Clutching his snack in one hand and soda in the other the young boy made his way up the grand staircase to the entrance of the theatre. The old building dwarfed him, as did those around him, all jostling to get into the theatre for the movie, but the steady hand on his shoulder kept him safe and sound; His dad. He tried to shield the precious box of buttery-popped-corn so none spilled; The treat being a very rare occurrence; Just like coming to the movies was.
Seated now he looked around whilst munching on his snacks, wanting to take it all in, savour every moment. As the theatre went dark the boys' excitement level rose and he squirmed in the chair seeking a more comfortable spot, took a slurp on the ice-cold lemonade and...The movie was about to start...
That boy was me, as a seven year old in 1977, about to watch Star Wars VI - A new hope.
It was a rare treat for me to go to the movies considering my parents didn't have much money to go around; I was very excited, and armed with lemonade and popped corn, sat in awe watching the movie thinking how amazing it was! It was, indeed, the most awesome thing I'd seen in my young life. src
Tonight I'll be that little boy again, kind of, as my wife and I are going to see the latest, and last, movie in the Star Wars saga, Star Wars - The rise of Skywalker.
I decided to do so in the same location at which I saw the first movie 42 years ago: The Piccadilly Theatre.
It's located on O'Connell Street, North Adelaide, a funky street full of restaurants and cafés, set in one of Adelaide's premier suburbs only a couple kilometres north of the CBD.
The theatre itself was first opened in 1940 and is designed in an art-deco style and decorated the contemporary manner for its time. You can see it here pictured from outside and the src link below will take you to some more information if you like.
It is classy as it's stuck to its roots, not selling out to modern society at its idea of what a theatre should look like. Of course, the theatres within have been upgraded with the latest technology and modern seating over the years. I have fond memories of it and mostly these days, when we go to the movies, we go here preferring it to the more modern, and crowded, places. src
I'm pretty keen to see the movie although I think, whilst the theatre hasn't sold out, the movie franchise has. They have become loaded with politically-correct messages and images, like most media has, becoming another opportunity to imprint ideals upon people. Still, I want to round out the saga begun in 1977 and can't think of a better place to do so.
I took a look at the movie budget for the film I saw in 1977 which was $11 million USD. When compared with the $250-$300 million USD spent on the one I'm seeing tonight...Well, It should be spectacular. I'm hoping not to be disappointed although I'm pretty sure I won't be - It's a night out with my wife, dinner and a movie, so nothing to be disapointed about there.
So tonight I'll be reliving the past, albeit without my dad. I'll have my wife Faith along though, who used to hate Star Wars until she met me and I'm pretty sure positive I'll have snacks because...Well... snacks at the movies go together like C3PO and R2D2.
If you've seen the movie it would be good to keep any spoilers to yourself, although it's your right to post them in the comments if you wish.
Tomorrow isn't promised - Design and create your ideal life, don't live it by default Discord: @galenkp#9209
Pretty sure C3PO is just a random selection of letters and numbers; but then I'm not fluent in millions of languages.
