What was it like seeing Star Wars in 1977?
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- čas přidán 21. 08. 2024
- A look back at the year of 1977 and a little oddball movie that changed the world. Star Wars turned 45 this year--45! If that makes you feel old like it does me, then chances are you were around when it first came out and might enjoy a stroll down Memory Lane. If not, here's a little look back at what it was like to see Star Wars when it was brand new.
Copyright Disclaimer under section 107 of the Copyright Act 1976, allowance is made for “fair use” for purposes such as criticism, comment, news reporting, teaching, scholarship, education, and research.
It is no exaggeration to say that this movie rescued my sanity. I was 13 at the time and my dad moved us out to an isolated farm in the country. That scene where Luke says "if there's a bright spot in the universe you're in the place it's farthest from," that was my life.
That moment that the rebel blockade runner flashes across the screen was for me like a gallon of water to a boy dying of thirst on Tatooine.
We definitely had similar feelings, and we specifically identified with the "if there's a bright spot in the universe" line as well, living in mundane Oklahoma. It was always a bit of a let down coming out of the theater and back to boring old earth.
May the Force be with you Manuel Ruiz
my condolences
It CHANGED my whole life! I was ten years old and I later became an effects artist , because I saw things that no one had seen before.
The same for me.
It's probably hard for later generations to realize just how ground breaking the film was.
@@GalaxyinfinitemStudios We were fortunate to have that experience back in '77. And the two films that followed too.. I'd say that imaginations weren't collectively moved in the same way until Harry Potter came along.
That's pretty accurate. It still surprises me how influential the HP films are globally, even as someone who was a fan. And their stay powering is real too just like Star Wars.
@@markschreiber5054 LOTR was huge for me later in life as well. In the 70s all that we had were the books and the calendars by the brothers Hildebrandt, who BTW did the original SW poster . To see THAT done so well by Peter Jackson was really amazing.
I really enjoyed your telling of your experiences with Sci-Fi movies and Star Wars in particular. I too was and still am a Sci-Fi fan. I was 21 years old in 1977 and had a day off from work. I was bored and decided to go see a matinee. It was a Woody Allen movie and it was the last day of it's showing. It had been in theaters for a while. There were no more than about 12 patrons waiting for the movie to start when the manager came down in front of the screen and said they were unable to show the Woody Allen movie and offered a refund. He said they would instead show a movie that was opening the following day and we could watch that . Half the people left. I moved from my seat and sat in the center seat of the center row of the theater. It was a big screen with surround sound. There was no one in front of me and no one closer then several rows behind me. Yes, it was Star Wars. I got to see it practically all to my self. I was completely blown away, I had never seen anything like it. I recall that when it was over and I walked out of the theater, it seemed like I had just landed back on Earth from another planet. It was the most memorable experience of my life.
What a cool way to first see the film! Thanks for sharing that story. We too had the feeling of coming back to earth after leaving the theater.
The Woody Allen movie you originally intended to see - was that "Annie Hall" ? Annie Hall was shown in cinemas in 1977 about the same time as "Star Wars". I hope you have seen Annie Hall later, because it is a 10/10 movie like Star Wars. Annie Hall is so good that it bested Star Wars for the 1977 Best Picture Oscar.
A long time ago in the summer of 1977, I was a 10 year old kid who, one day, walked into a movie theatre to see "some far-out space movie" that was rapidly becoming "the talk of the town" on the schoolyard playground... I walked in an innocent, naive little child, only interested in Duncan Yo-yos, Mad Libs, Marshall Brodien TV Magic Cards, & Evel Knievel toys... I walked out CHANGED FOREVER.
On that glorious day, I had seen the greatest movie that would EVER be made... STAR WARS... This groundbreaking film from writer/director George Lucas TOTALLY changed my life... It absolutely blew me away, filling my heart with joy, stimulating my imagination, and kick-starting my love for cinema... That day was momentous for me, and I would never be the same again...
I will never forget it...
From the moment the 20th Century Fox fanfare and John Williams' theme blasted through the theatre speaker system, and "A long time ago in a galaxy far, far away" and that "Flash Gordon inspired" opening crawl came on the screen, and that gigantic Star Destroyer appeared, flying over my head, towering above me as I sat in my theatre seat... and kept going... and going...and going... and as the entire audience gasped with amazement... at that very moment, I was instantaneously mesmerized, transfixed, and transformed... and I was only 5 minutes into the movie...
I still had 2 more hours to go!
As I sat In amazement, I was terrified by a helmeted figure in black, Darth Vader... In fact, the whole audience "booed" him as he made his entrance.. .We knew NOTHING about the story yet, but just KNEW that this guy deserved a collective "booing"!... It was like we were watching a SILENT MOVIE!... And as the movie continued, I was thrilled by the heroic exploits of the dashing smuggler Han Solo and the feisty Princess Leia, and emboldened by the brave, heroic, idealistic actions of the farm boy turned hero of the galaxy... Luke Skywalker! And by the film's spectacular climax of the rebel assault on the Death Star (the greatest ending ever committed to celluloid), my heart was pounding, and my spirit was soaring... And I will NEVER forget the standing ovation of applause that erupted as the credits rolled... Everyone in that audience didn't know it yet, but we had all just been first-hand witnesses to cinematic HISTORY!
