Thatababy by Paul Trap for December 17, 2015

oh, this is going to be quite epic

I never understood the appeal of the first Star Wars movie, let alone all the others. Let’s face it, the plot, characters, and concepts were derivative, the acting (for the most part) was amateurish, and the dialogue (for the whole part) was worse than amateurish. It was a “B” movie with (for its time) “A” special effects. Then, of course, better writers than Lucas (and who isn’t?) got ahold of it……..

Oh yeah!

The Force is strong in this one!

First of all, the special effects of “A New Hope” were much more than “A”. They had professional special-effects men jumping out of their seats, shouting, “My God! Where are the matte lines? I can’t see any matte lines!”

Second, most people had never seen a space movie where the sets looked lived-in.

Third, it was one of the first movies in a generation that put serious effort into an original score.

Fourth, even though it was silly and derivative, it still gave the distinct impression that a good many people involved in making it could actually tell you who John W. Campbell was, and probably Joseph Campbell, too.

Fifth, it was a seriously beautiful piece of cinema.

I like it! (The poem and the movies …)

An early Christmas present!

I saw Star Wars in 1977 and Battlestar Gallactica in 1978, still my favorite space movies.

Who saw the first showing?

Who got the Star Wars shirts?