4. STAR WARS TRILOGY (1977)

There is absolutely no excuse for not being completely familiar with this series, now four parts long. Yes, for a while there, you might have been dated out of the first three installments, but after George Lucas's latest marketing epidemic, every living creature on this planet has been inundated by Star Wars hype. And after the Jar-Jar Binks debacle, that has become something of an uncomfortable, not-so-fresh feeling.

But before Jar-Jar and Mini-Darth ruined the latest installment of Star Wars, George Lucas really had built up three strong pillars of the series. In many ways, Star Wars (Episode IV to be exact) is hokey: Princess Leia has bagels affixed to her head, Luke is the whiniest hero in cinematic history, and the movie has all the moral complexity of the Nuremberg trials. But in so many other ways, this flick completely exploded movie-dom: it is a technological marvel. Despite how rough the effects might now appear, they were completely unprecedented when the film was released. It also featured the debut of the greatest villain since Satan: Darth Vader. And one can't ignore that after Star Wars, every movie company on the planet tried to rip it off with their own sci-fi adventure. In short, Star Wars opened up space to more children than Neil Armstrong ever could.

The Empire Strikes Back (1980) and Return of the Jedi (1983) are excellent follow-ups, marking the increasing maturity and sophistication of the series. Of course, we never develop beyond the ken of an intelligent adolescent boy, but there is some growth. As a unit, the original three films form a core of unparalleled film culture; we are all abundantly familiar with phrases such as, "Use the force," and, "Luke, I am your father." See this trilogy to witness the birth of the current trend of blockbuster f/x-fests that dominate our cinemas every summer. See Episode I if you want to ruin a good thing.

Notes:

  • Star Wars was nominated for 10 Academy Awards, including Best Picture, Director, Supporting Actor, and Screenplay

  • Star Wars won 6 Academy Awards: Best Music, Art/Set Direction, Costumes, Visual Effects, Film Editing, and Sound

  • The Empire Strikes Back was nominated for 3 Academy Awards (all technical)

  • The Empire Strikes Back won 1 Academy Award: Best Sound (it also won a Special Achievement Oscar for Visual Effects)

  • Return of the Jedi was nominated for 4 Academy Awards (all technical)

  • Star Wars is one of the few films that doesn't have ANY beginning credits (Lucas had to pay a huge fine, but he didn't care)

  • Star Wars placed #15 on the American Film Institute's "100 Greatest Movies" List