It must've been something else to see this movie without the prior knowledge that we now have of it. Gives me chills to hear people cheering and clapping in the theatre.
Since Return of the Jedi (when they divorced) Star Wars has been terrible, she certainly was a major reason in why the first trilogy was a success. It’s sad George pretty much removed her from the credits and she faded into obscurity, she did win an Oscar for her achievements.
I was 7. Yes they were good times indeed my friend. May the force be with you. Someone needs to create a NEW Star Wars NOSTALGIA forum. Where OT and Prequel lovers can reminisce about their fav scenes, characters, quotes, ECT. Boy do I miss George's influence.
I remember the audience [at least in the theater I was in] being a lot louder when the death star blew up. The entire theater stood up, cheered, and clapped. It's the only time I've ever seen that kind of response during a movie.
this was probably one of the later screenings of the movie (otherwise the guy who recorded it wouldn't even bother) and i guess by that time at least half of the audience already knew it by heart
I remember the same thing! Superman catching Lois Lane and then the helicopter in the original Superman got a similar response if I remember correctly. I also remember the first brontosaurus sighting in Jurassic Park as well. LOVE seeing stuff in theater! I also remember the audible **GASP** during the Big Reveal in Empire Strikes Back too. Were you there for that opening night too as I was??
intenselan yep. I was at the opening for all 3 of the original Star Wars movies. Everyone gasped at the reveal in empire and clapped at the end of Jedi. The only recent movie where the crowd reacted with that kind of passion was force awakens
Yeah, people don't react as much to movies now. I was at all the opening nights of the LOTR series, and the crowd was amazing for all three. Lots of cosplay was happening at Two Towers and Return of the King. For the TT, I sat in front of an entire row of Gandalfs. heh. With the Star Wars Prequel series, a lot of kids brought their toy lightsabers and some dressed in full Anakin or Obi Wan costumes. The opening credits/first hit of the theme song to Phantom Menace brought in a huge crowd reaction. Then Jar Jar appeared. heh.
Hrm..I didn't notice that during the Prequels. About the only thing I recall is people clapping when the LucasFilm logo appeared on the screen. What I have noticed is the audience will openly react to movies that are part of "what's hot" pop culture that a majority of the audience are currently into - ie: Deadpool - the entire [FULL[ theater openly reacted to whatever was happening on screen.
Me Too. I got a Star Wars collector's cup with my Soda. It was of the Sand People and the Jawas. I still have it. Best Drive-In Experience that I remember!
When I saw it people literally got up and cheered when the death star exploded just like at a baseball game. I'll probably never see anything like that again.
I saw it in a drive-in so didn’t get that experience. HOWEVER ... six years later I would very much have that experience when Darth Vader threw the Emperor down the shaft. 😊
I’m 13, but there were no crowd reactions during the first night of Any of the sequel trilogy (I went to see all three on the first night.) kind of sucks.
From what I understand, the movie was remastered over the course of time. There were so many background characters that suddenly disappeared in the film.
This is likely edited in by the uploader. After all, they said it was the audio. Having a stable video camera of this quality in 1977 would be unheard of for the average movie goer.
@@brianwest8119 yes. In the late 90s they rereleased them all in the theaters. We thought it was cool to see them all again in the theater but little did we know these changes were permanent..that is unless you get the despecialized version. Which is as close to the original movies as you can get.
Yeah, the “used future” aesthetic which is superb and makes everything look well used. The aesthetic was used to great effect in Alien, alongside the horror of a unimaginable beast from another planet the audience was placed inside a dirty, cold, industrial space freighter which made the horror scarier.
I remember seeing this the first time. Drove home and immediately phoned some friends and told them they had to go see this. In today's age of special effects, it's hard to imagine the impact this movie had. Total game changer.
K Kampy This is my first ever time watching this scene and even I think it has charm, I can’t imagine what it must’ve been like watching it back then when it was new and visually stunning.
John Cunningham, it already did, many times actually, there's jaws, jurassic park then independence day, titanic, return of the king and of course, the box office reigning king: avatar. every single one of these movies had and incredible effect on the movie industry, some may be smaller, but every single one of those were game changers, as much as SW was at its time.
I kind of had that experience with The Matrix, when I was a kid. A friend called me up, told me nothing about it, but said I absolutely had to see it as soon as possible.
the marvel cinematic universe happened a few years ago, now if you wanna talk only about TOMORROW, thats a diferent story, we have no way to know what's going to be the next big think, but it WILL HAPPEN, just like those examples, because thats how the industry works. almost eveyr decade has at least one ground breaking movie, predictions are its going to be a video game movie, it could be an anime movie. but saying it wont ever happen again, when history has shown it to happen all the time, is naive.
Marcos Danilo. And all of the above were destroyed or are about to be destroyed (star wars included) by the cash grabbing, sequel/remake machine that is now hollywood
Meanwhile, in 2018, people didn't even show up to see a Han Solo movie. They cheered because Harrison Ford was young and hot back then. Time is a bitch.
@@G1Bryce IMO the Solo Movie failure kinda falls onto Disney, even if most people didn't wanted to see it because it's kinda pointless Dinsey made a pretty bad timing to release this movie, if it was more spaced out between the other releases I believe it would have gotten much more attention, I also found the advertisiment to be pretty bad, I only discovered these movie had been released when it was too late, but maybe this was only in my country so I can't say for sure.
When the movie opened in Japan, the audience was silent at the end of the picture. According to the country's culture, that was a sign of respect. They knew it was an incredible film.
Da Boos For the majority of history, theater and musical performances were quite rowdy. This was because they were social events. Often times, when reading the letters of play directors and conductors, they mention when people clapped and shouted because they were proud of it. Of course, in a movie, the actors aren’t physically there, but if you treat the cinema like a social event (which most people do) then clapping and sharing your reaction can add to the film experience. Of course, being annoying and making frequent comments can take away and I won’t argue that, but people clap during movies for good reason.
And in the uk, they are just silent for the heck of it. I would love to be in a cinema with a shouting crowd, can’t do it here because everybody will just stare.
Its amazing that star wars got that reaction back then because of the characters and moments in the film. Star wars gets that reaction now because its star wars.
When I went to see the premiere of TFA, every single fucker in the cinema clapped and clapped, I remember they did so most in the scenes where the Millenium Falcon, and Han Solo appear respectively.
Ill say the one cool thing that everyone gasped about in the new star wars [SPOILERS]..... is when the rebel ship jumped through the new orders fleet. That was epic. But ya, it really only gets that respect thanks to the classic greats.
The fact that this exists is amazing, this is literally historic. This audio recording to people reacting to what might be the most significant film in modern history, and they're seeing it when it was nothing but a brand new film. Not to add a pun into the comments but this literally belongs in a museum.
@@marblesthecat3861 i was looking People reactions and man this is awesome to hear it. I've lived that hype when the precuels came out. Great memories.
It’s such a great moment since Han was sort of an anti-hero who didn’t want to get involved so obviously left before the battle began, but ultimately had a change of heart and found the courage to do what it is right and help the Rebel Alliance. Star Wars was influenced a bit of course by The Wizard of Oz, and it’s theorised that Chewbacca and to an extension Han stood in for the Cowardly Lion who of course struggles to find the courage to do what’s right, it’s a great arc in both those films when they find they had courage all along.
Just imagine. You're on your way to see a movie; the trailers look dumb and has nothing interesting. 'A long time ago in a galaxy far, far away' pops up and your like 'yep I want to go home n....' STAR WARS Everyone freaks out 2 hours later... Everyone's muscles are swore after tensing them for too long in the film. You walk out thinking that was the best movie ever!!! I personally can't even begin to imagine what this was like in 1977 in theatres. The only sad thing is that we will never have a feeling like this ever again!
Word got out very quickly...I had a professor that was around 20 when SW was released in 1977, and he went with his entire group of friends to see it again the same night. They also started waiting in lines for tickets to see it again and again (7 times over a couple of weeks if I remember correctly). I wish I could have been part of that phenomenon -- and seeing Led Zeppelin in the 70s before Bonham died...
My Dad tells me that he and his high school buddies went to it on opening night and saw it every single night that week. 7 times in a row. You don't do that for just any old movie.
My father told me that when he went to go see it, his uncle took him out to a theater hours away for it, and when he told him the title he just thought "Star Wars? That sounds lame." He was about 11 or 12 at this point. He said that when he left the theater it was like no other movie he'd ever seen. About 18 years later, he buys the VHS trilogy and sits me down. Star Wars? That sounds lame...
In the 70’s an Iranian family who left Iran at the time of the revolution moved in next door to me in London. In 1978 I was 7 and I got to know the 2 children in the family well. One Friday night there was a knock at the door and the family asked if I would like to go to the cinema with them, We went along to a cinema in Ealing, West London and the film turned out to be Star Wars, and my 7 year old mind was truly blown. I will be forever grateful for their invite and remember the evening fondly. They soon after moved to the U.S. and we lost touch. Hope they are all happy and well wherever they are now.
My father is from Iran, but came to the US well before the revolution. Star Wars came out when I was 2-y.o. I still remember seeing the commercial for it. It was the first movie I ever saw at the cinema. Having something so theatrical, bombastic, and great be my FIRST movie. . .I can't be feel lucky and grateful till this very day. My only wish is that it could've been my son's first cinema experience as well.
I was there,my brother and my Father R.I.P... he took us at least 15 times.. we had the shirts with iron ons,all the toys that christmas.. still have them too.. I was proud to be a part of this phenom.. and still glad to be a part of it today..
i was 8 years old... the Colony Theatre downtown Winnipeg, Canada ..i paid 1.80 cents ( the bus was 10 cents getting there ) ...from the first scenes...small space ship, being chased by a bigger space ship...i still smell the pop corn..feel the sticky floor..my huge bucket of 'coke', ' watching the " ole' red curtain " open...it was like a space version of Robin Hood...the audience was clapping and cheering for the rebels winning!!...the next few weeks, the word was out, the lines for this " NEW movie " went around the block and further... i'll trade 1.5 years of my life for that 1.5 hours back ~(^..)
I was a little kid when I saw this within a few days of its original release, and I recall two interesting theater reactions. One when Yoda said “Do or do not. There is no try.” (A very vocal, yeah! from some in the audience and a couple of high-fives). The other (cheers!) when Luke turned off his targeting computer.
@@dinohuntr851 Yes! I saw this as a 16 year old and I vividly remember the agonizing wait for it's release, slightly fearful that it wouldn't live up to my expectations then thrilled that it did. To a 16 year old boy it spoke directly to the hero's journey and spoke to something larger than just a movie.
