Looking back at the original 1977 Star Wars

Thirty-eight years ago, in a movie theater not that far away, I saw the original Star Wars movie during the summer of 1977.  It was between my junior and senior years in high school, and the movie was the talk of everyone waiting to take their ACTs.

I ended up seeing the movie 13 times in the theater the summer it came out.  Don’t judge me – this was before VCRs were common, HBO was a new thing, and Netflix was still decades away. OK, judge me.  I would have gone that many times anyway.

I went every weekend that summer and watched the print at the downtown Waterloo, Iowa theater gradually deteriorate.   I took my eldest son to see the rerelease of the original trilogy in Special Edition form when he was five or six; we also went to Washington, D.C. to the Smithsonian to see the Art of Star Wars exhibit.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vP_1T4ilm8M

Today, Star Wars Episode VII opens in theaters nationwide, but I will not be going yet.  I’m holding out to go to a 3D IMAX screening in Council Bluffs, Iowa, about 180 miles from here, next week.

My friend Giles Snyder, a morning newscaster for NPR, shared this review from Tom Shales that ran on All Things Considered back in 1977.  Given that this pre-dates the Internet, this posting represents the first time Shales’ review has been published since it first aired:

Talking about the new Star Wars movie on Facebook earlier this week led to a lot of reminisences from a variety of my friends.  Here’s some of their memories:

• Giles Snyder, NPR newscaster, who currently has a countdown going on Facebook till he goes to see the movie:
  “Anybody remember seeing the trailer? I do. If memory serves, I saw it before the Gene Wilder/Richard Pryor flick “Silver Streak.” I was captivated and said to myself “I have GOT to see that Star Wars thing!””

  Giles recalls that he was 13 when the original Star Wars came out. ” My brother must have been about 8. He was white as a sheet just before the Death Star was destroyed and told me he didn’t feel well. I told him to go find Mom. I was not about to miss the finale.  Btw – looking back at that trailer, I wonder how I ever got excited.”

• Brian Ibbott, podcaster & host of Coverville:
  “My Uncle George won tickets from a radio station for a sneak preview the night before it officially opened, and we saw it with our cousins John & George. We sat in the balcony of the Cooper Theater (which is now a Home Depot), at the time, one of the two biggest screens in Colorado.

  “I came home and filled sheets of typing paper with drawings of all the characters, and couldn’t wait to see it again.”

  Brian was 8 when he first saw Star Wars.

• Brian Ibbott’s Uncle George:
  “So yes, that was a special night. We were among the first to see a movie that was technically unlike anything before.

  “I remember first reading about Star Wars in the fall of 1976. I had picked up an issue of one of Marvel’s showcase comics (Marvel Premiere, I think it was) and on the letters page, the editors were teasing upcoming features that would be presented in that comic. One that caught my eye was an adaptation of a soon-to-be-released movie titled “The Star Wars”.

  “Weeks later, I was in a book store looking for something new, when one cover stood out: The image was of a menacing looking helmeted character looming over much smaller figures, humans, robots and a shaggy alien. The title was “Star Wars” and I recalled the blurb in that comic. Knowing Marvel was about to put out a comic version, I bought it and devoured it. I read it again and used it for a book report in my high school science fiction class.”

• Brian Bennet, Lutheran campus chaplain at Pittsburgh universities:
  “I was six. My dad who NEVER went to movies, took me after we got haircuts. To say it was life-changing is to understate.”

  Rev. Brian is now preparing to take his children to see the new movie. “We just ran our daughter (5 y.o.) through episodes 4-6, so we could take her to episode 7. Her main takeaway from RotJ was “EWOKS!” heh.

• Dolores Hill Sierra, retired communications professor:
  Dolores admits she has not been that big of a Star Wars fan, but she has a grandson who certainly is. “My five year old grandson got into Star Wars because of Lego Star Wars cartoons. He’s quite passionate. He and his parents have watched all the movies in preparation for this Friday’s opening (which is his actual 5th birthday). The last time we talked to him, he was re-enacting the Return of the Jedi for us. The legacy continues.”

And in case you are interested, here’s an old post on why Star Wars Episode II – Attack of the Clones is a tribute to the films of Ridley Scott.