I must have been one of the last people to see it during the first run in theaters. I'm not big into standing in long lines or being in crowds (but have made exceptions for some concerts). It was fun but for me it didn't measure up to all the hoopla my friends made over it. Different strokes is all.
It was f*cking awesome! The special effects were earthshattering... I had never seen anything like it.
I first saw it in the theater on a later run when I was a mere four years old, in 1979. I was absolutely amazed by it and loved it, even if, at four, I didn't understand all of it. I obviously had zero awareness of its cultural significance, nor any sense that I was seeing a film that would have such a lasting cultural and societal impact, nor even the faintest idea that the special effects were groundbreaking for the time, etc. I just knew it looked awesome and it quickly grew into an obsession.
I was 10 years old when Star Wars came out and I saw it a few weeks after it opened. I had never seen anything like it. I loved comics, Lord of the Rings (books), monster movies, sci-fi, etc., but I had never seen a movie that put all those things together. It's probably hard to understand now, but it was on the one hand a very gritty movie that looked very different from other sci-fi stuff (more lived-in and dirty), and on the other a 'romance,' a quest movie, where the good guys went into the belly of the beast and triumphed in the end. The cantina scene and Chewbacca blew my mind. I liked Obi-wan Kenobi and C-3PO the best--probably the English accents--and I was heartbroken when Obi-wan died. Probably the hardest thing to explain to someone who didn't see it when it came out: when you feel like Star Wars changed your life and you wait breathlessly for three years for the sequel, you're pretty bummed to hear that Darth Vader is Luke's father, and you're pretty confused to find out that Luke and Leia are siblings (remember, they kissed, and it was supposed to be like, the small town boy kissed a princess).
I was 11-ish when it came out (my memory is fuzzy as to whether I saw it in 1977 or 78 - my family lived in Asia so probably 78). The thing to remember was what the climate was like for sci-fi or adventure/fantasy was like back then - basically nothing. You had re-runs of Star Trek, maybe Lost In Space. You also had Star Trek animated series. For action you had Roger Moore Bond. The closest glimpse of something of a modern look was Space 1999. I hadn't seen 2001 and opportunities to see it back then were non-existent. So like others said, it was mind-blowing to see Star Wars. To say that it filled a gap in entertainment culture is an understatement IMO.
I was 29 when it first came out. My wife and I went to a cinema in Perth, Western Australia to watch it. It was the most amazing film I'd seen at that time, when Princess Leia's ship passed overhead, the surround sound in the cinema had me transfixed. Then when Darth Vader's battleship came into view, it just went on and on, it was so huge. I bought the three DVD box set that included the 'tinkered' versions of the movies but included the original cinema releases. I prefer the originals.
I was nine years old at the time and made my parents take me to see it multiple times, so I'm not sure I have a clear memory of the first time. But I obviously liked it! I had a bunch of Star Wars toys, as well as the double LP soundtrack and the single LP "Story of Star Wars" which was a condensed narrated version of the story including some of the dialog, music and special effects sounds from the movie: The Story of Star Wars - Wikipedia For some years, that was about as close as it got to having a personal copy of the movie: it wasn't released on VHS until 1982!
Mid-twenties and single, with a small group of friends who went to the movies most weekends - Friday night was for winding down at the bar and Saturday night was the movies, usually whatever was new and looked interesting. The first time, I thought it was fun, light, and it didn’t leave much of an impression. I went back a few weeks later after it had exploded to see if I’d missed something the first time. I thought it was fun, and light, and didn’t give it much more thought. Until Empire, which I thought was terrific and recast the first one in a better light. That lasted until the third one, which I still have never been able to sit through from beginning to end. I like fantasy, written and on film, but the whole Star Wars mythology never really resonated and I mainly blame the Ewoks.
I was 13. I remember seeing a preview before it was released. I wasn't impressed by the preview, thought it was cheesy. The hype just kept building though, until release day. We saw it opening day and I became an instant fan. I still get emotional at the end, when Han shows up and saves the day.
I was lucky enough that my father lived near the Triplex Paramus in New Jersey. We saw it during the first run in 70mm after sanding in a line that ran around the huge building. We were some of the last let in for the showing and ended up sitting just right of center in the front row. As said above, it was f***ing amazing. Because it was 70mm it was like being in the movie. When that first Empire ship comes into frame overhead, well, you just had to be there. Unfortunately almost nothing today in the theater experience can compare. JohnK
In 1977 I was 25 years old and living in the 90210 when some friends came by and basically dragged me to the opening at the Chinese Theater. I had no idea what the heck all the ruckus was about. I had relocated to CA from KY just 2 1/2 years earlier and still had a fair amount of country boy in me. I recall that waiting to get in seemed to take ages. By the time we finally got in and seated I wasn't very receptive. But the first ten minutes of the movie blew my hick mind. I'm somewhere in this crowd.
I was 20, probably the 70mm version, theater in Woodbridge NJ. Great experience until I realized that I had locked my keys in the car. Fortunately a guy showed up with a ‘slim Jim’ and helped me out. One of many movies that must be experienced in a proper theater IMO.
Waiting in line at the Chinese Theater in Hollywood, eating brownies custom made by my friend, getting really loaded, sitting with mounting anticipation, then the movie begins, Oh that opening crawl followed by the visuals and sound. Those were the days.
Saw the trailer for Star Wars before a showing of Rollercoaster in Sensurround when I was eleven. I think they turned on the subwoofers for the Sensurround during the trailers. Don’t recall a second of Rollercoaster, but remember being mind blown by the Star Wars trailer clearly. Theater close enough to our house we could bike. Must have seen Star Wars about a dozen times that summer. In a huge auditorium, before they divided it up like the newer multi-plexes.
I was 20 when it came out over here and a big sf reader. Did nothing for me, as it was a not very good space opera story, IMO, i.e. a shoot 'em up in space rather than a decent sf story (yes, I'd read some Joseph Campbell, so I knew where Lucas had nicked things from and seen a bunch of Kurosawa, so knew where else he'd knicked things from). Give me something like Dark Star anyday.
I was five when I saw it in the theater in ‘77. I remember being there and thinking Vader’s name was Radio Mouth. I was convinced of it, but my mom and sister finally brought me ‘round on the drive home.
I don't know because I didn't go see it, but it's effect on everything else was plain to see and I didn't much like that.
Expanding on my previous post: I went to see the King Kong remake in January of 1977 and there was a mylar poster in the theater that said "COMING SOON TO A GALAXY NEAR YOU" with the classic Star Wars logo. I was like "I don't know what that is but I want to see it." At some point, the novelization came out, before the actual movie came out, so I read that at least once prior to seeing the move. Nobody in my school had ever heard of it, but of course, by the time we returned in September, everybody knew Star Wars.
I feel bad for the generations that come AFTER the original "thing". Because everybody else has incorporated it, it loses the magic of the original. I remember a young nephew of mine saying Hendrix sounded like so many other guitarists out there, I hadda explain the concept of originality to him! Today's generation have been inundated with so much space travel on movies and TV, they can't understand how massive Star Wars was to be experienced back in the day! As far as as special FX go, it was like going from B&W to color!
A very familiar story. I was talking to a younger guy at work who didn't appreciate The Simpsons because that style of humor has permeated so many other shows over the last 20 years.
I was a kid in 1977 and remember seeing the TV commercial before the movie came out and thinking it was incredibly cool looking! Convinced my parents to take me and my sister to see it, guessing a week or two after it’s release date? The theater was packed and I was blown away by the movie, it just looked incredible on the big screen.
