Released on May 25, 1977, this film, written and directed by GEORGE LUCAS, was one of the most influential movies of the modern Hollywood era. Its stupendous success materially changed the kinds of movies that were how they sounded, when they were and established the huge potential of licensing arrangements. The success of its original story also helped to emancipate movies from necessarily being adapted from books and plays.
Inspired by 1930s serials, George Lucas conceived of Star Wars as a stylish space opera that pitted clearly demarcated forces of good and evil against one another. Its story follows the young Luke Skywalker (Mark Hamill) as he learns how toWan Kenobi (Alec Guinness) tofight the evil space empire that is aided by a rogue Jedi knight, Darth Vader (voice supplied by James Earl Jones).s principal allies are Princess Leia (Carrie Fisher)and Han Solo (Harrison Ford). The heroes are ably abetted by two ever-charming robots, R2-D2 and C-3P0. Curiously, among the young actors in the cast, only HARRISON
FORD emerged from Star Wars and its sequels as a fullfledged movie star. The film was hardly a star vehicle; it wasthat rare film that used the mediums of sight and sound to their fullest and did not depend upon brilliant performances to carry the story along.
s previous surprise hit with American Graffiti,s original studio, Universal, as well as UNITED ARTISTS, turned down his screenplay for Star Wars. The very successful producer/film executive Alan Ladd convincedFOX to spend $9 million onoffice hit of all time (it has since been bested by E.T. The Extra-Terrestrial). Star Wars earned a stunning $400 million in North
America alone. Altogether, the Star Wars trilogy has earned an incredible $1.2 billion at the box office.fiction film, however, goes beyond money. Before Star Wars, the traditional summer season for film releases began in mid-June. Thes film, which was released during the last week of May, had the net effect of expanding the important summer season by more than two weeks. Thethe Wednesdayis now known in the industry as George Lucas Day.
s image of science fiction from a backwater genre that had been out of favor sinceand a category that was considered to appealto the hottest genre in Hollywood.s inspiring score, the film reestablished the importance and appeal of symphonics spectacular special effects became the benchmark of excellence in the field, as
well as a strong influence on dozens of producers who saw special effects as a pivotal new element in filmmaking.t enough, Star Wars and its sequels caused a marketing revolution. The films actually earnedmore in licensing agreements than at the box office, bringing in an estimated $1.5 billion in the merchandizing of Star Wars books, T-shirts, toys, lunchboxes, and the like, and, finally, the film proved that a hugely profitable movie could be made both without stars and with an original screenplay (i.e., a story not based on a hit book or play). Originally conceived by Lucas as a nine-part opus, the original Star Wars was actually Episode IV: A New Hope. What followed were The Empire Strikes Back (Episode V) and Return of the Jedi (Episode VI).
In 1999 Lucas returned to his science fiction epics with Star Wars: Episode I—The Phantom Menace. Hyped as the most anticipated movie of the century, The Phantom Menace proved a blockbuster hit that refueled the Star Wars franchise, with moviegoers lining up days in advance of the opening. Despite stiff performances and numerous flaws in the script, audiences warmed to the amazing special effects and Star Wars mystique. Star Wars: Episode II—Attack of the Clones continued the saga in 2002. Though a major hit, it was not as successful as the previous installment, perhaps due to increased competition from other blockbuster film series like The Matrix and Lord of the Rings.
