>>63863948
they were blown away. there was nothing like it before

>>63863979
This.

people hadn't seen such amazing sci-fi effects before, they were like HOLY SHIT THE FUTURE IS HERE!!!!!!!

It was pretty much the first science fiction action movie, in addition to being the first action "blockbuster" as we think of them today. It also had state-of-the-art sfx that hadn't really even been considered to be possible before.

It's very, very hard to exaggerate the influence of the first Star Wars. About as many tickets were sold as there were people living in the US, and it's #2 all-time adjusted for inflation just slightly behind Gone With the Wind

>>63863948
what? darth vader was considered fucking terrifying

>>63863948
>I can see people laughing their ass off at Vader

People were much more open minded about "weird" stuff back then. Nobody thought twice about weird alien designs in the old movies, but in the new ones, people laugh at them.

The plebs were amazed.

Smart people who like great cinema realized it was mind-melting trash designed to make moral decisions seem more clear cut than they are.

This is a point a lot of people will disagree with but Star Wars is essentially just the apex of manipulation. Everything about it is designed to get you to turn off your brain, regress to an animal state. George Lucas once said, "the point of this movie is fun." And that's what it is, but it's only that. It's pointless hedonism. When you're in a dark theatre and you hear those iconic trumpets blaring over a starry screen, you may as well be hearing a faggot seducing you into spreading your asshole.

I realize this is falling on deaf ears, but it's the truth:

Star Wars, as a series, is basically AIDS. It's the most unhealthy thing ever conceived. This moral simplicity it encourages is the equivalent of eating at Carl's Jr.

>>63863948
there was a minority of people annoyed at how it and Jaws eclipsed 70s auteur filmmaking, but that was more a viewpoint that developed as studios attempted to replicate its success.

the actual movie was universally acclaimed, moreso than Empire perhaps because of the above effect. there wasn't a a "hurr Dances With Wolves in Space" camp like with Avatar.

i still dont understand where lucas got the fucking money to make this movie

before a new hope he was some no name asshole and fox fucking POURED their money into his movie

>>63864516
Ummm... right, you're amazing buddy

>>63864616
American Graffiti, his second movie and the one right before Star Wars, was the most profitable film ever released relative to its original budget at the time, so they were willing to take a risk.

And Star Wars didn't even cost that much to make. $50 million in today's money, which is about how much something Fifty Shades of Grey costs

>>63864516

There's nothing wrong with being entertained by a movie. Fiction doesn't, and rarely does, need to serve a greater purpose. Get over yourself and your pseudo intellectualism you child.

>>63863948

Darth Vader had a maximum screen time of 15 fucking minutes in the first movie and he scared the fuck out of everybody.

Imagine the absolute dread of seeing this scene for the first time in that context

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=C-DeI3ohVbY