Where (and when) did you first see each of the Star Wars movies?
Posted: Wed Dec 13, 2017 11:45 pm
Can you recall when and where you first saw each of the Star Wars movies?
Who you saw them with?
And what your reaction was to each of them?
As for me...
Star Wars (better known to nerds are "Episode IV: A New Hope"):
My parents took me into Manhattan for my birthday to see the original film (we lived a stone's throw from NYC at the time so trips into the city were fairly commonplace). This was about a month after the film had first opened -- Star Wars was not yet quite the cultural juggernaut it would later become, but was at this point already a huge hit. My parents actually got a bigger kick out of it than I did! My dad loved all the references to the kinds of movies he used to watch as a kid, and my mom likewise enjoyed it -- and in particular loved the score. Me? To be honest, I liked it, but I wasn't blown away. I was too young to "get" most of the references, and in fact I found it a bit hard to follow. I did however see it again about seven months later, and was on that occasion, genuinely blown away. I guess they should have waited until Christmas to take me to see it!
The Empire Strikes Back
No enormous Manhattan cinema this time, but the crummy, run-down "State Theater" in the rural, provincial town of Ithaca, NY (where my family had since moved to). Furthermore, Empire did not even open in Ithaca until June, by which time there were no surprises in store for me -- the soundtrack album was filled with stills that gave away most of the story (plus, Mike Rhonemus -- who used to posed on this board -- had left the novelization in my parents' car and I didn't have the willpower not to read it)! I saw it with my friend Jeff and a few others, and we got a kick out of it. (Jeff was a huge sci-fi and fantasy freak like me -- and I guess it held him in good stead because he now works in the A.I. field).
Return of the Jedi
This time the multiplex at the mall just outside Ithaca got the Star Wars movie, so the screening conditions were considerably improved -- plus I actually got to see it opening night. Saw it with Jeff once again, and another friend Betsy, and my friend Ben (who later became a campus radical and got arrested for leading student protests). I tried valiantly to shield myself from any spoilers surrounding the film. However, my friend Kim read the novelization a few days before Jedi opened, and leaked several crucial spoilers to Mike Rhonemus -- who passed them along to me before I had a chance to cover my ears. Kim ruined the rest of film for me when I saw her later that day. (I wanted to spit in their faces.) But I still enjoyed the movie (and the Ewoks at least were a complete surprise). I was however acrimonious when RSO released a one-disc album of John Williams' score (I guess George Lucas was too poor to pay the re-use). That truly was one of the great debacles -- and insults -- in film music history.
The Phantom Menace
Years later -- after college, an abortive attempt to move to London, and having lived in LA, I was back in Ithaca by 1999. Jeff happened to be in town when Phantom Menace opened, so it was only fitting we should see it together. I liked and still like this film a great deal. I was too old and jaded by now to experience the same youthful enthusiasm I felt in the original films (it would take Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone to reawaken that!), but it was still a good time. John Williams' score was phenomenal, and for me is his best of the series. And little did I suspect Williams would go on to compose some of his finest work over the next several years.
Attack of the Clones
So far the only Star Wars film I've seen with Andy (during one of my annual trips to Rhode Island) at a matinee the day after it opened (if I recall right). Was also the first time I met the future Mrs. Dursin, Joanne Jaquish (Andy, did I spell that right?). To say this movie was a huge let-down would be an understatement -- but at least Andy was there to commiserate with (and laugh at the unintentionally funny moments)! I also learned Joanne was (like me) a Birkenstock wearer, and she put me on to a place in Germany where you could buy them for considerably cheaper, so the day wasn't a total loss.
Revenge of the Sith
Back in Ithaca, saw this opening night as well (again at the mall multiplex), with my friend Erik. Well, we all knew Anakin would go wrong, but the film -- despite some goofy moments -- was genuinely powerful, and plus the "energy" of being there opening night (with an audience of Star Wars geeks) added to the experience.
However...to this day I am still kicking myself, because several of my very good friends in Liverpool decided to fly to Los Angeles to see Sith opening day, and invited me to fly and out and meet up with them, and I really wish I had. Would have been an uber-great time. Oh well.
The Force Awakens
I didn't want to deal with the crowds on opening night (plus it was hard to find a non-3D screening of the movie) so I waited a couple of weeks to see this one. Saw it with my friends Chris and Rachel (who were newlyweds -- but not annoying to be around!) in Victor, NY (near where I live now). This was at a multiplex where you reserved seats online, and I screwed-up when looking at the seating diagram and thought I had reserved three seats in the back row, but in fact selected front row seats. Chris and Rachel didn't seem to mind, but it was an extremely lousy viewing angle. Of course I thought the film was sufficiently entertaining but nothing more. I actually do wish I'd seen it opening night though, as I'm sure some of the more "nostalgic" moments (like "That ship's garbage!") were probably a lot more fun with an SRO audience of Star Wars fans. But by far, this was the most unceremonious Star Wars experience to date.
I'm off to...to...what's the new one called again? Luke Skywalker's Revenge? Whatever. Well, I'm seeing that Friday with my friend Eric (an up-and-coming clergyman and theological writer). And we made sure we're not in the front row!
