By Michael Lyons
I have a very vivid memory from the summer of 1977. My family was at the beach (Robert Moses State Park Beach, in Long Island, NY, to be exact), and as I stood knee-deep in the water with my Dad, Uncle and cousins, I remember my Uncle Dennis saying, "Hey, we all went to see this movie Star Wars the other night..."
And as Uncle Dennis proceeded to explain the plot of this movie, detailing the "spaceships" and describing this character called "Chewbacca," my 11-year-old mind was reeling.
I have another very vivid memory from that same summer of 1977. It's from about a week later when my Dad (just as much a movie fan as I am) took me to the movie theater (The RKO Twin Theatre in Commack, NY, to be exact) to see Star Wars.
And, while I do remember so much from that night, from having to wait in line to see it (something I had never done before) to the adults in line complaining about the price of the ticket ("$4.00 to see one movie?!"), the thing I remember the most is that communal experience of sitting in the jam-packed, air-conditioned theater and watching Star Wars.
The science-fiction-fantasy-unlike any-ever-before-seen story of Luke Skywalker, Obi-Wan Kenobi, Han Solo, and Princess Leia going up against the evil Empire unfurled across the screen.
It's one of those moviegoing experiences you never forget. That indelible opening shot of the Star Destroyer seemingly soaring over our heads onto the screen; this enigmatic villain called Darth Vader terrifying us with every labored breath; a Cantina full of the strangest, most creative creatures I had ever seen since watching Planet of the Apes at home and, of course, finally getting to see what a Chewbacca was.
Most of all, I remember the audience's reactions. Laughing at jokes that seemed to come at the film's most dangerous times ("One thing’s for sure, we are all going to be a lot thinner!") and applauding at the end of the film as the Death Star disappeared in an explosion that seemed both realistic and fantastic.
I had never been part of an audience like this before. Most of the movies I went to see up to this point were Disney movies, (re-issues of past animated feature film classics, and live-action Dean Jones outings). That summer of '77 had seen the debut of a brand-new Disney animated film, The Rescuers, which I had seen just several weeks prior, and loved.
But that, like so many other Disney animated films, was usually an afternoon at the movies, where I was "dropped off" with friends or a parent begrudgingly accompanied. The entire theater was mainly comprised of kids who (to my annoyance, even at a young age) would many times talk during the movie.
With Star Wars, I was in a theater at night with adults, teenagers, and other kids, of all ages. And as we all laughed, gasped, and applauded, sometimes so loud that we were drowning out the dialogue on screen, we all seemed to be collectively enjoying and experiencing the film together.
The film debuted in fewer than 32 theaters on Wednesday, May 25, 1977, and earned over $2 million through Memorial Day Weekend, a whopper of a box office at the time.
Movies (and specifically summer movie season) changed forever. Jaws had "turned the tide" two years earlier, and Star Wars sent the movie industry into "hyperspace." In 1999, film critic Roger Ebert noted, "Star Wars effectively brought to an end the golden era of early-1970s personal filmmaking and focused the industry on big-budget special-effects blockbusters, blasting off a trend we are still living through."
And the "Summer of Star Wars" turned into the fall, Christmas, and school year of Star Wars, as my friends and I sported our iron-on Star Wars T-Shirts, played our Star Wars board game, marveled at our Kenner "Early Bird Certificate," listened to the Meco disco version of John Williams' music, proudly displayed our "Darth Vader Lives" buttons and let Star Wars consume our almost every waking hour.
My story is not unique. So many fans have similar stories of the time they were first introduced to Star Wars, whether during the summer of 1977 or one of the sequels, prequels, animated shows, streaming series, theme park attractions, entire theme park lands, and on and on and on.
Celebrating its 45th anniversary this summer, Star Wars has become a more extensive collective experience that has had a staying power no one at the RKO Twin Theater could have predicted on that summer night in 1977.
And, sure, there have been similar, indelible moviegoing experiences since: E.T.: The Extra-Terrestrial, Back to the Future, Jurassic Park, The Lord of the Rings trilogy, and a number of the Marvel films come to mind.
But none have had the impact that Star Wars had four and a half decades ago.
And, why is that? A quote from George Lucas seems to sum it up best. He once said, "... I set out to make a film for a generation growing up without fairy tales."
Well done. Thank you for the wonderful, vivid memories.
Happy 45th Anniversary, Star Wars. And, May the Fourth Be With you!
rogerebert.com
CBSFox Home Video
Learn more about my new book Drawn To Greatness
For more of my writing visit my websiteWords From Lyons
No comments:
Post a Comment