What is your Star Wars story?

Havok · Post by **Havok** » 2006-09-13 02:47am

I posted this on another forum after ROTS came out. I guess I'm feeling down about Star Wars right now and felt like revisiting it. Anyone else have any similar thoughts, stories, anecdotes?

"So supposedly, one day in 1977, my dad wanted to go see Star Wars and my mom didn't. They ended up in a huge fight and my ma took off and left me with my pops so he couldn't go. He went anyway, even though I had been crying and fussy all day. Apparently I was whinning and whimpering the whole time he was in line and I started full out crying when we got in our seat.

Tthe theater went dark and the classic 20th Century Fox theme started. Then silence.

A long time ago in a galaxy far far away....

Never took his eyes of the screen, my dad said. Didn't make a sound, my dad said.

I guess this is true, but I don't remember. What I do remember is being at the theater for the opening of Empire when I was 4. Standing on line for hours in a permamently energized state for Jedi and going back to the theater repeatedly until it was no longer being shown. I remember getting Star Wars and ONLY Star Wars toys for Christmas and birthdays for years. Listening to my Empire record untill it wore out. Getting the trilogy on VCR and wearing out countless copies of each one.
I remember 16 years of Star Wars stories and drawings and books and comics.
I remember the torment of waiting for The Phantom Menace and the utter ectasy of finally seeing and loving it. Then loving it 48 more times in the the theaters.

When Revenge Of The Sith ended I sat in the theater until someone told me to leave. The 10 or so friends that I bought tickets for that viewed it with me were waiting patiently outside of the theater for me. Each one gave me a hug and eventually hugged me all at once. Nobody made fun of the big 6'1" 300lb biker with teary eyes... they all understood.
I was depressed for a few weeks after... but now on around my 30th theater trip I'm finally at peace that I will never have those feelings again. Oh I'll be excited for other movies and other events in my life, but it will never be the same... not even close.
For me it is just magic. Unexplanable.
I will miss it terribly.
Sorry about this... but I guess this is a good place to get it out."

Sidenote: Geez I've gained 85 lbs since then. Better get my ass over to SDN weightwatchers!

thejester · Post by **thejester** » 2006-09-13 04:51am

When they first put out the OT on video ('96? '97?) the advertising agency my Dad was working for had the Collins bookstore account, and he was reviewing them for the latest catalogue. I had a friend over and we sat down and watched them in pretty much one hit, IIRC. I was absolutely enthralled and for my next birthday party we went and saw ANH at the cinemas. Been a fan ever since, though never really got into the EU like some of my mates did.

Post by **weemadando** » 2006-09-13 04:59am

I saw ANH on TV or video when I was about 4. Hooked. I was absolutely amazed. I had never seen anything like it. I watched ANH, ESB and RotJ religiously every opportunity I had. I had action figures. I had the RotJ picture storybook with audio tape (listened to that nearly every night). Hell when I was like 8 I rented out and watched a "making of" doco for ESB and loved that - because I saw how it all came together. And then when the original trilogy was re-released and I was told that my mother wouldn't let me go see them at the cinema (because you've seen them all before, why would you want to watch them again)... For fucks sake. That killed me. I didn't even get to see TPM until several months after release in the cinemas just as it was dying. But I loved everything SW still and spent years around then working through the Tasmanian state libraries catalogues of SW books and even SW related books...

I saw AotC about 3 times in the first 2 days it was out. And I then saw RotS at the midnight session with a huge group of geek friends (and more importantly Sarah). And snuck out to see it a few other times.

I am a self-confessed lover of SW and the entire universe (until the KJA debacle).

Lord Poe · Post by **Lord Poe** » 2006-09-13 04:59pm

Sit back little kiddies, and let an old fart who was THERE when Star Wars opened (NOT "A New Hope", or bloody IV V or VI!)

Ok, I didn't see Star Wars until 1978. My parents weren't keen on going to the movies when I was growing up. I remember my friends Ray and Alfred constantly talking about it in junior high school, because unlike me, just about every kid in school had already seen it several times. I'd seen a few commercials and pictures, and told Ray I thought CP30 looked cool. "It's C3p0", he informed me with disgust. Dick.

Eventually I started drawing Star Wars things in class to pass the time, and I recall one dipshit screaming that I was into that "queer Star Wars movie!"

