Can Star Wars Episode III Be Saved? 905
mcwop writes "MSNBC is running a commentary asking: 'Can "Star Wars: Episode III" be saved?' It proposes changes such as ripping off Akira Kurosawa, getting the otherwise good actors to emote, and even firing Lucas. It is one year away, but is it too late to save Episode III?"
A bright future (Score:5, Interesting)
Wait 20 years or so. The original trilogy will continue to be seen as a seminal work, and the "prequels" as a bastardized ripoff. Eventually, Lucas will die, or otherwise give up the franchise (maybe Michael Jackson can trade his Beatles songs [straightdope.com] for it).
Then, finally, someone can remake parts I through III the way they should have been done in the first place. No midchlorians, no virgin birth, no Jar Jar. Special effects that compliment the story, instead of overshadowing it.
Some future screenwriter and director will have the opportunity to give us back the thrill we had in the '70s, when we saw the original Star Wars in a non-multiplex theater, and were in awe. We who were preteens will be in our 50s... it won't be too late.
Something to look forward to! Just not in 2005.
It is too late, but... (Score:3, Interesting)
WTF? (Score:3, Interesting)
Mr. Lucas had this story in his head MANY moons ago. Why in the hell should he not finish his vision?
Disclaimer: Yes, ok, I have high hopes for ep3 even after the mess that 1 and 2 were...
Bit harsh isn't it? (Score:2, Interesting)
Besides its Lucas's concept and franchise, he can do what ever he wants with it. How do you know he is not pulling one of the biggest practical jokes in history by producing an increasingly dire series that people still fork out shedloads to watch?
re: a bright future (Score:5, Interesting)
otherwise though, that's an interesting idea. of course, there's a bit of me that wishes i could see a kevin smith treatment of ep 3, considering he's a big SW fanboy.
ed
Re:Does Lucas Know? (Score:5, Interesting)
I know that there will be 100 posts saying this exact same thing by the time I click the submit button, but to answer your questions: Yes and No. He does know how people feel. He doesn't live in a little bubble in the Arizona desert. He may even read Slashdot while hiding under the identity of Paul Rothrock. But, in the end, Star Wars is not about the movies. It isn't about the story. The Start Wars books are far more interesting story-wise than the movies. It is about the marketing. If you go way back to A New Hope and read the behind-the-scenes stuff that went on to get the movie made, you can see that Lucas was keen on marketing. Everything else was just a hobby.
Re:Changes? (Score:4, Interesting)
Too Late (Score:2, Interesting)
hire brin!!! (Score:5, Interesting)
I already told several people that I will not be seeing Ep III because Brin's conclusion to the series is so much better than anything Lucas could come up with.
Re:A bright future (Score:5, Interesting)
Maybe a bit overstated. Even as a 10-year-old I felt embarassed by the flat, corny dialogue in some parts of #4, especially when Han says to Luke "May the Force be with you." You can tell that Harrison feels like a goon saying that line.
Now that's not to say the Star Wars universe isn't great. I rarely had so much fun as playing SW-KotOR, and much of it was because it was just so cool walking around on Tatooine.
Saved, Episode III can be (Score:4, Interesting)
or do like the 80's show Dallas and have it all be a dream sequence and make a Good Movie for a change.
Lucas too possessive to let someone else try (Score:5, Interesting)
Lucas will never allow anyone to do anything with Star Wars. In fact, his best buddy Steven Spielberg has already spoken about this [bbc.co.uk]. Lucas feels that the Star Wars saga will be his legacy and he doesn't want anyone messing with it. Spielberg practially begged Lucas for a chance to direct a Star Wars film and Lucas said no. So I can't see Lucas willingly giving up control to anyone. And with the new copyright laws, his family will be able to control Star Wars indefinitely. So you can forget about a Star Wars film ever being made by anyone with talent.
GMD
Re:Does Lucas Know? (Score:5, Interesting)
Once again no one on Slashdot is talking about the truth of the situation. Lukas is getting you to pay for a paradigm shift to digital movie making. All he needs is for the movie to be good enough to cover costs. He could probably write off the cost as R&D anyway because that's what he's doing. He is doing a proof of concept for all digital filmmaking. He is not telling a story, He is not making a movie, and he is definitely not making art of any kind.
