How you got into Star Wars

With the new film only around the corner I thought I would write a little about how I became a Star Wars fan.

I was born in 1980 so never got to see the original trilogy in the cinemas. My first experience was the home video release of Return of the Jedi in around 1986. As a kid we used to get a film a week from the local video store (remember those) and I remember getting Return of the Jedi out every week for months. I loved this amazing world as a child and wanted to be Luke Skywalker, I would use anything as a lightsaber!!! The other strong memory I have is that Star Wars (A New Hope) was often on TV on New years day and remember watching it. Much time was spent on the school playground play acting with my friends scenes and characters from all three films. I also remember bugging my parents for all the toys, as this was late in their life time my mother picked up loads of figures very cheap. Again many hours spent playing with the Luke Skywalker figure and building a Death Star throne room out of Lego (this was before Lego made Star Wars sets)

As time went by the world seemed to forget about Star Wars, there were no new films and nothing on TV. Then in 1992 the Trilogy was re-released on VHS and I got it for Christmas and over the next year had them on nearly every day. I would watch 10 minutes in a morning while getting dressed for school and then another 30 minutes at night before I went to sleep (this was before I discovered books to help me get to sleep). Most of my friends weren't into Star Wars at this time, it was uncool as it was an old film and for kids. Around this time Super Star Wars was released on the SNES and I spent hours on this game. Again another slow time for us fans between 92 and 97, nothing new to look forward to.

But 97 was a great time, first up was a documentary on BBC 1 all about George Lucas and The Special Edition of the films. I can't remember though if it told us that he was making the prequels or if that came later. Then The Special Editions were to be released in cinemas to mark the films 30th anniversary. Having never seen them on the big screen I couldn't wait. I went with my sister to see Star Wars on the first Saturday afternoon of release. It was great, the cinema was full with adults and their kids, it was a total cross over of generations. I felt that Star Wars was back for the masses. Unfortunately I didn't get to see Empire and Jedi when they were released (I still haven't seen them on the big screen, it's on the bucket list). The video releases of the Special Editions were a pre-order of both the Pan and Scan and the Widescreen. I had left school by this point and was with different friends at college, these were mostly like minded Star Wars fans so I remember picking up the box sets from Woolworth's and skipping lessons to go and watch them all one afternoon back to back, good times. I can't say I was a fan of some of the added parts in the Special Editions but I was very happy with the cleaned up picture and sound.

Then there was the best news that in 1999 there would be a new film set before the original trilogy. It was like Star Wars had come out of hiding after 10 years and everyone was jumping on the band wagon and were now big fans (very similar to the current build up to The Force Awakens) the 2 year wait seemed to go on forever. And those first glimpses at the trailer on the internet were amazing and I remember going to see Enemy of the State just to watch the Episode I trailer on the big screen!!! I took the day off work from my summer job to go and watch Episode I on release day. I absolutely loved it. The effects were amazing and I enjoyed that it was the start of the story. That summer I went to see it 9 times at the cinema and couldn't get enough of the Jedi fight scene at the end. I also collected all the figures that were released. I then got the film on VHS and DVD and watched it unknown amounts of time. This was when the back lash started after the hype had calmed down, the new so called fans starting slagging off the new film and that Lucas had lost it. I don't agree with this and can still watch Episode I and really enjoy it for the most part.

After the hype had gone Episode II was released and again I was there opening day, twice in the same day to be honest and again 6 times over the next few weeks. I didn't enjoy it as much as Episode I but hey it was new Star Wars and I could see the direction Lucas was taking it in. After Episode II the real haters all came out and really started bashing the films and Lucas and started putting the Original Trilogy up as the greatest thing ever. Lets be fair the Original Trilogy is amazing but has many of the same problems as the Prequels, people are just going along with the hype and bashing what is popular.

Now the one all Star Wars fans had been waiting for Episode III, we were finally going to see Darth Vader. I tried not to get caught up in the hype for this one and just go in only having seen the trailer a few times and enjoy the film fresh. I did do that to be honest and I did love most of the film. By this point Lord of the Rings had come and stole a lot of Star Wars fantasy followers and the hype and bashing of the films and Lucas had gone a little bit, so the real fans could go and enjoy it. Also by now it was totally accepted for people of all ages to be Star Wars fans, they were everywhere. When the Episode III DVD was released I set myself the task of watching all 6 films back to back in one day. It was hard going even for a huge fan like me but I made it through.

After this I went to Star Wars Celebration Europe in 2007, great day out and saw Anthony Daniels and got his autograph. After the 6 film marathon and the previous 6 years of Star Wars hype I had worn myself out. It had just been over exposure. So over the next 5 years I don't think I watched the films at all. I enjoyed The Clone Wars TV show and was happy with the 6 films and content that Star Wars was complete.

I showed the films to my kids around 2011 and enjoyed passing on to them my love of a Galaxy Far Far Away. I had a blast going to watch Episode I in 3D when it came out in 2012 and looked forward to seeing the rest of the series including Empire and Jedi on the big screen in 3D.

