Star Wars

[thecolorsblend]

I've seen a few clips from The People vs. George Lucas, but I've yet to see the entire movie. I'd be interested to know if Lucas himself has seen it and if so what his reaction was.

What follows is unsubstantiated gossip but word 'round the campfire had it that Lucas got wind of the documentary relatively early on and also learned that Mark Hamill had been contacted by them about setting up an interview. I don't remember what Hamill's reaction would've been (he might've been preparing to tell them to go piss up a rope for all I know) but George's reps supposedly reached out to Hamill and said that if he does the interview, he can kiss future LFL Star Wars events (Celebration and the like) goodbye. Since things like that are apparently no small part of his income, he allegedly had to turn them down.

There's always some BS rumor out there and this is unconfirmed as far as I know but nevertheless it made the rounds for a long time there.

It seems like he's only recently begun acknowledging the criticism that's been following him for years. I wonder if the film had something to with that. Earlier in the year he stated he wouldn't make any more Star Wars films, saying:

"Why would I make any more, when everybody yells at you all the time and says what a terrible person you are?"

In a way I feel sorry for the guy. But at the same time he needs to be aware that while Star Wars is his creation, it's still nevertheless subject to the approval of the public. Like all art, his work's commercial viability is dependent on the patronage of the fans. If they don't want to pay to see his films, then he'll no longer be able to produce them.

Eh. That interview marked the moment when I turned on the haters and complainers. Up to then, I figured we were all Star Wars fans with different points of view. But for him to go on the record like he did... hell with them. I see their point of view but I will never forgive their methods.

I think that sums up the ambivalent feelings many of us harbour towards Lucas. We admire and respect him for giving us the original Star Wars and Indiana Jones trilogies. But we also resent him for not heeding constructive criticism and repeating the same mistakes over and over. Some of his errors can be dismissed as honest mistakes. But his obstinate refusal to release the unaltered Star Wars trilogy on Blu-ray is, in my opinion, totally inexcusable. It's as though he's doing it on purpose to get back at the fans for all the flack they've given him.

This is total speculation on my part but I think Lucas thought the fans would fall in love with the SE's, we'd appreciate the technical improvements and would never look back at the old versions. And to be fair, the 1997 remaster looked amazing and some of the effects shots genuinely were better or more interesting than the original versions (a lot of Cloud City stuff). But... well, you know what happened. Since then, I think Lucas has been a victim of his own pride. History has forgotten this but it took three years for LFL to stop calling it the "Star Wars Trilogy Special Edition" and simply call it the "Star Wars Trilogy". Three years. I've wondered more than once if the original plan had been to support both versions like ET or what have you but Lucas eventually just dug in his heels.

[Silver Nemesis]

I've never heard that rumour about Hamill before, but I know Lucas can be ruthless with his former cast members when they challenge him. Dave Prowse (Darth Vader) has spoken at length about how Lucas had him blackballed after he gave away the ending of RotJ in an interview. It's a good job Lucas didn't read this interview Prowse gave in 1978. He gives away another plot twist in the last two paragraphs, and this was before Empire Strikes Back had even been filmed...

This is total speculation on my part but I think Lucas thought the fans would fall in love with the SE's, we'd appreciate the technical improvements and would never look back at the old versions. And to be fair, the 1997 remaster looked amazing and some of the effects shots genuinely were better or more interesting than the original versions (a lot of Cloud City stuff). But... well, you know what happened.

I think you're right about that. His attitude seems to be one of perseverance, as if he sticks to his guns for long enough we'll all come around to his way of thinking. But he left it too long. If he'd released the special editions within a few years of the originals it mightn't have been a problem. But twenty years? By then the movies had already been imprinted on the hearts and minds of a whole generation.

I've wondered more than once if the original plan had been to support both versions like ET or what have you but Lucas eventually just dug in his heels.

That's an interesting point. I always assumed both versions would be available and Lucas would leave it up to the fans to decide which they preferred. But then I recalled the commercials for the 1995 remastered VHS releases. Notice what the voice over says at the 55 second mark.

"This will be your last chance to own the original version of Star Wars..."

I remember seeing another commercial back in '95 where the voice over said something about the fans buying the original films "before they vanish" or something to that effect. At the time I didn't know what it meant, but looking back on it now I wonder if Lucas had always intended for things to play out the way they did.

[thecolorsblend]

It was a common thing at the time for Disney to say that such-and-such will be released on tape one final time or into theaters one final time, etc. Not saying your point doesn't have relevance, just that I don't think LFL did much else before 2000 to position the Special Edition as the only edition.

[The Dark Knight]

The younger Lucas was infinitely better than the older Lucas. For example Han Solo, a young smuggler and the type of person you'd see hanging out in a shady  cantina, shooting a rival dead and walking off with no regrets. Not taking any chances, ala that stupid 'Greedo and Han shoot at the same time' thing.

The changes really sapped my enthusiasm. I mean, putting a rock in front of R2 in the 1977 SW. Really? If you look at the picture now, how on Earth did R2 get in there and out again? He's blocked in. If Burton woke up one day and wanted to redo B89 and BR I'd be annoyed.

I honestly don't care about the prequels and don't feel the need for the classic trilogy to line up with them. The unaltered trilogy is where it begins and ends for me. I'm interested in what carry over material Episode 7 will have. But I can't see them beating the stuff they made 'back in the day'. It's nigh impossible to replicate charm.

