The moment I saw the second trailer of "Star Wars – Episode VII: The Force Awakens" a couple weeks ago I could not help but recall the fond memories I had seeing "Star Wars" (1977), "The Empire Strikes Back" (1980) and "Return of the Jedi" (1983) at theaters over 30 years ago, and in many cases, more than once.
Everyone my age who remembers seeing episodes IV-VI has a story of when they saw the original trilogy the first time. I am sure most recall the long lines outside movie theaters as back then, blockbuster movies were not released on 4000 plus screens nationwide. They were released on only 500 screens if that many, which made seeing them on the big screen all the more special as chances were most of the showings were sold out the first few weeks.
My parents did not take me to see "Star Wars" until August 1977 a few days before I was to begin second grade. We arrived about 10-15 minutes late, so it wasn’t until we stayed for the next showing to see what we missed that I was able to figure what the story was about. Up until that time, I was more in awe of all the visual effects and Han Solo’s sarcastic self-assuredness.
When I saw "The Empire Strikes Back" in summer 1980, I was disappointed that the film ended on a cliffhanger. I got a little emotional seeing Han Solo (Harrison Ford) being put into carbon freeze and taken away by bounty hunter Boba Fett. I’d have to wait until summer 1983 for him to be rescued and for the Empire to be defeated.
While I admit "Return of the Jedi" could have gone out with a bigger bang, I still look back on that film today with a sense of nostalgia. I was going into second grade when I saw Star Wars and for the next three to four years my interest would be in Star Wars toys.
Perhaps this WILL be the year fans like me get the chance, if for only a brief moment, be able to go back and relive their childhoods. The question remains though; will I get back into collecting Star Wars toys as a result? Will I head over to Toys R Us the morning after everyone else rushed out to the midnight madness sales in early December to get the newest toys based on The Force Awakens to see what’s left? Will episode VII actually live up to the hype?
To quote Yoda, “Difficult to see. Always in motion the future is.”
I’ll find out the morning of December 18 (my birthday) when I am in line for the first showing (yes, I have already put in a request to be off that day as I refuse to work on my birthday, even if I’m spending the day alone).
For now, I’ll settle for that one scene at the end of The Force Awakens trailer that left most everyone with goosebumps showing 200-year-old Wookie, Chewbacca, who apparently doesn’t get grey hair, and a much older Han Solo inside the halls of the Millennium Falcon utter the words with that sarcastic, half-grin on his face, “Chewie, we’re home.”
©4/22/15
Everyone my age who remembers seeing episodes IV-VI has a story of when they saw the original trilogy the first time. I am sure most recall the long lines outside movie theaters as back then, blockbuster movies were not released on 4000 plus screens nationwide. They were released on only 500 screens if that many, which made seeing them on the big screen all the more special as chances were most of the showings were sold out the first few weeks.
I still remember the packed theaters and cheers from the audience as the Death Star blew up at the end of Star Wars and the laughs from the kids who embraced those little teddy bears called Ewoks. My sister couldn’t look at the screen when Luke Skywalker (Mark Hamill) removed Darth Vader’s mask near the end of Return of the Jedi so his father can look at his son with his own eyes before dying.I remember the scene in "The Empire Strikes Back" when one of the Imperial officers tells Captain Needa that Lord Vader wants an update on the pursuit of the Millennium Falcon, I heard someone in front of me knowing full well that that officer was about to meet an early demise getting an invisible choke-hold from Darth Vader in an upcoming scene yell, “He’s dead now!”
My parents did not take me to see "Star Wars" until August 1977 a few days before I was to begin second grade. We arrived about 10-15 minutes late, so it wasn’t until we stayed for the next showing to see what we missed that I was able to figure what the story was about. Up until that time, I was more in awe of all the visual effects and Han Solo’s sarcastic self-assuredness.
When I saw "The Empire Strikes Back" in summer 1980, I was disappointed that the film ended on a cliffhanger. I got a little emotional seeing Han Solo (Harrison Ford) being put into carbon freeze and taken away by bounty hunter Boba Fett. I’d have to wait until summer 1983 for him to be rescued and for the Empire to be defeated.
While I admit "Return of the Jedi" could have gone out with a bigger bang, I still look back on that film today with a sense of nostalgia. I was going into second grade when I saw Star Wars and for the next three to four years my interest would be in Star Wars toys.
I was going into eighth grade when I saw Return of the Jedi. The following year I would be a freshman in high school. With the original trilogy ending in 1983, I saw it as a closing chapter of my grade school years especially since by the time I was in eighth grade my interest in Star Wars toys was already fading.Seeing Imperial Stormtroopers, whose helmets in The Force Awakens trailers looks like they are smiling as they wait for who I assume is another Emperor/Dark Lord to address them, a menacing bounty hunter or maybe he/she is a hot shot Tie Fighter pilot in black armor who actually knows how to aim at their target, redesigned X-Wing fighters soaring above a planetary lake or a giant puddle and hearing the voice of Hamill’s Luke Skywalker utter the familiar line off screen from 83’s Jedi, “The Force is strong in my family”, that warm feeling of nostalgia came over me again. It’s as though this time, “The Force” is officially back for all those “stuck up, half-witted, scruffy-looking nerf herders” who were left with a bad taste in their mouths from the bad dialogue, and in some cases, bad acting and Jar Jar Binks director/screenwriter George Lucas supplied from episodes I-III (1999-2005).
Perhaps this WILL be the year fans like me get the chance, if for only a brief moment, be able to go back and relive their childhoods. The question remains though; will I get back into collecting Star Wars toys as a result? Will I head over to Toys R Us the morning after everyone else rushed out to the midnight madness sales in early December to get the newest toys based on The Force Awakens to see what’s left? Will episode VII actually live up to the hype?
To quote Yoda, “Difficult to see. Always in motion the future is.”
I’ll find out the morning of December 18 (my birthday) when I am in line for the first showing (yes, I have already put in a request to be off that day as I refuse to work on my birthday, even if I’m spending the day alone).
For now, I’ll settle for that one scene at the end of The Force Awakens trailer that left most everyone with goosebumps showing 200-year-old Wookie, Chewbacca, who apparently doesn’t get grey hair, and a much older Han Solo inside the halls of the Millennium Falcon utter the words with that sarcastic, half-grin on his face, “Chewie, we’re home.”
©4/22/15
No comments:
Post a Comment