OK, Star Wars is a part of most of our lives, I'd say, to a varying degree. For me, my love of SW started in 1981, when I was 6 and ANH made its debut on TV....
how did your love for SW start.....??
MTFBWYA
I dunno how old I was, but i was deffinately older than 5...so....the 90's
i was born after A New Hope but before Empire Strikes Back
when i was about 5 i first saw ANH. they've been my favourite films ever since.
I think I was 7, I saw the 1996 special edition in theatre because my parents said that I would like it, boy were they right :D
I've never seen the original versions of the films.
since I wasnt born until 1989, I guess I saw it in the 90's :p
Class of '77 :D 0LD $k00L!!!111!!
4 yrs old, in the cinema with me parents (obviously :p )
B.
I was too young to have seen Jaws in '75, so Star Wars was really my first huge movie experience. But I didn't know it at the time.
I heard about it, it sounded pretty cool (this was June of '77 - remember it opened slowly and increased screens ... very unlike today - it wasn't until August that it was on 1000 screens).
I was 11 and this was the first time that my friends and I got dropped off to see a movie on our own. I don't remember what else would have been out at this point - probably the Bad News Bears or something. Anyway ... June 1977 it came to one theater in our area. We just knew it was cool ... not much else. Stood in line on a Saturday afternoon ... this is when tiickets cost ~$2 or something - maybe less for the matinee! People will tell you the impact of the opening scene ... one ship being pursued - no big deal. Then the Star Destroyer (we didn't know what it was called!) - that thing just kept going and going. Vader enters the room, then chokes the captain ... whew.
I wanted a lightsaber. I wanted a blaster. I wanted an XWing. Heck, I wanted a landspeeder!
I wanted to see it again. And I did. several times. I estimate that over the course of summer 77 to summer 78 I saw it a dozen or so times (nothing like the kids who had seen it 25 times before school started up in the fall again).
Seeing Star Wars multiple times became almost competitive. Like an obsession among kids. You just can't relate in an age when I'm not too worried that my wife and I couldn't get a sitter so we could see RotK - we'll have it on DVD in 6 months, and between large screens and surround sound ...
Anyway ... Star Wars in 1977 changed everything - movies, TV, toys, games, video games ... just everything.
(BTW - Star Trek didn't come out until '66 - I saw it at some point in the 70's on TV on reruns ... they didn't call it syndication back then. But Star Wars was certainly compared to Star Trek back then.)
Mike
Originally posted by IG-64
I think I was 7, I saw the 1996 special edition in theatre because my parents said that I would like it, boy were they right :D That's how my kids have gotten into Star Wars - my oldest was 3.5 when TPM came out on video and they got it for me, and he was 5.5 and my younger son was 4 when AotC came out. Boy do they love the series now. My wife is out of town and we're having a 'movie fest' ... we'll have some Spy Kids, some superheros, and some Star Wars ...
Mike
Nice story there, txa. :thumbsup:
after the 90 ies, 4 first etc..though i knew of yoda (you seek yoda!)and vader beeing father before
I first saw Star Wars when I was about 7. We rented ANH. It was about 1994 or so.
originally posted by IG-64
I've never seen the original versions of the films.
You're probably lucky. You won't find yourself comparing the two versions like I sometimes do. Hmmmmmm...better space scenes or Han shooting first? Decisions, decisions.
90's Massiv'! :D
The Originals I saw on tape in '94 I think.
I was swimming about in a testicle in '77......
80's for me, I remember the first time I whatched it...
[Edith Bunker]Dose were the day's![/Bunker]
It all started for me at the age of 2, in 1988, when I saw ROTJ, And I obsessed over Star Wars, learning almost everything there was at about Star Wars by the age of 5. :)
I'm currently 16, and still extending my knowledge.
I wasn't born until 1990, so Star Wars is older than me. :)
I think I saw it when I was about 7 or 8 in 1997/8. I can't remember exactly.
Originally posted by ExcelsioN
I wasn't born until 1990, so Star Wars is older than me. :) I have a comfy LL Bean sweater that's older than you ... ;)
My younger son who just turned 6 thinks ANH is boring. AotC is his fave - he loves Anakin. He's very concerned about watching him turn to the dark side in EpIII.
