But I was going to Tosche Station to pick up some power converters!

[antennapedia]

We watched Star Wars on Bluray last night. We'll probably watch Empire tonight. There is, inexplicably, a third movie in the box set, which I don't understand. Also there was some mysterious second boxed set they tried to sell me, containing three movies I'd never heard of. A joke, I suppose, a reference to the longer storyline George Lucas always

Comments

[seldomifever]

George Lucas had such potential, but he did need someone to guide him. I will never forgive him for what he did after those first two films. Gruined the whole series.

That said, I have enjoyed bits and pieces of The Clone Wars on Cartoon Network. Maybe because George's hands aren't all over it.

[capra_maritimus]

When did he and Marcia split? I'm wondering if it was Marcia's lack of influence that led to the 'dumbing down' of the movies.

[stexgirl2000]

If I remember correctly, she was either working on another film when Jedi was being shot and then edited or at that point was home with their adopted daughter. I think they split up before the second Indiana Jones film.

There was a fascinating article about her and how she's practically erased from film history these days, but I forgot to bookmark it. But the article really brought home how she not only the first two Star Wars movies, but kept George on focus about the story. (She also, it is said, in the first Indiana Jones movie, reminded Lucas and Spielberg, not to forget what happened to Marion at the end.)

[antennapedia]

She's the only editor who ever made his films coherent. I was thinking this in the theater as I watched The Phantom Menace, the one time I saw it (my apologies to my Master/Apprentice friends). The only thing in the movie that made sense was the speeder race, which was the only sequence Lucas cared enough about to get the editing right.

[wickedfox]

I love your take on the set. I feel exactly the same.

[antennapedia]

Such a waste. Reboot now, I say! Though I don't know who'd play Han.

[stexgirl2000]

Karl Urban?

[wyomingnot]

OMG.

I like this idea. Very much.

[littleotter73]

Oh oh oh! YES! What I loved about the first two movies is that they were mature. Kids and adults loved it alike, and for different reasons. They were smart. After the first two movies, George dumbed it down, changing his target audience entirely to that of six year olds. And we end up being victims of his Peter Pan complex. Noble sacrifices were not made, genocide on a grand scale can be forgiven for one act of mercy when the father saves the son. Off to Jedi heaven with you Darth Vader (oops I now mean Annikan Skywalker), because we've burned the outer trappings of your evilness in your funeral pyre.

Oh I could go on. But... we're in violent agreement. I refuse to believe anything else was made after Empire and as far as I am concerned, that's the best one of the two. Oh, and only the original versions. Stop tinkering, Lucas!

[antennapedia]

He flinched. I have no idea why, or if he ever had it in him in the first place, but he completely flinched with Vader's story. That ending for him was strange. His beginning was ... implausible. The Jedi mythos ended up being stupid instead of interesting.

I conclude that Lucas was never a good writer. Sigh.

[tx_cronopio]

These are the reasons that I love you.

[antennapedia]

<3

[stexgirl2000]

The third movie George didn't have anyone to hold him back and say "No, this isn't good storytelling." It really was all about the cute toys to sell.

I don't quibble that Jedi had to be the "Happily Ever After" chapter of the first three movies, considering that Empire was the dark fairy tale of the trilogy, looking back, it still was a piss poor "Happily Ever After". He could have given us epic space battles or an epic forest battle along with our Father/Son/Emperor light saber duel and we got...Ewoks.

Furry little Ewoks.

And Han Shot First, damn it.

Still bitter about that. Still.

[antennapedia]

God, the idea that it was about the merchandising tie-ins steams me more than anything. Bad writing can happen to anybody, particularly somebody who's been so successful that he's now hard to edit. But the idea of crassly making such horrible story decisions? Ugh. UGH.

HAN SHOT FIRST.