A Long Time Ago in a Galaxy Far, Far Away....these were the first words I saw in the first movie that I ever went to. I was only almost 4 years old when it came out, so I probably couldn't read them, but never the less these 10 words have been a part of my life ever since that day in 1977.
From the opening scrawl to the Star Destroyer chasing down Princess Leia's ship over Tatooine, this movie, this story, has been one of awe and inspiration around the world. And in my little world, it has given me years of enjoyment and wonderment. I remember playing Star Wars on the playground at Spruce Home School with my cousin Keith and friends Travis and Bobby. I always wanted to be Luke. I actually got into a little scrap with Keith because he wanted to be Luke. We ended up getting hauled down to the office because of it. The next recess though we back at it playing Star Wars. This was what we did and all we did for the longest time...pretend to be in the galaxy that George Lucas created.
I still remember getting excited at Xmas time when my brother Carey and I got tons of Star Wars toys as gifts. I also remember being pissed off that Carey got the Millennium Falcon and I got the X-Wing. The funny thing is, I now still have that Millennium Falcon. I have all of the figurines that we were given. Now I am not a true collector of Star Wars stuff. As soon as my sons were old enough to play with these toys, I let them. They were beat up and broken before and they keep getting beaten up today. They loved and still do love playing Star Wars. Now my 5 year old is playing Star Wars on the playground with his friend Ashton. How fucking cool is that!!
I also remember how after Return of the Jedi came out there really wasn't anything Star Wars for a long time. There was the Ewok movies and the droids cartoons, but that is about it. Then in June 1991 I just happened to walk into Cole's Book Store to look for anything Star Wars ish and Holy Fuck!!! There it was....one of the most beautiful things I had ever seen. A Star Wars novel. Heir to the Empire. I nearly shit my pants and cried for joy. I now have over 100 Star Wars novels. I love being able to read on about these characters, planets and storylines. (I even shed a tear when Chewbacca died)
Then there was the day that George Lucas announced that he was going to do the prequals. This was heaven to all of us Star Wars fans. We couldn't wait and he didn't dissappoint. Although the prequal movies weren't as good as the original three, they still finished up what we all wanted to know. How did Anakin become Darth Vader?
My family and I went to the midnight showing of Revenge of the Sith and I still remember the moment of pure joy that I had that night. It wasn't a moment from the movie. You know, my little guy wanted to dress up as Darth Vader for the movie. So we dressed him up, put on his Darth Vader PJs and cape and his Darth Vader helmet and lightsaber. We got in the theatre and after we sat down I went to the canteen to get some popcorn. As I am standing in line I hear everyone in the theatre cheering. I wondered what that was all about so went to have a look. There was my little Darth Vader kicking the shit out of some Star Wars geek with his red lightsaber. It was awesome, and to be honest with you, I cried. I stood there and I cried. When he was finished whacking him with his blade, I walked up to him and hugged him. It was awesome. He thought it was pretty damn cool too.
So what does this all have to do with Star Wars - A New Hope being my favourite movie of all time. Not only is it an incredible movie with an incredible story, it has created incredible memories for me. All of these things that I have mentioned are things that I will never forget. They are ingrained in me and I will never let them go. I will continue to watch these movies, read the books and watch my son play Star Wars. I will be old and grey and still loving these moments. These are the moments we live for. For each of us, they are different and come from various things. Mine just happen to come from Star Wars.
Thanks George....I appreciate it.
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