Star Wars: The Complete Saga (1977-2005)

[PeterTHX]

Originally Posted by svenge

It's also the consensus. Anyone over 13 years old who saw it theatrically and liked it was a statistical outlier.

Wrong. You think it was all under 13 year olds helping the films gross over $300 million-plus apiece?

Most critical reviewers were not bad either. How many under-13 year olds have review columns in major newspapers?

Face it, a certain cadre of loud internet types are the vocal prequel detractors. Most *adults* don't give a whit about what the fanboys found fault with the prequels. Instead, they were entertained.

[svenge]

Originally Posted by PeterTHX

Wrong. You think it was all under 13 year olds helping the films gross over $300 million-plus apiece?

Of course not. 13 year olds can't drive, so Mom and Dad had to come along and pay full price for adult tickets.

Originally Posted by PeterTHX

Most critical reviewers were not bad either. How many under-13 year olds have review columns in major newspapers?

If most critical reviews weren't bad, why is TPM rated at 57% on the Tomatometer, which qualifies it as "rotten"?

Originally Posted by PeterTHX

Face it, a certain cadre of loud internet types are the vocal prequel detractors. Most *adults* don't give a whit about what the fanboys found fault with the prequels. Instead, they were entertained.

Look, I know you're just doing your job in shilling for the Lucasfilm Empire and dismissing those with dissenting opinions as "fanboys", but leave the revisionism to The Flanneled One™, OK?

Those of us outside the George Lucas Reality Distortion Field™ (which was licensed from Steve Jobs before his untimely passing, but unlike the original version only works on those on the Lucasfilm payroll) can see that the Emperor has no clothes.

[mzupeman]

I don't even have to look at statistics to know most people didn't care for The Phantom Menace. I can't recall talking to too many people who thought it was very good, and no matter what Star Wars conversation you come to on the internet, there's a fair amount of hate for it. I don't really understand how anyone can deny the fact that it isn't thought of as a good movie by a majority.

That being said, children really did help pull in a lot of money. If it wasn't because they wanted to go themselves, it's because their parents thought they might introduce them to a brand new Star Wars movie so they can warm up to the original trilogy. And the marketing campaign... good God. There was Episode I merchandise no matter where you looked, and it hung around for a LONG, LONG time. Yes, Star Wars fans 13+ are probably responsible for a majority of the money, but you can't discount how Episode I turned on a new, young generation to the Star Wars saga.

[Aragorn the Elfstone]

Well, I was 15 when Episode I was released. There's no way to describe how fantastic an experience it was when I sat in the theater and saw it. I didn't have internet at the time, so I wasn't exposed to the wave of anti-TPM fever, and I didn't know the whole world hated Jar-Jar. For me, it was simply my first experience of seeing a brand new Star Wars film on the big screen. "Duel of the Fates" was playing over and over in my head for months, and I was in love with both that fight scene as well the pod race. Not to mention, it started my obsession with Liam Neeson (who became the definitive Jedi in my mind) - which led to me being exposed to many wonderful films I might otherwise not have watched.

Yeah, now that I'm older, the acting seems stiffer - but I'll be damned if I don't still get swept up in the nostalgia of it all. Episode II, on the other hand, I don't care for all that much. Episode III I like quite a lot, but at age 21 I was more sensitive to weak acting. Still, it's an otherwise thrilling conclusion.

[PeterTHX]

Originally Posted by svenge

Those of us outside the George Lucas Reality Distortion Field™ (which was licensed from Steve Jobs before his untimely passing, but unlike the original version only works on those on the Lucasfilm payroll) can see that the Emperor has no clothes.

Worse is Lucas-Derangement Syndrome™, which causes people to endlessly threadcrap any sci-fi and fantasy related threads.

57% or not, TPM made over $400 million in 1999 dollars. That's a lot of repeat viewers for such a "hated" movie.

[ZoetMB]

Originally Posted by kemcha

I have to admit that as well. I don't know. The Jedis that appear in the Prequel trilogy just seem so out of touch from what we learned from the Original Trilogy. There's just too much inconsistency in the Prequels. I just wish that Lucas had been consistent in regards to every film ... I'm not saying that the Prequels were better, as I did enjoy them to the point where they filled in the backstory of the "Star Wars" saga but I just felt the the two trilogies were complete opposites of one another when you look at the idea of what the Jedi order is supposed to be.

Since there's only two Jedi in the OT, I have no idea what you're talking about. And even there, doesn't Obi-Wan lie to Luke about Vader?