Am I in the minority? (Score:3, Interesting)
You would think from all the ranting and raving you always see on here that I'm in the minority, but well, you know.....those two films DID make a LOT of money..... So, SOMEONE out there must have liked them because they sure spoke with their wallets. *shrug*
I dunno. Sometimes I think people had some unrealistic expectations of the prequels, based on memories of movies they saw as kids 20 years ago. Imagine yourself as the same kid from 20 years ago watching the two prequels and I'd be willing to bet you'd have liked it a lot better than you do now as an adult.
Just my opinion, for what it's worth....
-Ken
Re:A bright future (Score:3, Interesting)
re: a bright future (Score:2, Interesting)
why is the emperor evil? b/c he craves power and power corrupts. what makes him crave power? why did he become a sith lord? these are all questions that in a serious drama would have been addressed.
that would make a very interesting movie, too. but (again, IMHO), that isn't very star wars.
not to sound like a lucas apologist, but the fact that jar-jar, who the audience is supposed to like (at least, when the character was originally conceived anyway), is responsible for the rise of the empire is probably supposed to have some sort of dramatic payoff (presumably in ep3). he is, after all, supposed to be one of the good guys.
ed
Midochlorians (sp?) (Score:4, Interesting)
Lucas took all the magic out of Star Wars. He actually managed to go back in time and ruin the original three episodes with his pseudo-scientific explanation. And the new stuff stinks. As much as I hate the Jar-Jar character, I sympathised with him when he stepped in that pile of sh*t. That's exactly how I felt while watching Episode III.
Re:no. (Score:3, Interesting)
He doesn't like criticism (Score:5, Interesting)
Oh, Lucas knows that people don't like what he's done. The problem is that he thinks they are all wrong and doesn't want to hear it. In fact, CNN was refused access to Attack of the Clones based on a Connie Chung interview where she told Lucas that most people thought TPM was a disappointment [tvweek.com]. If you're going to kick the media off your property and deny them access to a major news story just because they suggested that the film didn't live up to expectations, I don't think you can honestly claim that you're open to criticism.
As far as his "reputation as a filmmaker", I think Lucas must realize now that he really isn't a filmmaker. He knows that Star Wars will be his legacy. So he really doesn't care about looking like some kind of great director because he knows he'll never direct again. That's probably one reason he's so possessive of the films -- he knows this is the last movie he'll ever direct.
GMD
I would like to see remake of 4,5,6 (Score:2, Interesting)
Star Wars != Hidden Fortress (Score:4, Interesting)
Hidden Fortress:
Two peasant farmers are refugees, trying to return home after a war. They find gold, and join with a mysterious powerful-looking man and a mysterious beautiful girl. Together they attempt to smuggle the gold across the border and evade capture.
Star Wars:
Farmboy Luke Skywalker finds more than he bargained for when he gains possession of two androids, who lead him on the adventure of his life to save a beautiful princess, befriend a devil-may-care space smuggler, and save the galaxy from the evil clutches of Darth Vader. Tutored by the mysterious Obi Wan Kenobi, Luke must "Learn the ways of the Force" and destroy the Death Star.
Key differences:
There is a powerful virile General (Mifune) in HF. In SW you have an aged magician (Kenobi) and an untrained boy (Luke).
In HF the princess is on the run to an allied province. In SW, the princess is captured and must be rescued.
In HF, the whole point is to get the princess safely to the allied province. In SW, the whole point is to blow up the Death Star.
SW has super powers (The Force). In HF, everyone is obvious merely human.
SW is a much more action oriented affair. HF is based more upon the interaction between the characters.
Similarities:
There is a princess in both.
There is a comic relief duo in both. SW, the droids. HF, the peasant farmers.
I know Lucas wants to compare himself to Kurosawa but he really copied 30s movie serials, not Hidden Fortress. About the only thing he took from HF is the comedy duo.
