@@chrislaidlow3886 Guess I hit a nerve there bub. Off you go, there's a soy latte waiting for you somewhere. Don't forget to pick up your tampons for that mangina of yours also.
It's kinda ironic that social media that was supposed to make us closer actually did the opposite. Look at this wholesome bunch sharing a unique experience together in actual life. I miss those times.
There were assholes back then too believe me. The main difference is that when you went and stood in line like that there was NOTHING to do except TALK TO EACH OTHER! I don't think phones are bad but things are defibrillator different now. Its just the way it is and in many ways its better that we have smart phones. We've lost a lot of that kind of forced interaction. Not necessarily a bad thing just different.
@@notsogreatsword1607 One day, technology will allow everyone to read everyone else's mind and society will just have to deal with it. People will no longer be offended or embarrassed by anything because we all know what everyone else is thinking, but the only thing that matters is our _actions._ For example, mind reading technology will let you know that someone is racist, and they'll know YOU know they're racist, but as long as they treat people equally it ultimately doesn't matter what anyone thinks. You'll know if someone finds you attractive and they'll know if you find them attractive, but it ultimately doesn't matter because attraction is normal, so everyone will just get on with their lives (unless you're both seeking a partner, in which case you two can pair up). I'm not sure where I'm going with this, but I guess I was just thinking about how the technology changes society, itself. In 1980, there were no smartphones, so everyone in public was forced to interact with each other. Perhaps in the future, other kinds of technology will fundamentally change the way social interactions play out. I just used mind reading technology as an example.
@@dignes3446 I saw it in the theater at age 6. I don't remember any lines to get in or anything, but I probably didn't see it opening weekend. I didn't know anything about Star Wars at that time other than that my older brother had a beat up Landspeeder toy in the bathroom. I instantly became obsessed with the movie and the franchise after seeing ROTJ though. Got the other movies in audio cassette storybook versions, started collecting the action figures and bought "knockoff" red and green lightsabers which we fought with inside the house. Every kid at that time had Star Wars merchandise in their house. Always had a lot of debates going on about favorite characters or secret meanings in the plot. Was Boba Fett female? Was Obi-Wan secretly OB-1, a droid?
I prefer watching shit at home but probably the reason why is because I've never experienced a theater like this. The last movie I watched in theaters was Encanto (absolutely amazing shit by the way, 18/10, in the greatest of all time tier of movies) and it was at 9:30 with only 1 other group. Me and my 3 homies I watched it with could've talked freely during the movie if we wanted. Before that, it was Ghostbusters: Afterlife (pretty alright, 7.3/10, better than the original but that's not hard to do) and the theater I watched it at had some pretty terrible seats and the group behind me wouldn't shut the fuck up. Before then, it was almost 2 years ago that I saw Rise of Shitwalker in theaters. Holy fuck I've never seen anything worse in a theater. So yeah, it sucks that I never got to be a part of something like this. I sure do hope a movie that's a genuine masterpiece can get this level of hype around it
@@blitzn00dle50 The problem is with reserved seats and pre-sold tickets, you'll never see lines like this outside a theater again. I've been in some sold out screenings for premieres of movies but it's hard to tell because the seats just slowly fill in.
@@darthnater9731You DEFINITELY didn’t grow up in the early 80’s. I REMEMBER the long gas lines. Hell, I remember when the inflation started in the 70’s!
Nobody is talking about the fact that this film marked the first time we witnessed the debut of the THX Sound System in which has made an impact on the Audio and Filmmaking industry up to this day...
THANKS FOR ALSO NOTICING THAT THIS WAS THE LANDMARK FIRST FILM IN THE SAGA TO USE THX SINCE 1977 and 1980 HAD NO THX BIG AUDIO YET BUT RETURN USED THAT TO PERFECT EFFECT! GEORGE LUCAS LANDMARKED THE SAGA AND JJ ABRAMS ALSO DID SO WITH FORCE AWAKENS AND RIAN JOHNSON DID ALSO FOR LAST JEDI!!!!!!!!!!
Star Wars was always meant to be a 9 part film series according to George Lucas, but he only made 4, 5 and 6 because the technology wasn't advanced enough for him to do the whole thing. That's why it took forever for the other movies to be made.
@@avisco01 I'm not sure how I feel about Lucas doing the sequels. The sequels we got were abysmal, but if Lucas did them he would probably make them about as mid as the original trilogy. Then they'd be torn to shreds by the critics because we all saw what the critics said about the first 2 sequels. But then again, ROTS seemed to take Star Wars in a completely new and significantly better direction, so if Lucas was to make the entire sequel trilogy like ROTS they could end up being really good.
