STAR WARS - The greatest trilogy ever concieved

[PaleRider]

There are only three Star Wars films. The first, Released in 1977, STAR WARS, the second, EMPIRE STRIKES BACK, and third, RETURN OF THE JEDI.

[PaleRider]

As far as I'm concerned, there are only three Star Wars Films. I would rather be torched by THE HOLIDAY SPECIAL rather than watch the so called EPISODE 1 and 2.

[PaleRider]

STAR WARS rocks my world like no other!

[n0signal]

Did you just post three times to up your member's rating!? ;)

Anyhoo, everyone (should) love the original Star Wars trilogy, but I think the fact that ROTJ is a somewhat weaker entry, I'd have to say the Lord of the Rings trilogy is IMHO a better trilogy as a whole. All three films were consistently as good as each other, if not improving each time!!

Nevertheless, I *LOVE* Star Wars. Ultimate popcorn flick.

[David Jimerson]

LOTR isn't really a "trilogy."

[n0signal]

The book isn't. The films are! It's even called the "motion picture trilogy" on marketing produce! But yes yes, I know it was originally written as one book...

[PaleRider]

Lord of the Rings is the obligatory response for this subject, however return of the king got worked by Return of the Jedi.

Don't get me wrong, I love The Lord of the Rings however, I was disappointed some of Jackson's interpretations of Characters. However, once again, I send forth a royal decree crowning the original STAR WARS TRILOGY, greatest Trilogy in the kingdom of DVXUSER.

[David Jimerson]

The book isn't. The films are! It's even called the "motion picture trilogy" on marketing produce! But yes yes, I know it was originally written as one book...

And it was made as one movie released in three parts.

SW, on the other hand, was three separate productions, stories, etc..

I know they *called* it a trilogy . . .

[n0signal]

*laughs* of course Lord of the Rings will crop up, for instance, recently in Empire magazine's voted top 50 films of all time... the top five were taken up by all 3 LORT films and the original two SW movies. They're both the ultimate popcorn trilogies. Whichever you prefer I guess is just individual preference, but most people like both anyway.

[PaleRider]

I like my popcorn salted with spice from tatooine not middle earth.

[n0signal]

And it was made as one movie released in three parts.

SW, on the other hand, was three separate productions, stories, etc..


Interesting point, however, you could argue that they were all filmed together for continuity's sake. I believe there are three separate screenplays written for them, and not one heeooowge one, as there would be if it was just one big film, split into sections for release. *cough Kill Bill *cough*

[n0signal]

I like my popcorn salted with spice from tatooine not middle earth.

*laughs* kool quip!! ;D

[PaleRider]

thank you n0signal, that means a lot to me.

[BLWolf]

LotR was actually written as 6 books: 2 books combined into 1 part, for a total of 3 parts, which are the 3 "books" that we have.

[Contact_Therapy]

Hey, what about Indy and his adventures? Nobody ever threw a punch that sounded better.

[J.R. Hudson]

Star Wars - Fucking amazing to this day. Has there ever been anyone cooler than Han Solo? Was it not the most incredible world to be introduced to? I was 7 in 1977.

Sigh......

The Empire Strikes Back - And it just gets better. And its darker. Han gets frozen in carbonite and I couldnt think straight. This is the first sequel I remember experiencing.

Sigh....

Return of the Jedi - The opening sequence. Luke cruising into Jabba pad and theres Han and thats really princess leia in disguise and Lando too! And then there were Ewoks..... It kind of started the downward spiral from there.

The new ones? "How to ruin a good thing" by George Lucas.

[David Jimerson]

The new ones? *"How to ruin a good thing" by George Lucas. *

They just have no depth to them at all. Classic examples of how a huge budget can ruin your movie.

[J.R. Hudson]

Tragic almost. Almost as if a corporation made them and not a filmmaker. Perhaps he should have allowed other directors to shoot these ones as well (sans SW)

[Brad_Thames]

It's like Lucas said, "I don't need a story. Look at all these cool effects I can finally do!" I bought 1 & 2 on DVD, but I can't bring myself to watch them. Could really care less about Episode 3, but I'll see it anyway just for closure. I just hope they finally found someone who can act to play Anakin.

The originals are so dang cool.