By that time, I had seen a small handful of very good and (for their time) very impressive big-screen spectacles in the theatre, such as: The Golden Voyage of Sinbad (1974), At the Earth's Core (1976), Logan's Run (1976), and King Kong (1976)... but NOTHING could have prepared me (or the rest of the world) for the phenomenon that was STAR WARS and the change it would bring... the film that would propel a 1970's audience far beyond their wildest film-going expectations, and revolutionize the motion picture industry FOREVER. Words can never fully describe what it was like to be alive in the summer of 1977 during the height of "Star Wars Mania"... except to say that it was pure MAGIC.
I will never forget the day that I went to see Star Wars for the first time... May 25th, 1977... My father took my younger brother and me... I remember we went in my father's company truck (my brother and I rode in the bed of the truck), I remember that we stopped at Burger Chef first to have dinner, and I got one of the four SW promotional posters that they were selling there (I got the one with
C-3PO and R2-D2... the first time that I ever laid eyes on ANY characters from SW!)... I remember that the ticket line went on for what seemed like forever... I remember my father bought us both a Hershey bar, and he got a bucket of popcorn with extra butter for us all to share... I remember everything!... And when the movie was over, I remember the audience erupting into insane thunderous cheers and applause that I had never experienced before! Naturally, my brother loved the movie, too... but the amazing thing was that even my father (who probably just thought he was taking his children to see some "dumb kid's film") was crazy about it as well!... My mother didn't go that night, and she always regretted it... She told me much later in life that if she had known that it was to be such an important moment in my life, she would have loved to experience my VERY FIRST viewing of SW!... Of course, she did take my brother and I to see it many times after my first viewing ...And she loved it too!
I became an instant fanatic... I saw the film 11 times in the movie theatre (which wasn't hard to do, as it stayed at our local theatre for an entire year!)... I sneaked my portable tape recorder into the theatre and audio-recorded the entire film so that I could listen to the adventure over and over in the comfort of my own bedroom... I dressed up in a make-shift Darth Vader costume for Halloween...
I filled many sketchbooks with countless drawings of the creatures and spaceships... I collected the action figures, the trading cards, the posters, the books, the model kits, and much more (and I STILL have all of that "stuff") ... I always wore my Star Wars T-shirt... I always drank out of my Star Wars cup... I listened to John Williams' Star Wars soundtrack album constantly, becoming a fan of symphonic and film score music... I watched "The Making of Star Wars" TV special, becoming fascinated by the way movies were made, even making a few myself with my Super-8 camera...
I watched the Academy Awards for the very first time to see my favorite movie sweep the Oscars with 10 nominations and 7 wins... I even watched the now "infamous" Holiday Special in 1978 ... Lumpy... Itchy... Harvey Korman... Bea Arthur... Wookiee-ookiees... And I loved it... ("Hey, I was 11!").
And when I think back now on all of the Slushies that I had my parents buy me (and how many I drank) so that I could collect EVERY plastic Star Wars cup, or how many packs of Star Wars trading cards I had them purchase (and how many rock-hard sticks of pink gum that I chewed) so that I could complete the set, or how many Burger Chef hamburgers that I ate to collect EVERY Star Wars poster... The mind boggles... and I'm amazed that my stomach survived it!
An amusing aside: I will NEVER forget when my parents took me to the record store to get the STAR WARS soundtrack by John Williams... We were driving home, and I was in the back seat of the car, looking at the LP... "Something is WRONG here", I said to myself... Well, it turned out that my parents had accidentally purchased the MECO DISCO VERSION! ... What did they know, after all? Obviously, we had to turn around and go back to the store!
And after 46 years, I continue to love STAR WARS: A NEW HOPE more and more... It has aged like fine wine... It is my #1 favorite movie of all time, followed by my 2nd favorite movie of all time: The Empire Strikes Back, and my 3rd favorite movie of all time: Return of the Jedi...These 3 movies are flawless and perfect, collectively making up not only the greatest cinematic trilogy ever made... but the three greatest films of any kind ever made... and the greatest cinematic story ever told... PERIOD.
I love all of Star Wars (Prequels, Sequels, Spin-offs, etc), but it all comes back to that first film... It is the perfect story... the perfect film... a phenomenon... a bona fide classic.. a MASTERPIECE..
One last side note:
I've had the great privilege of seeing (and in a few cases, meeting) many STAR WARS legends over the past years: George Lucas. Gary Kurtz, Irvin Kershner, Mark Hamill, Harrison Ford, Carrie Fisher, Anthony Daniels, Kenny Baker, Peter Mathew, David Prowse, Billy Dee Williams, Ian McDiarmid, Hayden Christensen, John Williams, Ralph McQuarrie, Dennis Muren, Ben Burtt, and many other cast and crew members... The three biggest events that I was fortunate enough to attend were the 10th anniversary Star Wars Convention in Los Angeles (1987), the 35th anniversary Star Wars Celebration in Orlando (2012), and the 40th anniversary Star Wars Celebration in Orlando (2017)... Some of the happiest and most thrilling experiences of my life that I'll always cherish and not forget.
To sum up:
Thank you so much, George Lucas, for taking me to your galaxy far, far away... Words can never express the utter joy and happiness that your 6 STAR WARS films have given me.., and continue to give me to this very day... And in particular, thank you so much for that life-altering experience that you gave me when I walked into that movie theatre in the summer of 1977 to see "that far-out space movie", aka: THE GREATEST MOVIE EVER MADE! ...It's odd to think a that a mere movie could have that kind of power to change one's life in such a profoundly positive way... I'm proof that one can.
