The original Star Wars, known today as Episode IV: A New Hope, is one of the biggest blockbusters of all time. It sparked a giant franchise that’s still making major dough through TV, film, streaming content, and every other product imaginable. We’ve all heard of Star Wars, and many of us have seen the originals. But even those who’ve never watched any Star Wars media have heard of its main characters: Obi-Wan (Alec Guinness), Han Solo (Harrison Ford), Luke Skywalker (Mark Hamill), and Princess Leia (Carrie Fisher). People have also heard many of their famous lines.
Of course, just because it’s one of the film’s most famous quotes doesn’t mean it’s one of the best. Having said that, this movie has a ton of famous lines—and many of them are indeed great. Honorable mentions include Luke’s uncle saying “That’s what I’m afraid of” about his nephew being similar to his father, Obi-Wan describing the Force as something that “surrounds us and penetrates us; it binds the galaxy together,” and Leia telling Tarkin (Peter Cushing) that the more he tightens his grip, “the more star systems will slip through your fingers.” The following quotes are arguably better, though, whether it be for their humor, their elucidation of a character, their ability to set the tone of a scene, or their ways of concisely explaining the rules of what was once a totally new world that George Lucas and his team built from scratch.
10
“Will someone get this big walking carpet out of my way?!”
Princess Leia (Carrie Fisher)
Angry Leia is the best. Consider being in her position: she’s waiting to be killed when suddenly some guy tells her he’s with Ben Kenobi and the droid she sent to find him. What a relief, but now they’re getting shot at by a bunch of stormtroopers and have no idea how to escape. Then they’re almost smashed to death in a garbage room. Her expectations must have been so high at first, but they’re so low now that she’s not in a good mood at all. After arguing with Han, she walks past Chewbacca to get to the front and says, “Will someone get this big walking carpet out of my way?!”
Hans reply that “No reward is worth this” is the more famous line, but the line above is even better. No offense to Chewy, of course; her description is just so comically accurate. It’s hard to take the Star Wars universe seriously at times, as it’s largely for kids, which makes funny moments in which main characters point out how silly things look are refreshing. In short, this is a classic Leia insult.
9
“Sorry about the mess.”
Han Solo (Harrison Ford)
The most famous thing about Han shooting Greedo is the controversy over which of these two characters shot first, but this scene also contains one of the funniest lines in the movie. After he shoots the bounty hunter through the chest, Han slowly gets up from his table, walks over to the bartender, tosses him a coin, and says “Sorry about the mess.” Then he walks out of the bar, and that’s that.
Han just killed a guy, and “Sorry about the mess” is all he’s got to say? It’s just like when Obi Wan cut that guy’s arm off when he was giving Luke trouble; no sandtroopers stopped by to arrest anyone, and no one else in the bar had anything to say about it. It also makes the viewer wonder, How much does that coin cost? Is it common courtesy to tip your bartender 20% after killing someone and leaving the body for someone else to clean up? In any case, badass yet amusing moments like this show why Han is one of Harrison Ford’s greatest characters.
8
“What is what?”
C-3PO (Anthony Daniels)/R2-D2 (Kenny Baker)
R2-D2 (operated by Kenny Baker) is a bad liar. Luke pried open a part of R2, at which point a transmission came on: “Help me, Obi-Wan Kenobi. You’re my only hope.” Luke asks “What’s this?”—to which the R2 beeps. C-3PO (Anthony Daniels) has a response that lets us know exactly what his blue and white companion just said: “‘What is what?’ He asked you a question! What is that?” The fact that R2 said “What is what?” as if there wasn’t a huge blue beam with a repeated recording streaming out of him is hilariously suspicious. C-3PO’s response is one of his funniest lines here, as the dynamic between them works best when R2 is being ridiculous and 3PO shows common sense.
The fact that he even repeats what R2 said back to him highlights how frustrating and absurd he found the shorter droid’s reply. It also tells us just how dedicated R2 is to the Rebellion. He goes on to try and withhold information, saying it’s just some useless data. Had that been his first response, it would have been so much less suspicious. Equally funny is when Luke tells him to play back the message and R2 apparently says, “What message?”
7
“If money is all that you love, then that’s what you’ll receive.”
Princess Leia (Carrie Fisher)
Princess Leia and Han are sitting in the Milennium Falcon after they’ve escaped from the Death Star. Being the rebel leader that she is, Leia hopes that the plans hidden in the R2-unit will reveal some kind of weakness in the Death Star. She says “It’s not over yet,” referring to the difficulty of their plans against the Empire, but Han says it is over for him. He’s just in this for the money, and he expects to be well-paid for getting the princess to safety. We then get a close-up of Leia with a very angry grin on her face, practically whispering, “You needn’t worry about your reward. If money is all that you love, then that’s what you’ll receive.”
Simple, but effective. We can feel the restrained rage both in her delivery of this line and in the expression on her face. When Leia gets up to leave, we can tell that Han felt a sting from that comment. Luke’s line about Han taking care of himself is more famous, but this one is arguably stronger and shows why the princess is one of Carrie Fisher’s best roles.
6
“We’re fine. We’re all fine here, now. Thank you. How are you?”
