It feels good to finally say that. It's good to have it off my chest. The truth is, I did not see the original Star Wars in theaters until almost nine months after its initial release.
Nine months! I've pretty much spent the rest of my life playing catch-up.
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| Umm, where's the Jawa? |
Granted, this was in an era when popular movies stayed in theaters for more than a month before being booted out by the next potential blockbuster. The original Star Wars (Back before prequels, sequels, spin-offs and episode numbers.) played in some theaters for over a year. And I had no clue as to what this budding cultural phenomenon was. Even after inquiring of one of my kindergarten classmates as to who the Darth Vader guy on his t-shirt was, I had no clue. Even as we drove to the theater to see it on my father's birthday, I was unsure of what we were getting into.
I wish I could tell you my exact reactions to all the incredible images that bombarded us that March afternoon. I want to say I was thrilled as the Star Destroyer loomed overhead in that opening shot, or that I knew instinctively to boo when Darth Vader strode onto the screen the first time, but I honestly have no recollection. I knew I enjoyed it, and remember replaying scenes over in my head on the long drive home, but that was about it. I do remember it took me about a month to stop saying Rookie instead of Wookie, and that for weeks after, I would have nightly dreams of our suburban New York neighborhood being attacked by Sand People. And I remember the exact order in which I got those first 12 action figures in (They are Luke, Vader, Chewie, R2-D2, C-3PO, Leia, Stormtrooper, Ben Kenobi, Han Solo, Tusken Raider, Death Star Commander, and Jawa. Why the Jawa remained so elusive is beyond me. My friend's grandmother in New Jersey had to pick one up for me. Jersey! They were strangely MIA in New York.)
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| The author (right) at a 1979 meet and greet with Darth Vader and Chewbacca. (Dig Chewie's awesome brown gardening gloves!) |
The Summer of 1979 brought about another trip to see the movie in one of its numerous re-releases, this time getting the first sneak look at The Empire Strikes Back. The still-packed theater watched anxiously as each new scene played out before us, We laughed. We thrilled. And when the announcer said "Coming to your galaxy...next summer!" the entire theater, my father included, cried out in one voice "Next summer???" Truly it was a cruel joke to play on the masses to tease us, then make us wait an entire year to see what happened next.
The Empire Strikes Back premiered May 21, 1980, and my then nine-year-old self waited impatiently at our front door to pounce on my work-weary father and implore him with big, puppy-dog eyes, to take me to see it that day! He was tired. He had a headache. He said yes. We caught an early-evening showing at a theater in Nassau County. I sat there, adrenaline coursing through my small-ish body as every scene played out. I thrilled to the epic snow battle, gained wisdom from Master Yoda's teachings, held my breath waiting to find out if Han survived the carbon-freezing process, then excitedly watched as the Millennium Falcon set out to go rescue him.
Then sat there with my jaw in my lap as the credits rolled. What? It can't end there! What about Han? It wasn't nearly two hours gone already, was it?
It was. I was so swept up that my mind forgot exactly how time worked. Darn you, Mr. Lucas. Darn you to Heck.
For three years I agonized over what would happen next. Luckily, and much to my parent's delight, there were all new toys to play with and map out in my brain where the next film would go. I didn't play with my Han Solo action figure during the entire three years, out of respect for the carbon-frozen hero. During this time, I tried my one and only attempt at filmmaking, using my dad's Super-8 film camera, and a bunch of white towels arranged on the basement couch, I tried to remake the snow
battle on Hoth. Knowing next to nothing about how the camera operated, I attempted to make my AT-AT walker stride across the fuzzy snowfields of Hoth. The final result was more like an Imperial training video of how an Imperial Walker would operate if driven by a drunken, three-toed, myopic rhinoceros. I would have to find other creative ways to tell my stories.
May 25, 1983 and the release of the (then) final chapter in the Star Wars saga, Return of the Jedi premiered. I had thought of little else since May of three years earlier. But instead of going to the theater and standing in line with my friends to see it, I sat at home watching reviews of it on TV newscasts because I had a raging case of strep throat. Obviously, the Dark Side was at work here. It didn't matter that I knew the entire story, having obtained a rogue copy of the Marvel Comics adaptation a month before. It needed to be seen. I needed to see it. I could not show my face in school the day after Memorial Day having been the only one to not see it.
