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[Sir_Crocodile]

I think there is a LOT of revisionist history that takes place regarding people disliking the prequels, especially as they were coming out. People trying their best to make it seem like majority of people hated them or disliked them in that moment. Trying their best to convince others to dislike it along with them. Yet the success of them fly in the face of that. Even now while people might prefer the OT I don't think people hate the prequel. I think there is a group of fans that wish people did though for whatever reason.

I literally know no people who liked the 2 & 3 prequels as they were coming out. Phantom Menace was slightly different as some people were still trying to make themselves believe it was good, like what happened with matrix reloaded.

 

[David Incorporated Esq.]

I literally know no people who liked the 2 & 3 prequels as they were coming out. Phantom Menace was slightly different as some people were still trying to make themselves believe it was good, like what happened with matrix reloaded.

It took me two viewings of Phantom Menace to peel back the veneer of nostalgia and hype to realize that it was a steaming pile of shit.

 

[AgentOtaku]

For me, most of my fandom was in the EU and THX remasters during the early 90s. After that, I was IN LOVE with the LucasArts games like Shadows of the Empire, Dark Forces, Kyle Katarn, etc.
I also POURED over those LucasArts catalogs that came with the games. You know the ones.... like where you could buy Indy's fedora, SNES Games, adventure games, etc.

I've always loved RotJ btw. Only got to see A New Hope during the rerelease though...

Then 1999 happened....

 

[LastNac]

For me, most of my fandom was in the EU and THX remasters during the early 90s. After that, I was IN LOVE with the LucasArts games like Shadows of the Empire, Dark Forces, Kyle Katarn, etc.

I've always loved RotJ btw....

This guy knows what's up.

 

[besada]

First, there was a lot less fandom. For everything. Fandom requires connection, and we just had less of it.

I saw the first two movies in the theater (because I am ancient and decrepit) and my general impression at the time was that we liked the original and we LOVED Empire Strikes Back, and then the fandom was violently divided over RotJ. Mostly focusing on the Ewoks and the re-use of the Death Star. I never saw the third one in the theater because it seemed significantly dumber than the first two.

Instead, I stayed home, read Splinter of the Mind's Eye again, and began considering that Lucas might not be the science fiction master we had once assumed.

 

[FriedConsole]

Fandom was less cynical as it is now. That is mostly because of the Internet than the prequels.

Although back then you were persecuted for being a nerd who loved comic books, Star Trek, and Star Wars. I remember being bullied so much I wouldn't wear any nerd shirts with the delusion it would help.

These days you are persecuted if you aren't a nerd and like sports. Any kids that think they are bullied for liking geeky things these days have no fucking clue what it was like to grow up a nerd in the 80's.

 

[Shanks D Zoro]

First, there was a lot less fandom. For everything. Fandom requires connection, and we just had less of it.

I saw the first two movies in the theater (because I am ancient and decrepit) and my general impression at the time was that we liked the original and we LOVED Empire Strikes Back, and then the fandom was violently divided over RotJ. Mostly focusing on the Ewoks and the re-use of the Death Star. I never saw the third one in the theater because it seemed significantly dumber than the first two.

Instead, I stayed home, read Splinter of the Mind's Eye again, and began considering that Lucas might not be the science fiction master we had once assumed.

That is interesting that at the time people didn't like the re-use of the Death Star. Makes perfect sense for me that they re-used it. It was after all the ultimate weapon of destruction. Just needed to fix that one design flaw and they would have been good to go.

 

[andymcc]

Same here. People LOVED Episode 1 when it came out. I know a lot of people who saw it multiple times in theaters, who now claim they hated it from day 1. Personally I think the prequels, especially episode 1, get a lot of undeserved hate. For me if you cut the pod race down to like a 5 minute sequence, and cut down the amount of screen time Jar Jar got, it's a great SW movie.

I remember a Newsweek article for Attack of the Clones (a few weeks before it came out) that described how much of an utter disappointment Phantom Menace was and how Attack of the Clones would hopefully redeem Star Wars. It had tons of choice review responses, fan criticisms, disappointing merch sales charts, etc.

I saw Phantom Menace a few times in theaters with friends and we were all pretty disappointed but went because it was Star Wars. I can't remember anyone that wasn't a kid that "loved" it.

