The film that launched a thousand space-ships.

Rating: 10/10 (16 April 2006)

Everyone who saw this film for the first time had barely taken their seats before witnessing the most jaw-dropping special-effect ever. To see that colossal Imperial star-ship growing out of the screen until the front is in middle distance whilst the complete fuselage is not yet made visible, was to see science fiction and fantasy changed for ever. Instead of being the poor nephew of production, overnight it became the new box-office spectacle.
The first 2 minutes alone were worth the price of the whole movie. And indeed; 30 years on, they still are.
CGI effects have taken over as the preferred medium of invention, and there is certainly a place for that technique too. But ineptly done they are no more plausible than stop-go latex. It is possible to create more features and movement with them, but whether or not they're necessary is debatable. Later offerings seem overblown. There's just a bit too much of everything. Well-made models and micro-cameras have a realism and substance that computer technology has yet to replicate.
Consider the robots R2D2 and C3PO. The latter was a real person dressed up to look and act like a robot. Even R2D2 sometimes contained a small actor at times. Once again, they have a presence on the set that CGI robots lack. Compare them with those of 'I Robot' and you will see what I mean.
I could go on, but there's no need. This movie has it all. A hero rescuing a heroine, good versus evil, one of the greatest baddies of all time with the most spectacular entrÃ©e imaginable, title music as rousing as any national anthem... Ah, but we all know it by now.
I don't think George Lucas has done anything else BUT the StarWars series. And that's fine; it's as worthy a legacy as anyone could wish, something that will last as long as cinema - and beyond.
It's no good; I'll have to watch it again.