Fortunately, the Light Side of the Force was with me. I not only saw it that Saturday morning, but again on Monday morning when my older brother decided to take me again. We might have had our differences, but for that brief, shining moment, my brother was the coolest guy in the galaxy, and I was the coolest guy in school. Suck it up, losers! I saw it twice!
It was Jedi that inspired me to start writing my own science fiction stories, and I soon after began crafting my own epic. Twelve glorious hand-written pages; the first five or six of which were actually my own creation. The rest was plagiarized from the space battle scenes of the Jedi novelization, with names creatively changed to protect my innocence.
The saga was finished, but we all knew there was more to be told. George Lucas said so himself. We all waited feverishly for the announcement that the new trilogy was due to begin filming soon. Since there were gaps of three years between the first trilogy, reason dictated that by the summer of 1986, we would all be voyaging back to that galaxy far, far away. just a matter of time...
Circa 1986. Umm, Mister Lucas? George? Hello?
Anyone?
Coming soon: Growing Up Star Wars: Episode II, The Sequels, er, um...the Prequels.
#starwars #anewhope #theempirestrikesback #returnofthejedi #lucasfilm #georgelucas #thestarwarssaga #kennertoys
The Empire Strikes Back premiered May 21, 1980, and my then nine-year-old self waited impatiently at our front door to pounce on my work-weary father and implore him with big, puppy-dog eyes, to take me to see it that day! He was tired. He had a headache. He said yes. We caught an early-evening showing at a theater in Nassau County. I sat there, adrenaline coursing through my small-ish body as every scene played out. I thrilled to the epic snow battle, gained wisdom from Master Yoda's teachings, held my breath waiting to find out if Han survived the carbon-freezing process, then excitedly watched as the Millennium Falcon set out to go rescue him.
Then sat there with my jaw in my lap as the credits rolled. What? It can't end there! What about Han? It wasn't nearly two hours gone already, was it?
It was. I was so swept up that my mind forgot exactly how time worked. Darn you, Mr. Lucas. Darn you to Heck.
For three years I agonized over what would happen next. Luckily, and much to my parent's delight, there were all new toys to play with and map out in my brain where the next film would go. I didn't play with my Han Solo action figure during the entire three years, out of respect for the carbon-frozen hero. During this time, I tried my one and only attempt at filmmaking, using my dad's Super-8 film camera, and a bunch of white towels arranged on the basement couch, I tried to remake the snow
 |
| The toys! All the glorious toys! |
May 25, 1983 and the release of the (then) final chapter in the Star Wars saga, Return of the Jedi premiered. I had thought of little else since May of three years earlier. But instead of going to the theater and standing in line with my friends to see it, I sat at home watching reviews of it on TV newscasts because I had a raging case of strep throat. Obviously, the Dark Side was at work here. It didn't matter that I knew the entire story, having obtained a rogue copy of the Marvel Comics adaptation a month before. It needed to be seen. I needed to see it. I could not show my face in school the day after Memorial Day having been the only one to not see it.
Fortunately, the Light Side of the Force was with me. I not only saw it that Saturday morning, but again on Monday morning when my older brother decided to take me again. We might have had our differences, but for that brief, shining moment, my brother was the coolest guy in the galaxy, and I was the coolest guy in school. Suck it up, losers! I saw it twice!
It was Jedi that inspired me to start writing my own science fiction stories, and I soon after began crafting my own epic. Twelve glorious hand-written pages; the first five or six of which were actually my own creation. The rest was plagiarized from the space battle scenes of the Jedi novelization, with names creatively changed to protect my innocence.
The saga was finished, but we all knew there was more to be told. George Lucas said so himself. We all waited feverishly for the announcement that the new trilogy was due to begin filming soon. Since there were gaps of three years between the first trilogy, reason dictated that by the summer of 1986, we would all be voyaging back to that galaxy far, far away. just a matter of time...
Circa 1986. Umm, Mister Lucas? George? Hello?
Anyone?
Coming soon: Growing Up Star Wars: Episode II, The Sequels, er, um...the Prequels.
#starwars #anewhope #theempirestrikesback #returnofthejedi #lucasfilm #georgelucas #thestarwarssaga #kennertoys
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