Star Wars: The Complete Saga (1977-2005)

[Stinky-Dinkins]

The prequels still suck and the changes to the original trilogy are distracting and dumb.

[octagon]

Originally Posted by STARKILLER--1138

Poor OGPooh. Don't get out of the basement much do ya.



Right, and ESB wasn't. Another gold star for ANH.

So is ANH the best Star Wars movie or isn't it?

[Stinky-Dinkins]

What's being argued in this terrible thread now, how good the Star Wars movies are based on their box office performances? Why bother, Phantom Menace made damn near a billion dollars worldwide and as a movie it's worse than National Treasure.

Lucas needs to get off his lazy ass and do something useful, like add a few dozen more distracting, jokey CGI robots to the original trilogy. I won't buy the box set until there's at least 3 new and distracting CG elements in every frame of the original trilogy.

[drobswim13]

Originally Posted by STARKILLER--1138

Poor OGPooh. Don't get out of the basement much do ya.



Right, and ESB wasn't. Another gold star for ANH.

You just don't get it, do you?

[kenkraly2004]

All the star wars films to be are good but not episode 1 for me. Yea sure I know so people don't like any of the prequel films but to me episodes 2 and 3 are not bad films to me the best of the prequel films is Episode 3 ROTS. The original trilogy ep 4-6 will allways be my favortie films of Star Wars/

[greg_achen]

I will never get the Episode 1 hatred. In my opinion, Episode 2 is by far the worst in terms of plot, acting, cinematography, editing, and music. Of the prequels, Episode 3 is my favorite, but I will not deny that Episode 1 was probably a better made film than even that. Episode 2 borders on fan film quality at times.

To each their own, I suppose. But if we take A New Hope out of its historical context and released it today, many if not all of the same criticisms applied to The Phantom Menace could EASILY be applied to A New Hope. Carrie Fisher's laughably understated reaction at seeing a planet inhabited by millions of her people blow up and her nonchalant attitude thereafter... the corny humor present throughout (yes it was there prior to the Special Editions)... the strange use of American lingo and mottos characters use... the deus ex machina that destroys the Death Star.

Don't get me wrong. I love Star Wars, even Episode 2 with its warts and all. I think some people just unfairly give the prequels a bad rap and I have met more than my fair share of closeted prequel lovers who are afraid to speak of their affection for these films in fear of ridicule for having "poor taste."

[s2mikey]

Originally Posted by octagon

So is ANH the best Star Wars movie or isn't it?

It is in my opinion. It not only started it all but is probably the only film that can stand on its own with a real start/middle/end. Even though we didnt know that Darth is Lukes father it still stands on its own. And, the final space battle(Battle of Yavin) in ANH is also easily my favorite.

Also - I'll go aganst the grain and say that ESB is somewhat over-rated to me. Now, let me qualify that: Im a huge Star wars nut so ALL SW films are awesome to me. ESB is a tad less awesome than some of the others, IMO. I also seem to like the prequels better than some of you guys but I always have Rose-colored SW glasses on so what do I know?

[drobswim13]

Originally Posted by s2mikey

It is in my opinion. It not only started it all but is probably the only film that can stand on its own with a real start/middle/end. Even though we didnt know that Darth is Lukes father it still stands on its own. And, the final space battle(Battle of Yavin) in ANH is also easily my favorite.

Also - I'll go aganst the grain and say that ESB is somewhat over-rated to me. Now, let me qualify that: Im a huge Star wars nut so ALL SW films are awesome to me. ESB is a tad less awesome than some of the others, IMO. I also seem to like the prequels better than some of you guys but I always have Rose-colored SW glasses on so what do I know?

But that is only because Lucas had to do that. He had no idea how Star Wars would present itself, so if it flopped, he could at least give the one movie a full arch. The next movies didn't need to be stand-alone because he knew how they would do with the masses.

[Duffy12]

Originally Posted by s2mikey

It is in my opinion. It not only started it all but is probably the only film that can stand on its own with a real start/middle/end. Even though we didnt know that Darth is Lukes father it still stands on its own. And, the final space battle(Battle of Yavin) in ANH is also easily my favorite. Also - I'll go aganst the grain and say that ESB is somewhat over-rated to me. Now, let me qualify that: Im a huge Star wars nut...

Yep, this is my personal opinion too.

I like 'Empire' very much, however IMO 'Star Wars (1977)' is way above 'Empire' plus all the other films too.

Obviously from this thread, each film is a favorite to somebody, but to me 'Star Wars (1977)' has EVERYTHING IN IT that a Star Wars film should have, though its saber battle is not quite up to todays standards.