Han Solo (Harrison Ford)
Han and Luke are in disguise as they try to rescue the princess, but Han is clearly not prepared for this mission. After they shoot their way into a room, there is understandably a call from another part of the ship to ask about what happened. Han takes off his helmet and says, “Everything’s under control. Situation normal…” in a very nervous voice. He tries to say there was a slight weapons malfunction, and then makes this ten times worse by adding, “We’re fine. We’re all fine here, now. Thank you. How are you?”
Han stumbling through this farce is absolutely delightful. He doesn’t have any idea what to say or how to communicate in an inconspicuous manner. It would obviously be more suspicious to say nothing, but what he comes up with on the fly is very amusingly bad improvisation. When the guy on the other end says “Who is this?” and Han blasts the machine, it’s icing on the cake.
5
“You don’t need to see his identification…”
Obi-Wan Kenobi (Alec Guinness)
When a sandtrooper squad leader asks for Luke’s ID, Obi-Wan says “You don’t need to see his identification.” The trooper repeats what the old Jedi said. Obi-Wan goes on, “These aren’t the droids you’re looking for.” The droid repeats that, too. Old Ben then states that Luke can go about his business and says “Move along,” at that point telling the trooper what to tell himself and his companions. The hand wave at the beginning is excellent, showing (without telling) us that he’s using the Force on the trooper’s mind.
The way Obi-Wan calmly, casually speaks throughout the scene shows he’s done this before many times. The Jedi makes eye contact as he says these things, which probably helps (though Obi-Wan breaks eye contact when he says “Move along”). Meanwhile, the look on Luke’s face is a nice addition as he realizes just how much Obi-Wan can do with seemingly no effort. Overall, the compelling exposition here helps make this one of the best Star Wars movies.
4
“That’s no moon; it’s a space station.”
Obi-Wan Kenobi (Alec Guinness)
When they arrive at Alderan, our heroes find it’s been reduced to rubble. Han doesn’t think it’s possible when Obi-Wan tells him the Empire destroyed it. They chase after a small ship, but it’s too small to have gotten here on its own. As they wonder aloud about what’s going on, they see the ship heading toward what appears to be a small moon. Then Obi-Wan realizes aloud, “That’s no moon; it’s a space station.”
This is a very ominous moment. The look in the old man’s eyes betrays fear, and who can blame him? Everyone quickly realizes Kenobi is right, too. This is the final piece of the puzzle that answers all the questions they had just moments ago. Also, this scene does a better job than any other of conveying just how scary the Death Star is. Even more so than the scene in which Alderan was destroyed—showing how this massive weapon looms over those who are only now discovering it as they try to navigate through remnants of that first attack.
3
“I find your lack of faith disturbing.”
Darth Vader (James Earl Jones)
Darth Vader says that the power to destroy a planet is insignificant compared to the power of the Force. Pretty strong words, and this one guy doesn’t believe them for a second. Thinking of practical matters, Admiral Motti (Richard LeParmentier) insists that Vader’s ancient religion doesn’t give him total clairvoyance nor the ability to conjure up the stolen data tapes. So Vader starts choking him without touching him, saying “I find your lack of faith disturbing.” What a swift and scary demonstration of what the Force is. Remember, the first audience wouldn’t have known the parameters and abilities of the Force, so this is a perfect way to show what the characters are talking about.
It’s also really interesting when both the good guys and bad guys can agree on something. In this case, Obi-Wan and Vader both have a profound respect for the powers of the Force—a common denominator that helps the audience understand that they, too, should respect the power of the Force as much as they do.
2
“I felt a great disturbance in the Force, as if millions of voices suddenly cried out in terror—and were suddenly silenced. I fear something terrible has happened.”
Obi-Wan (Alec Guinness)
After Alderan is blown up by the Death Star, we cut to Obi-Wan on the Milennium Falcon. He needs to sit down, and Luke asks if he’s all right. Not really: “I felt a great disturbance in the Force, as if millions of voices suddenly cried out in terror—and were suddenly silenced. I fear something terrible has happened.” The way that Alec Guinness delivers this line, troubled eyes looking from Luke to away in the distance, really sells the idea that he can feel (almost see) all those voices getting wiped out all at once.
This functions as yet another terrific way of demonstrating just how much the Force can do. There is an element of mystery, as he can tell that a lot of people have been killed but can’t figure out where or how. More importantly, this quote is a serious moment that provides the proper amount of weight to that enormous tragedy. Well-written without being overly poetic, this line yields one of the most emotionally powerful moments in the film.
1
“The Force will be with you. Always.”
Obi-Wan (Alec Guinness)
Obi-Wan decides he must shut down the tractor beam, but Luke wants to go with him. The Jedi master insists he has to go alone, assuring Luke that “The force will be with you. Always.” Luke doesn’t know it yet, but this is the final thing that Obi-Wan will tell him while he’s alive. It’s a fittingly profound statement that shows just how confident the old man is, which is part of the reason why Luke trusts him so much in the first place. Old Ben is essentially saying that he will always be with him, too.
This specific line comes up again at the end of the film as well. After Luke has destroyed the Death Star, Obi-Wan tells him to “Remember: the Force will be with you. Always.” Before, the line was dramatic and a bit foreboding. This time, it’s triumphant. The positivity of this message comes through beautifully, helping make A New Hope possibly the most rewatchable Star Wars movie out there. Along with the fact that Obi-Wan is saying this from the ether, this line perfectly encapsulates the hopeful spirit of the original trilogy.