Star Wars: The Complete Saga (1977-2005)

[Drew664]

Originally Posted by phlyle11

I was (re)watching AOTC this past weekend, and it always kills me how much better the prequels could have been. I am not anti-prequel by any means, I think there is some value in all three, but some of the acting just makes me cringe. Every time Sam Jackson says a line, I am taken out of the movie and my mind drifts off to when it was being shot and I imagine SJ just finishes an oscar-caliber take, and George says, "Sam, that was real nice acting, but I was looking for something a little more, uhh, umm, wooden?" Some of those scenes feel like Lucas used the worst possible take he could get out of them. I just wish he could have either separated himself from the script or the directing. Watching him interact with cast and crew in some of the bonus features is almost embarrassing in his awkwardness.

Slightly OT, but on the point of George Lucas and his 'ideas'. Your post here reminds me of a special feature on Indy 4 and how the story/plot/script for the movie came about and Spielberg didn't want aliens in the movie, but Georgy boy had to have his way, lol. It is embarrassing!

I enjoy the Star Wars movies, but I am glad I am not emotionally invested in them as I could see where his direction on the prequels/redos/etc could be aggravating to some life long fans.

[HeavyHitter]

Originally Posted by Geoff D

I've always said it's the most Star Wars-like movie of all three prequels. There's loads of terrific model work, it's shot on anamorphic 35mm (though you wouldn't bloody well know it from the horribly DNR'ed Blu-ray) and I love all the callbacks to the OT.

The dialogue is terribly clunky and the lack of an actual menace - as opposed to the Phantom of the title - robs it of the impetus that drives the OT, but it can excite when it wants to. I love the pod race, being Ben Hur by way of CG, and the cross-cut end battle is expertly put together, as is the lightsaber fight between Obi-Wan and Darth Maul. That bit when Obi surges out of the energy barrier and attacks Maul is a breathtaking bit of choreography.

Right, I think I'll give Clones a spin tonight. It can't be any worse than I remember....can it?

It's about the same. I recently watched all six movies and Clones still retains "6th place" for me although it certainly has its moments: enjoyed the fight between Obi and Jango Fett as well as the entire Geonosis sequence - especially the saber fight with Count Dooku. However, some of the CGI particularly at the end with the Star Destroyers taking off looks way too cartoonish even for 2002. The rings around Geonosis had this look too. Perhaps they had to rush some it.

[HeavyHitter]

Originally Posted by HD Goofnut

Both Hobbit films have impressed me immensely when it comes to their use of 3D both in the theater and at home. Some other excellent 3D titles include all of the IMAX titles, Dredd, A Christmas Carol, The Adventures of Tintin, Oz the Great and Powerful, Tangled, and TRON: Legacy. There are some other good ones, but these immediately come to mind.

I just watched The Hobbit extended in 3D recently and was very impressed. Not a lot of "in your face," but really natural, spatial depth and layering. I would almost go so far to say this is the first 3D movie I have watched where it helped the movie experience.

[HeavyHitter]

Originally Posted by phlyle11

I was (re)watching AOTC this past weekend, and it always kills me how much better the prequels could have been. I am not anti-prequel by any means, I think there is some value in all three, but some of the acting just makes me cringe. Every time Sam Jackson says a line, I am taken out of the movie and my mind drifts off to when it was being shot and I imagine SJ just finishes an oscar-caliber take, and George says, "Sam, that was real nice acting, but I was looking for something a little more, uhh, umm, wooden?" Some of those scenes feel like Lucas used the worst possible take he could get out of them. I just wish he could have either separated himself from the script or the directing. Watching him interact with cast and crew in some of the bonus features is almost embarrassing in his awkwardness.

The directing wasn't great in the prequels and the dialogue was just absolutely terrible in some parts. I think it would have been hard for any actor to deliver some of those lines effectively. With that said, McGreggor and Neeson were by far the best and did a very nice job. If it were not for them....I could not imagine. lol

[Gold Ranger]

Originally Posted by HeavyHitter

The directing wasn't great in the prequels and the dialogue was just absolutely terrible in some parts. I think it would have been hard for any actor to deliver some of those lines effectively. With that said, McGreggor and Neeson were by far the best and did a very nice job. If it were not for them....I could not imagine. lol

Some of the dialogue is bad.
The Most blatent is in both II & III
Padme': "We live in the real world."
That just takes me out of the experience...
I know a lot of people that were put off by Owen saying that Beru was his GirlFriend, but that line never bothered me.
The other dialogue that is just so bad was III's Anakin/Padme' exchange where they are on the Balcony... The "I'm so in love with you" exchange...