@@hlcepeda Absolutely! "A New Hope" was a well made movie with rich archetypal themes, a plot that enthralled, strong male AND female characters (characters that you cared about...) and wisdom.
@@jacobmonks3722 not taking anything away from smokey, gotta love Burt Reynolds and who didnt want a trans am after watching that movie. Star Wars has just reached hights that no other movie has in pulp culture and to think that peoole thought it wasnt going to be good enough. Just goes to show that you can never tell the future and that all ideas should be considered and given a chance.
Just before it came out I read about Mark Hammel and I think Ben Bova at a SF convention talking about Mark staring in a major movie that might never be shown. Everyone in the industry knew SF was just B movies about tentacle monsters, with no market. Of course afterwards the same people were making bad knockoffs.
I saw it opening night in 1977 when I was just 10 years old. The audience reaction was just like this, and now, at the age of 53, I'm a Star Wars addict for life.
My first exposure to Star Wars was Lego Star Wars: The Original Trilogy so when my dad first showed me Star Wars on the cassette I was naming all of the characters like "REBEL FRIEND" and such
I had the middle seat of the second row from the front after waiting 5 hours in two lines to get in, knowing NOTHING about the movie, since it had no trailers of any real kind and this was the first weekend that it was being shown. I thought my seat was going to be bad due to the loud sounds, but it was the absolute BEST POSSIBLE seat in the entire theater. Those spaceships coming in at the beginning literally "blew me away"... Best movie beginning EVER!!
@@nikolaimaharaj2319 The craziest part was that I was not going to go to a movie that weekend since my wife just had our first baby. However, she was with her mother at her mother's apartment and told me TO GO AWAY UNTIL LATE THAT NIGHT SINCE I WAS "GETTING ON THEIR NERVES". So I left and when I got in the car I remembered the STAR WARS movie and decided that I had nothing else to do, so I might as well watch it. Boy, getting thrown out by my wife was one of the luckiest things I ever had happen to me. My whole life has a lot of such crazy things, many not so good, but this was...
Nikolai Maharaj ...no I hear you trust me I’m just saying if I was growing up in the 70s and heard of this movie I would be really mad at Seiskel and ebert for it
yarpen26 I can't see this as being true as David prowse's lines were "No Obi Wan killed you're father" Including George Lucas, mark Hamil and James Earl Jones, only 7 people knew the truth until it was first aired in cinemas
Little did anyone realize that there was a 12 year old boy in the audience by the name of Mikey. Mesmerized by the massive explosion of the Death Star, little Mikey decided to become a film maker himself, dreaming of filling his films with explosions of his own. We now know him as Michael Bay.
There was another little boy in the audience by the name of Steve. Mesmerized by the thousand faces of Threepio, little Steve decided to become a talented actor, dreaming of filling his films with deep emotion. He decided to become a man of a thousand faces . We now know him as Steven Seagal.
I was born January 1, 1977 so I missed seeing "A New Hope" in a theater. However, "The Empire Strikes Back" was my very first movie. I wore flip flops to the show because it was hot. My mom opened the theater door onto my foot by accident. This removed the toenail from my right big toe. I cried because I thought I'd miss the movie and the excruciating pain. The theater staff bandaged my toe and we made the show. I was only 6 when this happened but I remember like it was yesterday. My toe made a full recovery.
My favorite memory is the reaction of the crowd in Empire Strikes Back when R2D2 fixes the hyperdrive and the Falcon goes into hyperspeed. You could feel it in your bones.
David Andersson I read an old copy of the book. The book explained that Luke gave himself over to the force when he fired the torpedoes, and he force-guided them into the shaft. His heavy exhaling here is his return from out of an almost trance-like state.
AliceDiableaux did you just seriously forget how they weren’t the ending of the story rather than an explanation what lead up to the OT? Also they were great movies with awesome world building even better than the OT in my opinion.
Prequels had some really terrible dialogues and some good characters totally wasted, but it was really good in everything else, way better than what we got in this new trilogy.
Did I correctly hear a woman calling Peter Cushing/Grand Moff Tarkin a "monster" after he gives the "fire when ready" order? Even if I heard it incorrectly I thought that was awesome -- I remember feeling (when I was a kid) that Cushing/Tarkin was much scarier than Vader. Cushing was just awesome in this role (and in all of his films -- I love his turns in Hammer horror films despite the overall cheesiness -- he lent class to every production).
So as Christopher Lee, to his early Golden Age films. That's why Lucas hired him for Dooku... (fun fact: in Portuguese, saying Dooku out loud is the same as "from the ass")
Les ugh! Yeah as I said the great theater I saw it at split into 2 screens, but right now it’s completely gutted and is now just part of a shopping center. It was once one of Australia’s most grand and prestigious of theaters. My downtown at he time had many movie theaters to choose from by simply walking around (at least 5 different complexes within walking distances Eve when they became multi screen facilities). ALL of them are now gone.
Ahh! I'm actually tearing up here; I remember doing exactly this kind of thing for Star Wars and Empire, taking my honking-huge Panasonic "portable" tape recorder into the theatre (which, back then, no one cared about at all) and recording the movie just so I could listen to it later! Ah the days before VHS and DVD and Streaming! Now I feel really old.
@@elias2383 I have tried to immerse myself into these, but there are these clanging... discrepancies that make it difficult. The overall story elements weren't weak; their presentation and organization were abysmal.
I still remember going to see Star Wars when I was 5 years old. I still remember everyone yelling and cheering I have never saw another movie where the crowd reacted like that it was a new beginning in movie special effects. To a 5 year old boy it had a big impact on my life over the last 40 years. Shoot we still had a Black and White TV at that time. My Mom bought me a lot of Star Wars toys I even had 10 Stormtroopers. I don't know how she did it we were so poor she had to make my clothes. I came home from school one day to an AT-AT sitting on the table it was the one Star Wars toy I wanted more than anything and somehow she got it.
I had just turned 18 when this movie came out. Let me tell you there had never been anything like this before. We were all so shocked. This is what great SF is like. This raised the bar for all movies that followed.
Alien which came out two years later in ‘79 and used space as an element of horror and fear rather than wonder was immediately greenlit by Fox once Star Wars was raking in big bucks, they even brought over the production designers from Star Wars to do the designs for Alien with the sets and special effects. Not to mention about 5 years on we’d have Blade Runner with Harrison Ford and with great visual effects and design!
This WAS the movie you had to see in the summer of 1977 if you were 10 years old ! It blew me and my friends away ! We went back to see it 7 times more. 😊
I remember the first time I saw this movie, unfortunately we arrived late in the showing when Han and Luke are arguing whether or not to rescue the Princess in the Death Star control room. The reaction heard in the audio are just like when I saw it except there was not just applause when the Death Star blew up, Everyone erupted in a thunderous cheer! with people standing and pumping their fists in the air. I had never had that experience in the cinema before. That's when I noticed I witnessed something very special. I was like 'WOWWW!' THIS IS AWESOME!! From that very moment I was hooked for life. We stayed for a second showing so we could see the film in its entirety. This was back when you only paid once and weren't ushered out once the movie ended. Such a great time to be alive and I feel very blessed to have experienced it from the very beginning back in 1977.
@@briansview2886 We were allowed to stay in the theater if we'd gotten there late; the ticket seller would mark our tickets and we were allowed to stay to watch the entire film from the start again.
Hell, that was tame compared from my experience back in the day. In short, I allowed my best friend to talk me into going to the theater to watch this movie back in 1977. He had already seen it a few times. So we go inside & sat in the front row. By the end of the movie after the Death Star was blown to space dust, as God as my witness, what I saw, well its hard to explain but I'll try. After the Death Star was blown away, the theater felt like a earthquake had hit it. I mean that place was ROCKING!!! I'm talking grown up's in suites & ties & people of ALL ages were literally STANDING ON THE CHAIRS just a hooping it up & cheering like you would never believe. Not even when I saw Jaws & they blew the shark into fish food was there a reaction like this. I thought Jaws was the shit, but after my first hand experience of watching Star Wars on the big screen back in 1977, I take it all back. Star Wars was & IS the shit. Never before & never after, even to this day, have I ever seen such a crowd reaction like I did back in 1977. I looked at my friend that night as the cheering was going on & I remember saying to him, This could be big. And all these years later, look at just how big Star Wars became. I'll never forget that moment in time. In short, it was PURE MAGIC!!! And on a side note, I have all the Star Wars movies on dvd as the first one in 1977 too this day is my all time favorite movie. Nothing will ever top it IMO. But still, for that one night back in time, I can honestly say, I not only saw something special, but I saw PURE MAGIC. And what a feeling & what a night that was..........
Nilin Lusankya yes ! You can here it !It's funny that people think this is fake because the video quality is so good. He simply synced up his audio recording with this video clip he got off the net or somewhere else.
My dad was 14 when he went to see this for the first time in 1977. Said he came out feeling like he was in another world. He then went again to see it another 14 times! Needless to say, it’s his all time favourite movie.
The movie somehow provided an experience that continued (and clearly continues) to satisfy on repeated viewings. That was unusual even for the time. It wasn't normal to see a movie more than once or maybe twice and it cost money which a lot of people didn't have. I think a book could be written analyzing that one aspect alone. It was like Rocky Horror but without the audience participation. Lucas and his team simply (?!) created a world that people enjoyed just being in, a rare and beautiful occurrence that no amount of money or even talent can guarantee. Just the right story told at the right time by the right people. An act of God.
That was one of the great things about Star Wars, the clapping and cheering. Most of the movies back in the day were not fun. Don't get me wrong, they were great films, The God Father, Taxi Driver, One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest etc... but they were dark stories and not much to cheer about. Star Wars brought back the fun...cheering for the heroes, boo's and hisses for the villains...great memories! Thank you Star Wars! thanks for posting Homer
So true. Lots of important and iconic flicks, but not much for kids and the young at heart, and yes lots of reveling in darkness and disfunction. I think the movie I loved the most before Star Wars was Disney/Verne's "The Mysterious Island". Made in '61 it would get re-played frequently for kids matinees and it was great.
I was 12 when the movie premiered and didn't see it till 3 months later, and ONLY because my dad wanted to get me out of the house. From that day forward, I couldn't get ENOUGH of STAR WARS!
We are close to the same age. I remember not knowing what it was and going to the movies with my older cousins and being completely unprepared for the awesomeness.