But these hopes were dashed but in a great way when it was announced that Lucas had sold the rights to Disney and they would be making a new trilogy. I didn't believe this at first and to be honest wasn't sure if I wanted any more films that weren't created by Lucas. I was happy with the story arc of the 6 we had and would have been happy with a live action TV series to get in more character driven arcs. Though I was very happy when they announced JJ as the director as I thought he had made some great films and done a good job with Star Trek. Well the hype machine has been in full swing for the last 2 years and all the none Star Wars fans are back out in force (sorry) saying how great Star Wars is and how good the new film looks, hope they aren't slagging it off after xmas. I have again stayed well away from the hype as much as I can. I have watched the trailers and have booked the day off work to take my 6 year old kid to watch it at the IMAX. I have hope that the film will be good and it looks like a bright future for the series with at least 5 films all in production, I just hope its not over kill like the Marvel universe is starting to feel like. I will report back on 17th with my feelings on the film and the day we had watching it!!!!!!!

My first real star wars introduction came through of all things the lego star wars games. When I was 8 years old (i'm currently 17) lego star Wars 2 the original trilogy came out and I remembered playing the first game at a friends house and thinking it was super cool so I made my mom buy it for me at Toy's R Us after a check up at the doctor's office where I got a shot, and in those days when I got a shot at the doctors and behaved myself she would reward me with a toy since the Toy's R Us was in the same shopping center. So I got home and started playing and really liked the game so the next time we went to blockbuster (we went to either the movie theater or blockbuster once a week to watch a movie as a family, and my sister and I could each pick out a movie for ourselves to watch that week too if the choice was blockbuster) I picked to watch Star Wars for my movie. Over the next month or so I ended up in the possession of all 6 episodes on special edition widescreen DVDs and watched all of them more times than I could count and all the bonus features and behinds the scenes stuff and I had copies of both the original and digitally remastered versions of the original trilogy (theatrical cuts are way better) . As a kid Return of the Jedi was my favorite but nowadays Empire is my favorite and I have a much tougher time sitting through the prequels than I did when I was 8. Star Wars (and Indiana Jones, went as Han Solo and Indy in back to back Halloweens) had a huge impact on me as a kid and were the first movies I loved and the first movies that made me see movies as something bigger than 2 hours of something to watch. Though I didn't know it at the time, these movies were the beginning of what would become a love of film and I now want to grow up to become a director one day.

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My cousin who was a spoiled only child had a closet full of old 80's Star Wars toys. Whenever we came over to visit of course we would play with them and I guess I grew up jealous. So as I got older I bought a few toys of my own and the ball has been rolling ever since.

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hi guys

Hello?

Great stories guys keep them coming.

Could you write with subsections, please? Because it's not easy to read.

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I will edit

I snuck in the back door.

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I was born in 91, so I missed the OT in the theaters. But, my grandma actually went out and bought the Star Wars trilogy on VHS (I think it was one of the rereleases). I loved those movies to bits. I remember the first time I was finally watching Return of the Jedi, when the Emperor was electrocuting Luke, I had to pause it because little kid me was so stressed out that Luke might die.


When Episode I came out in 99, my grandma took me to see it, and at the time, it was the best movie I'd ever seen (my standards were lower back then). I was just excited for more Star Wars. I played the Pod Racing game on N64 all the time, and I loved the Rogue Squadron games.


I'm beyond stoked that in 5 days, I'll be watching a new Star Wars film, something I'd never thought would happen again. It does make me a bit sad, though, as my grandma passed away last year. She was very much into cinema and tv shows and she really kick started my love for pop culture, so it's a shame I can't enjoy the new movie with her still.

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Well guys,

I have to say this, and I'm sorry for it, but the way I got into Star Wars and the whole universe was through Episode I - The Phantom Menace. Just kill me...

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I'm very disappoint, MM.

Aw, come one, man, don't let the haters get you down. I know the prequels aren't "great" compared to OT, but I was stoked for Episode I when it came out, and I thoroughly enjoyed it as a kid.

The title of this thread presumes much!

So what's your take on Star Wars given that you have the perspective of having seen Episode 1 first? How do you weigh into the Prequel vs Originals debate?

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Fine then, I'll expand a bit (or a lot)...

I was a kid when Episode I came out and given that my parents never were huge on Star Wars I basically knew nothing except for the VHS of Phantom Menace, which was given to me when I was a kid. And in some way that film has some nostalgic and sentimental value to me - not only because I was a kid and everything was awesome back then - but because I remember it to be the first movie I watched beyond children movies and very basic family movies. I remember all the Disney movies and then this was the first one I saw after that period (the Star Wars franchise is essentially owned by Disney now, but that's another story lol). I know some people would argue that Episode I especially, and to some extent the entire franchise, is rather family-orientated in some degree - and I wouldn't argue against that - but as a kid this was a little more action and violence than I was used to. And therefore, I pretty much loved to watch it.

