Madison Public Library
The MAD Movie-A-Thon-O-Rama: STAR WARS DAY (1977-1983)
Saturday, May 29, 2027 9:30 a.m. – 4:45 p.m.
Star Wars Day (1977-1983)
A long time ago, in a galaxy exactly like ours, a movie was released over the summer of 1977 that changed cinema forever. Smokey and the Bandit! This movie forever made the black Pontiac Trans Am one of the coolest car ever made. But two days before Smokey and the Bandit came out, on May 25, 1977, Star Wars hit movie screens and became an instant sensation. Within days, word of mouth spread and lines outside theaters stretched down every street corner. It never slowed down for fifty years!
Come celebrate fifty years of Star Wars with a triple feature of the first three movies in editions as close to the original theatrical versions as possible.
Farm kid Luke Skywalker buys some stolen droids and soon finds himself whisked away on an adventure that sees him fighting alongside the Rebel Alliance against the Empire. There's a princess, a ne'er-do-well space scoundrel who runs around with the Wookie Monster, two droids who bicker like an old couple, an old man who speaks in riddles and an asthmatic villain with a weapon capable of blowing up entire planets. It is the rousing space adventure that inspired billions of imaginations and continues to find new fans every day. 121 minutes. MOVIE BEGINS AT 9:30 A.M.
The Empire Strikes Back (1980)
The gang is back. Luke heads to a swamp planet to train with Jedi master Yoda. Han is picked up by bounty hunter Boba Fett. Leia lets Han know she digs him before he's frozen in a cryogenic chamber like an oversized Swanson's Hungry Man TV Dinner. There is betrayal at Cloud City. Darth Vader has some hard truths for young Skywalker. If they ever made a better Star Wars movie than The Empire Strikes Back, I never saw it. This is that rare middle chapter in a trilogy that is better than both the first and final chapters. I should just show Empire three times but we'll watch the whole trilogy. I promise. 124 minutes. MOVIE BEGINS AT 12:00 P.M.
The Empire Strikes Back trailer
A satisfying conclusion to the original trilogy has Luke and Leia saving Han from Jabba the Hut, the revelation of a new Death Star, and an army of little Teddy bear creatures who, I'm pretty sure, will eat you if come at them wrong. C3PO is hailed as the Teddy bears' "promised one." The final thirty minutes are non-stop action as the Rebel Alliance makes one final effort to overthrow the Empire. 131 minutes. MOVIE BEGINS AT 2:30 P.M.
Food and drink are allowed in the auditorium during the films.
The movie will be shown in AUDITORIUM 1 of the Madison Public Library.
You can contact Rob with any questions at rfreese@hmcpl.org.