TOPIC: Star Wars 40th Anniversary!

I am mildly shocked that this has not already been a topic of discussion today.

That admonition having been made...MAN! I can't believe it has been 40 years! I remember my experience pretty clearly (see this recollection for details), and that appreciation for the Star Wars universe I was introduced to that day remains as strong as it ever was!

Phenomenon hardly scratches the surface to describe something that created so many new frontiers. It was completely unprecedented at the time, and the direct effect it had on movies, pop culture, and entertainment in general were nothing short of a paradigm shift!

I myself will be watching Episode IV tonight in tribute to that day, 40 years ago, when I first saw it. What are your reflections on this day?

40 years and gaining momentum. Incredible. I can't recall anything other than family that has warmed my heart for so long. Happy 40th Anniversary!!

Happy 40th Star Wars!! It has been a big part of my life, warm memories with family and friends. I was 10 back in 77 and agree with what Braxton said... nothing like it, very lucky to have had it in my life as it changed movies, culture, entertainment forever.
Thank you George Lucas!!

Hi Everybody,

I have already contributed to the For-Tyeth (
As a forty-something year old I missed the cinematic release of Star Wars as I was only an 18 month old Jedi, I did however make up for it with a private screening of Star Wars at my local cinema when I was a few years older. My family were friends with the chief projectionist which came in very useful! I always wanted a Lightsaber and would build LEGO hilts even back in the late 70's early 80's.
The fact that Star Wars and all it's spin-offs and prequels have lasted is due to the fact we all could find a character to relate to and invest in. I'm looking forward to seeing where it takes us next.....

(To Brax: I'll take a chance and leave this here, all markings and links have been redacted)

Happy Anniversary Star Wars and thank you to every single person involved in bringing the saga to us (including fellow member tech-droid!)

For Tyeth

Happy 40th Anniversary to Star Wars, and of course to all of us as its big fans! Happy saber-ing, and may the Forge be with us

For Tyeth wrote:

Happy Anniversary, Star Wars Universe! May you fuel the imaginations of children of all ages for decades to come!

Good lord... When did I get old?

Well, happy birthday Star Wars and remember: shoot first and let Jabba sort it out.

My best Star Wars memorey.

Before my father passed he and I saw A New Hope in theiters. The first time I saw a Star Destroyer, heard a wookie and a droid.

Memories Ill always cherish, with my father smiling beside me.

DarthTtocs wrote:
Thank you for sharing that. All the feels.

I’m a little late to the party but…

When I look back on my childhood, there was nothing that was and formative and stayed with me through my life as much as Star Wars. Perhaps it was that it permeated into all aspects of life for the formative years of life. That is moved beyond just the movies and became something more. It was the toys I played with, the sheets I slept in, the costume I wore for Halloween, it was the characters I wanted to be. I can remember swinging around my first plastic sabers imitating the sounds of the iconic weapons and pretending to fight off storm troopers and rescue the Princess.

I was only about a year old when the first Star Wars came out in ’77, although rumor has it I was taken to the theater to see it that summer. It wasn’t till 1980 that I have any real memory of seeing the movies in the theaters. But with ANH being released prior to ESB, and then ESB, that was a big year. When I look back in time that was the start of it, the summer of 1980. I had all the toys from the original release of star wars, even the death star playset. But it was that summer where Star Wars became something more and it became a solid piece of my childhood.

As cool as all the toys were, it wasn’t until I attended one of the giant Sci-Fi conventions back in the late 80’s where I fell in love with movie props. The exact convention name escapes me, and while I can vaguely remember listening to Sigourney Weaver, Leonard Nimoy, and William Shattner, it was the group of ILM and Jim Henson Muppet shop guys that drew me in and I spent the better part of an entire day checking out some of the props they brought and sitting on impromptu talks about how they designed and fabricated things. It was there that I saw my first replicas of things like Han Solo’s blaster, Chewies bandolier, star trek phaser, and a host of other wonders. But sadly, not a single lightsaber.

Some years later, in the mid to late 90’s (the exact date escapes me) I can recall being in a toy store, either a Disney store of FAO Schwartz, and seeing Luke Skywalker’s ANH lightsaber sitting in an acrylic case behind the main counter. I stopped dead in my tracks. I do not recall the price tag on it, other than it as far beyond my means at the time. I did manage to talk the girl behind the counter into letting me see it up close. I wasn’t allowed to take it out of the case, but I did stare longingly at it for quite a while before she put it back on display.

A few years down the road I started looking into making a replica of my own in the early 2000’s. Joining some of the early forums, and poking my head around. I started bidding on vintage flashes off Ebay, but never managed to win one. Eventually I gave up trying to secure a flashgun of my own. Then I stumbled onto Master Replicas. I fawned over many of the static hilts they were licensed to produce around that time. I ended up getting a MR ROTS Anakin they day they were released. I can still recall opening the box and holding it for the first time. I had owned many toy lightsabers in my life to that point, but this was something entirely different. That first ignition of the blade, things changed. Through the years I purchased and went through a few more MR FX sabers.

Then life happened, and much of my SW collection was sold due to being out of work. All my 12” figures, most of my carded 3” figures, I was left with two sabers that I just would not part with. That was a dark time in life, but as with anything life keeps changing and new opportunities rose up and eventually I found myself drooling over various replicas online, seeing just how much further the technology had come since the early 2000’s and the MR FX sabers.

And now today I am lucky enough to be able to not only have my own collection of cannon and non-cannon hilts, but I also get to build them for other people. I’m thankful every day that I get to share the stories of Star Wars with friends and family and to pass it on to my own son. I’m elated see the eyes of children and adults alike when I present them with a hilt and in an instant I can see how they are transported to a galaxy far, far away…..