Star Wars

You know, there are times when you think “Hmmm …”.

There are, aren’t there?

There’s others where you just get left wowed …

I certainly was, when I was nine, I know that …

The year was 1977, and that year saw the release of what’s now subtitled with the rather cumbersome “Episode IV: A New Hope”, but what I, and many others, still think of, quite simply, as “Star Wars”.

“Star Wars”.

And, although there were stories at the time, that a certain Mr Lucas was planning nine episodes in total, the later addition to the title seemed … superfluous.

To me, at least. After all, I’m of the generation that grew up on movies that didn’t such mouth fillingly long titles.

I tend to think of “Star Wars: Episode I The Phantom Menace” as just “The Phantom Menace”, to give you an example.

“Casino Royale”isn’t “Dr No: Episode 21” as another!

So I always think of that original as “Star Wars”.

Actually the queue for it was fairly impressive, for starters; it went from the front entrance of Brentwood’s cinema — one story up — all the way down to the entrance of the Chapel High Shopping Centre.

And that was after it looped round, outside the cinema and down the stairs.

Like I say …

So getting in to see it take a while … !

Don’t forget, this was before the opening of the various multiplexes at Lakeside, and other places, so, boy, did you ever have to queue.

But, my lord, did it pay off, right from the get-go.

Right from those opening titles.

And the opening scenes …

Seeing the Imperial battle cruiser bearing down on on a much smaller space ship, with all guns blazing …

OK, now granted, “Star Wars” isn’t exactly high concept.

From where I was sitting, it’s not supposed to be.

The plot — following a farm boy, having an interstellar adventure, rescuing a damsel-in-distress, and defeating evil villains, and helped along the way by a wise old wizard, a cocky rogue, and the almost obligatory comedy ‘odd couple’, along the way — is almost classic space opera.

Aimed at kids, almost …

As were the effects; which, at the time, were seriously ahead of the game. And seriously a step up on the effects of “2001: A Space Odyssey”, or costuming of “Planet of the Apes”, which is no mean feat, in and of itself.

After all, those two films, along the the Russian original of “Solaris”, were iconic.

But “Star Wars” changed everything …

Don’t forget, it, and “Jaws” introduced the world to the blockbusting Event Movie.

“Star Wars” also changed merchandising, as well; I know there’d been tie-in movie products, before ’77, but, with “Star Wars”, Lucas and the gang added Extra Oomph.

Wish I’d kept that Artoo Detoo, it’d probably be worth a few quid, by now …

For any body my age who saw it …

Well … !

“Star Wars” defined what a movie should look like, as did it’s follow-ups.

And I’m not necessarily talking, here, about “The Empire Strikes Back,” or “Return of the Jedi”.

Nor the almost inevitable clones, like “Battlestar Galactica” or “Battle Beyond the Stars”.

I’m also talking about things like “Alien” and “Bladerunner”.

Or practically everything Spielberg did, during his career.

Film makers suddenly realised that, whether artistically meaningful, or low-brow, films were supposed to look bloody spectacular.

Something that, however well made I feel the prequels may have been, weren’t seen again — on this scale — until a certain New Zealand director picked up three books by an Oxford philologist.