In 1978, my family made a cross-country trek to Niagara Falls, New York to visit my mom's side of the family. By this time I had a few Star Wars action figures and a lot of SW bubblegum cards. I finally saw Star Wars that summer, at a drive-in through a dirty windshield, while my mom sat in the back seat complaining throughout the ENTIRE movie. "When's someone going to fuckin' talk in this movie? All I hear is that fuckin' robot beeping!" Yup, a memorable experience.

About a year later, my dad took me to visit the only friend of his I liked. This guy made a small theatre in his garage, when he showed films to my very bored father. But this guy had 8 minutes of Star Wars on super 8! It included Luke getting his father's lightsaber from Ben, watching Leia's message, and the Death Star escape and TIE fighter attack on the Millennium Falcon. Gordon could see how hooked I was not only on Star Wars, but the ability for someone to show movies at their house! (Home video wouldn't even begin until 1982). Eventually, he gave me an old super 8 projector and the 8 minute Star Wars movie!

I watched that film over and over again in my room, and I eventually bought 20 minutes of Star Wars on super 8. I unfortunately tried to splice all the footage I had together so they'd play in the proper sequence. I was successful, but learned that splicing the audio strip on a film ruins the sound!

Post by **Ghost Rider** » 2006-09-13 05:06pm

And from someone who saw it before Lucas decided on EP4, here goes.

Dad from one particular eh day at work heard of a new SF flick. Being the rabid fan he was of the fantastic decided to ingrain upon his son this love by showing him hopefully a movie that wouldn't be bad Trek(Him being one fo the few fans who when the show was out, he liked as a kid).

So off we go to a podunk strip mall called Beacon Mall and their podunk movie house. There I witness Greedo getting his butt kicked, Darth Vader in all his glory and spunky R2.

From there a vast assortment of toys, picture books and such not flooded my room, and covered my walls.

Skylon · Post by **Skylon** » 2006-09-13 05:16pm

Not much to tell, and probably not too thrilling as I was born the year RotJ came out...too late to see the original trilogy in theaters.

I was probably in first grade at the time. Went up to PA to visit my grandmother and two uncles (placing this at either 1989 or 1990, so I was five or six). This was a pretty standard (at least twice a year) trek.

Anyway, one of the nights we were up, Empire Strikes Back was on TV. I knew the basic story behind the first, I dunno from where (probably from an old Muppet Babies parody). I was in awe of the movie. And the cliffhanger ending...I basically demanded my Dad rent Return of the Jedi when we got home.

Not long after I saw Star Wars. I then kinda put it behind me, it was a cool film. A few of my friends who had older siblings inherited some of the old Kenner toys, and they occasionally found their way into our G.I. Joe battles.

My real sci-fi kick began a few years later when I caught Star Trek II on TV. It prompted me to revisit Star Wars and got my on a general sci-fi kick. I followed the books, collected the 90's Star Wars figures till the early part of high school I was pretty much a Star Trek/Star Wars nut. The my tastes got refined...DS9 and Voyager weren't proving as much fun as Babylon 5 and the SW books weren't holding my interest (there are only so many rogue imperial warlords one can read about).

Cao Cao · Post by **Cao Cao** » 2006-09-13 05:16pm

The first time I saw Star Wars was around 1988 I believe, when I was 7.
My mother bought me the whole trilogy on VHS.
The first time I saw Empire I didn't like it because it wasn't very upbeat (hey, I was 7. I was also stupid.) and almost had the tape returned.
Fortunately common sense prevailed and I kept it. Those original tapes are still with me to this day.

Patrick Degan · Post by **Patrick Degan** » 2006-09-13 09:23pm

Saw Star Wars just about every week it played at the old Pitt Theatre back in New Orleans --and yes, when it was just simply Star Wars.

My big SW story was joining the all-night lineup party outside Lakeside Cinema n.4 for Return Of The Jedi. Ended up staying awake for 36 hours and our group had everything: ice chests, snacks, and a portable TV and VCR to watch the first two SW movies and a few other goodies while we camped in front of the theatre with about two thousand other people. Didn't even start to feel tired until about an hour or two after getting home.

Sarevok · Post by **Sarevok** » 2006-09-14 01:44pm

Patrick Degan's post reminded me of something I had wanted to ask before. Just when did Star Wars became Episode IV rather than just Star Wars ?

Mange · Post by **Mange** » 2006-09-14 02:29pm

Sarevok wrote:Patrick Degan's post reminded me of something I had wanted to ask before. Just when did Star Wars became Episode IV rather than just Star Wars ?

"Episode IV A New Hope" was added to the 1981 rerelease of Star Wars in theaters (although it seems it was included in the 1979 edition of The Art of Star Wars).

