The Star Wars Time Machine

The only place to see Return of the Jedi was if you sat in the aisle. Yes--the theater was packed with Star Wars fans and there were no seats from which to watch the film. I was only 5, but I remember staring up at that screen into Jabba's eyes and loving every second of it.

Most of you who come to this site have seen Star Wars and maybe at some point in your life was mildly obsessed with it. It's the geek-hobby that mainstream culture has embraced, making it kinda cool to be a Star Wars fan.

I was into the toys. Those movies made me want every piece of plastic with relation to Star Wars. Birthdays, Christmas and trips to K-Mart were always graced with the presence of the Force. I remember waking up one Christmas morning to find the Emperor's shuttle under the tree with an A-Wing fighter, and a slew of figures to man the vehicles.

I had T-shirts, lunchboxes, Halloween costumes, even a tooth brush.

For some kids, latching on to toys fizzled out by the time they reached junior high or high school. But I assume if you're reading this, you were one of the kids who hung on to stuff, right? I did.

Pretty much all of my toys from that time have survived today and I'm happy my parents allowed me to store them for so long. It's given me an excuse to time travel just a little bit into the memory days of Star Wars.

The toys are also are a relevant part of my everyday life now--I'm a filmmaker. And a toy collector. Especially of Star Wars toys.

I decided to combine film and toys to see if I could do something cool. What came from it was the acquaintance of an owner of a vintage Star Wars shop in Tokyo, Japan. His shop really is a time machine. From floor to ceiling are toys, props, and store displays from the very first days the film was released, to the huge enterprise it has become today. If you are even mildly interested in Star Wars, I think you'd find this store to be a "holy land," some sort of sacred Star Wars wormhole that has appeared in the universe.

So let me stop my rambles and let the film speak for itself. Take a trip back in time to all things Star Wars vintage.

http://youtu.be/qWeeNWmP91M