It was the summer of 1977 and very hot. Back then there were no mega theaters, no getting your tickets on-line. One had to wait and hope there were tickets available when you got up to the front. My parents rarely went to movies and I had never seen them wait in line for any movie. They would just wait until later and come back some other day. But even at my really young age, I knew there was something different about Star Wars. We got there early and the line was all the way around the block. We had to park a ways a way and walk back to the theater. We were not able to get in to the “early showing”. My dad said he would wait in line while my mother took my sister and me away for a little while. This coming back later just added to my excitement. I was going to see the “late movie”! I had never been allowed to stay up that late! This was going to be awesome! By the time that we got back to the theater, my dad had literally waited throughout the entire first movie showing just so we could see the second one. We got in line, I couldn’t wait. My first late movie going to see something my parents were willing to wait hours in line for. I don’t know if I had any indication then, that I was being a part of history, of helping define a generation, but looking back, the whole thing seemed magical.
We finally got in to the theater. A large one theater auditorium. Only one place to buy popcorn and only one restroom. Such a change from today. The first thing that I noticed was the fact that it was a stifling hot oven. The air conditioner had blown, in July, in a crowded theater. I was sweating just walking in. We went in to the auditorium and the place was completely full. We were able to find three seats together, but my sister had to go find friends and sit elsewhere. So there we sat, sweating profusely, packed in like sardines, and with as much anticipation as a small child could muster for such an event. Then Star Wars started! The huge ship that flew over, the sounds of the overture with non-DHX sound! It was so amazing! I remember the words starting to scroll over the screen and my mother leaning over and reading them to me. It was nothing I had ever seen before.
By the time it was over I was a Star Wars junkie. And still am today. I have seen all the movies a hundred times and now look at what was once the cutting edge of high tech and marvel in its simplicity. Through the last 33 years, Star Wars has weaved its way in to our very existence. My children have been Star Wars characters for Halloween, I have told my husband more than once “May the Force Be with You”, and I have been in more than one light saber fight. Although the “new” movies that came after were good, there was nothing like the experience of the first Star Wars series.
So now we are on to my son’s age. Although he is older now, than I was then, we have seen all of the Harry Potter movies and will flock with the throngs of others to see number 7.1 this weekend. I will take my son to dinner and then we will get in line to get the best seats for the “late showing”. He has asked me more than once if I had already bought our tickets on-line. Now it is not a question of if we will go see at our chosen time, but where we will sit. We will walk in to our huge mega-plex with its miles and miles of hallways and concession stands. We are planning to get there at least an hour early, probably earlier, just to get our favorite seats. Front row of the upper area, no seats in front of us, and a railing to put our feet on. We will wait in line like I did 33 years ago, thankful first of all that it is November and the air conditioner will not be going out. We will sit, we will talk, we will become comrades with the hundreds of others that like us had to get there early. Excitement built early and will continue to build until it is over.
We have noticed, just like before, how a movie series can weave its way in to our lives. My daughter was Hermione for Halloween; my son has told me he is not an owl when I ask him to go take a message. Almost daily someone in our family gets hit with “Stupefy” or various other spells. I wonder if when my children grow up they will watch the Harry Potter series with their children. Will they remember the times of standing in line, of feeling like they are a part of something bigger? And more importantly, will they also be showing them Star Wars, so that all the phrases that come out of the then grandma’s mouth don’t sound so crazy?
So tonight we will put aside our regular Friday night life and join the other fanatics, just to say that we saw it on opening weekend. But also, so many years from now, maybe we will all remember that the little things in life can make any memory extraordinary.
The Vesta theater for the win!
ReplyDeleteEspecially in the days before VHS, Movie going was huge!!! Don't know if we will ever capture the "Star Wars" magic again.
ReplyDelete