MovieChat Forums > Star Wars (1977) Discussion > Anyone see this in the theater when it c...

Anyone see this in the theater when it came out?

posted 7 years ago by Jehosaphet (1063)
32 replies | jump to latest

In another thread, someone is talking about how much this movie is just bleh...corny and boring, it didn't age well etc. And yeah, maybe that's the case, but I think there's also a case to be made that the movie(s) are so woven into the fabric of pop culture that we forget just how different it was from anything else at the time it was released. Yes, the plot is somewhat of an amalgamation of movie plots that came before it, but the details, remember how dang unique this stuff was during the day?

Like, I clearly remember being terrified of Darth Vader, with the all black appearance, the way he breathed while he talked, but mostly it was that mask of his. Just...scary as hell. And probably at least partly because it was so other-worldly, like nothing you'd ever seen before.

Leia's hair looked just...so dumb lol I think I may have had a quick moment of wondering if we were supposed to take it seriously or not, but there was tons of stuff that was really mind blowing back then. Just that one shot of Luke cruising along in his land speeder was enough to seal the deal as this being the most amazing thing I'd ever seen in my little life, him hauling ass just above the ground like that.

The most lasting impression of Star Wars though was from Empire, which I saw in theaters at 10. The Imperial walkers, when they made their appearance on Hoth, those lumbering, laser shooting giants looked like something straight out of a frigging nightmare. There was literally nothing to tie them to...you couldn't put them in any kind of context...just a complete "Holy sh*t! WTF is that??" moment that no other movie has yet to replicate.

I wonder how much having seen this in the theater back in the day has to do with how much its loved by people, you know? Because it was a whole other experience, and one that I think makes people who view the movies as lukewarm seem unfit to hold an opinion. Anyone have anything else that sticks out as just...so awesome?

[–] MovieManCin2 (26342) 7 years ago

I too saw it in the cinemas way back in 1977, and I agree with you completely. I was blown away! It was like nothing I had ever seen in the cinema. It's still one of my favorite films of all time. But you did sort of have to be there.

PS And I too was scared of Darth Vader, and that floating needle thingy which I'm guessing contained some sort of truth serum.

😎

[–] [deleted] 7 years ago

Opening day...skipped kindergarten to go😄 Never missed an opening day since...what to do for episode 9???

[–] Frogarama (12942) 7 years ago

I was born 5 days before Star Wars released, but I did go "see" it a few months later, being carried by my Dad. From what he tells me, I caught a cold from the excursion.

So even as a baby, I did manage to make it to the theater in its first run.

[–] furiousstyles (4391) 7 years ago

I find this hard to believe

[–] Frogarama (12942) 7 years ago

Even in 2009, in one of the times I saw Avatar, someone brought a baby to the theater. The kid started acting up and crying about halfway through, and the parents left with the baby.

I'm sure it was way more common in the 70's. I guess my Dad took me because it was such a momentous movie, he wanted to be able to tell me that I was there. Obviously I don't remember a thing about it, nor do I remember seeing Empire Strikes Back a few years after.

[–] Jehosaphet (1063) 7 years ago

I think you're right about it being more common back then. In fact, some theaters had a little glass-enclosed area in the back for when babies started acting up. If I remember right anyway. Because...now that I think about it, maybe that was for smokers.
Lol either way, you could smoke in theaters so...definitely a different era!

[–] Frogarama (12942) 7 years ago

Hell, they probably had that room so babies could smoke.

[–] liscarkat (19031) 3 years ago

In the 1950s whenever my parents would go to a theater, taking me along, they would sit in the balcony where smoking was allowed and smoke the whole time. Smoking was also common in all parts of restaurants, in grocery stores, in the exam rooms of doctors' offices, and on planes, trains, and busses. There were even ashtrays on the tables in public libraries. It was still pretty much the same in 1977 when "Star Wars" was released.

[–] GreenGoblinsOck8 (7818) 7 years ago

No. Wasn't born til 1986. I did get to see all 3 of the Special Edition versions in theaters though.

