Star Wars - I've never had a first movie viewing experience like that
yes yes, yes yes YES.
It was August 1977, and my Parents *finally* took me to a theater to see Star Wars.
I'd heard it was good, but I had no idea what to expect as the TV commercials gave you very little to work with.
Then came the opening crawl. Ok, nothing too extreme.
And then it happened.
That opening shot with that Star Destroyer.
And it just kept coming and coming like it would never end.
I slid down in my chair -- this was UNBELIEVABLE.
In that instant, I knew I was watching the most important film I'd ever seen.
And in hindsight, it truly was, that opening shot was transformative -- that it has been aped so many times in so many other movies just tells you that it's one of the single most amazing sequences in cinematic history.
And although I still love that particular FX shot, I don't know if *anything* can ever re-create the sheer awe I felt that evening in 1977.
Although I will say this:
Go watch Star Wars again.
Tell me you're NOT sitting on the edge of your seat during the Death Star Battle in the 3rd act.
Marcia Lucas's editing is in GOD mode, it just doesn't get better than that.
The tension that builds because of that precise to-the-frame editing is just freaking magical.