Thirty years ago, in a Galaxy far, far away

It all began thirty years ago today.

Of course, I didn’t see it on opening day; I was five, after all, and it took a while for the thing to become a Big Cultural Phenomenon. My mother says that when she saw in the papers what was going on with this space movie, it was she who decided that come hell or high water, her kids were going to see it. So it was late summer, I think, by the time we finally saw it. Maybe it was early summer. Actually, I honestly don’t recall. The movie came out while we were finishing the school year in LaCrosse, Wisconsin; then we moved to Portland, Oregon. That’s where I saw Star Wars the first time.

And I didn’t like it.

Again, I was five, and I just didn’t get the thing. The only movies I knew were Disney stuff, and my only exposure to SF prior to this was a flick called The Cat from Outer Space. But my sister? She was ga-ga for Star Wars and talked about it constantly. So much so that somehow she won me over, and when I consented to go see it a second time, I thought it was the greatest thing ever.

And I still think that.

Three years later, at the same theater (the Westgate in Beaverton, OR, which I believe is now no longer there):

And then, after we moved to Western New York:

So anyway, thank you, George Lucas and everyone else.

Here are some links to older Star Wars-related posts of mine:

I’ve done a lot more Star Wars-related blathering than those on Byzantium’s Shores, but those are a good start.

Last week I splurged on The Making of STAR WARS, and I’ve started reading it, but I’m taking this one very slowly so as to savor it and absorb as much of it as possible.

Also, some outside links: D. Trull is another guy who, like me, thinks the Prequels are actually pretty damned good. I’ve been sitting on this link for quite a while, so long actually that everyone’s probably already seen it, but here’s Steampunk Star Wars. Also, some time ago a reader e-mailed me about The Secret History of STAR WARS, which I have not yet read. (I’ll get to it, eventually!)

I don’t know if I’ll have a chance to watch the original film today; there’s lots of other stuff on my plate right now, obviously. But I wasn’t going to allow cruddy life events now let me miss out on Star Wars‘s thirtieth birthday!