious evidence that it was done by Tusken Raiders. The men deduce that the stormtroopers are after the droids, and Luke races home to find the homestead burned and destroyed, with two charred skeletons laying out front. After burying his aunt and uncle, he returns to the transport, where Obi-Wan and the droids are burning the Jawa bodies. Luke tells Obi-Wan that there's nothing left for him on Tattooine, and that he will go with the Jedi to Alderaan. They then depart for Mos Eisley, a large spaceport on the other side of the desert.

When they get there, Obi-Wan warns Luke to be careful, calling the city a "wretched hive of scum and villiany". The two travel into the city, and are soon stopped by a squad of Imperial stormtroopers who are searching for the droids. The squad commander is suspicious of the droids, but Obi-Wan uses a Jedi mind trick to convince him they aren't the droids he's looking for. After passing through the checkpoint, the four of them enter one of the cantinas, searching for a pilot that can take them to Alderaan. Since the droids aren't allowed in the bar, they wait at the speeder while Luke has a drink at the bar and Obi-Wan talks to various pilots. A large alien begins to shove Luke, who tries to ignore it since he doesn't speak the creature's language. A horribly disfigured man shows up and explains to Luke that neither the large creature nor him like Luke, and begin to threaten him. Obi-Wan shows up and attempts to defuse the situation, but must quickly defend himself when the two pull weapons. The situation quickly reaches an end after he cuts off the creature's arm. Obi-Wan then guides Luke to the table of Han Solo, a smuggler who may be able to help them.

At Han's table, the pair meet Han, a scruffy and cocky young human about ten years older than Luke, and his copilot, Chewbacca -- a seven foot tall alien covered in hair and called a Wookie. Han brags about the speed of his ship, the Millenium Falcon, and demands ten thousand to take them to Alderaan. Luke chafes at the exorbitant price, but a confident Obi-Wan promises the pair seventeen thousand when they reach Alderaan. A surprised Han agrees, and warns the two that stormtroopers were asking about the disturbance. All the stormtroopers find at the table is an innocent-looking Han. After they leave, an excited Han tells Chewbacca to go get the ship ready. As he gets up from the table, though, he is stopped by Greedo, a green alien who sits down and points a gun across the table at him. Their conversation reveals that Han owes a lot of money to Jabba the Hutt, an notorious gangster, and that Jabba has put a bounty on the smuggler's head. Han tries to talk Greedo out of it and manages to shoot him under the table before the alien can fire first. He then tosses a coin to the bartender and walks out of the bar.

Some time later, Luke walks across the street, complaining to Obi-Wan about the small amount of money he was able to get for selling his speeder. Obi-Wan assures him it will be enough, and the two leave to gather the droids. As the four of them walk towards the hangars, they are followed by a hooded alien who reports their position to the stormtroopers. Upon seeing the Millenium Falcon, Luke exclaims that it's a piece of junk, insulting the obviously proud Han Solo. Han ushers them aboard the ship just as a squad of stormtroopers show up and start blasting at him. He returns fire and then runs up the ramp. A few seconds later the ship blasts its way out of the hangar and shoots up into space. When they reach orbit, there are two Imperial Star Destroyers waiting, but Han's ship easily outruns them and the Millenium Falcon engages its hyperdrive, warping off towards Alderaan.

Back on the Death Star, Princess Leia is brought before Grand Moff Tarkin by Darth Vader. Their discussion reveals that her interrogation yielded no information. As Darth Vader holds her in place, a confident Tarkin demands to know the location of the hidden Rebel base. When she refuses, Tarkin explains that the first official target of the battle station will be her home planet of Alderaan. The princess struggles but cannot escape. She reluctantly gives Tarkin the name of a planet, but he states that it is too remote for an effective demonstration of the Death Star and orders the gunners to fire when order. A stunned Leia is helpless as the station's massive laser penetrates into the core of her home planet and destroys it. A pair of stormtroopers then return the sobbing princes to her cell.

