THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1997, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Saturday, February 1, 1997 TAG: 9702010285
SECTION: FRONT PAGE: A1 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: BY ROY A. BAHLS, STAFF WRITER
LENGTH: 85 lines
The Force was strong on a rainy Friday afternoon.
It caused moms to skip their errands, kids to abandon Nintendo 64 and workers to call in sick with a case of the Movie Flu. They packed showings of a 20-year-old movie that has been shown gazillions of times on TV and video.
Of course, it was not just any movie. We're talking ``Star Wars,'' the flick that came to us a long time ago from a galaxy far, far away, and landed in a buffed-up version in movie theaters across Hampton Roads on Friday.
Shelley Crook simply had to introduce her son to the movie she grew up with.
``I'm here,'' said Crook, 31, after the 1:15 p.m. showing at Columbus 12 in Virginia Beach, ``because I saw it the first time it came out, I was 10 or 11, and it was so great. I wanted Billy to see it on the big screen.''
Billy Crook gave it a 9-year-old's version of a four-star review.
``I liked it when Luke is with the other guy,'' he said, ``and they are shooting at all of the bad guys. It's bigger and more exciting and more loud.''
In 1977, the combination of a simple story (good vs. evil) and high-tech effects (oh, those robots) blasted onto the big screen, capturing the imaginations and hearts of millions of moviegoers.
Now the film - with extra footage, enhanced special effects and a remastered soundtrack - is back.
At the Commodore Theatre in Portsmouth, fans began lining up at 10:30 a.m. to snap up tickets that wouldn't go on sale until 3 p.m. The Commodore is considered a prime ``Star Wars'' viewing spot because of its big screen, quality sound and old-style movie house ambience.
Just how long would a fan be willing to wait?
``For `Star Wars'? Probably till I dropped dead of starvation,'' said Andy Caine, 18, of Chesapeake.
And why such loyalty?
``Because it's `Star Wars.' It's a great American epic,'' said Caine. ``A boy, a girl, the universe, good vs. evil. It's good.''
Then there was the young bookstore employee who called in sick.
``I'm going to get fired if someone reads this at work,'' she said. But her job came in second to ``Star Wars.''
``I remember I started crying because I was afraid of the trash compactor. I was 6 years old . . .
``It changed my life,'' she said with a laugh.
Crook and her friend Barbara Gaskins headed to Virginia Beach from their Norfolk homes with Billy Crook and his pal Carson Ellen, 10, in tow. The kids were out of school for a teachers' workday.
Both mothers were clutching their ``Star Wars'' plastic cups.
``Yes, we are keeping these!'' said Gaskins, who collected memorabilia years ago. ``We had everything back then, `Star Wars' curtains, the sheets, Yoda, R2-D2 models and other toys. I probably still have some of those toys packed away.''
Then the two mothers broke into a rendition of the movie's theme song: ``Da, da - Da, da, da, da, da - Da, da, da, da.''
At the Columbus, the film was showing to packed houses on two screens.
``It's been a hectic day already,'' theater manager Trina Clark said soon after the 1 p.m. matinee. ``People have been calling for weeks about when they can buy a ticket. We've been selling advance tickets since Monday.''
While waiting for the 4:45 showing, Thomas Ewers checked out a 4-foot-high, 6-foot-wide ``Star Wars'' cardboard display in the theater lobby.
``That'll be a collector's item in a few years,'' said Ewers, a 24-year-old sailor stationed on the destroyer Thorn. ``The first time I saw `Star Wars,' I was 4 1/2 years old, and I remember it to this day. It blew me away and I've been a `Star Wars' fan ever since.''
After seeing the White House explode in ``Independence Day,'' does this intergalactic fairy tale command the big screen?
``The technology has weathered the tests of time rather well,'' Ewers said after the show. ``It never stops. It's just `Bam!' through the story.
``They are still trying to figure out how to make a movie as good.''
Re-mastered versions of the ``Star Wars'' sequels are coming soon; ``The Empire Strikes Back'' opens Feb. 21 and ``Return of the Jedi'' opens on March 7.
And creator George Lucas is working on another ``Star Wars'' trilogy. The first new film arrives from a galaxy far, far way in 1999. MEMO: Staff writer Rebecca Myers Cutchins contributed to this story. ILLUSTRATION: Color photo by IAN MARTIN, The Virginian-Pilot
Princess Leia and company were back on the big screen at the
Commodore Theatre in Portsmouth on Friday.
Photo by CHARLIE MEADS, The Virginian-Pilot
Carson Ellen, 10, of Norfolk went with his mother, Barbara Gaskins,
to see ``Star Wars'' for his first time.