Hey STAR WARS ! Happy 35th !

Where were you 35 years ago, fellow movie geeks ( if you even existed ) ? Well, it turns out that today, May 25, 2012, is the 35th anniversary of the day the original STAR WARS ( it wouldn’t be given the episode IV subtitle for several years ) exploded on USA movie screens. This was the big one. Steven Spielberg had established the Summer as a prime time for escapist Hollywood blockbusters with JAWS in 1975 , but George Lucas solidified ” school’s out ” as the ” get out of the heat and lose yourself in a fantasy world ” season. It’s difficult to convey to you younger film fans what a game changer this was. Most sci-fi fantasy films were ultra-low budget saucers on the loose with guys in ill-fitting rubber suits B movies. We had the occasional big, stompin’ monster epics from Japan along with the James Bond series ( by then in the very tongue-in-cheek Roger Moore era ). The Planet of the Apes series had run its course, but the major studios would dip their toes in sci-fi with LOGAN’S RUN and THE OMEGA MAN. And there were re-issues of 2001: A SPACE ODYSSEY. But these films didn’t have a sense of adventure that connected with 70’s movie audiences ( along with a great sense of humor ). This may be an amazing example of being in the right place at the right time. The public craved heroes and Lucas stepped up and delivered.

Here’s my personal SW story. I first became aware of the film in the early issues of Starlog  ( this full color newstand magazine devoted to sci-fi and fantasy films started in 1976. Talk about your right place/ right time ). In the upcoming films column they mentioned a movie from AMERICAN GRAFFITI director Lucas called STAR WARS about the adventures of ” Luke Starkiller “.  Hmmmm. I really enjoyed Graffiti, so I’ll have to check this out. Soon Starlog was teasing us with samples of Ralph McQuarrie’s pre-production art ( like the image up above ). When I began college in Chicago, I hit the used bookstores and found this recent paperback from Ballentine Books’ SF line:

As you see, the cover also featured McQuarrie’s art. In November of 76 I decided to treat myself after a long week of school and go to one of the premiere downtown Chicago movie houses, the McClurg Court, and see this boxing flick called ROCKY. Well before meeting Mr. Balboa on those mean streets of Philly, several previews were shown, one of which was this teaser from 20th Century Fox:

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We in the theatre audience were a bit dumbfounded. I Imagined thought bubbles coming from everyone’s heads that proclaimed ” Huh? ” and ” Wha-?”. The fellow behind the sweet 60’s nostalgia flick is slumming with rockets and weird ” thingies “.  Fox is gonna’ take a bath with this!  Items would appear in movie columns over the next few months. In the Spring of 77 Marvel Comics published a monthly comic book tie-in/adaptation of the May release. It featured terrific Howard Chakyn art with a taut script from Conan scribe Roy Thomas. Marvel had done some licenced properties before, but could this find an audience?

Soon I was in the last days of my freshman year of college. On my way to class, the current issue of Time magazine caught my eye poking out of a newsstand. There across the top, above the logo was the banner: ” Inside the year’s best movie”. Past the Middle East conflict cover story was a rave review of STAR WARS. And I found out that it was opening in the Chicago area that Friday. I hatched a plan. After Dinner at the dorm that night, my new pals Dave and Chad ( names changed ) and I would walk the twelve blocks to the single screen Esquire theatre, just off Michigan Avenue, and catch the 8 PM show. We got there a half hour or so early and joined the growing line on the street. When the previous showing let out a very odd thing happened. Complete strangers were coming up to people in line and proclaiming, ” You’re gonna’ love it!’. Wow, this may be something!

We settled into our seats in the middle of the auditorium. The Fox logo appeared with the fanfare extending with the extra horns that used to signal a Cinemascope film. I was hooked already. This night was one of my best movie going experiences ever. Everyone gasped when the first ships passed over the camera. They booed and hissed at the arrival of Darth Vader. Several special effects shots were greeted with enthusiastic applause ( particularly the Millenium Falcon’s first jump to light speed ). Chad, who’s a huge John Wayne fan, whispered to me during the cantina scene, ” This is a Western!’. After staying to see all of the long list of end credits, we walked energized out on to the street. We came across a still open record store ( ah, remember them? ) and David bought the 2 disc soundtrack set. Back at the dorm we listened to John Williams’s stirring score into the wee hours while telling our dorm pals that they absolutely had to see this movie. The next day I was to have a Saturday afternoon date with a woman from my school. First lunch, then back to the Esquire for a matinee! There I heard a man telling his son, ” This is like Flash Gordon! “.

Returning to Southern Illinois for Summer break, I awaited the film’s opening in Carbondale. This was before the 3000 screen same day releases, so the film slowly made its way to smaller markets over the next months. But the trailer was playing. A reviewer for the SIU-Carbondale student paper wrote that the only good thing about the EXORCIST sequel was the STAR WARS Trailer playing with it. When it finally opened at the old Fox theatre, I made sure that my student movie-making pal Todd was with me at its Carbondale premiere. I had to rescue him from the concession stand so he wouldn’t miss the first scene! Later the Summer I also picked up the 2 LP set, more Marvel Comics ( they reprinted those first six issues countless times, perhaps saving the comics industry from collapse ), several movie magazines featuring the cast and characters and an eight  minute scene released on Super 8 color sound ( those pricey Betamax video recorders didn’t have current films and the home video explosion was still 4 or 5 years away ) which was looped on to my old hot projector whenever I got the chance. And this was before the merchandise really exploded with the Kenner toy line. Back in Chicago for my sophomore year, the film was still playing at several theatres ( that next May a suburban theatre still playing the film placed a full-page newspaper ad featuring a one year cake adorned with the Kenner action figures ). At the dorm we listened to the Williams score and the Meco disco mix, I drew up a SW themed Christmas card and dressed up as Obi Wan for the big Halloween party ( always grew the beard when I went back to school ). I probably ended up seeing the film 25 times over that first year of release. And this was the standard wall decoration for all the dorm rooms….

The legacy lives on! We certainly wouldn’t have this weekend’s MEN IN BLACK 3 and the box office juggernaut MARVEL’S THE AVENGERS without that odd little epic that seemed to come out of nowhere. No amount of dismal prequels or endless directorial tweeking will erase my memories of that magical May night. So, what are your special remembrances? Drop a comment here or at our Facebook page. Obi-Wan’s last bit of dialogue from the film can certainly be applied to the legacy of STAR WARS : ” The force will be with you…always”