Mike
I'm an old fart. I saw ANH in the cinema aged 6 years old. First thing I said to my mum when we got out of the cinema was "I want a lightsaber!". I played with Star Wars toys all through my childhood, and I remember my favourite toy was my Biker Scout and Bike. :)
Here are what's left of those much played with toys: (Vader and R2D2 are dated 1977 and the rest are 1980-85. The duplicates are my brothers, as my mum bought 2 of everything to stop us fighting.)
http://lexx1.users.btopenworld.com/lexxswtoys.jpg)
Sadly I wasnt there to see them in the 70's only end of 80's and 90's and now
Originally posted by IG-64
Nice story there, txa. :thumbsup:
yes. this post was almost designed just so I could get the likes of Mike and Lexx to tell us their '77 story..... :) Im often just amazed that the whole SW phenomenon started way back in 77! (when i was 2!!) Its excellent that something can still hold such mass appeal after such a long time(cinematically speaking of course)...
I often hear from many ppl who arent SW fans at all describing how they were amazed by the experience in '77. The only thing I think that is comparable for us that were too young to have seen SW back then, is the LOTR cinematic experience of course. 30 years and onwards from now we'll be tellin other youngsters how "we were there" ! in 2003 when ROTK came out.
With LOTR there is a slight difference though, as the books of course are 50 years old, so the characters and places etc were already in many ppls minds, long befor the films. SW was something new, new characters, locations etc.....so I think GL did a fine job capturing the hearts and minds of cinema goers back then....
MTFBWYA
Originally posted by Astrotoy7
yes. this post was almost designed just so I could get the likes of Mike and Lexx to tell us their '77 story..... :)
Oh right, the story, yeah :p
I think only the Brits may get the TV reference here, but here goes...
Back in 1977, Chris Kelly (later to host Food & Drink) used to present a Movie review programme called Clapperboard (
http://tv.cream.org/a-z/c/c2.htm). I was at my grandparents house one Sunday afternoon and they showed a clip of the two droids walking through the desert.
Now bear in mind that this wasn't the lightsabers. It wasn't the aliens in the Cantina. It wasn't the trench run on DS1. It was two robots, bickering in the desert and I was instantly entranced! I remember saying at that moment "I want to see that film!" and getting the standard "Yes, alright Ian :rolleyes:" in return.
However, I persisted, and my best friend at the time also got into it, which helped my case. Movies, toys and sticker albums followed, and the rest, my friends, is history.
I was a geek. I am a geek. I will continue to be a geek. :xp:
Would anyone have believed at the time how big that film would still have been 27 years later? It's bizarre really :p
B.
I saw the SE in the 90's. Damn, I didn't even wanna see that at first.
Thank God for bored parents who sent me to the movies! :D
I even remember where I saw the movies. :)
Did anyone keep their ticket? I wished I did.......
Originally posted by ET Warrior
I dunno how old I was, but i was deffinately older than 5...so....the 90's
Same here.
Originally posted by Astrotoy7
The only thing I think that is comparable for us that were too young to have seen SW back then, is the LOTR cinematic experience of course. 30 years and onwards from now we'll be tellin other youngsters how "we were there" ! in 2003 when ROTK came out. Not to p*ss on the LOTR, which I love - but there is just plain nothing in the past 20 years of cinema that can compare with the impact of Star Wars.
It is not about whether or not movies are better or worse - it is about the era-altering experience. LotR is a great cinematic acheivement, no doubt, and it will have a major impact on the way films are made for years to come. But that's about it.
Star Wars, as I say, changed everything.
Mike
I've watched Episode 1, but I didn't really pay attention to it. It's only after I've watched Episode 2, then my love for Star Wars began. :D
I was born many years after SW has been filmed, watched it when i was very young, younger than 7 i think. :)
4 or 5 when i saw the triligy
Ok, here is my story.
My primary schools principle's wife was a friend of my mums and one day she gave us rebel assualt 1 to see if we (me & my Brother) beat it.
I watched my brother play it and beat it in 2 days.
Then I bought Ep 5 in which time ep 3, watched it and crapped myself basically.
ANH (original release) was a year before my time. RotJ is the 1st film I can remember seeing in theaters though. Nothin like Vader & the breathing & Palaps evil cackle on the big screen, blasting thru the speakers. C'mon E3 2005 cant come soon enough.
