It really was a long time ago.
On Friday, it’ll be 30 years since “Star Wars” blasted away all expectations after opening in just 32 movie theaters on May 25, 1977. The anniversary is being marked on TV by cable channel Cinemax with a marathon of all six films.
Also scheduled are parties and other events, plus the sales of many commemorative items.
It’s remarkable to note how no one, not even writer-director George Lucas, was prepared for the lines that snaked around theaters showing “Star Wars.” Audiences cheered from the opening blasts of John Williams’ score to the closing credits, pausing only to boo Darth Vader.
The movie that 20th Century Fox nearly abandoned in midproduction ended up earning $460 million at the box office in the U.S. alone, boosted by the release of a special edition in 1997. The film is the second-highest-grossing movie of all time, behind “Titanic.”
There is no competition, however, in the world of toys and other tie-ins. The “Star Wars” franchise has raked in $13.5 billion in merchandising alone since 1977, according to Lucasfilm.
“There’s no question that was the film that made the entire movie industry rethink its attitude toward summer movies, toward juvenile movies for big kids, science fiction, special effects and, of course, merchandising,” film historian Leonard Maltin said.
“In that era, before the birth of home video, the only way to see a movie again was to go back and pay your admission at the theater,” Maltin said. “And people did, over and over again.”
Lucasfilm isn’t stuck in the past, either. There are two TV series in the works, animated and live-action, with the latter reportedly filling in the blanks of what some characters were doing for the 20 years between Episodes III and IV. Producer Rick McCallum says the plan is to get them on the air in 2009.
” ‘Star Wars’ was revolutionary, otherwise it wouldn’t have lasted this long,” said Peter Mayhew, the 7-foot-3 English actor who played Chewbacca. “So I’ll talk to you again in another 30 years.”
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This weekend, people who want to praise the Force can celebrate several ways:
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– J.W. Rinzler’s “The Making of Star Wars” ($75, Del Rey Books) is packed with photos and facts.
– The Cinemax schedule for Friday is as follows: “Star Wars — Episode I: The Phantom Menace,” 3 p.m.; “Episode II: Attack of the Clones,” 4:30 p.m.; “Episode III: Revenge of the Sith,” 6:35 p.m.; “Episode IV: A New Hope,” 10 p.m.; “Episode V: The Empire Strikes Back,” 11 p.m., and “Episode VI: Return of the Jedi,” 1:30 a.m.
– “Star Wars: The Legacy Revealed,” a new two-hour documentary, airs May 28 on the Discovery Channel. In it, Newt Gingrich, Dan Rather and House Majority Leader Nancy Pelosi comment alongside “Lord of the Rings” filmmaker Peter Jackson.
– To coincide with the anniversary, the U.S. Postal Service is issuing 15 “Star Wars” stamps.