 

[andycapps]

I was born in 83, so I can't say that I remember seeing any of the originals in the theater. My first exposure to them was on the horrible VHS format. The THX remasters were great though once those came out.

Eventually they released the revised versions in theaters, and I remember seeing them in a packed theater and everyone was cheering when the lights went down and we were so excited to see the star destroyer fly over the camera. They were pretty good, but I remember getting to Jabba and seeing Han walk around him and step on his tail and I just thought it was lame. The overall experience of getting to see something that I'd only seen up to that point on VHS in the theater was awesome, though.

I've never understood the hate for ROTJ, it's definitely the weakest of the three, but it's still a pretty great movie with some awesome parts.

As far as TPM, I really wanted to like it, and I think I was in denial about how bad it was for a while. Really the only good parts were the pod race, the end, and the soundtrack. I was craving more Star Wars so badly that I wanted it to be awesome, but Jar Jar Binks, and flat acting, and just everything.. It was really bad.

 

[Aaron Strife]

I really miss pre-prequels George Lucas. Back when they would put clips of him before the movies on VHS rattling off wisdom like this all-knowing guru of filmmaking. Like "A special effect without a story is a very boring thing." It contributed to the mysticism of the series that it was one guy who came up with everything (then you realize it was much more of a collaborative effort than what was led on, and that Lucas wasn't a huge driving force behind what made the original trilogy great).

 

[Wubby]

Pre-1999 was when I was really a Star Wars fan.

I'm 34.

I got into Star Wars after reading the Thrawn Trilogy. I still remember I picked up the first book at a shop in California called Fedco (my mom always shopped there).

After that I read all the other books they published and bought all the Dark Horse comics. I used to save my lunch money and walk to the comic shop every week to pick up the latest issues.

West End Games had a cool little RPG series at that time. I loved buying the books as they had great line art drawings of the ships and all the technical specs. I never played the game though.

I had also subscribed to the Star Wars Insider at some point in the mid-90's. The only thing I have left from this is a bumper sticker that came with the welcome package that says 'I'm a Star Wars fan, Honk if you (picture of R2-D2)'

Lucas Arts games (love Tie Fighter! and the original Dark Forces), Decipher also made a Star Wars CCG around then. Kenner started releasing new Star Wars figures in the 90's and the MPC Star Wars model kits could still be found in hobby shops.

No one else I knew really cared for Star Wars much back then. I was the only fan in my high school actually. I finally got onto the internet with AOL around 97 I think. My first username was BaronFel which was from the X-Wing comics.

So what others thought I had no idea. Didn't really care either. I kind of stopped being a fan before the prequels even came out. I had gotten a job at Disneyland, a girlfriend and my hobby had moved onto collecting old Atari & other video games by that point.

That's just my story as a Star Wars fan in the mid 90's.

 

[Forkball]

I expanded a bit more in the other Star Wars thread, but even as a kid I could feel a major difference between the OT and Episode 1. The film certainly got a ton of criticism when it came out, even though it did massive at the box office. It was even trumped by The Matrix in the special effects department. Look at the box office for the prequel trilogy:

Episode 1: Domestic 474 mill, Foreign 552 mil
Episode 2: Domestic 310 mil, 338 mil
Episode 3: Domestic 380 mil, 468 mil

You could argue that Episode 1 was a cultural phenomenon (it was) with a hype that has rarely been rivaled, but you can certainly see the clear drop. Considering this was the time that other big sci fi and fantasy franchises like Matrix, Spidey, X-Men, Lord of the Rings, Harry Potter etc. were all becoming huge, Star Wars was really left in the dust as fandoms in other franchises grew.

 

[FriedConsole]

I really miss pre-prequels George Lucas. Back when they would put clips of him before the movies on VHS rattling off wisdom like this all-knowing guru of filmmaking. Like "A special effect without a story is a very boring thing." It contributed to the mysticism of the series that it was one guy who came up with everything (then you realize it was much more of a collaborative effort than what was led on, and that Lucas wasn't a huge driving force behind what made the original trilogy great).

