I have a funny relationship with A New Hope. I stopped counting how many times I have watched it somewhere in the 280's. I had a VHS dub of it that I would watch relentlessly as a kid. In 5th grade I had 29 absences from school by January because mom and dad both worked and I could watch it back to back to back.

I watched it less (but still watched it) during high school. The official trilogy on VHS was one of the things I took with me to college. But something happened. Toward the end of high school, and then through college, I started watching what I would call "real" films. I slowly started breaking up with Star Wars. In fact, after a spirited discussion with a film professor, I finally woke up and realized that in many ways.... this is a TERRIBLE film. But it meant so much to me! I loved it! I became a house divided. I spent a few years wrestling with this whole notion that something that was a favorite... wasn't really high quality. And I'm not talking about quality of special effects or anything.... say what you want - the visual and aural effects in Star Wars IV were bleeding edge and better than EVERYTHING out there by miles. We have the luxury of looking back on them now and laughing - but if you want to go toe to toe on the technical merits on this... I think you'll lose.

Anyway - here I was, loving the film, but not loving it as much. The original trilogy was re-released in the theaters in the late 90s and of course I went. I was still in college and was again reminded that the film was so awesome and so terrible. My inner conflict remained.

Fast Forward a few years - I have a few kids and I've had the joy of introducing them to the film and loved every minute of that shared experience. We've had epic light saber battles in the back yard. I watch my kids "use the force" on each other with reckless abandon. We quote the films around the dinner table (my poor wife...). With each viewing, I would feel nostalgia, but something else would bug me about it... something in the plot. Some piece of dialog. Some bad/whining/flat/over-the-top acting. SOMETHING would stick out at me. And though stormtroopers bumping their heads on door frames should bug me - they don't. Those kind of little human error things don't get me as much as they do other people.

As time went on, I liked the film less and less. It held a place in my heart, but it's less shiny.

Fast forward to last night. My 15 year old son (yes - that's weird that he is as old as several hubski users) had some friends over. One of his friends had NEVER seen A New Hope. My son was super excited to share the film. I decided to watch it too.

As the music blares in on cue - I got chills. I will chalk that up to nostalgia - but I must say - it's very effective. For the next two hours (or however long it is) I watched, soaking it in, in HD for the first time at home... I was thrilled. I know the story. I can recite just about every line. But it was great. Yes Hamil is a terrible actor. No Lucas' writing isn't very good. Yes the bizarre love triangle is uncomfortable. Yes, when some one gets shot - it feels a little like watching an old western. Yes the graphics are tired and the he "physics" don't feel natural. Sure the plot is razor thin.

But look. The story flows right along on it's shallow way. Obi Wan basically saves the show. If anyone else would have described "the force" it would have been... different. If Han Solo wasn't so cocky - you'd lose interest.

And look - the sets are... in my opinion - AMAZING. Watch close... those sets are unbelievable. No wonder Lucas went ridiculously over budget and had to basically lie and avoid studio execs. The art direction/style is amazing. You can see a lot of influence in later film work, but also in video games and even real life. This was the start of a phenomenon.

So in the end... I still love watching the film. I'm not afraid to admit it in public. It may not be a cinematic masterpiece... but it is entertaining.

Fun side note.... did anyone notice that random storage boxes... like smallish shipping containers seen in various places - like in Mos Eisley near the falcon, or on the Death Star in the landing bay.... the look a lot like the boxes in Portal? Just sayin... I'll try to screenshot it later.

Funny side note #2... I had to stop the film once last night to correct my kid's friend who said "This is just like Family Guy". Somethings need immediate correction.