I was 8 years old too. I don't think any kids today can *ever* feel what we felt back then with introduction of this movie. Nothing like it had ever been done. I'd say a close second would be "Jurassic Park" with is dinosaurs. Either way, the new generations have "Starwars" to thank for the movies they get (and take for granted) today.
The video isn't from 1977, only the audio is; it's just synced to the video. The video is probably from the Despecialized fan cut / the laserdisc release.
I know what you mean. Almost all other movies bore me to tears at their most exciting moments after the first exposure. Star Wars gave us time to soak a bit in the scenery and the world and it became a place we wanted to visit again. Can't do that if the chases and shoot-outs never let up or when they're the only interesting part of the movie. Star Wars lures us in every time and we forget ourselves to the point we can be surprised anew, every time!
@kentwood9821 I think it's because it focuses the viewer on Luke, and the force. "Use the force Luke. Let go." So we think about Luke having to use the force at that critical moment, and how that's the thing that saves him, and then suddenly "YEEEE HAAAA!" just comes out of nowhere.
I was born in Edinburgh. Scotland in 1966 and as an 11 year old I saw "Star Wars" when it came out in the cinema. It never occurred to my young-self that there would be a sequel. Now, I'm 58 and still a huge SW fan. Lot's more to come I hope! I also Close Encounters of the Third Kind when it came out. Another really good film.
Do audiences react like this to anything anymore? I live in a country with the coldest audience in the world, and at the end of Rogue One I just wanted to cheer and applaud the hell out of it.
Paul J. Morton Gotta go to LA and not to sound racist or anything visit the black theatres, actually Quentin Tarantino always screens his movies in LA at black theatres cause they react to his movies the best.
From Portugal here. At the end of Rogue One I was pumping with energy and I started aplauding and laughing. My face was hurting with smiling. Some other guy aplauded like 3 claps and that was it. Fucking boring audience. I could do all the laughing by myself but come on who doesn't like to feel that community sense in the cinema right?
I remember when I saw Independence Day in 1996. The audience was wild, they cheered, clapped and screamed. Also similar happened with movies like Godzilla and Guardians Of the Galaxy (both from 2014).
This was my summer film way back in 1977. What is hard for young people to understand is that this film in its time was cutting edge and a visual spectacle for the eye. I was 14 at the time and to this day at 56 I still enjoy this film and the memories it still holds for me. Every generation has its own distinct place and time in history...Star Wars is definitely a part of my youth and will always be cherished.
I've just synchronized the Death Star destruction scene with Harmy's Despecialized Edition of "Star Wars" (2.5), and it synched PERFECTLY. It was AMAZING to watch what was originally shown in theaters 38 years ago...and also hear the sounds of the audience who saw it for the first time back then.
Shelbie Lynn Thrasher You have to torrent it. ThePirateBay and Kickass has them. Look for Despecialized Edition Remastered V2.5. That is the best copy of STAR WARS you can currently get your hands on.
I was 8 when I saw this in 77. I remember immediately after the movie my family going to my Grandparents house where my little brother and I got out the whiffle ball bats for light sabers and relived the movie in the back yard
We coated broomsticks with Elmer's glue and then sprinkled it with tons of glitter to make ours. Now kids have these spot on replica sabers with sound.
I remember seeing Return of the Jedi in theatres as a boy. Everyone cheered like this when Vader picked up the Emperor and threw him down the shaft and exploded. Then the station exploded. But according to Jar Jar Abrams, he survived just fine.
@@Sindraug25 If his mind survived the destruction of his body, how did his mind get into a clone body? Why did the clone look so old? Why was he so ridiculously overpowered?
I was 22 stationed in San Diego when this film came out and the audience reaction was just like this. It was an amazing time as nothing like it had ever been seen before.
My uncle saw this back in summer of 1977. He Remember the moment when the opening crawl started. He said that every people in the theater started screaming and clapping. Similar to TFA Experience. My Uncle was 13 When he saw Star Wars. I was 13 when I saw TFA. Weird isn't it.
i was 8 years old... the Colony Theatre downtown Winnipeg, Canada ..i paid 1.80 cents ( the bus was 10 cents getting there ) ...from the first scenes...small space ship, being chased by a bigger space ship...i still smell the pop corn..feel the sticky floor..my huge bucket of 'coke', ' watching the " ole' red curtain " open...it was like a space version of Robin Hood...the audience was clapping and cheering for the rebels winning!!...the next few weeks, the word was out, the lines for this " NEW movie " went around the block and further... i'll trade 1.5 years of my life for that 1.5 hours back ~(^..)
What is funny is that the crawl is lifted from older sci-fi serial films of the 1930s (specifically 1930s Flash Gordon films -- Lucas talks about how much he loved that feature as a kid watching those films).
I don't know about Star Wars, but my dad was dating my mom back in 1975 and he took her brother (my uncle - at that time he was about 14) to see JAWS. He told me when the shark appears (right before the "you're gonna need a bigger boat") my uncle just stood up, totally scared, and remained standing for some time.
Just wow. Back when there was no Star Wars "FRANCHISE" and people worshipping the brand. This was just people reacting to an amazing movie. It was so pure and untainted by corporate greed.
Even in Return of Jedi, George Lucas already realized he could earn more money with toys and merchandise than the actual movie, the Ewoks were created to sell plushies.
Deathshuck the legends universe wasn’t really greed. Thanks to the books that really started it -the rogue squadron series- the original expanded universe was all about making the Star Wars universe bigger and bigger
oh you're wrong there, the franchise hype around this movie at the time, especially shortly after it, was HUGE. Every kid wanted star wars toys and clothes that christmas.
@Aaron Bryant: Actually, he's right. The "Franchise" around this movie was nothing, at the time. The board at 20th Century wanted to shut down production of Star Wars during filming, a couple of times. You don't do that if you have expectations of "Franchising". Lucas was able to get the rights to merchandising because 20th Century had low expectations of the film, and figured they'd lose money on merchandise, but George wanted to sell the movie. It wawn't until AFTER the Star Wars movies became such a monster hit that franchising became thought of. This movie was so great because the people involved in making it had their passions. George loved what he was doing. The actors, for thw most part, thought this was just going to be some silly kids movie, but did their best job of acting because that's their passion. Same for the special effects, and on, and on. 20th Century Fox thought only about money, but put very little into this movie (comparably).
When I was 7, in 1977, I saw Star Wars. As I walked out of the theater, I looked up at the stars and realized our sun is just one of countless others, most with planets. At the end of the movie, the entire audience stood and cheered-a moment I've never seen repeated in a theater.
It was so weird watching this I knew the ring around the Death Star explosion wouldn't be there but my god the TIE fighter explosions look so bad 😂 Ive just seen the remastered version so many times
"If the audience doesn't cheer when Han Solo comes in at the last second in the Millennium Falcon to help Luke when he's being chased by Darth Vader, the picture doesn't work." - Marcia Lucas
I was eight years old and was in a packed cinema watching this at our local cinema.. The reactions of the crowd was an experience, similar to Jaws two years prior.. These days, crowds are used to so much technology, that there is no freshness with the new releases. Kids today, don't have the true cinema experience as audiences in the past. Miss those days immensely.
Yes I was sitting on the floor in the aisle for this movie, I was 9 years old! The theater over sold the seats and nobody cared, we were just happy to be there!!
I remember seeing STAR WARS in movie theaters in 1977. I was 16 at the time. That first scene of the freighter being chased - and fired upon - by the imperial star destroyer STILL impresses me!
I was only 5 years old when this movie came out, but that night coming out of the movie theater with my parents sounded like we were at a sporting event. The cheers. The laughter. The high fives everyone was giving each other.. It was an unforgettable moment in history. Star Wars was born. ❤
Excellent! I saw it on Thursday, May 26th, the second day it was out, and before the long lines, at Grauman's Chinese theater in Hollywood. 70 mm film and even then a packed theater, I remember people, in awe at the start when the imperial destroyer is coming and coming in the view after seeing the princesses ship. People wildly cheering when the Millennium Falcon goes into hyperspace and as you recorded, applause at the End! I was 19 years old and I took a date and drove to Hollywood from Redlands, California. Got back well after midnight. Good to hear even with no small audio recorders back then.
See how it's done? The pacing and editing and acting. The character development for Leia, Han and Luke. The comradery of the three: Leia hooking them up with her political ties and the rebellion; the rogue Han turning a new leaf and saving the kid multiple times; Luke's heroic journey leading him to believe in himself and the force to turn the tide. This is Star Wars!
IT IS, AND THATS EXACTLY WHAT GEORGE DID FOR 123 N IRVAN KERSHNER HELPED 5 AND RICHARD MARQUAND HELPED 6 AND JJ DID FOR 7 AND RIAN DID FOR 8 AND GARETH DID FOR ROGUE-1 AND RON HOWARD DID FOR SOLO SWS AND DAVE FELONI DID WITH THE CLONE WARS THEATRICAL RELEASED MOVIE AND DAVE ACOMBA DIDTO THE FOURTEEN MINUTE SHORT ANIMATED MOVIE INSIDE THE HOLIDAY SPECIAL!!!!!!!!!!!!!! THESE ARE STAR WARS TOO!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
I remember seeing the Orson Welles-narrated trailer the summer before. When SW came out, I saw it with a friend, thought it was pretty good. Decided to see it again 2 weeks later, the line was nearly around the block.
My parents tried for weeks to take me to see it, and it was sold out every time. But, in that time, wasn't too unexpected. It was only on one screen at a theater. This happened on several big movies back in the day. It only made it that much sweeter when I actually got in.
@@christhornton8219 Back in the 70s people could only see movies in theater right? There was no real way to rent them or view them at home as far as I have observed unless you were really rich and could afford a projector or a very early VHS
These comments really jogged my memory. I saw Star Wars at a drive in too, in Canada with my parents and best friend in 1977. I was 7 years old. Because my parents had told me we were going to see this new science fiction film that everyone was talking about, I did have the notion the movie would be kind of cool, along the lines of a space or monster movie on TV; I had no idea of just how truly amazing Star Wars would be. Just like others described, cars were flashing their lights and honking, and all the people were talking, screaming, and conversing with excitement. It was as if there was this positive energy in the air, causing everyone to be giddy with excitement. It was quite the phenomenon. What's even more amazing was that the movie didn't have advertising; it's reputation spread purely by word of mouth. It just goes to show you that you don't need to buy the press or rely on some jackass formula to make a successful movie; all you need is a timeless story, imagination, and lots of heart.
