grandiose.

Rating: 10/10 (23 February 2015)

One of my co-workers, who's about my same age(40ish), was talking about an argument he was having with his 17yr-old son. The argument was whether or not the new "Marvel" films were bigger and better, and whether or not the whole "buzz' around them was bigger and better than the original Star Wars trilogy.
I don't think the younger generation will ever fully understand the scale of the first trilogy. They MAY get a better understanding after JJ Abrams returns the trilogy to it's awesome roots.
The first Star Wars film, known simply as Star Wars, was a land- breaking milestone of film-making, with a story, characters, and effects(not all effects are cgi people) that melded together into the greatest interplanetary adventure of all-time(at least until the sequel came out).
Today's generation can pick between Spiderman, Ironman, Captain America, and the Guardians of the Galaxy to find the film that they love the most, but when I was a kid there was one film, or should I say one trilogy, that stood far, FAR above the rest.
The number one argument that is made today by the younger generation is that the effects are outdated etc, but it was in fact Lucas' commitment(at least early on) to use models and make-up to create a world like no other. SOmething that CGI just can't capture. When I saw Guardians in the theater I thought it was amazing, but later I saw it on the 4K 60" TV, and like many flicks, it kinda accentuated the small flaws of the cgi and the set-pieces, whereas I watch Star Wars and it actually shows how amazing the film was in that aspect.
CGI isn't necessarily an improvement. It's films like Star Wars and Blade Runner, whose "Gritty" qualities actually add realism to an unreal world. The only problems I have with the first three Star Wars films are the "digitally enhanced versions" that Lucas added later. That's why I eagerly await the original untouched films' release on Blue-Ray.
Scores usually drop a bit over time, and as it stands now, the weakest of the original trilogy is scored 8.4(Return of the Jedi), and that is higher than Avengers, Guardians, Cap 2, and Ironman, and FOR GOOD REASON.
And the original Star Wars is a superior film in every way as well. No Hokey opening like "Avengers", no lack of storyline like Guardians, no under-menacing not required to act Villain like Cap 2, and while I can't nitpick anything about Ironman, overall it just doesn't stand- up against Star Wars, it's a beatdown.
Simply put, it's EVERYTHING about it that makes it better. The acting, the story, the character development, the scale of the production, the start, the finish, the middle and every minute in- between.
Part of the problem here is that the added material in the re- released versions really detracts from the original films flow. The stupid dancing crap in Jedi, the Walking Jabba in Star Wars, etc... it did nothing but hurt the original films. The only added footage that didn't detract from the original films was some of the added bells and whistles to "Cloud City" in Empire, and Biggs early appearance in empire, which was wasn't an 'enhancement', it was cut-footage from the original tapes, other than that, the added stuff only hurt the overall quality of the original films. He basically added stuff that was the kind of stuff that ruined the second trilogy, so the original untouched films are still the real gem here. And that's not what these kids are watching either, because the untouched versions are HARD TO FIND!DOn't even exist on DVD or blu-ray. One of the times I'm glad I still have my VHS. Uh-Oh, Gotta-go, Re-tro:)
And WHile I love the new marvel films, they don't have what Star Wars and it's two sequels(i'm a purist) have.. that tangible something you CAN put your finger on - because it's REAL.. they built those ships, they designed and made those costumes and set-pieces. That kind of attention to detail, and scale just isn't in the Marvel films. Sure, it's cool to see Hulk crumbling down a building, but this galaxy really doesn't "SEEM" so far away in Star Wars. It has that 'realistic' edge to it. It's the reason that you couldn't make a legit remake of Ben- Hur, Ten Commandments, or other older "epic" films... it would literally cost Billions.
Even some of my favorite Sci-Fi's of all-time like Blade Runner and 2001, while milestones in their own right(especially visually), just do not have the sheer entertainment value that Star Wars has.
97/100
Star Wars and Empire are 2 of the 42 out of the 3400 films that I have ranked 10/10, and they are two of the most deserving, if not THE most deserving.