# Ok memorial weekend 1977 your at the movies which one would or did you see **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [May 24, 2020, 9:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ok-memorial-weekend-1977-your-at-the-movies-which-one-would-or-did-you-see/854395 "2020-05-24T21:18:07Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![kenobi\_65](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kenobi_65/32/13178_2.png) [@kenobi\_65](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kenobi_65)\ **Post date:** [May 25, 2020, 4:16am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ok-memorial-weekend-1977-your-at-the-movies-which-one-would-or-did-you-see/854395/21 "2020-05-25T04:16:45Z")
At the time, I was 12. I was a highly nerdy kid, and into science fiction. By Memorial Day, I was probably already very interested in seeing Star Wars, based on the TV ads that had been running. In the weeks that followed, the reviews, and the early reports of long lines at theaters, made me even more interested, though I didn’t actually get to see it until a couple of weeks after Memorial Day. I likely knew of Smokey and the Bandit, but it wouldn’t have interested me nearly as much, and I don’t think I saw it until it was on TV a couple of years later. ---
**Author:** ![CalMeacham](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/calmeacham/32/35_2.png) [@CalMeacham](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CalMeacham)\ **Post date:** [May 25, 2020, 4:33am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ok-memorial-weekend-1977-your-at-the-movies-which-one-would-or-did-you-see/854395/22 "2020-05-25T04:33:21Z")
> [@Siam\_Sam](#): > > Yeah, I’d expect it too. But I feel a lot are voting from the perspective of 2020. Of course you’re going to pick _Star Wars_ _now_. Imagine it is 43 years ago. Now, maybe this would be mainly for places like West Texas, but _Smokey_ was being looked forward to by a lot of people including non-rednecks. I know I saw it, just don’t know if it was that weekend. But if I did see one that weekend, it would have been _Smokey_ just from all the expectations. _Star Wars_ simply did not appear on my radar until _Time_ et al started gushing over it. But Time started gushing over it before it opened. We went to go see it the night it opened, and the crowds were enormous. ---
**Author:** ![Siam\_Sam](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/d78d45/32.png) [@Siam\_Sam](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Siam_Sam)\ **Post date:** [May 25, 2020, 4:38am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ok-memorial-weekend-1977-your-at-the-movies-which-one-would-or-did-you-see/854395/23 "2020-05-25T04:38:02Z")
> [@CalMeacham](#): > > But Time started gushing over it before it opened. > > We went to go see it the night it opened, and the crowds were enormous. Admittedly, I was out in the middle of nowhere. I still think the poll would show _Smokey_ winning if everyone answered from a 1977 perspective. ---
**Author:** ![Odesio](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/odesio/32/20003_2.png) [@Odesio](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Odesio)\ **Post date:** [May 25, 2020, 5:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ok-memorial-weekend-1977-your-at-the-movies-which-one-would-or-did-you-see/854395/24 "2020-05-25T05:02:23Z")
> [@Siam\_Sam](#): > > In fact, I’m highly suspicious of the poll answers. Six for _Star Wars_ and zero for _Smokey_ so far. I think _Smokey_ would win out if honestly based on the situation at the time, not what you know now. The poll is which one did you see or would have seen. I was born in 1976 so I wasn’t actually there. ---
**Author:** ![Kimble](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kimble/32/19185_2.png) [@Kimble](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kimble)\ **Post date:** [May 25, 2020, 5:50am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ok-memorial-weekend-1977-your-at-the-movies-which-one-would-or-did-you-see/854395/25 "2020-05-25T05:50:11Z")
I was five then. I don’t remember if I saw it opening weekend or not, but I did see _Star Wars_ in 1977. Eight times. I don’t think I’ve ever seen _Smokey and the Bandit_. The original _The Longest Yard_ might be the only Burt Reynolds film I’ve ever seen. ---
**Author:** ![Siam\_Sam](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/d78d45/32.png) [@Siam\_Sam](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Siam_Sam)\ **Post date:** [May 25, 2020, 5:52am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ok-memorial-weekend-1977-your-at-the-movies-which-one-would-or-did-you-see/854395/26 "2020-05-25T05:52:08Z")
> [@Odesio](#): > > The poll is which one did you see or would have seen. I was born in 1976 so I wasn’t actually there. Right, that’s what I mean. People might pick _Star Wars_ just because that’s the one they know better _now_. It might not actually be the one they would have seen back in 1977 if they had been there. ---
