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A Thousand Stars: Episode IV, Part 26
The sequence in the garbage compactor is fine-tuned to create ever-heightening tension, right to the moment we fear our heroes will be crushed to death, and then their sudden rescue.
It starts fairly tamely, with another shouting match and Han's sarcastic commentary. Then the eerie introduction of Something beneath the water, almost like in a horror movie. We never get a full view of it, but it's definitely creepy and lurky. Whoops! Suddenly Luke is yanked under. There's no music yet, which allows us to sit in an unsettling silence occasionally broken by strange sounds. By the time Luke is freed from the Something, its inexplicable departure is almost as chilling as its abrupt appearance.
Because the walls are closing in. Now the mood shifts from unseen horror to a perilous race against death. The soundtrack returns with a relentless, frantic piece, abetted by the grinding motors of the compactor. Luke's hope of getting help from Threepio is countered by a simple but expressive shot of the abandoned commlink.
So we switch back and forth from the droids' trouble with stormtroopers and the increasingly narrowing walls enclosing our heroes. The bits with the droids become longer; the compactor moments are frightening brief. We feel the excruciating silence that follows Luke's calls to Threepio. Time is running out. Even when Threepio is finally reminded to use the commlink, his endless chatter makes us want to shriek with frustration. Luke wastes no time shutting him up to get his message through. They're mere feet away from being crushed when the compactor falls silent and still. It's a palpable relief. We even get further catharsis with a bit of humor from Threepio mistaking their giddy shouts for agony.
Next time, swashbuckling adventure...
It starts fairly tamely, with another shouting match and Han's sarcastic commentary. Then the eerie introduction of Something beneath the water, almost like in a horror movie. We never get a full view of it, but it's definitely creepy and lurky. Whoops! Suddenly Luke is yanked under. There's no music yet, which allows us to sit in an unsettling silence occasionally broken by strange sounds. By the time Luke is freed from the Something, its inexplicable departure is almost as chilling as its abrupt appearance.
Because the walls are closing in. Now the mood shifts from unseen horror to a perilous race against death. The soundtrack returns with a relentless, frantic piece, abetted by the grinding motors of the compactor. Luke's hope of getting help from Threepio is countered by a simple but expressive shot of the abandoned commlink.
So we switch back and forth from the droids' trouble with stormtroopers and the increasingly narrowing walls enclosing our heroes. The bits with the droids become longer; the compactor moments are frightening brief. We feel the excruciating silence that follows Luke's calls to Threepio. Time is running out. Even when Threepio is finally reminded to use the commlink, his endless chatter makes us want to shriek with frustration. Luke wastes no time shutting him up to get his message through. They're mere feet away from being crushed when the compactor falls silent and still. It's a palpable relief. We even get further catharsis with a bit of humor from Threepio mistaking their giddy shouts for agony.
Next time, swashbuckling adventure...