When I saw Star Wars in the theatre when it was released, it was call Star Wars. None of this "New hope" BS. And it was the one where Han shot first!
And lets also not forget Kurosawa's "Hidden Fortress" (which I never saw in theaters but I *have* seen)
So get off my lawn you young whippersnappers.
When I watched Star Wars, the first film, I was perched in a seat with a massive bucket of popcorn in my lap (as I wasn't very tall, yet, it nearly obscured the screen, such was my love of popcorn.) When that Imperial Star Destroyer cruised "overhead" the piece of popcorn on my tongue rolled out and fell back into the bucket. I was floored by the visual effect. I think I scarcely touched the popcorn throughout the rest of the film and was surprised to find I had a bucket of popcorn at the end. Gripping.
It hasn't aged well, though. Characters, Luke and Han among them, have a decided 70s look about them (the Dry Look) other things, like computer displays look pathetic next to what my mobile phone can do. A keener eye shows how slapped together some things look upon later viewings, as well. Lucas' addition of CGI in later DVD releases are a poor fit for some of the gritty shot locations, such as the dock on Tatooine.
Viewed through the lens of my memory, I still love it and recall the thrill of watching it the first time and standing in my home drive, staring upward, trying to visualize how an Imperial Star Destroyer would look in the sky above our house.