At the same time, on the Millenium Falcon light-years away, Obi-Wan is coaching Luke in the use of his lightsaber. Luke is attempting to deflect laser bolts fired from a small hovering orb. Suddenly, Obi-Wan holds his head and slowly sits down. A concerned Luke asks him what's wrong, and Obi-Wan replies that he felt a disturbance in the Force, as if millions of lives were suddenly extinguished at one time. The moment past, he instructs Luke to continue with his training. Han enters the room and warns R2 that he should let Chewbacca win the chess match they are playing. His reply to C-3PO's comment about unfairness is basically that Wookies have a tendecy to lose their temper and rips arms out of sockets. He then listens to Obi-Wan's instructions for a few minutes, and tells Luke that hokey religions and swords are no match for a good blaster. When Luke expresses surprise that Han doesn't believe in the Force, the smuggler replies that in all his travels, he's never seen anything that would point to the existence of such a thing.

Perhaps to prove a point, or perhaps to increase Luke's concentration, or perhaps both, Obi-Wan then places a blast helmet on Luke's head, rendering him blind. He instructs a disbelieving Luke to rely on the Force to block the shots, and not his eyes. As a sneering Han looks on, Luke concentrates and then blocks several shots flawlessly. Han's reinforcement that it was just luck is interrupted when they enter the Alderaan system. The ship drops out of hyperspace only to collide with several asteroids in their path. Han double-checks the charts and realizes that Alderaan has been destroyed. He quickly disagrees with Obi-Wan that the Empire did it, stating that the entire Imperial Fleet wouldn't have enough firepower to destroy a planet. The debate is ended when an Imperial TIE Fighter streaks past them. Following the fighter, they soon come upon the Death Star, believing it to be a small moon until too close to avoid it. Caught in the station's tractor beam, the Millenium Falcon is slowly dragged into a hangar bay on the station.

As the ship settles to the deck, it's quickly surrounded by stormtroopers. On the bridge, Tarkin and Vader are informed of the ship's presence and assume that it is someone trying to return the plans to Alderaan. Vader goes to the ship, where he is informed by the officer in charge that it is empty and several lifepods have been jettisoned. He orders them to have the ship scanned. He then leaves after sensing a presence he hasn't felt in years. Inside the ship, our heroes emerge from hidden compartments under the floor of the ship. They then take out the scanning crew and emerge disguised as stormtroopers. Once they get up to the control room, Obi-Wan leaves to disable the tractor beam.

While waiting, R2 begins scanning the station's computers and learns that Leia is aboard and scheduled for execution. Luke convinces Han to help him rescue her, promising the smuggler that she is rich and will pay him handsomely. The two leave the droids and walk into the detention center, pretending to be two stormtroopers escorting a prisoner (Chewbacca). They end up shooting their way into the detention block, but are quickly surrounded after freeing the princess. In Tarkin's office, Vader informs him that Obi-Wan Kenobi is on the station. Their conversation is interrupted by the intercom, over which an officer tells Tarkin of the disturbance in the detention block. Tarkin puts the entire station on alert. In the detention area, our heroes are vastly outnumbered, and Luke uses his communicator to ask C-3PO if there is another way out. There's not, of course, so the strong-willed Princess Leia takes charge. Following her lead, they jump down a garbage chute and end up in a room-sized trash compactor. While Han and Leia fuss over their new environment, Luke contacts C-3PO again, who is now hiding in a closet along with R2-D2 from the troopers who broke into the control room.

As Luke and group struggle with an octopus-like creature (a dianoga) in the trash compactor, the two droids escape and make their way down to the hangar housing the Millenium Falcon. Obi-Wan Kenobi, using his Jedi abilities, disables the tractor beams and makes his way towards the ship as well. After the dianoga disappears into an underwater hatch, the trash compactor walls begin closing in and Luke desperately radios the droids to shut down the compactors, which they do with little time to spare. The three humans and Wookie then split up, heading for the ship while evading stormtrooper patrols. Both parties are attacked by stormtroopers but everyone makes it back to the ship in time to witness Obi-Wan's lightsaber duel with Darth Vader, who tracked his old master down using the Force. Obi-Wan, sensing Luke's presence, allows Vader to strike him down, after which his physical body disappears. The group then board the ship and escape the Death Star, dispatching a squadron of TIE fighters along the way.

