40 years of George Lucas' special effects company in one glorious minute

Star Wars changed cinema. 

Not because of its story about dressing gowned oddballs waving laser swords about, but because of a visual effects studio that George Lucas had to create in order to see his operatic sci-fi vision come to fruition.

For the last 40 years, Industrial Light & Magic has created a new standard for cinematic effects - inventing many of them in the process. To celebrate its four decades of make-believe, working on 300 films and bagging some 15 Academy Awards for outstanding achievement in visual effects and 28 scientific and technical achievement awards, the studio has condensed some of its most memorable, striking moments into a single minute of eye-popping wizardry.

Buckle up, and prepare to run out of fingers to count the memories on.