The "We were there in the summer of 1977, 1980 or 1983" thread

I wasnt here

 

I was 8 in 77' living in Nashville where I still live currently. I was watching Saturday morning cartoons and my mom came in the room and told me to get ready. She said we were going to see Star Wars. I started jumping up and down yelling "were gonna see SW". My best friend and his mom picked us up around noon in their old Volkswagen Bus. We eventually crammed about 15 people in there before we made it to the theater. My life was changed forever. The tickets were only 75cents for a matinee. The Cinema South Theater was a 4 plex and the first multiplex in town. It's a nightclub now. It will always hold a special place in my heart.

In 80' My best friend, his mom and me were the only ones to go. I remember we had just moved to a new house and I was playing by myself in the front yard and they pulled up in the drive way. I didn't even know why they were there. They said "hop in," and I went and told my mom I was going to see The Empire Strikes Back. We saw it at the Hermitage 4 theater. Its closed down now too. Matinee tickets were about $1.25.

In 83' My best friend, his mom, me and some of my family and theirs saw ROTJ at the Bell Road 3 Theater. It was one of the best experiences at a movie I've ever had. I almost had tears knowing we wouldn't be seeing our heroes on the big screen after this. They tore the theater down back in 98' and built an 8 plex in its place.

It's been a good run with SW for me. Having seen the OT when they premiered, the SE in the theater when they premiered as well as TPM and AOTC when they premeired. All at different theaters but in the same town, and my best friend Aaron there for every one of them. It's hard to believe we only have EP.3 left. Where did the time go?

 

Thanks for this thread, where new generation fans like me can really get a sense of what it was like back then. Such wonderful memories, it makes me so envious that Star Wars wasn't a part of my childhood. If we can never really know, this is the next best thing.

 

I was too young too see ANH in the theater but I was old enough to catch ESB as my 1st viewing experience in a drive in theater. That was the coolest thing to see the star destroyer come into picture with the night sky surrounding the screen.

 

My story:

It was in June of 1977 and it was my best friend's birthday so her mother decided to take her, myself and my mother out for the day to celebrate. Of course, we had to go see A New Hope. Or Star Wars, which is what it was called at the time. I remember the theater had lines around the block so we had to wait and wait and wait before we finally got in to see it.

What can I say, we loved it. I was mesmerized by the experience, never once taking my eyes off of the screen. My mom loved it, my friend loved it and her mom loved it as well. It was unanimous: Star Wars was the best film we had seen.

After the movie, we all went to the mall and my friend and I were each given $50 to spend as we wished. Not much, but back then it was a huge amount of money for a couple of 10-year olds. God, I wanted to buy everything Star Wars. I wanted the soundtrack, the t-shirts, the dolls, everything! My first toys were C3PO and R2D2 figures and I also bought a t-shirt that had Luke Skywalker and C3PO on it. Priceless!

How many times have I wished that I could go back to that particular time and relive that whole moment. It was just fantastic. Being a kid without a care in the world and discovering a new found love. How fortunate we were to have such an incredible experience. *wipes tears from eyes*

 

I saw ESB in the theater in 1980,even though I was like three. I remember being enthralled with what I was seeing on the screen.

In 1983,I saw ROTJ,and it rocked my six-year-old world. One thing I remember was I couldn't see part of the screen becuase some guy's head was in the way.

I don't remember what theater I saw ESB at,but I do remember where I saw ROTJ: The movie theater at Woodland Mall in Grand Rapids,MI.,but the theater has now since closed.

 

Awesome memories, one and all!! Here are mine:

Summer 1977: I was 4 years old. My parents were the same age I am now. I don't remember every detail from it, except I was SO upset that Darth Vader didn't die at the end like he was supposed to!! Well if someone would have just assured me there were 5 more films to come, I would have been ok with it

In the next couple years, I took everyone I could to go see it. Grandparents, aunts, uncles, friends, etc. I saw it 13 times in the theater in its original release.

Summer 1980: My obsession really kicked into high gear after this one! It seemed like everything was like it was in Star Wars, only better. Luke actually fought Vader in this one! And we debated for 3 yeras on the playground as to whether Vader truly was Luke's father. I had a couple of the action figures by this time, but after ESB, I then *had* to have ALL of them!!

Summer 1983: The most emotional experience of any of the original three. I was 10 years old, and I related the end of the trilogy to the end of my childhood. It never was as much fun after that either. I cried a lot for about the last 5 minutes of the film the first time I saw it because I knew it was all over. But my dad was there with a hug and a post-movie trip to the ice cream parlor afterwards. And we went to see it again the next night

Threads like this are what this is really all about. The wonderful childhood memories we have attached to this series of movies.

When I was at C2 last spring, Anthony Daniels went up to someone with a question for Hayden, who was on stage. The guy started his remarks by thanking Daniels for helping to make his childhood so much fun. There was steady applause after that. I echo that sentiment today.

 

I'm glad to see this thread back. What a great topic!

 

Bump!

 

My older sister Glorie heard from the people at her job that there was a movie out that little kids would enjoy back in 1977. So she took me and my nephew Tony to see Star Wars (I was 8 and my nephew was 6). All three of us became hooked immediately.

In 1980 I was in Baltimore visiting two more sisters. I didn't know that there was a sequel to Star Wars, so when I found out about Empire I got one of my sisters to take me. The theater was inside a mall and the line was very long. We got our popcorn and drinks and sat down near the back. My passion for all things Star Wars was renewed and my sister Jean became an Empire fan.

Since Empire ended with a cliffhanger the three year wait for Jedi was very painful. We didn't have the Internet so getting information about the movies was very hard. And it seemed as if my nephew and I were the only ones in our school/neighborhhood/church who were fans. We couldn't discuss the movies or speculate about Jedi with anyone other than each other or my older siblings. The only information we got came from the previews when we went to see other movies. It seemed as if not many Black people were interested in Star Wars and being a black girl who was interested in Star Wars just seemed weird in my school.

When Jedi came out Glorie took me and Tony to see it. Again the lines were very long. We enjoyed it very much and were a little sad that this would be the last Star Wars movie. From 1983 until Heir to the Empire I had a very hard time finding information on my favorite trilogy. I think there was a Star Wars magazine out at the time Jedi ende. Not all grocery stores and drug stores carried it and we didn't live near grocery stores or drug stores anyway. It seemed as if people had lost interest in Star Wars and my nephew and I were the only people who still loved it. I was very glad when Heir to the Empire was released.