Yep there was definitely a worship of Lucas back then as if he was this genius (despite Howard the Duck) that he was holding back on some awesome movies. That is why I can never just watch a movie just because of a name like some people can like Joss Whedon, JJ Abrams or Christopher Nolan because I learned that there is no such thing as born creative geniuses. People that create great works produced a lot of shit to make something great and then are capable of making crap afterwards. Sometimes luck happens and movies are really group collaborations of 10,000 people. Names attached to creative works don't mean shit.

 

[Count Dookkake]

I'm 42. We didn't have an internet to bitch on. We didn't have discs that we could watch frame by frame renderings of the movie. We didn't have YouTube where we could take those movies and rip the living shit out of them with endless waterfalls of snark. I was sad when the Ewok got blasted. That's how invested I was.

I was 10 when rotj came out and I'm not completely sure at that time if I even remembered that Vader was Luke's father. But I still saw the movies over and over again in the theater because they were magical. But I digress.

When the movies came on television, the world stopped. The idea of owning it was far fetched, to me. So the movies still held a mystic quality to them. An unfair reverence. When I thought the movies were done the video games filled the gap. I never read the fiction because I thought it would have taken away from the original story.

Movies cannot be made the same way these days. They have to be so much better, so much smarter. So many people refuse to suspend their disbelief and need to make the film a two way experience with live tweeting, immediate YouTube reviews, forum posts to compare notes, stuff like that. Star Wars' original trilogy was released at just the right time. You could go to the movie, watch it, and then think about it.

Coun Dookakke gets it. I wish I had some of his abilities to see this stuff. I fall prey to the snark. Sometimes it's like movies are a magic eye puzzle, and the internet can't see the picture because it's dumb to try.

Just my (probably not well thought out) opinion.

Thanks for the nice compliment.

Huh? His contributions were basically "Kevin Smith made people hate Jedi." And he's not really correct on that assumption, at least not on the scale he was suggesting.

Lol, you misread completely his point. He wasn't even referring to my comments in this thread.

Haha. What a depressing thread where we have to out-yelling at clouds each other.
I just remember everyone was PSYCHED about Darth Maul and then he turned out to be a lame minor character.

Ha.

 

[inm8num2]

Anybody remember these interviews with Leonard Maltin on the 1995 home video release of the OT?

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xb0c_9zc7Zg

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Wc9kGZ57q5M

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yIIukEukrOA

 

[Sir_Crocodile]

I always thought darth maul would come back in films 2 & 3 with robotic spider legs like the MT-AT

 

[Red Mage]

We were happy to have the Special Editions. The changes weren't really important until after they sunk in a bit. Getting to experience Star Wars in theaters was incredible for the generations that revered it but were too young or not alive when they originally released.

As for the prequels, it was pure excitement until release day. Then the backlash was instant. No slow burn like the hate for the Special Edition changes. All the excitement over being there for a new Star Wars vanished overnight.

Say what you will about RotJ, nothing prepared us for the likes of Little Ani and Jar Jar, or the disappointment of the marketing hyped villain turning out to be a punk who said one line before being quite literally dumped.

This. Keep in mind that the initial Special Editions didn't have nearly as many changes as they do now. A lot of it was minor things like removing the black lines around cockpits or digitally adding more windows to Cloud City to make it seem more open. One of my favorite edits is in ESB, when Luke faces Vader. In the original, there's a noticable change in position from where Luke's hands are before he draws his saber to when he ignites it. The Special Edition added a little bit where Luke's hands move back slowly as he prepares to draw the weapon. The only real warning sign of things to come was that awful music scene in RotJ.

 

[Servbot24]

I remember that even as a kid I could tell that Episode I was shit. I remember walking out of the theater after II trying to convince myself it wasn't that bad. And III I genuinely enjoyed to a tepid degree.

Spoiler

Originally wrote "I remember that even as a kid I could tell that I was shit."

 

[Mighty Chin]

I'm 42. We didn't have an internet to bitch on. We didn't have discs that we could watch frame by frame renderings of the movie. We didn't have YouTube where we could take those movies and rip the living shit out of them with endless waterfalls of snark. I was sad when the Ewok got blasted. That's how invested I was.

I was 10 when rotj came out and I'm not completely sure at that time if I even remembered that Vader was Luke's father. But I still saw the movies over and over again in the theater because they were magical. But I digress.