[s2mikey]

Originally Posted by drobswim13

But that is only because Lucas had to do that. He had no idea how Star Wars would present itself, so if it flopped, he could at least give the one movie a full arch. The next movies didn't need to be stand-alone because he knew how they would do with the masses.

Oh sure - he had to make it that way. Either way, ANH is Star Wars to me. And, if you find people that havent seen them then ANH is the right film to start them off with. You'll know after that if you "hooked 'em" or not.

[Uxi]

Originally Posted by drobswim13

This could be true. Never thought of that possibility

It's not.

[OG Pooh]

Originally Posted by s2mikey

Oh sure - he had to make it that way. Either way, ANH is Star Wars to me. And, if you find people that havent seen them then ANH is the right film to start them off with. You'll know after that if you "hooked 'em" or not.

I agree with most of this. ANH IS Star Wars to the vast majority of people, myself included. But is this favorite or best?

What I don't necessarily agree with is that ANH is always the one to start people off with, especially today. A lot of kids (even adults) would look at ANH as old & outdated, possibly turning them off. While not a particularly good film, you could (in theory) start someone with Phantom Menace. Watching just this film, it wouldn't give anything away regarding what ends up happening. All someone would know is this kid's name is Skywalker. He/she wouldn't know this turns out to be Darth Vader. The only connection that would be made is that this young slave is somehow related to Luke. But without knowing he becomes Darth Vader, nothing is really lost. If (by some miracle) Phantom Menace hooks someone on Star Wars, you could then switch them back to the original IV-VI order. The only thing that would really be lost this way would be the new viewer would have been introduced to the PT characters earlier than all of us were. But as for knowledge of events, nothing important is lost or learned too soon. The only other thing that coud be pieced together is that Palpatine becomes the emperor, but we all know that the minute we see him in Menace anyway.

[supersonic395]

Originally Posted by Duffy12

to me 'Star Wars (1977)' has EVERYTHING IN IT that a Star Wars film should have.

Please elaborate

[OG Pooh]

Originally Posted by Duffy12

Yep, this is my personal opinion too.

I like 'Empire' very much, however IMO 'Star Wars (1977)' is way above 'Empire' plus all the other films too.

Obviously from this thread, each film is a favorite to somebody, but to me 'Star Wars (1977)' has EVERYTHING IN IT that a Star Wars film should have, though its saber battle is not quite up to todays standards.

So all the other Star Wars films were unnecessary? I guess Yoda, Boba Fett and (gulp) the Ewoks were unimportant characters? I guess Luke being Vader's Son was unimportant (it was only the basis of the entire story)? Maybe ANH technically had the elements (a saber battle, dogfights, etc), but was it the best executed film? Was the acting, special effects, story, cinematogrophy, etc, etc in ANH THE BEST of the saga?

You like ANH over the other films, I respect that & see where you're coming from. But again, you're getting into favorite vs best.

Yes, ANH has made more money than any of the others, thus making it the most popular. But again, Star Wars (ANH) was a cultural phenomenon in 1977. Everybody seen Star Wars. People who turned out to be Star Wars fans and people who ended up thinking it was the dumbest thing to ever hit screens went to see it. That's a part the BO numbers people forget. Star Wars was the first film, and a lot of people who seen it ended up not liking it. Add that to what a world-wide phenomenon it was, and of course the BO numbers for all the successive films will be lower, because only the ones who turned out to be fans were going to go see the sequels. ANH was basically a perfect storm for for lower future numbers.

[Josh5890]

I'm far more interested in seeing the packaging than the price. $100-$150 is the likelyhood. Hoping for $120 ($20 per film)

[Batman1980]

Originally Posted by Josh5890

I'm far more interested in seeing the packaging than the price. $100-$150 is the likelyhood. Hoping for $120 ($20 per film)

Will probably be some kind of box set with a lot of stuff and then individual releases for about $17-$20 each.

[OG Pooh]

Originally Posted by Josh5890

I'm far more interested in seeing the packaging than the price. $100-$150 is the likelyhood. Hoping for $120 ($20 per film)

I realy hope the packaging is simple. If not simple, then I only hope there are normal BD cases inside whatever the bigger packaging is.

[Uxi]

Originally Posted by OG Pooh

I realy hope the packaging is simple. If not simple, then I only hope there are normal BD cases inside whatever the bigger packaging is.

