I usually refrain from knowing too much about how special effects were done, because I don't want to spoil the illusion for myself, but I have to admit it is very impressive to think how much they were able to accomplish with what was available. While it's true that the effects of Star Wars do have some flaws, on the whole they're so damn good I still feel they have yet to be matched in many ways. It's truly incomprehensible to me that Lucas can only ever see them with disappointment and believe them not to be good enough. It seems he can't distance himself enough from the making of the film to be able to see the merit of what's actually there, instead of what isn't.

Dykstra was right about there being a wave of 'b' science fiction movies after Star Wars. Most of them don't even come close to matching it in terms of visual brilliance or artistic value, and the effects nearly always look utterly fake in comparison.