[J.R. Hudson]

Exactly. And that seems to be the general sentiment with anyone over 12 years old (except for those SW Fans that give SW a bad name). Closure is the key to third one.

I will but the DVD Box set of the originals but still cringe when I see that pathetic CGI Jabba scene. I mean, it's like looking in the mirror when you leave the house. You know if you look like shit or not and you have to make that decision

"Well, I'm just going Target to get catfood. I probally won't run into anyone I know since I am in the witness relocation program anyway..."

Didn't George and the boys at ILM look at that Jabba scene and say "Man, that looks like shit" ?

[BLWolf]

It saddens me to see what George has done to the Star Wars legacy.

One of my fondest memories of childhood is being 10-years-old and seeing Star Wars on the big screen during it's original release in 1977. A film like that had never been seen before and it was a magical experience for me. And to see now what George has done to the original films (Jabba) and the almost sterile way in which the prequels are unfolding is a tragedy. The prequels lack the charm, life, and electricity that made the original trilogy become a part of human storytelling history. I love the original trilogy and always will, but the prequels make me look at the ground with my hands in my pockets and kick a rock while sadly thinking, "Damn."

[Anartiste]

The first trilogy has been written by a man alone against a system, struggling for years to make his dream come true. We can feel his identification with Luke very much ; it's very touching. He was using the Force, and the Force was with him : he wrote a masterpiece, a model of dramaturgy, an eternal classic.

He brought the child sight into the system and that was probably a good thing to happen in this time full of pessimistic films. Then he made billions, trillions, zillions... and (involunterily) opened the doors of cinema to the child oriented mass marketing machine Hollywood has become today : children (and "ungrown-ups") are a very profitable audience, infinitely more than educated and very critical adults that made the majority of the audience then.

Then what ? He claims he's an outsider struggling against the studios, but has he used his colossal fortune to help young artists raising their voices to criticize the system (like F. F. Coppola, his mentor, did) ? Nope : his Empire is at his nearly exclusive use.

When I went to the theater to see Episode I, I had to endure thirty minutes of ads for star Wars toys and Star Wars MacDonald's menus before the film actually begun. By that time, I was already fed up with Star Wars. And the film was a total crap, deserted from all its original philosophy. I decided to boycott the next episodes.

But you know what it's like : man is weak. I ended up seeing Episode II on TV last year... and it was just as crappy, only very partially compensated by the final cliff hanger. No more broken characters playing with delight a wonderful pop-corn script hiding the most profound dimension of an ancient greek tragedy. No more magical settings and rusty spaceships. No. Just cleanissimo characters struggling to tell their empty lines in front of a green screen — the matrix of virtual cleanissimo CGIed clichés so expensive you never get a shot longer than three seconds and a sequence longer than one minute (except for the final battle when George's vision of directing is the usual rattle we're crammed with all year long by Jerry "big bollocks" Bruckheimer and his likes.)

Pathetic.

We thought George Lucas was Luke Skywalker, the untouchable hero ; he's just Darth Vador, the Jedi who surrendered to the Dark side of the Force. The irony is so true to the film that it's almost an autobiography he's directing. A shitty one.

So I just try to think that the real George Lucas is dead, that his body is possessed by some greedy devil. And I mentally pray for the soul of this great storyteller who died twenty years ago.

To him, I give eternal respect. And I spit on the face of the impostor who's taken his place. He deserves no less.

[David Jimerson]

I understand the Jabba scene is being replaced by a better CGI Jabba.

Of course, it was originally shot with a furry fat guy.

[gearman]

The person you all should check out is Bruce Logan...this guy shot many B cams for stars wars and 2001 ....I am honored to have worked under him for 12 years...as his 1st AD.

[kai]

aw cmon people... we all know that the best Trilogy is Back To The Future I,II,III!!!! ha ::)

[PaleRider]

That's a great argument, only problem is that 2 sucked. It was almost as bad as return of the jedi, so they are almost even if it wasn't for light sabers.

[Terry_Lasater]

Tsk, tsk, tsk... Have you people gone mad?

