Total utter glee and nerdgasms. Those are the words that I use to describe myself this past Saturday night as I approached the Slaughter Lane Alamo Drafthouse here in Austin, Texas. As I walked to the entrance, lit by the glow of lightsabers, hearing the chirps of R2D2, the Cantina theme blasting out and above it all the sound of laughter and people utterly geeking out over the whole thing, I felt immense joy and a big grin spread over my face.
Thirty years ago, on the 25th of May, Jedi was released and in respect of that, the Alamo Drafthouse, the Church of cinema here in Austin (and many other places now) paid homage. Lucasarts is notorious for their level of control over how and when the Star Wars movies are shown in cinemas. This was only the second screening since the last cinematic release in 1997. The other release was earlier this month in LA with some cast members in attendance for the anniversary.
A full day of activities was planned, reserved seating suspended and lines encouraged to recapture some of that old school 1983 feel. Sadly due to weather (rain is also bigger in Texas), the festivities were condensed into a few hours for the evening, but disappoint they did not. A Star Wars themed DJ, costumed people abounds and lightsaber battle reenactments between Sith and Jedi.
Just wandering around, I really cannot think of such a feeling of goodwill and fun while waiting to get into a movie screening. People of all ages, families, groups and couples. Every demographic was out and loving it. Small children whispering “that’s Darth Vader” in awe and people laughing hysterically about R2D2 wolf-whistling and flirting with a rather attractive lady in a R2-outfit. The atmosphere was great, with five screens lit up by the shared love for this franchise and a opportunity to enjoy it together. The Alamo can always be relied upon to deliver on these special events and again they did not disappoint.
The screening itself (DCP of the remastered recent DVD release, not the original unfortunately) was preceded by a short documentary by Fanboys director Kyle Newman. The Return of Return of the Jedi: 30 Years and Counting featured interviews and memories from numerous “geeks” and actors and was rather fun to watch, continuing the celebratory tone of the evening. It’s available to watch online right now here. Complementary Darth Vader masks awaited us inside the theater and I just sat back with a pitcher of beer and good friends and enjoyed the hell out of myself.
Return of the Jedi gets a lot of criticism. It much different than Empire Strikes Back, widely regarded as the pinnacle of the series. Jedi takes a softer, lighter tone and produces a enjoyable, fun end to the franchise contrasting with the darker tones of its predecessor. The focus of the vitriol is usually directed at the Ewoks, but I don’t mind them. Opinions on this usually differ depending on age. Labeling them as the “Jar-Jar” of Jedi is completely unwarranted. To quote one of my favorite TV shows, “Jar-Jar makes the Ewoks look like fucking Shaft”. The original trilogy has always been about the underdogs (rebels) fighting against the empire. The Ewoks embody that. However, it is clear that by this time Lucas was embracing the marketing machine and Ewoks are probably the greatest example of this: not once are they actually referred to by name in the movie. It’s all from merchandising that we know them as such. They are part of the greater abundance of comedy/slapstick humor on show but I believe the tone of the movie is more a reflection of how the cast and crew has grown closer and how the public’s affections have grown greater. Star Wars was no longer just a movie series when Jedi came out, it meant more to people than that.
While a lighter movie overall there are some intensely powerful moments, with most of the movie circling themes of love, from the effort to reclaim Solo from Jabba, the Luke/Leia/Han arc, Luke’s love and hope for his father’s salvation, and even less significant moments such as the jailor weeping over the death of his Rancor. Love and loss are peppered throughout making it a very emotional finale. The Luke/Vader/Emperor arc is probably my favorite part of the movie. It is just a fascinating stretch of cinema with a scene chewing performance by Ian McDiarmid. Despite its redundancy in the larger scheme of things (if the rebels destroy the death star the Emperor is dead anyway) the scene carries so much emotional weight and importance that you forget plot nitpicks — it seems more crucial that Luke resist the temptations of the Dark side than anything else.
At its core Return of the Jedi is a summer blockbuster set in space and the special effects hold up so well. I try to ignore the CGI-enhancements when presented with them, and looking past it you can see that Jedi teems with life and character and presents a real universe — not some shallow, glossy CGI-fest. The visuals and composition of the space battles coupled with the characters we have grown to love combine to deliver a more intense blast of action then anything I have seen this summer (and most summers gone by) even though studios have had 30 years to up their game.
Movies like The Godfather, The Wizard of Oz, Citizen Kane or Casablanca do not age. We do, and our ability to appreciate these films grows and deepens as time passes. The original trilogy bears mentioning in such illustrious company as these movies, ones that have created such a defined living and breathing entity that is forever preserved. It is a testament to their lasting impact that they are still so beloved now, even after the Prequels and what Lucas did to the existing movies (disclaimer: Malachi Constant, fellow writer here at Cinapse, and I led the booing in theater 3 when Hayden Christensen appeared at the end instead of Sebastian Shaw). The Alamo has also lined up a special 35mm print screening this Thursday. I have tickets to that also and am just as excited to get in front of that big screen and travel again to a galaxy far far away…
