Please tell me your Star Wars FIRST stories

[thegreatgalling]

Hey Gang,

Many of you had the great pleasure of seeing SW in theaters in 77. And many of you have recounted your stories in other threads, but I have yet to see one place for people to share their SW experiences.

For example, what was it like hearing Vader was Luke's father? Were you surprised?

Were you amazed that annoying little green guy was Yoda?

Unfortunatley, by the time my generation got to enjoy and understand Star Wars the "Luke, I am your faaather" line had saturated pop culture. I knew Darth Vader was Anakin Skywalker BEFORE I watched SW. I knew who Yoda was.

I can say that on my first viewing of ROTJ, I honestly thought the Millenium Falcon was NOT going to make it. I believed Han Solo's line foreshadowed its demise. I was also surprised Leia was Luke's sister, but remember enjoying the twist.

 

[cayman shen]

I wish I could remember, but it was so long ago and I was so young! I wasn't even quite two when SW came out in 77, and I fell asleep right after they froze Han in ESB, and sort of drifted in and out, but everything was so hazy. I *think* I was surprised about Yoda, but :confused ROTJ I have clear memories of, but it's more that I have memories of the toys and playing with my friends than first seeing the movie. Now, I think I knew Luke's saber was green before I saw the film, but I do remember just this complete thrill when Luke first ignites it on the skiff. That's still probably my favorite scene in the movie. The look on his face, that green blade flashing out...just awesome.

Oddly enough, my fondest fully recalled SW FIRST memory is about the anticipation regarding TPM, which I've recounted any number of times here. Even though I'm not nuts about the movie, seeing or hearing it brings me right back to that summer, one of the best of my life, like for a moment I'm there again, and I can feel the heat and see the people I worked with at the theater and smell the popcorn in the lobby...it's completely visceral. I just wish that the movie had lived up to the glorious, delicious expectation. But that's often the way, right? The anticipation is better, most often. But due to the internet and my lack of self-control, there were ZERO surprises for me with the prequels. I pretty much knew the whole movies going in, which I regret.

 

[MooCriket]

SW 77, was four years old. I was having a great day. My father had bought me Vader, Luke, Obi, Chewie, 3PO, and R2. Got a big ice cream in the shape of a big foot, complete with toes from the Good Humor truck going through my neighborhood. Tasty! Later that night my Dad took me to the drive in, to see my first movie...STAR WARS!!!

I didn't say a word the whole movie. I instantly fell in love with it.

Empire for me was a different experience the first time that I saw it. I was really upset. Only later as I got older did I grow to love it, and really appreciate it. At the time, being so young, it was shocking to see the good guys take such a beating. Luke lost his hand, Vader told me that he was his Father...wait this meant that Ben lied...grown ups don't lie do they?! Poor Han got frozen and taken away...I thought we would never see him again, 3PO got blown apart, and some pig guys were just tossing his pieces around. Ben was'nt teaching Luke anything now, and poor Luke crashed on some slimy mud hole of a planet and was being taught by some little green guy. Wait, Luke left! What did Yoda mean by there is another?! I was traumatized for days after this one! I gotta admit at the time I was so mad at Lando that I was wishing that Chewie had strangled him or at least pulled an arm out of it's socket for good measure.

When I saw Jedi, I was happy that they were going after Han. When Luke first appeared I thought...what happened to this guy? He's got some confidence now, and seems to be telling Jabba the way things are going to be! I too thought that something was going to happen to the Falcon after Han said what he did. While I liked the film, to this day I still wish we would have had another alien or something more believable than furry little bears beating the Emperor's best troops.

 

[Risu]

I saw all three movies probably 10 times before I was 4, I don't remember any point in my life where I didn't know all three of those movies scene for scene. I do feel like I missed out on the chance to actually experience them, it would be the one upside of amnesia.

 

[Wes R]

I apparently went to see Empire Strikes back with my neighbors who babysat me but i was 2 at the time so i probably slept through it. I don't remember if i saw Jedi in the theater or not. My first real memories of movies was Superman 2 and 3 at the drive in and seeing Temple of Doom at the fancy old theater we had. I vaguely remember star trek 2 or 3 in the theater too.

 

[Tan Djarka]

First of all, sadly, all the theaters I saw the OT in are now gone! It was in the age after the grand theater palaces, but before the mega mulitplex had really taken hold.

