I still remember the very first time I saw the words “Star Wars” in print.  My mother showed me the movie posters and somehow even then, I knew this movie would change my life.  I was only six, but that first image of Luke Skywalker holding up his light saber with the foreboding shadow of Darth Vader behind him made a very deep impression.  Within a week, I had seen “Star Wars,” and incredibly, it was even more unbelievable than over active imagination could have dreamt.  Soon, it seemed hard to imagine there was ever a time “Star Wars” was not in my life. 

Three years later, when “The Empire Strikes Back” finally came out, it was like a punch in the stomach.  Gone was the happy ending where good always overcomes evil.  This time, I was shocked to see my heroes defeated.  Han Solo was frozen solid, Luke lost his hand, and even worse, the bad guy was his father?!?!  “That’s not the way this movie is supposed to go!”  I came out of the theater ready for therapy — completely unaware that I had just seen the greatest movie sequel of all time.

After another three years of agony, “Return of the Jedi” was released and all was set right in the galaxy far, far away.  Everything came together as we learned that there was still good in Darth Vader and only by the resolve and determination of his son was he brought back to the right side of the force.  The saga was tied up in a bow and could be put to rest.  Right?

Wrong.  Anyone who knew anything about “Star Wars” knew this was only the second part of a much larger story and that we had only seen parts four, five and six and until Mr. Lucas deemed the time was right, we would never have Episodes One, Two and Three.  Over the years, I would spend an ungodly amount of time dreaming about these movies.  I knew they would tell the legend of how Anakin Skywalker, the young Jedi gave himself over to the dark side and would nearly lose his life in a light saber battle with his mentor, the shrewd Obi-Wan Kenobi, but the why’s and how’s of the story would remain in anonymity for what seemed like a lifetime. 

In May of 1999, I got my first look in 16 years of the world I fell in love with as a boy.  Did it live up to the vision millions of us had all been dreaming about for over a decade?  Unfortunately, for the majority of fans the answer was a resounding “No.” The movie not only felt like a “phantom,” but also a “menace.” Darth Vader as a blissful kid? Aliens with Japanese accents?  A virgin birth?  And what in the hell is a midi-chlorian?   I left the theater feeling like I’d been punked.

Three years later, I showed up for “Attack of the Clones” and felt George had greatly improved on the story he began in Episode One.  This felt much more like “Star Wars.”  Finally, we began to see the darkness in Anakin as he took revenge on the sand people and refused to listen to his master Obi-Wan. (Played brilliantly by Ewan McGregor for a second time)  This movie was a new hope that George Lucas still had the force.

That brings us to “Revenge of the Sith.”  To me, “Sith” not only brings “Star Wars” full circle, but it recrowns George Lucas as the great storyteller of his time.  (I would even go so far as to say it paid off the “Phantom Menace,” making it a slightly better movie.) This is the chronicle I dreamt of as a kid; extraordinary alien worlds, the fabled clone wars, and of course, that date with destiny when Anakin turns to the dark side and duel to near death with his master Obi-Wan Kenobi.  Before I saw the movie, I heard Steven Spielberg say that “Sith” moved him to tears and I have to say it nearly did the same for me.  And not just because of the tragedy of the story, but because this was the end of a journey with George that began 28 years ago.  

So, with the anticipated release of  the Original Trilogy, (in it’s original 70’s and 80’s version) finally released on DVD, one can only wonder if movies will ever again do what the Star Wars Saga did for a generation.  But, something tells me to listen to the words of Yoda and hope, “There is another.”