Star Wars Episode V: The Empire Strikes Back (1980)

The ice planet Hoth is a pure white expanse that engulfs the viewer in this other world like the deserts of Tatooine.  The ensuing battle features imaginative AT-AT Walkers, which I vaguely recall in Lego form.   This also marks the first appearance of Yoda and his topic-comment speech.  He is really funny looking not being computer generated.  He kind of reminds me of Kermit, looking very puppet-like.  It is a far cry from the computer generated image we see in the prequel trilogy.  This movie is a pivotal one for Luke as he is tempted by the Dark Side and Darth Vader. This is probably the best of the Star Wars films story wise, with the big, well-known, oft quoted revelation at the end.  

Star Wars Episode IV: A New Hope (1977)

Getting ready for the new Star Wars Episode VII, I am reminded what made the original a classic.  I always loved the description of Star Wars as a space opera.  It is truly a soap opera playing out in the wonders of outer space.  George Lucas created his own universe where aliens and droids mingle with humans, where there is a dying religion based on The Force, and where you could travel at light speed.  This year, Lucas received a Kennedy Center Honor for lifetime achievement and an enormous contribution to the pantheon of American culture.  Consider just the sheer number of iconic characters that have emerged from this film: Darth Vader, R2D2, C3PO, Chewbacca, Han Solo, Luke Skywalker, and Obi-Wan Kenobi, all well known to all American households.  This film produced iconic visuals: the two moons of Tatooine, the X-Wing Fighter flying in the Death Star, the Millennium Falcon reaching light speed, the Mos Eisly Cantina.  This is a film so ingrained in American culture that it has become an American rite of passage.

My favorite part of Star Wars is John Williams's legendary score.  It is immediately identifiable, readily hummable, and utterly unforgettable from the moment you see the opening titles scrolling up the screen.  Star Wars was a pioneer in special effects, culminating in the explosion of the Death Star. The visual effects were unprecedented for their time and I expect the new Star Wars sequel trilogy to continue extend the bounds of what we know as special effects.  And this new trilogy will introduce Star Wars to the next generation--after all, isn't that why we wait so long between trilogies?