Thirty Years Ago Today

Thanks to Heidi I realized that today, thirty years ago Star Wars came out. Today it's hard for someone to realize what it was like before this movie. Star Wars changed the way movies were made, the way they were promoted, the way they were merchandised. Before this movie came out no one had any idea it was going to be the hit it became. George Lucas had did American Graffiti before Star Wars, and while that movie was a hit, it was nothing like what Star Wars would become.

I have to admit that I saw Star Wars in the theater when it first came out, making me somewhat old I guess. I remember seeing it at the old theater that was by Oakwood Mall on the Westbank at the time. It was a fairly small movie house, especially by today's standards. I think it had three screens and was no where as fancy as today's movie houses. Still I can remember the excitement that I felt when I walked into that theater room and sat down to watch the movie.

I was a fan of science fiction and comic books at that time. (What do I mean at that time, like how much has really changed?) I may be wrong about this part, but I seem to remember that the Marvel Comic adaptation of the movie was already started by the time the movie hit the screens. But I do know word of the movie was making the rounds in the science fiction world. Some magazine were praising the movie and others were already attacking it. So I walked into that theater already with a feeling for the movie.

I was excited. To me this was the pay off for being a science fiction and comic book geek. What I read was coming to life today in ways that no movie had ever been able to pull off before. When I sat down and the screen came to life and that starship appeared and just seemed to fill the screen I was in awe.

So much of that movie just hit home with me. The bar scene....how many times had I as a science fiction fan read such a scene set in such a bar, but here it was brought to life, with aliens that looked alien. Much has been made about the dirt and clutter that Lucas brought to the movie, giving it a lived in appearance. Such a small thing perhaps, but it was just one of many things that clicked.

There have been few movies that made me feel like that one did when I first saw it. The next two sequels were close. (I'll leave saying anything about the more recent three movies, my Mother always said if I can't say anything good about someone, don't say anything.)

I remember in certain scenes in the first three movies when the audience actually cheered and clapped. I can't recall the last time I was in a movie where anyone in the audience made any noise, unless it was to talk on a cell phone. That was the type of reaction these movies had with people.

I haven't watched the movies in awhile, maybe this weekend I'll have a Star Wars weekend. I hate to say, but after the more recent three movies it was easy for me to forget what Star Wars meant, what it was in the beginning. But no matter what I think of them I have the first three to watch and thrill to.