While the Millenium Falcon is en route to the hidden Rebel base on Yavin IV, Tarkin and Vader reveal that a homing device has been placed on the ship. They allowed the Falcon to escape, hoping that it would lead them to the base, which it does. On Yavin IV, the Rebels analyze the plans in R2-D2, and discover a weakness in the Death Star -- a torpedo fired down a reactor ventilation port will destroy the station. An eager Luke joins the Rebel pilots as they suit up and prepare their fighters. He tries to convince Han to stay, but Han declines, instead packing up his money and preparing to leave before the Death Star arrives. When the station arrives in the system, the Rebel fighters launch and head towards the massive station. During the briefing on Yavin IV, we learned that the fighters must navigate along a trench bristling with cannons and enemy fighters in order to reach the port. As soon as they get within range of the Death Star, the battle begins.

The Rebels punch their way through wave after wave of TIE Fighters in order to reach the trench. Once they reach the trench, they travel down it towards the port while evading the cannon fire. Luke's squad leader gets within range and fires his torpedoes, but they miss the port by inches and explode fairly harmlessly on the surface. Dejected but not defeated, the Rebel's attempt a second pass. This pass is made much more difficult by the fact that all but five of the Rebel ships have been destroyed. When the squad leader is killed by Darth Vader himself, now flying his personal TIE Fighter, Luke takes the lead and begins traveling down the trench with his wingmen and friends Wedge Antilles and Biggs Darklighter. Darth Vader and two TIE's follow them down the trench, and Vader single-handedly destroys Biggs and disables Wedge, forcing him to retreat back out of the trench and return to base.

Aboard the Death Star bridge, Tarkin's aide informs the Grand Moff that they've detected a vulnerability by analyzing the Rebels' attack. He suggests that Tarkin evacuate, but the overconfident Moff refuses. Instead he watches gleefully as the Death Star prepares to fire on the Rebel base, destroying Yavin IV. As Vader attempts to get a lock on Luke in the trench, Luke lowers his targeting computer and tries to get a lock on the port, which is coming up fast. Suddenly the disembodied voice of Obi-Wan instructs Luke to trust his feelings and rely on the Force. Luke doesn't believe at first, but finally raises the targeting computer and begins to concentrate. Still unable to get a firm lock on Luke's fighter, Vader fires and disables R2-D2, who is seated in the top of the fighter. Vader notes that the Force is strong with this Rebel pilot, and is about to fire the death blow when the Millenium Falcon arrives and disables Vader's fighter, sending it careening off into space. Luke takes the shot at the port and his torpedoes hit the target.

The three remaining fighters scramble away from the Death Star along with the Millenium Falcon. As they race back towards Yavin IV, the Death Star explodes behind them, sending debris flying in all directions. Elsewhere in space, we see Darth Vader regain control of his TIE Fighter and take off towards the nearest Imperial base. Later on Yavin IV, we see Luke Skywalker and Han Solo beaming at each other in a doorway. They then walk out into a large temple where row after row of Rebel troops and technicians are standing at attention. Everyone salutes them as they walk across the temple towards the dais where a radiant Princess Leia stands. Chewbacca, marching along behind the two humans, utters a loud roar and the troops turn to also face the princess. As the two men approach her, she reaches behind her where an aide hands her a medallion, which she then places on Luke's neck. She also places one on Han's neck, and the two men turn around to cheering and applause. At the back of the dais, a gleaming polished C-3PO reaches down to calm his excited counterpart R2-D2, repaired and polished. As we witness the jubilant scene, the screen dissolves and the end credits begin.