Furthermore, Jedi or not, they still have the characteristics of human beings and ALL humans are both complex and flawed. They're not any one thing. Demonstrating that these are complex and flawed characters makes the film better, not worse. And in that one remark to Jar-Jar, I really think you're over thinking this anyway.

[Blu Warrior]

I saw The Phantom Menace 19 times in the theater in 1999. I was in my twenties not 13.

[Trekkie313]

Originally Posted by Blu Warrior

I saw The Phantom Menace 19 times in the theater in 1999. I was in my twenties not 13.

"The force is weak with this one"...

[Aragorn the Elfstone]

I think I got up to 9 or 10 viewings myself.

[JavaJulien]

On the fence over whether I should get the Original Trilogy pack or not. Much as I'd like to get a "Theatrical Edition", I don't see that happening short of George Lucas suffering a crisis of conscious.

[Germanicus]

......aaaaaaaaand.....go. I just added The Complete Star Wars Saga on my blu-ray collection. Mwaaahahahahahahaha!!!!!

[ahossein79]

Originally Posted by PeterTHX

Wrong. You think it was all under 13 year olds helping the films gross over $300 million-plus apiece?

Most critical reviewers were not bad either. How many under-13 year olds have review columns in major newspapers?

Face it, a certain cadre of loud internet types are the vocal prequel detractors. Most *adults* don't give a whit about what the fanboys found fault with the prequels. Instead, they were entertained.

Don't bother let people believe what they want to believe. I love how a "consensus" justifies a point of view and makes a belief more than opinion, just another word for mindless sheep in large numbers!

[bluskiff]

my problem was ep 1 2 and 3 missed the mark. The clonewars is much closer to what I wanted to see. Big space battles with ships doing barrel rolls with out a doubt the falcon is my favourite part of starwars. Watching that ship skidding around space was like listening to eddie vanhalen play guitar. Loved it.

[Troy73]

Originally Posted by kemcha

Midi-chlorians and all of that jazz? Lucas seemed to be drunk when he was creating all of these new ideas when it wasn't even mentioned in the original trilogy. Not even Yoda mentioned this in "Empire Strikes Back", when he was training Luke in the ways of the Force. I'm not saying that they didn't exists during the original trilogy but Lucas should have stuck to working on the backstory for the prequel trilogy instead of creating new plot ideas for things that fans didn't even know about in the original trilogy.

Is that really a big deal? First, the events in any Star Wars film are taking place over weeks to months and that's withing the single episode. Between films it ranges from months to years. So Luke was on Dagobah for a few weeks and maybe Yoda did mention it. It's not like Lucas can make 12-14 hour films to cover every little nuance in his universe. I'm not saying Lucas isn't full of crap though because I can't believe he had all this planned out back in the 70's. Just watching Him make changes now confirms he tinkers too much with this saga, but, it's his saga to alter so.....

[Aquel]

Originally Posted by Troy73

Is that really a big deal? First, the events in any Star Wars film are taking place over weeks to months and that's withing the single episode. Between films it ranges from months to years. So Luke was on Dagobah for a few weeks and maybe Yoda did mention it. It's not like Lucas can make 12-14 hour films to cover every little nuance in his universe. I'm not saying Lucas isn't full of crap though because I can't believe he had all this planned out back in the 70's. Just watching Him make changes now confirms he tinkers too much with this saga, but, it's his saga to alter so.....

I fail to see the controversy with the midi chlorians. They way I have understood it, the Force is what Obi-Wan and Yoda tell us (a mystical force which holds the universe together) whilst the amount of midi-chlorians only dictate your connection to the Force.

Besides, for those who found the midi-chlorians too scientific.. it wouldn't make much sense if both Luke and Leia were strong in the Force without Midi-chlorians (as those are a physical manifestation and get passed on from generation to generation). Why would an all powerful Force, which compasses the entire galaxy, be so mundane as to pass on from generation to generation otherwise?

[Troy73]

Originally Posted by Aquel

I fail to see the controversy with the midi chlorians.

That's where I stand on those as well, is it a big deal? I don't think so. Especially not in regard to other plot points.

I find that Star Wars for many has become a kind of religion. These films are treated as books of testament rather than entertainment which is their primary purpose.

