The original movie Star Wars — the first Star Wars, before the sequels, the prequels, and all the tinkering and revisions by George Lucas — opened in theaters in May 1977. I was among the throngs of hopeful science fiction fans scrambling for tickets.
I say hopeful because up until then, Hollywood had done a poor job of making science fiction movies. To the industry, sci-fi meant “Mars Needs Women” and “The Brain That Wouldn’t Die.”
But in the highly-touted Star Wars from young George Lucas, we fans had detected, if you’ll forgive me, a new hope.
We knew good sci-fi was possible. In 1968, Stanley Kubrick made “2001: A Space Odyssey,” which treated sci-fi as a genre for adults. In 1971, Lucas directed “THX 1138,” also a serious sci-fi movie. Maybe, just maybe, Star Wars would be the film we were looking for.
From today’s vantage point, we can look back on some good science fiction movies. But in early 1977, most of the good stuff — “Blade Runner,” “Close Encounters,” and the “Alien,” “Terminator,” and “Matrix” films — hadn’t happened yet.
In 1977, I lived in Fort Lauderdale. I was 34, married with two kids, working in an office, wearing a tie. I wasn’t typical of all the young sci-fi nerds awaiting the movie’s debut.
But I was as excited as the nerdiest of them. I dutifully stood in line (Fandango was still decades away) to get a ticket to see this new Star Wars thing.
The film didn’t disappoint. Lucas did well, pushed all the right buttons. He appealed to the kids and the inner kids. The special effects were revolutionary and awesome. The heroes were virtuous, the villains were unambiguously evil. Star Wars was an instant classic.
That first time, I saw the film alone. No one else in the family showed any interest. But coming out of the theater, I knew with certainty that my two boys would be utterly captivated by it. The Force would lock onto them in their seats and pull them in like a tractor beam.
Britt was then a few months shy of 12. Dustin had just turned six. Both should have been clamoring to go see the thrilling adventures of Luke, Leia, Han Solo, et al. But they weren’t.
Maybe they were turned off because I had raved about it so much and for so long. Why would I like some stupid movie Dad likes? He can’t tell me what I like.
But I knew I was right. And I didn’t want them to miss out because of misdirected stubbornness.
So, I bought three tickets to a Saturday showing of the film — one for me, one for Britt, one for Dustin.
When I made the announcement, it wasn’t pretty.
Britt was indignant. Not being one to blow up or lash out, he went into sulk mode and coldly retreated to his room.
Dustin, being more given to dramatics, wailed like a lost soul and fled to his room in tears.
To my credit or discredit — decide which for yourself — I stood my ground. I insisted that, by God, I was taking them to see the blasted movie.
The worst that could happen, I pointed out, was they would hate it. Then they could say, What a stinker of a movie! Old Dad got it wrong! Boy, was he wrong!
On the other hand, maybe I was right. Maybe Star Wars would be great. Maybe they would enjoy it.
Either way, I said, lighten up. It’s just a movie. And we’re going to see it. End of story.
You can imagine how events transpired. From the first scene, they were entranced. Enthralled. Enchanted. Enraptured.
The subject of their fit of youthful intransigence never came up again. Today, both are loyal Star Wars fans who have seen the movie more times than they can recall.
A few weeks ago, Britt treated his parents, wife, and kids to a 3D showing of Star Wars: The Force Awakens. After the movie, as we walked out of the theater, I casually mentioned his resistance drama from the old days.
This was news to his two daughters, who are 15. They thought it was hilarious.
A week or so later, I asked Dustin if he and his bunch had seen the new Star Wars movie.
“Leslie and I went to see it,” he told me. “We liked it. Maddie and Sarah didn’t go. They just weren’t interested.”
Maddie is 12, and Sarah is nine, so the irony is obvious. Where it falls on the line between the comic and the tragic, that eludes me.
The more things change, the more they remain the same.
Queuing up to see Star Wars in 1977.
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I wasn’t into Star Wars when it came on the scene in the 70s, but my brother was all about it.
I saw the original Star Wars movie for the first time 20 years after its original release when my son was old enough to get into the Star Wars groove on his own. I gladly watched his VHS trilogy boxed set with him over and over. I think I appreciated it more that way for some reason.
Interesting that most of us have a Star Wars story to tell. Like many others, I hope Lucas will relent and allow the un-tinkered-with original version to be released. So far, he has remained firmly on the Dark Side about that.