Also, Hidden Fortress really isn't Kurosawa's best work. Rashômon, Seven Samurai, Yojimbo, and even Ran are far surperior to Hidden Fortress. However, they are much better known and Lucas wouldn't have been able to get away with claiming ripping them off.
Star Wars: A New Blockbuster (Score:2, Interesting)
I acknowledge the common mistakes, haydenson is not a very good vader, several actors are not doing their best work, jar jar blew, bad dialog, a few stupid plot lines, some bs about midichlorians, on and on. But, with the exception of haydenson, I think these things are all largely forgivable.
Shut your ears to the "science" behind the jedi, let jar jar do what he does best, and that is be a foil for other actors, forgive the bad acting, and you have an entertaining flick.
To me, as a child, the greatest aspect of the star wars movies was the larger than life set of the universe. The huge battles, the lightsabers, the uber jedi, the excitement and anticipation of a large showdown between good and evil, etc. All of this is preserved. The space scenes are fantastic, as are the sets. Everything visual about this movie is just gorgeous to look at. The huge war in Attack of the Clones was breathtaking.
Enter, exhibit A, my little brother. Throughout both movies he was in awe. He was practically jumping out of his seat the whole time. For episode 3, I recommend you look around yourself in the theater at the little kids. Don't you remember doing what they were doing when you saw the movie?
Enter, Exhibit B, the money. The box office money is not coming from bitter fans, don't kid yourself. People are going to see these movies multiple times. You elitists can scoff that its people who don't know any better and who aren't good enough for movies, but thats a steaming pile of excrement. It is families with kids, it is teenagers, and the like in my opinion who are going to this. I enjoy a good drama movie with great acting and good plot, but I also enjoy an action / adventure space-opera. I saw adults getting ultra excited about these movies, too. When I went to watch Attack of the Clones for the *second* time the day it was released in my city, I was waiting in line with other people who had already seen it once. Those people aren't going back to remind themselves of how godawful the movie was. They are going back because they enjoyed it.
Enter, Exhibit C, yoda's fight scene. This was not the only scene that garnered a huge reaction among people in the theater when I saw the movies. But this scene was one of the most engendering. Cat calls, whistles, and general "yo go yoda, kick his ass", were what people said. People were engaged and they remained engaged throughout the scene. When christopher lee chickened out, people boo'd.
I'm glad my brother doesn't read slashdot otherwise he'd be asking me, why do those people not like star wars? And I'd have to explain to him, well some people require science fiction movies with silly and fictional devices to somehow make sense and be these all important dramatic movies. (a la matrix). The mystery of it, was its charm. We were free to imagine why the jedi could do what they did. I think people expect all these answers from the prequels and you aren't going to get them. What you get is set up work for episodes 4-6. And the answers come from *those* movies. You get leia's love of solo, you get a father's love for his son squashing his tyrranical ways, and you get the ultimate control freak (the emporer) to die a horrible death. Freedom and the little guys conquer the large, evil empire of control.
You still get emotional moments from the prequels, the death of anakin's mother, anakin having to leave his mother, the loss of his arm, the rift between anakin and obi wan, etc. I think they're designed to be stress inducing, which they are. The movie successfully makes you feel an impending doom for everyone involved.
The only trully sad thing about the prequels is that there is no equivalent to Harrison Ford. Maybe if they let samuel jackson get a bit more scre
Really? (Score:1, Interesting)
I've heard that in America if you mod your X-Box, you can be arrested.
Re:no. (Score:3, Interesting)
In terms of a story in was not groundbreaking. In terms of acting it was not groundbreaking. However, it did put a new twist on the generic story and minimal acting.
I saw the original three in the theaters when they were originally released. I saw the first more times than I care to admit. I saw the second more times that I care to admit. I saw the third maybe twice. The last one just did not meet my expectations. I am sure Fisher was put in a bikini merely to compensate for the lack of quality.
I next saw Star Wars when it was released on VHS. I was in my teens. I feel asleep half way through. I have seen it several times since. I have stayed awake, but frankly it is not in my collection of movies that I watch once a year of so. I saw the reedit in the theaters. I did not bother to see the other two. I am a fan. At one time I could run the dialogue, story-line, etc.