I didn't really have any problem with anything else in any of the movies, until the VI "NNNNOOOOOOOOO"

[stvn1974]

When Padme' said "I've been dying a little bit each day since you came back into my life" to Anakin in Episode II I was the one who wanted to die.

[HD Goofnut]

Originally Posted by stvn1974

When Padme' said "I've been dying a little bit each day since you came back into my life" to Anakin in Episode II I was the one who wanted to die.

I think her worst delivery in the entire franchise is, "Anakin! *sniffle* You're breaking my heart!"

[manunited1]

Originally Posted by HD Goofnut

I think her worst delivery in the entire franchise is, "Anakin! *sniffle* You're breaking my heart!"

The whole prequel saga was the worst she has EVER been directed. Love the movies but clearly, between her and Ewan, they were directed horribly.

[JimmyTwoTimes]

I wish Anakin had been older in TPM. I had always imagined him being Luke's age when Obi-Wan met him and took him in. Obi-Wan and company could have been sidelined to Tatooine (as in TPM) and encountered this young, hot shot pilot named Anakin who lives with his brother Owen and races pods or earns for the Hutts. A series of scuffles and conflicts could occur (a pod race, a cantina fight) and Obi-Wan and Anakin could become reluctant friends and partners. Obi-Wan could sense something in Anakin and talk him into joining up with him and eventually seeking audience with the Council about possible Jedi training. Owen, of course, wants nothing to do with this and pleads with his brother to stay behind. Anakin would crave the thought of adventure and tagging along with hot pants Padme can't be a bad thing, so he'd go along anyway.

A mention of Anakin's parents isn't necessary. I exclude Qui-Gonn because, quite frankly, I'm not sure he needs to exist. Nothing against Liam Neeson or his portrayal (he basically drove the movie as is), but everything in him could have been carried by Obi-Wan, who himself would have been the teacher character once Anakin started hanging around. I'd make Obi-Wan a little older here, maybe about 40. He'd be the one insistent on Anakin being trained in spite of his age and impulsiveness. He wants to prove himself (this could possibly be his first apprentice) to the council and Yoda, who trained him. He is right, or course, but also over eager and not thinking about the consequences of training Anakin.

Just some thoughts. I think it would have been a less cluttered movie, given us a better character with an older Anakin, and been much more in line with Obi-Wan's exposition in the OT.

[Geoff D]

Originally Posted by JimmyTwoTimes

A mention of Anakin's parents isn't necessary. I exclude Qui-Gonn because, quite frankly, I'm not sure he needs to exist. Nothing against Liam Neeson or his portrayal (he basically drove the movie as is), but everything in him could have been carried by Obi-Wan, who himself would have been the teacher character once Anakin started hanging around. I'd make Obi-Wan a little older here, maybe about 40. He'd be the one insistent on Anakin being trained in spite of his age and impulsiveness. He wants to prove himself (this could possibly be his first apprentice) to the council and Yoda, who trained him. He is right, or course, but also over eager and not thinking about the consequences of training Anakin.

Just some thoughts. I think it would have been a less cluttered movie, given us a better character with an older Anakin, and been much more in line with Obi-Wan's exposition in the OT.

You're not wrong about Qui-Gon. Obi-Wan was actually intended to be the older Jedi of the two, but IIRC Lucas switched them around when he learned that Liam Neeson was interested in a role. Qui-Gon was going to die regardless, and if he'd been the apprentice as opposed to the master, it could've lent an interesting dynamic to Obi-Wan's decision to train Anakin.

It would've been more of an emotional decision, borne of his failure to protect his padawan, rather than the obligation to his dead master that he gets saddled with in the final film. That would also have given Obi-Wan reason to be such a dick towards Anakin (like we see in Clones), i.e. he's only so hard on him because he doesn't want to lose him the way he lost Qui-Gon, which only serves to push Anakin further away.

[Panama Jack]

Originally Posted by Geoff D

You're not wrong about Qui-Gon. Obi-Wan was actually intended to be the older Jedi of the two, but IIRC Lucas switched them around when he learned that Liam Neeson was interested in a role. Qui-Gon was going to die regardless, and if he'd been the apprentice as opposed to the master, it could've lent an interesting dynamic to Obi-Wan's decision to train Anakin.

It would've been more of an emotional decision, borne of his failure to protect his padawan, rather than the obligation to his dead master that he gets saddled with in the final film. That would also have given Obi-Wan reason to be such a dick towards Anakin (like we see in Clones), i.e. he's only so hard on him because he doesn't want to lose him the way he lost Qui-Gon, which only serves to push Anakin further away.

The endless possibilities of how the prequels could have been so much better with just a few minor changes is really maddening to think about. Sigh...

