Top 25 Outdoor Movie: Star Wars
The final movie on our Top 25 Outdoor Movies of All Time list is the Star Wars saga. The series that began in 1977 has changed movie-making forever while enchanting millions of fans. Here is the original theatrical release trailer for the 1977 film Star Wars: Episode IV – A New Hope.
The original Star Wars trilogy changed movie-making in many ways. The special effects were state-of-the-art and remain impressive even by today’s standards. When the original Star Wars was released in 1977, it blew out the box office, becoming one of the top-grossing films in US history.
Collectively, the Star Wars films have grossed billions of dollars! Beyond the ticket sales, Star Wars is a series about the struggle between good and evil, light and dark — a wholesome saga that will certainly draw large numbers from your community.
The Star Wars films make the perfect selection for an outdoor movie series, and by the end of the run you’d have quite a bit of hype around your event. You’d get real attention in your local press and be able to galvanize your community.
There aren’t many people who don’t love Star Wars, and there probably isn’t a better set of films that would be as universally loved by just about any community. The themes running throughout the series resonate across a broad variety of worldviews, and thus help bring your community together in meaningful ways.
With characters such as Yoda, Obi-Wan Kenobi, Darth Vader, Princess Leia, Luke Skywalker, and R2-D2, the series presents one of the best opportunities for a costume contest as a pre-show activity. You could have a best-costume award for each film, with a grand winner across all of the events. Prizes could be given for each individual film (donated by local businesses), with a much larger prize for the overall winner.
You’re guaranteed to have dozens of little Yodas and Luke Skywalkers running around with lightsabers in their brown Jedi cloaks! Has anyone shown one of the Star Wars films, or all of them as a series, as part of their outdoor movie events? If so, we’d love to see pictures and hear your story. Please post your comments in the comment section below. We look forward to seeing what you come up with!