So what I see happening is people romanticizing the quality of the original trilogy. I also see people expecting an older director and writer to have the same originality of a young director and writer. Both of these lead to unreasonable expectations.
I personally do not see that the prequels are any more or less quality than the originals. I do see Lucas trying to remake the story to fit modern sensibilities and assumptions. I do not think this is unreasonable. Also, like in the originals, he maximizes the use of technology. This of course changes the look of the prequels, which annoys some people, but remains true to the spirit of the franchise. if the trend continues, and the final three eps are made, I fully expect them to be fully CGI. The original weren't simply because the technology did not exist.
Re:Didn't Get Any Attention?? (Score:2, Interesting)
Re:Didn't Get Any Attention?? (Score:5, Interesting)
We had quite sophisticated tastes back then:
Saturday morning cartoons
Bicycles
Peterbuilt/Kenworth/MAC big-rig trucks & CB radios
Hotwheel/Matchbox car collecting
Catching insects and lizards
Tormenting the red ant nest at school
Planet of the Apes (all of them) along with SWAT/Emergency!/6 Million Dollar Man were the best of Hollywood, and KISS was the best musical band.
Is it any wonder as adults we see these films differently?
A little bubble-bursting from the mouth of babes.. (Score:4, Interesting)
Wrong.
I have two hardcore Star Wars fans aged 7 and 8, and they hated those movies. They hated the plodding plotlines, the goofy looking spaceships and the crappy merchandising that resulted.
See for yourself. Go to a toy store. Tons of Episode 1 and 2 toys in the clearance bin. X-Wings still selling strong.
The only redeeming qualities they seemed to find in the new movies was the Pod Race (which the movie bent painfully over backwards to somehow turn into a plot point) and, sadly, Jar-Jar Binks, who young children find amusing and will even take great pains (yours) to imitate. Although they still want to be Darth Vader on Halloween.
The latter day episodes just plain suck. Even kids will tell you that.
Re:no. (Score:5, Interesting)
On top of that, I clearly remember watching a documentary of the making of the movie, all the special effects, in school, in our library with all the third graders.
These are the reasons why so many people in their thirties have such a communal tie to Star Wars. Later when Empire was released, all of your friends who saw the first movie got back together to see the sequel. When Jedi came out, we were all older, and saw the Ewoks as this pandering too young kids, because we felt the movie was for us personally, those who saw the original Star Wars in the theater. We wanted Jedi to be targeted to us. When (understandably) Lucas wanted to bring more young children into the Star Wars cult, we protested. Take this to the ultimate level with Jar Jar and Phantom Menace, and we can see why so many felt the movie to be poisonous trash. It was taking our childhood youth icons and giving it away to others.
Perhaps if we could all watch Episode 3 through the eyes of an 8 or ten year old, we would enjoy the experience much better.
Re:no. (offtopic) (Score:3, Interesting)
Except those people forgot that the title was later taken by Aliens.
Re: a bright future (Score:4, Interesting)
Annakin's journey to the dark side (and consequently his fate) will be complete/sealed only when he kills Jar-Jar, which is why Jar-Jar IS.
Just fighting with his mentor (Kenobi) is not enough.
He has to betray love, and what better way to do that than to kill your best friend?
Right vs. Fight - The sad truth of the matter... (Score:2, Interesting)
So while I hate the new episodes, I can appreciate the original 3 to this day, and am still thankful for them.
-TheTXLibra
"You've got no kids, no wife, no job, and you're not in The Tigger Movie!!!"
- my best friend's son, Gabe, at 5 years old. [everything2.com]
Re:no. (Score:5, Interesting)
The question "Can it be saved?" also brings up the question: "From what?" From being overmarketed? Nothing can save it from that. From being light fluff, with low content, and being fixated on characters we know from the other movies, and yet have a darker feel to it? Not sure it can be saved from this last one, because...
because...
because that's probably the best that can be hoped for from this movie.
