Star Wars: 50 Greatest Moments - Ranked
May the Force be with you.
The events of the Star Wars saga may have happened a long time ago, but the first movie was released on May 25, 1977 - and over forty years on, the franchise is more powerful than anyone could've possibly imagined.
Since George Lucas' space opera stunned moviegoers we've had an additional seven movies of the Skywalker lineage, the first of many standalone films, an animated feature, animated TV shows, books, comics, video games, more merchandise than anyone could possibly hope to collect, and an entire Expanded Universe built-up, wiped out, and started all over again.
Although Star Wars is highly referential to the things that came before it, with Lucas paying homage to everything from Flash Gordan to Akira Kurosawa - there's nothing in cinema quite like it. Not much in the pantheon of pop-culture can stand up to the behemoth that is Star Wars, which has lived and died and lived again, and will continue to do so for decades to come.
But for all the extras, the toys and the deeply passionate fanbase, it'd be nothing without the movies. Some stand the test of time as arguably cinema's finest creations, and while there is a massive variance in quality, even the worst have their brilliant moments. Nothing in the movies elicits swooping joy like the Star Wars saga, and it's time to look back over the very best the franchise has offered us. May the Force - and indeed the 4th - be with us. Always.