My guess is this was shot around May 21, 1980 at the old Esquire theater in Chicago. Disney really killed our Star Wars. But we can go back and feel the love once again.
I wish that kids today could experience what a phenomenon Star Wars was back then. It wasn't just a movie, it was a cultural event, and everyone that went to see it was a part of it. If you were a 10 year old boy in the early 80's, then you loved Star Wars and had some of the figures. It united GenX like nothing else could have.
Multiplexes killed this experience. I remember going to see Revenge of the Sith opening weekend when I was 9 and it was nothing like this. Walked straight in no problem no lines or anything
I was a 10 year old in the 90s. When they remastered the original Star Wars movies and they came out in theaters. And it was bad ass. Waiting outside the theaters with costumes and lightsaber toys.
@@doubleM1986 It was a wild ride. I was in my 20's and we were buying all the re-released figures and books and couldn't wait to see them on the big screen again.
The lines around the block to get into a “real” movie theater. The cheering when the movie title shows up. The blockbuster that was at the same time a work of art. These I will miss sorely.
So much cool stuff I now take for granted. Not to mention the Dagobah system. Over time those Yoda scenes became my favorite of all. Shame Yoda kinda sucked in the prequels.
This was a time when Star wars united the whole country regardless of race skin color or politics it was good versus evil and star wars brought us together I long for the day when Star Wars can bring us together again.
Memory serve me right, I think I waited in line at the Coronet theater in SF for Return of the Jedi. Man the line at the Coronet extended around the block. Coronet is long gone now. The theater was torn down for residential building. The parking lot is now a gas station. I saw Empire at the Castro theater.
What were these people expecting? This is release evening of the sequel to a movie that people would wait 6 hours in line to see. Some guy at 6:34 complained about having been waiting for 45 minutes.....
Terrible policy to sell the tickets at a future time rather than for the people in line currently. This is a fascinating video btw - thank you for posting!! Very cool. Also the guy in the background of the first interview…omg…😂😂😂
Unbelievable footage. What I would’ve done in order to have been there. Imagine seeing the premier of one of the greatest films of all time. Absolutely mind blowing.
infinity war doesnt come close to the anticipation for empire remember we didnt have all these entertainment options people have today . the summer of 1980 was all about star wars and who shot JR Ewing
Too bad Star Wars will never be like that again....Disney is clueless. I feel so bad for that guy that wanted to see it before he joined the service.(6:18)..... I hope he finally got to see it before he left.
@@MediaLoverChris02 because the first trailer made it seem like it would carry the real spirit of Star Wars into a brand new adventure. Ended up being some weird reboot with thick and offensive levels of fan-service. The trailer though? Man it did give me hope that's for sure.
@@halfalligator6518 The Force Awakens is a fantastic movie all around. Even if you’ve never seen a SINGLE STAR WARS MOVIE, The Force Awakens is a great starting point. I’ve never had more fun watching a movie than I have watching The Force Awakens. It was a great burst of energy after the Prequels turned out to be so soul-suckingly BORING. The one where the fan service RUINS it is ROGUE ONE.
I wonder if there was a max ticket sale per purchase? Smart thing to do would be to buy as many as possible, and sell them to people in line for max profit.
I was hyped, I camped out, I was a 16yo absolute Star Wars nutter... a prime target. Even at that age i knew something was horribly wrong at only about 7 minutes past midnight. The stiff lines, the convoluted and silly political crap, the way light-sabres were used so flippantly, the dog-shit all over the place pacing. Jar Jar. The general soullessness and lack of character or swagger. Biggest miss-hit in all cinema history. Oh well... I'll always have Empire.
This video contradicts the lie from Millennials and Zoomers that the original Star Wars movies were made for children, when the queue lines to see the films were mostly comprised of grown ass adults!
Noticed the fans were a mixture of every skin color and ages. Black ppl didn' stay away because they couldn' identify with Luke or Solo. So ppl in Hollywood who tried to tell us about "Modern Audience" are selling lies and nonsense.
You would think she would like all the foot traffic out front of her store. She probably got more exposure for her crappy store. She shoulf be thanking Empire Strikes Back. Lmao!!😂😂😂
