Saturday, May 1, 2021

Sword & Sorcery & Cinema: Star Wars (1977)

Star Wars Movie Poster
For my next S&S&C, I want to get to a movie that is Sword & Sorcery (and D&D) to its very core, even if most people consider it a sci-fi movie.

Star Wars (1977)

I have said it before that Star Wars (A New Hope) is the perfect Dungeons & Dragons movie.  We have a hero, a villain, a princess (who is also a hero), an old wizard, a rogue, an impenetrable fortress (the Death Star), war, magic (tell me to my face the Force is not magic) and a quest.  There are sword fights, monsters, and interesting locales. It is D&D in all but name.   They even meet the rogue in a bar! 

Sure it is another retelling of the monomyth or The Hero with a 1,000 Faces.  That's why it works so well.

I loved everything Star Wars growing up too.    I still have a couple of Boba Fetts (one I had to save proof of purchases for, one I bought) sitting on my desk.  I went from being a hard-core fan to a more relaxed one.

Not only was it out at the same time (more or less) I discovered D&D. It became so much a part of my experiences as a kid that is hard to tease out where one influence begins and the other ends. 

This is also one of the reasons I like the d20 Star Wars game over the West End Games d6 one.  For me, Star Wars and D&D are the same.  If I were to run a Star Wars game it would be with the d20/ D&D 3.x rules.

It should also be no surprise that Star Wars movie posters are the only movie posters hanging in my game room/office.

Star Wars Movie Poster

Empire Strikes Back Movie Poster

Return of the Jedi Movie Poster
 

Gaming Content

Are you serious?  You have the Internet, right?

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Tim Knight of Hero Press and Pun Isaac of Halls of the Nephilim along with myself are getting together at the Facebook Group I'd Rather Be Killing Monsters to discuss these movies.  Follow along with the hashtag #IdRatherBeWatchingMonsters that is if I can get my co-admins to agree this is the best hashtag for this!


7 comments:


  1. Yeah, you're pretty right on with this post. But how many magic-users in D&D get a chance to go out like old Ben?

    [if more sorcerers could use lightsabers, the bottom would fall out of the fighter business]

    I can't believe you actually got the Boba Fett that needed the mail-in proof of purchases. I thought that was a friggin' myth that never materialized! Does the missile on the jetpack actually fire?

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    1. I have him. My missile pack does not fire. I got a letter telling me why when the figure was delayed.

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    2. I'm pretty sure, I got Boba Fett that way, as well.

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  2. My brother and I got that and other mail in freebies. Admiral Ackbar, 4LOM (really Zuckuss, but both were misnamed back then). The missile didn't fire. I don't think any of those shipped, or very few.

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  3. I just got back into action figures, the Kenner style 3-3/4" 5 Points of Articulation kind. There were only a very few Fetts that fired missiles until 2010 when Hasbro let you send in for a rocket-firing version and they command over $100 now. There are customs out there.

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