Barracks Row here in D.C. had a shockingly robust set of Star Wars programming to celebrate Star Wars weekend, America’s third-best secular holiday (Thanksgiving and Halloween beat it out, don’t blame me I don’t make the rules). Chief among them was a screening of Star Wars at the Miracle Theater. It was the first time since 1997 that I saw an entry of the original trilogy in a movie theater, and it was glorious. Admittedly the film we saw was a version reflecting the tweaks George Lucas made to the 1977 theatrical release, most notably for the 1997 re-release celebrating the twentieth anniversary of the saga.1
How did a movie I’ve seen countless times play in a theater? A few observations:
It’s really funny! Almost every one of C-3PO’s lines is hilariously self-absorbed, clueless, or simply searching for ways to shift blame for his various predicaments to his longsuffering astromech droid companion. Sitting in the dark with no phone forces you to pay attention during moments where you might turn to a distraction if you’re watching at home.
The sound was spectacular. The binary sunset scene is my favorite one in the entire franchise, and the swelling music has never hit as hard as it did in that theater.
Luke literally kicking rocks feels a little on-the-nose, but nothing’s perfect.
Alec Guinness is really good in this movie. Where Mark Hamill often overacts, Guinness is understated, making him an excellent scene partner for the youngster.
Practical > digital - the computer-generated spaceships added in to the 1997 version just don’t look as good as good ol’ fashioned models.
For this movie, the theatrical experience makes a difference. I’ve been a skeptic of this point as applied to many films. It has never been easier to dial up any classic film you might want to watch on a large, high-quality screen at home. But the communal experience of enjoying the same film in a room with other dedicated fans is special. Some laughs were reactions to the writing in the script (see C-3PO, above), while others had more to do with the common cultural memes that have cropped up around the trilogy over the last 48-ish years, like stormtroopers’ notoriously poor marksmanship. In the case of the latter, the show felt almost like a screening of a cult film, like Rocky Horror Picture Show or The Room. Seeing it in a room full of people allowed me to see it through their eyes - some lines that got laughs from the audience surprised me - and to come away with new appreciation for a film that I’ve seen countless times. Can’t get that on the couch.
On a business note, I would have paid ten times the $8 ticket price for the experience described above. I don’t know why Disney doesn’t just rotate through re-releases of the original trilogy every May 4. In a world where Episode III can generate $50 million from a twentieth-anniversary release, putting the original trilogy back to work in theaters would be found money. Iger, call me!
Remember, the Force will be with you…always.
I’m a lawyer, but not your lawyer. The views expressed above (“Views”) are not legal advice. Views are mine alone (and I don’t even know that I’ll stick to them, if pressed). Views should not be attributed to anybody else, including (but not limited to) my employer, employer’s clients, friends, family, or pets (current, former, or future).
You can see a catalog of the changes, and when they were made, here via Empire. There is some hope for the original version, however: the British Film Institute will reportedly screen the 1977 theatrical cut this summer.