Mythological

Rating: Null/10 (26 November 2015)

Without a doubt, if you were to name films that changed culture the most or which ones defined culture the most, the original Star Wars would be there in the Top Ten, if not Top Three. A film by George Lucas, who took in influences ranging from spaghetti westerns to samurai films to classic fairy tales and crafted a film that would become the epitome of space opera genre. Since then it has inspired a following unlike almost anything we've ever seen before. Everyone raised in modern culture knows this film, knows what it's about and has probably seen it numerous times. And for a good reason.
You can definitely see that while they were clearly ambitious about this film, they weren't shooting for the stars, nor did they have the best resources available. The special effects, while groundbreaking, innovative and very, very impressive, do show the limitations of the budget and would be greatly updated in the two coming sequels. For example, all the space explosions are kind of flaky, the lightsaber fight between Obi-Wan Kenobi and Darth Vader is in reality rather slow and looks cumbersome, the blaster bolts are obviously painted on the screen, and numerous other small things like that. In a way they add to the charm of the film, as do the corny dialogues, because really, it's not meant to be anything else but a pulp adventure and those need to be a bit cheesy to work.
What the film does nail absolutely is the mythos. From the very first text scrawl to Obi-Wan talking about a more civilized age to all the mentions about the Jedi Order to a casual mention about the Galactic Senate, the film builds its world effortlessly and without flaws. There's a very good reason why people identify so strongly with this franchise and are so endlessly passionate about its intricacies, legends and lore. And this film is the one that started it all and laid all the groundwork for future films to utilize. I cannot in all honestly name any other film that can pull me in so quickly and have me begging more for crumbs of information.
Star Wars is one of my favourite films of all time. Not because it's the perfect film by any means, but because of the way it inspires me, strengthens my imagination, allows me visions of faraway places and because it is one of the best adventure stories I've ever seen.