Star Wars Episode IV: A New Hope

Opening Crawl:
It is a period of civil war. Rebel spaceships, striking from a hidden base, have won their first victory against the evil Galactic Empire. During the battle, Rebel spies managed to steal secret plans to the Empire's ultimate weapon, the DEATH STAR, an armored space station with enough power to destroy an entire planet. Pursued by the Empire's sinister agents, Princess Leia races home aboard her starship, custodian of the stolen plans that can save her people and restore freedom to the galaxy....

Obi-Wan Kenobi:
For over a thousand generations, the Jedi Knights were the guardians of peace and justice in the Old Republic. Before the dark times, before the Empire.

Obi-Wan Kenobi:
A young Jedi named Darth Vader, who was a pupil of mine until he turned to evil, helped the Empire hunt down and destroy the Jedi Knights. He betrayed and murdered your father. Now the Jedi are all but extinct. Vader was seduced by the dark side of the Force.

Obi-Wan Kenobi:
Well, the Force is what gives a Jedi his power. It is an energy field created by all living things. It surrounds us and penetrates us; it binds the galaxy together.

Luke:
Are you alright? What's wrong?

Obi-Wan Kenobi:
I felt a great disturbance in the Force...as if millions of voices cried out in terror, and were suddenly silenced. I fear something terrible has happened.

Obi-Wan Kenobi:
You can't win, Darth. If you strike me down, I shall become more powerful than you can possibly imagine.

[Princess Leia has been captured and brought to Vader]

Princess Leia Organa:
[smirking] Darth Vader. Only you could be so bold. The Imperial Senate will not sit still for this. When they hear you've attacked a diplomatic -

Darth Vader:
Don't act so surprised, Your Highness. You weren't on any mercy mission this time. Several transmissions were beamed to this ship by Rebel spies. I want to know what happened to the plans they sent you.

Leia:
I don't know what you're talking about. I am a member of the Imperial Senate on a diplomatic mission to Alderaan.

Vader:
You are a part of the Rebel Alliance and a traitor! [to Stormtroopers] Take her away!

Daine Jir:
[to Vader after Stormtroopers escort her away] Holding her is dangerous. If word of this gets out, it could generate sympathy for the Rebellion in the Senate.

Vader:
I have traced the Rebel spies to her. Now she is my only link to finding their secret base.

Jir:
She'll die before she'll tell you anything.

Vader:
Leave that to me. Send a distress signal, and inform the Senate that all on board were killed.

Nahdonnis Praji:
Lord Vader, the battle station plans are not aboard this ship, and no transmissions were made. An escape pod was jettisoned during the fighting. No life forms were on board.

Vader:
She must have hidden the plans in the escape pod. Send a detachment down to retrieve them; see to it personally, Commander. There will be no one to stop us this time!

[R2-D2 abruptly begins playing Leia's holographic message at Ben Kenobi's house]

Luke Skywalker:
I saw part of the message he was...

Ben Kenobi:
I seem to have found it.

Princess Leia Organa:
[in a hologram message] General Kenobi. Years ago, you served my father in the Clone Wars. Now he begs you to help him in his struggle against the Empire. I regret that I am unable to present my father's request to you in person, but my ship has fallen under attack and I'm afraid my mission to bring you to Alderaan has failed. I have placed information vital to the survival of the Rebellion into the memory systems of this R2 unit. My father will know how to retrieve it. You must see this droid safely delivered to him on Alderaan. This is our most desperate hour. Help me, Obi-Wan Kenobi. You're my only hope. [looks to the side quickly, then crouches to end the message]

Kenobi:
[to Luke] You must learn the ways of the Force if you're to come with me to Alderaan.

Skywalker:
Alderaan? I'm not going to Alderaan. I've got to go home. It's late, I'm in for it as it is.

Kenobi:
I need your help, Luke. She needs your help. I'm getting too old for this sort of thing.

Skywalker:
Listen, I can't get involved! I've got work to do! It's not that I like the Empire, I hate it, but there's nothing I can do about it right now. It's such a long way from here.

Kenobi:
That's your uncle talking.

Skywalker:
Oh, boy, my uncle. How am I ever gonna explain this?

Kenobi:
[pleading] Learn about the Force, Luke.

