Finishing the movie 42 years later

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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



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25 comments
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I love this post. I saw Star Wars when I was 3. First movie. Drive in. And Star Wars has given me the feels ever since.

I have seen it. I hope you love it. 🤗

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Firstly, thanks for no spoilers! Lol.

I can be sentimental at times and so it seems fitting that I see the last instalment in the same location as the first. besides, it sort of fits my ocd-ness also. 😉

Star Wars wasn't my first movie, but was the first I saw at the theatre as my folks would take us to the drive-in because it was much cheaper. You can imagine how wondrous it all was for a little boy from the country. I didn't know what to do, where to go...But dad ushered me up that massive curved staircase and ever since, I've had a love-affair with that cinema.

Thanks for your comment. 😃

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R2D2 is the formula to find the volume of a hemisphere.

Pretty sure C3PO is just a random selection of letters and numbers; but then I'm not fluent in millions of languages.

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I only have an IQ of 27 so all of that went right over my head...Still, if I ever need to work out the volume of a hemisphere I'll know how to do it in theory of not in practice...I suppose the total of the whole planet would be double the volume of a hemisphere...So there's two things I learned from you tonight.

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That ballistics maths though. 800 grain .357 rounds with 793 foot/second muzzle velocity delivering 485 foot pounds of force.

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Yes, that's a point...I go pretty well with the ballistics stuff I guess...Maybe...And it's just a guess here...Maybe I'm a genius! :)

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Aww...takes me back to my childhood.
Be anxious to hear your review

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I'm just here now, waiting to go in...ok, I'll be honest...I'm contemplating what snacks to get before going in...So many to choose from!

Really looking forward to the movie..I hope it's good. I have heard nothing about it so am going in blind. Fingers crossed.

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I did not get to see A New Hope or The Empire Strikes Back in the theater when they were released. There were not any theaters within 100ish miles of me. (I have seen them in the theater since then though.) Starting with Return of the Jedi I have watched all of them in the theater.

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I'm looking forward to a movie marathon of all of them in a row... 😊

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I did that with the first 6 or 7. It was spread out over a few days though so not an endurance marathon.

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Yes, over days would be best I think. Would be good to see them all in close succession though.

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I think that's the one that my partner and youngest went to see (middle child and I went to watch Frozen 2). If it was the enjoyed it as well.

I love old buildings, think they have a lot more character than the "modern" ones (I only like minimalism for some things and architecture is not one of them).

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Piccadilly theatre hasn't changed since I was there in 1977...It felt kind of nostalgic to see the last film there, which is why I did so. Was a good night with Faith, food and move both. :)

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Howdy sir galenkp! What did you think of the movie? I haven't seen it but heard that tons of fans were very unhappy with it.

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I thought it was really good actually. I hadn't read any reviews prior to seeing it and haven't since but I thought the special effects were good, the acting sound (as can be these days) and the story line pretty good. I was happy with how it ended.

I'm not one to get too worked up about movies; They're just a couple of hours of entertainment so I tend not to read into them too much. Overall 9/10.

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That's good to hear sir galenkp. Does your mind stop it's feverish pace during movies and you can just concentrate on THEM?

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Yeah, that's why I don't care about analysing them too deeply. It's just entertainment. My mind stops sometimes, like building Lego or something...I just have an active mind. I'm far from the smartest man you'll ever meet but tend to be very observant and that gives rise to thoughts that I turn over in my mind. Makes for a lot of noggin' activity. 😁

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Noggin activity. I think that's a healthy sign. lol..and your much better half is the same way?
Hey I just saw a longer report about New South Wales and the fires. Usually we only get a 15 second clip but this was an actual report, shockingly bad.

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(Edited)

She's a clever girl...But happy not to think all the time like I do. She laughs all the time because she can see me itching to make a comment about something I've observed but somehow, with great restraint, I hold it in. She's like, "just say it, you know you want to..."

Yep, fires are bad...been weeks now... Hopefully they get on top of it.

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I know we and Canada are sending more firefighters and planes and such, hope that helps.
Very funny about your wife! lol. She knows you well.

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Yeah I heard some more yanks and Canucks are on the way. Hope it helps. After the fires are done with I'm sure the Aussies will show them a good time...Could get rowdy.

Yeah, she knows me pretty well...Don't why she puts up with me, but she does.

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I hope the fires get put out and they have the party of all parties!

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