**Author:** ![Siam\_Sam](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/d78d45/32.png) [@Siam\_Sam](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Siam_Sam)\ **Post date:** [May 25, 2020, 5:54am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ok-memorial-weekend-1977-your-at-the-movies-which-one-would-or-did-you-see/854395/27 "2020-05-25T05:54:09Z")
> [@Kimble](#): > > The original _The Longest Yard_ might be the only Burt Reynolds film I’ve ever seen. You’ve never seen _Boogie Nights_? ---
**Author:** ![Johanna](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johanna/32/8318_2.png) [@Johanna](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Johanna)\ **Post date:** [May 25, 2020, 6:25am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ok-memorial-weekend-1977-your-at-the-movies-which-one-would-or-did-you-see/854395/28 "2020-05-25T06:25:44Z")
No, but I remember the song “Boogie Nights” by Heatwave was on the radio a lot that summer of 1977. When I think of freshman chem lab that September the memory’s soundtrack is “Boogie Nights” and Stevie Wonder’s “I Wish” on the radio. ---
**Author:** ![Voyager](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/voyager/32/133_2.png) [@Voyager](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Voyager)\ **Post date:** [May 25, 2020, 6:48am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ok-memorial-weekend-1977-your-at-the-movies-which-one-would-or-did-you-see/854395/29 "2020-05-25T06:48:18Z")
I didn’t see Star Wars Memorial Day but I saw it not long after in a drive-in at LA with a friend while I was visiting my parents. Then saw it again the day after my now wife and I got engaged. I knew some people who had seen chunks of it at an sf convention in Chicago that spring, and they loved what they saw, so I was ready. I’ve never seen Smokey and the Bandit and can die happily never having done so. ---
**Author:** ![Kimble](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kimble/32/19185_2.png) [@Kimble](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kimble)\ **Post date:** [May 25, 2020, 7:41am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ok-memorial-weekend-1977-your-at-the-movies-which-one-would-or-did-you-see/854395/30 "2020-05-25T07:41:27Z")
> [@Siam\_Sam](#): > > You’ve never seen _Boogie Nights_? Nope. That came out between when I was out of college and when I got a decent-paying job. (I did watch a bunch of _Evening Shade_ when it was on, though.) ---
**Author:** ![terentii](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/terentii/32/212_2.png) [@terentii](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/terentii)\ **Post date:** [May 25, 2020, 8:14am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ok-memorial-weekend-1977-your-at-the-movies-which-one-would-or-did-you-see/854395/31 "2020-05-25T08:14:18Z")
I was in England when _ **Star Wars** _ was released, but it was the first movie I saw after I returned to the US about a month later. ---
**Author:** ![Superdude](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/superdude/32/13450_2.png) [@Superdude](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Superdude)\ **Post date:** [May 25, 2020, 9:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ok-memorial-weekend-1977-your-at-the-movies-which-one-would-or-did-you-see/854395/32 "2020-05-25T09:02:42Z")
I was 4 in 1977. I saw _Star Wars_ twice opening day. My aunt saw it with friends, then stole my brother and I and took us, and we sat through 2 showings. I don’t remember any TV spots for either of those films, however ---
**Author:** ![GuanoLad](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/guanolad/32/42_2.png) [@GuanoLad](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GuanoLad)\ **Post date:** [May 25, 2020, 10:06am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ok-memorial-weekend-1977-your-at-the-movies-which-one-would-or-did-you-see/854395/33 "2020-05-25T10:06:04Z")
Back in those days movie releases in New Zealand were months later than the US, sometimes years. I saw _Star Wars_ when it came out… in August 77. I was 7 years old. ---
**Author:** ![Sparky812](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/eb9ed0/32.png) [@Sparky812](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sparky812)\ **Post date:** [May 25, 2020, 10:52am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ok-memorial-weekend-1977-your-at-the-movies-which-one-would-or-did-you-see/854395/34 "2020-05-25T10:52:55Z")
Definitely Star Wars, I was 8 and my brother 6. My dad loved it so much we went took my grandmother back to see it within a couple days. I didn’t see Smokey until the summer at the Drive-In. ---
