(no subject)
This weekend trakkie, trinityvixen and a few other friends had a Star Wars trilogy marathon. This was prompted by the release (finally!) of the theatrical versions of the films, and by the fact that trakkie had never seen them before (and she calls herself a SF fan).
This was surprisingly the first time I'd watched all three movies in one sitting. It was also the first time I've seen all three since seeing the prequels and the first time I've seen the theatrical versions since the Special Editions were released in 1997. I've never seen the DVD versions of ESB and RotJ, and I gotta say, I'm not missing that particular experience.
So it was fun to see the Wolfman in the Cantina and hear Lapti Nek at Jabba's palace (instead of that Dave Matthews-esque crap). Not to mention the original Ewok celebration. And though there are some spots where Lucas added better matte paintings in the background (particularly on Bespin), there's really nothing in the Special Editions I can't live without. And given the choice between cleaned up special effects and Han shooting first -- well, you know which I choose.
Watching the originals after seeing the prequels I was surprised by how little my movie-watching experience changed. This is probably because I know the originals so damn well (I estimate that I've seen each of them at least fifty times -- that's enough to have entire viewings where I'm just looking at the set dressings, or the bloopers, or freeze-framing my way through the battle sequences) that I'd already thought of all the inconsistencies between the originals and the prequels. In other words, maybe the prequels wouldn't have sucked so hard if Lucas had actually watched his own films and remembered them half as well as his fans do.
trinityvixen and I kept looking at each other and saying, "Obi-Wan, you lie like a rug!" Seriously -- the prequels made Obi-Wan into the biggest liar in the known worlds. "Your father wanted you to have this." Feh! "I don't recall ever owning any droids." Ha! "I thought I could train him as well as Yoda." No, actually you didn't.
What was more interesting was trying to watch the films just as themselves, without the massive amount of extended universe continuity I know. I've read every Star Wars book that came out before the prequels (except for the Hand of Vader series -- I'm sorry, but I can't read anything with lines like, "Chewie said, 'Raaawooarrr,'" and "Artoo said, 'beepboopboobeeeep.'"), but almost all of these came out long after the movies. This is the first time that I've watched the films since being in fandom, so I was trying to analyze them the way I do the texts for my other fandoms. It's interesting to contemplate the other interpretation of events outside the movies than the one I've had drummed into me by the books.
No, this is not a plea for Han/Luke slash. I know it exists, but I love Leia far too much to be able to see that happening. But it's interesting to think that Star Wars fandom (zine-based, in the dark ages) must have come up with fanon explanations of Han's past or the future of the Rebellion long before the books explored that.
All of this has made me very nostalgic. *sigh* I'm listening to my 4-disc soundtrack set now for old time's sake.
And trakkie says she liked the films, though if I was talking about Star Wars to me, I would be very very afraid of what would happen if I said otherwise.
This was surprisingly the first time I'd watched all three movies in one sitting. It was also the first time I've seen all three since seeing the prequels and the first time I've seen the theatrical versions since the Special Editions were released in 1997. I've never seen the DVD versions of ESB and RotJ, and I gotta say, I'm not missing that particular experience.
So it was fun to see the Wolfman in the Cantina and hear Lapti Nek at Jabba's palace (instead of that Dave Matthews-esque crap). Not to mention the original Ewok celebration. And though there are some spots where Lucas added better matte paintings in the background (particularly on Bespin), there's really nothing in the Special Editions I can't live without. And given the choice between cleaned up special effects and Han shooting first -- well, you know which I choose.
Watching the originals after seeing the prequels I was surprised by how little my movie-watching experience changed. This is probably because I know the originals so damn well (I estimate that I've seen each of them at least fifty times -- that's enough to have entire viewings where I'm just looking at the set dressings, or the bloopers, or freeze-framing my way through the battle sequences) that I'd already thought of all the inconsistencies between the originals and the prequels. In other words, maybe the prequels wouldn't have sucked so hard if Lucas had actually watched his own films and remembered them half as well as his fans do.
trinityvixen and I kept looking at each other and saying, "Obi-Wan, you lie like a rug!" Seriously -- the prequels made Obi-Wan into the biggest liar in the known worlds. "Your father wanted you to have this." Feh! "I don't recall ever owning any droids." Ha! "I thought I could train him as well as Yoda." No, actually you didn't.
What was more interesting was trying to watch the films just as themselves, without the massive amount of extended universe continuity I know. I've read every Star Wars book that came out before the prequels (except for the Hand of Vader series -- I'm sorry, but I can't read anything with lines like, "Chewie said, 'Raaawooarrr,'" and "Artoo said, 'beepboopboobeeeep.'"), but almost all of these came out long after the movies. This is the first time that I've watched the films since being in fandom, so I was trying to analyze them the way I do the texts for my other fandoms. It's interesting to contemplate the other interpretation of events outside the movies than the one I've had drummed into me by the books.
No, this is not a plea for Han/Luke slash. I know it exists, but I love Leia far too much to be able to see that happening. But it's interesting to think that Star Wars fandom (zine-based, in the dark ages) must have come up with fanon explanations of Han's past or the future of the Rebellion long before the books explored that.
All of this has made me very nostalgic. *sigh* I'm listening to my 4-disc soundtrack set now for old time's sake.
And trakkie says she liked the films, though if I was talking about Star Wars to me, I would be very very afraid of what would happen if I said otherwise.