CT Star Wars 1977

I was one of those fortune people to see Star Wars when I was 10 in 1977. While I will never forget seeing it, I can't remember how I knew about it. Does anyone know what marketing was done around it? Was it just the 1977 television spots, or was there more gong on I can't recall? Thank-you.

 

My first clue was in late 76 or early 77 when I saw a book on the paperback rack at a store: STAR WARS by George Lucas, From The Adventures of Luke Skywalker, Soon To Be A Major Motion Picture. There were the usual ads in the paper, local cinemas advertising what they were showing, mostly based on the classic poster art. That's what I remember.

 

Do you have the book? If so, it's probably the first edition of the novel. I have a copy but it's not in great shape as it was on a bookshelf for years. It's in a comic bag now.

 

it was on the cover of Time a few weeks after it opened. I was the last one in my class to see it. There were lots of stories on the news about lines going around the block.

 

I was born and raised in Liverpool. I now reside in the USA. Star Wars was released in Liverpool (at the Odeon Theater, London Road, Liverpool) on Jan 30 1978. I was 9 years old. My father took me to this premier, and remember it well. It is the single moment in my life which made me an obsessed movie fan, and why going to the movies is STILL, 41 years later, my favorite thing to do. I am in the picture embedded below, somewhere.

This was all of course about 7 months since the movie was released in the US For that whole time we got TV spots, and news stories about massive lines at movie theaters in the US and around the world, with fans dressing up, and robots/droids and Dark Lords Of The Sith attending premiers etc.

 

It's my understanding Star Wars had incredible word of mouth in 1977. I grew up in a city where Star Wars played on opening day. It was just that one theater showing Star Wars for the first two months. It quickly became a sensation. People would line up to wait hours in order to see it. News outlets caught on that stories about Star Wars sold issues and drew in viewers. So a sort of grass roots PR push started.

I'm pretty sure Time did the first national feature on Star Wars a week after the movie was released in 1977. It was meant to be the cover story but was bumped at the last minute. It must of been some review and behind the scenes look to help further super charge audiences wanting to see the movie.

 

if memory serves the cover said something about it being a phenomenom

 

It says "Inside: The Year's Best Movie" on the cover. And that's it. It doesn't even say Star Wars.

Probably too soon for it be a phenmenom after 6 days of release.

 

I distinctly remember ESB and RotJ both were TIME magazine covers with multi-page articles.

 

There was also the Marvel Comics adaptation, the first issue of which came out before the movie was released. That six-issue series was a huge success for Marvel, and according to editor-in-chief Jim Shooter, it helped stave off bankruptcy and kept the company afloat. That period in the late 1970's to early 1980's became one of Marvel's most creative and successful, spawning some of their most memorable tales. If you're a Marvel Comics fan, you owe a debt of gratitude to Star Wars.

 

Can't really remember for Star Wars, but I do remember a kid in my class bringing in a glossy "Photo Storybook" of The Empire Strikes Back prior to the release of that film. Pre-internet, this was our first glimpse at the movie.

 

I never saw the film at the cinema on its original release. I had to wait until 1982 when it premiered on television. I thought it was the best film ever made.

My introduction to the film was in 1978/9 through the Kenner action figures. I wanted to see the film because I liked the figures so much. A lot of kids at school had them.

 

I was 7 years old when I first saw Star Wars in 1977. I heard about it from my cousin, and after seeing it told all my friends, and we talked about it over and over. So in my case, it was word of mouth.

 

A cousin of mine first saw it in 1977. She didn't like it. In fact, it nearly took her a decade to finally appreciate it. I enjoyed "A New Hope" from the moment I first saw it. But it was never a favorite of mine from the franchise.

 

Huh. So what was life like before Star Wars?

 

We had Star Trek - original series aired from 1966 to 1969 in the US.

 

2001 A Space Odyssey was the most immersive space movie ever made up to then.

 

I was born in 1976... so too young to remember Star Wars. I do remember that TESB was one of the first movies I saw in the theater (although I only really remember seeing it... not much around it). ROTJ on the other hand I do remember fairly well. It was crazy. They were selling t-shirts and merchandise on folding tables outside the theater - something unheard of in those days.

One thing younger fans will never appreciate is that the OT films were simply miles ahead effects wise of everything else for a very long time (the Star Trek films are the only thing I can remember that were somewhat close). Sure the PT and ST have awesome visual effects, but there was other real competition around the same time (LOTR, etc). There was literally nothing that even came close to the OT for a very long time. It was like someone had travelled 20-30 years into the future and made these movies.

 

I was in grade school when it came out. People forget the impact it had. It was EVERYWHERE. I've never seen anything like it since. It was the first of everything. It changed the way people saw entertainment. People had never seen anything like that Star Destroyer at the start. It was like movies jumped ahead a decade.

 

I wasn't born when it came out, but I've heard similar experiences from other people.

 

it's true. all of it.

 

I was 17 when it came out. My dad took me, my younger brother, and my best friend Mike to see it. A couple of minutes into the movie, Mike (in what has to be the understatement of the ages) turns to me and says "hey, this is pretty cool". Yep, sure was.

 

What sticks out for me was the news coverage of the fans who went to see it 100s of times (I was so jealous) and how long it was in the theater for its original run. As I recall, it was over a year, which was unheard of.

 

Truly was ahead of its time and the first major blockbuster. Amazing if you know what the crew went through to bring it to life.
So my mom tells me i sat on her lap for the movie and fell asleep probably. I was one years old but ESB would be my first true movie experience. Still my favorite.

 

I was 6 when I seen it back in 1977 and was hooked instantly. I only know that from being told as I have no memory of going to see it or how I knew about it back then.
I live in Scotland so I guess with it being released in the US several weeks earlier the hype was down to newspapers & magazines.