yeah, i guess i’m lucky in a way – i was old enough to be super-conscious of it. i distinctly remember the first time i heard about it: my friend and neighbor across the street had an older brother who took him to see it opening weekend. he had no idea what they were seeing, but his brother was excited for it and told him he’d love it. i remember him trying to tell us about it the next day, and he was trying to describe how big the space ship (the star destroyer) was in the opening scene as it passed overhead. “it was bigger than this block – bigger than our entire NEIGHBORHOOD!” and i remember not believing him, and saying, “come on – NO WAY. it can’t be that big.”
i also have bone-deep memories of seeing it the first time in the theater, and the first handful of times after that. specifically, how STUNNED i was that Ben Kenobi died (he’s been my favorite since the moment i saw him), and also when the camera does that swoop thing and shows the POV of the x-wing pilots diving into the trench on the Death Star, it used to really give me a sense of motion sickness. no movie before that had ever done that to me. i think of those first time feelings every time i see the movie now.
at least now younger people can get a sense of how excruciating it was for us to wait 2-3 years between each movie for a new one to come out. : )
