Tip#758: Movies that Changed My Life - Star Wars Episode IV: A New Hope

When the original Star Wars was first released in 1977 it instantly changed my life and triggered my imagination on a massive level. It would inspire my drawings and artworks leading to my successful illustration business of over 20 years. So I was thrilled to recently meet Roger Christian who won an Oscar for Best Art Direction on the original Star Wars!

Christian screened a remastered version of his short film Black Angel that was thought lost for 34 years. It was shown before the theatrical release of Star Wars Episode V: The Empire Strikes Back in certain locales. Toronto film critic Richard Crouse moderated the Q & A after the screening where I learned that Christian was responsible for creating the Jedi lightsabre and prototype for R2D2.

Black Angel is now available on: iTunes for $2.99

I could feel my excitable childhood nerd coming out as he shared inspiring stories about working with George Lucas on what was then a groundbreaking science fiction movie. This was a time before CGI was used and physical sets and props were the norm. Christian was also Art Director on the first Alien movie, another highly influential film for the science fiction genre.

Star Wars (1977)

The epic science fiction space opera film, Star Wars (later retitled Star Wars Episode IV: A New Hope) is about a farmboy named Luke Skywalker (Mark Hamill) who gets drawn into a battle between the Rebel Alliance and the Galactic Empire. Along the way he meets characters that have become a huge part of pop culture such as CP3O, R2D2, Chewbacca, Obi Wan Kenobi, Han Solo, Princess Leia and Darth Vadar. See: original movie trailer

This film changed my life in my early teens and would later inspire my spiritual beliefs because it introduced The Force to me. Skywalker learns to become a Jedi Knight using the ways of The Force through his mentor Obi Wan Kenobi (Alec Guinness). Kenobi explains “It’s an energy field created by all living things. It surrounds us and penetrates us. It binds the galaxy together.”

This belief would become a grand part of my mid-life challenges as I discovered that The Force was very real and was described in many other ways in religions around the world. This belief would help me through the many adversities I went through and helped me become a stronger more resilient person. I’ll always be grateful to the original Star Wars and filmmakers like Roger Christian that helped fuel my passion, imagination and successes in my life and career!

What favourite movies changed your life growing up or as an adult? Please let me know!

Remember How Movies Can Help You: 
A) Entertain & Escape 
B) Re-energize & Release 
C) Insights, Epiphanies & AHA moments 

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Emmanuel Lopez-Motivatorman
Motivational Speaker & Resilience Expert
Discover How Movies Inspire Resilience in Your Work & Life!
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© Emmanuel Lopez 2014