My Movie History - Part 2: The Star Wars Years

Sneak Previews

When we moved to Candler, North Carolina (I was 6) we did not have cable TV (which was still kind of a new concept). We had a big antenna on our roof, and a rotary dial that we turned to tune in one of about 3 stations that we could get. The dial would turn the antenna, via a motor, in the direction to pick up a particular channel. And you stuck stickers on the dial to show where to turn it to get certain channels. I know we got ABC and PBS pretty well. CBS would not come in hardly at all, which was an extreme disappointment because that's the channel that had The Incredible Hulk, The Dukes of Hazzard, and on Saturday mornings, the 90-minute bliss that was The Bugs Bunny/Road Runner Show.

This limited TV had an unmistakable effect on me because I watched certain things, probably because that's all we could watch. Some of these shows had a definite impact on shaping my tastes in film and storytelling. The first was a PBS show called "Sneak Previews."

The show was pretty simple...two guys talked about movies that were out in theaters and discussed how good or how bad they were. The guys seemed pretty serious (borderline grumpy) and some of their talk went over my head. Their names were Gene Siskel and Roger Ebert. And within a few years, their little Chicago-produced PBS show would grow huge, become nationally-syndicated, and change its name to Siskel and Ebert At the Movies. The intro to the original show, Sneak Previews, will forever be burned into my brain, though. And thanks to the magic of YouTube, I found it:



Through this show, I learned about a lot of movies that most 6-8 year-olds wouldn't know about. I remember when they reviewed Raging Bull. They both loved it so much (rightfully so) but I remember being surprised that a current movie in theaters could be black and white and so incredibly good. Compared to the slick look of the Star Wars movies, Raging Bull looked like something from the old days! Years later, I would eventually watch Raging Bull to see what all the fuss was, and for a while it was one of my favorite movies.

I also remember them reviewing The Black Stallion, The Elephant Man, Chariots of Fire, and too many others to list. The cool thing about Sneak Previews was that they didn't just review the current Hollywood blockbusters, but they would review documentaries, art films, and smaller independent films. This exposed me to a bunch of films that would go in my memory banks for later retrieval.

The Twilight Zone

Another show that had a huge effect on me during these years was The Twilight Zone. The Twilight Zone had been off the air for nearly 15 years by the time I lived in Candler, but the PBS station aired reruns. I even remember the very first episode I saw, "A Stop at Willoughby." In that episode, an advertising executive who has grown exasperated with the stress of the business life and whilst being unable to sleep properly at home, constantly drifts off for short naps on the train during his daily commuting. He dreams of a peaceful place called "Willoughby." Set in the year 1888, Willoughby exudes a peaceful, stress-free lifestyle long gone. "Next stop, Willoughby," the conductor calls to the passengers. The man wants so badly to get off at Willoughby but he can't seem to get off the train in time. After he finally snaps at his workplace, and after being rebuffed in a plea for help to his selfish, uncaring and cold hearted wife, he exits the train while in his dream so he can live in Willoughby. In reality, he jumped off the train to his death. The final twist is revealed when his body is eventually loaded into a hearse owned by Willoughby & Son Funeral Home.

That episode totally set the tone for me. The Twilight Zone was a show that made you think. It sometimes had dark undertones. I grew an appreciation for unhappy endings, or bittersweet themes. I didn't grasp it at the time, but the show dealt with serious themes like racism, materialism, isolation, and greed in the format of a mystery/science fiction genre. Brilliant. While some episodes were downright scary, they always had some kind of twist at the end that I fell in love with. Rod Serling became an icon in my psyche. It's still my favorite TV show of all time