When the movies came on television, the world stopped. The idea of owning it was far fetched, to me. So the movies still held a mystic quality to them. An unfair reverence. When I thought the movies were done the video games filled the gap. I never read the fiction because I thought it would have taken away from the original story.

Movies cannot be made the same way these days. They have to be so much better, so much smarter. So many people refuse to suspend their disbelief and need to make the film a two way experience with live tweeting, immediate YouTube reviews, forum posts to compare notes, stuff like that. Star Wars' original trilogy was released at just the right time. You could go to the movie, watch it, and then think about it.

Coun Dookakke gets it. I wish I had some of his abilities to see this stuff. I fall prey to the snark. Sometimes it's like movies are a magic eye puzzle, and the internet can't see the picture because it's dumb to try.

Just my (probably not well thought out) opinion.

My Goodness. Did I blackout and write this? These are my thoughts exactly.

I'm 42 as well, when that Ewok got killed I was wrecked.

 

[Chococat]

Never saw ANH or Empire as a kid. I did get to listen to the radio play version late at night (Mom let us stay up past 11pm to let us listen to the series). I saw both on VHS before getting to see ROTJ in the theaters.

I have a soft spot for ROTJ because it was one of the few movies a got to see in the theater. The Ewoks do not bother me much- the Gungans retroactively made them better LOL. What bother me about ROTH was the reuse of the Death Star plot. Seriously? Lucus only had one decent final battle arc in his head, and had to reuse it in the same trilogy?

The saving of Han from Jabba and Luke vs Vader vs the Emperor are strong enough to carry the film for me. The Ewoks are a nice diversion from the reused space battle.

I saw PM twice in the theaters- once in anticipation a the start of a good trilogy, the second time to figure out if I missed something in the first viewing. I didn't miss anything, there was no substance to the film. I felt dirty cause a bought a Jar Jar figure before seeing the film cause I thought his race looked cool. After the second viewing, I tossed the figure...LOL.

The first Clone Wars cartoon with Grevious got me excited for AotC, so I went giving the series a second chance. Mistake- it was worse than the first. The turned Grievious from a real threat to a Snidely Whiplash villain. While leaving the theater, a kid told his dad "Spiderman was better". We agreed.

Watched a crappy pirated copy of RotJ (I was sick during opening weekend). Even though it was the best of the three, I waited to it hit the dollar theater to see it proper. Didn't help.

 

[v0yce]

I wasn't really on the net at the time, but at least in my circle, prior to TPM we were out of our minds for Star Wars and couldn't wait for the prequels which would be amazing, blow our minds, etc. I mean, how could they not? It's Star Wars!

The new content in the special editions was hit or miss. New explosions and fly by's and all was cool, Jabba in New Hope was stupid but it was fun seeing new SW footage. All that was fine because, at the time, I thought of it just as a fun side thing and had no idea Lucas was going to force that as THE edition of SW and we wouldn't have access to the unaltered originals. Plus I got to see Star Wars in a theater. Awesome!

So when Episode 1 comes, me and my friends all get together the night before and marathon the originals, watch the incredible trailer a dozens times, drool over that poster with young Anakin with the Vader shadow, talk about what we think is going to happen, etc, etc. The biggest/best theater near us was going to start shows early the next morning at 7 (no midnight showings during those days). So of course we get there like an hour early and geek out the whole time we're in line.

...

And then we watch TPM.

I'm sitting there in my seat bewildered at why I'm not loving this. And I try and convince myself that it's because I'm tired from hardly sleeping and it being early and all. So Ep I ends on a bit of an up tick with the Darth Maul battle and the music and sly Palpatine speak and we're kind of in a daze as we leave the theater and we notice there's not much of a line for the next show time. "Let's watch it agian! OK!"

...

And we watch it again.

So back we go for a double dip. And as soon as Jar Jar hits the screen for my second viewing, I in to grips with the fact that the once bulletproof (to me) Star Wars was now crap. It was crushing. "Midichlorians? Are you an angel? Jar Jar!? JAR JAR!?"

I had a bit of hope that it was a one time slip up and Clone Wars could salvage the project, but obviously after seeing that, all hope was. And no, there was not another. I had super low expectations for Ep III and it still went south of those.

I still love Star Wars though. RotJ is awesome regardless of Ewok silliness.

