1977 At the Movies - Spies and a Plane and Space Fantasies

It was on May 25, 1977 that the film of a lifetime came along. Star Wars! I can't recall exactly when I attended my screening, but I don't think I saw it right out of the gate. It was a warm summery day at the time, so maybe it was in June or thereabouts. My folks, my little brother and I were visiting grandparents. I guess there was a quiet afternoon at hand and somebody must have put the idea out there to see a movie. Maybe that was me. My mom and my grandma had no idea what they were in for as we settled into our theatre seats, but I sure did. I'd been following film production as best I could back then... reading updates in Starlog magazine. The movie far surpassed my expectations, blew my proverbial socks off, and set me on a course as a fan for life. Like nothing I or anyone else had seen before on the silver screen, Star Wars (not yet dubbed "A New Hope") followed the captivating galactic adventures of a farm boy. You know the rest....

Jumping back a few months in time, I took in Airport '77, one of the many disaster movies I would see during that era. Like Towering Inferno, The Poseidon Adventure, Earthquake, and of course, the first two Airport movies. I caught those other ones on TV, though. Anyway, this was disposable stuff, certainly entertaining and thrilling, but it didn't exactly make a big impression. I've never had any notion of re-watching these sorts of movies. 

In late summer, it was time to round up the gang for a rowdy outing. My friends and I took in The Bad News Bears in Breaking Training. We had seen the first Bad News Bears and knew we were going to get more of the same... cursing kids and baseball shenanigans. I suppose we enjoyed Breaking Training; it was probably funny at the time, but after that... forgettable.

That winter, in December roughly, my buds and I gathered again for a filmic spectacle, Close Encounters of the Third Kind. As with Star Wars, I had plenty of advance notice about this movie's production. I knew the director's name, a Mr. Steven Spielberg, who was responsible for the chilling Jaws, which I had seen two years earlier. Close Encounters was Spielberg's first foray into science fiction, but certainly not his last. Could this be his best - from a directing standpoint - of the genre? I'd say E.T. and Jurassic Park are contenders, and E.T. would likely win a popularity contest... a cuter alien, right?

Anyway, I followed Close Encounters in the news and magazines until I finally got to see it on the big screen. Wow... there really is no other way to see this movie. Big. The startling special effects and the climax (and its lead-up) are best seen in large format. What a classic! I sure do miss my Close Encounters poster, though... I had that on my bedroom wall as a teen, but it went missing after I moved out on my own years later.

Damnation Alley, starring George Peppard and Jan-Michael Vincent (a familiar face from that decade; one of Hollywood and TV's hardest-working actors) was yet another sci-fi picture that I'd heard good things about in advance through my beloved Starlog movie magazine. So when the movie rolled into town, I rang up my pals and we headed out to see this underappreciated post-apocalyptic tale. At the time, I thought it was a neat little story and even today, after a re-watch, I can still say it's a fun diversion. Sort of fond memories there. Here's my recent review of the movie: Damnation Alley. 

The Spy Who Loved Me - my first James Bond movie at the theatre. Excellent choice... a great fun adventure full of thrills and girls and guns and gadgets. The best of the Roger Moore (as Bond) films, Spy introduced us to the massive, hulking villain Jaws. No, not the shark. This be-suited human character sported large teeth of steel, perfect for crunching down on his victims' throats. Kinda weird and creepy actually, when you consider he could just snap necks with his thumbs. Anyway, Moore turns in a fun performance, nicely anchored by Barbara Bach (my favourite of all the Bond girls)... they had screen chemistry that was rarely rivalled in the Bond movies. Between the quiet spy stuff and the exciting action sequences, The Spy Who Loved Me was a hit with me and my pals. I've gone on to become a huge Bond fan and still hold this particular film in high esteem alongside the untouchable Connery entries in the series. 

1977 was a very good - and memorable - year for movies, between Star Wars, Close Encounters, and The Spy Who Loved Me. Two franchises still alive and well today in 2017. Thank the Maker!