I sometimes wish I could've been born in the late 70s/early 80s. It honestly looks like fun being in those lines for hours, camping in the streets, and chatting with other while waiting for the movies. Nowadays you just click a few buttons on your phone and buy the tickets online.
@@xcell5215 it was! I was a child back then but I still remember seeing empire and return in theatres. I remember the excitement and crowed cheering on opening weekend of both films shown on amazing 70mm. It was a different time back then no tension or anger, people didn’t give a fuck who was president or prime minister depending on what country you lived in. It was just pure and good old fans being fans of a franchise. Now I’m sitting her 46 years old 2021 hating everything. Notice how no one wants to stay in the 2000’s or 2010s, no one wants to go back to the 50s,60s or 70s. Everyone wants to go back to the 80s and 90s it was that glorious and fun. No one gave a fuck who you were in the 80s 90s or what you did either now everything is hate hate hate because the media wants to divide us. Sorry for the rant I hate the 2010s and this new fucked up decade
@@xcell5215 I was born in the 1970s and never stood in a line for a movie until the Spider-Man 3 midnight showing in 2007. I always just waited until the crowds died down to see something. There really was not much opening weekend hype back then. That's a very new phenomenon. These lines you're seeing in these news clips only ever happened in the biggest cities and for probably nothing but Star Wars.
Exactly. Now the message is everybody is grey, the baddies are good guys, the good guys are dark too...even Luke Skywalker, or Jake Skywalker to be precise
Lol what? The movie doesn’t say that it’s just that she says that LIKE WHAT SHE SAYS! Good does prevail and “we will all conquer” in a positive way but not in the way that she says as there’s clearly WAY more to it than that that the movie itself says!
Nothing beats the theater experience for me! The top-notch surround sound, the smell of popcorn and candy, and now a lot of theaters have huge comfy seats that you can pick when you buy your ticket. Watching a new movie at home just isn’t the same, I even love the previews.
I've heard from people over the years that some people disliked Star Wars after 1983 because to them 'ewoks ruined Star Wars'. so even within the OT there's a divide
@Abstract I disagree. Unless you're meaning ONLY LITERALLY being there. But why would you, when this magical effect of the movie (and its tone frame) extends so far as to be felt by people even today?
@Abstract True, you can't interact with them. But you never really would interact much with fellow fans back when these films were released. You just knew they liked the same thing you liked, and it was pretty great to have that community. Same thing here. The guy likes Star Wars, and that resonates with a lot of people. So to me, he's part of our great and crazed Star Wars community; only sensing that enthusiasm, while we can only remember it.
When no spoilers were around, when you had to patience to see something, when you had to plan the evening in advance and be there because you couldn't record nor put it on pause, when you had to take your time to see something, when you REALLY ENJOYED a movie! When you REALLY got surprised... Wonderful!
Cinefantastique Magazine spilled the beans months before it came out, yoda dies, Vader is Luke’s father and the emperor shows up. So, there were spoilers then.
As a 6-year-old kid watching Jedi, I didn't really see it as a movie or a part of the culture. I just believed it was a document of something that really happened out there in space. I think Last Crusade in 1989 was the first time I really felt the hype of anticipating a movie and then also being completely satisfied with the experience. I was hyped for Ghostbusters II too, but it was disappointing. Batman 1989 was a good experience, but I really hadn't been looking forward to it, we just went and saw it because it was constantly in the news.
@@jedijones yeah I saw ROTJ as part of a school excursion back when it released. I wasn't a big Star Wars fan as a kid but sure was hyped after seeing it, making lightsabers out of cricket stumps by painting them green and stuff like that....then it all quickly faded again. Didn't really get hyped over the release of Phantom Menace either, saw it at a social club function where I worked and fell asleep halfway through. Wasn't until AOTC was coming out that I was getting back into Star Wars and becoming a big fan again and of course that skyrocketed as ROTS came out. Ironically, Disney made me an even bigger fan....well, made me appreciate the OT more but also stuff like Rogue One and The Mandalorian were great, though of course the ST left a bit to be desired.
I was there opening day in 1983! Ten years old. Saw it in Louisville, Kentucky. Huge lines around the theater to get in. The movie was awesome, and so was the audience reaction.
This was a time when Star Wars brought the whole country together regardless of color, race political beliefs it was good over evil and Star Wars brought us all together maybe when Star Wars is in a true fans creator again Star wars can bring us all together again like it did for 20 plus years let's hope may the force be with you.
I worked all night the day Jedi was released. I drove to Newberry Park in California to see it on zero sleep. I stood in line three hours to see it the first screening.