I remember the summer of 77 like it was not much more than thirty years ago. The children of my babysitter (daycare, technically, as I was 9 going on 10) told me about this great new film they'd seen called "Star Wars". I was familiar with Star Trek, but I just couldn't figure out what this new film was all about. The kids weren't any help apparently, as somehow I envisioned a bunch of old guys with beards, looking more like Norse gods than anything actually in the movie. Later, I was given a copy of the novelization, but I didn't read it. I looked at the pictures in it, but they didn't make any sense to me. The pic of the gang in the trash compactor was the most confusing. A couple of guys in white plastic suits in what looks like a pile of leaves?

Later than summer, just before we returned to school (the horror!) the babysitter took us all to the movies (me, my brother, and her four kids). What did we see...?

My life was changed forever. I was all about Star Wars. The toys, books, and anything else. It wasn't until sometime after ROTJ was released that my enthusiasm faded, but I was an adult now, and adults just didn't pursue those sorts of interests. But then the prequel trilogy came out and I was hooked again. Say what you will about the prequels, but it reinspired a generation of fans who'd lost their way and brought a whole load of new ones. And toy technology had finally advanced to the point to give us a decent lightsaber that wasn't a golf tube or some inflatable thingie on the end of a flashlight (that wasn't even the right color!).

 

[Jedifyfe]

I don't recall seeing ANH in the theater, my parents say we saw it at a Drive-In. I don't remember it. Though I remeber playing Star Wars after school when I was in 1st grade. I had just turned 4 at the time ANH came out. My grandfather passed away the same day Star Wars was released.

I DO remember Empire. I also remember the time leading up to Empire and the conspiracies about who is Lukes father. I believe the story line was leaked and we knew that Luke was going to meet his father. This was just after the Christmas Star Wars show and we saw Boba Fett for the first time. Then the Mail-In Boba Fett figure showed up on the action figure cardbacks and me and my brother thought that Boba Fett was going to be Lukes dad. I also remember that the Wampa scared the crap out of me.

My dad took me and my brother out of school to see the first showing of Jedi in the theater. I was in 5th grade. I remember liking the Ewoks and the look of Jedi. I also thought it was the coolest of the 3 movies at the time because I could play in the forest near my house and pretend it was Endor.

 

[cayman shen]

I think most people who saw Jedi when they were under 10 or so liked that one the best. I know I thought Empire was a little boring until I was a teenager and realized just how perfect it is in nearly every regard.

 

[smurf]

I was five and was playing in the sandbox. My Mom yells to me that we are going to see Star Wars. I get out of the sandbox kind of bummed. I'm thinking to myself that "STAR WARS" is something like Battle of the Network Stars. I was not bummed for too long.

Sweet

 

[Colin Droidmilk]

I was ten. Remember Mom and Dad waking us up and saying we were going on a 'day trip'. But they wouldn't tell us where. We drove for over an hour, passed a sign for Northampton. 'Where are we going? Where are we going?' 'Well, where do we normally go if we come past Northampton?' says Dad. '....London? ' I replied, 'Why are we going all the way to London?' Me and my brother were jumping up and down in bewilderment and frustration - it was another hour to London. So Mom opened her handbag and showed us some tickets. Tickets for Leicester Square Odeon. And the tickets said Star Wars on them.

We went absolutely bananas. It was opening week. The cinema was the biggest one I'd ever walked into, just for a start. I mean just that space itself was mindblowing to me. When the film got underway I remember the sound of the Imperial Cruiser (because, damnit, that's what they were called in 77) making the floor shake, it made your trousers move. No one had heard sound like that in a cinema before. And the screen was so big, the ship was just crushing you down into your seat, felt like you couldn't breathe. Then when it cut to the interior I remember very clearly watching Threepio and thinking, 'I'm here, I'm here, I'm actually watching Star Wars!!' It was an effort to cease the mental jubilation and actually concentrate again on what the robots were saying...




Me and my friends were thirteen when we started hearing rumours Vader was Luke's father in the new film. We thought it was an absolutely crap idea. The film executed the concept very well, though, so we went along with it. But I have to say to this day I can kinda take or leave the idea. Luke going in the cave just didn't feel Star Warsy. I learned to adapt, and of course always loved Empire as a film in its own right, but Star Wars remains the only film where you find what is known as Star Wars.

