Yes, Star Wars was originally released on May 25, 1977. Notice I did not say Star Wars: A New Hope because that was not what it was called then.
Anyway, my children and I were talking recently about what made Star Wars such a cultural phenomenon. Looking back it’s really difficult to explain exactly what it was like when the first movie came out. That has less to do with the world at time than it does with the movie itself, I think. No one knew what to expect and what we got certainly wasn’t anything like what we might’ve imagined. So where to start?
Well, for context, their father and I, married less than a year, saw the first movie at a local movie theatre within a month or so of it’s release. More or less. I’m thinking it was closer to summer when we saw it because a friend of mine who was attending college in Texas (we’re in Kentucky) was in town between semesters. The first thing she wanted everyone to do when she hit town was go see this fantastic movie because she’d already seen it in Texas.
And was blown away, of course.
So, yes, it was an event even here, too. Not a party like in some of the bigger cities, but definitely one of those things where everyone was asking everyone else if they’d seen it already. We didn’t go to see it more than once but I know people who did. Then there was merchandise, books and, of course, the videos to get, VHS then. Because you had to watch it at home. Over and over again. Once the original trilogy was complete we started marathon watching all three movies several times a year. Because, seriously, how could you watch just one? The kids just kind of grew up watching them and any new Star Wars movies that came along.
So, yeah, in terms of movies and going to the cinema, there is before Star Wars and there is after Star Wars. It’s actually difficult to remember the before sometimes. And don’t even get me started on people who haven’t seen any Star Wars. Heh.
But to see how it was in the rest of the country, here’s this video: