A film that has a lot to answer for : it cemented the Hollywood obsession with special effects spectaculars and endless merchandising. For some it started a juvenilisation of the movies because it broke box office records and its imitators did it no credit. There is no denying the fact though that it was a milestone in film history, nothing quite like it had been seen before. On a positive note it was a return to family viewing and its simple good versus evil story has quite a lot of power. Its roots were in the old cliffhanger serials, boosted by a larger budget. The effects might not impress as they did back in 1977 but I still get goosebumps when I hear John Williams' main theme and the massive spaceships in the opening sequence. There is an energy here lacking in the sequels (some prefer The Empire Strikes Back but I find it insubstantial and it leaves the story in mid air) and the least said about the prequels the better.   

Lucas readily admits a lot of the story was lifted from Akira Kurosawa's The Hidden Fortress.

The final attack on the Death Star was modelled on the attack on the dams in the British war film The Dambusters.