Well, I saw it. Saturday night, May 21, 2005. Clearly the best of the prequel trilogy. I will not talk about plot points yet. It was very well done.
And, since someone asked, I will explain the "3/4." It's really rather bland, but it does recall a simpler time.
As I said in my previous entry, we had one theater in town in 1977, and it had one screen. So, when a movie was showing there, it was the only thing showing. On Saturdays and Sundays, the movie would be shown four times.
For someone like me, who had fallen in love with Star Wars, this provided a great opportunity. I could buy a ticket to the first showing of the day, and just sit in that dark theater until they were done showing it the last time. And, at that point, I had to pay, what, $2.00 for a ticket?
Those were the days. Sure, I felt a little guilty paying only once -- but I suppose it provided somewhat of a thrill. It's the sort of thing teenagers do, and we adults are supposed to disapprove of. But really, teenagers need this sort of minor sin to commit, to help them satisfy their rebellious urges. This is my rationalization, anyway.
So, I was there one Sunday afternoon. I had planned to watch all four showings, and many of my friends showed up for the third showing, with a commitment to watch through the final showing with me. But, guess what? Yep, some of them decided they had had enough after 3/4 of the final showing. I was torn, but ultimately, I decided to leave with my friends. I'm not sure what viewing that was, but I do know I saw the film at least a couple more times after that.
Nevertheless, I now have a memory associated with that film -- my friends deciding other things were more important than seeing the movie through to the end for the second time in a night, and me deciding to go with them. In the end, it's a better story. And it shows that, no matter how obsessed I was with Star Wars I at least had some priorities set right.