However, I wouldn't have said such a thing in 1983. Coming out of Jedi - momentarily blasted by the FX in the finale - I said to my friend, 'That was the best SW of the lot!' God, and I was 16! What a tool. My friend said 'you must be joking' and reminded me of the lame parts, and the glory of the first film. I quickly saw the rightness of his position.

 

[Art Andrews]

I was too young to see ANH in the theater. ESB was my first movie, and we came in late and had to sit in the front row. All I remember was bending my head all the way back to look up at the AT-ATs which seemed forever tall.... then I fell asleep, slept through all the Yoda stuff and woke up around the Carbon Freezing chamber scene and man, was Darth Vader terrifying!

Shortly after that they had a HUGE X-Wing at my mall with Yoda (on wheels). Since I slept through the Yoda part, I didn't like him and I thought he was some kind of monster and made them move him out of the photo... so unlike all the other kids, my pic was just with the X-Wing and no Yoda!

I have posted this pic a couple times before, but here it is again for anyone who hasn't seen it. I would LOVE to know where that X-Wing came from!

 

[DarkHelmet]

I was 13 and it hit me like a ton of bricks. It changed me forever.

I remember seeing the preview for SW when I went to see King Kong. I couldn't wait. Being a King Kong and Planet of the Apes fanatic, I was mesmerized by Chewbacca from the preview. Thought it was a gorilla.

SW was my obsession. All we had back then was magazines, so I would read all I could.

When ESB came out, I was 16 and I skipped school to see the first showing the day it opened. Loved it except when Vader drops the father bomb. I was completely disappointed. Thought it was a cheap shot. I also was disappointed with Yoda's voice. Sounded like Grover from Sesame Street.

 

[micdavis]

I was 16, already five years into being a Sci-Fi geek, being part of a local Star Trek club, a Comic-Con staff member.

I was at a con in Anaheim and a friend of a friend, Joe Viscosil, showed up at the con with a sheet of slides from this movie he was working on called Star Wars.

The slides were all effects shots.

R2 fixing the stabilizer on the Xwing
A trench cannon.
The Falcon sitting in the DS Landing Bay (oddly enough I found that exact same shot while dumpster diving ILM a year or more later.)
Red Leader sitting in the cockpit.
McQuarrie Painting of R2 & 3PO.

That was it. I was hooked,

Then the novelization came out, read that. I think the Marvel Comic adaptaion came out shortly before the movie (maybe).

Then the local radio station was giving away tickets to the press screening on May 24th. I called the station and asked them for tickets, as I wrote movie reviews for the school paper. Got two tickets and went.

The next day I cut school (new movies used to open on Wednesdays), went to the theater with a tape recorder, sat in the front row and recorded the sound. And saw the movie 5 or 6 times that day. Which was day one. May 25th, 1977.

The movie played at that theater for 13 months, I saw it 111 times in that 13 months.

I would routinely go in in the morning and watch it all day until they closed.

 

[Tan Djarka]

I also was disappointed with Yoda's voice. Sounded like Grover from Sesame Street.

Could've been worse. It could've been Miss Piggy... Hiya!

I was somewhat late in seeing ESB as well. My father took my brother and I the day before we were shipped off to summer camp for four weeks. It was a Saturday in June, and apparently it was also some sort of event, as they had some people appearing in costume (Vader and Fett, as I recall).

I'd already read the novelization and pretty much new what would happen in the movie, but there was nothing better than finally seeing it on the big screen.

 

[CessnaDriver]

If you were reading the magazines and keeping up, not too much was a big surprise.
Even the father thing had been floated before somewhere I think.

Vader chucking the emperor was a BIG surprise though.

Most of us big fans did skip school to see Empire and Jedi first day first showing.

There was good rumor going around that Luke was not going to survive ROTJ.

Figured the emperor had to go down somehow, and Han already established as Leia's love interest. We knew there was "another".

What was left for Luke but to die taking out the Empire?