Fashionable Nerfherder · Post by **Fashionable Nerfherder** » 2006-09-14 10:18pm

I can't say I remember the A New Hope when it first came out considering I was only 3 at the time.

I do vaguely remember going to the theater to see the first movie in re-release and Empire Strikes Back. Going to see Return of the Jedi was one of the top movie moments of my childhood, although as I've grown older I would consider Empire to be my favorite of the series.

Plenty of fond Star Wars memories from my early childhood - playing with action figures, building playsets with my dad, dressing up for Halloween as C-3P0 and later as Darth Vader.

I hope that my future kids will somehow experience much of the same magic but of course in the back of my mind I shudder at the thought that those little crum crunchers will instead gravitate to Transformers Episode 3.

Since we're going down memory lane, curious to know what were your favorite Star Wars toys? On my list would be the X-Wing early on (I loved Vader's TIE Fighter more but I think it was also more expensive so I never got one early on), the Dagobah action playset, the Ewok village, and the Boba Fett action figure I received after hassling my mom into clipping a bazillion cereal boxes.

Icehawk · Post by **Icehawk** » 2006-09-15 12:23am

Being born in 1982 I never got to see the originals in the theatres. The first memories of anything Star Wars I have are when I was 4 years old I briefly recall having one of the original X-Wing toys and it only had 3 wings on it, parents must have gotten it from a garage sale. I had not seen the movies yet though so I had no idea its significance or what it was. However around the same time I did get exposed to a few episodes of the Droids and Ewoks cartoon shows and really liked them that was when I first heard the name "Star Wars". They were actually my first media exposure to the Star Wars universe.

My first memories of the movies are when I was almost 6 and my parents had gotten the 10th Anniversary VHS tapes. I cannot recall my actual first viewing of it but I do clearly remember liking and watching ESB the most because of the Hoth battle and the Luke and Vader fight on cloud city, plus the interaction of the characters was just really fun and appealing (accept for the romantic scenes of course, as a 6 year old the whole "ewww cooties!" mentality from the school yard was in full effect). I can recall not liking ANH as much because I noticed the difference in visual quality of the footage and VFX in comparison to ESB, plus some of the aliens shown in the cantina scene actually scared me back then so I generally avoided it suprisingly. The space battles of course were awsome but even still, I always enjoyed ESB so much more at first.

ROTJ I remember somewhat avoiding that one too because the first half of the movie with Jabba the Hutt and the droid torcher stuff I thought was too creepy and disgusting for me to back then. It wasn't untill I was about 8 or 9 that I got used to it and could really enjoy the movie, same with ANH. I absolutlely LOVED the Endor space battle though and up untill I got used to the Jabba scenes I would always fast forward to after they finnished with him.

One of the things that always bugged me as a kid though was because by the time I was exposed to Star Wars all the toys had been discontinued and werent in stores anymore and for so many years I was hooked on the movies but could never really PLAY Star Wars like I wanted too. It wasnt untill the early 90's when they brought out the Micromachines of the ships and such and then in 95 when Kenner brought out its new line of figures that I got to really get any of the merchandise.

The real magic though came when I first learned that they would be bringing the Star Wars movies back to the theatres and were going to remaster the effects. I still have my movie ticket from the opening night showing of the ANH Special Edition my local theatre. I was 15 then and that was a truely magical experience as it was something I had been wanting and waiting for for a long time and almost never thought I would experience. After that I made it a point to see every movie on opening night at the theatres all the way up to ROTS.

Fingolfin_Noldor · Post by **Fingolfin_Noldor** » 2006-09-15 12:33am

Got introduced to Star Wars via Rebel Assault.

But truth to tell, I never quite liked ANH, even today. To me, it was actually boring and dull, not to mention awkward acting (symptomatic of the prequels). It was Empire Strikes Back and the Return of the Jedi that was exciting, particularly the Battle of Endor and the lightsaber duels.

Then of course, it was novels and games that kept me going, though, I must say that the magic has gotten dull in no small part thanks to the latest novels.

Tychu · Post by **Tychu** » 2006-09-15 01:55am

Looking back on my first Star Wars memory, i still have doubts that it was Star Wars. Way back in i guess '92 I was 6 i was at my cousins house and my 2nd cousin was playing some movies in the media room. My 3rd cousins and I went into the room and i remember just being awestruck by the damn movie.

