Some movies evaporate before you hit the multiplex door.

Alyssa Cwanger, Post-Gazette Cathy Farrell, 22, left, of the North Hills fights Andy Brown, 22, of North Huntingdon with lightsabers at a Star Wars Premiere Party at Loews at the Waterfront before the first showing of "Star Wars: Episode III -- Revenge of the Sith" at 12:01 a.m. yesterday. Click photo for larger image. Post-Gazette review: George Lucas' genius comes through in final 'Star Wars' chapter The moviegoers' guide to the 'Star Wars' Galaxy

Others stay with you. You remember not only the film but all the details of how old you were at the time, where you saw it and with whom, and even what the audience was like. "Star Wars" is one of those movies.

We asked three self-proclaimed "Star Wars" geeks, of different generations, to talk about what the franchise has meant to them, now that the end is here.

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By Sharon Eberson
Post-Gazette Sunday Magazine editor

In New York, the talk was of long lines to see this "Star Wars" that had such great word-of-mouth buzz. I lived in Brooklyn, and some friends in the Bronx thought we should try a theater near them, in New Rochelle, because they figured two weeks into the run, there'd be no line there. Of course, there was, but we waited and wound up sitting close enough to feel that the introductory words, as they flowed off into space, were originating from our laps.

All I can remember thinking as I walked out was, "This was for me. This Lucas guy did this for me." Or the "me's" of the world, anyway.

As a college student who counted "Lost in Space" and "Star Trek" among her favorite TV shows, who loved "The Once and Future King" and "The Lord of the Rings" and "Narnia" series and anything by Jules Verne, who delighted in Erroll Flynn's "Adventures of Robin Hood," this was the film experience I had been waiting for. George Lucas had wrapped up swashbuckling adventure, romance, humor and tragedy with imagination and creativity that was, well, out of this world. So what if the dialogue was a bit stiff? The Mos Eisley cantina scene, filled with otherworldly creatures, both glam and goofy, made me giddy. That others embraced it was no surprise -- how could they not?

The next movie in the series, "The Empire Strikes Back," ranks as my favorite, and not just because it opened mere months after I'd moved to Pittsburgh in 1980. Lucas hit his stride in that one. Although a bridge between episodes, it moves at a breakneck pace (and there were no cutesy characters, kids or Gungans to deal with). It was entertainment at its purest.

The best part of "Star Wars," like many things I enjoy, has been introducing it to my 13-year-old son and sharing the experience. I can't wait to see "Episode III" with him.

If I have one regret, it's this: That the run is at an end. But it's been a great 30-year ride.

Favorite "Star Wars" moment: I know this might be a bit too precious for most tastes, but it's when Princess Leia tells the about-to-be-carbon-frozen Han Solo, "I love you," and he earnestly replies, "I know."

Favorite "Star Wars" toy in my collection: A Han Solo doll, but I bought it for my son. Honest.

I like "Star Wars" in spite of ... Jar Jar Binks, Watto and those fuzzy little Ewoks.

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By Rob Owen
Post-Gazette TV editor

As eager as I was to see "Star Wars: Episode III -- Revenge of the Sith" earlier this month, I was also a little sad. Once the Fox fanfare sounded and the familiar opening began to scroll, I knew I would never again see a "Star Wars" movie for the first time.

For someone who grew up in the 1970s and 1980s, that's kind of a big deal. "Star Wars" was an important part of my childhood, even though I didn't see the first movie until I was a teenager. I was 6 when the first film premiered in 1977, and my mother feared it would be too scary. But I got into it through the media coverage, the story on a record (ah, records) and a comic book.

I can still remember using my own money to buy my first action figure, R2-D2, at the grocery store -- a big deal because Mom knew it would be cheaper at a toy store.

As I got older and acquired more "Star Wars" toys -- to play with, not collect -- a childhood friend and I built elaborate cities in the basement, playing out stories of power and strife. Like in George Lucas' "Star Wars" universe, our governments were not always benevolent; one society enslaved the Weebles.

Although this latest batch of "Star Wars" movies disappointed some fans, I loved how they maintained a unique style, that, despite the advances in special effects, matched the look, feel and texture of the first trilogy.

That sense of place was so well-developed, so concrete and had such a strong sense of continuity, that even though I always knew it was "just a movie," "Star Wars" unlocked my imagination and allowed me to believe this story set "a long time ago, in a galaxy far, far away."

Favorite "Star Wars" moment: When the Star Destroyer overtakes the Rebel Blockade Runner at the start of "Star Wars: A New Hope" following the opening scroll.

Favorite "Star Wars" toy in my collection: Kenner's Imperial Shuttle, released after "Return of the Jedi."

I like "Star Wars" in spite of ... The oftentimes lousy dialogue.

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By Tony Norman
Post-Gazette columnist

It was a hot afternoon in June 1977 when I wandered into a dark, impossibly cold movie theater. I was playing hooky from school and work. The Septa strike had just begun in Philadelphia and I was nursing a bruised ego (and sore feet) because my bike had been stolen. I was gripped by despair and a headache and needed some form of cheap escapism.

It's hard to remember now, but there wasn't a whole lot of hype about "Star Wars" the first few weeks after it hit the big screen. I worked at Comics for Collectors, Philly's premiere comic book store, and most of the customers who had seen the movie were blase about it, though they generally recommended it for its special effects.

So when I slipped into the half-empty movie theater on Chestnut Street, I didn't have high expectations -- but within minutes, I was duly amazed. Little things fascinated me. Dents on robot craniums and the accumulated dirt on Han Solo's Millennium Falcon gave the technology in "Star Wars" a lived-in feeling. The characters and themes in the film corresponded to familiar archetypes in comics and myths. It was a great synthesis of Buck Rogers, "Dune" and spaghetti Westerns.

Director George Lucas had a radical vision of the future (or the interstellar past) as a place where pristine machines and motives simply couldn't operate. The movie was a tribute to technological ingenuity, mysticism and hope in the human spirit to pull us through. It made the bus strike seem manageable when I had to walk back to West Philly later that evening.

Favorite "Star Wars" moment: Darth Vader reveals his paternal identity to Luke Skywalker during their lightsaber battle in "The Empire Strikes Back."

Favorite "Star Wars" toy: I was a comic-book geek. I didn't have toys.

I like "Star Wars" in spite of ... the paucity of black characters in the mythology until Billy Dee Williams as Lando Calrissian came along in "Empire Strikes Back."