 

[Shin Johnpv]

I remember a Newsweek article for Attack of the Clones (a few weeks before it came out) that described how much of an utter disappointment Phantom Menace was and how Attack of the Clones would hopefully redeem Star Wars. It had tons of choice review responses, fan criticisms, disappointing merch sales charts, etc

Attack of the Clones was 3 years after Phantom Menace came out. When PM was in theaters and even that first year after, I knew maybe 1 person and a few critics who didn't like it. I knew people who saw the thing 15 - 20 times in theaters that now claim they hated it and were disappointed with it from day 1. I'm sorry but Star Wars or not, i don't buy that you go see something you hate and are disappointed by multiple times in theaters. Just don't buy it. I'm not saying people are liars, but I think their opinions now are clouding their memories of what they thought then.

 

[Marty Chinn]

This. Keep in mind that the initial Special Editions didn't have nearly as many changes as they do now. A lot of it was minor things like removing the black lines around cockpits or digitally adding more windows to Cloud City to make it seem more open. One of my favorite edits is in ESB, when Luke faces Vader. In the original, there's a noticable change in position from where Luke's hands are before he draws his saber to when he ignites it. The Special Edition added a little bit where Luke's hands move back slowly as he prepares to draw the weapon. The only real warning sign of things to come was that awful music scene in RotJ.

Empire was nearly a perfect upgraded enhancement with the Special Edition release. The only fault it had was Luke screaming.

 

[Bobby Roberts]

Empire was nearly a perfect upgraded enhancement with the Special Edition release. The only fault it had was Luke screaming.

From what I understand, Ben Burtt gave an interview once where he actually talked about the scream, and revealed that the scream was initially in the 70mm soundtrack for Empire at some point, and it got removed along the way - and was then repurposed for Jedi. And when they went back to the sfx stems for the Special Edition restoration, they used some of Empire's original mix.

Essentially, Burtt was trying to say they didn't realize the scream WASN'T supposed to be there.

The whole thing seemed pretty weird.

 

[More Fun To Compute]

Only thing I really remember vaguely from the internet was the battle between Star Wars and Star Trek although both franchises have so thoroughly shit their pants by this point it hardly seems worth mentioning now.

General perception of the movies was that Empire was the best and that Lucas was probably messing around with the originals too much in terms of edits and cgi.

I wasn't that interested in the new movies myself but remember having to go to some awful apple website to watch an early teaser trailer.

 

[Timeaisis]

I was 11 when Episode 1 came out. I remember being disappointed.

Before that, I was your typical Star Wars fan as a kid, but didn't really use the internet enough to know the whole bickering fandom yet. Even I knew the '97 remaster were meh, though. So there's that.

 

[Bobby Roberts]

Actually, my most disliked change in Empire isn't even the scream - it's the deletion of "Bring my Shuttle."

That line reading was GREAT. You could tell dude was fucking SEETHING.

 

[inm8num2]

Temeura Morrison's readings in the 2004+ version of ESB are horrendous.

 

[NYR]

Never forget


http://youtu.be/I6hOlI9cg4o

Best example of the "amazing trailer to shitty movie" ratio of all time.

 

[Wolfgunblood Garopa]

I didn't know a single person who had a problem with it pre-web/Clerks.

Same. I saw Jedi in the theater as a kid, it was awesome. I didn't know it was disliked by anyone until more internet-type discussion during the re-releases.

 

[A_Gorilla]

Temeura Morrison's readings in the 2004+ version of ESB are horrendous.

He literally did them over the phone.

 

[TreIII]

30 years old, here.

Back in the early 90s, I got into Star Wars via the multiple syndicated airings on USA back in the day, which my Dad eventually recorded off of TV with the VCR. I got hooked, and so that's what inspired me to get into playing the games and reading the books (because after all, mother dearest was just happy to see me reading~)!

By the time the Special Editions rolled in, I was in middle school, so it only added to my hype. And then by 1999, I was starting High School. Hype was at feverish pitch. Dad and I went out to see Episode 1 together...and well...let's just say that since I grew up in a family that did not care for the Ewoks, that Jar Jar's shenanigans did nothing for us. And the story itself just left us bored to tears. Because of that bad impression, I didn't even bother to see those sequels in theaters and just waited for the DVDs, preferring to stick with the books and games like I had been for years.