[Rambaldi47]

Originally Posted by JimmyTwoTimes

I wish Anakin had been older in TPM. I had always imagined him being Luke's age when Obi-Wan met him and took him in. Obi-Wan and company could have been sidelined to Tatooine (as in TPM) and encountered this young, hot shot pilot named Anakin who lives with his brother Owen and races pods or earns for the Hutts. A series of scuffles and conflicts could occur (a pod race, a cantina fight) and Obi-Wan and Anakin could become reluctant friends and partners. Obi-Wan could sense something in Anakin and talk him into joining up with him and eventually seeking audience with the Council about possible Jedi training. Owen, of course, wants nothing to do with this and pleads with his brother to stay behind. Anakin would crave the thought of adventure and tagging along with hot pants Padme can't be a bad thing, so he'd go along anyway.

A mention of Anakin's parents isn't necessary. I exclude Qui-Gonn because, quite frankly, I'm not sure he needs to exist. Nothing against Liam Neeson or his portrayal (he basically drove the movie as is), but everything in him could have been carried by Obi-Wan, who himself would have been the teacher character once Anakin started hanging around. I'd make Obi-Wan a little older here, maybe about 40. He'd be the one insistent on Anakin being trained in spite of his age and impulsiveness. He wants to prove himself (this could possibly be his first apprentice) to the council and Yoda, who trained him. He is right, or course, but also over eager and not thinking about the consequences of training Anakin.

Just some thoughts. I think it would have been a less cluttered movie, given us a better character with an older Anakin, and been much more in line with Obi-Wan's exposition in the OT.

That's basically how I envisioned TPM should've been too. GL completely ignored what Obi-Wan told Luke in ANH. Making Anakin a child was a huge mistake; he should've been the opposite of Luke.

[rickah88]

Originally Posted by Kryptonic

Anyone pick up the Frames book? Holy cow is it awesome...and huge!

I saw the the little vidclip on Amazon a few months ago, and was really tempted, but $75 seemed a bit pricey. So I just added it to my saved cart and hope it might experience a price drop.

BTW, your new avatar pic is quite nice. Is that from the book?

[Thomas Guycott]

Originally Posted by rickah88

I saw the the little vidclip on Amazon a few months ago, and was really tempted, but $75 seemed a bit pricey. So I just added it to my saved cart and hope it might experience a price drop.

BTW, your new avatar pic is quite nice. Is that from the book?

Kryptonic's avatar is an image painted by Drew Struzan for the cover of George Lucas: The Creative Impulse, a 1992 book by Charles Champlin covering the first twenty years of Lucasfilm.

[rickah88]

^^Thank you! I thought I had seen it before and was wondering how Indy could wind up in the SW Frames book.

Looks fantastic!

[Kryptonic]

Originally Posted by rickah88

I saw the the little vidclip on Amazon a few months ago, and was really tempted, but $75 seemed a bit pricey. So I just added it to my saved cart and hope it might experience a price drop.

BTW, your new avatar pic is quite nice. Is that from the book?

For the quality of the book, $75 is a steal if you ask me. MSRP is $150 too.

Struzan is the man.

[HeavyHitter]

Originally Posted by HD Goofnut

I think her worst delivery in the entire franchise is, "Anakin! *sniffle* You're breaking my heart!"

Yeah, that was so awful.

The scene in Clones where Anakin is explaining his feelings to her was really, really bad too.

[RayCRP]

While we're on the subject of Qui-Gon, I really wish Lucasfilm would bring Neeson in to record the dialogue for the scene in which Yoda was talking to him through the Force in RotS. I was disappointed that scene didn't make it in, yet a million unnecessary endings made the cut. Even if it wasn't part of the initial release, bring him in to record it, so they at least have the option of adding it in the future.

It explains Force ghosts without the need for outside material (which is especially great because it's such a crucial element in A New Hope). It explains why Yoda's philosophies are radically different in the OT compared to the PT. It brings his differences with the Jedi Council around full circle.

[PeterTHX]

Originally Posted by Kryptonic

For the quality of the book, $75 is a steal if you ask me. MSRP is $150 too.

Struzan is the man.

What I'm about to say probably isn't "politically correct" but I find Struzan somewhat overrated since he was basically a human version of Photoshop: take exisiting publicity stills and photos and paint them together.



I remember being very disappointed in his SW:SE posters, since they were easily recognizable publicity shots and didn't compare to the original artworks created for the trilogy (1977/1980/1983).

Now don't get me wrong, it takes incredible talent to do what he does, but I also think the kudos is overblown.

[rickah88]

Yeah the Da Vinci's Mona Lisa...just like photoshop! All he really did was capture the image.