 

[DL 44 Blaster]

I was 6 at the time in '77. I remember myself, my Mom & Dad being at my grandparents (my Mom's parents) in their old house. Then my Dad took me to the theater to see it...my brother wasn't even two at the time so it was just me and my Dad. I remember being blown away and was hooked immediately. I loved everything Star Wars that I could get my hands on. Not too much else comes to mind at the moment but, being that it's been nearly 34 years I guess that's pretty good:lol

 

[Cobalt60]

re: I am your father

I was ten for ESB. we won tickets to an advance screening through a radio station. for the rest of the world, the movie didn't open until may. but when I saw it, there was still snow on the ground. --> the hoth scenes were vivid -- but more importantly, I had NO spoliers. none of my friends had seen it, because it wasn't released yet. that means no one had been talking about it. the papers hadn't reported on it. I hadn't even seen a single promo-pic. so every image, from the look of the taun-taun to the planet dagobah, was completely foreign to me. I had no idea what to expect. I certainly didn't expect that vader was luke's father.. or luke would get his hand cut off.. or han's greatest fear would come true (captured by bounty hunters). the entire movie just hit me like a ton of bricks. I remember feeling absolutely numb walking out of the theater. (like the dizzy feeling you get when you hyperventilate). I was bumping into walls, and people. I got lost in a crowd, and completely lost my bearings. just as the room started spinning around my head, I felt a hand grab the collar of my jacket and lead me out of the theater. my dad just shook his head and rolled his eyes. he thought it was comical.

for days, when my friends asked me what happened, I couldnt realy answer. they thought I was just trying to keep them spoiler free. but the truth is, I couldn't string two thoughts together to make a sentence. I was stunned. for days.

 

[Mola Rob]

Star Wars:
I was nine when my parents took me and my brother to see Star Wars in ’77. It was somewhat surprising since my dad always complained about that “goddamned Star Trak” we would watch all the time.
We got to the theater a little late so we had to sit in the front row. Seeing the Star Destroyer roar over us is one of the best memories I have of the movies. I loved the movie despite the killer headache I had and I went back to see it eight more times that summer. Probably paid less than one movie would cost nowadays.
The in between years:
We had everything we could get that was connected to Star Wars, bed covers, curtains, posters, t-shirts, figures, models, etc. Star Wars was a big part of those years. I remember watching the Christmas Special in 1978 and wondering what the heck I was watching. In 1979 we went to a drive-in movie and while I was headed to the snack bar between movies I heard certain unmistakable sounds and turned towards the screen. There was my first glimpse of The Empire Strikes Back. My mouth must have hit the ground. This was back in the day before they told everyone what trailers were being shown. This led to actually being surprised now and then. I miss these surprises.
The Empire Strikes Back:
Opening night we stood in line for two and a half hours waiting for the doors to open. Most highly anticipated movie of my life and I was not disappointed. I was surprised that Yoda was the little green guy. I only saw the movie two more times that summer. Higher prices and other activities kept me from matching my Star Wars total.
The in between years:
More figures, more models and posters. No t-shirts, curtains or bed cover. Highly anticipating Revenge of the Jedi.
Return of the Jedi:
Opening day skipped out of High School with two friends and we went to the first afternoon showing. Felt depressed and disappointed after seeing it. Too many juvenile jokes, the Han Solo who went into the Carbonite was not the Han Solo who emerged, the friggin Death Star again, R2 and 3PO behind the fake sand dune, Luke and Leia brother and sister, the BS point of view speech, and of course the Ewoks. It had its moments but not enough. Went to see it one more time to see if I had just been in a bad mood or had missed something but it only reinforced my opinion that it was not as good. I still consider this to be one of my top five most disappointing movie experiences.

 

[Bradleyfett]

I cried when I didn't get to see SW in the theater after it had been out for a few weeks already and everyone at school was telling me about it. I remembers saying it was about to be gone from the theaters soon and I would never get the chance to see it again (haha!).

I recal seeing ESB in the theater and I was completely blown away when it ended- I couldn't believe the movie would end without an actual 'ending'.

Seeing ROTJ in the theater for the first time, I got chills during the scene where Luke is prodded into fighting back Vader (NEVER!!).

M

 

[MaulWalker]

I was 20 in 1977. I had heard about this great movie from some of my friends and thought I should check it out.

The movie theater had decided to make its one screen into a two screen "multiplex" by building a wall down the middle of the theater. Lousy soundproofing and the screen wasn't centered with the seats. Once the movie started, I forgot all that.

My first thought on seeing Vader walk through the bulkhead was "Whoa! Is his cape cut on the bias to make it move like that?" I guess I was fated to do Star Wars costumes at some point. :lol

I walked out of there totally enamoured with the Star Wars universe and saw the film 13 more times in the theater. When cable TV finally arrived, ANH was on heavy rotation and I lost count how many times I saw it there.

Lynn