May The 4th Be With You...

Today is Star Wars Day. Wow. It has it's own day. I can remember when the Star Wars saga began. I was but a young Jedi, not wise to the ways of the Force and still checking my options on the Dark Side. May 25th, 1977 was when the first movie hit the theaters. We were bedazzled. Until then, special effects in science fiction film had been awful. But now, the whole spectacle seemed all too real and light sabers....well I guess I still want one. Star Wars was cool.

Adding to my initial 20 year old awe struck and cannabis enhanced Star Wars experience was the theater itself. Here in my hometown, we had what was called a Cinerama theater. It was nothing like the domed experience of the IMAX theaters of today, but it was incredible for it's time. The screen was 120 feet long and curved. It was made out of thousands of thin white vertical strips stretched from the ceiling to the floor. The reason for this was the speakers behind the screen. It allowed the sound of the action on the screen to emit from it's location on the screen. Working in tandem with the wall mounted and floor mounted speakers, it was a sight and sound experience that was top of the line for it's day. You felt like you were there gliding though space in the Millennium Falcon with Luke, Han, Chewy and the Princess. And Vader...well, I was never more impressed with the portrayal of evil.

Star Wars was an opera. It was a western. It was science fiction. It was what American films should be about...destruction of evil.  That was then...1977.

I wonder what a politically correct version of Star Wars would be like today? I'm sure it would be neutered of it's otherwise magnificent potency.

But it's all lost on me now.

I have no interest in the franchise. I do not even have the desire to view the original 3 films. Looking back, all I can think about is bad acting and bad script writing, Some of Harrison Ford's worst work is in those films. Have you seen Mark Hamil or Carrie Fisher lately? They are nursing home material....kind of like me. 

It was fun back in the Day, but I would not care to relive it. I have become ancient like Obi Wan. I use the Force for good. And while that can be boring and uneventful, it can also be peaceful and joyful.

May the Force be with You!

 

Darth Vader: "Mine's Bigger"   
Obi Wan: "Darth, size is irrelevant. Mine is of higher quality and my skill is superior"