The First HBO Years

Around this same time period, we were good friends with the McClendons. The McClendons had 4 kids (like us), lived in Asheville, had city water (we had nasty well water full of sulphur), and cable TV. Even more amazing is that they had HBO. We spent a lot of time with them. Our parents enjoyed hanging out with their parents, playing cards and such. And us kids played all kinds of games together and watched all kinds of TV together. My first foray into R-rated movies happened at the McClendon's house. I guess I was about 7 or 8 when I first watched (uncut of course) Friday the 13th, Halloween, and other horror movies. I remember a movie called Time After Time, which was not an all-out horror movie, but did include Jack the Ripper and some pretty intense and graphic scenes. We watched anything and everything. I remember watching such late 70's-early 80's fare as Dead & Buried (some of the most violently graphic dispatchings committed to film for that time period), The Wiz (urban surrealism?), Escape from New York (dark and gritty), Blow Out (De Palma being Hitchcock-esque, as usual), and The Warriors (gang wars!). Whenever I see those movies on TV today, it makes me think of watching HBO at the McClendons, spending the night, watching TV in their basement, popping popcorn and pouring melted butter all over it. Good times.

For better or for worse, my exposure to these movies on HBO at such a young age undoubtedly desensitized me to violence in movies, but also fostered a love of all kinds of movies, including horror and thrillers. And it made me a bit of a connoisseur of special effects, especially of the graphically violent variety.

The Lucas-Spielberg Creative Peak

From 1977 to 1983, a mere 6 years, these two filmmakers made the following movies: Star Wars, Close Encounters of the Third Kind, The Empire Strikes Back, Raiders of the Lost Ark, E.T.: the Extra Terrestrial, and Return of the Jedi. Like most kids my age, I saw them all, loved them all. They became a part of me. John Williams did the music for all of them, so his music was like the soundtrack of my cinematic youth.

Anyone under the age of 40 who says those movies didn't have an effect on their lives is lying.

My Sisters

My oldest sister Lynn took me to two movies that proved to be memorable. For my 7th birthday (I think it was for my birthday) she took me to see Moonraker, the 11th James Bond movie. Other than seeing some snippets of James Bond movies on TV, this was my first real Bond movie in a theater. Even though in retrospect, I know that Moonraker is one of the weakest Bond outings in terms of plot, I loved it at the time and it made me a true Bond fan. My love of Bond really grew a few years later when home video came about and I could rent the Connery Bond movies.

Lynn and her then-husband Lee also took Mary and me to our first R-rated movie. Of course, we had seen R-rated movies on HBO, but this was the first one in a movie theater. It was the Dan Aykroyd-Eddie Murphy movie Trading Places. It was fun going to a "grown-up" movie at the age of 10. One of the most memorable moments for me was getting to see Jamie Lee Curtis's boobies.

To be fair, my sister Bonnie took me to some movies too, but I don't think I had any firsts with her. I think she took me to see Herbie Goes Bananas. I also remember her taking Mary and me to see Fiddler on the Roof and she fell asleep! And when Mary and I spent the summer of 1983 with her in Kentucky, her then-husband Jeff took me to see Return of the Jedi for the first time.

Also, my sisters would see movies more appropriate for their age, and I would hear all about them second-hand. Sometimes when a movie is described with enthusiasm, it can create an even stronger impression in your mind than if you saw the movie yourself. I remember movies like Endless Love, The Blue Lagoon, and Saturday Night Fever through their own recounting of these movies.

The Next HBO Years

When we moved to Florida in 1982, we still didn't have cable. But 6 months later, we moved to a house that had cable. And for the first time, we got HBO. My background with HBO was already firmly established thanks to the McClendons. Now my accomplice was my father, who also would watch anything and everything. He generally didn't mind me joining him. Though my mom didn't always agree, I got away with watching such low-budget 80's horror "masterpieces" as The Boogens and Humongous (reminiscent of Friday the 13th, but better!). HBO also gifted me with such classics as An American Werewolf in London, Sharky's Machine, Animal House, and Vice Squad.

And I can't leave out one particularly poignant memory from this time. When Star Wars debuted on HBO, pre-home video days, it was a momentous occasion for my friends and me. It was such a big deal that I had two friends sleep over so we could watch it Saturday morning. My friend Dom had never stayed the night at a friend's house before, and after dinner, he didn't feel well and had to go home. Basically, he got homesick, and he missed seeing Star Wars on TV. He still regrets it to this day, but it's a funny memory now.