[Moviefan2k4]

Originally Posted by mzupeman

I don't even have to look at statistics to know most people didn't care for The Phantom Menace. I can't recall talking to too many people who thought it was very good, and no matter what Star Wars conversation you come to on the internet, there's a fair amount of hate for it. I don't really understand how anyone can deny the fact that it isn't thought of as a good movie by a majority.

With the exception of my sister, I can't think of any folks offline who have told me they don't like Episode I. I still like it, and i think a big reason why lots hate all the prequels is because they had unreasonable expectations. I didn't go in with any real ideas of how things were "supposed to be", so I enjoy all of them a great deal.

And the marketing campaign... good God. There was Episode I merchandise no matter where you looked, and it hung around for a LONG, LONG time.

Yeah, that part was way over-hyped. I got so frustrated with seeing it everywhere.

[Geoff D]

Originally Posted by Aquel

I fail to see the controversy with the midi chlorians. They way I have understood it, the Force is what Obi-Wan and Yoda tell us (a mystical force which holds the universe together) whilst the amount of midi-chlorians only dictate your connection to the Force.

Besides, for those who found the midi-chlorians too scientific.. it wouldn't make much sense if both Luke and Leia were strong in the Force without Midi-chlorians (as those are a physical manifestation and get passed on from generation to generation). Why would an all powerful Force, which compasses the entire galaxy, be so mundane as to pass on from generation to generation otherwise?

Heh. The biological hints are all there in the OT. Ben even says that it's an energy field generated by all living things in the first movie, so I don't give two shits about the midi controversy either.

[Ernest Rister]

The midichlorians were created as a trail of bread crumbs, a clue as to Anakin's origins. When Lucas wrote The Phantom Menace, he created the midichlorian idea as a set-up that would only be paid off in Revenge of the Sith when Anakin would learn he was created by Darth Sidious. Everyone freaked out about the midichlorians and Anakin's "virgin birth" in Episode I, and Lucas wound up scaling back the idea that Sidious used the Dark Side to create Anakin, and what remains now is only a hint. So you have a movie with a big set up, but ultimately, only a vague payoff.

I think Lucas should have stuck to his guns. Anakin learning the dark secret of his origins helps explain his tortured state of mind leading him to believe Palpatine.

[Gold Ranger]

Originally Posted by mzupeman

I don't even have to look at statistics to know most people didn't care for The Phantom Menace. I can't recall talking to too many people who thought it was very good, and no matter what Star Wars conversation you come to on the internet, there's a fair amount of hate for it. I don't really understand how anyone can deny the fact that it isn't thought of as a good movie by a majority.

That being said, children really did help pull in a lot of money. If it wasn't because they wanted to go themselves, it's because their parents thought they might introduce them to a brand new Star Wars movie so they can warm up to the original trilogy. And the marketing campaign... good God. There was Episode I merchandise no matter where you looked, and it hung around for a LONG, LONG time. Yes, Star Wars fans 13+ are probably responsible for a majority of the money, but you can't discount how Episode I turned on a new, young generation to the Star Wars saga.

Originally Posted by Aragorn84

Well, I was 15 when Episode I was released. There's no way to describe how fantastic an experience it was when I sat in the theater and saw it. I didn't have internet at the time, so I wasn't exposed to the wave of anti-TPM fever, and I didn't know the whole world hated Jar-Jar. For me, it was simply my first experience of seeing a brand new Star Wars film on the big screen. "Duel of the Fates" was playing over and over in my head for months, and I was in love with both that fight scene as well the pod race. Not to mention, it started my obsession with Liam Neeson (who became the definitive Jedi in my mind) - which led to me being exposed to many wonderful films I might otherwise not have watched.

Yeah, now that I'm older, the acting seems stiffer - but I'll be damned if I don't still get swept up in the nostalgia of it all. Episode II, on the other hand, I can't stand. Episode III I like a lot, but at age 21 I was more sensitive to weak acting. Still, it's an otherwise thrilling conclusion.

Originally Posted by Blu Warrior

I saw The Phantom Menace 19 times in the theater in 1999. I was in my twenties not 13.

Originally Posted by Aragorn84

I think I got up to 9 or 10 viewings myself.

i was 18 when The Phantom Menace came out.
Before that, I had only ever seen Return of the Jedi in a Drive-In (i was 2 and actually remember a tiny bit of it)
All i had was the VHS copies of the movies. Damn near wore out the tapes.
I never saw the "Original" Trilogy in the Cinema during the 90's.

I loved The Phantom Menace back then, still do!
I saw it 8 times in 1999!