A FORCE to be reckoned with

Today, 14 May, is the birthday of George Lucas, the creative genius behind one of the most successful movie franchises of all time....STAR WARS.

When it debuted in 1977, the film ushered in the movie blockbuster and the movie merchandise boom --- who of us of a certain age knew at least one kid who had a "Millenium Falcon" model or toy?

STAR WARS was a movie experience that from the opening theme sucked you into that "galaxay far, far away" and held you until the implosion of the "Death Star." I remember going to the movie with my brothers and on the drive home pretending the car was an "X-Wing" fighter complete with our somewhat limited sound effects of "woosh" and "tat-a-tat-tat." Rest assured we kept the Freeport universe safe from the Empire. We were also quite skilled in using wiffle-ball bats to serve as our light sabers complete, of course, with the "wwooww" sound.

For me, the first three STAR WARS movies (which we later would be informed were actually the final three movies of the series...sigh...)remain some of the greates movies ever in the life of kids, adolescents and adults. Those films had all the characteristics of great movies: the classic battle between good and evil; memorable characters (at this very moment sitting on my desk is a plastic Yoda figurine complete with light saber); a classic movie score; for their time, excellent special effects; and the ability to transport you into another universe (literally).

Happy Birthday, George Lucas and thanks for the movies that remain all-time favorites! In my opinion, the STAR WARS original trilogy (I'm not sure about the most recent threesome) ranks up there with the "LORD OF THE RINGS" and "HARRY POTTER" film franchises as super cinematic experiences!

sj;