No that's from the wheels of the walkman or cassette recorder. Early ones had a microphone in the casing itself but it would pick up the humming of motors and the squeaking of the wheels turning if you didn't oil them properly. I recognised that sound instantly.
@@thiefofa1073 My old walkman never clicked (just kinda whirred), but mine was far from the original walkman. Nice catch, I never would have known it was a cassette recorder had you not commented!
It's so obviously the squeaky Walkman wheels, belts, or whatever else. Probably a cheap since not a lot of people could afford too of the line cassette stuff back then.
I was in a theater that opening weekend with my Mother and a Friend of hera...she said it was the first time I kept my mouth shut through a movie...before it was said and done, we saw it in every type of theatre and drive-in we had...and now, I have to watch the special editions and pretend...damn it...
Cried like a fucking baby for 10 mins... What the fuck's wrong with me!? Maybe because they literally just killed it (and my love for it), hearing it at it's birth when it still made people happy made me sad????
NO OWEN FOOD, STAR WARS IS THE MOVIES!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Thank you for sharing this. Our entire elementary school went to see Star Wars and it was a fantastic experience. We had the same reactions as your audience did.
I actually shed a tear. Felt like I was 9 again. This was a window to a time when movies were more special, and Star Wars was pure, unadulterated space fantasy we all needed but didn't know we needed.
It's really fun to see people's first impressions on the first Star Wars. Especially in a time when there was no other movie like Star Wars.
the closet thing was like star trek
Forbidden Planet. Pretty much the first high-budget Science-Fiction movie.
yeah i was talking about the show from the 60's
Forbiden a Planet, by 1977 the highest budget Scifi flick was still Kubrick's Space Odissey - to which SW was compared a lot back then.
Josh Allen Star Wars is different from that movie. Star Wars has much more action and 2001 is more of a mind bending drama
Imagine walking out that night thinking, “hmm I wonder if they’re ever gonna make a sequel” “probably wouldn’t be that good if they did”
And it ended up being one of the best movies of all time. People to this day are still blown away by the “I’m your father” reveal.
They made exactly TWO good sequels.
that's exactly what we did.....I wonder what happens to Darth Vader we said.
I was 14 when this came out...sequels werent a thing then so we didnt really think that.
@@DDDiego many people would still enjoy it if they didn't hear the reveal from morons first.
It must've been something else to see this movie without the prior knowledge that we now have of it. Gives me chills to hear people cheering and clapping in the theatre.
Dean444ful I saw this movie aged 6... Probably my most vivid memory from early childhood. Wonderful.
codswallop321 you are a lucky, lucky man.
codswallop321 ah man, that's so awesome
***** lol I am actually but it hasn't really happened to me that often
Dean444ful Same! chills all up and down!
In 77, when this movie ended, a ten year old kid's life had changed forever..
Which one
@@mr.popper9759 All of them
@@ryhs0, correct on all counts 🙂🙂
Same here...I was almost 10....but I knew what I wanted out of life because of that film...
Nolan xd
"If the audience claps when Han arrives with the falcon then it will be a success" cit. Marcia Lucas
The TRUE unsung hero who saved this movie.
I exactly thought about it when I saw it !!! You watched "How Star Wars was saved in edit "?
Since Return of the Jedi (when they divorced) Star Wars has been terrible, she certainly was a major reason in why the first trilogy was a success. It’s sad George pretty much removed her from the credits and she faded into obscurity, she did win an Oscar for her achievements.
@@simonhudson7029 I think it's a combinaison between Kasdam - Marcia - Kurtz - New director
Calmax Film yeah, all the people that weren’t too scared to tell George what they thought, also George wasn’t too big headed then to ignore them.
I WAS 8 YEARS OLD 1977. WHEN THE FALCON SHOWED UP PEOPLE LOST THEIR MINDS. GOOD TIMES.
@my name is DRAKE no one knew who he was before Star Wars. AT ALL. They clapped because of Han Solo saving the day.
@@chicagocarless Thank you. I think the responder is young.
Pathetic idiots.
Franz Haas you know how old i was, negative 1 as in was 1 year before i was born lol
I was 7.
Yes they were good times indeed my friend.
May the force be with you.
Someone needs to create a NEW Star Wars NOSTALGIA forum. Where OT and Prequel lovers can reminisce about their fav scenes, characters, quotes, ECT. Boy do I miss George's influence.
I remember the audience [at least in the theater I was in] being a lot louder when the death star blew up. The entire theater stood up, cheered, and clapped. It's the only time I've ever seen that kind of response during a movie.
this was probably one of the later screenings of the movie (otherwise the guy who recorded it wouldn't even bother) and i guess by that time at least half of the audience already knew it by heart
I remember the same thing! Superman catching Lois Lane and then the helicopter in the original Superman got a similar response if I remember correctly. I also remember the first brontosaurus sighting in Jurassic Park as well. LOVE seeing stuff in theater! I also remember the audible **GASP** during the Big Reveal in Empire Strikes Back too. Were you there for that opening night too as I was??
intenselan yep. I was at the opening for all 3 of the original Star Wars movies. Everyone gasped at the reveal in empire and clapped at the end of Jedi. The only recent movie where the crowd reacted with that kind of passion was force awakens
Yeah, people don't react as much to movies now. I was at all the opening nights of the LOTR series, and the crowd was amazing for all three. Lots of cosplay was happening at Two Towers and Return of the King. For the TT, I sat in front of an entire row of Gandalfs. heh.
With the Star Wars Prequel series, a lot of kids brought their toy lightsabers and some dressed in full Anakin or Obi Wan costumes. The opening credits/first hit of the theme song to Phantom Menace brought in a huge crowd reaction. Then Jar Jar appeared. heh.
Hrm..I didn't notice that during the Prequels. About the only thing I recall is people clapping when the LucasFilm logo appeared on the screen. What I have noticed is the audience will openly react to movies that are part of "what's hot" pop culture that a majority of the audience are currently into - ie: Deadpool - the entire [FULL[ theater openly reacted to whatever was happening on screen.
I love how you can hear children giggling when Vader's spinning out of control
His past mistakes haunt him
I'll try spinning that's a good trick!!!!
@@stephenthedude4383 kept him alive!!!
master skywalker, there are too many of them, what are we going to do?
@davari9032 "I'm a person, and my name is Anakin!"
1:45
All the cars started honking and flashing their lights, and people were yelling and screaming. I saw it at a drive in when it came out.
Me Too. I got a Star Wars collector's cup with my Soda. It was of the Sand People and the Jawas. I still have it. Best Drive-In Experience that I remember!
My father took my younger brother (then 8) and me (then 13) to the local drive-thru to see it. Unforgettable!
BoOmEr
(I know, you’re probably not a boomer, you were most likely a kid in the 70’s)
Ron Ramen, yeah, I’m a “boomer”; born late 1964. LOL!
Shaq GasEngine Ok, was that an insult? I mean, I said boomer sarcastically, but like, is that a fun fact or an insult?
When I saw it people literally got up and cheered when the death star exploded just like at a baseball game. I'll probably never see anything like that again.
I saw it in a drive-in so didn’t get that experience. HOWEVER ... six years later I would very much have that experience when Darth Vader threw the Emperor down the shaft. 😊
Did you not see Captain America weild mjolnir in Endgame?
@@tonyl0ng There was cheering then, yes, but the entire theatre didn't rise to their feet as they did for star wars.
I’m 13, but there were no crowd reactions during the first night of Any of the sequel trilogy (I went to see all three on the first night.) kind of sucks.
@@TomPlotagon watch fan reactions to the latest episode of the mandalorian. That should hold you over until the next movie.
You can definitely confirm that this is the 1977 version. The Death Star didn’t have the ring come out when it blew up
From what I understand, the movie was remastered over the course of time. There were so many background characters that suddenly disappeared in the film.
This is likely edited in by the uploader. After all, they said it was the audio. Having a stable video camera of this quality in 1977 would be unheard of for the average movie goer.
yup
This actually isnt a real recording the tie fighter at 0:15 doesn’t make that sound in the original movie
@@brianwest8119 yes. In the late 90s they rereleased them all in the theaters. We thought it was cool to see them all again in the theater but little did we know these changes were permanent..that is unless you get the despecialized version. Which is as close to the original movies as you can get.
Can we just take a moment to appreciate the fact start wars art style still holds up great 43 years later
That's because Star Wars was one of the first movies that invented that art style
It's not Cyberpunk, yet not steampunk, it's somewhere in between, it's very industrial.
Yeah, the “used future” aesthetic which is superb and makes everything look well used. The aesthetic was used to great effect in Alien, alongside the horror of a unimaginable beast from another planet the audience was placed inside a dirty, cold, industrial space freighter which made the horror scarier.
@@andrewburgemeister6684 your in the nose
Disney ruined it
I remember seeing this the first time. Drove home and immediately phoned some friends and told them they had to go see this. In today's age of special effects, it's hard to imagine the impact this movie had. Total game changer.
K Kampy This is my first ever time watching this scene and even I think it has charm, I can’t imagine what it must’ve been like watching it back then when it was new and visually stunning.
John Cunningham, it already did, many times actually, there's jaws, jurassic park then independence day, titanic, return of the king and of course, the box office reigning king: avatar.
every single one of these movies had and incredible effect on the movie industry, some may be smaller, but every single one of those were game changers, as much as SW was at its time.
I kind of had that experience with The Matrix, when I was a kid. A friend called me up, told me nothing about it, but said I absolutely had to see it as soon as possible.
the marvel cinematic universe happened a few years ago, now if you wanna talk only about TOMORROW, thats a diferent story, we have no way to know what's going to be the next big think, but it WILL HAPPEN, just like those examples, because thats how the industry works. almost eveyr decade has at least one ground breaking movie, predictions are its going to be a video game movie, it could be an anime movie.
but saying it wont ever happen again, when history has shown it to happen all the time, is naive.
Marcos Danilo. And all of the above were destroyed or are about to be destroyed (star wars included) by the cash grabbing, sequel/remake machine that is now hollywood
"1 in a million", from the guy that doesn't like the odds to be told.
Odds for thee, not for me.
Julio Camacho Very true.
Well, he only stated the odds _after_ the deed was done. No harm no foul.
3720 to 1.
Guess he done came around, eh.
I love the applause when Solo shows up. :)
TheClumsyJedi me to!