Read that again,
IMO Empire strikes back was the darkest of the original trilogy, and it certainly brought new elements to the trilogy the other two movies didn't. It was the most content-rich of the two, as it explored the Jedi in detail, as well as Darth Vader, and his relationship to Luke, it also fleshed out important characters, introduced new ones that would become important in the third movie, and was generally the more developed(plot/character wise) of the three. It went somewhere(to a big cliffhanger to be specific), and added a lot of "deep thinking" material(is Lando trustworthy, what's gonna happen to XYZ, etc...)
It basically left no stone unturned in the Star Wars universe. That's why Return of the Jedi could be so light on content, and had to be action-driven, the work had already been done, and it would have been redundant to develop nearly as much characters/situations/worlds. So ROTJ was a localized plot, with galaxywide repercussions.
As for the first movie, its impact was probably most measurable under the special effects category, of which Lucas could be considered "Core Developer" if not "maybe-not-so-Benevolent Dictator" to use the Linux term. Noone had really used special effects to that degree before 1977(to my knowledge) and he certainly influenced the Hollywood adoption of
1) derived products
2) sequels
He may also have created the first american Otaku (fanboys).
Can any of this be expected of the sixth movie in the series, especially since it's a "prequel" where we might not know the details, but we certainly know the ending.
It can be good entertainment, if they work at it. And the work I'm talking about isn't an ILM, it's in the script department, and hence, it might be a heck of a lot too late to "save" that particular movie, since the plot part was set in stone ages ago... They can try to avoid fluff, as much as possible in the third movie, and keep it gritty, the-real-world-is-a-bad-place-especially-that-Jed
Maybe they should have tried for the original set of sequels(it was meant as a nine-movie set, at one point), despite the fact that Anakin Skywalker was probably the most interesting, complex character in the bunch.
Harrison Ford (Score:3, Interesting)
Re:hire brin!!! (Score:3, Interesting)
I read through this site after seeing the link and it is great. And I actually noticed something that didn't really stick (mostly because of the time between the movies I think.)
"But then ROTJ and TPM went much farther, spreading an outright lie that tipped over into madness, claiming the following... that the mere act of getting angry AT evil will TURN you evil! David Brin.What i realised was : Luke beat Vader in Jedi, after he got angry that Vader mentioned Leia. AND, Obi-Wan only beat Darth Maul, after he got angry about Qui-Gon (you can see it in his face, and his agression during the fight.)
So while Lucas professes the anger leads down the path to the dark side : his heros end up using this tool to fulfill their good deeds...
Re:no. (Score:3, Interesting)
Re:Didn't Get Any Attention?? (Score:4, Interesting)
I was 12 and growing up in Columbus Ohio before the movie came out in May 1977, and I can tell you that it definitely a *huge* deal, marketing or no marketing.
I was pulled out of school early so that we could go see it on its opening day near where I lived on the east side. By the time we pulled into the driving lot of this huge 1-screen theater, there was a loooooong line forming outside the doors, so I was pushed out of the car to stand in line while the car was parked.
Call me silly, but 1-3 block lines of people standing outside the theater before the first show don't strike me as symptoms of a sleeper.
Chuck
Better Loves to Betray (Score:1, Interesting)
Only thing is I can't remember which movie I saw this in, but I can see it in my head and it was downright chilling.
You miss the point (Score:1, Interesting)
Yes, it is true that George Lucas has the right to write the scripts however he wants to. But eveyone else still has the right to criticise his work and label it crap if they feel that it is. To say otherwise is to say that nobody has the right to criticise anything that he didn't personally create, which is a viewpoint held by very few.
Finally, while it is fun to discuss various aspects of the films, it is not a big emotional issue to me. I found episode I so bad that I never saw Episode II, and I have no intention of seeing III. Nor have I seen Andromeda since about the end of season 2. Experience with the various Star Trek series has shown me that when something I like is turned into crap it is best to just dump it and move on. I can still enjoy the earlier, better works. And something new and good will eventually come along, e.g. the Rings films by Peter Jackson. As long as there are intelligent, creative people in the world, there is hope, no matter how large the hordes of dumb suits may seem.
Han Solo And The Skywalker Twins. (Score:5, Interesting)
And it certainly would have changed the whole love-triangle dynamic. Instead of Lucas copping out by making Luke and Leia (sp?) brother and sister, it could have been lucky Han Solo and the Skywalker Twins!