Skywalker:
Look, I can take you as far as Anchorhead. You can get a transport there to Mos Eisley or wherever you're going.

Kenobi:
[resigned] You must do what you feel is right, of course.

Cassio Tagge:
And until this battle station is fully operational, we are vulnerable. The Rebel Alliance is too well equipped. They're more dangerous than you realize!

Conan Antonio Motti:
Dangerous to your starfleet, Commander, not to this battle station.

Tagge:
The Rebellion will continue to gain a support in the Imperial Senate, until...

Wilhuff Tarkin:
[walking in with Darth Vader] The Imperial Senate will no longer be of any concern to us. I have just received word that the Emperor has dissolved the council permanently. The last remnants of the Old Republic have been swept away.

Tagge:
That's impossible! How will the Emperor maintain control without the bureaucracy?

Tarkin:
The regional governors now have direct control over their territories. Fear will keep the local systems in line. Fear of this battle station.

Tagge:
And what of the Rebellion? If the Rebels have obtained a complete technical readout of this station, it is possible - however unlikely - that they might find a weakness and exploit it.

Vader:
The plans you refer to will soon be back in our hands.

Motti:
Any attack made by the Rebels against this station would be a useless gesture, no matter what technical data they've obtained. This station is now the ultimate power in the universe! I suggest we use it.

Vader:
Don't be too proud of this technological terror you've constructed. The ability to destroy a planet is insignificant next to the power of the Force.

Motti:
Don't try to frighten us with your sorcerer's ways, Lord Vader. [Vader walks toward Motti, then slowly raises his hand] Your sad devotion to that ancient religion has not helped you conjure up the stolen data tapes or given you clairvoyance enough to find the Rebels' hidden fort- [grasps his throat as if he is being choked]

Vader:
I find your lack of faith disturbing.

Tarkin:
Enough of this. Vader, release him!

Vader:
As you wish. [drops his hand and Motti's head hits the table as he regains his breath]

Tarkin:
This bickering is pointless. Lord Vader will provide us with the location of the Rebel fortress by the time this station is operational. We will then crush the Rebellion with one swift stroke.

[Luke just returned to his farm to find it thrashed and sees the burned corpses of Uncle Owen and Aunt Beru.]

Obi-Wan Kenobi:
There was nothing you could have done, Luke, had you been there. You would have been killed, too, and the droids would be in the hands of the Empire.

Luke Skywalker:
I want to come with you to Alderaan. There's nothing for me here now. I want to learn the ways of the Force and be a Jedi, like my father.

[They set out for Mos Eisley]

Kenobi:
Mos Eisley Spaceport. You will never find a more wretched hive of scum and villainy. We must be cautious.

[Han arrives at Docking Bay 94 and sees a familiar face]

Jabba the Hutt:
[in Huttese] Solo! Come out of there, Solo! Solo!!

Han Solo:
Right here, Jabba. [Jabba and his henchmen turn around to see Han and Chewbacca] I've been waiting for you.

Jabba:
Have you now.

Han:
You didn't think I was gonna run, did you?

Jabba:
Han, my boy, you disappoint me. Why haven't you paid me? And why did you fry poor Greedo?

Han:
Look, Jabba, next time you wanna talk to me, come see me yourself. Don't send one of these twerps.

Jabba:
Han, I can't make exceptions. What if everyone who smuggled for me dropped their cargo at the first sign of an Imperial starship? It's not good for business.

Han:
Look, Jabba, even I get boarded sometimes. [accidentally steps on Jabba's tail] Did you think I had a choice? But I got a nice easy charter now; I'll pay you back, plus a little extra. I just need a little more time.

Jabba:
Han, my boy, you're the best smuggler I ever hired. So, for an extra twenty percent...

Han:
Fifteen, Jabba, and don't push it.

Jabba:
Okay, fifteen percent. But if you fail me again, I'll put a price on your head so big, you won't be able to go near a civilized system.

Han:
Jabba, you're a wonderful human being.

Jabba:
[orders minions] Come on. [Jabba's gang leaves with bounty hunter Boba Fett following behind.]

Princess Leia Organa:
Governor Tarkin. I should have expected to find you holding Vader's leash. I recognized your foul stench when I was brought onboard.