But at the least, I'll say that growing up in the 90s, when all this stuff was available for someone who was raised on watching the original movies on TV made for great times. And I made some cool friends in the midst of it!

 

[inm8num2]

He literally did them over the phone.

It's just so lazy and lifeless.

The voice was a big reason Boba Fett became a fan favorite in the 90s - his few lines were so menacing. The character was cool and scary at the same time.

And it's not like the voice has to be the same as Jango's for continuity's sake. There's such a thing as mutation which could cause clones with the same DNA to have slightly different voices.

 

[RottenTanuki]

For my group of friends, we just loved the stuff pre-1997. We were into the Dark Horse comics like Dark Empire, the games like Dark Forces and X-Wing and the (beefed up) action figures were super cool. There was not a lot of hate, except for the made for TV Ewok movies.

 

[BocoDragon]

It's just so lazy and lifeless.

The voice was a big reason Boba Fett became a fan favorite in the 90s - his few lines were so menacing. The character was cool and scary at the same time.

And it's not like the voice has to be the same as Jango's for continuity's sake. There's such a thing as mutation which could cause clones with the same DNA to have slightly different voices.

People often sound different enough from their parents... But mainly, why would the accent be passed on? Those clones were raised on Kamino, not New Zealand.

 

[kame-sennin]

We were happy to have the Special Editions. The changes weren't really important until after they sunk in a bit. Getting to experience Star Wars in theaters was incredible for the generations that revered it but were too young or not alive when they originally released.

Yup. My first theatrical viewing of the original trilogy was the special editions and I loved it. I knew some of it was unnecessary, but I gave it a pass at the time. The prequels were what shattered the goodwill of the fan base. There were always disagreements on which films were better, but they were subtler arguments like whether you prefer pie or cake. Then the prequels came out and it made a huge crack in the edifice of sanctity that Star Wars had. Slowly, the floodgates opened and major criticisms of the prequels, the special editions, and the originals came out, dividing the fan base. Prior to that, I never saw the animosity between Star Wars fans that you see now.

i don't even remember when i started thinking ill of the phantom menace. there was a point after it had released, but before attack of the clones was out that the backlash had really began in earnest, and i remember watching it on tape and actually enjoying it for what it was. after that, and before the plinkett review, i had started to dislike the movies in the prequel series, one by one. it's actually to the point where i can't work up any excitement for episode vii.

Yea, as a 14 year old boy, I really enjoyed the Phantom Menace, even on multiple rematches. I think I would just zone out during the shitty parts and then salivate over the action scenes. It was AoTC that broke me. I remember being disappointed in the theater because it was so fucking dull. After that, I had to admit that the prequels were shit.

 

[Random Painted HIghway]

I had this book.

Clerks? No, we were jaded well before that with the reality that was the ewok movies.

 

[inm8num2]

For my group of friends, we just loved the stuff pre-1997. We were into the Dark Horse comics like Dark Empire, the games like Dark Forces and X-Wing and the (beefed up) action figures were super cool. There was not a lot of hate, except for the made for TV Ewok movies.

Hell yea, the time around 1996-1997 was just awesome. Dark Horse Comics was kickin' it, the collectible card game was still going strong (Did anybody else play that? It was Magic: the Gathering for SW nerds), the video games were pouring out...Just such an enjoyable time to be a SW fan. I miss it.

I disagree about the Ewok movies. Those were badass! Ok, not really, but I liked them well enough.

People often sound different enough from their parents... But mainly, why would the accent be passed on? Those clones were raised on Kamino, not New Zealand.

Haha yea, it's just a pointless, illogical change.

Listen to this.

Now listen to this.

 

[zoozilla]

HOWEVER: I vividly remember this review from AICN's "Alexandra DuPont" as being THE first real shot across the bow. When it dropped, people refused to believe. And then they saw the movie - and had to eat that crow

http://www.dvdjournal.com/news/phantommenace1.html

Man, the comments for that review.

The Internet really hasn't changed a bit.

 

[tuffy]

Actually, my most disliked change in Empire isn't even the scream - it's the deletion of "Bring my Shuttle."

That line reading was GREAT. You could tell dude was fucking SEETHING.

