A classic in every sense of the word.

Rating: Null/10 (8 February 2003)

I still remember the first time I caught a glimpse of Star Wars. It was a trailer shown on tv. I knew nothing about the movie at that point; and, thus, got many wrong ideas. There was a quick cut between Luke and Leia swinging across the chasm in the Death Star and an extreme closeup of Darth Vader's face, from the cell interrogation scene. Also, there were shots of stormtroopers falling into a pit. I thought Vader was a giant and Luke and Leia were swinging away from him and the stormtroopers were fighting in some city and fell off a ledge. Boy did I have a lot to learn! Now, you must understand; this was the era of Sinbad films and Star Trek in syndication only. The closest thing to sci-fi in the movies were films like The Land That Time Forgot. 2001 was shown when I was a baby and Silent Running was unknown to me.
I didn't get to see the film right away. First, I saw the three issues of the comic book that Marvel Comics released before the film. Unfortunately, they waited a while to release the other three. Next, I read the novel. Then, I saw a "making of" special on tv. I was now champing at the bit to see this film. All of my friends had seen it, there were pictures everywhere. When, Lord? When will it be my turn? Finally, my parents took my siblings and I to see it.
I sat there with wide eyes as the opening title crawl stretched across the screen. Then, my jaw dropped as the Star Destroyer flew across the screen and kept growing and growing. I had chills down my spine when Darth Vader entered Leia's ship. I smiled as Ben Kenobi dispatched troublemakers and Han shot Geedo under the table. Man, this movie has everything! The Death Star was awe-inspiring. The actors went from one cliffhanger to the next. The ligthsabre battle was thrilling and the escape breathtaking. My heart was pounding through the dog fights just waiting for that shot; and then........ BOOM! Bye-bye Death Star. The audience was cheering, the cast was cheering, the producers were cheering! I had to see this again, and again,.....and again.
No amount of criticism will ever dampen this movie for me. No changes in special effects or addition of scenes, or ill-conceived prequels will change the experiences this film gave me the first time. It was magical, mythical, wonderful, exciting, creative, and just plain fun. To a large number of my generation, this was THE film. It was a shared experience. It tapped into something primordial in us. It was hard to articulate. Was it the fairy tale story; the battle of good and evil? The cool effects and space battles? The great characters? The cheesy, but sincere dialogue? Was it the optimism it brought in a dark time (post-Vietnam and Watergate)? Or was it just, so cool? It was all of these, none of these, and so much more. It was our myth, our saga; it was ours. And the rest of the world joined in.
I saw the Special Editions and the prequels; but the changes are artificial. The original version is the reality. I know Lucas says that the Special Editions will be the only versions available, and there are rumors of scenes to be retrofitted in the fabled DVD release, but I would like to just have the original film, warts and all, as it was. Maybe with the deleted scenes on a supplemental disc and commentary from Lucas and the cast. OK, George; we're waiting.