[Despondent]

I saw Star Wars in November 1977, when it finally came to our sleepy little town of Hannibal Mo. I had a tshirt by then, and a 45 of the meco song. I received the double lp as a birthday gift and me and my friends went to see it the first weekend of November. By then I'd read the marvel comics so I wasn't oblivious. But I was blown away regardless. went back a time or two, and a few times more when it came out (or stuck around) in summer '78.

Every other single release has been an opening day attendance. But that first time with the L-O-N-G overhead Star Destroyer was amazing. I get chills thinking about it.

Just wondering how others were introduced. by video, tv, projection or laserdisc? And which film did you see first? (Love those ewoks! )

[HK 47]

Aaah! A nostalgia thread. Ok, here goes:
I was very young and my dad took me too see Star Wars in the big city, (we lived way in the countryside at the time). He had already seen it and told me that he thought I might like it. I had really no idea what it was but I liked sci-fi stuff even back then so it sounded pretty exciting. Anyway we arrived at the cinema and went in. I remember the posters and pictures outside, I'll never forget the first picture I saw of the stormtroopers (it was the common one with two sandtroopers on Tatooine). But too my utter disappointment the snotty bastard who took the tickets wouldn't let me in cause I was too young too see it. (Yes, Sweden back then was famous for its censorship, they even gave E.T. an R rating!!!) Anyway, my dad would not be so easily thwarted. He immediatly drove us to the next big city, took a few hours. As we entered the cinema I tried too look as tall as I could, don't know if it helped but we got in without any problems. We just managed to catch the late show and when that Star Destroyer flew in I was completely lost in it. Being a law-breaking rogue with my dad AND getting to see Star Wars for the first time was a very memorable experience.

[Chefelf]

I was always under the impression that everyone that read this site was younger than I was. Perhaps I was mistaken. I was born at the same time Despondent saw the film in the theatres. I have no memory of seeing this movie for the first time. I have a vague memory of seeing Empire Strikes Back in the theatre and a strong memory of ROTJ.

[Just your average movie goer]

I saw The Empire Strikes Back on video at my neighbours house when I was seven or so... around 1987. I loved the AT-ATs. I think they were the what stayed with me after the first viewing.

After watching it a few more times, I wanted to see what happened before and afterwards. So we rented Star Wars. Loved it.

And we rented Return of the Jedi. At the time, I loved it too.

And it wasn't long before my Dad bought us the videos for all three. We had some ones taped from the television before. We watched them so many times, we knew exactly when to fast forward the ads.

[Jordan]

I saw ANH in 1988. All I remembered was the desert planet till I viewed it again in 1995 (or 94, I don't recall)

I remember really liking it the second time. ANH had that rustic vintage look to it that makes you feel cosy.

[Supes]

I saw Star Wars in 1978. I have very little memory of it though as my parents took us to a drive in to watch it. I was 5 years old. I saw Empire Strikes Back in a local cinema a couple of weeks after it was released and the same with Return of the Jedi in 1986 - my first year of high school.

I remember being enthralled by Empire and loving Jedi. Specific memories are also vague, just because I don't really register these sort of things for some reason. But all three movies have been ever since very high on me re-watch listings. I'm lucky to make it past 3 months without having viewed one of the three films in their entirity.

I can honestly say that these films had a profound experience (amoung other things) on my development and formulation of right and wrong, good and bad, moral and immoral (big call I know, but you've got to know me to really appreciate it I suppose).

[Paladin]

I have absolutely no memory of my first time. I was born on the same year that ROTJ was released.

But I DO remember my first Star Wars 'experiance' though. I was in 2nd or 3rd grade I think, when a girl brought a star wars lunchbox to school. There was a picture of Darth Vader and Princess Leia being kidnapped by the stormtroopers. I had absolutely no idea whatsoever who and what they were. I asked my dad about it once I saw the same lunchbox while on a shopping trip. My dad told me he was a robot and the panel thing on the front of his suit was a switchboard that he used to control himself.

Weird, ain't it?

[J m HofMarN]

I was like four or five and it was the mid to late eighties. It was the best of times, it was the most embarassing of times. It was the summer of tight leather and chests being ripped bare, it was the winter of raggedy kids and big hair. It was the spring of disenfranchisement, it was the autumn of bad fantasy movies. It was the dawn of Shwartzeneger, Lundgren and to a lesser extent Hauer, it was the sunset of all the guys who played James Bond. It was the last time when listening to Michael Jackson wasn't a crime, when he could sleep happily with who or whatever he wanted to and noone cared. It was the first time many of us lay hands on a nintendo and put our jaguars in the closets to gather dust and die.