Don't you remember the cinematographic beauty that is the "Ernest goes to... " trilogy? ;D

[kai]

HAHAHAHAHAHAH Hey Terry, the guy that played the cook in those (Gailard Sartain) lives up here in Tulsa... In looking at his credits, he's actually done an amazing amount of work!!!

http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0765605/

[Philip]

Give me The Godfather trilogy. Godfather I and II were good enough not to be dragged too far down by III. As for the Star Wars trilogy, Return of the Jedi sunk it too deep to for it to win greatest trilogy. Just for fun, here are some reasons why Return of the Jedi sucks. (I wish I could claim them as my own, but they were posted years ago on Wordplay (www.wordplayer.com) by Ted Elliott and Terry Rossio.

The scene where Luke tells Leia they're brother and sister ... meaning Darth Vader is *her* father, too ... the guy who blew up her adopted planet and her adoptive father ... then interrogated her with a pretty nasty looking Ball o' Torture ... how could that scene have been so undramatic?

In STAR WARS, they have to destroy a completed Death Star that is coming in range of blowing up the entire rebel alliance ... in ROTJ, it's a half-completed Death Star hanging over a worthless moon. As a sequel or a remake, it's a pale imitation.

Why would the Ewoks think C-3PO is a god when there's a seven-foot-tall version of themselves standing there, towards whom C-3PO is clearly subordinate?

Who wants to buy the Luke Skywalker action figure that lies on the floor saying 'Help me, daddy'?

Philip

[J.R. Hudson]

LOL LOL LOL

Yes, ROTJ was a bummer.

[Mike_Donis]

One thing I must chime in with is that when I was much younger (like 8 or so) I liked Return of the Jedi the most! When I watch it today (though I'm still young:P!) I don't, but when I was younger I did! And I'm pretty sure that George's target audience was much younger when he made ROTJ anyways...

Even while it lost the edge of the first two, it still was much better than Episode 1! It wasn't really that bad IMO

[Barry_Green]

If someone was to go through and do a "Phantom Edit" on ROTJ, they could probably make a pretty good film out of it. The opening scene was a lot of fun, and the lightsaber battle at the end between Luke and Darth was really pretty good -- I mean, compare that fight to Darth and Obi-Wan in "A New Hope" and you'll see how far they progressed! I just kind of tune out during the whole Endor phase...

... there's something thematic there, the whole premise of Star Wars is gritty organic spirituality triumphing over cold, heartless, surgical steel precision etc, so the Ewoks being a primitive naturalist force that turns the tide of the battle "fits", but it's just so LONG and drawn-out that it really saps the life out of that film.

[David Jimerson]

Never mind the music video inserted into the Special Edition.

[Mike_Donis]

Speaking of Special Editions, I heard that they WON'T be releasing the originals on DVD...ONLY the Special Editions!

WTF?????????? I want the Star Wars Trilogy, not a CGI with some old footage thrown in here and there :P

[David Jimerson]

Dude, where have you been? *That's been the word for years.

They've also made further changes to the movies . . . though some of them seem to be not so bad.

And, just to tweak you for your age . . . complaining about changes that were made to movies when you were about 11 don't quite carry the same weight as they do from someone who was about 11 when ROTJ was first released . . . let's just say our history with those flicks is a bit more fundamental . . . * :D :D

[Mike_Donis]

. . . let's just say our history with those flicks is a bit more fundamental . . . * :D :D

Fair enough :P *Us youngun don't know what we're talkin 'bout...Can't I complain too?? ;)

[David Jimerson]

;D

Hey, just sayin', if you didn't beg your parents for the very original action figures (like Luke with the stupid yellow stick with a wick on the end that came out of his hand), save Cheerios box tops for the very rare, mail-order-only Boba Fett, have the Light Saber which was a flashlight with an inflatable yellow tube, go through a couple of R2-D2s because the label kept getting ruined, or can't remember the feel of the X-Wing front landing skid curled around your finger as you pulled it out to "land," you might not have as much sentiment invested. I mean, if looking around Robbie's room in "Poltergeist" doesn't make the hair on the back of your neck stand up while you gasp, "I had all that stuff!" . . .

But yes, you can complain, and restore our faith in the Yoots of the world. At least you recognize the problem! ;)

Again, I'm just tweakin' ya. ;)

[J.R. Hudson]

You mean you didint like the New Jabba? ;D

[BLWolf]

Damn. I'm just glad that I have the original version of the trilogy on mint condition VHS tapes. Teh Jabba in Ep1 is ghey.

