Different things to like about this

Rating: 10/10 (3 October 2004)

Well, I just re-watched this on DVD. I first saw it when I was 10 in 1981, and I still love this move (one of my all time favorites), but I guess I love it for some reasons different than most other people:
1) The movie has no love story to speak of. This is such a huge bonus that it cannot be stressed enough. For kids a love story is sheer boredom - and there are unfortunately very few films without one. For adults the love story is usually pure BS (as the over romanticizing that goes on in Hollywood movies make any love story a nauseous experience. Episodes V and VI scrape the line of how much love story a movie can take before being totally corny. Lets not talk about how much the love story ruins episodes I and II (and will probably kill episode III also))
2) There are no lengths in the movie. It dumps you right in the middle of the conflict after the opening (no opening credits to bore your pants off! This is almost unique amongst films). It practically grabs you before you have gotten comfortable in your seat. The DVD does add some lengths with gratuitous CGI which actually hurt the film more than they help (the ride into Mos Eisley and the Falcon approaching Yavin seem interminable compared to the fast paced cuts of the original version. These scenes break the rhythm of the movie badly, they add neither story nor depth nor information - luckily they are far enough apart not to hurt it too much)
3) The special effects are still spectacular after all these years. Not in what they look like but how they are shot, the dynamics of it and the ideas for cool POVs (taking old aerial battle films as scripts was a stroke of genius)
4) Detail. This thing is all about attention to detail. There is nothing out of place here. Nothing glossed over by large plastic sheeting. everything has structure and depth and looks used. The world it portrays becomes believable. economies are worked out. This has the look of a good role playing adventure.
5) The plot isn't explained by the characters. Characters involved in such a plot for some time are supposed to know what the background is without having to talk to each other about it (nobody needs to be told that the empire is evil, this is common knowledge with these people as they have lived under it for decades). Putting things into the scroller at the beginning which could not be said by the characters because it would be akin to them holding up neon signs displaying "For the audiences' information" was a stroke of genius. I cringe at other movies that insert 'let me explain what is happening' scenes.
Overall I can see nothing wrong with this movie. The soundtrack and the sound effects are amazing. Some scenes seem to be re-recorded with different sound standards and thus stand out uncomfortably, but this isn't much of a problem. The actors do their jobs well (especially Harrison Ford when he flashes that roguish grin - he is practically the archetype of the lovable, charismatic scoundrel). This DVD is definitely a keeper (10/10).