The 10 Most Iconic Moments In Star Wars Movie History

Today is May the 4th, and you know what that means - it's Star Wars Day! To mark this celebration of all things from that galaxy far, far away, we've decided to take a look through the most iconic scenes across every film in the franchise. These are not necessarily the greatest moments in Star Wars history - though obviously all of the moments listed here are pretty damn great - but rather, the most recognizable, if you will. These scenes, taken from the original trilogy, the prequel movies, and the recent sequel trilogy, are such epic pieces of filmmaking that they've sunk deep into popular culture. Which is to say that even if you're not a hardcore Star Wars fan, you'll probably still know about these scenes. As we've limited ourselves to a mere top then, many moments didn't make it onto this list. So, commiserations to the likes of the Battle of Hoth in The Empire Strikes Back, Vader's massacre in Rogue One, the trash compactor scene from A New Hope and the Order 66 sequence from Return of the Jedi. With that out of the way, let's take a look back at the 10 most iconic moments in Star Wars movie history! 10) Sail Barge Assault - Return Of The Jedi With frozen Han hanging on Jabba the Hutt's wall and Princess Leia chained up as the slug's sexy slave, Luke Skywalker leads the rescue attempt on Jabba's sail barge. Alas, it goes wrong and, after facing the Rancor, Luke looks about to meet his doom in the Sarlaac Pit. But, he might have some tricks left up his sleeve.... The assault on the sail barge is simply one of the most thrilling Star Wars action scenes, ever. There are just so many famous elements to it. Luke being awesome with his newly-unveiled green lightsaber, Bobba Fett's memorable - if infamous - death, Leia strangling Jabba with the chains of slavery - the list goes on. A worthy mention should also go to Jabba the Hutt's big reveal earlier in the movie. Assuming you didn't first see the original trilogy through the more recent special editions, this scene was the first time we'd seen the intergalactic gangster in the slimy flesh. Combine that with the equally iconic - though for more dubious reasons - sight of Leia in a slave girl outfit, and you have one hell of a memorable scene. 9) Obi-Wan's Death - A New Hope Picking the most iconic Obi-Wan moment from A New Hope is a tricky task, as the character is an icon himself. While we almost went with the classic "These aren't the droids you're looking for" line, ol' Kenobi's most iconic moment has got to be his climactic fight with Darth Vader at the end of the movie. By today's standards, and to any younger fans who grew up with the much flashier fights of the prequels, the duel between Obi-Wan and Vader might seem a tad tame. However, at the time the movie came out, this scene was as exciting as it got. The franchise's first major lightsaber battle between good and evil is a significant moment and the part where Obi-Wan fades away into nothingness is etched into every fan's memory. A shout-out should also go to the two old frenemies' later - though chronologically earlier - fateful fight in Revenge of the Sith. The duel to the (near)death in the lava-infested lands of Mutasfa is one of the most dramatic and visually dynamic fights in the franchise. 8) Vader Saves Luke - Return Of The Jedi We've already discussed the opening of Return of the Jedi, but its grand climax is even more iconic. Goaded by the Emperor, Luke goes to kill him - only to be stopped by Vader. Fuelled by rage, Luke almost kills his own father, but comes to his senses just in time. The Emperor attacks him instead, before Vader finally stands up for his son and tosses the Emperor to his death. At last, the good in him has won out over the dark. As the culmination of everything the trilogy had been building up to, this sequence had a lot riding on it, and it didn't disappoint. On an action level, the various feuds between the three characters are all awesome to watch unfold and, on a dramatic, character-level, Luke's realization that he's falling into a trap and then Vader's ultimate redemption are tremendous. The battle - both physical and internal - between good and evil has never been portrayed on a more epic, grander scale in the Star Wars franchise than in this scene. 7) Han Solo Dies - The Force Awakens The Force Awakens might have been (quite fairly) criticized for borrowing its plot almost wholesale from A New Hope, but it's success lied in those great moments that were all its own. The Millennium Falcon taking off from Jakku, Kylo and Rey's battle, Luke's last-minute arrival, etc. The most iconic moment from the movie, though, has to be that fateful meeting on the bridge between Han Solo and his corrupted son Ben AKA Kylo Ren, the Dark Side's new poster boy. It's an emotional scene, as a desperate father tries to win over his son with love and forgiveness, but then it turns into a real heartbreaker. Just when it looks like Kylo will be redeemed, he stabs his dad through the heart and Han Solo's no more. For the millions out there who had grown up with Solo as their childhood hero, this is one heck of a shocking, gut-wrenching moment. A massive talking point back in December 2016, it was effectively a modern version of the "I am your father" scene (which we'll get to soon). 