Star Wars’ arrival was worth its long-awaited anticipation
IF there was one film which gripped a nation in the late 1970s it was Star Wars.
The film was released in the USA in May 1977 with the hit reaching selected UK cinemas by December 1977.
It you lived in Burton, you had to wait until February 1978 to watch the film when it reached the Odeon in Guild Street.
In a review published in the Burton Observer and Chronicle on February 24, 1978, journalist Alan Harris said: “If you haven’t already paid a visit to screen one this week, I can recommend it. You’ll come out feeling refreshed after sharing the adventures of Luke Skywalker and his companions in Star Wars. Sunday’s opening lunchtime performance was surprisingly small considering the publicity that heralded the film’s arrival on these shores.
“Nevertheless, almost a thousand adventure seekers had passed through the Odeon’s doors on the first day for their voyage across the universe ... and you don’t even need a sickness tablet.”
Two 11-year-old Newhall girls were the first in the queue to watch the new film.
Sally Goodhead, of Cedar Grove, and Tracey Handley, of Meadow Lane, were at the doors 40 minutes before they opened and were rewarded with free tee-shirts from manager Roy Alexander for their vigil in sub-zero temperatures.
But their wait was worthwhile. Chief projectionist George Hinks had even gone to the trouble to set up an impressive prelude to the film with recorded countdown and swirling stars around the auditorium to get the kids in the right mood.
Also, within the entrance to the Odeon, cashier Eileen Tailby had spent the best part of 70 hours building a robot.
The robot, which was down to the young visitors to name, was guarded by Star Wars villain Darth Vader and a storm trooper.
As for the film, our reviewer Alan Harris said: “The film itself surpassed my expectations. The photography is superb and the story itself contains all the ingredients to hold the imagination.
“While my nine-year-old son and others of his ilk chuckled at the antics of the robots, we adults were whisked back to childhood with the exhumed ghosts of Flash Gordon and company out-fighting, out-flying and out-joking their pale prototypes.
“It is plain to see how the film has become a favourite even with the hardcore science fiction buffs.
“Writer-director George Lucas pays scrupulous attention to detail, without losing sight of his original intention ... to entertain audiences of all ages with out-and-out adventure.
“If you begin to wonder why the heroes aren’t molten after dodging a barrage of lasers . . . don’t.
“If you begin to question the times the heroes narrowly escape elimination . . . don’t.
“Sit back and leave your cynicism in your discarded ice cream tub. It’ll take years off you.”