'Star Wars' and the coming of age of special effects
The original “Star Wars” was when special effects got “real,” at least for a certain generation of movie fans. They could believe they were there, “a long time ago in a galaxy far, far away,” from the opening shot on. “Star Wars: The Force Awakens,” No. 7 in the series, opens Dec. 18, and film scholar Julie Turnock will be watching with an eye on those effects.