Meanwhile, in 2018, people didn't even show up to see a Han Solo movie. They cheered because Harrison Ford was young and hot back then. Time is a bitch.
@@G1Bryce IMO the Solo Movie failure kinda falls onto Disney, even if most people didn't wanted to see it because it's kinda pointless Dinsey made a pretty bad timing to release this movie, if it was more spaced out between the other releases I believe it would have gotten much more attention, I also found the advertisiment to be pretty bad, I only discovered these movie had been released when it was too late, but maybe this was only in my country so I can't say for sure.
TheClumsyJedi me too
@@Khan-bq8qc Definitely. They should have waited till Christmas 2018. It would have given Ron Howard time to reshoot and edit
When the movie opened in Japan, the audience was silent at the end of the picture. According to the country's culture, that was a sign of respect. They knew it was an incredible film.
Now that IS an interesting fact. So they legitimately gave the movie its own moment of silence? Talk about respect.
Or maybe the just didn't care yknow
Da Boos
For the majority of history, theater and musical performances were quite rowdy. This was because they were social events. Often times, when reading the letters of play directors and conductors, they mention when people clapped and shouted because they were proud of it. Of course, in a movie, the actors aren’t physically there, but if you treat the cinema like a social event (which most people do) then clapping and sharing your reaction can add to the film experience. Of course, being annoying and making frequent comments can take away and I won’t argue that, but people clap during movies for good reason.
And in the uk, they are just silent for the heck of it.
I would love to be in a cinema with a shouting crowd, can’t do it here because everybody will just stare.
@@dylanclarke3112 This reportedly happened at endgame
Its amazing that star wars got that reaction back then because of the characters and moments in the film. Star wars gets that reaction now because its star wars.
nobody clapped at my theater for ep 8 tough lol, mostly just random laughs at supposed funny moments from women and kids mostly.
When I went to see the premiere of TFA, every single fucker in the cinema clapped and clapped, I remember they did so most in the scenes where the Millenium Falcon, and Han Solo appear respectively.
Ill say the one cool thing that everyone gasped about in the new star wars [SPOILERS]..... is when the rebel ship jumped through the new orders fleet. That was epic. But ya, it really only gets that respect thanks to the classic greats.
*ITS THE MILLENIUM FALCON!! OH MY GOD ITS THE MILLENIUM FALCOOOON!*
No one cares what you think.
The fact that this exists is amazing, this is literally historic. This audio recording to people reacting to what might be the most significant film in modern history, and they're seeing it when it was nothing but a brand new film. Not to add a pun into the comments but this literally belongs in a museum.
Just hope Disney doesn't try to scrub it from the internet
Really it does. Don't we have a Star Wars Museum yet? This needs to go into the archives.
@@cherylhulting1301 Lucas did try but the local ruling class didn't want it
Well....important in the science fiction genre!!
@@RoyalKnightVIII Umm... for what possible reason would they do that?
I saw Star Wars in 1977. There was a standing ovation at the end of the movie.
Amazing. That's pure hype.
@@patriciopss1491 it was one of my fondest childhood memories.....
@@marblesthecat3861 i was looking People reactions and man this is awesome to hear it. I've lived that hype when the precuels came out. Great memories.
I've clapped at the end of a movie but never stood up. Never seen people do a standing ovation.
That’s so lucky! I wish I was around for that.
The reaction to Han’s “ya-hoo” gives me chills. One of the greatest videos on UA-cam. Wish I was alive then to see this.
its YE-HEWW!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! , NOT YA HOO!!!
I legit start to tear up.
It’s such a great moment since Han was sort of an anti-hero who didn’t want to get involved so obviously left before the battle began, but ultimately had a change of heart and found the courage to do what it is right and help the Rebel Alliance.
Star Wars was influenced a bit of course by The Wizard of Oz, and it’s theorised that Chewbacca and to an extension Han stood in for the Cowardly Lion who of course struggles to find the courage to do what’s right, it’s a great arc in both those films when they find they had courage all along.
I was 7 years old and every adult in side the theater were very elated.
OMG, it was WONDERFUL!!!! I was on the edge of my seat!!!!! ❤️❤️❤️
Just imagine. You're on your way to see a movie; the trailers look dumb and has nothing interesting.
'A long time ago in a galaxy far, far away' pops up and your like 'yep I want to go home n....'
STAR
WARS
Everyone freaks out
2 hours later...
Everyone's muscles are swore after tensing them for too long in the film. You walk out thinking that was the best movie ever!!!
I personally can't even begin to imagine what this was like in 1977 in theatres. The only sad thing is that we will never have a feeling like this ever again!
Callum Murphy watch out for the next five years
Word got out very quickly...I had a professor that was around 20 when SW was released in 1977, and he went with his entire group of friends to see it again the same night. They also started waiting in lines for tickets to see it again and again (7 times over a couple of weeks if I remember correctly). I wish I could have been part of that phenomenon -- and seeing Led Zeppelin in the 70s before Bonham died...
My Dad tells me that he and his high school buddies went to it on opening night and saw it every single night that week. 7 times in a row. You don't do that for just any old movie.
Callum Murphy I was 14 when this came out. Me and my friends must have seen it 6 or 7 times. Amazing !
My father told me that when he went to go see it, his uncle took him out to a theater hours away for it, and when he told him the title he just thought "Star Wars? That sounds lame." He was about 11 or 12 at this point. He said that when he left the theater it was like no other movie he'd ever seen.
About 18 years later, he buys the VHS trilogy and sits me down. Star Wars? That sounds lame...
1977 A year when starfighters needed a lot of tweaking to work right.
and a year when star pilots had to wear flight suits.
It sounds like darth vader is tweaking his controls the entire clip with that constant squeaking.
Right? The way Vader fiddles with the knobs and controls, you'd think he's looking for that one sweet radio station.
I've seen tweakers fly starships with the best of em
Dreadlord Sinister : it's the sound of the tape cassette recorder's own wheels squeaking.
Awesome little slice of history.
Rest In Peace, Princess Leia
+sellbullion That's some serious edge you got there
sellbullion What a sad lonely life you must lead
So glad I watched this
Who hurt you?
In the 70’s an Iranian family who left Iran at the time of the revolution moved in next door to me in London. In 1978 I was 7 and I got to know the 2 children in the family well. One Friday night there was a knock at the door and the family asked if I would like to go to the cinema with them, We went along to a cinema in Ealing, West London and the film turned out to be Star Wars, and my 7 year old mind was truly blown. I will be forever grateful for their invite and remember the evening fondly. They soon after moved to the U.S. and we lost touch. Hope they are all happy and well wherever they are now.
Thanks for sharing such a warm and fuzzy anecdote.
My father is from Iran, but came to the US well before the revolution.
Star Wars came out when I was 2-y.o. I still remember seeing the commercial for it. It was the first movie I ever saw at the cinema.
Having something so theatrical, bombastic, and great be my FIRST movie. . .I can't be feel lucky and grateful till this very day.
My only wish is that it could've been my son's first cinema experience as well.
Great story! We all grew up on Star Wars no matter where you lived.
I was there,my brother and my Father R.I.P... he took us at least 15 times.. we had the shirts with iron ons,all the toys that christmas.. still have them too.. I was proud to be a part of this phenom.. and still glad to be a part of it today..
Mike Nappo can i ask, why do people insist on having so many fulstops at the end of a setence?
i was 8 years old... the Colony Theatre downtown Winnipeg, Canada ..i
paid 1.80 cents ( the bus was 10 cents getting there ) ...from the first
scenes...small space ship, being chased by a bigger space ship...i
still smell the pop corn..feel the sticky floor..my huge bucket of
'coke', ' watching the " ole' red curtain " open...it was like a space
version of Robin Hood...the audience was clapping and cheering for the
rebels winning!!...the next few weeks, the word was out, the lines for
this " NEW movie " went around the block and further... i'll trade 1.5
years of my life for that 1.5 hours back ~(^..)
Mike Nappo that's awesome!
anotherkat4u cool memory
Mike Nappo so cool bro.
Now THAT"S a Star Wars film.
magiciansway This was my childhood. This is what I want. Not the George Lucas revisions, the original. It’s like this is a part of me.
I was a little kid when I saw this within a few days of its original release, and I recall two interesting theater reactions. One when Yoda said “Do or do not. There is no try.” (A very vocal, yeah! from some in the audience and a couple of high-fives). The other (cheers!) when Luke turned off his targeting computer.
@@dinohuntr851 Yes! I saw this as a 16 year old and I vividly remember the agonizing wait for it's release, slightly fearful that it wouldn't live up to my expectations then thrilled that it did. To a 16 year old boy it spoke directly to the hero's journey and spoke to something larger than just a movie.
@@hlcepeda Absolutely! "A New Hope" was a well made movie with rich archetypal themes, a plot that enthralled, strong male AND female characters (characters that you cared about...) and wisdom.
@@magiciansway ANH pushed all the right buttons!
I heard critics didnt think star wars would do well in theatres because the movie Smokey and the Bandit came out at the same time...you believe that?
I think that's less about the quality of Star Wars more to the credit Smokey and the Bandit. I mean, that movie is a riot and a hell of a lot of fun.
@@jacobmonks3722 not taking anything away from smokey, gotta love Burt Reynolds and who didnt want a trans am after watching that movie. Star Wars has just reached hights that no other movie has in pulp culture and to think that peoole thought it wasnt going to be good enough. Just goes to show that you can never tell the future and that all ideas should be considered and given a chance.
Wtf is Smokey and the bandit? Just proves which movie was more memorable
Just before it came out I read about Mark Hammel and I think Ben Bova at a SF convention talking about Mark staring in a major movie that might never be shown. Everyone in the industry knew SF was just B movies about tentacle monsters, with no market. Of course afterwards the same people were making bad knockoffs.
To be fair, Smokey was a blast! I saw both, as did many others. After all, I was the target audience for both😁
I saw it opening night in 1977 when I was just 10 years old. The audience reaction was just like this, and now, at the age of 53, I'm a Star Wars addict for life.
May the Force be with you.
nice, this is history
Gerryko Malaysia Media Events & Food well it did take place a long time ago in a galaxy far far away
now this is history racing!
This is truly history i would be born almost 33 years later
Nice I was your 2,000th like
you could make a religion out of this
My first exposure to Star Wars was Lego Star Wars: The Original Trilogy so when my dad first showed me Star Wars on the cassette I was naming all of the characters like "REBEL FRIEND" and such
Matthew Greer same, i watched return of the Jedi and i was scared of jabba
Matthew Greer hahahaha thats so funny😂 I remember that character, that game was some good times
Matthew Greer OMFG SAME
Matthew Greer thats almost exactly how i was introduced to star wars and I have been obsessed with it for 9 to 10 years
Matthew Greer same
Chewbacca: "What the hell are you all clapping at I didn't get my damn medal."
