Star Wars: The Complete Saga (1977-2005)

[bobbyh64]

Originally Posted by frogmort

Anyone else notice that in his original post 'reason for editing' he said 'grammer'?

Yeah I actually noticed that today. lol They should have a feature on here where you can edit your reasons for editing.

[severe conservative]

Originally Posted by Hardback247

I know of someone who actually is very upset that Revenge of the Sith didn't have any real outdoor location shooting.

He said:

"Using background plates does NOT make it a location or outdoor shoot. They shot every scene that was supposed to be outdoors IN A STUDIO, WITH STUDIO LIGHTING, instead of shooting it outside the studio using natural light. Which, in turn, makes everything look fake. They filmed the damn thing in Australia, where sunshine is readily available. So why use studio lighting when he could have easily have shot the stuff in natural light and make things look more natural?"

Is he right, or is this just nitpicking?

Nitpicking. There are one or two short scenes that take place outdoors on Bespin and Im pretty sure those werent shot outdoors. Come to think of it, EMPIRE may have had the second least amount of location shooting of all the movies.

[severe conservative]

Originally Posted by Geoff D

Incidentally I watched the deleted rebellion subplot from Ep III just yesterday on youtube, it really should've been in the film but what would we have done without that lengthy Obi-Wan/Grievous chase sequence, eh George? Reminds me of him junking the stuff with Amidala's family in II only to add in that ****ing Mario Bros foundry scene at the last minute. Just....ugh.

Both would have slowed down the pacing too much in each movie (it was already slow in AOTC). Padme's family scene would have taken away from the tension of the Separatist plot and would have gone against the tone of the movie. I do think they could have kept the bedroom scene by adding in some of that melancholy type music which would have added a lot of good stuff. Regarding the foundry scene, I do think the kinetic energy of the movie needed to pick up at that point, but I wish they could have thought of something a little more interesting than a video game sequence. They should have just ripped off the Luke/Leia Death Star chase sequence.

[Geoff D]

Originally Posted by StingingVelvet

A lot of criticism of Force Awakens in that post I agree with, but not a lot really explaining how it's worse than cinematic excrement like Phantom Menace. Force Awakens is like eating pork chops for the 10th night in a row. It was delicious at some point but it's boring now, it's the same old shit. On the other hand Phantom Menace is literally like eating old shit.

Okay then: I love the pod race, it's basically Ben-Hur's chariot race in space but hot damn it's still a pulse-pounding scene nonetheless. I love the production design too, we get the Tatooine stuff so people have something familiar to latch on to but the Art Deco look of Naboo is gorgeous and the city planet of Coruscant is something different again. The music is amazeballs, perhaps Williams' last truly great score. The three-way lightsaber fight is still superb, people can blather on about "it's too much like a dance!" but until we've seen how real space monks with mystical powers choose to fight then it's a perfectly valid style for me, some of Ewan McGregor's footwork still gets me reaching for the remote and rewinding it.

Does this stuff cover up the very real issues that TPM has with plot, pacing, dialogue, delivery of said dialogue and so on? No, but it provides enough for me to hang my hat on in terms of sheer Star Wars enjoyment, whereas not only am I mystified by some of the characters' actions and frustrated by the lack of backstory in TFA I'm not given any style or action or music that truly excites me like those respective aspects of TPM do. People also bang on about how practical everything is in TFA but TPM was also shot 35mm anamorphic and the miniatures and real locations look great, it still feels like a remnant of that old-school style despite the incessant CG - unlike the digitally shot and increasingly studio-bound Clones and Sith.

I'm not trying to change anyone's opinion here BTW, just putting it out there why I, as I said, genuinely enjoy TPM more than TFA. Someone put it perfectly upthread: with the prequels you get greater highs but lower lows, while the new movies thus far adhere to a baseline of mediocrity that ticks all the boxes.

[returnofthemack]

Originally Posted by Chris_MD

I'd pick the Episodes I-III over the outdated episodes IV-VI.

You're going down a path I cannot follow.

[balthazar_bee]

Originally Posted by severe conservative

Padme's family scene would have taken away from the tension of the Separatist plot and would have gone against the tone of the movie.

Well, the "tension" you speak of is largely theoretical, so maybe it's a moot point.

[Cedric T Sealion]

Special editions and the prequels is still wank innit lol.

[bobbyh64]

Originally Posted by frogmort

Anyone else notice that in his original post 'reason for editing' he said 'grammer'?

Maybe Kelsey Grammer made him edit it.

[Cherokee Jack]

Originally Posted by Geoff D

Okay then: I love the pod race, it's basically Ben-Hur's chariot race in space but hot damn it's still a pulse-pounding scene nonetheless. I love the production design too, we get the Tatooine stuff so people have something familiar to latch on to but the Art Deco look of Naboo is gorgeous and the city planet of Coruscant is something different again. The music is amazeballs, perhaps Williams' last truly great score. The three-way lightsaber fight is still superb, people can blather on about "it's too much like a dance!" but until we've seen how real space monks with mystical powers choose to fight then it's a perfectly valid style for me, some of Ewan McGregor's footwork still gets me reaching for the remote and rewinding it.

