So Star Wars turns 30 this May…I want to get excited but it just means I have gotten really, really old.

I remember dragging my Dad down to the theater to see it the day it opened at the earliest show possible so we could get a seat. It was beyond awesome. I saw the film seven more times that opening week. Like many theaters, the one where I viewed this masterpiece of celluloid storytelling no longer exists. For the uninitiated, here are the differences in the formats:

35mm has much less surface area than 70mm.

65mm film negatives with no sound lines would be used in the camera to shoot the footage.

For the release they would transfer the image to 70mm film stock with 6 channels of sound.

Descriptions courtesy of this geocities site.

Does anyone else out there remember seeing what 70 mm Dolby looked and felt like? It was amazing. The best 70mm experiences were to be had where the theater actually had the proscribed curved screen and 6 channel sound system.

Cleveland had one 70mm movie house back in those days. I remember seeing Brainstorm on that huge puppy and the opening 360 sequence almost got me nauseous…and I loved it! I think that location holds a bank now which is sad considering the megaplex environments we are asked to suffer.  Hellloooo, large screen home HD with 65″ plasma and surround sound.

Naturally, this question ain’t in the same league when Kennedy got shot, the Dow sank on Black Monday (another anniversary this year as it was 20 years ago), or when 911 happened but at least the Star Wars anniversary conjures up good times and not bad and it is in that spirit that I ask that question.

So where did you see it? How many times? Did it excite you?

CNN is letting people get their geek out by uploading pics and commentary.