Happy Star Wars Day! (etc.)

[Tallguy]

May 25th, 1977!

May the 4th is cute and all, but today is the day.

After finding a list of opening dates at cinemas around the USA it turns out that the earliest that I could have seen Star Wars was in July.

Also the 40th anniversary of Return of the Jedi. I wasn't old enough to do the Midnight Premier thing, but I did get to cut school to wait in line at the mall for a midday show.

Solo turns FIVE. A tremendously underrated Star Wars film. Not as good as Rogue One and the Originals (band name!) but better than the Sequel Trilogy.

And as it happens it's also Towel Day! 42, y'all! RIP Mr. Adams.

And because of the confluence of all of the above, it's "Geek Pride Day". Well, it's certainly easier to be a geek than it once was.

 

[Set Harth]

I wouldn't use the word cute.

 

[Ithekro]

"The Originals"? Sargent Pepper?

I was too young that day as well...being minus 113 days old. Listened to it in a theater in mid-September, than demanded I be born to find out what that was.

 

[fireproof78]

Just rewatched the Special Edition of A New Hope, but the movie still is fantastic. Thoroughly enjoyed it and even if it never spawned a franchise I would still put it in my top ten films of all time.

The rest is nice but A New Hope stands above the rest.

 

[Commander Troi]

They actually mentioned Geek Pride Day in one of my meetings today.

I'm glad to hear Solo is underrated as I haven't seen it yet. (Bad Fangirl!)

 

[Set Harth]

The rest is nice but A New Hope stands above the rest.

I'd call Empire the Godfather II to ANH's Godfather 1, but otherwise yes.

 

[fireproof78]

I'm glad to hear Solo is underrated as I haven't seen it yet. (Bad Fangirl!)

I would highly recommend it. It's a lot of fun.

I'd call Empire the Godfather II to ANH's Godfather 1, but otherwise yes.

I try to like Empire but Empire only works for me because I have Return of the Jedi. Empire as just a standalone film is well crafted but the story just leaves me wanting more at the end and that's not a fun feeling.

 

[Tallguy]

Of course at my house we watch the one that came out in 1977 and just says "Star Wars".

 

[fireproof78]

Of course at my house we watch the one that came out in 1977 and just says "Star Wars".

If I had my VHS player unpacked that would be the case.

 

[Commander Troi]

Of course at my house we watch the one that came out in 1977 and just says "Star Wars".

Yup. Just like Raiders of the Lost Ark is that movie's full title.

 

[Sumire]

Are Sir Pratchett’s Discworld works considered geeky? May the 25th is of great import to its many aficionados too.

I, like Ithekro, was only able to listen in utero to A New Hope and was left with my grandparents while my sister got her own in utero hearing of Return of the Jedi. Had to wait for the VHS releases and the price of VCRs to go down considerably before we got to enjoy viewing the trilogy together. Then I proceeded to wear out the magnetic tape on Empire Strikes Back because it was the most romantic and I am, as I have always presented myself, only here for the romance.

 

[Commander Troi]

Are Sir Pratchett’s Discworld works considered geeky?

I think so.

 

[The Nth Doctor]

Definitely so.

 

[Reverend]

Ponder Stibbons doubly so.

 

[fireproof78]

My Star Wars celebration continued on with working on some custom action figures...
*insert Spaceballs joke here*

 

[J.T.B.]

Just rewatched the Special Edition of A New Hope, but the movie still is fantastic. Thoroughly enjoyed it and even if it never spawned a franchise I would still put it in my top ten films of all time.

Of course, The Special Edition of A New Hope did not spawn a franchise.

 

[fireproof78]

Of course, The Special Edition of A New Hope did not spawn a franchise.

If my VHS player were out then I would use the original.

I had to take what I could get.

 

[Tallguy]

Yup. Just like Raiders of the Lost Ark is that movie's full title.

TBF: There has never been a version of Raiders where the film itself said "Indiana Jones and the Inability to Alphabetize", er, "Indiana Jones and the Radiers of the Lost Ark".

STAR WARS. It is a period of civil war. Rebel spaceships striking from a hidden base have won their first victory against the evil Galactic Empire.

Ahhhhhh, THAT'S the stuff

 

[Reverend]

It never ceases to amuse me to see how precious people get about the "original" version of Star Wars when there's really no such animal. The episode number and title were in and out several times in both pre & post production, well before Lucas put it back in for the re-release. Lucas was still having the principles come back in to do ADR in the weeks *after* the release.
Almost every reissue, TV broadcast, or home video release has had some kind of difference, be it editing, audio, or even the typeface for the logo. There's no magical pristine version of it out there. It's entirely arbitrary. Movies like any artistic endeavour are a process, and they're done when the artist says they're done. That's it. For his part, Lucas decided to keep working on his art until he was happy with it, or lost interest, and his final word on the topic was "Maclunkey". Deal with it!
You know what the *real* original version of Star Wars is? A vague idea of a Flash Gordon adaptation rattling around George's head on the set American Graffitti. That's it. That's the original movie. No Ralph McQuarrie art, no John Williams score, no actors, no vfx of any kind. Just some notes about Mace Windy hastily scribbled down on yellow legal pad if you're lucky. Feel free to pine for that version to your heart's content!

Personally; my original version of Star Wars is a 4:3 worn out VHS copy taped off the telly at Christmas, complete with an MFI January sale ad because someone forgot to hit pause, and a pretty bad flicker in the cantina scene from when the tape got chewed up.
Oddly, I don't feel an awful lot of nostalgia towards it. I much prefer my BluRay thanks!

 

[Set Harth]

I'd like to see a high tech restoration of the Biggs on Tatooine material.