I know it doesn't quite add up to the impact Star Wars had, but what you're describing is how I felt, and still feel, about the Lord of the Rings trilogy. It took about five minutes to realize it was something magical, moving, and brilliant.

Altho, I do adore Star Wars too. Oddly enough, I've had to grow into that appreciation rather than it just happening. At this point, I'm pretty huge fan, but I wasn't always. Now, I'm waiting with bated breath for the new Blu-Ray box set to come out. I've heard that they've fixed things that have been messed up since the movie was released... such as you can see the puppeteer's arm when the wampa grabs Luke. No more! Greedo still shoots first, but, I think that's water under the bridge at this point...