Does this stuff cover up the very real issues that TPM has with plot, pacing, dialogue, delivery of said dialogue and so on? No, but it provides enough for me to hang my hat on in terms of sheer Star Wars enjoyment, whereas not only am I mystified by some of the characters' actions and frustrated by the lack of backstory in TFA I'm not given any style or action or music that truly excites me like those respective aspects of TPM do. People also bang on about how practical everything is in TFA but TPM was also shot 35mm anamorphic and the miniatures and real locations look great, it still feels like a remnant of that old-school style despite the incessant CG - unlike the digitally shot and increasingly studio-bound Clones and Sith.

I'm not trying to change anyone's opinion here BTW, just putting it out there why I, as I said, genuinely enjoy TPM more than TFA. Someone put it perfectly upthread: with the prequels you get greater highs but lower lows, while the new movies thus far adhere to a baseline of mediocrity that ticks all the boxes.

This is a pretty reasonable defense of TPM. I haven't seen it in years and had come to think that I only had a somewhat soft spot for it in my heart because I followed the hype during my greatest period of fandom as a dumb 15 year old. But it really did do some things well.

[Ernest Rister]

The music is amazeballs, perhaps Williams' last truly great score.

I shall smite thee! With my Catch Me If You Can foe-hammer! *wha-bang!*

John Williams conducts Escapades for Alto Saxophone and Orchestra (Catch Me if you Can) - YouTube

*rolls dice*

d20!

War Horse!

War Horse - Orchestral Premiere - YouTube

Rolls again...Lincoln!

Lincoln | Soundtrack Suite (John Williams) - YouTube

Rolls again...Rey's Theme which is a melody riff on the Force Theme!

John Williams: Rey's Theme - YouTube

[Falaskan]

Originally Posted by Geoff D

Okay then: I love the pod race, it's basically Ben-Hur's chariot race in space but hot damn it's still a pulse-pounding scene nonetheless. I love the production design too, we get the Tatooine stuff so people have something familiar to latch on to but the Art Deco look of Naboo is gorgeous and the city planet of Coruscant is something different again. The music is amazeballs, perhaps Williams' last truly great score. The three-way lightsaber fight is still superb, people can blather on about "it's too much like a dance!" but until we've seen how real space monks with mystical powers choose to fight then it's a perfectly valid style for me, some of Ewan McGregor's footwork still gets me reaching for the remote and rewinding it.



Does this stuff cover up the very real issues that TPM has with plot, pacing, dialogue, delivery of said dialogue and so on? No, but it provides enough for me to hang my hat on in terms of sheer Star Wars enjoyment, whereas not only am I mystified by some of the characters' actions and frustrated by the lack of backstory in TFA I'm not given any style or action or music that truly excites me like those respective aspects of TPM do. People also bang on about how practical everything is in TFA but TPM was also shot 35mm anamorphic and the miniatures and real locations look great, it still feels like a remnant of that old-school style despite the incessant CG - unlike the digitally shot and increasingly studio-bound Clones and Sith.



I'm not trying to change anyone's opinion here BTW, just putting it out there why I, as I said, genuinely enjoy TPM more than TFA. Someone put it perfectly upthread: with the prequels you get greater highs but lower lows, while the new movies thus far adhere to a baseline of mediocrity that ticks all the boxes.

I can agree that TPM was actually quite original!

[Geoff D]

Well, yes and no. In light of the biggest overall criticism of TFA - that it's just a rehash - TPM also feels like some kind of Star Wars megamix that crosses ANH with ROTJ, hitting plenty of similar beats over and over - and yet because it's got all that other stuff (politics, poodoo, whatever) sandwiched into it, it still feels like its own thing at the same time. But TFA isn't bold enough or brave enough to take those steps into a larger world, to dare explain a few crumbs of what's actually going on politically in the galaxy. And that's why I rate Rogue One above TFA, it's still not exactly a great movie but damn I love all the political stuff, not just with the Rebels but the Imperials too.

[octagon]

Originally Posted by Geoff D

But TFA isn't bold enough or brave enough to take those steps into a larger world, to dare explain a few crumbs of what's actually going on politically in the galaxy.

So that's why they didn't delve more deeply into galactic politics. They weren't brave enough.

Thanks for clearing that up

[Indiana Jonezzz...]

Originally Posted by Geoff D

Well, yes and no. In light of the biggest overall criticism of TFA - that it's just a rehash - TPM also feels like some kind of Star Wars megamix that crosses ANH with ROTJ, hitting plenty of similar beats over and over - and yet because it's got all that other stuff (politics, poodoo, whatever) sandwiched into it, it still feels like its own thing at the same time. But TFA isn't bold enough or brave enough to take those steps into a larger world, to dare explain a few crumbs of what's actually going on politically in the galaxy. And that's why I rate Rogue One above TFA, it's still not exactly a great movie but damn I love all the political stuff, not just with the Rebels but the Imperials too.

