By Lev Grossman:
The first time I saw Star Wars I was really freaking scared.
I was 7 in the spring of 1977, and I had already been traumatized by Young Frankenstein. Yeah, I ended that one out in the lobby. So uppermost in my mind, as we drove out to the Burlington (Mass.) Mall Cinema, where Star Wars was playing, was whether or not I could gut out the whole thing.
As it happened that turned out all right. Though it was touch and go for a while there in the trash compactor scene. The problem wasn't staying in the theater, the problem was getting me out of it.
It really wasn't for the obvious reasons. I probably could not, at the age of 7, have explained to you what exactly Star Wars was about from a logical point of view. I don't think I grasped the tactical importance of blowing up the Death Star, or what Princess Leia was a princess of.
The big deal for me was the world. And the world-building in Star Wars happens at the edges of the screen as much as in the middle. It was in the tiny details. What sold me on the whole production was the idea that if you turned the camera around at Uncle Owen's moisture farm on Tatooine, you wouldn't see George Lucas and a bunch of key grips standing around in Tunisia. You'd see ... more Tatooine.
I can relate to his last paragraph and especially the last sentence soo much. That's exactly what sold the movies to me instantly. I was a little too young to see Ep. 4 at the movies in 1978 (in Germany), but when I discovered the action figures, the first pictures and film scenes in the early 80s I was instantly fascinated by all the creatures and the worlds they must have been coming from. Those are exactly the reasons why this will always me be my favorite movie series and I was blown away when I finally saw TESB (re-run) and ROTJ in winter 1983/84. And it's why the sequels couldn't possibly fail me, because the world building was still there and kept me fascinated, despite of a few bumpy dialog lines.
Follow the link for Grossman's Top Ten details of the original film, they are quite charming and true.
The first time I saw Star Wars I was really freaking scared.
I was 7 in the spring of 1977, and I had already been traumatized by Young Frankenstein. Yeah, I ended that one out in the lobby. So uppermost in my mind, as we drove out to the Burlington (Mass.) Mall Cinema, where Star Wars was playing, was whether or not I could gut out the whole thing.
As it happened that turned out all right. Though it was touch and go for a while there in the trash compactor scene. The problem wasn't staying in the theater, the problem was getting me out of it.
It really wasn't for the obvious reasons. I probably could not, at the age of 7, have explained to you what exactly Star Wars was about from a logical point of view. I don't think I grasped the tactical importance of blowing up the Death Star, or what Princess Leia was a princess of.
The big deal for me was the world. And the world-building in Star Wars happens at the edges of the screen as much as in the middle. It was in the tiny details. What sold me on the whole production was the idea that if you turned the camera around at Uncle Owen's moisture farm on Tatooine, you wouldn't see George Lucas and a bunch of key grips standing around in Tunisia. You'd see ... more Tatooine.
I can relate to his last paragraph and especially the last sentence soo much. That's exactly what sold the movies to me instantly. I was a little too young to see Ep. 4 at the movies in 1978 (in Germany), but when I discovered the action figures, the first pictures and film scenes in the early 80s I was instantly fascinated by all the creatures and the worlds they must have been coming from. Those are exactly the reasons why this will always me be my favorite movie series and I was blown away when I finally saw TESB (re-run) and ROTJ in winter 1983/84. And it's why the sequels couldn't possibly fail me, because the world building was still there and kept me fascinated, despite of a few bumpy dialog lines.
Follow the link for Grossman's Top Ten details of the original film, they are quite charming and true.
*MySmiley*
You mustn't be afraid to dream a little bigger, darling.
You mustn't be afraid to dream a little bigger, darling.
The 10 Tiny Details that made Star Wars Matter 
- 26/08/2010 02:23:20 PM
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- 26/08/2010 02:23:20 PM
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Pfft. By the time I was 8, I was watching Wolf (w/ Nicholson) and Nightmare on Elm Street. wuss 
*NM*
- 26/08/2010 02:59:06 PM
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*NM*
- 26/08/2010 02:59:06 PM
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At 10 I was still terrified of the Moomin. *NM*
- 26/08/2010 03:09:34 PM
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Young Frankenstein was scary? *NM*
- 26/08/2010 03:20:54 PM
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sometimes it's not the movie itself. I got nightmares from Mars Attacks.
- 26/08/2010 09:22:31 PM
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I figured it would be the Martians going around saying "AAAACK AAAACK AAAAAAAACK"
- 27/08/2010 12:47:57 AM
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it's too bad lucas had to forego world building in search of higher returns on his investment
- 28/08/2010 09:16:41 PM
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