Because money was different back then for example of everyone in the world gets paid 8,000 dollars weekly or if we were all rich milk would be 40 dollars or a pack of cigarettes would be 80 bucks
Once again, this is a misconception. THX played in only two theaters during Return of the Jedi. The theaters in this video did not have the THX logo. THX in the old day was a special Theater like IMAX and Dolby Cinema are. THX cannot play in every theater because not all theaters are fit to play THX.
There's actually an interview with Mark Hamill where he said Lucas had plans for prequels next back in 1980. Lucas had the whole saga written down before the first Star wars.
We knew back then, it was always talked about, and even reported on the news as you can see. One of the movie adaptation novels also talked about Darth Vader being burned in lava while fighting Obi-Wan in the Clone Wars. You have to understand once a number like Episode 5 and 6 started appearing on the movies, it sparks conversation about how many other parts there are. The problem is Lucas decided to wrap up the saga early in Return of the Jedi. "The other" would've been Luke's sister, not Leia, who had a bigger part in Episodes 7-9. We didn't realize at the time that Return of the Jedi would be the last movie. People got really bored with Star Wars by 1986 when the other movies didn't materialize.
I'm 57, and yes, that's what it was pretty much like back then.... Block Buster action packed thriller, Enthusiastic people, electricity in the air, the lines and the crowds, $2.50 to $3 movies. People having a great time.
I remember being 9 years old in Neptune, New Jersey eating a McRib combo at McDonald's and then seeing Return of the Jedi for the first time. It was great!
I was 11 years old, did not get to see it on the big screen. Parents going through a divorce so money was tight and the closest theater was 75 miles away. But I can still remember the news and the people standing in line for days, many camping out for a week before the first ticket would sale. Crazy is what I thought, but it is a trend with Star Wars, people that seem like they are from out of this world to camp out at a theater for a week or more. Fuuny thing is I would just wait a couple weeks and the ticket would be just a dollar.
The decline of Star Wars, from the love of all these people in this video for Return of the Jedi, to South Park's satire "put a gay diverse woman in it and make her lame", being fully realized in the Acolyte, is probably the funniest thing I've ever seen in the history of media.
Half the movie experience was waiting in line for an hour or two while anticipation was building in the crowd. Lawn chairs, picnics, card games, radios, pizza runs, and just great conversations. I’m sure these things still happen somewhere but not as much as they used to.
Damn I wish I were born just 3-4 years earlier. At 11 years old I was too young and not into Star Wars to appreciate the madness. Didn't get into this franchise until I was about 14.
I was a baby when it came out so I never saw it until I finished watching a new hope and empire. This was the last good star wars movie alongside revenge of the sith, which I saw at a near sold out crowd at the now closed succasunna cinema. When disney took over, they did ok on force awakens, then released last jedi which was so so. When rise of skywalker came out it was bad. In between there were spinoffs like solo which was good and rogue one which was amazing. A new venture that disney is revisiting but succeeding is television, this time on disney plus with shows such as mando and bad batch which delve deeper into the star wars mythos.
I came here looking for a video showing audience reactions to the ending in the theater. Oh well. I can tell an amusing story for how the ending was received in one suburban theater in my country. A friend from school was taken to see Return of the Jedi on the opening weekend. He told us that when Darth Vader saved Luke by throwing the Emperor into the Death Star reactor core, people cheered. Some were being silly. They put on voices and said, "Yee ha. Hallelujah, brother!"
My dad took me to see it when I was about 4 years old. I since saw it in theaters through the last 40 years about 3 times. I plan to take my 5 year old son for the 40th anniversary re-release this wkend.
i remember paying $5 for the first showing. most moves were $4. but because this ws a STAR WARS movie, the theatre owners jacked up the admission price. and it's funny now cuz we used to think $5 was a lot to see a movie. nowadays it's like $12
Great to see this! I turned 7 the week ROTJ came out, and I saw it in the theater in Sioux Falls, South Dakota. I can't even convey the amount of hype and anticipation there was for this. Everyone wanted to know how it would end. My brother had a friend who claimed that he'd seen it and everyone died; but I knew he was an idiot so I didn't believe him, lol.
3:02 min in the reporter says "Return of the Jedi " is part of a 9 part series." I was led to believe that the series was just three and that Lucas and was making it up as he went along....but how did she know that in 1983?
@@wonderfulwookiee6443 Back in the day, George wasn't sure how many movies he wanted to do (at some point ROTJ was the ninth movie & boba as the main baddie of the episode 5 sequel). Even after that, there was a sequel trilogy script that was written back in the mid/early 80's. Theres a few people who were even under contracts to not release any details about how the stories went.