6) "I Know" - The Empire Strikes Back Enough about Han's death, though, let's whizz back in time to his younger days. After Lando reveals his betrayal, Han's frozen in carbonite by Vader, before being handed over to Bobba Fett and delivered to Jabba the Hutt. With no way out, Han accepts his fate. As he's lowered into the chamber, Leia tells him "I love you." "I know," he replies, and continues to look at her as he descends. The image of Han being frozen in carbonite is an iconic one, as it represents things really getting dark for our heroes. However, the icing on the cake is that "I know" line - perhaps Han Solo's definitive piece of dialogue. As fans will no doubt know, Harrison Ford came up with the line himself, after the script called for Han to simply reply "I love you, too." It's one of the best examples there is of an actor being in perfect unison with their character. 5) The Cantina Scene - A New Hope Part of the core appeal of Star Wars is hopping into this amazing, sci-fi fantasy world, and the part that best sums up this wonder in A New Hope is the Cantina scene. From the jaunty, catchy music from the Cantina Band (officially called Figrin D'an and the Modal Nodes, fact fans) to the assortment of alien designs littering the place, this was the first scene of the franchise to properly convince us that it was set in a bustling alien world. Besides all that, it's important in numerous other ways, too, as we also meet Han Solo and Chewbacca for the first time. In particular, we get one of the great movie introductions with Han's encounter with Greedo (do we need to tell you who really shot first?). Likewise, there's our first chance to see a lightsaber in action, as Obi-Wan whips his out to cut off Ponda Baba's arm. Put all this together and you'll be hard-pressed to find many more iconic sequences in the Star Wars franchise. 4) Duel Of The Fates - The Phantom Menace Oh, the prequel trilogy! You could have been so good, and instead we got Jar-Jar, dumb plot developments and dialogue about sand. But, hey, you can't argue that when they were good, the prequels were amazing. And the best moment from the entire prequel trilogy has to be 'The Duel of the Fates' sequence at the end of The Phantom Menace. As we've said before, the lightsaber fights of the original trilogy were - though great for the time - pretty static affairs But, with the benefit of modern technology and a bigger ambition, this awesome action scene totally blew all previous duels out of the water. A three-way battle between two Jedi at their height of their powers and one deadly, acrobatic Sith Lord, the tussle between Qui-Gon, Obi-Wan and Darth Maul is as epic as the fight between good and evil gets. Throw in Maul's mind-blowing double-edged lightsaber and Qui-Gon's death, and you have a lot of iconic elements. And yet, what really lifts it is John Williams' "Duel of the Fates." Behind the Imperial March and the Star Wars theme itself, it has to be his third greatest musical contribution to the franchise. In any other franchise, of course, it would be far and away the best. 3) Attack The Death Star - A New Hope Space battles don't come any better than this. At the end of A New Hope, the Rebel Alliance sets out to destroy the Death Star before it wreaks untold damage on the cosmos. X-Wings fall to TIE fighters before Luke Skywalker remembers Obi-Wan's messages about the Force. But, shock horror, Vader is about to take him out before he fires into the station's weak point: its exhaust port. Thankfully, the Millennium Falcon rises up out of nowhere and takes care of Vader. Finally, Luke calls on the Force to fire the torpedoes and the Death Star is history. You'd be hard-pressed to find a more exhilarating sequence in the whole of Star Wars than this climax to top all movie climaxes. It's so iconic that both of the recent outings - The Force Awakens and Rogue One - have consciously harked back to it. You can never beat the original, of course but, hey, imitation is the sincerest form of flattery. When future movies are always trying to recapture the heights of this scene, that's when you know it's truly iconic. 2) "I Am Your Father" - The Empire Strikes Back You know how it goes. At the end of The Empire Strikes Back, Luke and Vader have a fierce duel. Things look bleak for Luke when he's cornered and the Sith Lord amputates his lightsaber hand. Before he's forced to make the final blow, Vader tries to tempt Luke to the Dark Side. "Obi-Wan never told you what happened to your father," says Vader. "He told me enough," replies Luke. "He told me you killed him." To which Vader responds... ah, come on, you know what he says. When talking about iconic moments of Star Wars, do they really come any bigger than this? The reveal of Luke's true parentage is simply one of the most famous twists in all of cinema. Whether you expect it or not, it's one heck of a dramatic scene that's been parodied in everything from Spaceballs to Toy Story 2. That being said, people always seem to get the line wrong. It's "No, I am your father," not "Luke, I am your father"! 1) The Opening Sequence The most iconic Star Wars moment of all, however, is not one specific scene but a hallmark of the franchise that defines it more than any other: that awe-inspiring, spine-tingly opening sequence. There are four components that make up the opening to a Star Wars movie. First, the famous phrase, 'A long time ago in a galaxy far, far away...' appears on screen. That fades out and then the Star Wars logo comes shooting towards you through space. As it sinks away, we then get the opening crawl, whatever it might be for that particular movie. While these three elements are all iconic on their own, what really makes the sequence come alive is John Williams' phenomenal score. That man never runs out of iconic themes - Indiana Jones, Superman, Harry Potter - but none of them hit the spot quite like the Star Wars one. Whether it was in 1977 or 2015, the first time you saw the Star Wars opening sequence on the big screen never leaves you.