Friday, May 21, 2010
Coming Attractions: THE EMPIRE STRIKES BACK (1980) Theatrical Trailer
Thirty(!) years ago today, the first (and still the best) Star Wars sequel, The Empire Strikes Back, was released to theaters. I vividly remember standing in line at the long gone and forgotten, one-screen movie theater at the Turnpike Mall in Augusta, Maine (same screen where I saw Star Trek- The Motion Picture and Moonraker), wearing a bright orange T-shirt with an image of Darth Vader holding his lightsaber on the front.
I was fifteen.
A long time ago and far, far away, indeed.....
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I was a few weeks away from 8 years old but I remember seeing it in Springfield, MO. Don't remember which theater but I remember my parents and I making the trip from our small town specifically to see the movie. I think we saw it three times that summer.
ReplyDeleteI was 11 and I saw it with my dad (who was very excited to see it) and my brother and sister at the Illinois Theatre in Jacksonville, IL.
ReplyDeleteGreat memories.
I am consistently struck by how cheesy looking-and-sounding and badly-edited trailers were then. They come off as really amateurish.
ReplyDeleteThe pacing is off, it doesn't use the official titles, the pronunciations are odd. It's almost like the trailers were done by some third-party, and not the studio.
Man, that was an awful trailer! Gareth-Michael is right-- it plays like a bad fan redo.
ReplyDeleteAnd was that Harrison Ford doing the voice-over, or just an incredibly bad simulation?
Apparently that was, indeed, Harrison Ford narrating.
ReplyDeleteI didn't even see it in the theater. Having seen the first one, I was pretty much "ho-hum." In spite of the fact that SF in theaters was rare at the time, I just wasn't that worked up about a reboot of the old pulp movie serials. After all, I'd seen Buster Crabbe as Flash Gordon and Buck Rogers, so... why bother?
ReplyDeleteI also didn't see Indiana Jones. It wasn't until years later that friends persuaded me to give them a try. And I have a good friend who works for Lucas! You'd think I'd have been more interested. Eh. They're fun now.
I remember cutting school back in the 4th grade to go with my brother & friends to the Lowe's Astor Plaza in New York City (Now the Nokia Theatre) we stood on line since 7am opening day & made the second showing. What memories!
ReplyDeleteRegarding the trailer, a shame they never used that scene when C-3PO tore off the "do not enter" sticker on that door then having the chasing snowtroopers run into the holding room to find multiple wampas waiting for them!
Sorry guys, but that was awesome. Sure, old trailers tended to be awful (they weren't a 'high art' yet), but that one really captures the head-exploding anticipation we felt as teen-age geeks back then. I got chills watching it just now (and was a little sad, knowing how the rest of the series eventually turns out.)
ReplyDeleteI saw this at a drive-in theater when I was 8. Yes, a drive-in! Same place I saw "Star Wars" (before there was any of this ANH nonsense). I had to wait until my parents could take me, so we saw it later in the run, but that didn't matter because the screens at the drive-in were so HUGE compared to indoor theaters. The Hoth sequence was just EPIC on that big screen.
ReplyDeleteAnybody else freaked out by the "Ugh!"-naughts?
I couldn't help but think of "Blade Runner" (the theatrical release) when I read Joseph's comment, i.e., Harrison Ford's narration. Yes, the trailer seems cheesy to our eyes now, but I can imagine how excited children would have been to see it in 1979/80. I recall watching "The Empire Strikes Back" with my family at a theater in the Temple Texas Mall at age 10. I don't recall if it had multiple screens or not, but the theater seemed so new and the screen was one of those that almost touched the floor - it all seemed very high tech at the time. I was struck by the variety of planets and environments, and the stories that the characters brought with them - a multi-layered story which audiences of all ages could appreciate (unlike some other Star Wars episodes).
ReplyDeleteAn element of Empire that doesn't seem to receive much coverage is the sound design and effects. I was (and am still) especially impressed with the sounds in the carbon freezing chamber - the sound of the machinery moving and other sounds during Luke and Darth's duel still seem very creepy!
Thank you for posting the trailer, and all of the memories. Empire is at the top of the list in my book!
I saw this back August of 1979 when the original SW was released for a two week showing, And I have to say the trailer was amazing, I think it's easy to criticize these old trailers having already seen the films and knowing all the parts etc... But because the whole model and presentation of film trailers now a days is much different than what we saw back in the day,we're use to today's trailers. Just my 2 cents.
ReplyDelete