This galaxy was built on racism and wookie slavery!
Wookies despise medals and trophies.
Furr balls don't deserve any medals.
They should've pinned a rosette on him, like a prize stallion.
mugensamurai , funny because it is true.
This audio is an historical document and should be preserved. Sent chills down my back.
I had the middle seat of the second row from the front after waiting 5 hours in two lines to get in, knowing NOTHING about the movie, since it had no trailers of any real kind and this was the first weekend that it was being shown. I thought my seat was going to be bad due to the loud sounds, but it was the absolute BEST POSSIBLE seat in the entire theater. Those spaceships coming in at the beginning literally "blew me away"... Best movie beginning EVER!!
Cool to hear it from someone who experienced it live I envy you on so many levels
@@nikolaimaharaj2319 The craziest part was that I was not going to go to a movie that weekend since my wife just had our first baby. However, she was with her mother at her mother's apartment and told me TO GO AWAY UNTIL LATE THAT NIGHT SINCE I WAS "GETTING ON THEIR NERVES". So I left and when I got in the car I remembered the STAR WARS movie and decided that I had nothing else to do, so I might as well watch it. Boy, getting thrown out by my wife was one of the luckiest things I ever had happen to me. My whole life has a lot of such crazy things, many not so good, but this was...
How didn’t this movie did not have any trailer or teasers that’s really impossible to go see this film back then and not see any promotion.
@@edercortes1960 because it wasn't a big deal at first, all this would've really be seen as is some ordinary space movie
Nikolai Maharaj ...no I hear you trust me I’m just saying if I was growing up in the 70s and heard of this movie I would be really mad at Seiskel and ebert for it
I wish there was a version of this with the audience reaction to 'No I am your father'
+Storm Arrow There is. And it is dead silent. At the time, people thought it was a lie by Vader to trick Luke into joining him.
+atidiaX what about return of the jedi with landos "yeehaaa!"
actually Dave Prowse had spilled the beans back in 1979 but it was long before the internet so i guess only a tiny percentage of the audiences knew
Just watched one on youtube, a reaction video of children & adults- whom had never seen/heard of Star Wars, reacting to this scene. Fun stuff.
yarpen26 I can't see this as being true as David prowse's lines were "No Obi Wan killed you're father" Including George Lucas, mark Hamil and James Earl Jones, only 7 people knew the truth until it was first aired in cinemas
Little did anyone realize that there was a 12 year old boy in the audience by the name of Mikey. Mesmerized by the massive explosion of the Death Star, little Mikey decided to become a film maker himself, dreaming of filling his films with explosions of his own. We now know him as Michael Bay.
There was another little boy in the audience by the name of Steve. Mesmerized by the thousand faces of Threepio, little Steve decided to become a talented actor, dreaming of filling his films with deep emotion. He decided to become a man of a thousand faces . We now know him as Steven Seagal.
Segal became a lawman, taking down crime with a SUV packed with old men, and his Akkido.
Not Steven Speilburg?
Steven Spielberg was already good friends with George Lucas when Star Wars came out
Unseen Minecraft do you mean Steavan Speilbirg?
I was born January 1, 1977 so I missed seeing "A New Hope" in a theater. However, "The Empire Strikes Back" was my very first movie. I wore flip flops to the show because it was hot. My mom opened the theater door onto my foot by accident. This removed the toenail from my right big toe. I cried because I thought I'd miss the movie and the excruciating pain. The theater staff bandaged my toe and we made the show. I was only 6 when this happened but I remember like it was yesterday.
My toe made a full recovery.
Ouch!!!! That must have hurt!! 😖
That's awesome, I remember the days when people would try to help like that. Not sure they would now for fear of litigation.
My favorite memory is the reaction of the crowd in Empire Strikes Back when R2D2 fixes the hyperdrive and the Falcon goes into hyperspeed. You could feel it in your bones.
The sequence of Luke firing the torpedoes and finally inhaling is one of my favorite moments in movie history. It gets me every time.
Uh, exhaling isn't he?
Gets you how? Turned on?
David Andersson I read an old copy of the book. The book explained that Luke gave himself over to the force when he fired the torpedoes, and he force-guided them into the shaft. His heavy exhaling here is his return from out of an almost trance-like state.
Nate Jones hehe shaft
Mike Mc The avatar really helps with that joke.
This is a gift. Thank you for sharing this with those of us who weren't even born yet back then!!
first
It’s cool hearing Gen X ers reminiscing. A generation unfortunately overlooked but reminding us of a great era in difficult times. You guys rock. 😊
WarpedWeft I hate how they vote, though.
Furry Fox so true
@WarpedWeft Thank you for correctly calling us Gen Xers. I'm really tired of hearing the very inaccurate, "Ok boomer" comments. I'm 100% Gen X.
@@starwarsrebel2006 To the boomer comment just reply I'm an X-Man!
@@jameshalleluyah8133 Awesome! Lol
“The End. Ta-da!”....little did they know just how NOT the end it would turn out to be over the decades.
Kevin Sigman it’s was great for decades, then Disney happened and it all went to shite
@@justaguy9156 did you just seriously forget the prequels exist? 😂😂😂
AliceDiableaux did you just seriously forget how they weren’t the ending of the story rather than an explanation what lead up to the OT? Also they were great movies with awesome world building even better than the OT in my opinion.
Trapped In A Bagel hahahahahahahA
Prequels had some really terrible dialogues and some good characters totally wasted, but it was really good in everything else, way better than what we got in this new trilogy.
Did I correctly hear a woman calling Peter Cushing/Grand Moff Tarkin a "monster" after he gives the "fire when ready" order? Even if I heard it incorrectly I thought that was awesome -- I remember feeling (when I was a kid) that Cushing/Tarkin was much scarier than Vader. Cushing was just awesome in this role (and in all of his films -- I love his turns in Hammer horror films despite the overall cheesiness -- he lent class to every production).
aleister crowley
Sounded more like "we lost her" as in Leia
Matthew Greer she said "We lost R2."
aleister crowley When i saw Gladiator, I loathed the villain
Excellent acting there too
So as Christopher Lee, to his early Golden Age films. That's why Lucas hired him for Dooku...
(fun fact: in Portuguese, saying Dooku out loud is the same as "from the ass")
i wonder if that's why we have the kids' word "dooky" for poop
I’m telling you who didn’t see it upon release, at the time there was nothing like it. The pure exhilaration after seeing it, nothing like it at all!!
Robert J Kral ok
When movies on the big screen were actually on a *BIG* screen.
Jow Bloe yeah funny you say that. The big screen I saw it on became 2 screens / 2 theaters instead of one about a decade later.
@@rjkral The one I saw it in is now a parking lot....
Les ugh! Yeah as I said the great theater I saw it at split into 2 screens, but right now it’s completely gutted and is now just part of a shopping center. It was once one of Australia’s most grand and prestigious of theaters. My downtown at he time had many movie theaters to choose from by simply walking around (at least 5 different complexes within walking distances Eve when they became multi screen facilities). ALL of them are now gone.
Ahh! I'm actually tearing up here; I remember doing exactly this kind of thing for Star Wars and Empire, taking my honking-huge Panasonic "portable" tape recorder into the theatre (which, back then, no one cared about at all) and recording the movie just so I could listen to it later! Ah the days before VHS and DVD and Streaming! Now I feel really old.
“Written and directed by George Lucas”
John Chris how it should be
Back when Star Wars was gold, now it’s a cash grab.
@@rumpio5505 star wars 9 is great
George Lucas sold his empire to the dark side.
I still like Star Wars...but this last trilogy was a hot mess
@@elias2383 I have tried to immerse myself into these, but there are these clanging... discrepancies that make it difficult. The overall story elements weren't weak; their presentation and organization were abysmal.
I remember it being really loud in the theater on opening weekend 1977 too! What a phenomenon this movie was!
8 years to get your first reply... how does it feel??
@@seadub1791 nice to talk to you!
I still remember going to see Star Wars when I was 5 years old. I still remember everyone yelling and cheering I have never saw another movie where the crowd reacted like that it was a new beginning in movie special effects. To a 5 year old boy it had a big impact on my life over the last 40 years. Shoot we still had a Black and White TV at that time. My Mom bought me a lot of Star Wars toys I even had 10 Stormtroopers. I don't know how she did it we were so poor she had to make my clothes. I came home from school one day to an AT-AT sitting on the table it was the one Star Wars toy I wanted more than anything and somehow she got it.
Frank you sick fuck
God Bless Moms. They make things happen, no matter what.
I had just turned 18 when this movie came out. Let me tell you there had never been anything like this before. We were all so shocked. This is what great SF is like. This raised the bar for all movies that followed.
Alien which came out two years later in ‘79 and used space as an element of horror and fear rather than wonder was immediately greenlit by Fox once Star Wars was raking in big bucks, they even brought over the production designers from Star Wars to do the designs for Alien with the sets and special effects.
Not to mention about 5 years on we’d have Blade Runner with Harrison Ford and with great visual effects and design!
This WAS the movie you had to see in the summer of 1977 if you were 10 years old ! It blew me and my friends away ! We went back to see it 7 times more. 😊
Man, when the Falcon showed up and everyone was all "woooo".
I ACTUALLY felt that.
I still tear up when it happens. Han’s redemption arc from running away from problems to being the hero.
I remember the first time I saw this movie, unfortunately we arrived late in the showing when Han and Luke are arguing whether or not to rescue the Princess in the Death Star control room. The reaction heard in the audio are just like when I saw it except there was not just applause when the Death Star blew up, Everyone erupted in a thunderous cheer! with people standing and pumping their fists in the air. I had never had that experience in the cinema before. That's when I noticed I witnessed something very special. I was like 'WOWWW!' THIS IS AWESOME!! From that very moment I was hooked for life. We stayed for a second showing so we could see the film in its entirety. This was back when you only paid once and weren't ushered out once the movie ended. Such a great time to be alive and I feel very blessed to have experienced it from the very beginning back in 1977.
Did you see the phantom menace when it came in 1999 in theatres?
I was there in 1977 and we were never able to stay for a second showing. we had to pay for all tickets. where did you live?
