The Star Wars story has been presented in a series of American movies, which have spawned dozens of books. The Star Wars mythos is also the basis of many toys and games. Though the films and books are set in outer space and employ common science fiction motifs, the plots are humanistic in nature. Star Wars is an outstanding example of the space opera sub-genre of science fiction.

In comparison, Gene Roddenberry's Star Trek also has enjoyed long-lasting popularity in American popular culture. However, whereas Star Trek takes a rational and progressive approach to storytelling, Star Wars has a strong 'mythic' quality to it.
The strong human appeal of the Star Wars story probably accounts for its enduring popularity; it has also been postulated that this popularity is based on nostalgia. Many Star Wars fans first saw the films as children, and their (for the time) revolutionary special effects and simple, Manichean story made a profound impact.

The Star Wars films show considerable similarity to Asian Wuxia "Kung Fu" films, as well as Roman mythology. Lucas has stated that his intention was to create in Star Wars a modern mythology, based on the studies of his friend and mentor Joseph Campbell. He has also called the first movie's incredible similarity to the film Hidden Fortress (Akira Kurosawa) an "homage."

A notable feature of the Star Wars films is that they portray a world full of grime and technology that looks like it has been used for years, not the sleek, futuristic world typical of earlier science fiction films. In one of his many interviews on the making of Star Wars, Lucas told of rubbing the new props with dirt to make them look weatherworn. It is tempting to speculate that this break from traditional science fiction film influenced the cyberpunk genre that emerged around 1984.

The Star Wars franchise goes beyond the five already released films. Officially-licensed Star Wars novels have been published since the original movie was released in 1977. Although these novels have been licensed by Lucas (meaning he shares in the royalties), he has retained ultimate creative control over the Star Wars universe for himself. Thus, the novels are not necessarily an official part of the Star Wars universe, although considerable ongoing effort is spent on the part of LucasFilm Licensing to ensure continuity between different authors works. Occasionally, some elements from these novels have been adopted into the regular Star Wars canon.

The original Star Wars (A New Hope) has been selected for preservation in the United States National Film Registry.

In 1978 Lucas sued the creators of Battlestar Galactica for its alleged similarity to Star Wars.

Episodes IV - VI were re-released in remastered forms, with additional special effects, changes in some scenes and computer generated characters inserted. The changes met with mixed critical reaction, and a minor controversy remains over George Lucas' refusal to re-release the original 70s and 80s versions on DVD. However, the remastered versions are to be released on September 21, 2004.
With the release of the prequels many minor elements of plot and character were changed from the first trilogy. Some of these elements were changed in the rereleases to become more consistent; others were not.

The recurring leitmotif of the Star Wars Imperial March is one of the best known movie musical themes.

Star Wars Episode I: The Phantom Menace was filmed at Leavesden Film Studios in England.

See also: Revisionism in Star Wars

A very poor quality remake of Star Wars (Dunyayi Kurtaran Adam, The Man Who Saves the World) was done in Turkey in 1982 [1].

I thought you guys would enjoy this...
THX,
CE