It is not that Star Wars is greater than anything before it or anything after, or that its story is any more original or creative than any other sci-fi fantasy. It is difficult to grapple with the legacy of Star Wars (re-titled Star Wars: Episode VI - A New Hope after the release of The Empire Strikes Back, 1980) in a way that feels meaningful by any metric of general film history. ![]() ![]() Even that is probably a bit of an understatement. The movie was Star Wars and it would be beyond the capacity of the English language to fully describe how wrong everyone was about the movie that, well over four decades later, is responsible for what is still the most popular, expansive and groundbreaking cinematic universe ever created. Its critical and box office expectations were so low that its very creator, writer and director George Lucas, made a conscious effort to be busy at work on the release date so he wouldn't have to face the possibility of failure. It had a premier engagement at the famous, formerly named Mann's Chinese Theatre for all of two weeks. ![]() On May 25, 1977, one of the most profoundly influential works in the history of cinema was released to fewer than 40 screens around the United States.
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