I will say that Lucas never was a good director, but he was a brilliant conceptualist. THX 1138 shows remarkable visions and concept, and its strength lays in the way in which it is assembled in its esoteric and indirect manner. Graffiti on the other hand was simply a good idea to begin with, especially the rough and dirty way that Lucas photographed it; he also never directed actors and instead hired an acting coach on set while Lucas dealt with camera matters--the cast was simply talented. Star Wars of course was brilliant for its concept, and like on Graffiti Lucas was blessed with being surrounded by an immensely talent crew and a remarkable cast.

In all three cases Lucas was granted impeccable timing. THX was not financially successful but the very fact that it was made is an incredible feat in itself that only could have occured at that time, during the crisis of 1969-1971, and Graffiti of course spearheaded the "personal" films of the American New Wave and also happened to cash in on the growing "nostalgia" wave of films, among them Two-Lane Blacktop produced by Gary Kurtz the year before. Star Wars of course is probably the best timed release in history, giving the public exactly what they wanted and needed.