Star Wars (1977)

Anyone out there NOT know the story of this science fiction classic? Okay. In a nutshell, Luke (Mark Hamill) lives on a dead-end desert planet when two androids on a secret mission fall into his possession. They must get a message from Princess Leia (Carrie Fisher) to a former Jedi knight Obi-Wan Kenobi (Alec Guinness). The Resistance is battling the Empire, and the Empire's main baddie Darth Vader (voiced by James Earl Jones) is looking to destroy the Resistance with a giant moon-shaped ship called the Death Star that can annihilate entire planets. With the help of mercenary Han Solo (Harrison Ford), Luke and his fellow pilots try to destroy the Death Star before it can blow up a rebel base.

What is in between the lacking plot summary above? State of the art (for 1977) special effects. A cast of heroes you can cheer for, and a cast of villains you want to hiss at. Funny comedy relief, and sad moments. Basically, "Star Wars" has everything you could hope for in a film. I was slack-jawed when I first saw the film as a kid, and it still bowled me over as an adult. George Lucas wrote a marvelous screenplay whose magic he had not been able to capture with the prequels. In the original film, there seems to be no pressure to top one's self. The entire story is self-contained, no sequel worries that the average movie goer in 1977 needed to fret about. Looking at the original version now, some of those magical effects ain't so magical anymore, but they are still fun. Lucas' direction is great, reminiscent of the 1950's serials like Flash Gordon. His art direction and set decoration are stunning in their scope. Even John Williams' eternal musical score deserves another listen, one of the most perfect uses of music ever put on film. I cannot imagine anyone not seeing "Star Wars" unless you were my mother and don't like watching movies with aliens and creatures in them.

This is one of the greatest movies of all time, despite its prequels and some sequels, and a film that is truly treasured by young and old alike.

Stats:
(1977) 121 min. (10/10)
-Written and Directed by George Lucas
-Cast: Mark Hamill, Harrison Ford, Carrie Fisher, Alec Guinness, James Earl Jones, Peter Cushing, David Prowse, Anthony Daniels, Kenny Baker, Peter Mayhew, Phil Brown, Shelagh Fraser, Jack Purvis
(PG)
*Academy Awards*
-Best Picture (lost to "Annie Hall")
-Best Supporting Actor- Alec Guinness (lost to Jason Robards- "Julia")
-Best Director- George Lucas (lost to Woody Allen- "Annie Hall")
-Best Original Screenplay (lost to "Annie Hall")
-Best Art Direction/Set Decoration (won)
-Best Costume Design (won)
-Best Sound (won)
-Best Film Editing (won)
-Best Visual Effects (won)
-Best Original Score (won)
-Special- Best Sound Effects (won)
*BAFTA*
-Best Film (lost to "Julia")
-Best Costume Design (lost to "Death on the Nile")
-Best Sound (won)
-Best Film Editing (lost to "Midnight Express")
-Best Production Design/Art Direction (lost to "Close Encounters of the Third Kind")
-Anthony Asquith Award for Film Music (won)