Ah bugger, I’ve been trying to force myself to warm to TFA in preparation for TLJ, but you’re making me realise again that it is, in fact, very average, and seriously lacking in a sense of wonder and imagination. It’s absolutely my least favourite of all 8 movies so far too.

I try to enjoy it as best I can, I really do, but there’s just not one god damn moment in the whole film that makes me feel giddy, and that’s an incredibly poor show for a Star Wars film, where you can literally do and create anything you want, with the only limit being your imagination. But no, let’s just riff on EVERYTHING we’ve seen before, but add some red paint and bread and nobody will notice!

[octagon]

Originally Posted by Indiana Jonezzz...

But no, let’s just riff on EVERYTHING we’ve seen before, but add some red paint and bread and nobody will notice!

We noticed. We also loved it.

Whattayagonnado.

[Geoff D]

Originally Posted by Indiana Jonezzz...

Ah bugger, I’ve been trying to force myself to warm to TFA in preparation for TLJ, but you’re making me realise again that it is, in fact, very average, and seriously lacking in a sense of wonder and imagination. It’s absolutely my least favourite of all 8 movies so far too.

I try to enjoy it as best I can, I really do, but there’s just not one god damn moment in the whole film that makes me feel giddy, and that’s an incredibly poor show for a Star Wars film, where you can literally do and create anything you want, with the only limit being your imagination. But no, let’s just riff on EVERYTHING we’ve seen before, but add some red paint and bread and nobody will notice!

I watched it again just a couple of weeks ago, it really does get off to a decent enough start but damn, I ended up zoning out halfway through. When the credits started rolling I immediately took stock of what emotions I was feeling and there was just nothing.

[rexcrk]

I can’t believe that there are people who can say they didn’t feel much of anything for The Force Awakens. I thought it was an emotional roller coaster!

The excitement of a new live action Star Wars movie for the first time in a decade. The excitement of meeting new characters (how could you not love Rey, BB-8, Poe, Finn). Seeing the old gang back (hell, Han Solo had a leading role). The mystery of Rey’s past. The awesome action sequences (I love scenes like raiding Jakku in the beginning, the attack on Takodana, Starkiller base). The mystery of how Maz got Luke’s lightsaber. The amazing Rey vs. Kylo Ren saber duel. The mystery of Snoke. And of course: the death of Han Solo. If THAT didn’t move you then I dunno... I just don’t know.

I know people like to say it’s a rehash of A New Hope which I think is such a tired argument. Yes it’s similar in a lot of ways, mainly in a lot of ways that ALL Star Wars movies are similar, but there are also plenty of differences between the two movies that people conveniently like to ignore.

[Indiana Jonezzz...]

Originally Posted by octagon

We noticed. We also loved it.

Whattayagonnado.

But that’s because the film obviously worked for you. As I said, there’s no sequence in the film that gets me truly pumped like all the others, and I guess I put it down to having seen it all before. If you’re honestly happy enough with what it gave you, then that’s great, but it just didn’t work for me.

Originally Posted by Geoff D

I watched it again just a couple of weeks ago, it really does get off to a decent enough start but damn, I ended up zoning out halfway through. When the credits started rolling I immediately took stock of what emotions I was feeling and there was just nothing.

It’s around Takodana and then after Leia arrives, I just get quite bored and disconnected. I enjoy it enough up till then, but there’s nothing stand out amazing. You say the start’s good, but I get pulled out from the opening crawl, with the whole First Order rising from the ashes. Then Kylo’s appearance as the brand new villain, following DIRECTLY on from the ending of the previous film which destroyed both lead villains, with the good guys winning, is just... uh.... for me.

I think I’ve said this before, but going from the end of ROTJ to TFA, is quite like going from the end of TPM straight into ANH, it’s that jarring. Just add a couple of lines like “The Jedi Knights have vanished. In their absence the sinister Empire has risen from the ashes of the Republic” and you wouldn’t be far off the jump we got with TFA.

But I accept it, and then it’s quite an enjoyable nostalgic ride for the next 1h 20mins until it’s just dull with another Death Star variant. And the main hero can just do everything with no training and then beats the villain in the very first film of the trilogy. I do like Luke at the end though. And BB-8’s fun.

[svenge]

Like I've said before, I believe that the main goal of TFA was not to be ambitious, but to demonstrate to the public that the current creative staff could make a reasonably entertaining and non-cringeworthy Star Wars movie that would prove that the franchise had a viable cinematic future after the severe damage wrought by Lucas' PT. Since that prerequisite has been successfully met, presumably Episodes VIII and IX will be somewhat more ground-breaking.

[SuperFlyHighGuy]

I agree, they played some things safe but I think they met most fans expectations. I loved it and it moved ahead of the Holiday Special as my fourth-favorite SW film.

I'm sure they're going to make a boat-load of films that take place between RotJ and TFA. I mean 33 years elapsed between stories for obvious reasons, but they probably weren't worried about filling in that backstory because they'll pump out films til the end of the world, and they will use that gap at some point.