Thirty years ago, the original
Star Wars hit theaters and the world changed.
I know there are some
hoity-toity critics out there who say
Star Wars ruined the movies, but honestly they need to get over it. Just becuase a film is commercially successful doesn't necessarily means it's a bad thing (Adam Sandler movies are excluded from this). Personally, I think
Star Wars is one of those rare films that holds up to critical scrutiny and also happens to have been wildly successful at the box-office. They can't all be
Wild Strawberries or
Citizen Kane.I recall seeing
Star Wars in the theaters a couple of times. I am pretty certain my grandfather took me at least once visiting them during the summer and I know I saw it a couple of other times. I'll have to admit, my most vivid memories of the first movie are the book and record set I had where R2-D2 chirped when it was time to turn the pages and my
Star Wars lunch box that I had full of action-figures. If only I'd known they'd be worth a small mint today, I'd probably still have played with them.....the memories of making up adventures and sending C3-PO and R2-D2 down the slide in my back yard are worth more than mere money.
I also remember my mom picking up a copy of the novelization somewhere and bringing it home. This was probably not right when it first came out but a year or so later. I recall flipping through the book, looking at the tiny print and wondering how many years it would take me to read the entire book. And if the scenes in the book would be just like the ones on the movie screen or would they be different somehow.
Over the years, I've seen
Star Wars a lot. I had copies of the original trilogy on VHS and when they came back out in the theaters as the special editions,
Barry and I were there opening night for each one--along with a cast of others. We've been to opening day or weekend of all the prequels together and our mutual love of
Star Wars has been one of the many cornerstones of our long friendship.
And while I've been very critical of George Lucas for my perceived lack of quality and fun to the prequel trilogy, I can't deny that the first two movies he made in the
Star Wars universe aren't two of the best movies ever made. So, thank you to George Lucas and the entire team who brought
Star Wars to life. I've enjoyed the movies and universe for thirty years now and I can't wait to share that excitement with my niece and nephew and, maybe someday if I'm blessed with them, my own kids.
Labels: star wars
posted by Michael Hickerson at 5/25/2007 08:05:00 PM |
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