To be perfectly honest, the first time I saw “Star Wars” I have to admit I was somewhat disappointed. The previews were comparing it to “2001,...” with it’s special effects. So I was expecting something deep and profound like “2001”. What I got instead was something along the lines of “Buck Rogers in the 24th Century.”
...which is about what I thought of it.
The Star Wars series is really not great science fiction. Its good science fiction that appeals to a wide audience.
Nevertheless, I thought it was good fun and the special effects were somewhere between outstanding and breathtaking. And it made me appreciate how really good “2001” was for its time (and still is).
I was in the 8th grade in ‘68 when 2001 came out.
Yes I thought it was awesome film-making, but honestly, I didn’t understand the psychedelics of the scenes of Bowman going into the atmosphere of whichever moon it was.
I thought the action and story of ANH made it a far more exciting movie than 2001. The spaceship scenes in 2001, while technically brilliant, were slow and ponderous (”Blue Danube Waltz”, anyone?). The dogfight scenes in ANH were much more fun and engaging.
No one is claiming ANH is great sci-fi — but it was awesome storytelling and movie-making, in a different way than the grand sweep of 2001, but grand in its own way.