What are your Star Wars stories?
Who you saw them with?
And what your reaction was to each of them?
As for me...
Star Wars (better known to nerds are "Episode IV: A New Hope"):
My parents took me into Manhattan for my birthday to see the original film (we lived a stone's throw from NYC at the time so trips into the city were fairly commonplace). This was about a month after the film had first opened -- Star Wars was not yet quite the cultural juggernaut it would later become, but was at this point already a huge hit. My parents actually got a bigger kick out of it than I did! My dad loved all the references to the kinds of movies he used to watch as a kid, and my mom likewise enjoyed it -- and in particular loved the score. Me? To be honest, I liked it, but I wasn't blown away. I was too young to "get" most of the references, and in fact I found it a bit hard to follow. I did however see it again about seven months later, and was on that occasion, genuinely blown away. I guess they should have waited until Christmas to take me to see it!
The Empire Strikes Back
No enormous Manhattan cinema this time, but the crummy, run-down "State Theater" in the rural, provincial town of Ithaca, NY (where my family had since moved to). Furthermore, Empire did not even open in Ithaca until June, by which time there were no surprises in store for me -- the soundtrack album was filled with stills that gave away most of the story (plus, Mike Rhonemus -- who used to posed on this board -- had left the novelization in my parents' car and I didn't have the willpower not to read it)! I saw it with my friend Jeff and a few others, and we got a kick out of it. (Jeff was a huge sci-fi and fantasy freak like me -- and I guess it held him in good stead because he now works in the A.I. field).
Return of the Jedi
This time the multiplex at the mall just outside Ithaca got the Star Wars movie, so the screening conditions were considerably improved -- plus I actually got to see it opening night. Saw it with Jeff once again, and another friend Betsy, and my friend Ben (who later became a campus radical and got arrested for leading student protests). I tried valiantly to shield myself from any spoilers surrounding the film. However, my friend Kim read the novelization a few days before Jedi opened, and leaked several crucial spoilers to Mike Rhonemus -- who passed them along to me before I had a chance to cover my ears. Kim ruined the rest of film for me when I saw her later that day. (I wanted to spit in their faces.) But I still enjoyed the movie (and the Ewoks at least were a complete surprise). I was however acrimonious when RSO released a one-disc album of John Williams' score (I guess George Lucas was too poor to pay the re-use). That truly was one of the great debacles -- and insults -- in film music history.
The Phantom Menace
Years later -- after college, an abortive attempt to move to London, and having lived in LA, I was back in Ithaca by 1999. Jeff happened to be in town when Phantom Menace opened, so it was only fitting we should see it together. I liked and still like this film a great deal. I was too old and jaded by now to experience the same youthful enthusiasm I felt in the original films (it would take Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone to reawaken that!), but it was still a good time. John Williams' score was phenomenal, and for me is his best of the series. And little did I suspect Williams would go on to compose some of his finest work over the next several years.
Attack of the Clones
So far the only Star Wars film I've seen with Andy (during one of my annual trips to Rhode Island) at a matinee the day after it opened (if I recall right). Was also the first time I met the future Mrs. Dursin, Joanne Jaquish (Andy, did I spell that right?). To say this movie was a huge let-down would be an understatement -- but at least Andy was there to commiserate with (and laugh at the unintentionally funny moments)! I also learned Joanne was (like me) a Birkenstock wearer, and she put me on to a place in Germany where you could buy them for considerably cheaper, so the day wasn't a total loss.
Revenge of the Sith
Back in Ithaca, saw this opening night as well (again at the mall multiplex), with my friend Erik. Well, we all knew Anakin would go wrong, but the film -- despite some goofy moments -- was genuinely powerful, and plus the "energy" of being there opening night (with an audience of Star Wars geeks) added to the experience.
However...to this day I am still kicking myself, because several of my very good friends in Liverpool decided to fly to Los Angeles to see Sith opening day, and invited me to fly and out and meet up with them, and I really wish I had. Would have been an uber-great time. Oh well.
The Force Awakens
I didn't want to deal with the crowds on opening night (plus it was hard to find a non-3D screening of the movie) so I waited a couple of weeks to see this one. Saw it with my friends Chris and Rachel (who were newlyweds -- but not annoying to be around!) in Victor, NY (near where I live now). This was at a multiplex where you reserved seats online, and I screwed-up when looking at the seating diagram and thought I had reserved three seats in the back row, but in fact selected front row seats. Chris and Rachel didn't seem to mind, but it was an extremely lousy viewing angle. Of course I thought the film was sufficiently entertaining but nothing more. I actually do wish I'd seen it opening night though, as I'm sure some of the more "nostalgic" moments (like "That ship's garbage!") were probably a lot more fun with an SRO audience of Star Wars fans. But by far, this was the most unceremonious Star Wars experience to date.
I'm off to...to...what's the new one called again? Luke Skywalker's Revenge? Whatever. Well, I'm seeing that Friday with my friend Eric (an up-and-coming clergyman and theological writer). And we made sure we're not in the front row!
What are your Star Wars stories?