Good times.....
Good grief you people are old. I was a kid when I saw it in the early 90's - I think it was '93, actually. And that was a VHS tape my parents had made of the TV showing at some point. Later my mom picked up the trilogy on VHS about a year or so before the SE's came out (I remember her coming in; we were talking with my maternal grandmother and showing it to us. We'd never seen TESB or ROTJ, so I was like "This is cool") I watched them as soon as I could. I got hooked on the movies, and my friends Iand I got psycho about them. Then a neighbor across the street found out I liked them and lent me Tim Zahn's original Thrawn trilogy. I haven't stopped reading SW books since, and though I've not gotten into the comics as much, I've yet to meet anyone who knows more than me in real life. ON here or over at the boards on TF.N, sure, but not that many there, either...
Heh...The first time I saw it was when I was about...5ish and I had the flu. (1995) My dad wnated to cheer me up because I was pretty much crying and coughing at the same time. So he went out, rented the original version, and I saw it all up to right after the battle of hoth (I saw ANH, then TESB) because I was too tired and sick to watch the rest, even though I wanted to. I watched the rest when I was better. It was all great. I loved Star Wars from there on.
I didnt get interested in Star Wars until the mid 90's. The first time I watched A New Hope was on TBS when I was atleast 12. Eversince then ive been a hardcore fan. I went to Phantom Menace the day after its release and Attack of the Clones at the midnight showing. It was awesome, I just cant wait for Episode III. Thats gonna be the biggest event for all Star Wars fans everywhere. Man I cant wait til 2005!
I remember going to see Return of the Jedi in the theatre, I was 4 or 5. The line for the movie was around the corner, but it was worth it. I also inherited tons of the original Star Wars toys from my older brothers. Those are what started my love for Star Wars.
I never had much in the way of Star Wars toys ... but I was 11 - 5th grade ... my kids have a bunch of them, though.
leXX has a nice collection, though - and some of the 'gaming space' pix show others' nice collections.
Mike
i didnt see star wars until like 93. i believe my first experience was the empire strikes back and then return of the jedi. for some reason i didnt see a new hope until the special edtion in 97
Originally posted by BawBag™
90's Massiv'! :D
The Originals I saw on tape in '94 I think.
I was swimming about in a testicle in '77......
You sure? Because what if he was, how do I say this...hands on?
:p
But if you want a full story about my star wars beginings, [Rod Steiger]I will have to take you back to a time. A time that has no begining and end. A time that will shock and amaze you. Welcome, to the Troopr zone[/Rod Steiger]
I was just a lad (5) sitting on my couch shooting myself in the face with a suction dart gun (ya know, like very child does) when my dad picks me up and plops me in front of the boob tube, and I didn't pay much attention to it and kept mindlessly shooting myself. When I hear "DUN DUNN DUN DUNNNNN, DUNNNN, DUNN DUN DUN DUN DUN!" and I see those yellow letters crawling up the screen all the while constrasting with the black abyss of space, and I remember asking to whatch it again and to my sadness my father told me
"sorry son that was on TV."
:confused:
"huh?"
"we can't whatch it again."
*cries*
"ok...OK! I'll go and buy it for you."
"I wuv you daddy."
*waits for awwws from the swampies*
Yes, and so the rest was as we say...History ;)
Troopr, at least your old man went out and bought you the tapes. All i used to get from my parents(and it continues *to this very day*), was (please imagine a southern european accent :
in the earlier days(when I was still living at home) :
"I dont know why why you like that movie. it's all full of lies, no one has a space ship, or a robot. that film will get you nowhere. why dont you watch something else. Go to your room !"
nowadays
"What! you still like that movie!! its for kids. what does your girlfriend think. If you have kids, you will have more toys than them. What type of a man are you ! Start acting like a real man. Computer games are for little kids !When I was your age I used to work 7 days a week. People these days are just lazy......!!!!!"
ah well, parents.....
MTFBWYA
I saw it in '77. I was 6 when it was released. i think I saw it about 14 times on the first release. I drove my mother crazy,.. although she liked the move too once she saw it.
I actually bought a paperback version of the story before it came out, although I don't think I read it until later. I just looked at the pictures thinking about how cool the movie was going to be.
