As I spent many hours on the couch over the past few days fighting a rather ineffective battle against a rather tough virus, I watched more than a few movies, including the entire Star Wars franchise, from "beginning" to end. I had, of course, seen each of the six installments before (some of them, many, many times), but never in deliberative sequence. The experience has made my appreciation for these films grow even greater; and, my regard for the "second" trilogy of films has improved (I had been one of those who were, in general, disappointed by these later films, and thought them inferior to the "first" trilogy).
I can still remember going to see the first Star Wars movie in the theater. I was 7 years old! The theater in Lubbock my parents took me to to see the film no longer stands. The new frontage road for the Marsha Sharp Freeway runs over what was the foundation of the building (across from Jones AT&T Stadium). The moment the John Williams' score kicked in, I was hooked! I still remember waiting three long years for The Empire Strikes Back (saw it at the old Fox 4 Theater in Lubbock . . . now a lake!) and another three years for The Return of the Jedi (saw it at the Winchester Theater in Lubbock . . . now a Market Street supermarket). Then, it was the long 16 year wait for the new movies.
The Star Wars movies may never have received the Oscar-worthy praise of the professional critics, but has there ever been a movie franchise that has had as much of an impact on society as Star Wars? Will there ever be?
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