Episode IV: A New Hope

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...

General information

Attribution information
Director(s) George Lucas
Producer(s)
  • Gary Kurtz
  • Rick McCallum (Special Edition)
Writer(s) George Lucas
Starring
  • Mark Hamill
  • Harrison Ford
  • Carrie Fisher
  • Peter Mayhew
  • Anthony Daniels
  • Kenny Baker
  • Peter Cushing
  • Alec Guinness
  • James Earl Jones
  • David Prowse
Music by John Williams
Production information
Distributor 20th Century Fox
Released
  • May 25, 1977 (Original version)
  • January 31, 1997 (Special Edition)
Run time
  • 121 minutes (Original)
  • 125 minutes (Special Edition, DVD, Blu-ray and Digital HD)
Budget $11,000,000
Language English
Chronological information
Timeline 19 years after Episode III: Revenge of the Sith
Preceded by Episode III Revenge of the Sith
Followed by Episode V The Empire Strikes Back