Chic, IL Your First Time...

Where did you see each episode the very first time and which was hands down the very best experience? Mine...


ANH- River Oaks Theaters (No. 9, the BIG one), Calumet City, Il...months after it opened...was not that impressed!

TESB- Egyptian Theater, Hollywood, Ca, the first week it opened...was blown away and caught the fever for good...would see it a total of 11 times...

ROTJ- River Oaks No. 9...at midnight premiere...my party was 7th in line...

TPM- River Oaks No. 9...where is everybody!??
just a handful of folks on opening day!...good for getting your favorite seat, but bad for morale...

 

ANH & ESB - My older cousin had these on the first VCR (remember the top loaders?), so tons and tons that way.

RotJ - Yorktown Mall Thearte, Lombard Il 6 years old, 10 AM showing.

PM - Yorktown again, 24 years old, Midnight showing was sooo packed they had to open up a second thearte.

 

ANH at the Mercury theater in Elmwood Park(no longer there..sniff)

ESB and ROTJ at the Norridge Theater in,um,Norridge

TPM at the AMC South Barrington......2nd best line-up next to the McClurg Court

 

ANH, ESB, ROTJ - Ford City Theaters 75th & Cicero - Chicago
Closed a few years back

TPM - Woodridge General Cinemas
Awfull theater - closed also, i think

Do not know where to see ATOC.

 

They closed the Ford City cinemas???? REALLY? I was just by there and I swear they are still open - all 14 theaters.

Anyway:
ANH - Coral Theater
ESB - either Coral or Brighton Theaters on Archer
ROTJ - Ford City I think
TPM - Woodridge Loews

AOTC - Barrington is where my Bothan spies tell me the 501st will be taking me.

 

I also saw ANH, TESB, and ROTJ at the closed Ford City Theaters. This was a different building than the new Ford City 14 which is on the other side of the parking lot from the old theater. I used to love that GC Theater opening.

I saw TPM at McClurg Court, opening day, 1:40 P.M. showing.

Phil

 

Oh yeah - the theaters that are now the Marshall's store. Remember that ice cream shop there. Oh hell......what was it's name?????

FARRELL'S!!!!! That place was cool! We used to always get those super sized jaw breakers that would last 6 months and get your hands all sticky.

 

FIRST TIME VIEWINGS:

SW:Holiday Special: Original Air-Date 1977 (or '78..I forget) Age 6 or 7.

ANH-(second theatrical Release) Summer 1979. Towers Mall; Roanoke, Va. Age 8.

ESB- Opening Week (not day). May 1980. Towers Mall; Roanoke, Va. . Age 9

RotJ- Terrace Theater (only theater to open the movie within 100 miles; Roanoke, Va. Opening Day. BEST EXPERIENCE! Camped out overnight (true story). Age 12

ANH:SE- Opening Week. Some theater near Manly Beach, Sydney, Australia. Age 26

ESB:SE- Opening Week. Random Theater in Perth, Australia. Age 26.

RotJ:SE- July 1997. Base Theater, Atsugi Japan. WORST EXPERIENCE!! Age 26.

TPM- May 16th, 1999. McClurg Court Theater; Chicago, IL. Rosie O'Donnel Charity Premiere. Age 28

 

Star Wars - Edens Theater - 1977 - Sat. of opening weekend - Age: 9

The Empire Strikes Back - Golf Mill Theater - 1980 - opening day - Age: 12

Return of the Jedi - The only movie theater in Flagstaff, Arizona (Can't remember the name) - first showing of opening day - Age: 15

The Phantom Menace - Cinemark, Melrose Park - 12:01 a.m. opening day - Age: 31

Best experience has to be seeing the first movie for the first time. I was totally blown away. I can't recall a bad experience. Except my disappointment in TPM. Sorry.

 

A New Hope - Some theater in Arizona. Age 0.

Empire - Plaza Theater in Chicago, all day. Age 4.

Jedi - Lincoln Village Theater in Chicago, all day. Age 7.

TPM - McClurg Court Theater 1. Age 22.

AotC - Skywalker Ranch. Age 24. Oops, wasn't supposed to tell you about that one...

 

ANH: 1 1/2 years old... couldn't tell you where to save my life, but according to my parents, I was a great excuse to go see it (all six times... no wonder I don't remember ever _not_ knowing Star Wars.)

Empire: Del Amo Mall, Los Angeles CA, what I once thought was opening day was actually revealed several years ago to have been opening week (my parents went to see it themselves to make sure they could enjoy it at least once without worrying about making constant explanations to the kid... can't say I blame 'em.)

