(a.k.a. Star Wars: Episode IV - A New Hope)
US (1977): Sci-Fi/Action/Adventure/Fantasy
George Lucas's mythological popcorn movie is a two-hour roller-coaster ride that has passed into movie legend. The story, for the tiny number of people not familiar with it, concerns a farmboy named Luke Skywalker (Mark Hamill) who discovers that the used robot recently purchased by his family plays back a message from one Princess Leia (Carrie Fisher), begging for help from Obi-Wan Kenobi. Luke asks his father's friend Ben Kenobi (Alec Guinness) about this, and he discovers that Ben and Obi-Wan are one and the same. Kenobi tells Luke of the battle of the rebels against the ruling Empire and the spiritual energy called "The Force." Soon Luke, Kenobi, and a mercenary named Han Solo (Harrison Ford) join forces to rescue Princess Leia from the Empire's mammoth warship, the Death Star, controlled by evil genius Darth Vader (David Prowse, with the voice of James Earl Jones).
George Lucas has frequently cited the influence of several films on Star Wars, particularly Akira Kurosawa's The Hidden Fortress (1958) and Yojimbo (1961) and John Ford's The Searchers (1956), as well as the original "Flash Gordon: serials. After Star Wars became a success, Lucas announced his intention to turn the film into a series, originally totaling nine films (later pared back to six). Consequently, most reissue prints now feature the title "Star Wars: Episode IV - A New Hope", with The Empire Strikes Back (1980) and Return of the Jedi (1983) serving as Episodes Five and Six in the serial, and Star Wars: Episode I - The Phantom Menace (1999) going back to the myth's beginnings. Star Wars: Episode II - Attack of the Clones (2002) and Star Wars: Episode III (scheduled for a 2005 release) finish out the saga. (Lucasfilm/20th Century-Fox) (Mark Deming, All Movie Guide)
Star Wars ranked #15 on the AFI's list of "100 Years... 100 Movies" (between 1959's Some Like It Hot and 1950's All About Eve), and it ranked #27 on the list of "100 Years... 100 Thrills".
11 nominations, 6 Awards, 1 Special Achievement Award
· Art Direction/Set Decoration 1977: Jonathan Barry, Norman Reynolds & Leslie Dilley - Art Direction, Roger Christian - Set Decoration
· Costume Design 1977: John Mollo
· Film Editing 1977: Marcia Lucas, Paul Hirsch, Richard Chew
· Music Scoring Awards (Best Original Score) 1977: John Williams
· Sound 1977: Don MacDougall, Ray West, Bob Minkler, Derek Ball
· Visual Effects 1977: John Stears, John C. Dykstra, Richard Edlund, Grant McCune, Robert Blalack
· Special Achievement Award 1977: Ben Burtt, Jr. - Sound Effects Creations
· Best Picture 1977: Gary Kurtz - Producer (20th Century-Fox)
· Supporting Actor 1977: Alec Guinness
· Directing 1977: George Lucas
· Writing (Best Screenplay written directly for the screen) 1977: George Lucas