I recently watched this with my 5-year-old son. He's really into the Star Wars franchise, and this movie made a huge impression on me when I saw it at age 7, so I was anxious for him to see it. He probably would have gotten a bit more out of it had he been older, but he did really enjoy it. He wasn't scared by anything in it nor freaked out by the cinematic violence, but the plot nuances might have been a bit over his head. I don't believe that the violence in this movie is worth worrying about for the suggested age group, since it is pretty abstract (e.g. while people do get shot & killed, it's never graphic or distressing.) All in all, a great movie that stimulates the young imagination to no end.

Movie is good, but review - child suitability is not correct. Cut off arm with blood - is not suitable for children 7 years old. I propose to adjust this to 9-10 years old.

Compared to most movies today, Star Wars is very mild. There are a few scenes that I remembered as scary (I saw it in the theaters when originally released in 1977 as a 6 year old). But watching it with our kids (4 & 6), they weren't frightened of Darth Vadar as I was. I think with an adult watching with the kids, the movies (IV-VI) are fine for children aged 5 and up (or very mature 4). The archtypes are clearly good or evil, which little ones love. The music is stirring, the storytelling wonderfully complex.

It's the movie that started the moment that changed everything forever, it changed the world of cinema and creativity all because of the mind, or force, of a fella, George Lucas, but there's too much violence, especially on one scene, where the Death Star blew up planet Alderaan, Leia's planet, The destruction took the lives of billions of people, and it was already disturbing, even when Obi Wan, later killed by Darth Vader, told Luke that he felt the moment of billions of people screaming in terror, and then silence, it was such a scary moment for the WHOLE franchise, it was too violent for, in fact, anyone at any age, Revenge of the Sith was already PG-13 because of the disturbing images, one of Anakin Skywalker/Darth Vader burning up on the planet Mustafar, but they gave this one a PG rating? Why, How could a more violent movie be more suitable for children when a less violent movie is not? What is wrong with the concept of the minds of people in this world? This movie shouldn't have had that much violence, not for kids or teenagers.

Let's face it: this is the ultimate sci-fi Western as if long before Italy brought us its own gritty take on the Wild West. Clear moralities are present, as the good guys wear white and, as Phil Anselmo once put it, the bad guys wear black; there's a bunch of duels going on (both with laser guns and laser SWORDS, hereafter referred to in this review by their proper name, lightsabers), with casualties on both sides; and it pays homage to a Kurosawa film. Two, actually; there's its main inspiration, The Hidden Fortress, and then there's a scene inspired by Yojimbo. Notice the coincidences: Obi-Wan, originally supposed to be played by the great Toshiro Mifune, slashes a bar punk's arm off in Star Wars, and a character actually played by Toshiro Mifune dismembers at least a couple of people in one attack (though at least he's polite enough to warn them that "it'll hurt") in Yojimbo. The Galactic Empire's use of the Death Star on Alderaan is sure to frighten some younger viewers, especially after it's stated that Tarkin would commit genocide if he followed through with the attack (which he does; small wonder his fanbase is sparse, if existent), and Vader's duel against Obi-Wan shows how noble Obi-Wan is in his last fight; unlike most other Jedi, who are usually burned in funeral pyres (as seen in I and VI), Obi-Wan simply fades away the moment Vader's lightsaber starts to bisect him; we find out why in III. The film ends with the climactic Battle of Yavin, in which our heroes (specifically Luke) destroy the Death Star before it can claim any more innocent lives so senselessly. Other than Luke discovering his home's been destroyed and his aunt and uncle killed by Imperial Stormtroopers (who later, and rather jarringly as a direct result of this and other earlier incidents, show their famous incompetence at firing a blaster; I'm not kidding, they're such bad shots there's a theoretical school for lousy marksmen that's named after them and it's called the Imperial Stormtrooper Marksmanship Academy), this could probably pass for a G rating (and yes, there's a few G-rated movies out there with the profanity level of this; and there's four swear words in all, all mild and half spoken by Han Solo, with one each attributed to Obi-Wan, of all people, and Owen Lars). A true classic!

It's full of exciting space battles, fun and interesting characters, and the villain is awesome! Kids will love it, and adults who saw it as a kid will still love it!

Love it! My children can watch this movie over and over. They have momorized every line from it. It is so addicting, you can't get enough, so you will buy all 6 movies to get your fill.

I rented this for my almost 5-year old and his almost-6 cousin, because they know the characters from the toys and their friends. While neither of them found it too scary, they were mostly just bored. For the first 45 minutes, they did nothing but ask me to explain what was going on. My son eventually wandered off to find something better to do. My nephew stuck it out till the end, but clearly about 90% of it went straight over his head. His summary? "Too much talking." He actually likes many very talky shows, but the talk in this, and most of the action is just at a level that a kid under 8 or 10 can barely comprehend, let alone appreciate.

Since 1977 George Lucas has been producing great family friendly movies. The fourth episode of star wars, A New Hope is an action packed movie, with some great role models, and also bad role models(Darth Vader). I would rate this movie for 8 years of age or older because there is some minor cuss words. There is some great world views of this movie as the force represents God, the light side represents the “Good people”, or the believers and the dark side represents evil or hell. The Imperial Forces under orders from Darth Vader hold Princess Leia hostage, in their efforts to quell the rebellion against the Galactic Empire. Luke Skywalker and Han Solo, captain of the Millennium Falcon, work together with the companionable droid duo R2D2 and C3PO to rescue the princess, help the Rebel Alliance, and restore freedom and justice to the Galaxy. This movie also has the most debated scene in all of the star wars movies. That scene involves Han Solo and Greedo.