Various Random Memories

...I remember seeing The Empire Strikes Back with my grandfather in Albemarle, NC. The next day, we were out walking around on some farm or something, and he swung a stick at some weeds and said to me with a sly smile "like one of those laser swords." I don't remember my grandfather ever watching much TV, let alone movies, so it was pretty cool that he went to see that movie with me. But even cooler that he was still thinking about it the next day.

...I saw Raiders of the Lost Ark in the theater by myself when I was 9. I blogged about that back in May when the latest Indiana Jones movie came out.

...Mary and I went to see Swamp Thing and for some reason we stayed in the theater and watched it a second time. I remember it being pretty scary. I can't remember why we watched it twice. I know I had a crush on Adrienne Barbeau afterwards.

...The same theater in Asheville where we saw Trading Places, Raiders of the Lost Ark, Swamp Thing, and Fiddler on the Roof is also the theater where we enjoyed The Muppet Movie and The Great Muppet Caper.

...Like Rattlers when I was 3, several commercials for movies on TV affected me greatly. I still remember being scared of the commercials for Silent Scream, The Amityville Horror, and The Shining. It's Alive was a 1974 horror movie that was re-released in 1977 with a massive TV publicity campaign that featured a trailer showing a bassinette, which slowly revolved to show the creature's claws hanging out of one side. Bllleeahh! Still gives me chills.

Home Video

My parents bought their first VCR around 1983. At the time, when home video was still in its infancy, there were two format choices: Beta and VHS. The few video rental stores that existed were generally split down the middle. One wall had Beta movies to rent, the other wall VHS. My parents chose a Beta machine. It was a good choice in that Beta was better quality than VHS, but it was the wrong choice for longevity, as the Beta selections for rent slowly dwindled away until completely phased out.

If I remember correctly, they paid about $800 for that first VCR. I remember being so amazed that we could not only own a movie to watch whenever we wanted, but we could actually record TV! I had a tape of episodes of Spider Man and his Amazing Friends that I recorded Saturday mornings. We owned a few movies on Beta that we watched to death: Raiders of the Lost Ark, Meatballs, ...what else, Mary?

Another of my earliest memories of our first VCR was going to Tampa to rent movies. Both my parents were taking classes at the University of South Florida for their Master's degrees. I would often go with them to Tampa, where I'd peruse the university library (they had a cool book I'd never seen before called How to Draw Comics the Marvel Way). While we were in Tampa, the two coolest things we would do were to go to comic book shops (there were none in Inverness) and we would stop at a video rental store. Our little town of Inverness didn't have very many choices for rentals yet, especially Beta, but Tampa had a pretty big rental place. Funny, in those days you had to pay for membership, you got charged a fee if you brought back a movie not rewound, and you could rent video players for a pretty hefty charge (I think you had to pay a $100 deposit). And now you can't even rent movies on VHS, and, sadly, mom-and-pop rental places have all but disappeared.

I remember how amazing it was when The Empire Strikes Back was first released on video. On one trip to Tampa, we rented that, as well as Prince's Purple Rain. By the time we got home, it was too late to watch anything (probably a school night). I remember trying to fall asleep while listening to my parents watching Purple Rain in the other room (we had thin walls). I think I listened to the whole movie, I was so eager to watch it.

Addendum

In retrospect, and as the father of 3, how do I now view my movie past? Do I wish it had gone differently? Do I wish my parents had forbid me from watching so many movies? Do I wish the McClendons hadn't enabled me to see slasher flicks before I was 10? My answer to all these questions is no. Because I like the way I am today. I like my tastes. I've even parlayed my love of movies into a high school film appreciation class that was one of my more satisfying teaching experiences. I've explored a far higher range of movies than I probably would have if my childhood had been different. So I wouldn't change a thing. That doesn't mean I seek to replicate my experience with my own children. Their loves and tastes will be shaped by their own experiences. And I wouldn't have it any other way. I look forward to reflecting on these kinds of matters with them when they are older.