I still have a lot of my Kenner SW toys around.
I was a wee lad of 6 when ANH first came out. At that tender age I was awe struck when Darth Vader first makes his appearance and has that little look around.
I must have driven my father insane with my NUMEROUS requests for more Stormtrooper figures to go with my Vader toy. Ah, how I remember having Vader win every battle with Luke Skywalker. Even then I was a sithling in the making :p
Ok, who voted for the Star Trek option, own up if you gots the guts !!!
MTFBWYA
Originally posted by txa1265
leXX has a nice collection, though - and some of the 'gaming space' pix show others' nice collections.
Mike
Thanks. =)
I wish I could find more of them. I had a lot full size vehicles like the AT-AT, AT-ST, Falcon etc, and a lot of my bigger action toys are missing, like my Rancor and Jabba the Hutt. =( I'm gonna get dirty next time I'm at my mums house and have a good old rummage in the attic. They'd be worth a fortune now, not that I'd ever sell them.
I must've seen it on TV before ROTJ came out, since I was about 6, almost 7 when that came out.
ROTJ was my first cinema experience, but knew the whole SW plot already, got into it at an early age. Must've seen it on TV beforehand.....
Originally posted by leXX
I had a lot full size vehicles like the AT-AT, AT-ST, Falcon etc,
They'd be worth a fortune now, not that I'd ever sell them.
I have boxes of that stuff. I have the Falcon and both walkers, a standard Tie and Vader's Tie... and cases of action figures I don't know the real condition of any of this stuff though... although I suspect that none of it is in as good condition as I remember. I always took pretty good care of it all, but I still played with them.
I've thought of trying to sell or auction the collection a couple of times,.. but I wouldn't know what to ask, and I'm a bit too lazy to do that much work.
Maybe if I ever get a bigger place I'll actually display them all.
I just watched TESB with my kids on Saturday night (wife was a way so we had 'movie dinner' ... ) ... what a great flick. The kids enjoyed it - they mentioned they'd only seen it once or twice before. I think the impact of that is better with age (they're now 6 and 7.5)
The whole feeling of the movie - the rebels are fighting for their lives ... and losing - is very powerful. The problem facing GL in the prequels is that victory or defeat in action are excitiing, but stagnation and decay (i.e. the decrepit and corrupt Republic, the stagnant and arrogant Jedi order) is ... boring. I love AotC, I really do, but I think that if he can infuse into EpIII a sense that everything is going wrong and falling apart and people are desparately clinging to maintain order that it could be really great.
Mike
Mike, Im sure your kids love you and all, and might think SW is cool now, but one thing I love about SW is that it is part of *me*, its sets me apart from many of my friends. Many friends do say, 'yeah Astro, he's SW crazy!'
If my parents had introduced me to it, it wouldnt be the same, nice, but not the same. Another thing I noticed is that when my little sister was 12/13, she loved coming with her big bro to Ep 1, twice ! When EpII came out, it was "No thanks, that's boring"(yes, Astro was sad).....
ah well....
MTFBWYA
Guess I'm an old fart. :p I actually saw it in 1978, though - we moved house in 1977, and with one thing and another I never got to see the film that year. Everything on TV looked rubbish after Star Wars came along...
mine started when i ot for my twelth birthday, The courtship of Princess leia, and Truce at Bakura. since then i have never gotten sick of it.
Originally posted by Astrotoy7
Mike, Im sure your kids love you and all and might think SW is cool now, but one thing I love about SW is that it is part of *me*, its sets me apart from many of my friend, many say, 'yeah Astro, he's SW crazy!' If my parents had introduced me to it, it wouldnt be the same,nice, but not the same. Another thing I noticed is that when my litlle sister was 12/13, she loved coming with her big bro to Ep 1, twice ! When EpII came out, it was "No thanks", that's boring"(yes, Astro was sad) That's one of the joys (and frustrations) of parenting - sharing parts of you with your kids. SW is a part of me, which makes it more enjoyable for me to share it than to, say, watch Pokemon Heroes with them.
Star Wars isn't the end-all for them - and they're still young. My 6 year old is a Spy Kids and Scooby-Doo nut. My 7.5 year old is much more of a SW nut.
Star Wars changed so much in real terms, as well as just for me.
Mike