and saw it 10 times that year. I only saw Empire 3 times amidst all the spoilers that were leaked out. IMHO, storywise it was interesting in terms of being a "transition" for a trilogy (I compared it to a symphony with "A-B-A" movements, with the exciting first part, darker 2nd, grand finale 3rd), but the awkwardness of the acting (particularly between Ford & Fisher) continues to irk me to this day. That film also generated the fan obsession with Bobba Fett, a character who despite barely appearing in that outing, was propelled into a bizarre fan-generated universe of his own (which did lead to full prequel treatment to create his canon backstory).
I also say that mob mentality has completely dismissed Phantom Menace mainly because of one "comic relief" character but perhaps one day fans will reconsider it (it spearheaded a new type of light saber battle that was elegant and riveting that came with a beautiful score from John Williams - "Duel of the Fates" ).
ETA - When I saw "Attack of the Clones", I did something I never thought I would ever do - cover my ears and slink down into my seat. The sound was too loud and the opening was completely chaotic and noisy.
I also chuckle that I saw Return of the Jedi on opening day, which fell on the same day I took my very last final in my senior year of college, where graduation was just 2 days later. Came out of the final at ~3:30 pm, hopped a free shuttle to the mall to go see it (I think a 4:20 showing or something). Had $5 in my pocket and the ticket price had recently been raised to $4.50. Handed the lady my $5 and got 50 cents back, not even enough for a popcorn but that was okay... I was DONE DONE DONE!!!!
Yes, Lucas got a lot of $$$ out of me. I only wish that one day, someone will release the ORIGINAL Star Wars, without the "New Hope" crap (because it was called "Star Wars" when it was released) and get rid of all the other Lucas-f'ed up editing other than cleaning up the sound and picture (but slow down the opening star destroyer scene, which was apparently speeded up to help the film fit on VHS), and keep the ORIGINAL (humanoid) Jabba in, which I saw 10 times and years later people denied that he existed until the footage reappeared.