[–] whynotwriteme (7762) 7 years ago

I was 12 years old in 1977 and I saw this at a drive-in with my parents and my friend from next door, Danny, who was 10. He got a bigger kick out of it than I did. I liked it well enough, but my true favorite science fiction movie of 1977 was Ralph Bakshi's animated post apocalyptic epic, Wizards. I've watched this Star Wars movie about 8-10 times over the years, but I have seen Wizards probably about a hundred times at midnight movies and on VHS and DVD.

The things I liked best about Star Wars (I still think of this as Star Wars and not A New Hope) was the wide variety of aliens. Being a huge Planet of the Apes fan, my favorite character was Chewbacca. I loved the cantina scene. Another scene that really impressed me was the holo-chess scene on board the Millenium Falcon with the battling monsters. It reminded me of the Sinbad movies by Ray Harryhausen. I wished so hard that I could have a holo-chess set like that.

[–] hyperjet (745) 7 years ago

I was seven when it came out and I saw it a couple times at the Cooper in Denver. It was an impressive mid-century marvel with a giant curved Cinerama screen that was sustained by three projectors. I remember how thrilled the audience was when we first saw the star destroyer at the beginning. I didn't find Darth Vader scary, but I was freaked out by that first monster (the black one with the V shaped head) loL
I was entertained by the film but I didn't LOVE it, as I was more into cars and stuff. My brother, like so many others, became a Star Wars NUT after that.

[–] Otter (24464) 7 years ago

I was a kid then, the kind of geeky kid who'd sneak out of bed to watch cheesy horror/sci-fi/monster movies on "Creature Features". Imagine the impact "Star Wars" had in someone whose previous favorite movie had been "Godzilla vs the Smog Monster"! I thought "Star Wars" was the greatest movie ever made, the greatest cultural experience in the history if humanity, and so did every kid in my school.

Looking back, I think it was the opening shot that awed people so much that they forgave the movie all of its subsequent illogic, cliches, and flaws. We'd never seen anything like the photo-real spaceship looming larger and larger and larger on the screen, in the first 60 seconds of film we were hit over the head with something absolutely new and amazing and earthshaking! The shot is still awesome, but at the time it wasn't just spectacular, it changed going to the movies! That's what can't be recaptured, the feeling of "Holy cow, movies are going to be different from now on!".

[–] ebhaynz (3732) 7 years ago

I saw this in the theater in 1977 in Moberly, Missouri(4th Street Theater?), even though Star Wars was widely released I believe it still took about a month or two to come to my small hometown. I remember it was one of the few times I had to sit up in the bleacher section of this tiny theater because it was so packed. I was 11 years old and I don't remember being blown away by the movie, not like I had been when I saw Jaws 2 years earlier. I'm not sure I even followed the whole story, I only really remember the awesome opening with the huge starship and later everybody cheering when Han Solo comes back to knock Darth Vader out of action. Even though I was at a perfect age to drool over this movie it just didn't strike a cord until a few years later when Empire came out.
Oh, one more memory: I think I saw the Star Wars poster at a movie theater in Springfield, Missouri many months(maybe a year?) before the release. Actually, I probably saw it in June, 1977 as I was staying at my Grandma's house and she dropped me off to see "For the Love of Benji". Anyway, it was the poster where it said "A long, long, time ago in a galaxy far, far away. I had no idea what Star Wars was about by seeing this poster, nor did it intrigue me very much. It was just so foreign to me..I did have a tinge of curiosity, man I was so young and naive back then!

[–] Gd5150 (11851) 7 years ago

I saw it in the theatre when I was 7 and it was badass. It was cool because it was a serious sci-fi movie and wasn’t corny. The cornyness came along by Return of the Jedi. With burping frogs and Mark Hamills overacting. And the worst part, the teddybear Ewoks.

It should’ve have ended after with empire strikes back. The cheese factor has been strong with this franchise ever since.