31. The Spin-Off Potential Was Endless
Not content with making one phenomenally successful movie, George Lucas first extended his franchise into 3 and then eventually 6 films, but he wouldn't have been able to do either if it wasn't for the underlying quality of the stories and relationships within A New Hope. Characters were so well drawn, that their screen time simply wasn't enough for either the director or fans, and their presence was such that we all wanted to learn what happened to them beyond the boundaries of the first film, and then the first trilogy. And not only that, the wider environments struck such a chord with sci-fi fans that the infinite scope of space suddenly offered an enormous amount of potential for spin-offs and off-shoots, which is why we can today see a Star Wars adaptation across every media format available.
32. Empire Said So
Way back in 2001, the world's biggest film magazine asked readers to pick the greatest film ever. Their top two read Empire Strikes Back and A New Hope as the outright winner. And they know their stuff, so that should be good enough for us - though they did subsequently change their minds when the Lord of the Rings films were all released (wrongly, of course).
33. It Inspired a Raft of Parodies
They say that imitation is the great form of flattery, but really parody is even more appropriate a choice. Aside from the X-rated offerings, including the epic looking Star Wars XXX Parody from Axl Braun, Star Wars has featured in numerous parodies, including Spaceballs and Rick Moranis' giant helmet, a Family Guy trilogy, and the exceptional Robot Chicken as some of the most prominent examples. None of those could have been as successful, or as comically impressive without the underlying quality of the source material. And the pick of the bunch...?
34. Family Guy: Blue Harvest
Cartoon creator and generally great comic Seth MacFarlane has major geek credentials, which a viewing of almost any of his shows would confirm (no-one does a pop culture reference quite like him), and in Blue Harvest - and its subsequent sequels - he found the perfect opportunity to flex his comedy muscles and pay the ultimate homage to Star Wars. The comedy is brilliantly observed, and the casting, especially of Peter Griffin as Han Solo and Stewie as Darth Vader is perfection - if you haven't seen it, seriously, do it right now.
35. The Score: The Tales of a Jedi Knight - Learn About the Force
http://youtu.be/ZHe0Gr5PLP4