On June 01, 2025, cinema as we know it was changed forever, when 20th Century Fox released a movie calledStar Wars. Fans entering theaters that day didn’t know this at the time, but they still came out in droves to seeStar Warson the big screen, as they would do in the years to come forThe Empire Strikes BackandReturn of the Jedi. A few years back, a fan released an audio recording from inside a theater whereStar Warswas playing in 1977, which was later synced up to footage from the film. The end result offers fans rare audio inside one of the first everStar Warsscreenings back in 1977.
On August 14, 2025, a YouTube user namedWilliam Forscheuploaded a video that contained five minutes and 23 seconds of audio that he recorded from inside a 1977 screening of the very firstStar Warsmovie,A New Hope. That video also featured a montage of randomStar Warsimages, but they by no means matched up to the audio recorded in 1977. Then in 2015, anotherYouTubeuser namedHomer Thompson, “re-edited the audio so the sound matched the picture.” The result is a three-minute video that shows how fans reacted when Han Solo (Harrison Ford) swooped in to get Darth Vader off Luke Skywalker’s (Mark Hamill) tail, during the iconic Death Star trench dogfight.
This video also includes this particular theater’s triumphant reaction when theDeath Starexplodes, after Luke Skywalker’s “one in a million” shot to destroy the Death Star. It’s possible that this video is resurfacing after a year and a half because the newStar Warsspin-offRogue One: A Star Wars Storyshows what lead up to that very weakness being built into the Death Star itself, which Luke exploited after the battle station plans were stolen by the heroes showcased inRogue One. Then again, who knows why anything resurfaces after 18 months, but regardless, it’s a rare glimpse into an audience seeing this galaxy far, far away for the first time.
Naturally, it isn’t known what promptedWilliam Forscheto record the audio, but he did add this was from his second screening ofStar Wars, even noting the times during the five-minute video that his mother can be heard laughing along with her son and the rest of the audience.William Forscheadds that he can also be heard making laser beam noises at the end of the recording because,Star Warsgot him, “all fired up!” That era also lacked the audio recording technology we have today, so it’s worth noting that you can hear the actual audio tape squeaking as it runs through the tape player, on the original recording.
We have included both the 2:56 video of the original audio, synced up with footage from the original movie, and the original 5:23 recording with more bits of audio. Of course, it isn’t known if there is any other theater audio recordings from any of the other millions of screenings ofStar Wars: Episode IV - A New Hope, but perhaps this audio will inspire fans to dig out those old recordings, if they do in fact exist. It’s possible that, many years from now, audio and/or video will surface featuring audiences reacting toRogue OneorThe Force Awakens. Until then, take a look at these videos below for a blast from the past with audio from one of the firstA New Hopescreenings.
