#he both inspires me thousands of words in analysis and strong emotional reactions

[charlotteisnotthechosenone]

Star Wars Ramblings #1 - The Beauty of a Deleted Scene

I think it is fair to say I am definitely not a ‘film person’. While I absolutely love stories and escaping into different fantastical realms I would almost always prefer to do this through books and not movies. I honestly have no logical reasoning for this, but there we go. If I am going to watch a movie however it almost always has the word Disney associated with it! It was therefore a given that the minute Disney Plus was released I would be signing up. With this it brought the opportunity to finally tick of a series of films that have been on my (admittedly very small) watch list for some time: Star Wars. 

I am great lover of all things sci-fi, especially when it comes to books, so it baffles (and ashames me slightly) that I have only just got around to sitting down and watching these films. A combination of the daunting nature of such a large series, not previously having the series on hand to watch and potentially purely the fact that they are films may have been what was making me so hesitant but all I can say now is that I thoroughly regret not telling myself to get on with it and watch them much sooner.

Going into the original trilogy I was fairly confident that this was a series I was going to enjoy. What I didn’t anticipate however was just how much I would absolutely adore it. While the films are packed with such action and adventure what struck me was how much I truly fell in love with the characters. This was not what I was expecting one bit. I am about to embark on the prequel trilogy this weekend and it actually makes me slightly grumpy knowing that they won’t be there. You could honestly make thousands upon thousands of films following the adventures of Luke, Leia, Han and Chewie and I would watch every single second of every single one. Given how much of my time these three films appear to have already consumed I think it is safe to say that Star Wars is something that I will hold very dear for a very long time to come. 

I’m also not usually massively into analysing books/fims as I go along. I have tried so many times to write reviews and wrap up style posts for books I have read and while sometimes this works, other times I feel I am left with genuinely nothing to say. It’s not that I won’t have enjoyed a book or a film - if anything the ones that I didn’t like are easier to write about than the ones I did - but sometimes I will finish reading/watching with no particularly strong opinions other than the fact it was/was not enjoyable. This is why I found myself ever so slightly out of sorts when I finished watching this original trilogy with about enough notes to fill a book. Apologies (and thanks) to my boyfriend for sitting on FaceTime with me for hours on end while I preceeded to go through every one of these notes, barely pausing for breath. This film series was something I felt so passionate about that when I began to start talking, I didn’t stop! And if I can talk so easily about it, why not write about it? That was all my very long-winded way of saying that what I intend to follow is a collection of random thoughts/ramblings/analysis from within the world of Star Wars. Maybe finally releasing this from my brain and onto a page will free up some space somewhere to allow me to act again like a functioning adult! So here goes…   

 Princess Leia is undoubtedly one of my favourite characters of all time. Bold, badass and beautiful she holds her own within the male dominated world of the rebellion and definitely shows them who’s boss! She is fierce, feisty and will definitely not be told what to do. 

She is inspiring and these films should serve as a reminder for every woman to be a little more like Leia!

Not one to let down her guard and cause her emotions to get in the way it is therefore surprising that Leia finds love with Han, the scruffy looking smuggler (heart eyes emoji). Han knows what he wants and Leia, initially, is not going to let him have it. Cue some of the films most iconic comebacks and put-downs which, without a doubt, highlight Leia’s feisty, independent nature. 

On paper one would never think that the two incredibly bold personalities of Han and Leia could ever find love but it is in that wonderful scene in the back room of the Falcon where Leia finally shows her true feelings for Han, opening the door for a truly wonderful relationship. What makes these two so special is that they are such rich characters in their own right that when they are brought together sparks fly, both of the love and hate variety. 

Yes, Han is a bit of a jerk. He is self-assured and arrogant and has an insatiable ego but he is also so likeable. When he is first introduced in A New Hope I knew he was going to stir things up but I was also instantly drawn to him - it does help that he is rather easy on the eye too! While Leia definitely does not need Han to come to her rescue, having him around let’s us glimpse some absolutely beautiful moments between these two characters, as being with each other brings out a totally different side of them both.   

Some may argue their relationship is problematic: Han’s insistence that he will, in the end, get the girl and his constant referral to her royal status may mark him as a total no go relationship wise but I truly believe, looking beyond the film, that that is not the case. Cut out of the films are some moments where Leia truly gives her own back. It may take Han a film and a half to realise that he is indeed capable of uttering the word Leia but, believe you me, she is no sweetheart in that matter. Their explosive argument at the beginning of Empire extends beyond what we see on the screen, with Leia trying to stress to Han the importance of the rebellion while giving as good as she gets on the name calling front, referring to him as hot-shot, a title which crops up in another of these excellent extended scenes. 

I am the first to admit that, yes, Han backing Leia into a dark corner of the Millennium Falcon before leaning in for a kiss probably wasn’t his wisest move and at the end of the scene, Leia makes a sharp exit, leaving us to ponder her reaction towards what has just occurred. Unfortunately their moment of passion comes to an abrupt end by the appearence of our ever so polite protocol driod C3PO who mistakes Han’s saracstic thanks for his both his work and this interruption as genuine pleasure. This is after a brief interraction between the pair in which we are still not 100% sure where Leia stands. What is not shown however is that this advance from Han is totally reciprocated by Leia. Cue the name calling again. An extended version of this scene shows them breaking away from their initial kiss only for Leia to turn things right back on again. Before both can totally process what has just occurred Leia decides that the moment is definitely not over uttering the words ‘ok hot-shot’ before continuing their kiss. I think this is a totally wonderful extension to the scene which should have definitely made the original cut. While it does remove a lot of the the will they/won’t they impression we are left with at the end of the scene I think that one line could have become so iconic for Leia. Han may think he has finally got the girl but Leia goes and shatters that by revealing, under her previously frosty attitude towards him, that she also feels the same way. It almost undermines Han’s persistence by showing that he has not had the upper hand the whole way through. 

This also solves the confusion I experienced when watching this scene for the first time. As the camera pans out to reveal C3PO entering the room you notice that Han’s arms are around Leia while she has his hands in his hair. However during that first kiss neither parties actually move, leaving me to wonder how they had managed to achieve this set-up without me even noticing. This puzzled me for some time until I stumbled across this extended scene which does, in fact, show both of them moving closer during this second, deleted kiss. So not only do I feel that this alternate version of the scene adds much more depth, it is also the more natural choice from a logistical point of view! Two birds with one stone!