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!!!!!!!
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!!!!!!!
Last edited by Goldleader; 12-14-15 at 08:39 AM.