Star Wars

[brian]

Got the old video out yesterday and watched the first [episode IV] STAR WARS again.

Superb stuff! Funny - it's around 25 years old now, but certainly doesn't look that dated. Looking at what Lucas acheived with it, it really is quite impressive - and remains so.

I'm thinking we won't see it on DVD, though, until sometime after episode III has been and gone. Even then, hope we see the original non-CGI and properly restored STAR WARS - I know there are cuts in the video release that differed from the first TV showing.

[nemesis]

You watch one, you watch the new ones, and you notice how much difference there is with the approach. Stars Wars had something that's been missing ever since. The old ones were nice, but I tnink he lost it the moment he thought of Ewoks.

[Archangel Scream]

And what's wrong with Ewoks??! ;D

[mac1]

I cant believe the amount of people who refuse to buy episode I and II on DVD because they are holding out untill abou 2008 when all the films have been released and Lucas brings out a boxset, they must be mad. The special features are amazing too! It would be nice; having said that; for Lucas to release the box set with both the Remastered and Original versions of the original trilogy included. If anyone wants the films in their original cut, they are still available to buy in the now dying mediums of VCD and Laserdisc.

[Survivor]

Why isn't there a smiley for sicking up here?

On the other hand, the "foley room" special feature where they show those wonderful foley gals doing the sound effect for Anikan and Amidala's kiss is almost worth buying the DVD on it's own

[brian]

I just hope with the original films they don;t try and fob us off with the computerised versions. The TIE fighters didn't look plastic in the original "Star Wars", and the computerised Jabba in the same episode just didn't cut it. A novelty, not the classic version.

[brian]

I note that there have been some gripes about Star Wars in the books section…see if we can keep them in the TV/Film board.

The original Star Wars film? Great stuff. Not in terms of plot - which as a script would read as nothing higher than Victorian melodrama. What made Star Wars was the vision Lucas imbued it with - Darth Vader as a symbol of death was superbly convincing. I have friends who've studied film, and they are usually critical of Lucas's directing. Personally, I don’t see a problem with the original film - note the opening sequence is one of the best in film - the way the Imperial stardestroyer gradually films the entire screen is nothing but memorable.

The sequels had their moments - but were never able to come close to the tight fit of the first.

The more recent films? Well…less said about "Phantom Menace" the better.

Funny - saw Episode 2 at the cinema long after everybody else had been and complained about it. Personally, I wanted to look at the vision he used as research and actually enjoyed it. Saw it again on DVD the other night and simply had to wonder what the point of it all was - with second viewing I saw nothing more than a pretty but meaningless canvas of graphics. Sometimes I wasn't sure if I were watching a computer game - was there really a point to using so much CGI? Even more so as CGI is so obvious - they still haven't perfected lighting effects.

Especially compare to the LOTR films, where real sets are built and then extended using CGI. Looks more convincing - even though the scale can sometimes looks compromised. At least it’s a lot harder to spot where some of the CGI kicks in.

Plot-wise II was hindered by vision, rather than helped - unlike the original film. The clone army looked nice, but why was it even there? Plot-wise that was missing. And how come Jango Fett fled straight to Count Dooku, yet never let him into the fact that there was a clone army at his disposal and for the taking? (okay, someone is going to try explaining that, I figure - but that should be done in the film, yes?).

Funny, years ago I said that only Episode III would be the one to really watch - firstly, because it would tie-in well, and also because we'd see the making of Darth Vader. It would be terribly disappointing if Lucas got that wrong as well, and continued on his apparent drive to be a "visual artist" rather than a film-maker.

Perhaps there's a lesson here - that success breeds complacency.

[mac1]

;D not a point - but what with the "&#8230" and "&#8217" ;D

[mac1]

Unfortunately Lucas has fallen into a trap by now making the prequels to his original trilogy. This trap is that he clearly feels that anything that has been mentioned in his original trilogy has to be included in his prequels. In answer to you question about why was there a clone army, I think the answer is simply that in episode IV Luke talk to Obi-Wan about how Anikin fought with him during the Clone Wars. This seemed like an important part of their conversation, and although it was literally only one line in one film, Lucas has seen fit to build Episode II around it. I hope this doesn't happen with Episode III. Episode I also had Lucas fall into this trap, any reference in Episode IV, which stated that Luke's father was an outstanding pilot, meant that this needed to be included in Episode I, hence the Pod-Racing, and that horrible accidental hero malarky. In Lucas defense, I think he has pretty much stayed true to his saga for the most part but he has gone a little too Hollywood. That scene in Episode II, at the start, where Anakin jumps off one Anti-Gravity-Hover-Spacecar-Thingy to another was just too over the top. I know hes supposed to be a great Jedi and all, but good god that bit was bad. Like I said, Lucas has become just a bit too Hollywood. Like you said, I hope Episode III is done a lot better. As is the case with the Smallville TV show, it will be interesting to witness the events that turn a spiteful but humble young adult into Evil Incarnate.

[brian]

[quote author=mac1 link=board=7;threadid=43;start=0#msg588 date=1042590189]
;D not a point - but what with the "&#8230" and "&#8217" ;D
[/quote]

Ah, yes - that was a bad case of my ISP making my posts the laughing stock of the internet.

Sometimes my ISP's server renders punctuation into its HTML code when I send. I've seen this happen to others, too. Quite sad, really.