Star Wars Day…
A long time ago, in a galaxy far far away…
In 1977, George Lucas unleashed a phenomenon that even now 35 years later is as watchable as it was the day it was released.
Star Wars remains my all time favourite film. There have been others over the years that come close but when I need to escape for a few hours, then out comes the DVD and I’m transported back in time to being a 7 year old sitting in the cinema waiting for the music and the yellow text to disappear into the distance.
Is it just me or is that one of those occasions when you remember where you were when Diana died or when the Challenger blew up. You’ll always remember where you first saw Star Wars?
For me, it was the Plaza Cinema on North Road in Cardiff. The Plaza was just by the Gabalfa Interchange and is now a St John’s Ambulance base. I then remember seeing the film in cinema’s like The Globe on Albany Road and The Monico in Rhiwbina, alas both have now disappeared to be replaced with shopping centers and apartment buildings.
Of course, Lucas managed to destroy the franchise in 1999 when he decided to ignore the lore of the first three films and produce The Phantom Menace. If however you’re able to ignore the inane ramblings of Jar Jar Binks (and his name), then the three films do start to build themselves into the legend of the original movie but albeit slightly contradictoraly.
The story of the Jedi and their extinction at the hands of the Emperor and Vader, a hidden love affair between a Jedi and a member of the Senate and the fact that Padme died in child birth yet Leia telling Luke that she recalled her mother. Come on Lucas!
Anyway because to day it the 4th May, it is Star Wars day and now that the chores have been completed, it’s time to sit down and relive a childhood memory and watch the original three movies.
May the Fourth be with you!
