Post your Memories of Star Wars (the original 1977 movie)

[Modem Butterfly]

I was a young kid, five or so, when Star Wars came out, but I still remember the thril of going to see it. First, my dad's younger brother, who was still a teenager, took my brother and I to see it. We rode in his "Screaming Chicken" black Trans-Am, very hot. When we got into the theater, it was packed with people. My uncle bought my brother and I a box of red vines to share. Wow! Just like a big kid! The movie just blew all of us away. I could hear the audience oohing and aahing over the special effects. I fell in love with Luke Skywalker, I wanted to be Princess Leia, and I wanted a Wookie for Xmas. Someone passed me a cigarette and I passed it to my uncle, without even wondering why it smelled so funny. I don't think my brother blinked until the very last credit had rolled by (come to think of it, most of the audience stayed for the end credits too). It was probably the most signifcant movie I'd seen until F 9/11 last summer.

[BigMcLargehuge]

1. memories

1977, Star Wars had already been out for a few weeks when Dad decided to take my Mom, me, and my two brothers to the Dartmouth Mall Cinema 4 to see it on an early Sunday evening. The theater was packed. We shared a large bucket of popcorn and a large soda.

Times were tough for us so we didn't all get individual snacks. It didn't matter, we were there for a movie, not for dinner...

We were all amazed as the film played out there, the excitement was palpable, the music stirring, the special effects, amazing. All five of us were there, glued to our seats, eyes glued to the screen.

Then, some young guy, maybe 20, in the seat next to my youngest brother Marc (who was only 5 or 6 at the time) lit a cigarette. My dad asked him to put it out.

He told my dad to "fuck off".

There was a blur of extreme violence, the guy's hand was broken, shoulder dislocated, and he was dragged, unconscious, from the theater. Dad apologized to the us, to the theater manager (*who was sympathetic once he realized the guy was smoking in a theater crowded with kids).

My dad bought tickets for the next show, and we saw it again.

[underpants]

2. Are you positive that no futuristic robots were involved?

It was dark, no?

[BigMcLargehuge]

3. pretty sure futuristic robots don't wear sportcoats

then again, it was the 70's

[ashmanonar]

6. remind me no to mess with your dad?

please?

cuz yea. that's scary.

[BigMcLargehuge]

7. former Green Berets shouldn't have their button's pushed

A lesson I learned VERY early in my childhood.

[ashmanonar]

14. heh.

yea... i'm a black belt in karate, and i wouldn't mess with him.

[Bertha Venation]

4. My sister and the Fountain Valley Drive In Theater.

My sister took me in her new car (a Plymouth Arrow!) to a little rise behind the fence around the Fountain Valley Drive In Theater. They'd just installed those "speaker" systems where you'd attach a wire to your antenna and turn on your radio for the sound. My sister had figured out that you could pick up the signal without the wire, so we sat up on that hill and watched the movie for free. I was fifteen and she was just so cool to me.

[democracyindanger]

5. My grandma took me and my brother

She fell sound asleep during the previews. When the Imperial destroyer roared into view, she nearly jumped out of her seat.

[MissMillie]

8. My brother took me & my twin sister

For our 13th birthday. I remember that the first time Darth Vader appeared on the screen, the audience hissed.

[Beetwasher]

9. Personally, I Can't Wait For the New Movie FAT WARS

Produced and Directed by George Lipids. It's the story of Jedi Master Obese Wan Kenobi and his young Fatawan Lube Frywalker...

(dons flame retardent suit and prepares for possible deletion) ;-)

[Modem Butterfly]

13. You stole my idea!

GET OUT OF MY BRAIN!

Actually, I posted a very witty bit about this on one of the Fat Wars threads that got deleted. Only I had the stars as John Belushi playing Luke Skywalker and Jackie Gleason as Han Solo, with Orson Welles directing. Li'l Debbie won an Oscar for hair and makeup (Princess Leia's hairdo) and Dolly Madison was nominated for Technical Direction.

[Aristus]

10. I'd been excited to see it since the previous Christmas when I

first saw the teaser trailer on TV.