[David Jimerson]

I have 'em, too, in THX Widescreen. Unfortunately, they will fade with time, and I can't make a good backup from them.

[BLWolf]

Yeah, that's the only bummer about the tapes.

Who the F does George Lucas think he is altering OUR movie? ;D

[Mike_Donis]

I even feel bad for the effects guys of the Original versions. SO MUCH WORK went into the optical compositing and stuff, and then Lucas COMPLETELY WIPES THEIR ONCE-INNOVATIVE WORK FROM HISTORY. The new effects don't even LOOK more realistic, just more CGI...

[David Jimerson]

I even feel bad for the effects guys of the Original versions. *SO MUCH WORK went into the optical compositing and stuff, and then Lucas COMPLETELY WIPES THEIR ONCE-INNOVATIVE WORK FROM HISTORY. *The new effects don't even LOOK more realistic, just more CGI...

Roger that. Some of the CGI is downright embarrassing, IMHO.

[Mike_Donis]

Seriously...some of the shots look like stuff my high-school buddies could whip up in 3D Studio Max...:s

[David Jimerson]

I'd cut some slack for the year it was released if Titanic and Starship Troopers hadn't been made at the same time.

[Mike_Donis]

Yes, but they HAD been released. And we're talking about ILM here, they're supposed to be TOP KNOTCH...

And I reiterate that they DIDNT improve the effects, they just changed them...

[David Jimerson]

Episode II wasn't any particular jewel in terms of the CGI, either. A lot of it looked like bad matte pantings.

[Mike_Donis]

Yeah, but then again, a lot of Episode Two was *shot* to look kind of like a cartoon...I mean, with that much Bluescreen, it's hard to NOT see it as an animated film with some live action elements.

But something like Empire Strikes Back? It looked DARK, and without that cartooney edge. At least from what I remember (I haven't seen it in a couple years). So adding cartooney effects to it just make them stand out. At least with Episode 2 they seemed to fit better.

*note* I'm not sticking up for the cheesey CGI in Episode 2. Bu I'm just clearing up some of the reasons I thought the Special Editions sucked...know what i mean?

[David Jimerson]

Oh, yes. I know what you mean.

Though I could bear the whole thing if they just restored the Solo/Greedo scene.

[Mike_Donis]

Oh dear lord, that was horrible... :'(

[J.R. Hudson]

I like the look of the original Staw Wars. No tricks, no conceptual design in terms of looks. JUst good ole film stock and shot straight.

[David Jimerson]

At least Cameron gets it -- do it in camera. It'll look the most real.

BUT . . . to cut some slack, it IS cutting edge in the sense that he's trying a totally new approach.

But being cutting edge doesn't make it good. Maybe someone will come along and do it better.

[Mike_Donis]

The plus about the new star wars movies is as ive said already: they LOOK like cartoons. It makes the cartooney acting and characters just that much more believable at least :P

[Anartiste]

Do you think there is an anti-CGI new generation of filmmakers soon to come ? Us perhaps ?

I love models and miniatures (not sure about the real technical words, sorry :-/) : they give me more easily the illusion of reality than their virtual ersatz.

That's what I loved in "Kill Bill" : good old moviemaking, continual cheating though, but finally more honest to us viewers than CGI.

Why's that ?

[Mike_Donis]

I agree with you...CGI just doesn't cut it.

I think its just something subtle about the imagery itself...when its models, it HAS indeed actually been filmed...you just didnt see the strings holding it up. So unless the CGI effect is LITERALLY 100% perfect, it won't look as good. Then again, a bad model can make the movie suck, too, and it does have its limitations...

But I definitely love it when filmmakers decide to get creative rather than just saying the old "ahh, we'll do it in post"

[J.R. Hudson]

CGI should be used as a tool as any other 'trick in the bag'. Look at the FX in Black Hawk Down whereas CGI was used to enhance the picture or otherwise do something that couldnt be done practically.

The first Black Hawk thats goes down? ALL CGI and amazingly real.

I wish filmmakers would ask: Can we do this in camera first? Instead of automatically going to post for an effect.

[Mike_Donis]

I wish filmmakers would ask: Can we do this in camera first? Instead of automatically going to post for an effect.

my sentiments exactly!

[Anartiste]

Yeah ! If we were to write a manifesto, you would just have written the first article, John. :D