I'm sure I've missed some, but having recently watched the original Star Wars saga again, I listed each moment that I felt was one of the greatest and most memorable. I don't just consider isolated scenes, but also distinct themes, dialogue and events. Some dialogue such as "There is no try" typifies a broader series of lines and actions. Some 'moments' could be merged into one, whilst others might be split up as individual moments, but overall I found there to be about 80 moments that are important, amazing, and quintessential Star Wars.
Find my methodology at the bottom of the entry, where I list some of the factors that I considered when ranking each moment. I've also recorded a tally for each film and trilogy, with some surprising results.
1. “I am your father” (and Luke confronts Vader)
2. “There is no try” (Lifting the X-Wing out of the swamp - and the surrounding dialogue)
3. Ben tells Luke about his father and the Force
4. Binary sunset (A New Hope)
5. Darth Vader’s redemption and unmasking
6. Anakin talks to Yoda about his premonitions
7. Luke beats Vader
8. Yoda’s final words to Luke
9. Anakin and Padmé’s ruminations
10. Order 66
11. The Tragedy of Darth Plagueis
12. Anakin saves Palpatine
13. Anakin kills Count Dooku
14. Anakin vs Obi-Wan on Mustafar
15. Luke notices his bionic hand is like his father’s - “I am a Jedi, like my father before me”
16. “Help me, Obi-Wan Kenobi — you’re my only hope”
17. “It is too late for me son”
18. Mos Eisley Cantina
19. “There is another”
20. “You have that power too”
21. “All his life has he looked away, to the future, to the horizon. Never his mind on where he was. What he was doing!”
22. The dark side cave
23. “I love you.” “I know.”
24. “I think our lives are about to be destroyed anyway. [...] I truly, deeply love you, and before we die I want you to know.”
25. Darth Maul vs Jinn and Kenobi
26. Anakin finds his mother
27. Luke is tempted by The Emperor
28. Yoda teaches Luke about the Force
29. Battle over Coruscant
30. The end of Episode 2 - Anakin's marriage juxtaposed with the Clone Wars
31. “That’s no moon”
32. Obi-Wan takes Luke to Tatooine
33. Jabba’s Palace
34. Luke meets The Emperor
35. Palpatine christens Vader
36. Leia hears Luke’s call
37. Darth Vader gets his suit / Padmé dies
38. Celebration on Endor
39. Luke decides to save his friends
40. Mace Windu vs Darth Sidious
41. Anakin marches on the Jedi temple
42. Leia kissing Luke to spite Han
43. Leia and Han kiss
44. Luke destroys the Death Star
45. Qui-Gon suspects Anakin is the chosen one
46. The garbage chute
47. Ben vs Vader
48. “It’s a trap!”
49. Yoda’s younglings discuss Obi-Wan’s missing planet
50. The Sarlacc
51. “These aren’t the droids you’re looking for”
52. Geonosis arena
53. Speeder chase on Endor
54. Vader chokes Motti
55. The Emperor warns Vader about the son of Anakin Skywalker
56. Luke meets Yoda
57. "You can't stop the change - any more than you can stop the suns from setting"
58. Yoda vs Palpatine
59. Luke rescues Leia from the cell
60. Han shoots Greedo
61. Obi-Wan meets Jango Fett
62. Obi-Wan and Anakin chase Zam Wessell
63. Qui-Gon brings Anakin before the Jedi council
64. Kenobi vs General Grievous
65. The Rancor
66. Luke pulls his lightsaber out the snow
67. The podrace
68. Threepio becomes a god
69. Mon Mothma and Ackbar’s briefing
70. Han decides to visit Lando
71. Darth Vader prepares the Death Star for the Emperor’s arrival
72. Lando greets Han
73. The Falcon flies into the asteroid field
74. Qui-Gon and Obi-Wan arrive for 'negotiations'
75. Kenobi vs Jango Fett
76. Kenobi vs Jango Fett in the asteroids
77. Yoda saves Obi-Wan and Anakin from Count Dooku
78. Han puts Luke in the tauntaun
79. Discovering the Gungan underwater city
80. Leia kills Jabba
81. Vader briefs the bounty hunters
By Trilogy:
Prequel Trilogy: 33
Original Trilogy: 48
By episode:
The Phantom Menace: 7
Attack of the Clones: 10
Revenge of the Sith: 15
A New Hope: 12
The Empire Strikes Back: 19
Return of the Jedi: 18
By type:
Actions/adventure: 35
Dialogue/emotion/mythos/world-building: 46
Ranking factors (in no particular order):
World-building e.g. The Gungan city
Memorable action e.g. Geonosis Arena
Quality of writing and character development e.g. Leia kisses Luke, and later Han, and Han’s reaction to this.
Memorable dialogue e.g. “I love you.” “I know.”
Emotional impact e.g. Anakin and Padmé’s ruminations
Foreshadowing and connection to the overall story e.g. Obi-Wan talks to Luke about his father
Notoriety outside of fandom e.g. there are arguably more important and better bits than “That’s no moon”, but this is much more famous in wider cinema and contributed to the success of the franchise.
(Most moments capture several of these factors.)
Note: Though I purposefully only considered the original six Star Wars films, I don't believe a significant number - if any - of the moments from Disney's sequel trilogy match the criteria described above and come close to the weight and importance achieved in the 81 moments listed.
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