ORIGINAL Star Wars Opening (1977) - 16mm Film Preservation

I Transferred the 35mm print with mag sound for VHS duplication

I was 5, this was the first movie I ever saw... I woke up and my sister was excited, getting ready and my brother and my sister told me, "Get up! We're going to a movie!"... My mom came in and helped me tie my shoes and I asked her where we were going?... and she said... "We're going to see a movie.. you'll see what we're talking about." So, I had already heard of Star Wars and was excited about it, but I had NEVER been to a movie... so we went to the 7 Eleven and got a newspaper to check showtimes, and I remember my dad running in to get the paper... we get to the theater and I see all these kids there and these huge Star Wars posters and I was excited but also confused, I had never been to a movie... we walked in after my mom paid for the tickets... My dad says..."Do you want some popcorn and a soda?" I said... "They have that here?" It smelled so good!... so we got a medium Coke and a medium popcorn and to me they were huge... we walked through the corridor to the theater... I held my Coke in one arm and held my mom's hand... my dad held my popcorn... I turned around and saw my brother and sister walking behind us, and they had these huge smiles on their faces (They're older than I am.) My sister nodded her head at me and smiled... we sat down and the theater wasn't very dark, kids were laughing, and talking I sat right between my parents... My mother kept trying to set me back into my seat but I saw this "HUGE TV"... So... the lights went down, all the kids were excited and talking and I could hear people going .... "SHHHHH!"... My mother set me back in my seat, with my soda in her hand holding it for me to drink and my popcorn between my legs lol... then I remember the movie starts... I don't remember the trailers... or if there were any, I didn't pay much attention to them... I was sort of shocked at what I saw... but didn't know exactly what I was seeing.... then THIS starts... My mom read to me the scrolling texts....and I see the two ships and lasers... my mouth dropped open.... my life changed forever...

A lot of people probably didn’t know that it wasn’t called A New Hope in 1977 it was just called Star Wars

I'm 58. I saw the original Star Wars in 1977 when I was 12 at a theater in the mall. Two hours later, I walked out of the mall, and it was if every dream I ever had was possible! Man, I loved those days. And it's still with me. I just finished a 3 foot Star Distroyer that sits proudly on my desk. Thanks for the memories.

For a 22 year old in 1977, that opening shot, seen for the first time, of the star destroyer coming over the top of the screen and filling it, was truly thrilling in away that nothing else in the movies had been—or has been since.

Am I the only one that gets chills hearing the 20th Century Fox fanfare from this era of film?

That opening scene is a seminal moment in my life. We sat in that theater in 1977 with our jaws hanging. We had NO idea what we were in for.

Just goosebumps, I remember how great this was... before the dark times, before Disney.

As a guy in his 30s growing up in the Prequels era, I am thrilled to see the Episodic title missing in this one.

Just imagine sitting in a theater with no idea of what was about to happen & then seeing that Star destroyer filling the screen. It sent my little 7 year old mind off into a world of imagination. This is why over 40 years later i still love this movie.

That three minutes took me back forty-three years.

There’s something magical about seeing this in the lower res, and original sounds and such, with all the “flaws” included. I am not old enough to have seen this originally in the theater, but I appreciate this a lot.

I'll never forget the opening of that movie, simply jaw dropping compared to anything seen or heard before. It was a quatum leap in terms of special efffects and sound quality. Cannot begin to describe how good it was seeing that movie for the first time in 1977.

I can't wrap my head around just how good that opening shot still looks. The planets, the lighting, the scale. It all feels so real. Absolutely insane.

My grandmother took me to see it when I was 10. The Tusken scared the heck out of her, but despite that she fell asleep somewhere during the rescue of Leia and I had to wake her up at the end. That's one of my favorite memories of her...she took me to see Star Wars. RIP Grannie.

I was 17 when I first saw this. As a science-fiction aficionado I had never seen anything like this before in my life! As a man in his 60s no one believes me when I tell them “Star Wars” was originally a standalone movie.

Still one of the best opening scenes for any movie ever made. If you didn't see it in a theater in 1977, you missed something very special. Cinematics would never be the same.

44 years later, the special effects here STILL look good.

This is exactly how u start a movie

I was a 12 year old girl in Germany and my biggest dream came true watching Star Wars at the cinema back in 1978. Will never forget the impact that movie had on me. A beautiful memory in my life.