I know I liked it as a kid, but some parts felt slow and it dragged here and there. I watched it after the trilogy was already world famous, but long before the pre/sequels, so I appreciated how this started it all when SW was big but not overexploited.
I wonder if newer first time viewers, maybe watching it after the prequels and sequels and tv shows etc, find this first one disappointing in any way.
I saw star wars in this order: 1,2,4,5,6,3 and I remember honestly liking it. It was good, well paced entertainment. Lightsaber battles felt disappointing : you see Yoda-Dooku fighting in episode 2 then same day you see Obi Wan vs Darth in episode 4. Of course it feels slow.
shareThanks for the report.
How about the sfx or the limited action, compared to flying jedis and space cities and cgi aliens?
I saw this back in 1977 when I was 11 years old. I have to admit it was one of those movies that I remember the crowd cheering when either Darth got knocked out of the fight or when the Death Star blew up.
However, I remember walking home that night(I lived in a small town of 12,000) not all that impressed. Just 2 years earlier Jaws was much more memorable. Later in 77 I saw Close Encounters I'll admit it was really boring and made Star Wars look like a masterpiece.
What made you feel unimpressed?
Did you have greater expectations?
I saw it closely to ep 5 and 6, and found the fantastic elements of the other two to be more intriguing and impressive, details that created a whole universe like the cloud city or the asteroid with a giant worm. ANH was kinda flat and not very daring in that sense.
I think I felt unimpressed because the previous 5-6 years(1971-1977) a lot of the hit movies had much more adult themes. Whether it was French Connection, Exorcist, Godfather, Jaws, Rocky, All the Presidents Men, Dog Day Afternoon, etc. they were mature, stylish, or somewhat sophisticated. Even though I was 11 years old I wasn't used to seeing a Saturday Matinee movie like Star Wars. I agree it was a great movie, and TESB was even better..but in the 70's a lot of the movie going public might have had a wider taste.
shareNot in the slightest and I'm in my 40s and saw it when I was 3 or 4 on home video. These days I look at it more from a production point of view, discovering new things in each scene and thinking about what it must have been like to make this crazy idea of a film at the time and how they were able to achieve such a big experience on their budget (eg. Jaws $9m in 1975, ANH $11m in 1977, CETK $19m in 1977).
shareThings change over time.
Perhaps as a child, your 7th birthday was the most amazing day of your life. But if you did the same things now, or watched video of it, you might be like, "meh. That was dull. "
This film was game changing at the time, and raised the bar for everything since. Even if it seems dated now, one can't discount the effect.
No, I am more impressed by it now than I was in the 80s.
But I cannot imagine what it must be to watch it after all the sequels, it is such a different perspective than knowing this for decades before the newer ones.
Obviously anyone who watches the movies today for the 1st time will prefer the prequels and the Disney ones to anything in the OT because of the special effects, etc. Kids today watching the OT is too slow and boring. And the light saber battles all suck
shareSo you think anyone who watches the movies today for the 1st time is obviously a moron, that puts flash before substance.
Ok, gotcha.
I saw the first two prequels as a kid then never watched the OT until I started getting interested in film history around late high school. I absolutely loved it. It doesn't feel slow at all to me, but I also watch a lot of older movies where that was just the norm. I find it far more engaging than the Disney ones.
shareThanks for the comment, finally someone that actually did experience this after the followups.
Yes, the OT feels more adult oriented than the rest. And more epic.
I also think the cast itself looks more mature than the rest, Han is a man, Obi Wan in the prequel is not, and the sequels cast is a high school.
I was disappointed that we didn't get to see Princess Leia nude, beyond this, I was not disappointed at all by this film.
Sure, it doesn't portray space travel that well but as with all movies, some liberties have to be taken.
Were you expecting to see any nudity in this?
Or was it a disappointment of a simple hope you formed?
I never found her that attractive, she is not hot nor shapely, barely appears cute when next to Yoda.
And her personality is a major turn off.
Everyone was in love with her. Come on, we all wanted to see Leia nude back in the day.
And she was hot, I'm sure you saw her in ESB when she was wearing the slave outfit.
She was hot in the slave outfit.
Name an actress that would not be hot in it.
Jabba's dancer is way hotter in 5 min than Leia is in 3 movies.
I was never in love with Leia.
"name an actress would not be hot in it"
Rosie O'Donnell. And many more...
Leia was attractive and that cannot be denied. It's quite rare for someone to say she isn't.