Not only was it a better line with better delivery, but we don't need to actually see a RotJ-style shuttle landing and Vader getting off in order to figure out how he got to the Super Star Destroyer's bridge.

Those changes along with Luke's added scream are all symptomatic of not giving the audience enough credit to figure out what's happening on their own.

 

[Metalmarc]

Im almost 32 now

British so it may be different from how it was in the u.s.a and rest of the world

and as i remember it hardly anyone i knew in school pre-1997 admitted to like Star wars, it was only for true nerds and kids...i even felt embarrassed to admitting i liked it in front of jock kids in my class in 1995 i was 13, but i didn't care i bought the VHS, they were the last ever good editions to come out. (Except laserdiscs, but then laserdisc was never that much a successful format to begin with)

I had one friend who truly admitting liking it more than me, at that point i had got rid of all my action figures that i collected as a kid in the 80's i probably had close to a hundred by the age of 11 yrs old, but then my dad said i was no longer allowed to have "toys" at 11yrs old it was all board games, lego but only technic kind and mecanno (i am now 32 and really sad that i got rid of them thanks to my dad convincing me i needed to grow up haha) but was of course allowed to keep the vhs cos i'd never grow old of star wats

Back to school, with the awkwardness of being 13, slightly geeky so still liking star ward, but in denial so not wanting to come across too geeky i'd never mention it much in my circle of friends, even the non jocks, cos it was thought star wars was ok, but it wasn't the in thing anymore

Maybe it was becoming a teen, wanting to appear more mature, getting into other things like judge Dredd comics because they seem more mature, more grown up and m dad didn't mind me collecting those even being 13, Star Wars was just becoming that good movie i watched sometimes, but i started slipping my interest in it

But then something Happened 1997 Happened, Star Wars came back to the cinema the special, suddenly absolutely everyone was into it again, kids who never seemed to like it suddenly liked it, what the hell?
Maybe it was the excitement generated by the media, interviews with celebs like will smith and the pop stars in fashion at the time like maybe oasis , blur etc and them saying they loved it, suddenly even some of those jocks i knew liked it, we were 15 and i guess it was cool to like it, weird. I remember thinking how odd that now everyone liked it, and felt more comfortable admitting i liked it again

After that time of the 1997 i think star wars has remained a popular thing, but I'm certain there was a period of it almost being forgotten late 80's/early 90's

Also now I'm grown up i realise i was silly for being embarrassed about it in my early teens, because now if it went out of fashion or i was told it was for kids only... I no longer give a shit.

I Like Star Wars and don't give a fuck who knows about it.

 

[GungHo]

I remember people disliking the Ewoks. There was no real hate or anything, just "the cute teddy bears were overly cute kid stuff" (we were old enough to differentiate between kid stuff and non-kid stuff) and "it should have been a bunch of Chewbaccas". I thought the "certain point of view" bullshit from Kenobi was, well, bullshit. Boba Fett getting taken out like a punk didn't really register with a lot of people until later, when people started inventing that Boba Fett was some kind of bad ass in their own, never-written down fan-fiction. No one I knew really went to any sort of Clerks-like analysis regarding the presence of a second Death Star.

 

[TangoAlphaLima]

Attack of the Clones was 3 years after Phantom Menace came out. When PM was in theaters and even that first year after, I knew maybe 1 person and a few critics who didn't like it. I knew people who saw the thing 15 - 20 times in theaters that now claim they hated it and were disappointed with it from day 1. I'm sorry but Star Wars or not, i don't buy that you go see something you hate and are disappointed by multiple times in theaters. Just don't buy it. I'm not saying people are liars, but I think their opinions now are clouding their memories of what they thought then.

Yeah, we were all so eager for more Star Wars that we slurped that Phantom Menace. But, to be fair, you have to remember that it was legitimately amazing in some respects for the time. The lightsaber battles in the OT were very stilted affairs. TPM immediately changed that with Qui-Gonn and Obi-Wan going nuts on those battle droids in the first handful of minutes. Later Darth Maul shows up, and the action gets ratcheted up about a million times.

Sure, the overall plot sucked, and Jar Jar Binks is always and forever an absolutely cringe-worthy character, but TPM was such a new and different Star Wars experience, at least in some respects, that viewing it with rose-colored glasses at that time is forgivable.