As Hollywood blockbusters go, they don't come bigger than this.

Star Wars - the Phantom Menace finally opens in Britain in two weeks' time, and excitement for the most hyped film in cinema history has firmly set in.

The 80 or so fans who stood patiently outside the Odeon in Colchester for two hours would have waited all night if necessary, just to get their hands on a precious ticket. It is expected to run at the Crouch Street cinema until at least Christmas.

The queue wasn't exactly passport-office size, but 18-year-old Matt Wright got there at 10pm so he could be the first through the box office door.

"I wanted to make sure I had a good seat at the first screening," he said. "I had to be the first person in the queue."

He saw his first Star Wars film when he was six, and even wrote a report on it for his media studies A-Level.

"I've seen the others countless times and I'm sure I'll see this one more than once," he added.

"If you are a true believer you can understand why we are waiting here."

Second in line was Tom Overton, 19, of Suffolk, who had never queued through the night for a cinema ticket before. "I just have to see the first one," he said.

"We are all planning to see it more than once - three or four times at least."

Like most male Star Wars fans, 19-year-old Tom Adams, of London Road, Stanway, harbours a not-so-secret crush on Princess Leah, and has been a fan of the film since he was four.

"Princess Leah is totally gorgeous," he said. "I had every Star Wars single figure when I was a child, but I sold them at a car boot sale, which I regret so much. My bedroom used to be covered with Star Wars stuff, and I still love it.

"My mum thinks I'm mad for staying out this late, but it's important to see it before anyone else.

"It was a real aim to get to the front of the queue."

Further down the line was teenager Emerald Aldred, of Tiptree, who is a relatively new fan of the sci-fi epic. She was introduced to the Star Wars films by boyfriend Martin Jacobs, 17, and was "quite surprised" to find she actually liked them.

"I've been converted by him," she said. "I've seen all of them now, and they are better than I thought they would be."

Martin, of Lexden, described himself as a "massive fan", and like millions of other youngsters, collected all the models when he was a child.

"I've seen all the others lots of times, and I just had to get tickets to the first-ever screening.

"I can't wait to go into college and say 'look what I've got' to the others."

Every Odeon in the UK opened at 12.01am today for one hour, and people have been ringing the Crouch Street cinema for at least four months.

Ticket holders expressed their delight by chanting the Star Wars theme in the street, and some even turned up with light sabres.

Duty manager Mary Wisbey said: "There has been an excellent response. It's going to run for as long as there is demand which means we will probably screen it for at least six months. Titanic lasted that long, and there wasn't any hype beforehand."

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