The Star Wars films have always been fantastic in terms of storytelling and in setting up expansive mythologies that exist in that cinematic world. Every Star Wars film is a visual treat too. All you need to think about is the trench sequence in Star Wars: A New Hope or the introduction of Bespin in Star Wars: The Empire Strikes Back. However, it wasn’t until Rogue One came out that the visuals took a huge upgrade in both quality and cinematic scale.
Gareth Edwards had just made Godzilla and picked Rogue One as his next project, and luckily Godzilla was a feast for the eyes with lots of beautiful imagery and dark repressed colours. The same can be said for Rogue One with cinematographer Greig Fraser showcasing war-like imagery and scenes of ominous foreboding that still haunts me, as a viewer, today. If a shot gives you goosebumps like these three did to me, then you know the film is doing something right!
This shot perfectly shows you how powerful the Death Star really is. The eclipse is almost a symbol of how the Death Star brings about death and darkness while destroying the light. Then in the darkened landscape comes the iconic green laser beam that strikes the planet of Jedha. As I said, this scene shows power and the symbolic nature of this shot says everything.
We had never witnessed the power of the Death Star from the surface before, and as a lifelong Star Wars fan, this did not disappoint and also carries the fear of impending doom along with it too.
You always hear that the Death Star is the size of a Moon and in fact in Star Wars: Return of the Jedi you get to see the second Darth Star compared to the forest Moon of Endor. But in this shot, you get more of a sense of scale that encapsulates the Death Star.
It’s like a looming threat, always on the horizon. A sinister presence always lurking, and the subtlety in this scene is spot on too. The colour of the planet’s atmosphere almost perfectly blending in with the ominous grey of the Death Star. The sound of a mechanical moon looming too also helps give the scene a presence of danger.
The main reason I wanted to cover Rogue One in today’s blog was because of this scene. I remember being in the cinema and hearing the sirens going from the spaceship being boarded. Then the iconic breathing starts and the Rebels are waiting to meet their threat. You see the red lightsaber light up the screen, an image of pure evil and menace.
You really get a sense of how much of a threat Darth Vader truly is. The black and red’s in the scene convey the evil imagery perfectly. The camera at a low angle showing the superiority of Darth Vader over the Rebels. This is every child’s dream come true, seeing the true might of Darth Vader in action.
This brings us to the end of today’s blog, and I wish I had the time to cover all of the Star Wars films because they’re all visually stunning. I could argue that Rogue One is the best Star Wars film of all time, especially when it comes to visual quality, but I will let you be the judge of that.
Thanks for reading today’s blog!
Alex Murray, the Head of Eyesight Productions
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