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Frank Oz, who imbued Yoda with an incredible spirit and personality in The Empire Strikes Back, is celebrating his birthday today. And with all of approximately 20 minutes onscreen, he did as much as anyone to ensure that we would still be talking about the mythological story that is Star Wars for the last 38 years.
Yes, 38 years.
Can you believe it’s been that long? Because it has, as of today. On May 25th, 1977, the movie that would grab hold of the public imagination like nothing before it debuted in just a handful of movie theaters. (Oh, and in 1983, Return of the Jedi debuted on this date. Less auspicious, to be sure, but certainly worth noting.)
In today’s episode, we’ll talk about why nothing will ever be as big as Star Wars, ever again. It’s not just all of the perfect storm elements that you always hear about – it’s also about who we were as humans in the late 1970s that plays an important role.
(Pics via Wookieepedia, i09)