"Coming this summer...the most exciting motion picture adventure of all time!

It's the story of a boy, a girl, and a galaxy.

It's a story of heroes (shot of Luke and Leia swinging over the chasm), and villains (shot of Vader's mask angling menacingly at the camera)

It's the latest blockbuster motion picture event from the director of American Grafitti

And it's coming to a galaxy near you this May.

Don't miss.......STAR WARS!"


I finally got to see it early in June when people were already talking about it being the highest-grossing picture in Hollywood history. The two things I remember most are the audience standing UP and cheering when the Death Star exploded. I'd never seen that before in a movie theater. And I remember coming out of the theater jazzed and miming the Millenium Falcon's turret guns at invisible TIE fighters. It was a heady experience for an impressionable eight-year-old.

I'll never forget it. And I'm a little bummed that George Lucas turned the whole thing into such a pathetic laughable mess.

[Modem Butterfly]

15. Standing and Cheering in the theater

There have been three occasions when I've seen that at a movie. The first was Star Wars. The second was the Bill Gates scene in South Park. The third was the end of F 9/11.

[Skittles]

11. I fell asleep at the movies

hated it

[underpants]

12. All the way home I played Star Wars in the car

We had a Chevy Vega and it had a handle across the dash on the passenger's side. I held on to it and leaned left and right as we "zipped through the stars".

[Shakespeare]

16. If you love (or even hate) Star Wars, you MUST see this:

http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/tg/detail/-/B00005OCKR/qid=1110565942/sr=8-3/ref=pd_csp_3/103-7960136-9523016?v=glance&s=dvd&n=507846

Unbelievably, hysterically funny.

[DarleenMB]

17. Showing my age...

I was heavily into SF at that point and was a member of a writers group in Denver. We had all gone to the annual Worldcon in Kansas where one of the members of Lucas's crew had shown previews etc. I missed those.

But... the whole group of us went to the Cooper Theater (cinerama) in Denver on opening night. The theater was half full. :-)

The opening scene appeared, you heard jaws drop all over the theater and I've never fully recovered.

It was one of those moments you never forget. None one of us could believe that this guy actually must have read science fiction because he got everything right for a change.

I saw ALIEN at the Cooper as well. whew. heart stopping.

[Texasgal]

18. Well... when the movie came out

My older brother and I were forced to take my little brother to see the movie. The theater was packed and there was no seats all together so my older brother went and sat elsewhere while I took my little brother to the top row.

He was only 7 years old at the time and kinda short so he sat on the back of his chair up against the wall ( we were in the last row highest up )

Anyway.... while really enjoying the movie, I guess we were about half way through when my little bro decided to let out a HUMONGOUS fart! I mean... this puppy was at least a 2 minute-longer! He was actually moving his buttocks around I assume to get it all out while completely engrossed in the movie.

People in the rows below were TURING AROUND and my brother was completely oblivious. I was so embarrassed!

[Lautremont]

19. I was six, and was going to some kind of summer camp.

This was before the movie opened on May 25 or whenever. I was reading the book, very slowly (I was six!), which was purportedly by Lucas (but actually by Alan Dean Foster), and was trying to convince the counsellors of this camp that Star Wars would be really cool and a big huge thing that everyone should and would see. They scoffed in their bleach-blond, cut-off jean shorts 70s way.

This was my one big pop culture Cassandra moment, and it was when I was six. Oh well.

[mohinoaklawnillinois]

20. I went to see it with my Dad.

I was 23 and boyfriend-less at the time.

We both loved it. Daddy said it reminded him of the movie serials he had seen as a kid in the 1930's. We both laughed our asses off at the bar scene.

One memory of millions with my Dad that I'll treasure forever.

:cry: :cry:

[nytemare]

21. I still have my old toys in the closet

I loved Star Wars. I remember how hyper I would get between movies waiting for the next one to come out. "Is Darth Vader really Luke's father?" I didn't believe it!

:)

[Modem Butterfly]

22. My brother had all the toys

And the sheets, and the Halloween costumes, and the dolls, and just about everything else. Our mom even painted his room with a scene from Star Wars. It was really cool.