Star Wars: The Complete Saga (1977-2005)

[beanham22]

Originally Posted by Beast

May as well post mine. Though I love them all dearly...

The Phantom Menace
Return of the Jedi
Revenge of the Sith
The Empire Strikes Back
Attack Of The Clones
A New Hope

Beast you definitely have one of the most interesting rankings I have seen.

Mine is:
The Empire Strikes Back
A New Hope
The Phantom Menace
Revenge of the Sith
Return of the Jedi
Attack of the Clones

I can never decide if I like RotS or RotJ better. AotC is a mixed bag for me unfortunately.

[Beast]

Originally Posted by Ruemorgue10

What did you find weak about Darth Maul?

There's no elegance of evil in regard to Darth Maul. He's a one-dimensional pitbull of a character. He's all style over substance, and the Darth Maul fanbase really has gone crazy elevating him into something more than he is. Mostly due to the admittedly cool double-bladed Lightsaber and character design, much like Boba Fett being a fan favorite for looks alone. I thought the elevation of Boba Fett was ridiculous, but Maul makes it looks sane by comparison. Thankfully he doesn't have much screentime in Phantom Menace, and dies like a punk. Just like Boba Fett. And was replaced by a much more fitting Sith Lord in Darth Tyrannus. Who is much more in keeping with Vader and Sidious. I understand why Lucas took this direction with Maul of course, to show what a poor teacher Darth Sidious was. Since he was more worried about keeping his Sith secrets than than teaching a competant Apprentice.

[The Blu Knight]

Originally Posted by Vkingfan

Does anyone know if there will be an "special edition" blu ray sets in the US or other countries that will offer more than what has already been released? For example BTTF has a delorean edition in the UK. If you have heard anything please let me know.

Thanks.

I heard rumors of a Millenium Falcon set and someone here humorously suggested a Sarlacc set, but there's no official word on any big to-do yet.

[beanham22]

Originally Posted by Darth Anakin

Darth Maul was a solid fighter but not really established as a character, I think the PT would've been better if they had figured out a way for Tyranus to be the villain the whole time until Anakin slices off Windu's arm.

No way, Maul was not established as a character because he was supposed to be a mystery, the first Sith to appear in centuries as per the movies. The Jedi were even unsure if Maul was a master or apprentice. It was perfect for Dooku to come in at AotC because he was a Jedi Master that willingly became a sith. Something to compare and contrast with Anakin's struggle in AotC.

[Beast]

Originally Posted by Darth Anakin

Darth Maul was a solid fighter but not really established as a character, I think the PT would've been better if they had figured out a way for Tyranus to be the villain the whole time until Anakin slices off Windu's arm.

Agreed. Darth Tyrannus was a great villain. And I'm glad he's getting some focus in the Clone Wars series.

[Beast]

Originally Posted by beanham22

No way, Maul was not established as a character because he was supposed to be a mystery, the first Sith to appear in centuries as per the movies. The Jedi were even unsure if Maul was a master or apprentice. It was perfect for Dooku to come in at AotC because he was a Jedi Master that willingly became a sith. Something to compare and contrast with Anakin's struggle in AotC.

Maul wasn't established as a character because he pretty much has no character. Much like Boba Fett.

He's just yet another puppet of Darth Sidious in the films. With no real personality or ambition of his own.

Of course, the fact that Maul is like that can easily be due to Palpatine's extreme Anti-Alien views.

And according to the books, the early age of Darth Maul when he was discovered and began his training.

He likely did see Maul as nothing but a puppet. Just a means to an end an another stepping stone to power.

[Batman1980]

Originally Posted by Beast

Maul wasn't established as a character because he pretty much has no character. Much like Boba Fett.

He's just yet another puppet of Darth Sidious in the films. With no real personality or ambition of his own.

Of course, the fact that Maul is like that can easily be due to Palpatine's extreme Anti-Alien views.

He likely did see Maul as nothing but a puppet. Just a means to an end an another stepping stone to power.

Anakin was a puppet also, the guy was powerful but fractured, well-trained but not well-trained enough to try to assassinate his master until his son came along.

