Star Wars '77 is a classic because the special effects aren't the whole frackin' movie. The same goes for the sequels but here's something I've noticed.
By all accounts, Lucas's only real involvement in Empire was writing the story and financing it. Ok, so then we get what's probably the greatest sequel of all time, but there's a price. Lucas realizes he doesn't just have some inexhaustable amount of money, so he cuts back on Return of the Jedi while also failing to make the best possible script. 16 years later he decides to sit down in the director's chair just so he can make the PT. Anyone think this might've been because he didn't feel like paying a director????