The Star Wars Films: What is your 'Star Wars' Memory?

Star Wars is back. “Star Wars: Episode VIII The Last Jedi” is out, and it seems that you are either a huge fan, or couldn’t care less.

These films have endured for decades, from generation to generation and century to century. Are you surprised to learn that there are five Star Wars episodes in the top 20 top-grossing films of all time (adjusted for inflation)? They make up a quarter of the top films in history.

Do you have a Star Wars story? Are you a first generationer from the ‘70s, or a Millennial who saw the first three films re-issued in the late ‘90s? Did you endure Jar-Jar Binx in Star Wars: Episode I The Phantom Menace, and still come back for more? Could this week’s release actually be your first foray into the series?   

I have many Star Wars stories, but I didn’t start off like many – in those long lines during the summer of 1977 (when Time magazine named Star Wars The Year's Best Movie). My sister and I were living in a time and land far, far away, too…so, let’s skip that story.

Star Wars: Episode V – The Empire Strikes Back came out while I was in college. I saw a special sneak preview with my best friend, Ski, but we took an alternative reality route in honor of George Lucas, and were almost kicked out of the preview…so let’s skip that story, too.

I did spend hours in line with my girlfriend for 1983’s Star Wars: Episode VI Return of The Jedi. We later got married…and she still sometimes reverses words in her sentences, like Yoda. But that’s also a different story.  

What is one of your best memories of seeing a Star Wars film?