Me too. They do a fancy darth vader head big box or whatever, but I want regular BD cases inside (won't mind slims or a multi-disc blu-ray case, but want it to look like all the others - just don't care if it's fatter or skinnier as long as it's blue and the same height).

[Dotpattern]

Originally Posted by OG Pooh

I agree with most of this. ANH IS Star Wars to the vast majority of people, myself included. But is this favorite or best?

What I don't necessarily agree with is that ANH is always the one to start people off with, especially today. A lot of kids (even adults) would look at ANH as old & outdated, possibly turning them off. While not a particularly good film, you could (in theory) start someone with Phantom Menace. Watching just this film, it wouldn't give anything away regarding what ends up happening. All someone would know is this kid's name is Skywalker. He/she wouldn't know this turns out to be Darth Vader. The only connection that would be made is that this young slave is somehow related to Luke. But without knowing he becomes Darth Vader, nothing is really lost. If (by some miracle) Phantom Menace hooks someone on Star Wars, you could then switch them back to the original IV-VI order. The only thing that would really be lost this way would be the new viewer would have been introduced to the PT characters earlier than all of us were. But as for knowledge of events, nothing important is lost or learned too soon. The only other thing that coud be pieced together is that Palpatine becomes the emperor, but we all know that the minute we see him in Menace anyway.

I introduced Star Wars to my girlfriend beginning with Phantom Menace and then went in Episode order. I have to admit, I found her reaction to the movies completely fascinating. She had no baggage, no nostalgia - she was just watching the movies for the first time. Now remember, this is from the point of view of someone who knew very little about Star Wars other than "Luke, I am your father." So she already knew that "twist" and never saw the OT.

In short, she thought TPM was okay, nothing Earth shattering, and she was annoyed by Jar-Jar (apparently this is consistent with non-fans). She did not pick up on any of the foreshadowing of Palpatine.

She liked AOTC and was indeed thrown off by Anakin's behavior especially when he killed the Sand People.

She really liked ROTS. Anakin becoming Darth Vader, actually getting put into the suit, blew her mind! She simply did not know this is where the story was going. She wanted to immediately watch ANH!

She was bored by ANH. In her words, "It went from this incredibly personal duel between [Anakin and Obi-Wan] and an emotional 'I HATE YOU!!' to "You should not have come back." She thought their re-duel was terribly weak. Something that WAS interesting though was her reaction to Obi-Wan telling Luke what happened to his father - "Why is he lying to him??"

She thought ESB was a HUGE improvement over ANH. I got a good laugh at her reaction to Leia kissing Luke. "Woah...wait...aren't they brother and sister??" She enjoyed seeing Yoda return. She wasn't surprised by Vader's revelation to Luke (obviously). She did think that Luke's mechanical arm was foreshadowing that Palpatine would want to turn Luke to the Dark Side.

Okay...ROTJ...here's where her reactions got interesting...overall she liked it. She thought the rescue of Han dragged on especially R2 and C3PO being shown around the palace and the droid torture scene. She couldn't have cared less about how Boba Fett's demise because in her view, he was never an "important character." In her view, Fett never even captured Han. "He followed Han to Cloud City, Vader captured him and then turned him over to Fett. When I told her that Fett is considered the "greatest bounty hunter in the Star Wars universe" she replied, "Why? He never did anything." And realistically, based solely on the movies, she's right. She was confused by Obi-Wan's "from a certain point of view" speech and didn't understand why he didn't just tell Luke the truth up front. I had to remind her they were made out of order and that Lucas didn't know originally that he would have a chance to make sequels. She thought Yoda dying was weak, but sad. She loved seeing the Emperor return. She thought Carrie Fisher looked like she didn't want to be in the movie.

Now...and I found this to be very interesting...at the end, when Luke looks off and sees Obi-Wan, Yoda and then Anakin...are you sitting?...she LOVED seeing Anakin brought back in the form of Hayden Christiansen! I showed her the original version and she said she didn't like it. Her reason was that she had come to know Christiansen as Anakin, and felt that he had truly redeemed himself. She said she had no connection whatsoever to the older actor since she had never seen him before and therefore wouldn't have had the same sense of redemption. She was also disappointed that when Luke took Vader's mask off that it wasn't Christiansen made to look older.

Again, remember this is coming from someone without pre-conceived ideas or history of seeing the movies. Overall, her favorite was ROTS.

[Batman1980]

Yup I never understood why ANH is so beloved but the PT is so hated, ANH is the weakest of the OT by far. Oh and I never got into the Boba Fett love, even after seeing Jango become the basis for the storm troopers.