[beanham22]

Originally Posted by Beast

Maul wasn't established as a character because he has no character.

He's just yet another puppet of Darth Sidious. With no real personality or ambition of his own.

"But which was destroyed, the Master or the Apprentice?", thus the mystery.

But yes he didn't have a character, that was the point of him. Where did this dark force user come from? What does he want? Why does he help the separatists? All questions asked by the Jedi Counsil.

The of your post you Edited are all good points too.

[RudyC]

Originally Posted by LordConrad

I am only interested in the original (non SE) films, which I already have on VHS and DVD. I will upgrade my collection only if a Blu-ray release contains the unedited originals, otherwise I will be content with what I have (until Lucas dies and the studios release everything in order to make more money).

same here..

however...the prequel trilogy IZ Mine!

[octagon]

I pretty much have three ties...

Star Wars/The Empire Strikes Back
Empire is arguably the better movie but The First One is the dictionary definition of 'movie magic'.

Attack of the Clones/Revenge of the Sith
The good parts of Sith are probably better than the good parts of Clones but the bad parts are worse so it kind of balances out. Both are pretty decent overall though.

Return of the Jedi/The Phantom Menace
In neither case does the good come even remotely close to outweighing (in either quality or quantity) the painfully bad.

[botley]

Unfortunately, I don't see a Blu-ray release of the original (pre-CGI) films happening while Lucasfilm holds the rights.

I totally support Lucas' quest to bring the series to his ideal state of completion. He wants future generations to see the saga as everything he envisioned, not just what was possible three decades ago. That's understandable: he put everything he had into those movies, which cost him a lot. It's rightfully his property to do with as he pleases.

That being said, as a fan of American cinema first and foremost, I feel that these amazing films also need to be preserved in their original state for historians and other interested parties to compare and contrast with the "final cut" as Lucas calls it. To that end, we need the older versions transferred to 65mm archival film before they decay and fade away. Only then will they be in a fit state for Blu-ray release.

In addition to a new digital transfer of this restoration from the original film elements, a definitive archival Blu-ray edition of the trilogy would ideally include:

-Remastered 4.2 surround sound (yes, two sub channels) precisely duplicating the original 6-track audio from the early 70mm releases, as well as the wide-release mono version, both in 24-bit lossless form... maybe, for convenience's sake, a comparable 5.1 mix for systems without two dedicated subwoofers

-If possible, all other existing soundtracks (the matrixed Dolby Stereo tracks as well as other home video versions, foreign language dubs, etc.) should be in there too, as well as subtitles duplicating worldwide releases and a seamless-branching option to watch alternate versions of the opening title crawls

-More creative use of seamless-branching could possibly contain both the 70mm and standard 35mm versions of The Empire Strikes Back (which contain alternate edits and soundtracks) in one presentation

-Hell, why not throw in both the 1997 Special Edition theatrical versions as well as the newer home video releases? Better to not leave anything out!

The problem is that Lucasfilm will not want to market this archival release to a wide audience. They don't want to confuse portions of their enormous audience by offering yet another complete ultimate definitive whatever box set.

As I see it, the only way such a restoration campaign could happen would be if Lucas had nothing to do with it! It would take someone else of estimable qualifications (RAH, I'm looking at you) to do this restoration without interference from Lucasfilm. Maybe if it was licensed from them as a STRICTLY limited edition, purely for film buffs that want to study the trilogy in all available versions. And to get it, you'd have to pay top dollar for it, just like when you buy a Criterion Collection edition or whatever.

But what do I know? Lucasfilm is remastering the whole saga again, this time for 3D, in the coming years. There probably won't be any opportunity for any kind of back-to-the-originals restoration campaign until after Jedi hits 3D theatres in 2017!

[DMC86X]

I think Im going to go with the two seperate trilogies, instead of getting the complete set. I think the two trilogies stand alone from each other so that is how they will stand in my collection Im really not too worried about extras. They will show up on the internet eventually.

[Ruemorgue10]

Originally Posted by Beast

Maul wasn't established as a character because he has no character.

He's just yet another puppet of Darth Sidious. With no real personality or ambition of his own.

