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I saw Star Wars on the 68-foot-wide screen at the David Geffen theater in Los Angeles on Tuesday, May 31.
My father died unexpectedly in January. He was a huge film buff who documented every movie he watched on an index card. A couple of years ago I showed him how to transfer his "list" to Letterboxd.com. He had a few titles that weren't in their database and figured out how to get the site to add them. His final count was 12,637.
I believe he took me to a few Disney re-releases as a toddler, but the first movie I remember him taking me to was Star Wars. I had just turned six. When Darth Vader appeared, I told him I was scared and wanted to leave. We left our seats, walked up the aisle, and he encouraged me to watch from the back corner. A few minutes later, I told him we should go sit down. I loved the movie and ended up working for LucasArts years later, though I'm now a "grumpy" Star Wars fan. I don't care much for the new stuff and hate the changes made to the originals over the years. Getting to see Star Wars on the big screen again was a bittersweet experience. I had Dad's card in my pocket.
The Academy showed a 70MM Kodak print from 1981. It included the added subtitle (which screws up the timing of Williams' crescendo when Tatooine appears), but none of the other changes.
I sat in the center of the 4th row. The print looked absolutely amazing. Once we got past the Fox logo, there wasn't any dirt and there were never any scratches. The image was rock-solid steady, bright, and colorful. The sound was rich and expansive and the surrounds were definitely active. ("I think we took a wrong turn" echoed behind us.)
There were two very minor splice interruptions where the film had torn in the past. Unfortunately, there is now a third, because the film broke as the Falcon approached the Death Star, which stopped the movie for three or four minutes.
The (packed) audience was great. There were chuckles here and there, along with cheers and applause when Greedo went down and at the climax of the film.
If they ever show this print again, it's worth the trip.
My father died unexpectedly in January. He was a huge film buff who documented every movie he watched on an index card. A couple of years ago I showed him how to transfer his "list" to Letterboxd.com. He had a few titles that weren't in their database and figured out how to get the site to add them. His final count was 12,637.
I believe he took me to a few Disney re-releases as a toddler, but the first movie I remember him taking me to was Star Wars. I had just turned six. When Darth Vader appeared, I told him I was scared and wanted to leave. We left our seats, walked up the aisle, and he encouraged me to watch from the back corner. A few minutes later, I told him we should go sit down. I loved the movie and ended up working for LucasArts years later, though I'm now a "grumpy" Star Wars fan. I don't care much for the new stuff and hate the changes made to the originals over the years. Getting to see Star Wars on the big screen again was a bittersweet experience. I had Dad's card in my pocket.
The Academy showed a 70MM Kodak print from 1981. It included the added subtitle (which screws up the timing of Williams' crescendo when Tatooine appears), but none of the other changes.
I sat in the center of the 4th row. The print looked absolutely amazing. Once we got past the Fox logo, there wasn't any dirt and there were never any scratches. The image was rock-solid steady, bright, and colorful. The sound was rich and expansive and the surrounds were definitely active. ("I think we took a wrong turn" echoed behind us.)
There were two very minor splice interruptions where the film had torn in the past. Unfortunately, there is now a third, because the film broke as the Falcon approached the Death Star, which stopped the movie for three or four minutes.
The (packed) audience was great. There were chuckles here and there, along with cheers and applause when Greedo went down and at the climax of the film.
If they ever show this print again, it's worth the trip.
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