Star Wars is one of the few (pop culture) things that has spanned my entire lifetime. Having been born in 1975, I did not see the first two movies in the theater, but do remember vividly watching A New Hope on HBO as a young child. Of course back then we just called it Star Wars. Specifically, my mom and I would turn down the volume and speak all the parts, which drove my Dad crazy.
So to celebrate May the 4th (be with you) I decided to take a trip down memory lane.
The first movie I saw in the theater was Return of the Jedi. I remember that I had a soccer game at Payant field in East Kingsford at 5:15pm and then we went to the Braumart Theater afterward. Showing my age, I think the Braumart closed for films when they built the new complex on US-2 in Quinnesec in the early 90's and there may be a building where that soccer field once was. Starting with the prequels, I have seen every movie since, on opening night. Even when I had knee surgery last year, I was at the theater with Rachel the next day on crutches, for the opening of The Rise of Skywalker. I smiled when I saw Han and Chewie make a comeback in The Force Awakens, and cried when an Ewok died. I suffered through Jar Jar Binks, knowing that there was better to come and cheered every time Luke turns off his targeting computer.
I had Star Wars action figures as a child. They were my favorite toy before G.I. Joe launched. I had the Tauntaun with the open belly that you could stuff Luke into, the Degobah playset and a battle damaged X-Wing. My next door neighbor Jamie had the AT-AT and the Millennium Falcon which were the jewels of the collection and that fueled some jealousy. As an adult I have started to recollect some of the figures I had as a kid, focusing at first on things from Empire Strikes Back. There is an AT-AT and snowspeeder on my desk right now.
I had the original baby blue Star Wars bed sheets as a kid (pictured above), that ultimately met their demise in college when I wore them to a toga party. We even had a dog growing up that was named Chewbacca Wookie (Chewie for short).
So needless to say, I have been living and breathing Star Wars all of my life. So having gone back and watched all the moves as an adult, I have them ranked in order of my favorite. Going in, I really thought that Return of the Jedi would have come out higher, but I think the fondness of my memories around seeing it had clouded my Jedi vision and looking back, it is ranked properly.
- A New Hope
- Empire Strikes Back
- The Force Awakens
- Return of the Jedi
- The Rise of Skywalker
- Revenge of the Sith
- Rogue One
- Attack of the Clones
- The Last Jedi
- The Phantom Menace
- Solo: A Star Wars Story
What are your favorite of the saga and how do you rank them?