Star Wars: A New Hope (1977)

 Blog Rating: 8.80 out of 10

The spaceship of Princess Leia Organa (Carrie Fisher), who carries the intercepted secret drawings of the Death Star, a military space station whose firepower allows her to destroy entire planets, is attacked by the forces of the Empire under the command of Lord Darth Vader (David Prowse, voiced by James Earl Jones).

Carrie Fisher as Princess Leia

The princess manages to enter data into the memory of the R2D2 droid (Kenny Baker) and send it along with another robot, the protocol droid C-3PO (Anthony Daniels), to the desert planet Tatooine, where they accidentally reach Luke Skywalker (Mark Hamill) ), who lives with his uncles, farmers Owen (Phil Brown) and Beru (Shelag Fraser) Larsov.

Mark Hamill as Luke Skywalker

Unfortunately, Leia's ship is boarded by the Empire and Commander Darth Vader captures Leia.

From the extract of a holographic message, Luke learns that R2D2 must deliver a message to Obi-Wan Kenobi (Alec Guinness) and then Luke is involved in a war with the Empire.

This chapter also stars: Harrison Ford (Han Solo), Peter Cushing (Moff Tarkin) and Peter Mayhew (Chewbacca).

Harrison Ford as Han Solo

Star Wars is the first part of the now legendary trilogy "Star Wars", released in theaters in 1977, changed the way of watching movies of several generations. The success was immediate and engendered an incredible fanaticism that elevated the masterpiece to the rank of object of worship throughout the world. At first glance, the story does not seem simple, but George Lucas knows how to intrigue the viewer from the first minutes.

David Prowse as Darth Vader

History is quickly woven around a search but in reality it is not a simple matter: to restore peace and freedom. Luke Skywalker, whose goal is to become a Jedi Knight and thus follow the path of his dead father. He will find his path following Ben, a former Jedi.

Alec Guinness as Obi Wan Kenobi

The visual universe of Star Wars is undoubtedly one of its great assets. George Lucas easily mixes sandy steppes, space and high-tech ships with characters of all kinds (humans, talking hairy monsters and other amazing creatures).

Kenny baker as R2D2

Anthony Daniels as C3PO

The success of this first episode far exceeded the expectations of George Lucas, a director with a unique mind and an extraordinary imagination. The director did not want to sacrifice any detail of his story under the pretext of the lack of technical possibilities: the film was the engine of many new science fiction movie techniques.

Peter Cushing as Grand Moff Tarkin

Lucas's film, which broke all box office records, revolutionized special effects and was also very well received artistically (ten Oscar nominations).

The adventurous fairytale of space not only revolutionized the cinema and the concept of ticket office success, but also settled deeply into our collective memory. Even people who have not yet seen Star Wars know Darth Vader, Yoda, lightsabers or John Williams' immortal fanfare.

STAR WARS is an integral part of our pop culture.

Peter Mayhew as Chewbacca

Star Wars 

Release Year  : 1977

Genre           : Fantasy, science fiction, adventure, action

Country        : USA

Duration       : 121 minutes.

Director        : George Lucas.

Screenwriter : George Lucas.

Composer     : John Williams.

Cameraman  : Gilbert Taylor.

Swedish poster (1977)

The Hindenburg Disaster (1937)

   

Frenchman Henri Giffard constructed the first successful airship in 1852. His hydrogen-filled blimp carried a three-horsepower steam engine that turned a large propeller and flew at a speed of six miles per hour. The rigid airship, often known as the “zeppelin” after the last name of its innovator, Count Ferdinand von Zeppelin, was developed by the Germans in the late 19th century.

Unlike French airships, the German ships had a light framework of metal girders that protected a gas-filled interior. However, like Giffard’s airship, they were lifted by highly flammable hydrogen gas and vulnerable to explosion.

Large enough to carry substantial numbers of passengers, one of the most famous rigid airships was the Graf Zeppelin, a dirigible that traveled around the world in 1929. In the 1930s, the Graf Zeppelin pioneered the first transatlantic air service, leading to the construction of the Hindenburg, a larger passenger airship.

The Hindenburg flying over New York City

On May 3, 1937, the Hindenburg left Frankfurt, Germany, for a journey across the Atlantic to Lakehurst’s Navy Air Base. Stretching 804 feet from stern to bow, it carried 36 passengers and crew of 61. While attempting to moor at Lakehurst, the airship suddenly burst into flames, probably after a spark ignited its hydrogen core.

Rapidly falling 200 feet to the ground, the hull of the airship incinerated within seconds. 13 passengers, 21 crewmen, and 1 civilian member of the ground crew lost their lives, and most of the survivors suffered substantial injuries.

The Hindenburg was a 245-metre- (804-foot-) long airship of conventional zeppelin design that was launched at Friedrichshafen, Germany, in March 1936. It had a maximum speed of 135 km (84 miles) per hour and a cruising speed of 126 km (78 miles) per hour.

Inside view of the Hindenburg

Though it was designed to be filled with helium gas, the airship was filled with highly flammable hydrogen because of export restrictions by the United States against Nazi Germany. In 1936 the Hindenburg inaugurated commercial air service across the North Atlantic by carrying 1,002 passengers on 10 scheduled round trips between Germany and the United States.

On May 6, 1937, while landing at Lakehurst, New Jersey, on the second of its scheduled 1937 transatlantic crossings, the Hindenburg burst into flames and was completely destroyed. Of the 97 persons aboard, 35 were killed. One member of the ground crew also perished.

The fire was officially attributed to a discharge of atmospheric electricity in the vicinity of a hydrogen gas leak from the airship, though it was speculated that the dirigible had been the victim of an anti-Nazi act of sabotage. The Hindenburg disaster, which was recorded on film and on phonograph disc, marked the end of the use of rigid airships in commercial air transportation.

Ozark - A tense and entertaining thriller

Blog Rating: 9.15 out of 10

The Byrdes and their teenage children, Charlotte and Jonah, are for all intents and purposes an ordinary family with ordinary lives. Except for the job of Marty, a Chicago financial advisor who also serves as the top money launderer for the second largest drug cartel in Mexico.

When things go wrong, Marty must uproot his family from the skyscrapers of Chicago and relocate to the serene Lake of the Ozarks region of Missouri.

To stay alive, he promised his boss that he could hide several million dollars from the drug business.

However, when they arrive in Ozark, things are not so simple and they agree to take over a strip club to launder the money.

To make matters worse, he gets into trouble with the criminal gang, the Langmores, who want him dead.

Ozark is a rather tense narrative story but very entertaining and easy to follow. Jason Bateman plays a character very similar to the anti-hero of Breaking Bad. Highly recommended.