Re:no. (Score:2, Interesting)
No, I'm in my 30's, and saw it when it originally came out. I loved it then, and still love it. That being said, none of the Star Wars films are on the same level, as say, Kurosawa's works (which Lucas borrowed from), or The Godfather (1 and 2).
Star Wars vs. Star Trek (Score:4, Interesting)
Here's a tip for both: when presented with a paradox, it is okay to say, "Yeah, Lucas/Roddenberry was on crack when he thought of that."
Re:no. (Score:2, Interesting)
Just to get rid of the fans/flamers, I disliked the ewoks of 6, and 1 just finished off any interest I had in this series.
As for episode 4, at the time it was the biggest thing around, its special effects were ground breaking, perhaps even on the scale of the first Matrix (which, btw, I must say had a better 3rd episode than SW #6) and its scale and quality of story was something not seen in a long time, if ever, even if it seems quaint now. #5 left all of us wanting more, and we got ewoks in #6, which left most of the original fans going wtf, but we still watched it.
Episode 1 with JarJar should have been canned. Or, put another way, Episode 1 could have been cut down to about a 20 min intro for #2 without losing anything of the "story". GL should have consulted with someone with a clue, Alan Dean Foster perhaps, or any 1st grader. (ok, ok, maybe a 2nd grader....)
In my view, the only way to "save" Star Wars, would have been for Lucas to have hired some serious folks back in 82 or 83 to write the other portions of the trilogy, and actually have them made by other directors and merely kept executive producer status. IOW, it's far too late, as the time for "Star Wars", at least as GL envisioned it, is long gone. Maybe someone will remake it in another 10-20 years, with a better overall story line and appropriate new effects.
Re:Better Loves to Betray (Score:4, Interesting)
I say that makes the future anakin look weak.
I suggests he has jarjar tried and executed as traitor when he good-naturedly tries to warn somebody about some impending doom.
That would be more in line.
Anakin kills the remainder of the jedi council, yet escape yoda does.
Amidala returns to naboo when she finds out she's pregrant. The births are secret, the kids are raised by truested friends. She dies mysteriously (by anakin, who is now in the dark side for sure), and the two children are spirited away... Luke to tattoine because that's where Irish boy kenobi went to hide... Besides, the planet is poor, out of the way, and controlled by the Hutt... And that leaves everyone where they need to be for episode 1.
Anyway. The movie is going to suck horribly.
It will probably be worse than Troy...
Re:You're both wrong! (Score:4, Interesting)
Sadly, no.
Apparently there was a rogue faction at ILM that came up with a sub-plot for Episode III that would have let Jar-Jar redeem himself through some sort of sacrifice that ended up leaving him dead, but Lucas nixed it.
A four-word prediction for the OT DVD release: Gungans in the Cantina. "Meesa have the death penalty on twelve systems!"
Superman (Score:3, Interesting)
Interestingly enough, the effects guys working on Superman were really hyped about their film because of their use of miniatures to create the still realistic-looking Krypton, the work to make Christopher Reeves look like he was really flying most of the time, and so on. It was state-of-the-art pushing of the envelope.
Halfway through production, Star Wars came out and made it all commonplace. Plus, Star Wars used more of it than Superman did. Nonetheless Superman is still impressive (and if you watch it today, it's amazing how much it feels like it came out today, complete with 3D zooming credits--Spider-man's plotline is almost a point for point ripoff).
Obi-Wan and Padme romance (Score:1, Interesting)
http://www.obidala.com/obidala1.htm [obidala.com]
Obi-Wan and Anakin are rivals for the love of Padme (Natalie). Obi-Wan romances Padme for some time. Then she dumps him, gets together with the "bad boy" Anakin, and a while later gets pregnant. Soon after Anakin turns fully to the Dark Side. Anakin turns on his master and tries to kill him and his own pregnant young wife. For the love of Padme despite her leaving him Obi-Wan saves her and her children. That's a real trilogy.
Of course, you'd have to make Anakin a little older and Obi-Wan a little younger, but it still works.