**Author:** ![singular1](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ba9def/32.png) [@singular1](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/singular1)\ **Post date:** [May 25, 2020, 11:21am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ok-memorial-weekend-1977-your-at-the-movies-which-one-would-or-did-you-see/854395/35 "2020-05-25T11:21:14Z")
I kinda saw it by accident. A friend and I went to a midnight showing after dropping acid. We had no idea what the movie was going to be. I’ll never forget the rush that opening scene gave us - we just grabbed each other’s hand in delight! ---
**Author:** ![JohnT](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johnt/32/15048_2.png) [@JohnT](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JohnT)\ **Post date:** [May 25, 2020, 12:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ok-memorial-weekend-1977-your-at-the-movies-which-one-would-or-did-you-see/854395/36 "2020-05-25T12:57:21Z")
I saw Smokey first, and I would choose Smokey again. A fantastic stupid movie, SatB features the greatest performance by a basset hound in cinema and a Sally Field who, frankly, just looks fuckin’ _choice_. Also, I grew up in Atlanta and it was thrilling to see Six Flags and the Scream Machine on cinema. ---
**Author:** ![ThelmaLou](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/thelmalou/32/390_2.png) [@ThelmaLou](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ThelmaLou)\ **Post date:** [May 25, 2020, 12:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ok-memorial-weekend-1977-your-at-the-movies-which-one-would-or-did-you-see/854395/37 "2020-05-25T12:59:00Z")
> [@singular1](#): > > I kinda saw it by accident. A friend and I went to a midnight showing after dropping acid. We had no idea what the movie was going to be. I’ll never forget the rush that opening scene gave us - we just grabbed each other’s hand in delight! The opening of _Star Wars_ is one of the BEST openings not just in movies but in all of literature. It follows the classic dictum to begin _[in medias res](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/In_medias_res)_, “in the middle of things.” ---
**Author:** ![pullin](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/c57346/32.png) [@pullin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pullin)\ **Post date:** [May 25, 2020, 1:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ok-memorial-weekend-1977-your-at-the-movies-which-one-would-or-did-you-see/854395/38 "2020-05-25T13:00:03Z")
Another “by accident” viewing of Star Wars here. I was a junior in college, hanging around the frat house with nothing planned. IIRC it was a Thursday night and a friend and I saw the movie’s ad in the paper. Both of us were sci fi fans (although circumspect about it in the greek world) and decided to pass the time at the theater. We knew literally nothing about the movie, and settled in expecting the typical cheesy scifi entertainment. As **singular1** above, we were astounded at how good it was, and the amazing special effects. All attempts to convince our frat brothers to return the next night were met with sneers and being called geek/nerd/etc. They were (of course) headed out to see Burt Reynolds’ and his amazing Trans Am and were uninterested. We went back and saw it again on Friday. ---
**Author:** ![jali](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/ecae2f/32.png) [@jali](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jali)\ **Post date:** [May 25, 2020, 6:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ok-memorial-weekend-1977-your-at-the-movies-which-one-would-or-did-you-see/854395/39 "2020-05-25T18:13:30Z")
I took my little Brother in Law and Sister In Law to see Star Wars on opening weekend in Richmond, Virginia. I was stuck somewhere a few weeks before this and I had nothing to read, so I bought the novelization of the screenplay on a whim. I enjoyed it so much that I was excited to see the movie. ---
**Author:** ![silenus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/silenus/32/166_2.png) [@silenus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/silenus)\ **Post date:** [May 25, 2020, 6:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ok-memorial-weekend-1977-your-at-the-movies-which-one-would-or-did-you-see/854395/40 "2020-05-25T18:18:29Z")
I saw Star Wars 26 times in the theater during its first run. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ok-memorial-weekend-1977-your-at-the-movies-which-one-would-or-did-you-see/854395.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ok-memorial-weekend-1977-your-at-the-movies-which-one-would-or-did-you-see/854395.md?page=3)