P.S. Just think, things could have gone VERY DIFFERENTLY and HORRIBLY WRONG that day if I had instead gone to see some "awful piece of dreck" that was also playing in theatres at the same time... like Tentacles ("Yikes!")... or Viva Knievel ("Ouch!")... or Pete's Dragon ("Uhg!").
Great recollections, thanks for sharing! I could feel your pain at realizing they had gotten the MECO version of the score! You had some awesome parents willing to turn around and get the proper Williams score. 😀
You need a therapist. Write a novel cuz that shit is too long. Who cares?!
A long time ago, In a galaxy far far away....I was 11 growing up in North Florida when it came out in 1977. Saved my lawn mowing money and saw it 3 times in 2 weeks. Stood in line 2 plus hours each time. Well worth it 😊. I have collectibles like you do all through my place as well. Cool ! After Star Wars I became hooked on Indiana Jones . Thanks for sharing . May the Force be with you ! 😁
There's something about the original poster that is so inspiring. I can't put my finger on it. It captured some of the flash Gordon origins of SW.
It's a beautiful piece of art, as are so many film posters of that era. And a lost art these days, I find contemporary film poster/promotional art so dull. ☹
I love the current font but also love the original font and the original poster as you said.
I was 12, and it was mind-blowing. There had never been a mainstream science fiction movie that was taken seriously as far as I knew. I remember buying the soundtrack lp, putting it on, and me and my mate Bob would sit in spinning bar-stools pretending to be Luke and Han in the Millennium Falcon shooting down T.I.E. fighters.
That was the best, finding ways to improvise scenes from the movie with friends.
Watching you take the double Star Wars album out gave me flashbacks. I played mine near every day for years. Thanks for the memories!
Edit: First saw Star Wars at Showcase Cinemas Eastgate, Ohio summer ’77.
Star Wars came to my hometown in Yugoslavia (today's Croatia) in the early 80's or late 70's and it was huge hit. The movie theaters were full for the whole year and the people were standing or sitting on the floor when watching the movie. I was 10-11 years old and saw the movie 7 or 8 times!! It was the beggining of the new age (80s) and we were thinking at that moment that USA is 500 years ahead of our time.
I remember reading in Rolling Stone magazine that it was (like) "the first film of the 1980s".
I was 7. I remember loving my first viiewing, but i didn't understand it. I remember vividlyy dad trying to explain the plot. Je created a tie fighter with 3 pencils to explain who the bad guys were. Tue values of this trilogy shaped my entire life.
Lucas really did tap into something with Star Wars. It went from just a fun space opera to being ultimately about redemption. Powerful stuff!
I was 7 when I saw it in 1977 with my dad. Was pretty incredible.
I'll never forget the opening scene where the smaller ship goes past, then the Star Destroyer enters the screen, then keeps on entering the screen for what seems like forever before you finally see the back of the ship.
In Daventry, Northamptonshire England, the film started with the short skateboard film 'Hot wheels n' big deals'. Which showcased Oxygene by Jean Michel Jarre.
So that Saturday I saw Star Wars and a Skateboard for the first time and heard what a bank of synthesizers can do.... Life would NEVER be the same again!
Great video mate. Bravo and best wishes from an Englishman in a French forest who now makes metal-men for cinema for a living! 🇬🇧⚒️🤖⚒️🇺🇲
I saw Star Wars on a week day afternoon the week it opened in an almost empty theater in Paramus N.J.. The opening sequence was mind blowing. The music incredible. It marked a generation, the first film I went to see another 7 times in the theater I was 11 years old.
Funny yeaH that's where I saw it too ...LiFE changing :)
I was in my late 20's when I saw Star Wars at Grauman's Chinese Theatre in Hollywood on the first day it opened. The motivation to see this unknown movie was because of an article I read that included a small picture of C-3PO's face. I told my wife at the time that we should try to see this. We stood in line for at least 4 hours and saw the third showing on day one. Blown away. Many years later, I was presenting my space assembly for a school in Palos Verdes. Afterward, two people came up to me and told me how wonderful my assembly was. Standing there were Kathleen Kennedy and her husband Frank Marshall. Blown away again!
THIS is absolutely amazing. Honestly, I'm kind of speechless!!!
Thank you! And thanks for your input, it was great stuff!
I was 6, went with my brother and I remember the crowd cheered when the 1st shot came on the screen. We were immediately hooked
I'm adopted. I am and was Luke Skywalker. I saw it in the cinema. It will stay with me forever. I know the reviewers loved The Empire Strikes Back, but to me in never came close.
I saw it 7 times in 1977. SEVEN TIMES. IT WAS GLORIOUS!!!! AMAZING!!! STUPENDOUS!!!! I had just graduated from college and love Love LOVED it!!!
I saw Star Wars in 1977 in a theater in Oak Brook Illinois and what really blew me away most was the sound design. I had never heard sound effects like that anywhere, nothing was even close. The other thing, the pre-crawl screen with *"A long time ago in a galaxy far, far away...."* was a very deep blue. It was changed from the deep blue to a cyan blue to be more readable for all subsequent movies and re-releases: VHS, DVD television and theatrical.
Omg! I saw it there too! Saturday June 4, 1977. Memorized the date. But I lived in Lombard. Quite the coincidence. Surprised I recall that being 11 yrs old. Are you from around there?
@@maguffintop2596 I was living in Hinsdale and was 13. Got an aunt in Lombard.
This is one of the best things on CZcams! I was six when the movie came out, and was completely obsessed. A very nostalgic trip down memory lane. I even teared up a couple of times. Keep up the great work.
