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If you saw Episode IV back in 77, how old were you?


Lorgrin

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I was 4 when what was then just called "Star Wars" came out. I remember my brother and I reading every article we could in Starlog magazine about it. I went with my brother and dad to see it one afternoon, and the film broke twice. Once during the sand people attacking Luke scene, and another time in the trash compactor. The packed audience was like NOOOOOOOOOOO!

 

Good times.

Edited by Lorgrin
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I was 8 when I saw it the first time in '77.

 

I remember very little was known about it, there was no internet back then and mass media didn't pay much attention to it. You'd only hear about it in Starlog or Fangoria mags.

 

So the opening sequence was truly mind blowing because nothing like that had ever been done before and few people were expecting it.

 

I feel a little sad for my kids in a way, because they are unlikely to ever have an experience quite like that.

Edited by VanorDM
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I wasn't born till '79 , so I guess I was lucky to have Star Wars fans for family . Had one family member who had a room dedicated to StarWars toys back in the early 80s. Got my hand smacked for touching one lol .

 

Each toy had a cubby hole on these massive book shelves , was awesome to look !

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I was 14 and had to get my sister to take me. We could not get in for any of the first night shows and stood in the rain for 2 hours the next night. She made me get her some popcorn and I missed the first part of the crawl, never let her forget it either. We went to a theater that had a 70mm screen instead of the normal 35mm. Star Wars was also the first movie I saw that used Dolby stereo and the theater had speakers hanging from the ceiling in the corners. The experience was similar to surround sound.
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So the opening sequence was truly mind blowing because nothing like that had ever been done before and few people were expecting it.

 

I feel a little sad for my kids in a way, because they are unlikely to ever have an experience quite like that.

 

I was 7 and feel the same about the above.

 

Unless there is some kind of "holo deck" thing that comes along (sorry for the Trek reference ;) ) I feel like our generation was the only one lucky enough to have the full impact of what Star Wars was in its time.

 

I also think this accounts for all the Episode 1-3 hate. If Episode 1 had released in '77 it would have had a much different reception. It's largely because people want to re-experience the '77 release and the first time they saw a Star Wars that nothing following CAN ever match up.

 

It's like how many "firsts" in life will always be the best....just part of the human condition.

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I also remember the feeling I had when I saw Return of the Jedi for the first time. I remember having such an upset feeling when Vader died. For the first time I thought to myself "OH NO there's not going to be any more Star Wars movies with Darth Vader". I was 8 or 9 then, and it brought a lump to my throat. No villain in my opinion could ever compare with how awesome Vader was on screen. He is still my favorite movie villain.
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I was 7 and feel the same about the above.

 

Unless there is some kind of "holo deck" thing that comes along (sorry for the Trek reference ;) ) I feel like our generation was the only one lucky enough to have the full impact of what Star Wars was in its time.

 

I also think this accounts for all the Episode 1-3 hate. If Episode 1 had released in '77 it would have had a much different reception. It's largely because people want to re-experience the '77 release and the first time they saw a Star Wars that nothing following CAN ever match up.

 

It's like how many "firsts" in life will always be the best....just part of the human condition.

 

I dunno, first time I played through KoTOR it was a way more entertaining and awesome experience than 3 prequels.

 

I think good movies comes down to script and direction and then of course acting.

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I saw Star Wars when I was 4. Looking back, I'm kind of surprised my parents took me that young, so I'm wondering if they couldn't find a babysitter that night! I don't remember that first time very well now, but I know I was enthralled. C3PO, R2D2 and Darth Vader were my favorite characters. I saw it several more times after that, once in a drive-in theater.

 

I just had to have the Star Wars bed set, curtains, and lunch box too! Unfortunately, I went to school with my shiny new Star Wars lunch box in 1st grade and some stupid 2nd grade boy made fun of me because I was a GIRL and "girls aren't supposed to like Star Wars." :mad: I was pretty upset. I remember not understanding at all why I couldn't like Star Wars too.

 

But here I am all grown up, and yes I still like Star Wars. :)

Edited by CloudCastle
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I was born in 79, but anyway, Star Wars made it behind the Iron Curtain not before I was 9 or 10. We borrowed a pirate videotape with a crapy home made voiceover translation, and we watched all 3 chapters non stop with my mom and my older bro. I cried when they froze Solo.
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Eight years old and still remember it vividly.

 

What I remember more is in 1980, our friends had a chance to see Empire before we did, and once they returned home, informed us who Vader really was. Talk about a spoiler. Needless to say, we had to see it to believe it. Good times.

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I was 13 and in true adolescent style I fell in love with Princess Leia and wanted my very own R2D2 :) I had no idea what to expect, there was very little promotion or hype surrounding the film, I just remember the whole thing being a roller coaster of action and emotion that swept me along spellbound. And of course the iconic opening text, which seemed so cool at the time (ah the joys of seeing things done for the first time).

 

Every generation has their own iconic films to grow up with. For me it was Star Wars and a little bit later on Bladerunner.

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4 and it was my gateway drug into the world of sci-fi. I was too young at the time to realize it was severely lacking in any form of common sense. :D

 

But anyhow, when RotJ came out, I was seriously childhood crushing on Leia, and when it was revealed that Leia was Luke's sis, I was one of the many in the theater that let out a EWWWWWWWW while remembering her kissing him on Hoth. :p

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OK...here goes letting my age out. :rolleyes:

 

I was 21 and in my second enlistment stationed in Norfolk VA as a Marine MP. I read a lot of Science Fiction and some of the guys told me about a pretty good "space movie" playing at the Military Circle Mall. I waited through 3 showings to get in the first time. Then went back every weekend off until it left the theater. Been a rabid fan ever since. Books, movies, cartoons, MMO's....name it. :D

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I was 13, and an uncle took me to go see it that Summer. I was hooked. I still have the original VINYL soundtrack and story albums!

 

Okay, come clean...how many here used to wield those long-handled flashlights and mag-lights like they were lightsabers?! :D

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I was 10. My parents surprised me and my brother by picking us up after school to go see "this new movie", and I remember being annoyed that we HAD to go because I was planning on hanging out with my friends. I got over it within 30 seconds of the movie starting. :p I also remember going to Denny's for dinner afterward and talking about how amazing the special effects were. I saw it about a dozen times in theaters that summer and again when Empire came out a couple of years later.

 

It made a big impact on my young mind and expanded the horizons of my imagination considerably. I agree with those that say that I'll probably never have the same kind of experience again, at least as far as movies are concerned (not the least because I'll never be 10 years old again!).

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I was 4 when I saw it in '77. It was at a drive-in theater with my family and it's actually my first memory in life. We were a few minutes late and by the time we got there, the Stormtroopers were already in the desert, looking for the droids (my older brother was furious that we were late).

 

I vividly remembering seeing these men in white armor and one in the background that was riding what looked like a dinosaur.

 

I was in awe, and that awe stuck with me for the next 34 years.

 

So yeah, thanks George Lucas. You turned me into a sci fi/fantasy nerd before I even knew what those words meant.

 

Jerk.

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