@@briansview2886 We were allowed to stay in the theater if we'd gotten there late; the ticket seller would mark our tickets and we were allowed to stay to watch the entire film from the start again.
Hell, that was tame compared from my experience back in the day. In short, I allowed my best friend to talk me into going to the theater to watch this movie back in 1977. He had already seen it a few times. So we go inside & sat in the front row. By the end of the movie after the Death Star was blown to space dust, as God as my witness, what I saw, well its hard to explain but I'll try. After the Death Star was blown away, the theater felt like a earthquake had hit it. I mean that place was ROCKING!!! I'm talking grown up's in suites & ties & people of ALL ages were literally STANDING ON THE CHAIRS just a hooping it up & cheering like you would never believe. Not even when I saw Jaws & they blew the shark into fish food was there a reaction like this. I thought Jaws was the shit, but after my first hand experience of watching Star Wars on the big screen back in 1977, I take it all back. Star Wars was & IS the shit. Never before & never after, even to this day, have I ever seen such a crowd reaction like I did back in 1977. I looked at my friend that night as the cheering was going on & I remember saying to him, This could be big. And all these years later, look at just how big Star Wars became. I'll never forget that moment in time. In short, it was PURE MAGIC!!! And on a side note, I have all the Star Wars movies on dvd as the first one in 1977 too this day is my all time favorite movie. Nothing will ever top it IMO. But still, for that one night back in time, I can honestly say, I not only saw something special, but I saw PURE MAGIC. And what a feeling & what a night that was..........
Glad someone liked it .
It made me a little emotional that someone was able to capture this piece of history for us to enjoy today.
Nobody clapped during or after The Rise of Skywalker in my theater. I could hear a pin drop. Lol!
When we left the theater peoples faces were solemn and their eyes looked at the floor
saw a kid walk out looking like the Arthur clenched fist meme
Lots of clapping for Rise of Skywalker each time I saw it.
@@Dudemon-1 I smell bullshit.
@@Dudemon-1 they were clapping because the pain finally ended
This is great, you can even hear the tape squeaking in the background
Nilin Lusankya yes ! You can here it !It's funny that people think this is fake because the video quality is so good. He simply synced up his audio recording with this video clip he got off the net or somewhere else.
My dad was 14 when he went to see this for the first time in 1977. Said he came out feeling like he was in another world. He then went again to see it another 14 times! Needless to say, it’s his all time favourite movie.
The movie somehow provided an experience that continued (and clearly continues) to satisfy on repeated viewings. That was unusual even for the time. It wasn't normal to see a movie more than once or maybe twice and it cost money which a lot of people didn't have. I think a book could be written analyzing that one aspect alone. It was like Rocky Horror but without the audience participation. Lucas and his team simply (?!) created a world that people enjoyed just being in, a rare and beautiful occurrence that no amount of money or even talent can guarantee. Just the right story told at the right time by the right people. An act of God.
That was one of the great things about Star Wars, the clapping and cheering. Most of the movies back in the day were not fun. Don't get me wrong, they were great films, The God Father, Taxi Driver, One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest etc... but they were dark stories and not much to cheer about. Star Wars brought back the fun...cheering for the heroes, boo's and hisses for the villains...great memories!
Thank you Star Wars!
thanks for posting Homer
Like when you heard "Smile you son of a..." And Chief Brody blowed him up good. He blowed him up real good. I cheered and applauded.
So true. Lots of important and iconic flicks, but not much for kids and the young at heart, and yes lots of reveling in darkness and disfunction. I think the movie I loved the most before Star Wars was Disney/Verne's "The Mysterious Island". Made in '61 it would get re-played frequently for kids matinees and it was great.
I WANT THE REACTION TO VADER SAYING I AM YOUR FATHER TO LUKE IN 1980!!!!!!!
I'm sorry you had to wait 8 years for this reply...
ua-cam.com/video/eZCo_hZLyh0/v-deo.html
Oh, bless you. You used the original Death Star explosion and everything. :)
well its the 1977 theatrical version and the audio from the theater
Han. Shot. First. :)
You mean only Han shot, of course. :)
Yes, I damn well do. :)
Also black n white R2 in the beginning
Little did they know the absolute cinematic history that they had just witnessed
wow, this is amazing. Priceless.
extraleague01 you can even here the squeaking sound of the cassette roters turning !
I remember seeing this in late summer 1977 as a teenager---this definitely brings back memories.
This video actually brought tears to my eyes.
+Zach Mayer me too, but i dunno why. i am not even a star wars fan
I was 12 when the movie premiered and didn't see it till 3 months later, and ONLY because my dad wanted to get me out of the house.
From that day forward, I couldn't get ENOUGH of STAR WARS!
I was 8 when I saw this in the theatre, I was blown away by it.
We are close to the same age. I remember not knowing what it was and going to the movies with my older cousins and being completely unprepared for the awesomeness.
+Jim Walker I envy you haha
I was 8 years old too. I don't think any kids today can *ever* feel what we felt back then with introduction of this movie. Nothing like it had ever been done. I'd say a close second would be "Jurassic Park" with is dinosaurs. Either way, the new generations have "Starwars" to thank for the movies they get (and take for granted) today.
Jim Walker damn, you are one lucky son of a bitch, I wish I saw this movie as a kid, sadly I saw Phantom menace as my first Star wars experience
I was 7, It captured my imagination like nothing before or since.
It's great to hear not only the audience reaction but also to see the original Death Star explosion, before George decided to mess with it.
The video isn't from 1977, only the audio is; it's just synced to the video. The video is probably from the Despecialized fan cut / the laserdisc release.
Symphonic Metal Citadel Video is probably from the 2006 GOUT DVD.
The ripoff from Star Trek with the blast ring. I hate it.
William M Blast ring wasn’t created by Star Trek...
Every time I watch that movie I am surprised that Han saves him at the end.
I have no similar experience with any other movie I can think of.
The Eagles are coming!
I know what you mean. Almost all other movies bore me to tears at their most exciting moments after the first exposure. Star Wars gave us time to soak a bit in the scenery and the world and it became a place we wanted to visit again. Can't do that if the chases and shoot-outs never let up or when they're the only interesting part of the movie. Star Wars lures us in every time and we forget ourselves to the point we can be surprised anew, every time!
@kentwood9821 I think it's because it focuses the viewer on Luke, and the force. "Use the force Luke. Let go." So we think about Luke having to use the force at that critical moment, and how that's the thing that saves him, and then suddenly "YEEEE HAAAA!" just comes out of nowhere.
I was born in Edinburgh. Scotland in 1966 and as an 11 year old I saw "Star Wars" when it came out in the cinema. It never occurred to my young-self that there would be a sequel. Now, I'm 58 and still a huge SW fan. Lot's more to come I hope!
I also Close Encounters of the Third Kind when it came out. Another really good film.
Do audiences react like this to anything anymore? I live in a country with the coldest audience in the world, and at the end of Rogue One I just wanted to cheer and applaud the hell out of it.
Paul J. Morton Gotta go to LA and not to sound racist or anything visit the black theatres, actually Quentin Tarantino always screens his movies in LA at black theatres cause they react to his movies the best.
Some do for sure... The Force Awakens had a very energetic audience where I was. SO did Rogue One!
From Portugal here. At the end of Rogue One I was pumping with energy and I started aplauding and laughing. My face was hurting with smiling. Some other guy aplauded like 3 claps and that was it. Fucking boring audience. I could do all the laughing by myself but come on who doesn't like to feel that community sense in the cinema right?
Paul J. Morton When I saw Contact, the audience applauded at the end.
I remember when I saw Independence Day in 1996. The audience was wild, they cheered, clapped and screamed. Also similar happened with movies like Godzilla and Guardians Of the Galaxy (both from 2014).
This was my summer film way back in 1977. What is hard for young people to understand is that this film in its time was cutting edge and a visual spectacle for the eye. I was 14 at the time and to this day at 56 I still enjoy this film and the memories it still holds for me. Every generation has its own distinct place and time in history...Star Wars is definitely a part of my youth and will always be cherished.
I've just synchronized the Death Star destruction scene with Harmy's Despecialized Edition of "Star Wars" (2.5), and it synched PERFECTLY.
It was AMAZING to watch what was originally shown in theaters 38 years ago...and also hear the sounds of the audience who saw it for the first time back then.
Where can I find the despecialized edition of Star Wars? It has drove me nuts!
Shelbie Lynn Thrasher You have to torrent it. ThePirateBay and Kickass has them. Look for Despecialized Edition Remastered V2.5. That is the best copy of STAR WARS you can currently get your hands on.
+GamerOfChaos I bet. I want to see the film the way it was presented in 1977-1978. The remasters are godawful. They screwed it up.
I was there. It was an event like no other. At school that year it was like a contest at how many times you can see Star Wars.
I was 8 when I saw this in 77. I remember immediately after the movie my family going to my Grandparents house where my little brother and I got out the whiffle ball bats for light sabers and relived the movie in the back yard
Exactly what my brother and I did lol! I was 9 and he was 10!
@@MikeLowryOdyssey Same. With princess wands & broomsticks.
We coated broomsticks with Elmer's glue and then sprinkled it with tons of glitter to make ours. Now kids have these spot on replica sabers with sound.
That is adorable. 😊 I remember how excited my sister and I were when we first got our light-up lightsaber tubes. 😊
Nothing can beat, being a 10 year old kid and watching it in 1977.
I hear you! I was 11 when I first saw it myself.
I agree. It was a glorious time to be alive!
I remember seeing Return of the Jedi in theatres as a boy. Everyone cheered like this when Vader picked up the Emperor and threw him down the shaft and exploded. Then the station exploded. But according to Jar Jar Abrams, he survived just fine.
It was but a flesh wound!
I was under the impression that his servants cloned him.
@@Sindraug25 If his mind survived the destruction of his body, how did his mind get into a clone body? Why did the clone look so old? Why was he so ridiculously overpowered?
@@Sindraug25 When was he cloned? Why would a clone carry the mind/memories of its donor? Why was the clone in TROS so old?
@@SuperTonyony I don't have any of those answered. I only said that's the impression I had.
I was 22 stationed in San Diego when this film came out and the audience reaction was just like this. It was an amazing time as nothing like it had ever been seen before.
My uncle saw this back in summer of 1977. He Remember the moment when the opening crawl started. He said that every people in the theater started screaming and clapping. Similar to TFA Experience. My Uncle was 13 When he saw Star Wars. I was 13 when I saw TFA. Weird isn't it.
why was people clapping if they didn't even know what they were about to see?