Wilhuff Tarkin:
Charming to the last. You don't know how hard I found it, signing the order to terminate your life.

Leia:
[sarcastically] I'm surprised you had the courage to take the responsibility yourself.

Tarkin:
Princess Leia, before your execution, I would like you to be my guest at a ceremony that will make this battle station operational. No star system will dare oppose the Emperor now.

Leia:
The more you tighten your grip, Tarkin, the more star systems will slip through your fingers.

Tarkin:
Not after we demonstrate the power of this station. In a way, you have determined the choice of the planet that will be destroyed first. Since you are reluctant to provide us with the location of the Rebel base, I have chosen to test this station's destructive power on your home planet of Alderaan.

Leia:
[shocked] No! Alderaan is peaceful. We have no weapons. You can't possibly-

Tarkin:
You would prefer another target? A military target?! Then name the system! [stepping closer to Leia and pinning her against Darth Vader] I grow tired of asking this, so it will be the last time. Where is the Rebel base?

Leia:
[looks at Alderaan for a moment, then, resigned] Dantooine. They're on Dantooine.

Tarkin:
There. You see, Lord Vader? She can be reasonable. [to assistant] Continue with the operation. You may fire when ready.

Leia:
[panicked] What?!

Tarkin:
You are far too trusting. Dantooine is too remote to make an effective demonstration, but don't worry. We will deal with your rebel friends soon enough.

Leia:
No!

[The Death Star destroys Alderaan]

[Luke is training with his lightsaber and a laser remote aboard the Millennium Falcon.]

Ben Kenobi:
Remember, a Jedi can feel the Force flowing through him.

Luke Skywalker:
You mean it controls your actions?

Kenobi:
Partially, but it also obeys your commands.

[Luke gets shot by the remote.]

Han Solo:
[laughs] Hokey religions and ancient weapons are no match for a good blaster at your side, kid.

Skywalker:
You don't believe in the Force, do you?

Solo:
Kid, I've flown from one side of this galaxy to the other. I've seen a lot of strange stuff, but I've never seen anything to make me believe there's one all-powerful Force controlling everything. There's no mystical energy field that controls my destiny. [Kenobi smiles] Anyway, it's all a lot of simple tricks and nonsense.

Kenobi:
[gets up and takes a blast helmet] I suggest you try it again, Luke. Only this time, let go your conscious self and act on instinct. [puts the helmet on Luke, which covers his eyes]

Skywalker:
But with the blast shield down, I can't even see! How am I supposed to fight?

Kenobi:
Your eyes can deceive you. Don't trust them. [remote shoots Luke] Stretch out with your feelings! [Watches Luke succeed in blocking the lasers] You see? You can do it.

Solo:
I call it luck.

Kenobi:
In my experience, there is no such thing as luck.

Darth Vader:
He is here.

Grand Moff Tarkin:
Obi-Wan Kenobi? What makes you think so?

Vader:
A tremor in the Force. The last time I felt it was in the presence of my old master.

Tarkin:
Surely he must be dead by now.

Vader:
Don't underestimate the Force.

Tarkin:
The Jedi are extinct. Their fire has gone out of the universe. You, my friend, are all that's left of their religion. [An intercom beeps, which Tarkin answers] Yes?

Intercom:
We have an emergency alert in detention block AA23.

Tarkin:
The princess? Put all sections on alert!

Vader:
Obi-Wan is here. The Force is with him.

Tarkin:
If you are right, he must not be allowed to escape.

Vader:
Escape is not his plan. I must face him, alone.

[Luke's X-Wing fighter is in the trench, and Darth Vader is having trouble getting a lock]

Darth Vader:
[Gets a lock] I have you now. [Suddenly, one of Vader's escorts is destroyed.] What?!

Han Solo:
YEAH-HOO!!! [The Millennium Falcon arrives on the scene.]

Vader's Escort:
Look out! [Vader's surviving escort panics and crashes into the trench, and Vader's ship is flung out into space]

Han Solo:
You're all clear, kid. Now let's blow this thing and go home! [Luke shoots at the exhaust port and with the help of the Force, hits, blowing up the Death Star] Great shot, kid! That was one in a million!

Ben Kenobi:
Remember... the Force will be with you, always.

A long time ago in a galaxy far, far away...