That said though, even as I kid I notice problems with it of which I couldn't figure out that at point in time; all I could feel was that something was a bit "off" - and especially the talking scenes were freaking boring - which they still are to this day. But anyways, I liked the universe, but mostly the basics of it (which was originated in the original trilogy) like the lightsabers and the spaceships and the planets and the deserts and all that stuff. I guess I found Jar Jar pretty funny at that time, but even back then he seemed "out of place" in the movie - as did the small boy, Anakin. So, in reality, all I really liked was evolved from the original trilogy and all I didn't like was the new ideas and storylines introduced and developed for the new trilogy only. There's things I still like (I rewatched the entire prequel trilogy not to long ago), which are things like Darth Maul (and the ending fight) as well as some of the set pieces in Episode II (which is oddly my favorite of the prequels). But still, non of them are that good - mediocre at best.

Since I grew up on Episode I I also continued to watch the two sequels in the prequel trilogy, but actually I didn't watch the original trilogy until several years later. If I were to say when exactly that was, I would say it was in the last year or two (2014 and down). So when I finally did watch the original films it was kind of a weird feeling. I have only watched all of those once and the original Star Wars was rather underwhelming to me. I didn't really like it too much. That said, the sequel, The Empire Strikes Back I thought was pretty damn good. I liked that a lot and it is probably the best Star Wars film there is, in my opinion. Return of the Jedi was fine given its reputation and overall pretty enjoyable.

So yeah, the prequel trilogy is watchable, but with the outright awful and cringe-worthy dialogue it can be pretty discomforting to sit through - not even the actors and actresses seem to be able to act with that embarrassing dialogue, the CG environment and the overall poor directing from Lucas. As I said earlier, when accepting the terms and conditions of these films I can be entertained by some of the action set pieces and the overall universe, but it is always underwhelming when walking away from the prequels in the end of it all.

The original trilogy needs another visit, but until then I will say I like it well enough and for now I think Empire Strikes Back alone makes me like the Star Wars universe, at least to some degree, and makes me want to revisit again soon... I'm not a hardcore fan, but I like the universe well enough.

I saw a short teaser for the first film around Christmas time in 1976, after which I bugged my mom to take me to see it when it came out. I was only 5 at the time, but I still remember the massive line outside the theater to get in. We waited for what seemed like forever to a wee fella like me, but then finally were admitted to the theater and sat down and waited for the film to start. The lights went down, previews ran, and then the now infamous text scroll played across the screen.

Then, it happened. The camera panned down, and out came the ships, and the place went crazy. I had only been to a few movies in my life at that point, and had never seen so many adult go wild like that. "Holy crap!", "Far out!", "Wooooohooooo!" People were cheering and clapping and going crazy with the spectacle. And there I sat. just riveted to the screen, soaking in a universe that would become my life for the next 7-8 years or so. After that it was all over. Star Wars toys, backpacks, lunch boxes, bed sheets, comic books, posters, and as others mentioned, countless times I ran around a school yard or back yard, imagining I was a gunner on the Falcon, or an X-Wing pilot, or a Jedi.

Each time a new film would come out, I would see it multiple times in the theater, afterward adding new toys and adventures with all the other neighborhood kids.

Then in 1999...disaster struck, and it was called The Phantom Menace.

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So you basically knew the big twist at the end of Empire Strikes Back? Interesting that without the nostalgia factor that the rest of us feel you basically say they re good (the originals) but not as high on the pedestal as many of us put them. Although you give Empire it's due credit, as far as I'm concerned in the argument for GOAT film.

Wonder if that same nostalgia factor makes the bar for the new film impossibly high.

I'm sure many have seen the originals post the release and still liked them. I mean, how are people supposed to like any movie pre their birth date? You don't have to be there upon release to see the greatness of a film - though I do realize I saw prequels first, which is a bit different and in general Star Wars is rather huge.

But yeah, I like them just fine without the nostalgia factor, though for now Empire is the only truly solid one imo. We'll see with rewatches. And of course I knew the twist, everybody and their grandmother knew that twist. I think I knew the quote like 5 years before I even saw the film.

I was around 12 when the first Star Wars came out and like so many I waited in lines that circled around the theater and sat spell bound like everyone else and got completely wrapped up in all of it for the next decade.

When the re-digitized versions came out I was pretty much meh.
Lucas was a kid with a new toy and when the prequels came it only got worse. Hell, I still prefer the original versions and roll my eyes when I see the remastered versions. Not sure if this is nostalgia or simply, why put a shiny gloss on something that is already beautiful to this beholder.

Like so many others I was and remain VERY disappointed with the prequels for so many reasons that have been made abundantly clear by so many that I so no reason to get into why messah hate dem so effin much.

I won't be making it to any first showings of the new one but do have faith in JJ Abrams to bring something very worthwhile and anticipate hearing from those of you with tickets already in hand.