Thank you so much for your kind words! It means a lot. 😀
That was wonderful! I feel all nostalgic now. What a magical time that was. You captured it beautifully. Now on to Part Two!
BTW - C3PO's one silver leg - Replacement parts! It was George's effort to make the droids as commonplace as old cars. Like an old Mustang that's had a door replaced with another Mustang's door, but a different color. More of those little touches you talked about, to make this fantasy world larger and more "real".
By late June 1977 the New York Times had dotted cut-out strips in the movie section listing the 24-hour-a-day Star Wars showtimes at the 1400 seat Loews Astor Plaza. I saw it there in early June 77 after waiting in line for an hour - all 1400 seats taken. The quality and brightness of the 70mm was nothing like today - the sound system had echoes and blasts coming from different directions. A businessman sitting next to me started yelling “Go! Go! Go!” during the trench scene. When it ended everyone in the theater stood up and applauded as if it were a live performance.
I was 12 years old...and I saw it 10 times in the theater.....went home and tried to build a saber out of my father's police flash light....
Thanks for sharing your nostalgic experience watching Star Wars back in the day! My family watched it in our home town in Texas in '77 also. I remember the crispness of the images , awesome sound and of course, the smells of popcorn and candy! We only heard about the new movie in our Dad's pickup truck's radio. We wondered ,the same as you, what the movie was about.
For months and the rest of the seventies, we boys looked for any show that resembled Star Wars. The merchandise ( comics, toys, ect) only kept the passion going!
I remember seeing SW like 14 times, there were always long lines, I was about 13. I had seen It The Showcase Cinemas on Secor Rd. In Toledo, OH. Mostly remember that there was an art gallery in the theater that was on like a walk up set of catwalks, where our could look down at people below filing into the theater room or buying popcorn and drinks at the concession. I remember the great feeling of the opening fanfare and the Star Destoyer eclipsing the screen and the mass of cheering. As a my buddy Jerry and I would do what we could to get some money to buy tickets. Taking bottles for a few cents refund from what was left from some of the parties my parent would have. In those years they were busy operating their business, Fireplace & Barbeque Shoppe, in Toledo, Ohio. There were three Sister from a friend of mines family that rotated babysitting my sister and I.
I saw Star Wars in 1977 at age 13 and it changed my life. I ended up going to film school as a result and I'm still a fan to this day.
Mom dropped us three brothers off at the theatre (big brother in charge) while she ran family errands,, the movie playing was Star Wars!! At that time no one had ever seen a movie like it before! It took everyone by complete surprise!!
This is beautiful. Thank you.
I was 12. Saw it at Mann's Chinese Theater (as it was called then), barely an hour after having attended my first sci-fi convention (Space Con 4). I was struck by how loud the movie was, especially during the opening firefight aboard the blockade runner. And, as you note here, the original Star Wars had impeccable comedy chops: Chewy's little shrug when the mouse droid u-turns in terror... Han's improv (Ford's improv, really) at cell block 1138, 3PO thinking he'd just killed his friends. That stuff never failed to create waves of laughter.
I was 13 in 1977….a very special day when our Dad took time out from his busy work week to take us to see Star Wars. We were so blown away…that we watched it twice that day.
I just remember my sister crying because Vader had been flung off into space.
We didn't get to see the entire trilogy until maybe 10yrs later, with by then some step siblings.
I did get a sand person for a birthday. I think I may have melted it when I became a moody teen.
You have done a great, insightful job with your STAR WARS video. Thanks for documenting and sharing your personal experiences!
So blessed to have been primed by the original Star Trek series and conventions in the Bay Area by the time STAR WARS arrived in '77! I was only 12 years old. My parents were so cool about indulging me in going to see it--about 144 times, when I finally just stopped counting. What you said about staying inside for repeat viewings really rang a bell...I'd somehow forgotten about that. And walking out into the lobby to see the long lines--what a rush! I felt like I was a part of history somehow (and I WAS). Somehow managed to sneak in my mom's portable cassette recorder and a jacket-full of blank tapes to record the whole affair, playing it back endlessly wherever I happened to be. So sorry that the kids of subsequent generations never will appreciate what a life-changing event the release of STAR WARS really was in 1977; one of those truly once in a lifetime "you had to be there" experiences.
Thanks, and cool memories! It never occurred to me to take my portable cassette recorder into the theater (I wish I had!). But I did use it to record movies off of the TV. I still have a shoe box full of old audio tapes of everything from Watership Down to The Final Countdown, lol.
Both my parents are from Anadarko. I remember going to OK City to see Kong 76' at a Grand Theater. All the odd ball moments you recall in Star Wars, my dad laughed and responded to all of them. My sister complained the acting was bad, but mom came to the rescue and said this was not an acting film, per se. I agreed with that critique and love this movie. Saw it in a Scaled Down Dome Theater with wrap around screen.
Seeing Star Wars was incredible, but what was horrible was NOT seeing it again for years. I saw it on the last day it was at theaters in my area.
Oh man, I can feel your pain! It didn't premiere on HBO until 82 I believe, and wasn't released on VHS until 83 I think. So the theater was the only way to see it for years.
I saw it in the 90s when the Special Edition was released
I saw all three of them in the cinema in 1983 when I was 5 years old. It was an incredible time. A feast for the imagination
Great trip down memory lane. Lots of interesting little facts I'd never heard about the film.