Now here I found the evidence of time travel.
i was 8 years old... the Colony Theatre downtown Winnipeg, Canada ..i
paid 1.80 cents ( the bus was 10 cents getting there ) ...from the first
scenes...small space ship, being chased by a bigger space ship...i
still smell the pop corn..feel the sticky floor..my huge bucket of
'coke', ' watching the " ole' red curtain " open...it was like a space
version of Robin Hood...the audience was clapping and cheering for the
rebels winning!!...the next few weeks, the word was out, the lines for
this " NEW movie " went around the block and further... i'll trade 1.5
years of my life for that 1.5 hours back ~(^..)
What is funny is that the crawl is lifted from older sci-fi serial films of the 1930s (specifically 1930s Flash Gordon films -- Lucas talks about how much he loved that feature as a kid watching those films).
L33 Pictures My dad was 9 when he first saw star wars. I was 14 when I saw the force awakens
I don't know about Star Wars, but my dad was dating my mom back in 1975 and he took her brother (my uncle - at that time he was about 14) to see JAWS. He told me when the shark appears (right before the "you're gonna need a bigger boat") my uncle just stood up, totally scared, and remained standing for some time.
Just wow. Back when there was no Star Wars "FRANCHISE" and people worshipping the brand. This was just people reacting to an amazing movie. It was so pure and untainted by corporate greed.
Even in Return of Jedi, George Lucas already realized he could earn more money with toys and merchandise than the actual movie, the Ewoks were created to sell plushies.
lol, so overly dramatic.
Deathshuck the legends universe wasn’t really greed. Thanks to the books that really started it -the rogue squadron series- the original expanded universe was all about making the Star Wars universe bigger and bigger
oh you're wrong there, the franchise hype around this movie at the time, especially shortly after it, was HUGE. Every kid wanted star wars toys and clothes that christmas.
@Aaron Bryant: Actually, he's right. The "Franchise" around this movie was nothing, at the time. The board at 20th Century wanted to shut down production of Star Wars during filming, a couple of times. You don't do that if you have expectations of "Franchising". Lucas was able to get the rights to merchandising because 20th Century had low expectations of the film, and figured they'd lose money on merchandise, but George wanted to sell the movie. It wawn't until AFTER the Star Wars movies became such a monster hit that franchising became thought of.
This movie was so great because the people involved in making it had their passions. George loved what he was doing. The actors, for thw most part, thought this was just going to be some silly kids movie, but did their best job of acting because that's their passion. Same for the special effects, and on, and on. 20th Century Fox thought only about money, but put very little into this movie (comparably).
When I was 7, in 1977, I saw Star Wars. As I walked out of the theater, I looked up at the stars and realized our sun is just one of countless others, most with planets. At the end of the movie, the entire audience stood and cheered-a moment I've never seen repeated in a theater.
Just give me the original version on Blu-ray. No revisions, the original.
Trent Neff they are on ebay
do a browser search for Harmy Despecialized.
@@ArtamStudio You can get it.
I still have the THX Remastered trilogy on VHS in the flat box.
It was so weird watching this
I knew the ring around the Death Star explosion wouldn't be there but my god the TIE fighter explosions look so bad 😂 Ive just seen the remastered version so many times
"If the audience doesn't cheer when Han Solo comes in at the last second in the Millennium Falcon to help Luke when he's being chased by Darth Vader, the picture doesn't work." - Marcia Lucas
I was eight years old and was in a packed cinema watching this at our local cinema.. The reactions of the crowd was an experience, similar to Jaws two years prior.. These days, crowds are used to so much technology, that there is no freshness with the new releases. Kids today, don't have the true cinema experience as audiences in the past. Miss those days immensely.
+Michael Stefano So true Michael!!
And the blockbuster lines. Jaws '75, and Star Wars '77. Them were the daze.
"KiDs ToDaY dOn'T hAvE tRuE CiNeMa"
Yes I was sitting on the floor in the aisle for this movie, I was 9 years old! The theater over sold the seats and nobody cared, we were just happy to be there!!
It's so great that the new movies bring this feeling back for fans new and old
The Bacons Are them?
The Bacons
Really now
AHAHAHAHAH
no
It's so great that the new movies bring this feeling back to grateful people who knows how to enjoy a product without bitching for everything.
Alvaro Stöckle Yep... I like this
I was still in my dads sack when the movie came out
SAPPY did you like it
Ok boomer
JamesTheFox Bruh that seems kinda gay if you like it
SAPPY same, buddy.
Mrsilenciobackgammon my dad was like 4 so I don’t think I was in his yet
I remember seeing STAR WARS in movie theaters in 1977. I was 16 at the time. That first scene of the freighter being chased - and fired upon - by the imperial star destroyer STILL impresses me!
I was only 5 years old when this movie came out, but that night coming out of the movie theater with my parents sounded like we were at a sporting event. The cheers. The laughter. The high fives everyone was giving each other.. It was an unforgettable moment in history. Star Wars was born. ❤
Excellent! I saw it on Thursday, May 26th, the second day it was out, and before the long lines, at Grauman's Chinese theater in Hollywood. 70 mm film and even then a packed theater, I remember people, in awe at the start when the imperial destroyer is coming and coming in the view after seeing the princesses ship. People wildly cheering when the Millennium Falcon goes into hyperspace and as you recorded, applause at the End! I was 19 years old and I took a date and drove to Hollywood from Redlands, California. Got back well after midnight. Good to hear even with no small audio recorders back then.
See how it's done? The pacing and editing and acting. The character development for Leia, Han and Luke. The comradery of the three: Leia hooking them up with her political ties and the rebellion; the rogue Han turning a new leaf and saving the kid multiple times; Luke's heroic journey leading him to believe in himself and the force to turn the tide. This is Star Wars!
IT IS, AND THATS EXACTLY WHAT GEORGE DID FOR 123 N IRVAN KERSHNER HELPED 5 AND RICHARD MARQUAND HELPED 6 AND JJ DID FOR 7 AND RIAN DID FOR 8 AND GARETH DID FOR ROGUE-1 AND RON HOWARD DID FOR SOLO SWS AND DAVE FELONI DID WITH THE CLONE WARS THEATRICAL RELEASED MOVIE AND DAVE ACOMBA DIDTO THE FOURTEEN MINUTE SHORT ANIMATED MOVIE INSIDE THE HOLIDAY SPECIAL!!!!!!!!!!!!!! THESE ARE STAR WARS TOO!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
I remember seeing the Orson Welles-narrated trailer the summer before. When SW came out, I saw it with a friend, thought it was pretty good. Decided to see it again 2 weeks later, the line was nearly around the block.
My parents tried for weeks to take me to see it, and it was sold out every time. But, in that time, wasn't too unexpected. It was only on one screen at a theater. This happened on several big movies back in the day. It only made it that much sweeter when I actually got in.
Wait, was that really Orson Welles that narrated that trailer?
@@Mekasoundwave It was Malachi Throne.
Hence the term... blockbuster.
@@christhornton8219
Back in the 70s people could only see movies in theater right? There was no real way to rent them or view them at home as far as I have observed unless you were really rich and could afford a projector or a very early VHS
Watching this is electrifying, I firmly believe that this is the best movie I have ever and will ever see.
These comments really jogged my memory. I saw Star Wars at a drive in too, in Canada with my parents and best friend in 1977. I was 7 years old. Because my parents had told me we were going to see this new science fiction film that everyone was talking about, I did have the notion the movie would be kind of cool, along the lines of a space or monster movie on TV; I had no idea of just how truly amazing Star Wars would be. Just like others described, cars were flashing their lights and honking, and all the people were talking, screaming, and conversing with excitement. It was as if there was this positive energy in the air, causing everyone to be giddy with excitement. It was quite the phenomenon. What's even more amazing was that the movie didn't have advertising; it's reputation spread purely by word of mouth. It just goes to show you that you don't need to buy the press or rely on some jackass formula to make a successful movie; all you need is a timeless story, imagination, and lots of heart.
Man, you can hear the film reel on the projector. This is a piece of film history.
No that's from the wheels of the walkman or cassette recorder. Early ones had a microphone in the casing itself but it would pick up the humming of motors and the squeaking of the wheels turning if you didn't oil them properly. I recognised that sound instantly.
@@thiefofa1073 came here to see if anyone else knew it was that too 😂
@@thiefofa1073 My old walkman never clicked (just kinda whirred), but mine was far from the original walkman. Nice catch, I never would have known it was a cassette recorder had you not commented!
It's so obviously the squeaky Walkman wheels, belts, or whatever else. Probably a cheap since not a lot of people could afford too of the line cassette stuff back then.
1:38 -
Anyone else get super emotional?
(': ✨🌟❤👍😎
I was in a theater that opening weekend with my Mother and a Friend of hera...she said it was the first time I kept my mouth shut through a movie...before it was said and done, we saw it in every type of theatre and drive-in we had...and now, I have to watch the special editions and pretend...damn it...
WOW, I didn't expect that flood of emotion!
stinky pinkeee I still have an original copy on vhs thank god, but no longer have a VCR to watch it with... so there’s that catch.
Idid i had tears in my eyes , great times.
Cried like a fucking baby for 10 mins... What the fuck's wrong with me!? Maybe because they literally just killed it (and my love for it), hearing it at it's birth when it still made people happy made me sad????
I was 6 when I first saw this in 1977. This movie introduced me to the world of cinema.
Star Wars wasn't a movie. Star Wars was The Movies.
This movie, is Star Wars
At a time when nobody had VCRs, the Only way to watch it.
I swear this movie was in the theater almost until Empire released.
I mean, heck, my dad (who “doesn’t do sci-fi”) took my mom to see it, and they loved it. These are two people who are unbelievably picky filmgoers.
NO OWEN FOOD, STAR WARS IS THE MOVIES!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Thank you for sharing this. Our entire elementary school went to see Star Wars and it was a fantastic experience. We had the same reactions as your audience did.
What a cool school!
@ : Back when trips were a regular thing. 🙂
Wha...why are my eyes so wet..
Treebeard whoever left this damn bowl of cut onions in here is gonna die
fluffytoaster427 I left the unions.
Damn the European Union!
Treebeard fucking crying too. WTF! Thanks George Lucas
DeadDodo An accumulation of dust.
I actually shed a tear. Felt like I was 9 again. This was a window to a time when movies were more special, and Star Wars was pure, unadulterated space fantasy we all needed but didn't know we needed.