Star Wars (review)

Released: 1977
Grade: A

Summary

Fleeing an attack from the Galactic Empire, two robots land on a desert planet. One of the robots has been given some very important information, and some instructions to find an old warrior named Obi-Wan Kenobi. The robots are purchased by a poor farmer named Owen Lars, and left under the care of his nephew, Luke Skywalker. Unbeknownst to them, these robots are about to change Luke’s destiny.

Commentary

Here it is: THE film that forever changed the industry. I don’t have to tell you that Star Wars was a very popular movie, and that it had a huge impact on the movie-making industry. What you may not know is that it was the first movie in history to gross more than 300 million dollars in the USA. It was #1 at the box office as long as a year later, though I have not found the proof yet that it was #1 during that entire run. Star Wars surpased the original Summer Blockbuster, Jaws, and it became pop culture phenomenon. Even in 2006, it’s almost impossible to find someone who has not heard of Star Wars, or who knows nothing about it.

As a movie, Star Wars was the most ground-breaking film of our time. The film was done so well, that you actually felt like you had left Earth and had traveled to another galaxy, far away, and in a different time. The acting was solid, the storyline was familiar yet thrilling, and there were just enough clues to keep the viewer interested throughout. Star Wars is the standard by which all other science fiction, fantasy, and summer blockbuster films will be measured for many years to come.

This film was made on a budget of 11 million and grossed over 460 million in its lifetime run at the theaters. Taking into account all of the video rentals, sales, DVDs, merchandising, sequels, etc., Star Wars could be the most profitable film of all time.