Now heres the thing. The scene i remember watching took place in a desert, i could swear there was a gold robot walking around but the events i remember seeing just dont apear in ANH or ROTJ.

One or Two things. I watched ANH and childhoom experiences and other things combined a few snipits of other things and poof my first memory of Star Wars came to be

Or i was watching Spaceballs, Dune or Star Trek. Not really ever watching the latter 2 any help will be hot if these movies have a desert scene with a walking golden robot.

The thing though is that after the movie i asked my 2nd cousin if theres more and he said he has a few more. This rules out Dune

But low and behold i made it star wars but it still took the coming of the 1997 SE to hook me (11years old)

Post by **LadyTevar** » 2006-09-15 01:18pm

I'm another old-timer... I was nearly 7 when StarWars was released in '77.

There was a small theatre in my hometown, a relic of the 1920s. It still showed shorts before and after movies, so both Bambi (my first movie) and SW started out with Three Stodges shorts. Something about them being in a kitchen trying to bake something, I think. I remember Dad was laughing.

Then the 20th Century Fox music started up, and immediately sequed into the Opening Theme. (For years afterwards, I thought the 20th Cent. Fox intro was part of the SW opening.

)

The scroll was fascinating, just for how it rolled up the screen. I can't remember if I was actually able to read it by myself or not. But the first scene, of the Tantive V flying by had me hooked... until I saw the first sliver of the Star Destroyer.

I've told this story before. How the triangular tip of the ISD appeared, and then grew ... and grew ... and grew.... I'm sure my eyes were growing wide as well as the ISD took up more and more of that 1920s era movie screen. I'd almost swear the ship was off the screen, showing on the wall itself. The ISD was the biggest thing I'd ever seen, even the Enterprise never gave me that sense of scale when watching reruns on TV.

I know some have complained about how Lucas filmed the boarding action, all white-on-white, which made the StormTroopers nearly fade into the background. For a 7yr old, it was horrible... these robot-looking soldiers blasting the Tantive's crew. It was a schoolyard fight for years on if they were robots or men, despite the later scene where Han and Luke steals the armor.

Then ... out of the smoke of battle, a hole in the whiteness, Darth Vader steps into the hallway. I'm sure I clutched at Dad, Vader scared me, and that fear made the revelation of Luke's parentage 2 years later all that more horrifying.

I don't recall much of the rest of the movie, oddly enough. The rest of the movie is fuzzy, marred by more recent memories. I think I could read the subtitles for Greedo, but I can't remember if Solo shooting first surprised me, or if I'd seen enough western movies to know sometimes the good guy did things like that. Dad did love them a lot. Either way, it showed what it was supposed to: Solo did whatever he had to do. It set his character up far better than all the dialogue before. (And then Lucas changed the scene, in such a visibly transparent way.

)

I think I was crying when Ben died... awed when we saw how big the DeathStar truly was. You have to give Lucas credit: the battle of Yavin was one of the best space-fighter scenes of the time. Even the redo had me on the edge of my seat. I probably cheered when Han showed up to save Luke's behind, and when the rebuilt R2 appeared at the award ceremony. I don't remember, exactly.

But it doesn't matter what I remember exactly, does it? I remember the experience, the grand sweeping scale of it. Like the rest of my generation I was riding the wavecrest of what's become a cultural icon. Somewhere, the toys that survived countless hours of playtime, with firecrackers and m-80 practice grenades (we never did find more than Luke's hand that time), of two more movies, of countless comicbooks, of the first novel Splinter of the Minds Eye (still have it!).

It's been a great ride.

jegs2 · Post by **jegs2** » 2006-09-15 08:47pm

I saw the original Star Wars when I was seven. I remember being bedazzled.

Faqa · Post by **Faqa** » 2006-09-16 05:53am

First REAL viewing(I saw ESB in a rather disjointed fashion, but that don't count)? 1994, I think, when I got ANH on video for a holiday/birthday/whatever. I was blown away, and fortunately was able to catch the other two on USA, in the original widescreen format. Did THAT ever kick ass.....

Tsyroc · Post by **Tsyroc** » 2006-09-16 11:10am

In 1977 I was staying with my grandparents in Iowa City until I finished the t-ball season. One of my aunt's and a couple of the neighborhood kids had seen Star Wars already and had been talking about how cool it was and all of these robots.

So one day, a bunch of the neighborhood kids decided to go see the movie. It was playing down town so we had to take the bus. It was the first time I had ever taken the city bus without an adult along and Star Wars (none of that episode IV stuff) was the first movie I saw without any adults along.