Star Wars Release
Star Wars, a science-fantasy film written and directed by George Lucas, opened in American theaters in the late spring of 1977 and became one of the most influential movies ever made. Its story of a farm boy, a rogue pilot, a princess, and a band of rebels fighting a tyrannical empire drew huge audiences, especially children and teenagers. It also reshaped how Hollywood made, marketed, and profited from films.
Lucas had grown up on adventure serials such as Flash Gordon, and he drew on westerns, samurai films, wartime dogfight footage, and mythological patterns of the hero's journey. After the success of American Graffiti in 1973, he pursued a space adventure of his own. Several studios passed on the idea, and 20th Century Fox agreed to back it with a modest budget and little confidence. Because effects houses capable of the work were scarce, Lucas founded Industrial Light & Magic to build the camera systems and models the film required. Production was troubled by schedule pressure, equipment problems, and tension on set, and even some people at the studio expected a disappointment.
The film instead became a phenomenon. It opened in a relatively small number of theaters, yet lines formed and word of mouth spread quickly, and it ran for many months. Audiences responded to its fast pace, its clear contest between good and evil, and its lived-in, slightly worn vision of technology. The music of composer John Williams, with its sweeping orchestral themes, helped give the film an almost operatic feel. It earned several Academy Awards, mostly in technical categories, and was nominated for Best Picture. For a time it was the highest-grossing film in history.
Its consequences extended well beyond the box office. Lucas had negotiated to keep merchandising and sequel rights, and toys, especially action figures, turned a film into a lasting consumer franchise. That model influenced later blockbusters and the modern practice of building films around licensed products and sequels. Special effects advanced rapidly, and the success of Industrial Light & Magic helped launch a new era of visual effects work. Many critics also argue that the film helped shift Hollywood away from the more personal, downbeat style of the early 1970s toward big-budget spectacle, though that change had other causes, including the earlier success of Jaws in 1975.
Two sequels, The Empire Strikes Back and Return of the Jedi, followed, along with prequels, television series, novels, and games. The film's phrases and images became part of everyday culture, and later it was added to the United States National Film Registry. For many people who were children in the late 1970s, it was their first experience of a shared, immersive fictional universe.