I was 13 years old when I first saw Star Wars back in 1977 at the Chinese Mann Theater in Hollywood. Shocked at the $5.00 expensive ticket price. My only comment at the time was that it better be a good movie. It turns out to be one of the most entertaining movie experiences of my lifetime. Thank you George Lucas and the Star Wars team.
I was also there, in the best part in the galaxy at precisely the right time. I was seven when my dad took us to see it. I shall never forget that excitement and pity young people nowadays, who have everything at the tip of their fingers.
I was 7. Blown away but glad we had brought the programme which explained all the characters. I still have it.
I was 6, it changed my life. Gary Kurtz always reminds me of the unfortunate helicopter pilot in "JAWS 2" , thank you for this video!
One thing a lot of younger people don't get is how different the theatre system is these days. Instead of a major film opening at every theatre on the same weekend and staying open for the same couple weekends before suddenly showing up on streaming platforms, back in 77 a movie would make a circuit, with copies of films travelling between different theatres. Theatres could show a popular film for a long time, without it showing up on video or TV. And, if it was popular enough, a film would wind up back in theatres it played at earlier in a circuit for repeat performances. So a film might wind up playing every day in one theatre or another for years. So that allowed people to do things like go see ET or Star Wars for a second time a month later, if not 30 times over a month. And going to a theatre was a communal experience. It was an event. And in the meantime, popular films would get book adaptations, comic book adaptations, etc, so if it wasn't playing at your theatre, you could enjoy it in other ways. You could relive it through Mad parodies, film magazines, etc. And marketing could be sustained for extensive periods. Heck, you might see a film where kids go to watch Star Wars at a theatre and become fascinated with the Force, while in real life Star Wars itself is still playing in theatres. These days with movies playing on smaller screens, quickly getting relegated to TV screens, etc, and vanishing in a couple weeks, you get less of a culture built around a film like you did with Star Wars.
I saw Star Wars in 1977, I had to start queuing up at the cinema at 10am for a 12:30 viewing and even then there were hundreds before us, the hype was massive, you got it on television, the newspapers, magazines and even cereal boxes!
I was at lucky enough to get into the first matinee at Grauman's Chinese Theater on the day Star Wars opened. I had no idea what to expect and sat through it three times as the theater filled up around me. Nothing like it had ever been seen before and I cherish that day as the best movie experience I ever had. Wonderful video. This really sends me back.
That opening..... when the Star Destroyer fills up the screen, I was ducking my head LOL
Yup! That's pretty much the way it was. I remember getting out of the movie and getting right back on the end of the line to see it again.
I was 7 and saw it in Woodbridge VA. My sister took me to see it. She saw it before me. During the cantina scene, she covered my eyes when Obi-Wan cut off dudes arm. I was so upset. When it aired on TV a few years later, I figured, now is my chance to see the scene but it was also edited out for young viewers. It was probably 8 to 10 years after it aired in the theaters before I ever saw that scene. God bless video rental back in the day.
Pete - My name is Jack. Unbelievably, When I was 9 years old, I saw Star Wars in 1977 in Woodbridge, Virginia as well. What a coincidence!
One of the best things about being born in '65 was being a 12-year-old when Star Wars came out and being one of those people who went to the theater twenty times or so to see it over and over. It was magical, especially for that time and for someone that age, and to this day the start of the theme music gives me goosebumps. I was a Star Trek nerd before that (still am) and so when an article about a coming movie called Star Wars appeared in our little school paper, it got my attention (it was a national thing for elementary schools). After seeing it, my room was covered in SW posters and I had all the models while my younger brother had all the toys and his curtains and bedspread and sheets were all Star Wars. We had the VHS and the soundtrack LP and T-shirts and all that stuff, and thankfully I was able to find a digital version of the original from the old laser disks without all the crap that Lucas added and changed later on. I still enjoy all the Trek and Wars stuff, some more than others, but the only thing that ever really came close to that first movie was actually The Matrix. It had that same vibe, same magic, same cutting-edge effects that you'd never seen before. I'm not sure what any of it looks like to kids raised on CGI, but growing up and seeing the evolution of video games and special effects in movies was a special vantage point to the modern world, it's just too bad I didn't have the sense to get into it somehow and make some money from it. Oh well, at least I was around to enjoy it all.
Oh, and by the way, we had that exact Zenith remote control and because of that for years to come, remotes of all kinds were referred to as Clickers 'round my house (because yes, it actually clicked when you pressed the button to change the channel). Man, I'm old.
Saw it at the Chinese Theater opening night. They had to open up a midnight showing because the line was so long. Saw Charlton Heston coming out of the show ahead of us grinning from ear to ear.
Son, we can’t see JAWs…..let’s go and see Star Wars ! Will never forget that day. Thanks dad.
This is a story of your dad. I’m at 28:20 and had to stop to write a comment which I rarely do. For a man to hold on to his imagination and then pass it down to his children is magic.
I was born one month before Star Wars came out…and it was the first movie I saw (in theaters as a newborn). I can relate to watching it on tv many years later and thinking that Vader was a robot. Well done video.
My funny story of watching Star Wars, I had just moved from London when I was 6 and that year my mum and older sister took me back to London for a days shopping and went to see Star Wars at about 7 pm. I was so excited and couldn’t wait to see it. I started watching it and remember seeing the end. When we walking out I said to my mum I didn’t see Chewbacca and I couldn’t understand how I missed it. It wasn’t till 5 years when it came on the telly at Christmas that I realised I hadn’t seen it and my mum admitted she hadn’t told me I had fell asleep through most of the film ! I still can’t believe it to this day !
