I just re-watched the theatrical version of this. It's included on a bonus disc of an old DVD set that I have of the original trilogy. It was such a treat to see the film again, as it was initially released. I don't want to get hung up on nostalgia, but it was a bit like stepping back in time, back to the old Vogue Theater in my small central Minnesota town. Yep. Stage, curtains, balcony...the works. I was 16 years old at the time and excited like never before to see a movie.

I'd forgotten the stop-motion goodness of Han and Luke riding Tauntauns on ice planet Hoth. The intimidating thunder of the Imperial Walkers as they attacked the rebel base. The fierce light saber battle between Luke and Darth Vader. The Millennium Falcon was practically a main character, too.

There's some real corn here. The sexual tension between Han and Leia is super juvenile, but it's funny. The suave hustle that Lando puts on Leia. "Laugh it up, Fuzzball!".

The visual effects, which were ground-breaking at the time, look mostly dated now. The matte paintings, green screen, and stop-motion show their age. But those things didn't negatively affect my enjoyment of this at all. The story is so simple and the characters so rich that anyone who dismisses this wonderful film based on dated effects is someone I don't want to share a movie-going experience with.

This is a true cinematic classic. I don't know that I would ever call it better than its predecessor ("A New Hope") but it's certainly its equal.