Please don't "save" it (Score:3, Interesting)
Please don't anyone try to "save" the film.
I liked Episode I, and I mean really liked it, especially Jar Jar.
I didn't like Episode II but then I watched it a few times and "got it" and now I really like it too.
I expect to like Episode III as well. I don't think it will need saving.
The person behind five good Star Wars films is the same person who is making the sixth one. I want that person to make the film that he wants to make. I don't want a bunch of film critics and over-sensitive "fans" trying to take control of his vision and turn it into theirs.
Story from somebody older (Score:3, Interesting)
There was no advance publicity. We lived in the suburbs of Boston, and it was one of the first cities Star Wars was released in.
My family had gotten into watching the reruns of Star Trek on the UHF stations, and I believe by this time had seen most of the episodes and were just turning it on each day to see if either an episode we had not seen, or a "good" episode was on.
The first thing I heard about Star Wars was my Dad saying "there seems to be some rip off of Star Trek in the theatres". He had seen an ad for the movie on TV. Somewhat later I saw the same ad. My first impression was it had to be a British production, done by the Andersons of Thunderbirds and Space 1999 fame, as it certainly looked that style. Despite the fact that American Grafitti was a HUGE hit just a few years earlier and we had all gone to see it, there was no indication of a connection with the director. As I remember it, American Grafitti had just as much impact on popular culture as Jaws.
There was then an absolutley positive review in the Boston Globe for the film. Quotes I remember is that "the robots have more personality than the leads in many films" and the spectacular special effects. That convinced me that I really wanted to see the film. But I did not do much else about that.
It seems that maybe a week later that the public perception and the news reports started indicating that this was an enormous hit of unprecedented proportions. Absolutely there was talk *everywhere* about Star Wars. Though initially only a few people had seen it. The ones I knew said it was "good", though there seemed to be an envious feeling between the "seen it" and "had not seen it" people.
Finally in mid-week my Dad got everybody in the car and we drove to Boston to see it in the big 70mm theatre. Well it turned out that even then, perhaps 2.5 weeks after opening, it was impossible to get in. We instead drove around darkened Boston and looked at the LNG tanker that was tied up there (these were also a big deal, what happened to them?)
I later saw it in midday, perhaps 4 weeks after opening, by then you could buy a ticket for midday and get in. It was fun, and funny, and I was constantly aware that the whole thing seemed to be a spoof or a homage to other adventure films, especially the over-the-top violent bar where nobody thinks much of anybody being killed. Some stuff that seems obvious I missed, for instance I did not identify the big sphere as the "death star" from the title crawl. I also thought the movie was ending when they escaped the death star and was suprised by the battle at the end. Still thinking it was an Anderson production I predicted that they would blow a great deal of stuff up, I did not identify the homage to the WWII fighter movies that the battle actually was. Besides humor and adventure, Star Wars also seemed to deliver a believable universe, and that sand planet seemed to really exist, be planet-sized, and be part of a universe of thousands of such planets, and Luke really did seem to be a tiny figure and the Empire an unstoppable power. No sequel since has been able to be so believable.
Like most good geeks I saw it several times after that, maybe 5. I started to be aware of the audience reactions, such as hissing the villian, something I had never heard in a movie theatre before (or since!)
Star Wars was far bigger than any of the sequels. It was in the news every day, and the fact that it was changing the movie industry forever was obvious and talked about from the first moment!
Re:You're both wrong! (Score:4, Interesting)
Jaba and (especially) Bobba Fett weren't in IV, at least not the first time around. If Lucas can make Greedo shoot first, I'm sure he can squeeze Jar Jar into the re-re-re-re-remastering of IV, V and IV.
Re: a bright future (Score:1, Interesting)
The reason for the overage was that the election staff had, for reasons of convenience, pre-marked each ballot 'Ja', but two came in 'nein' and had to be replaced with 'Ja' votes on blank forms.
The election staff was reprimanded for not dosing each ballot with some detectable substance so those who had voted 'nein' could be detected (and presumably punished).
Gotta love electioneering.
[S]
H ow to save Epi 3 (Score:2, Interesting)