The ongoing fascination of 'Star Wars'.

• Author: Sharrett, Christopher

Each semester, when my students offer their proposals for term papers, I am amazed by the number who wish to write about George Lucas' "Star Wars" trilogy. It is apparent what a formative influence these pictures have had on two generations of moviegoers. When I conducted an impromptu poll of one film history class, asking students how many saw the "Star Wars" motion pictures as youngsters, every hand went up. When I asked how many considered them to be among the most important and enjoyable they recall from their early days of filmgoing, virtually the entire class answered in the affirmative.

I hardly can think of a media phenomenon of my own youth that had similar impact. Certainly, TV westerns and the Davy Crockett craze made a big impression on the males of the postwar baby boom. By the time we became "serious" film buffs in the late 1960s, though., these fads, while no doubt still tucked away in our collective psyche, seemed very much the stuff of childhood.

"Star Wars." on the other hand, seems to have inspired a kind of generational bonding, at least among males. Fathers tell their sons about their favorite "Star Wars" characters and plot elements as they cruise the aisles of Toys 'R'Us. With the 20th anniversary release of the "special edition" versions in theaters and on video, it is tempting to see these movies as the beginning of the New Hollywood, with its corporate control, emphasis on special effects and spin-off products, and preference for tried-and-true spectaculars over more modest productions with real scripts. The consequence of all this on the public taste is not to be underestimated.

George Lucas. for all his imagination, is the Movie Brat director par excellence. Like his contemporary, Steven Spielberg. Lucas learned to make a mint out of the low-budget westerns and science-fiction pictures of his youth. He took all the best formulas, pumped them full of cash. and gave them an "epic" countenance. "Star Wars" is a pastiche of everything from "The Searchers" to "Forbidden Planet." to "Fantastic Four" comicbooks. "Star Wars" even enjoys cultural legitimacy thanks to mythographer Joseph Campbell (who waxed lyrical about them to Bill Moyers on a PBS special of the 1980s on "The Power of Myth") and a current exhibition devoted to the trilogy at the Smithsonian Air and Space Museum. The impact is pervasive.

The "Star Wars" films introduced Dolby stereo and brought viewers the type of rollercoaster cinema that batters...