[RCL]

May 25 1977, the first and best rendition of "the hero's journey," as laid out by Joseph Campbell. I'm somewhere in that line in Westwood, at least for the second time!

https://flashbak.com/waiting-in-line...77-2000-26505/

[John Isbell]

Interesting to see just how male those lines are. Gives a whole new meaning to "hero's journey."

Cheers,
John

[Jim Moonan]

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There's something conflicting about the prospect of standing in long lines. For me at least. I am one of those who has zero interest in Star Wars. I've never seen any Star Wars films, etc. It's all lost on me. Chances are if I gave it a chance I'd at least be entertained. The longer the wait in line the more likely it is I'll be disappointed. It's a Godot thing.

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[Julie Steiner]

Pre-COVID, my geeky daughters and their geeky friends would sometimes wait in long lines to attend the first showing of a movie together. There's an element of pilgrimage and virtue-signaling: see what extremes I will suffer to prove my devotion, etc. Best is if the long lines are for a midnight showing, so the suffering continues even as you wearily leave the theater. (And perhaps even better if the movie itself turns out to be disappointing crap. Yes, I'm looking at you, Star Wars prequel trilogy.)

And there's also the element of fellowship/belonging to a larger movement, finding one's tribe beyond one's immediate circle, etc. Remember how much more difficult this was in the 1970s than in the era of the World Wide Web. You had to show up to Renaissance faires (or better yet, tournaments of the Society for Creative Anachronism), or head to the then-brand-new San Diego Comic Con. It was far easier to simply convene at a first showing of a movie at your local theater. Particularly if you weren't yet old enough to drive.

Not sayin' how I know this.

[Roger Slater]

The best thing that ever happened to going to the movies is reserved seating. You show up ten minutes into the coming attractions, your seat guaranteed, and there's no lining up and being herded by ushers. And now the seats are large recliners and you have plenty of leg room.

[Mark McDonnell]

I was just the right age for Star Wars, 5 when the first one came out, but it never really grabbed me that much. Indiana Jones though, now that's a different story. My brother and I hid under the seats at the cinema after Raiders Of The Lost Ark so we could watch it again.

[James Brancheau]

Star Wars doesn't exist in a bubble. I saw it when I was 8, Mark~ our ages aren't that distant! Makes me feel better. The movie redesigned movies that would follow. I remember my cousin hating, absolutely hating Star Wars. He hated disco too, to fascist levels. (Saturday Night Fever is vastly underrated, especially if you know New York. I still, and will always find that movie profoundly sad.) Raiders of course does the same thing, etc etc. They start with action, attention. Amadeus, even. But Amadeus is in my top 5.

[James Brancheau]

And I'm not at all fond of Spielberg. Jaws is, by far, his best movie. It's character driven, and unforgettable for that reason.

[Mark McDonnell]

And I'm not at all fond of Spielberg. Jaws is, by far, his best movie.

Yes, Jaws is still his best film, I agree. The three characters make it very special. I think Spielberg's early films had charm and humanity, up to and including Raiders. They had great moments, beyond the thrills, like Richard Dreyfuss crushing his plastic cup in mockery of Robert Shaw's beer can crushing machismo, or Brody sheepishly looking at his appendix scar as the other two are comparing battle scars. Raiders is full of those little moments too, great bits of visual wit like the Nazi turning the terrifying looking torture weapon into a clothes hanger, or real humanity like Jones saying "it ain't the years honey, it's the mileage" and falling asleep exhausted in what should have been the love scene.
I really like Close Encounters too, and Duel is a great B-movie. But at some point in the 80s he seemed to decide that his films had to be either "serious drama" for adults or empty, whizz-bang saccharine for arrested adolescents, forgetting that his real talent had been to find the sweet spot between the two.

[James Brancheau]

I was bit by a cat~ I was used to dogs. So, we went to to Red Lobster and then to Star Wars. From an asshole cat.