Forth the May

Happy Star Wars Day to all those who celebrate!

Actually that reminds me of one of my favourite sayings about Star Wars.

There are two types of people in the world.

People who love Star Wars,

And people who are wrong.

Always enjoyed that one.

Anyway… what with it being the 4th of May, I thought I’d talk a little about my own history with Star Wars.

I’ll start with the obvious – as you might have seen in my profile. I was born exactly one week after Star Wars debuted in theatres back in 1977. For those of you keeping score, Star Wars debuted on May 25th, 1977, in the United States. I was born seven days later on June 2nd.

Another fun and slightly macabre fact. I was born during that brief window of time… just a couple of months… in which Star Wars was a thing, Elvis (died August 16th, 1977) and Charlie Chaplin (died 25th December 1977) were still alive, and the French were still guillotining people (last execution by guillotine in France was September 10th, 1977).

Not sure what to do with that information but there you go.

Of course, didn’t get to see Star Wars back in 1977 – I imagine I was too busy crying and sleeping and pooping a lot. Actually, I don’t think I saw Star Wars until 1985 – and that was on television.

But I was aware of Star Wars as a cultural phenomenon before that.

I have two distinct Star Wars related memories from being quite young. One was my brother getting to go with a friend to a double feature of Empire Strikes Back and Return of the Jedi (which I presume was in 1983 when the latter came out) and me being jealous I didn’t get to go.

And the second one being Darth Vader (well someone dressed as Darth Vader) coming to my school for some reason. I have no idea why. And nor did I know who he was other than that a lot of kids were really excited to see him.

(This was also right around the time I got to stand out in the street behind my school and wave a little union jack flag as a car containing the Prince and Princess of Wales drove past).

But at some point in 1985 I watched Star Wars on TV for the first time and I fell in love. It had everything I wanted from a movie.

Space battles.

Laser blasters.

Swords.

Swashbuckling action.

Great music.

And a big explosion at the end (which I can remember recording and playing back – while pausing frequently – on the very first VCR (video cassette recorder for those of you too young to remember) in order to see how they did the Death Star Explosion at the end.

But that was it. I was eight years old and I was a fan.

Fast forward a few years…

In the mid 90’s… rumours started to appear in some of the movie magazines I subscribed to, that George Lucas was going to re-release Star Wars in cinemas on the 20th anniversary along with some new footage.

To say I was excited at the prospect of finally seeing my beloved movie on the big screen would be an understatement.

I was over the moon.

No wait… that’s no moon… it’s a battle station.

I was almost twenty by the time Star Wars hit theatres again in the Autumn of 1977. But my inner eight-year-old was thrilled to bits.

And it didn’t disappoint.

From the moment I heard the iconic John Williams score (second best movie score of all time thank you very much!) and saw the Imperial Star Destroyer rumble overheard I was transported back to being a kid again, sitting way too close to the television and being absolutely mesmerized by what I saw.

I went back at watched Star Wars… a movie I had seen dozens upon dozens of times… in the theatre three times.

Then I saw the re-release of Empire Strikes Back twice.

And the re-release of Return of the Jedi twice.

And then… as if that wasn’t a thrill enough… the very early internet spread the most incredible news possible.

George freaking Lucas was going to make more Star Wars movies.

A prequel trilogy.

At which point we all looked up prequel in the dictionary and were thrilled to learn it would be a trilogy about how Anakin Skywalker (father of Luke) became the evil villain Darth Vader.

This was the stuff dreams were made of.

It’s hard to imagine… for those who didn’t live through it… but the build-up for the first of those new Star Wars movies was like nothing I had seen before or have seen since.

It wasn’t just hype.

It was a cultural phenomenon on the scale of the Beatles.

Let me give you an example.

In 1998 the first trailer for the new Star Wars movie – called The Phantom Menace – debuted exclusively in theatres, playing right before a Brad Pitt movie called Meet Joe Black. Now I’ve never seen Meet Joe Black – and curiously neither have millions of people who paid to see it in theatres. Because a lot of Star Wars fans – desperate to be the first to see this new trailer – paid to see Meet Joe Black, watched the Star Wars trailer and then promptly left the theatre.

That’s how big the hype was.

I was twenty-two by the time the Phantom Menace came out in winter 1999. I still remember booking my tickets months in advance and counting down the days until the movie came out.

It was one of the first movies released simultaneously all around the world (prior to that – it could be months between when a movie was released in America and when it made its way to New Zealand).

Finally the day arrived.

My mates and I were besides ourselves with excitement and anticipation.

Midnight screening.

Packed theatre.

Everyone sharing this communal experience – and anticipating the greatest film of our lifetimes.

Finally, the theatre went dark.

The 20th Century Fox logo appeared on screen and….

(Still gives me goosebumps to remember)

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

…up came those two iconic, immortal words… Star Wars.

And John William’s incredible fanfare filled the theatre.

I think I might have cried, just a little, just out of sheer excitement.

(This isn't my screening but it captures a sense of that moment)

The opening scroll began and we learned… well actually we learned about a trade dispute… and we met Liam Neeson and Ewan McGregor… and later we met Jar Jar Binks.

A lot has been written and spoken about this film – but my blog today is neither the time or place. Because regardless of how that film is viewed now… in my mind it still remains one of the greatest cinema going moments of my life.

I went and saw it four times.

And as much as it is a flawed movie – it is still my favourite of the prequel trilogies because I can remember that bursting sense of excitement the first time I watched it.

The new age of Star Wars had begun.

And how that unfolded? Well to be honest… I think I’ve written enough for today. That’s a story I’ll tell another time.

So all that’s left to say is that I hope you all enjoy your Star Wars day.

May the forth… and the force… be with you.

Always.