In 1977, in a galaxy far, far away...

Rating: 10/10 (15 November 2005)

This great classic has so many good elements it's almost impossible to list them all: The breathtaking visual effects, still awesome 28 years on; the brilliant script, which mixed epic battles and duels with matinée-serial-style characters and dialogues; the debut of one of the greatest villains in cinema history, Darth Vader; John Williams'amazing and unforgettable score, among the Top 10 best scores ever...
All those things are just some of the reasons Star Wars is among the best movies (not just sci-fi) ever made: viewing after viewing, it never stops being impressive, and words are nearly useless to describe the impact it still has on the audience.
George Lucas basically took a medieval story and moved it to a distant galaxy, on weird and fascinating planets. Almost everything is taken from the Middle Ages: there are knights, sword-fighting, evil Empires, unsatisfied people who want to overthrow the system, beautiful princesses waiting to be rescued...
Then we've also got speeders, light-sabers, peculiar (and, in the case of Jabba the Hutt, disgusting) creatures, the Death Star, and of course the Force, that fascinating energy which is supposed to bring balance to the galaxy.
The cast is a gas, both the newcomers and the veterans: Mark Hamill, Carrie Fisher and Harrison Ford are great as Luke Skywalker, Princess Leia and Han Solo (Ford in particular is hilarious as the arrogant but ultimately nice "scoundrel"), but the most memorable performance is of course Alec Guinness'portrayal of Obi-Wan Kenobi, the old, wise Jedi who returns one last time to initiate Luke to the mysteries of the Force.
But let's not forget what everybody immediately thinks of when Star Wars is mentioned: Darth Vader. Feared by his opponents as well as his servants, this completely emotionless foe has become the very symbol of Lucas'masterpiece. He's one of those movie-characters people will remember as long as films will keep being made and his unsettling breathing noise still echoes in our memories...
The beginning of a wonderful saga, whose only rival is The Lord of the Rings.
May the Force be with you...