For those of us who are old enough to remember the halcyon days of the original releases of the OT, what genuine memories still stick out after all these years?
Because of the profound effect these films had on me, I still have very stark recollections of certain moments in all of the films. I'll show you mine if you show me yours!
Star Wars. I saw this with my dad in 1977. I actually thought he was taking me to see my grandmother who lived in Bootle (which, if you know anything about my part of the world, is a pretty grim place). I was not looking forward to it at all. As we stepped out of the door, my mum told me that we weren't really going to see my gran. She then launched into a very passable rendition of the Star Wars theme - which everyone knew at the time. I almost wet my pants. Of the film itself, I only remember the cantina scene (that music and all those exotic aliens). Also, at one point, a long-haired man (well, it was the seventies) walked up the aisle and passed our seat. I thought it was Chewbacca going for a pee between scenes! The next day, in school, it turned out that everyone had seen the film over the weekend. Everyone knew the names of the lead characters except me. Luke? Han? I imagine it was all just too much for my five year old brain to take in.
The Empire Strikes Back. As a birthday treat for one of my school mates, his dad took a bunch of us to The Odeon in Liverpool to see the movie. I remember looking at the poster in the foyer and wondering who all the characters were - both Boba Fett and Yoda caught my eye. The only memory of the film was the duel between Luke and Vader. I found Luke to be a bit of a drip, really, and desperately wanted Vader to beat him. Leaving the cinema, my mates berated me nd said it was my fault that Luke got his hand chopped off.
Return Of The Jedi. I saw this with my dad at a cinema in Southport. He'd bought me a Luke Skywalker figure before we went in - the one with the cloak and the green lightsabre. Oddly, the only moment that still lives with me is when Luke has gone to see Vader and we see an AT-AT walking through the forest. "An AT-AT?" exclaimed the kid behind me. On leaving the cinema, my mum was waiting for us. She asked us about the film and my dad said "Well, there won't be any more. Dark Vader dies at the end." His comment didn't go down too well with the queue of people waiting outside to see the next showing.