Saturday, April 21, 2012

A-Z Challenge: Star Wars

Star Wars defined my childhood.  I was in kindergarten when the movie (and toy line) came out.  R2-D2 was my first action figure, followed by every other one they ever made, including the ones you had to mail-order 10 proofs-of-purchase to get.

The first time I saw the movie was at a drive-in theater with my older brothers.  That sentence sums up absolutely everything I remember about that event.  I was only six. 

Remember, back on letter C, when I talked about our Betamax?  My dad rented three movies the first night we had the Betamax: Caddyshack, Conan the Barbarian, and Star Wars.  My vote for first movie to watch was Star Wars.  I was outvoted; we watched Caddyshack...But the next morning I was up at the crack of dawn watching Star Wars.  I ended up getting a copy of it and I believe I have watched it well over 100 times in my life.

I have a cousin 45 days younger than me, and he only lived 20 minutes away for most of my childhood.  He collected Star Wars stuff, too.  My mom and my aunt colluded to make sure that our presents didn't overlap on Christmas...I got cool stuff he wanted and he got cool stuff I wanted.  Together we had everything.

My favorite movie in the series is The Empire Strikes Back.  It is most abundant in awesomeness out of all six movies.

My kids have seen most of the movies, and it's hell explaining which one they are watching.  "It's the original one, but it's episode IV...no, this one came first but The Phantom Menace is movie number one...Actually, Attack of the Clones and Revenge of the Sith come before this, but this is the first one they made..."

The prequels are not as good as the original movies, but I still like them.  I can't not like them, the series is far too ingrained in every fiber of my being, and it's been there since I was six years old.  I'm loyal that way.

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7 comments:

D.G. Hudson said...

I was imprinted by Star Wars as well, Rick. Han Solo, robots, spaceships, what's not to like? I was in Sci-Fi heaven. I think we saw Star Wars first, then Close Encounters.

At that time, I was reading the classic sci-fi masters. I don't think I'll ever tire of the Star Wars movies as they provided visuals for my active imagination.

I think we've tried to explain the order when our kids watched it. So it was funny hearing you describe it.

Have a great weekend! Thanks for dropping by.

Alex J. Cavanaugh said...

Empire is definitely the best of the series. Was disappointed with the last three though.

Rick Daley said...

DG- I didn't see Close Encounters until much later, and later still before I could really appreciate it. That may be the best alien contact movie ever.

Alex- The prequels are definitely a couple levels below the original series, but they have enough special moments to make me nostalgic watching them. Too bad it is only moments, the story had so much more potential.

The Rambling Pages said...

I agree Empire was the best. Everything star wars reminds me of growing up with an older brother. I remember about 20 of us going to the cinema to see the first of the new ones and the mixed feeling of excitement in the pub afterwards and the disappointment as it wasn't quite as good as the original and jar jar binks annoyed me! I now have an 8 yr old and 5 yr old son both of whom are star wars mad and we are loving it! Seeing the enjoyment of jar jar through a child's eyes has made me appreciate the films more. My eldest has mild autism and star wars is his latest obsession - its the best one yet and if this obsession lasts 2 and a half years there will be no complaints! Popping by from the A-Z Challenge to say Hi

Bev said...

I never got the whole Star Wars thing, although I do remember where I was the first time I watched it. So that says something I suppose.
Thanks for sharing you childhood memories. Enjoyed your post.

Stopping in via the A-Z blogging challenge.

Bev @ Blue Velvet Vincent

Eric said...

Yep, this is a mandatory S post. I share your love of Star Wars, and I also share your opinion of the new ones. They're just okay.

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