I was five when it came out, but it felt like it was in theaters for 3 full years. My dad was an Air Force Lt. and HUGE scifi geek, and it seems like we saw it over a dozen times. That was the beginning of a decades-long obsession. We had all the action figures, even most of the mail-away ones (Boba Fett, Bossk, 4-LOM, Ackbar, Nien Nunb, the Emperor). When Return of the Jedi came out, we were in Calgary for a marathon (my dad ran for fun) and I remember waiting in line all day to get in to see it.
Those were the days! I had the mail-away Boba Fett, that was a cool one! After Empire came out I took a Han Solo figure and froze him in a block of ice and kept him in the freezer until Return of the Jedi came out, and on opening day I thawed him out before we went to the movie, lol. Great times!
@@GalaxyinfinitemStudios That is soooo awesome. I seem to recall that Boba Fett's ship (the not-so-delightfully named, Slave I) came with a frozen Han? It was such a long time ago I could be wrong. My very favorite action figure was Leia In Boushh Disguise, but I also loved her Bespan red figure. My favorite easter egg are the minor characters Klaatu and Barada, of the Niktos species.
@@alchemicalbird Yes, Boba's ship did come with a little carbonite encased Han Solo! I've still got mine tucked away somewhere in storage. I've still got most of my old Star Wars stuff in varying degrees of condition. Some are pretty nice and some have seen better days! My X-wing got beat up pretty bad and I repaired it when I was a kid with tape so it's in pieces now, lol. Klaatu and Barada, that's a deep cut right there! I had forgotten about those guys. I like how a lot of those minor characters you didn't even know the names until you got the figures. Somebody was having fun when they named those two! I was always amused by the particularly unimaginatively named "Walrus Man" 😀
I was 5 and it was frickin amazing. And I still love it. I saw the commercials on TV and told my dad to take me. He wasn't a sci-fi guy, but he took me and he was hooked too. 3 yrs later he took me to see Empire Strikes back and I remember the long lines and he got me all the Kenner toys for Christmas as well.
I remember ten year old me standing in line for hours to see a movie that would ingrain itself on my consciousness forever afterward! I think here in the UK we had to wait around six months after the U.S. premiere to get our first taste of that galaxy far far away! And today (2024) I have my £1000 DE Agostini 32inch Millennium Falcon standing proud in my living room.
I was six and living in the Bay Area. My brother won tickets to a special screening the day before it came out at the CORONET theatre in San Francisco. Sitting in the balcony waiting for it to come on I had no idea what I was about to witness. Little did I know my life was about to change forever!!!!!
My favorite in-joke is the blink-and-you'll-miss-it pair of dice above Chewie's head in the Milennium Falcon cockpit. A nod to Lucas' love of hot rods.
It was an amazing experience, it's difficult to overstate how impressive the special effects were for the time, especially on the big screen, the storyline was also captivating
I was 10 when i saw Star Wars. It blew me away with the firsr scene with the Rebel Blockade Runner being chased by the Imperial Star Destroyer.
It was truly amazing! We sat in the front row.
This is so great! Thank you - your family sounds like mine! We were sci fi fans and went to conventions in the 70s too. A few years ago I found my diary entry from May 29, 1977, when I was 11 and we drove an hour and a half up to view Star Wars at the Roseville 4, one of the two theaters in Minnesota showing it. Here's my entry: for Sunday, May 29, 1977: "I went to Minneapolis. I and my family, Mikey and his friend went to Star Wars. It was COOL!" 😜 We sat in front, too - blew us away!
I’ll be 57 years of age this coming Nov. so…I can relate w EVERYTHING you touched on here in your video. I even still have the poster shown at 14:38. That’s right! An original 1977 movie promo poster! The James Last Orchestra does a great version of the Meco version of the Star Wars main theme. I highly recommend looking it up on YT here. It’s just awesome! Great video my friend. Thank you.
Great work my friend. . Being too young I missed the star wars opening but was there for the return of the jedi hype. Subbed.
Thank you! I should make a video about seeing Jedi on opening night, it was another amazing experience.
@@GalaxyinfinitemStudios
So envious. Life changing.
My dad took us into NYC to see it at the Ziegfeld in midtown-huge screen. I still get goosebumps thinking about that first jump to hyperspace. Extra memorable was that it was the night of the great blackout of ‘77-luckily we’d gone to the early show so we were on a train outside the city when the power blew. 3 hours sitting on a hot dark train in the south bronx was its own experience!
This is quite touching, especially for those of us around your age - thank you for making and uploading:)
Thank you, that is much appreciated! 😀
Thank you for your story! I love love loved it, and your parents sound like wonderful people. I myself was 10 when Star Wars exploded onto the scene, and it's a cherished part of my own wonder years. After all this time, that film still stands as my favorite of the bunch. It's really not like the others. And so fantastic that you had the opportunity to hear Kurtz present on it ahead of its opening! Such a different world in 1977 for sure... thanks for the nostalgia!
8 yr old.Mum took me to a small town theatre in Australia. Totally blown away. Mum loved the music and bought that same LP for her Mothers day 78.
I dont need to watch. I lived it. But thanks for sharing our experience. I was 8 years old. I remember Immediately after the movie end credits ended my dad took us to a record store in same mall we watched the movie in and bought the soundtrack.
Thanks for the look back...
I was 14 when it came out and the opening scene with the blockade runner and the destroyer blew me away. I came out of the theatre thinking how cool it would be if the Force was real.
I kept going back to see it and even got my sister to smuggle in a tape recorder so I could listen to it. I still remember being pissed at some girls in the theatre that will giggling and laughing and screwing up my recording.
Thinking about it, I think only Harry Potter has come close to enthralling generations like that movie did.
Cheers!
I was eleven in 1977. We went three times before we were able to see it as it being sold out.
I was 24 back in 1977, my best friend and I went to the Coronet Theater in San Francisco a week or two after it opened in May. There was no "reserve" seating, it was all first come first served buy ticket at the ticket window and wait in line. , First one had to to stand in the line to buy your ticket, once you got the ticket, then switch over to the main line waiting patiently for the next showing over 2.5 hours away . Depending on when your arrived, this could easily take three or more hours waiting in line. Since the theater held 1300 and most every showing was "sold out", the line stretched down Geary Blvd, turned the corner to the next block, turned again, and then backed up to where it started at the theater. The reason why this particular theater was so packed was it was because it was the only theater in Northern California equipped to show Star Wars in 70MM on a hugh 50 to 55 foot wide deeply curved screen, in full 6 track magnetic dolby stereophonic sound the gold standard for picture and sound presentation at the time. Seeing Star Wars for the first time at the Coronet, was beyond anything I've seen before or since. One of the greatest movie going experiences in my life was the famous opening shot when the camera pans down after the "crawl" and one hears first a deep rumbling over your head as the rear effects surround speakers announces and then shows the passing overhead of the rebel blockade runner, which looked hugh on the Coronet's deeply curved movie screen...but nothing could prepare me or others in that audience, for the Empires star destroyer that followed it,.it was friggin "humongous"....slowly lumbering overhead chasing the rebel ship. It just kept coming and coming and taking like forever, to pass overhead, combine that with the intricate detail of that ship with all the hatches, lights, and above all the sound of the deep sub bass rumbling of the engines , add John Williams marvelous score, what a jaw dropping experience. It no longer felt like one was watching a film, but more like actually stepping through a window and being there in person is best i can describe it. After attending films for 60 plus years, it is the only film that i can remember seeing, that at its conclusion, got a rapturous and spontaneous standing ovation from the packed audience.
I am soooo much like you, we share the time stamp, I saw Star wars on the big screen when I was 12, it BLEW ME AWAY!!! I also love Ray Harryhausen's work SO much!!
I was 5. I remember, quite vividly, standing near our little family Xmas tree as my father (rip, thanks for taking me to the cool films, Dad) leaned down to me and said something like "in the New Year I'm going to take you to a very special film... it's called Star Wars".
Edit: maybe it was '77, maybe '78. My Dad was a big SF fan and may have been aware of it - but I think that Star Wars was screened again around Xmas time in '78, '79, 80.
You had an awesome Dad! ❤
@@GalaxyinfinitemStudios
Thanks, he was awesome:)
Yours sounds equally cool! Your whole family sounds great. We were lucky, eh
Love hearing from those who were there at ground level when this thing started. I remember being in high school in the 90s asking the art teaching assistant who was 30 what it was like in ‘77, felt like we were interviewing an astronaut who’d been to the moon! :)
We all get that same Awe when my friend whose 55 now and works at the comic book store tells us when he remembers seeing Star Wars in the theatre back in 77!
I was 10 years old. I grew up in rural America. This was the first movie I saw in a theater. We went as a field trip for school. This was also the first time I ate at Mc Donald’s. I did not have a gaming system and had not been exposed to a lot of movies. To say the least this experience had a huge impact on me.
Canada. May '77. Me - 6 years old, just finishing up in grade 1. At SHOW AND TELL in our class, a kid - obviously ahead of the curve - came in with a SW shirt (I believe dark blue with a disco-style SW logo on his upper-left chest area, probably in darker blue). Chances are it came from one of the VERY popular "put a decal on your shirt" shops at our neighbourhood mall. The kid proceeded to enthuse and recount how he'd just seen this movie - and how it was the greatest (etc) and we should all go see it. This was his show & tell, and while he may not have had any actual objects for it (action figures not out yet) this is what convinced me to ask my mom to take our family to see it. Probably most of our first encounters with it overall. Went to the mall's single-screen midcentury theatre (sparsely decorated, and very new at the time). The rest...was history.
Awesome story! Star Wars show & tell. 😀
Absolutely excellent! I was 10 in the summer of 1977. STAR WARS played at a drive-in at the edge of town. Back then each parking spot had a heavy old speaker you'd lift off its holder and hang off the window of your car. Our speaker was blown and sounded awful but we just put up with it... could barely understand a word that was spoken. But it was still absolutely magical to lay in the back of my mom's Plymouth Volaré wagon and watch a space battle play-out against a star-lit sky. Absolutely magical.
I was the target age when Star Wars came out. I was also already a science fiction fantasy movie fan by that time. I saw both Conquest and Battle for the Planet of the Apes in the theater a few years prior. I remember the first image I ever saw of Star Wars which was also the first time I ever even heard of it. It was a small black and white picture in Scholastic News magazine of the stormtrooper on the "dewback". I remember thinking how cool it looked and it reminded me of the gorilla soldier on horseback from Planet of the Apes, except I had no idea what I was looking at. A "robot" on a giant "lizard"? I had to see this Star Wars movie and see it I did.
My friend who works at the comic book store is about 55 now and always remembers the day he saw Star Wars in the movie theatre when it was brand new in 77! It always amazes us to hear that!
