Mos Eisley Cantina
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The Chalmun's Cantina (often called the Mos Eisley Cantina, the Star Wars Cantina) is a fictional bar (cantina) of the Star Wars universe located in the "pirate city" of Mos Eisley on the planet Tatooine. It is the haunt of freight pilots and other dangerous characters of various alien races and contains booths, a bar counter, and some free-standing tables, and sometimes a band of musicians named Figrin D'an and the Modal Nodes.
The establishment is extremely rough in nature; but the clientèle and the management give incidents of deadly violence no more than a moment's attention. Droids are not allowed inside; a droid detector near the front door alerts the management of any entering droid.
This cantina is located at 3324 Outer Kerner Way, Mos Eisley, Tatooine.[citation needed]
The scene was initially filmed in 1976 at the Sidi Driss hotel in Matmata, which is a Berber town in southern Tunisia in North Africa. In early 1977, Lucas added several alien close-ups at Hollywood Center Studios, because he was dissatisfied with both the make-up and the limited coverage he had from the Tunisia footage. The new material was seamlessly cut into the film by Lucas' editors, including then-wife Marcia Lucas. [1]
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[edit] A New Hope
The cantina is first introduced in Star Wars Episode IV: A New Hope. The following events occurred in the cantina in A New Hope:
- An Aqualish named Ponda Baba attempts to pick a fight with Luke Skywalker, only to have Obi-Wan Kenobi slice off his arm with his lightsaber.
- Luke and Kenobi first meet Han Solo and Chewbacca, hiring them to transport them off Tatooine to Alderaan.
- Solo and bounty hunter Greedo have a controversial blaster face-off at one of the tables.
[edit] Tales from Mos Eisley Cantina
The anthology of intertwined short stories Tales from the Mos Eisley Cantina, edited by Kevin J. Anderson, explores the cantina and its clientèle further. The book also explores the reasons for the cantina's ban on droids: the bartender Wuher claims to dislike everyone, but lashes out at droids because they are the only thing that will not try to fight back; the proprietor, a Wookiee named Chalmun, does not tolerate droids because they do not drink, and therefore occupy valuable space.
Apparently, patrons are not allowed to use blasters inside the premises; this is apparently largely ignored, as Solo, Greedo, and Ponda Baba all carried blasters.
[edit] Reception
[edit] In popular culture
At the time of the original Star Wars movie release the "cantina scene" was one of the most memorable moments for first-time viewers who found themselves thrust in a universe much more detailed than "usual" sci-fi settings of the time. While the idea of intergalactic "watering holes" with colorful and rowdy patrons was not exactly new in the genre of Space Opera (being a natural extension of the saloon-tavern scenes of cloak and dagger, shoot 'em up westerns and pirate fiction...which all had their share of influence on Space Opera) never had it been so vividly depicted on screen before.
The Cantina segment was enhanced by composer John Williams' jazz instrumentals, featured on the soundtrack album as "Cantina Band" and "Cantina Band #2." The score reflects Williams' interest in jazz from the 1950s; the composer later cited his intention to invoke kind of a "1940s feel" for the scene, sounding "both alien and yet familiar at the same time." [2]
Drinking-dining establishments were featured twice in the prequel Episode II: Attack of the Clones.
The cantina scene is referenced in the movie Team America: World Police where the protagonists are at a bar in Cairo, Egypt. The music played in this scene is a blend of stereotypically Middle Eastern music and the music played during the original cantina scene in A New Hope.
Kevin Smith, well known for Star Wars references in his films, refers to the cantina in the movie Dogma. When Jay and Silent Bob discuss joining forces with Bethany, Jay chimes in: "I feel like I'm Han Solo, and you're Chewie, and she's Ben Kenobi, and we're in that fucked up bar!"
The Country Teasers' 2006 album The Empire Strikes Back features a song titled "Mos Eisley". The opening lyrics satire those critical of the growing multiculturalism in Europe: "The world is much more like Star Wars than it used to be. But the world is no more like Star Wars than it should be. There is nothing wrong with a world a bit like Star Wars. I like Star Wars. London is a lot like Mos Eisley. It's a lot more like Mos Eisley than it used to be. For instance, in the fifties and the seventies, it was like the Death Star."
The indie rock band Silver Jews has an instrumental song named after the scene on their first EP The Arizona Record.
The rock band Eisley was originally named Moss Eisley, but ultimately shortened their name in order to avoid any possible litigation.
The band Blink-182 references the cantina in their song "A New Hope", with the lyrics "But when you were available, I was drinking Colt 45s with Lando. I was hanging out in the cantina on Mos Eisley".
Barney Stinson, from the show How I Met Your Mother, said that he was "one drink away from the cantina scene from Star Wars" while he was looking for girls in the bar.
The band Mr Bungle has included the music of John Williams in their live shows. With a medley of "Cantina Band", "Imperial March" and "Main Theme".[3]
The band Brave Combo includes a bar of the cantina music in their polka rendition of the William Tell Overture, on their album "Box of Ghosts".
[edit] Parody song
Mark Jonathan Davis, later of Richard Cheese and Lounge Against the Machine, made a parody song of Barry Manilow's "Copacabana", called "Star Wars Cantina," released in 1996.[4] Davis used the melody of that song; his lyrics are a rough outline of Star Wars Episodes 4 through 6. The song received significant radio airplay, along with "Weird Al" Yankovic's Yoda, in the run-up to the 1997 release of the Star Wars Special Edition VHS box set and the 1999 release of The Phantom Menace. "Star Wars Cantina" is often erroneously attributed to Yankovic.
The song was not released on CD due to copyright troubles.
[edit] See also
- Han shot first
- Ajim, city where the cantina was filmed
[edit] References
- ^ Rinzler, J.W. (2007). The Making of Star Wars: The Definitive Story Behind the Original Film. Del Ray Books. ISBN 0345477618.
- ^ Williams, John (2004). Star Wars Episode IV: A New Hope Audio CD (Original Motion Picture Soundtrack CD) - liner notes. MCA.
- ^ Mr Bungle FAQ
- ^ [1]
