Screenwriting : The Lure of Star Wars by Matt Otstot

For me it's the story. Don't get me wrong-the actors gave one-hell of a performance but that blueprint of a story... they had me at Light Saber.

For me it was the first film I can remember that use SciFi as just a backdrop. It could have been a Western and had the same storyline. Up until then ScoFi had been fantastical. This was just a solid story set in space.

I think it is a mix of both. People fall in love with the characters and want to continue to see the story go on, whether or not they are ready for what lies ahead. Their favorite character may be killed or, as in the case of Darth Vader he was a very different person until that one pivotal moment when he decided that he was so angry at the world he was going to make everyone pay. Then we saw him in a completely different light. Possibly had a little more empathy. But as these episodes come out fans cannot get enough of the back stories, where the characters came from, how they evolved, where they are going, together or separately.

Well the story is heavily influenced by Lord of the Rings, so it's off to a great start! But I think it's a combination of compelling plot ang great characters that meld to create something truly special.

A.S. I seem to remember it being loved by all people. It was a change in the cultural landscape. I remember clearly watching a doco on the movie (while it was still in cinemas) and them interviewing adult women (probably 20's. I was 12 when it came out) and they had seen it a dozen times. I think it is unfair to look back at old films with modern eyes. Finding a cohort for an old film that looks good today, it is hard. I am a huge fan of Easy Rider - love Dennis Hooper, it doesn't really hold up.

I never got Star Wars. Thought it mediocre. But then I absolutely hated 2001 and have a fairly short list of sci fi movies that I've really enjoyed (including, but not limited to, Aliens, E.T., Close Encounters, the first Terminator, the first Planet of the Apes, A Clockwork Orange).

I don't like Sci-Fi, generally speaking, but have always loved Star Wars. And I know a lot of other women who love it too.

I think it's the multiple relatable story lines...bored small town kid who longs for more, absent father, wise mentor, perfect villain, older rebellious friend, lovable side kicks, redemption, the quotable Buddha like Yoda, etc...

Love it or love it not, there is no try.

Also, for the dislikers, you don't have to like something to appreciate its greatness. I found LOTR to be boring as a mo fo but obviously there is insane genius behind the movies and the original story.

So to answer the question, to me it's a coin toss between story and characters, where as with Star TREK, I would say it's the characters.

What probably makes it most iconic is that it was the first modern epic/adventure/opera in space that utilized cutting edge technology/special effects (at the time). George Lucas cites inspirations from Flash Gordon to Edgar Rice Burrows to Akira Kurosawa. Combine a great story/screenplay + great characters + great special effects + plus great music + great crew + great inspirations, and - VIOLA! - an iconic film is born.

Travis I liked LOTR until The Hobbit. I call it the "walking around for three hours" movie.

I realize my likes tend to be somewhat different from other women. I was raised by a single dad, he was very young when my mom left and I don't think he knew what to do with me. We went to a lot of movies. He loves James Bond, Clint Eastwood, all the Star Wars movies. He also read all the Tolkien books to me, those were my bedtime stories. So my taste is a bit skewed. I'm grateful to him for that though. Can't imagine a world where I only watched Nicholas Sparks movies or Disney.

I don't think Star Wars would be nearly as iconic without John Williams. While we had never seen anything like Star Wars when it first came out, the Williams score I think propelled it and gave it its epic stature. The "Luke gazing at twin Tatooine Suns" theme (or whatever it is called)...that's the stuff right there.

It's interesting to note that George Lucas spent years writing the story....wrote four or five versions....and had friends like future icons Francis Ford Coppola, Brian De Palma, and Steven Spielberg giving him feedback. This was not a quickie screenplay.

Spielberg never gets back to me about my scripts. I tell ya, you go through a person garbage and steal their dog for a week and it really puts a dent in their email responses.

Taxi Driver? With Tony Danza?