I fault Lucas for that. I remember the marketing campaign for Episode I quite well and Darth Maul's face was plastered on EVERYTHING. He was built up to be the new Darth Vader but he had only a few scenes, few bits of dialogue and one hell of a lightsaber duel. I think the movie benefits from his presence if only because, like you said, he's of the Boba Fett variety (I love the Fett man). Indeed, he is underdeveloped because Lucas only saw him as an action figure and not a character with potential.

[Beast]

Originally Posted by Ruemorgue10

I fault Lucas for that. I remember the marketing campaign for Episode I quite well and Darth Maul's face was plastered on EVERYTHING. He was built up to be the new Darth Vader but he had only a few scenes, few bits of dialogue and one hell of a lightsaber duel. I think the movie benefits from his presence if only because, like you said, he's of the Boba Fett variety (I love the Fett man). Indeed, he is underdeveloped because Lucas only saw him as an action figure and not a character with potential.

I fault the fans for it more than I'd fault Lucas. Just like with Boba Fett, they latched onto a secondary character.

Maul was never intended to be more than what he was. But some fans saw nothing but style over substance.

Same thing happened with Boba Fett. Fans saw a few bits of him and soon enough there was a huge cult around him.

[gettodamoofies]

Originally Posted by DMC86X

I think Im going to go with the two seperate trilogies, instead of getting the complete set. I think the two trilogies stand alone from each other so that is how they will stand in my collection Im really not too worried about extras. They will show up on the internet eventually.

Although I understand your reasoning behind the "separation" of the trilogies in their film form, when it comes to releases I'm not to sure why you would willingly throw down more money for less content just so you can sit them separately on a shelf.

[Yojimbo68]

Originally Posted by Beast

I've covered it before... but I'll expand upon it:

So basically Episode I delivered pretty much everything I wanted in a Star Wars film after so many many years of waiting. It's pretty much the perfect Star Wars film, as it does such a good job of setting up the Universe and the characters. A much better job than A New Hope does. But that's due to the fact that A New Hope was structured as a standalone movie for the most part. It just shows a larger more interesting view of the Star Wars Universe. It also has the most interesting and intricate plot of the entire Saga. About the only weak part of the film for me is Darth Maul, but thankfully he only takes up a small part of the running time. And dies at the end, saving us from future chapters featuring him. Plus we see the beginning rise of Senator Palpatine becoming the all powerful Emperor from the final chapter in the Saga, which is one of the best plot threads of the PT. Are there a few weak moments here and there? Sure. But that is true of any of the films in the series. For the most part it gets things right more often that it gets things wrong.

I felt compelled to respond to this post because I have the completely opposite opinion. A NEW HOPE is the best film in the saga precisely because it was designed as a standalone movie. I love EMPIRE but it needs the other two films to be enjoyed to full effect.

Darth Maul is THE best thing about TPM. The lightsabre duel at the films climax is the best thing about this movie. It might, in fact, be the films saving grace.

[Beast]

Guess we'll have to agree to disagree. Because most of the time when I watch ANH, I end up dozing off.

Same with the Darth Maul thing. Yes, the lightsaber duel is cool. But Maul is just not an interesting character.

[AKORIS]

my rankings--

1] Empire Strikes Back

2] Revenge Of The Sith (does not get the respect it deserves)

3] Star Wars A New Hope

4] Return Of The Jedi

5] Attack Of The Clones

6] Phantom Menace

[DMC86X]

Originally Posted by atexp80

Although I understand your reasoning behind the "separation" of the trilogies in their film form, when it comes to releases I'm not to sure why you would willingly throw down more money for less content just so you can sit them separately on a shelf.

Less content? Sure. More money? No. The two seperate trilogies come out to be one cent cheaper than the whole saga. Im also thinking that they wont come in there on Blu ray cases. They will probably be like the Lord of the Rings trilogy.

[AKORIS]

[Darth Maul is THE best thing about TPM. The lightsabre duel at the films climax is the best thing about this movie. It might, in fact, be the films saving grace.[/QUOTE]



it still doesn't save the movie as far as I'm concerned but I agree it's far and away the best scene!!