[thecolorsblend]

-- Top Five Star Wars Predictions
Qualifiers- Over the next five or so years;
Sequence- unranked;

Original/unaltered movies- All six movies will be released in their unaltered forms sooner rather than later. Lucas already did the big Blu-Ray release. Disney doesn't have much to exploit with yet another re-release. Plus, they know the demand is out there.

Original/unaltered fans- Abrams and Disney will go far out of their way to appeal to fans of the oh-riginal trilogy. They want them back in the camp. Because of that, I'd be surprised if there's much reference to the prequels in the new movies apart from big picture stuff.

Casting- Hamill, Fisher, Ford, (Billy Dee) Williams, Mayhew and Daniels are all coming back. John Williams? Your guess is as good as anybody's. As to Episode 7, people will probably enjoy it but it likely won't become the new Empire. It won't become the new Phantom Menace either though.

Expanded universe reboot- This is shakier. Could be wrong here but all the games, novels, comics and other things are too unwieldy. Plus, Disney will want to rebuild Star Wars from the ground up. Why wouldn't they? My bet is Disney will rebuild the EU from scratch using the original versions of all six movies as their base canon. It's kind of inevitable if Episode 7 includes Chewie (who's dead in current continuity).

Fan Edits- Disney will eventually drop the hammer of God on people producing fan edits and other derivative works. It's how they've always rolled in the past. If you dig alternative cuts of Star Wars, my advice is to get 'em while you can.

- Runners-Up
Qualifiers- Even less likely than the above;

Scorched earth reboot- Delete the prequels too. Disney may think (with some justification) that they could do a better job of telling Vader's history. Modern audiences are very well acquainted with the idea of reboots. This could be a sellable concept. If it comes to this... yeah, I would actually expect the Disney prequels to be better than George's.

Holiday Special- Lucas only reluctantly acknowledged that the Holiday Special exists. Anybody care to wager Disney is more willing to laugh about it? After all, it's another Blu-Ray to sell and it's not like it's *THEIR* screw up...

[The Laughing Fish]

Apparently Disney wants to release a Star Wars movie every year -  a movie for the sequel trilogy in one year, and the other being a standalone movie in the next year.

Source: http://entertainment.ie/cinema/news/Disney-set-to-release-a-new-Star-Wars-film-every-year/178019.htm

I had a friend telling me recently that he actually prefers the prequel trilogy than the original trilogy. Worse, he even says Revenge of the Sith is the best Star Wars of all time. WTF?! 

[thecolorsblend]

Apparently Disney wants to release a Star Wars movie every year -  a movie for the sequel trilogy in one year, and the other being a standalone movie in the next year.

Source: http://entertainment.ie/cinema/news/Disney-set-to-release-a-new-Star-Wars-film-every-year/178019.htm

Yeah, not sure what to think of that. I could see it working out really well. But that's not the only possible outcome...

I had a friend telling me recently that he actually prefers the prequel trilogy than the original trilogy. Worse, he even says Revenge of the Sith is the best Star Wars of all time. WTF?! 

Mmm. I can kinda sorta see that, actually. The prequels are nowhere near as well done as they could've and should've been... but on a story level, yeah, I do think they could have been better than the original trilogy. The original trilogy has the better characters. That's not open to debate. But I could believe the story isn't as strong as the prequels. The prequel story just isn't as well executed.

[The Dark Knight]

I agree the execution was off in parts during the prequels, but ROTS is my favourite of that bunch. Things started to happen.

The final battle on Mustafar does that on its own for me. I liked the overall darker tone of the film and the sense of foreboding. I had been waiting for ages to see Palpatine reveal himself, so when he harshens his tone and says "are you threatening me master Jedi?", I got excited. Also the attack of the temple mixed in with the order 66 transition was quite a powerful, emotional moment.

[thecolorsblend]

I'm on a serious Star Wars kick right now. So. Lost a lot of my original enthusiasm for the prequels. Fanedits which attempt to "redeem" them seem like a waste to me though.

So, what then? Well, the whole reason the prequels let a lot of people down is because the original trilogy hinted at all this cool stuff that went on as the backstory which the prequels may or may not have really delivered on. But... maybe it's better that way? Maybe it's best if we only get the flavor of what the prequel story without being burdened by midichlorians* and Jar Jar?

My original idea was to just use the prequel trailers as replacements for the prequels themselves. But then I remembered that Star Wars- A Musical Journey DVD that came with the Revenge of the Sith score. What if portions of that served as your prequel canon? No real story going, not much dialogue but... dammit, it could work! To YouTube!

-- Dark Forces Conspire
Couldn't find a YouTube video for it but it's basically Duel of the Fates and a lot of battle stuff.

-- A Hero Rises/A Fateful Love

-- A Hero Falls

On the whole, there are worse compromises. No, you don't get a very complex story... but then again you also don't get the prequels as we know them right now either. You get the general flavor of what went on without getting bogged down by Separatists, trade disputes and taxation of space routes.

Until Disney remakes the prequels (which I maintain is on the table), these will have to do.

* To be fair though, midichlorians never bothered me. I thought the Force as a hereditary thing was implicit in A New Hope and Empire Strikes Back and explicit in Return of the Jedi.

[Azrael]

Loved the Musical Journey, IMO Star Wars works as an "extended music video" with the story told only through visuals, clever editing, narration and very little dialogue. I don't hate the prequels (I even loved Episode III), but Williams' new compositions like the Duel or the Love Theme were easily one of the best things about them.