I really do miss the eighties, I still don't understand that tumultuous decade that spawned me and I doubt it's really meant to be understood. But, my god, when I saw Moonwalker, I realized... people watched this movie at one time, and it was acceptable. That, for me, sums up the eighties. However as a child then my two concerns were not choking on my transformers, rather Donatello was cooler than Michaelangello (dude, come on, he could so kick Mikey's ass!) and of course, just how bad assed Star Wars was. I've done enough set up that you've all probably forgotten what I'm talking about and I'm sorry, Just I've been thinking a lot about the decade of my birth and my past and what family I have. And I'm buzzing. Ok, so back to what I was talking about.

So, I was five or so, being as five is usually the earliest possible time anyone can remember. It may be my earliest memory, I'm not certain. But I remember we were in our great big house in Pennsylvania (which I thought then to be suspiciously like Transylvania, which I could actually spell and pronounce at the time, being linguistically gifted as I was) I watched all three movies in a day I think which is certainly not reccomended. I had nightmares, specifically about the scary torture droid used on Leia, the scene on Hoth where it's all snowy and of course Vader's cave. I can't really remember my impressions of the movie but I do remember that my thoughts afterwards were "I want a blue lightsaber for christmas, or easter, or chanukah, I'll convert, really just give me the saber." I bet we've all done it but afterwards when you were asleep and there was a light on in the hall and your eyes were cloudy and had the little buggars in teh corners did you look at the light coming under your door and then go and try to find the handle for it?

[Xombie]

I was 14 when I caught it back in 1977. I was of very mixed opinions on it. I was absolutely captivated by the quantum leap forward in special effects and the final ten minutes of the movie were incredible. I saw the the film several more times that summer always looking forward to the incredible space battle sequences. I read all I could on John Dykstra and his crew and what this new technology meant for the future of film (If I only knew at the time that it would pretty much ruin it.)
On the other hand, the rest of the film (the story and acting) were pretty much a big "meh" to me. In the scene where Luke swings with Leia across that rediculous Death Star trench/valley/whatever the audience actually cheered. I was embarrassed. "Why are they cheering a movie scene?" I wondered. And why THIS of all scenes?
I came out of the film excited by the future of movies but everyone else I knew attributed the magic of the film not to the amazing sets and effects and admittedly impressive score but instead to Lucas's silly paperthin characters, plot and concepts.
At the age of 14, the seeds of my contempt for Lucas had been planted.

[Just your average movie goer]

Sorry to hear you didn't have the best first experience when you first saw Star Wars, Xombie.

And J M, I loved your eighties rememinscence (no idea of the spelling though - that's been strictly a spoken Enlish word only until now)...

but everything was so true. I loved the stuff about Moonwalker and the leather clothes, bare chests and big hair. I'd also add purple mascara and terrible lipstick for the girls. I guess the only thing that was different for me was that the game system we put away when the Ninendo game out was called the Atari 2600. And I tell you what - I've got more a lot of fond memories of the Atari.

[Esco]

I believe I was 8 or 9 yrs old when I first saw Star Wars (episode IV now). I must have been in the 4th grade at that time. I remember liking it alot, but never really garnering enough of my attention to become a favorite (since as a kid, I had better things to do then watch movies).
I stumbled back upon them at the ripe age of 18, and knew these flicks were special. I went out to the movie theaters and watched the SE of all of them, and somewhat got to experience what many others had experienced during the intial movie runs.
So I became a fan-but unfortunately at the wrong time. Just in time to behold the insipid prequels.

[Just your average movie goer]

Yeah, we are too young, Esco. I am envious of all the older people on this forum who got to see these movies at the cinema when they first came out over twenty years ago - they got to see cinema history in the making.

For people our age however, we are still fortunate. We got to see the Lord of the Rings movies when they first came out. This trilogy will be for the foreseeable future what Star Wars was before the dark times, before the Special Editions and the prequels.

But still, it would have been something to see Star Wars back in 1977.

[Laura]

Lord of the Rings will always be remembered as a great adaptation of a great book series, but unfortunately it will never have the wonder factor that a completely new story would have. However, it was brilliant to see all that good stuff on the big screen. (Actually, I wasn't sold on the first one when I watched it in the theatre, but somewhere between the first and second movies I turned from "indifferent/thinks it's goofy" to "completely in love with all things epic".)

I'm another one who has no way of recalling the first watching of the movies--I saw them over and over throughout my childhood. But I do remember wandering into the room while my brothers were watching a fight scene in Raiders of the Lost Ark, and Paul told me that it was a new Star Wars movie and Indy was Han Solo, Marion was Princess Leia and the big, burly bald guy Indy was fighting was Darth Vader.

[Just your average movie goer]

That is beautiful!

[Rory]

Yeah, I have vague memories of seeing them on video as a small child, but I dont know if I ever saw them all the way through until I was like 11 or 12 years old.