Jedi: Del Amo Mall, Los Angeles CA, opening day. I remember being lined up so far around the building that a couple of us (a few friends, some random kids in line near us, and my dad) were pressing our faces against the emergency exit doors in the back of the theater, getting fleeting glimpses of the screen to go along with the muffled sound effects and near-constant cheering/applause.

TPM: opening day, McClurg Court, Chicago IL... I think I was fourth in line for the actual movie. The one thing I'll always remember is the sudden quiet as "A long time ago..." came up; then that absolute BLAST of John Williams' score and the flash of yellow light as "STAR WARS" pulled back from the screen... all of a sudden, I realized that the all-too familiar crawl of text was about to start rolling up the screen, and for the first time over in fifteen years, I had absolutely no idea what it was going to say. It's hard to read through tears.

-Le Penguin
"No more adventures!"

 

i saw all 3 original trilogy episodes at the showcase east in monroeville, pa where i grew up.

i saw ep 1 at barrington amc. this was right before i went into crazy prop and costume mode.

yes jeff...to barrington you must go. the rebellion will be there as well. email me for details.

 

I have to email you, goat. You are my base commander. Speaking of Rebel Legion - why haven't I been issued a id number?

Aha.....ask a question/answer it myself. New site going up, eh?

 

JediJeff
hah the Coral Theater (Now a Shopping Plaza)
Have not heard that in years.
I grew up about 4 blocks from there.
I am sure I must have seen ANH there as well.
But you always remember your first time. (ford city)



Are you from Oak Lawn?

Tom

 

jeff,

we arent assigning any new numbers till the new web site is complete. which is why there havent been any updates to it. we need to get on that faster. C2 is approaching.

 

Yo Tom! I grew up in Alsip (17 years). Then Oak Lawn, Hometown, Chicago Ridge, Oak Forest and now out in Plainfield.

And you should see my three Coral Theater movie seats in my basement. Sweeeeeeeeet!

Was that not the best theater in the area - except maybe the one by the old Community store which is now Chicago Ridge Mall? That d@mn theater never turned off it's air conditioning!

 

Well the original triology I saw in South Dakota when they each first came out. All three special edition I saw up in Janesville, Wisconsin and then EPI at Cantera AMC. EPII most likely at Cantera first and then Barrington at the Digital theater.

JediLars

 

The Coral Theatre? OMG! I know that place!
And the old movie theaters at Ford City???
yep, been there too! Gesh...you're
having me dig deep into my memory for the
exact locations...
ANH - It might've been the Colony theatre
(now closed) at 55th and Kedzie.
I was 6 years old at the time and saw it
with my mom and a freind. He and I
afterwards were very curious about those
so-called Clone Wars...it's exciting to
FINALLY see what the Clone Wars are all
about!
ESB - I *think* Ford City...went with a
friend and his family. My mom was expecting
one of my brothers at the time. I remember
my friend and I endlessly counting down the
the time while we stood in line.
ROTJ - The new Ford City cinemas. Saw it
with my brothers.
TPM - Crestwood, 7pm show. First SW movie
on opening day! Saw it with a bunch of
bigtime SW fans. This was the best
experience!
AOTC - I have no idea where I'm going to
see it yet.
TJ

 

Hey Torn.....I see you watching AOTC in Barrington. Yup. I do.

You too, Lars. Barrington first, than Cantera.

 

Ok, instead of when we saw Star Wars the first time...let's talk about when we had sex for the first time.

I remember I was just 13, back in Roanoke. It was a cold, dark, rainy night and I was all alone.....

 

That was you!?

-Le Penguin
"I think we hit a moose!"

 

All alone??? Wait a minute.. LOL

 

rhifrhaf--so freakin cool! i saw ROTJ on opening day at River Oaks 9 too!!! i still kinda love that theater...i remember seeing indy 3 and the first batman there as well. ah, me and my dad, going to the show...good times.

anyway...

SW: Home video. Poser, I know.

ESB: The theater, but I don't recall it

ROTJ: River Oaks #9, waited like all day to get into a showing with my dad.

SWSE, ESBSE: McClurg Court, opening night.

ROTJSE: A theater in Wash DC, the name of which escapes me.

TPM: McClurg #1, opening day, chicago line baybeeee! #7 right here!!!

matt

 

Like SW or not I cannot even remember last month somedays let alone something I watched for the first time 20 years ago!

All I know is that I saw TPM in a crappy theatre and didn't enjoy it nearly as much as I hoped I would.

 

I was 1 and 1/2 when SW came out. But I did see the rest in the theatre...

ESB: Brighten (spelling?) Theatre on Archer Ave.

ROTJ: Ford City

TPM: Keosotes Theatre - Charleston, IL

AOTC: Greenwood General Cinemas - Indianapolis, IN