Star Wars 1977
First, it changed Hollywood’s view of first seasons, as Star Wars opened in May, studios began to realize that people went to the movies more in specific seasons.
Second, he defined movie marketing as such. With Star Wars, product licenses began to emerge more globally. It is true that previous films have allusive products, but it was not as massive as in the case of Star Wars. George Lucas was a visionary when he told Fox that he retained the marketing rights. Fox didn’t see a big problem with it, Lucas sold the license to Kenner to make toys and action figures. With the movie being a success, the toy line followed suit. With that money, Lucas found a way to buy the rights to the film. Hollywood got the lesson: there is money beyond the box office.
He created the concept of “blockbusters” massive box office movies. Movies are already beginning to be seen with a specific potential. Of course, this is not without flaws. Usually a “flop” is a movie that didn’t meet those expectations. Although Hollywood doesn’t always set realistic expectations, movies are no longer ranked equally in terms of what is expected of them.
He created the special effects industry. It is true that special effects existed long before, but it was seen as one more section within a film and the producers did not allocate a very elaborate budget for them. With Star Wars, special effects gained their own hegemony, so much so that today many movies “export” effects work outside of the main production team. That trend is thanks to Star Wars that makes companies like Industrial Light & Magic and Skywalker Sound emerge with complete success.
He created the “space fantasy” genre for film. Although based on serials by Flash Gordon and Buck Rogers, Hollywood found a new genre. Movies based precisely on these serials began to emerge, as well as others such as “The Black Hole” (the first Star Wars for Disney before buying Star Wars), “Battlestar Galactica” and also made “Star Trek” consider entering the cinema, then of its passage as a television series. Whether they were successful or not is another story, but before “Star Wars” space movies were of a different type (Space Odyssey or Barbarella).
He created the franchise idea. Although sequels existed before, it wasn’t until Star Wars that filmmakers began to realize they could tell a story in more than one movie.
You can love it or you can hate it, but since “Star Wars” revolutionized cinema, it definitely did.
Not even George Lucas himself fully believes it.