The artist Ralph McQuarrie really helped giving Star Wars it's imaginative world of a galaxy far far away.
Mega! There was a an atmosphere from beginning to end while you were sitting there. That ship at the start, we all looked over our heads to see where it was coming from, and the sound was amazing. Funny enough, Close encounters, was playing in the other studio next door, that was a great experience also. Better times.
Saw it at the drive-in when I was 4. Made such an impression that I still vividly remember the experience in 2023.
BTW, I still have all of those original Star Wars glasses from Burger King.
Very cool! Only the Luke Skywalker glass is remaining from the original 4 I got back then, and it has a hairline crack! ☹
Well done vid. Totally enjoyed this. I was 9 when STAR WARS came out that May, but turned 10 that August of 77. So yeah, I will be 57 this August. I remember saying to my parents, when we were coming out of the theatre, that it was the best movie I had ever seen. Im sure alot of kids said that back then. Oh, and love your cats. Cat people GET IT.
I was 14 when Star Wars was first shown back in 1977. The Savoy in Andover, the cueing, the anticipation, the growing sense of wonder as the first lines, on the screen, started to scroll endlessly onward detailing the legend that the film would become. Then a great crescendo, as laser beams ignited in quick succession as a Star Destroyer chased…..my world had changed in those first few moments I was taken. I also fell in love with a beautiful princess, but that’s another story.
Saw it Saturday June 4 at Oakbrook Theater Oakbrook IL during the day. It was gorgeous outside but well worth missing a sunny afternoon. I can recall what I was wearing! Mind blown!!
My officemate saw the 1st showing 1030am in LA on May 25, 1977. Ot was half full. She enjoyed it so much that on the way out she bought tickets for the rest of her family for the 8pm. By 2pm the line was down the block. They could never have all seen it 8pm that day if she hadn't gotten the 8pm tix in advance
I saw it when it came out in the summer of 77 I decided to build model spaceships and got my first Super 8 camera and made my own home movies of Star Wars action figures and models. It made me the filmmaker that I am today
What a wonderful video. I was 11 in the spring of ‘77. I honestly don’t remember the first time I saw the movie but I vividly remember the second. Thanks for the great remembrances.
I saw it in the theatre as a child and it shaped my whole life
gen x has experienced and has connection these movies no other generation could ever have
Great video! I was 8 years old at the time and like most kids then, Star Wars changed our lives. However, we had a slightly different experience here in the UK. With the film not premiering in London until 27th December 1977 we had months of news coming across the pond about this phenomenon called Star Wars. The merch started hitting the shelves before the film came out and I well remember seeing a few clips from the movie on TV so I was pretty stoked up by the time Star Wars hit my local cinema in Jan/Feb 1978. The wait was actually painful. However, despite the movie not coming out of the blue for us in the UK, nothing could have prepared me for actually seeing it for the first time. An experience that I'll never forget.
Unbelievable. It was beyond awesome back then. Still is.
great video !!!! loved all the old photos and seeing people in line
150+ theater visits to see any movie is wild. Most I've even done was 3 trips to see Starship Troopers and twice I saw Mad Max Fury Road.
I understood everything when I watched this at 12 years old back in 1977 , how your family couldn’t understand it is beyond me ?
I was 5. I saw it at Allentown drive in. I was hooked. I brought the toys everywhere with me.
Wow! Why am I just seeing this now?! Loved the video! I first saw Star Wars in 78. The very week it had rereleased with the Drew Struzan poster hanging on your wall. I can relate to so much in your video. I don't know how it took me a whole year plus to finally see the film, but nevertheless it did. Despite so many of my friends gushing over the film beforehand, I still seemed to miss all the important spoilers. Somehow I was a fan long before I saw it, collecting Topps cards and such. However, nothing prepared me for how profoundly the movie affected me. Today, Star Wars is STILL my all-time favorite movie. . . As much as I love other Star Wars films too, only Star Wars (aka A New Hope) had what it took to change my whole life. Even to this day. Too me, Star Wars by far is the greatest movie experience I'll ever have. . . Also. . . So cool for your folks to be from a grass roots sci fi family. That's just serendipitously awesome!
Like no other experience I've ever witnessed it just blew audiences away it's hard to understand in 2024 because we've seen dinosaurs and everything in between but in 1977 we'd never seen spaceships look so real and the sets and characters seem so real as a child it changed my world forever I just wanted more.
I remember having time off from school and my mom asked what I wanted to do. I said a movie and she agreed. So my brother and I decided to go to a movie playing in 1 theatre on Long Island.
We got to the theatre and got tickets for the next showing because the word on Star Wars had not gotten out yet. Mind blown. It was unlike any other movie and for an 11 year old a fan was born.
After that, the word was out in my neighborhood and soon after it was showing up in more theaters.
I was 7 when Star Wars came out and I went to see it with my dad. I remember being amazed and also somewhat perplexed by it. It was a lot to wrap my young mind around. I distinctly recall being a little bored in the beginning. I really thought the entire film was going to be these two droids wandering around having adventures in the desert. It is an odd film and I’d never seen anything like it. At that age I hadn’t seen many films yet, but I knew that this was something special and unique. Of course I ended up loving the film and had all the action figures and a lot of the merchandise. Anyone who wasn’t around during its initial release in 1977 has no idea what a huge cultural event it was. It truly did change the world.
fascinating, learned some new info even all these years later about Star Wars' debut.
It was life changing, when all you had was Star Trek and Gerry Anderson programmes. First time I went to the pictures as well. I was 6