A long time ago, in a theater far, far away….
I was 10 years old and in the summer of 1977 some friends and I went to see Star Wars because out of the movies playing at my neighborhood 4-screen theater, it looked the most interesting. Typical boy stuff, right? Just hang out in a darkened theater for a couple of hours on a hot Florida day, and then on to something else, right?
Yeah.
Like a lot of kids that summer, I watched the film (no “Episode” number! no subtitle! BAH!) with unrestrained glee. It was the first time I could remember enjoying myself so thoroughly at something I was watching on a movie screen. It was all Star Wars all the time that year as, along with all the other 10-year-olds, I devoured the action figures and other toys, read the comics, built the models, and on and on and on….
Thirty-five years later, I still love the original Star Wars. Its sequels are fun, of course, though I’m not as enamored with the “prequel trilogy.” Still, the music from all of the films is in my regular rotation for when I’m writing, and I’ve continued to keep up with various books and comics and whatnot over the years. This is aided in no small part by my daughters, who absolutely dig Star Wars. They watch the Clone Wars cartoon and play with Star Wars toys, and because of them I get to enjoy it like that 10-year old all over again. For them, it’s just cool characters and space ships, which in its own way is completely, spectacularly awesome.
So, Happy Birthday to the first, original Star Wars.
I had that poster. It may still be in my attic somewhere.
Meanwhile, have you let your kids watch the prequels? My wife feels like they’re too intense for our kids (ages 5 and 7). I just think they suck, so I’m not inclined to let them go Jar-Jar happy (a distinct possibility since my 5 yr old son is enamored with Ewoks, just the way Lucas intended).
I have a reprint of the poster in my home office. It’s still my all-time favorite Star Wars poster.
I’m leery of letting the kids watch the prequels until they’re older. That, and Jar-Jar can suck it. That said, we’ve watched all of the Clone Wars stuff together.