For most of you reading this, you’ve probably never lived in a world without Star Wars being around in some way, shape, or form. For some of you that are even younger, you’ve also probably never lived in a world without science fiction and fantasy cinema being represented everywhere, done with a high degree of care and fidelity when it comes to storytelling and special effects. But back in 1977, there had never been anything like Star Wars before, and audiences were simply blown away by what they were seeing come alive onscreen.

Which is why a then-thirteen year old fan by the name of Bill Forsche (who would later grow up to become a makeup and special effects artist on movies like A Nightmare on Elm St. 4 and Beetlejuice if you’re into fun facts) secretly recorded the audio of the movie when he attended a screening with his mom. This is in the days before VHS even, when you had to see the movie in theaters or wait years for it to play on television, so if young Bill wanted to “relive” the movie in any way, that cassette tape was pretty much his only option.

Now Forsche has made a YouTube video featuring the audio recording from way back in the day, combined with several vintage Star Wars images to go along with it. It’s not quite as good as being there, back when the movie wasn’t even called A New Hope, but it’s the next best thing.

What do you think of the recording? Let us hear it in the comments.

HT: The AV Club via io9