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Evolution is incremental, but every now and then a distinct event results in a step-change evolution. The 1977 release (in the United States) of George Lucas' Star Wars was one such event. Like a breath of fresh air, the film was a trailblazer, one that almost single-handedly revived the genre of science fiction.
Make no mistake, Star Wars is by no means a 'children's film' - with all the derogatory overtones that accompany that label. Instead, George Lucas created a monument of what filmmaking can achieve at its best. At its heart, Star Wars is a battle between good and evil. The plot is borrowed from numerous sources - Greek mythology, Arthurian legend, countless Westerns and the aerial dog-fights of World War II films. But the most obvious inspiration are the serialised comic strip adventures of Buck Rogers and Flash Gordon from the 1930s.
By now, the characters - Obi-Wan Kenobi (Alec Guinness), Luke Skywalker (Mark Hamill), Princess Leia (Carrie Fisher), Han Solo (Harrison Ford), Chewbacca (Peter Mayhew), C-3PO (Anthony Daniels), R2-D2 (Kenny Baker), Grand Moff Tarkin (Peter Cushing) and Darth Vader (David Prowse, voiced by James Earl Jones) - are household names. But at the time, George Lucas managed to balance the groundbreaking effects with human drama. Irrespective of the setting, the audience readily identifies with the characters, and it was Harrison Ford - a relatively unknown actor with a bit-part in George Lucas' American Graffiti - who, for many (myself included) stole the show as the cynical, wise-cracking pilot of the Millennium Falcon. His relaxed style and natural charm would rival the likes of his more senior contemporaries of the time, Paul Newman, Steve McQueen and Jack Nicholson.
I would argue that Star Wars is just as compelling today, as it was when it was first released.
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