Originally posted by: dagobahexile
I will say, however, that these so-called "OT Purists" make me sad sometimes. This is because, for a decent number(but certainly not all) of these purists, it's not just "The prequels suck". It's that ANYTHING Star Wars related that isn't in the OT, doesn't matter. There is a huge amount of "Expanded Universe" stuff that is "canon"(whatever the hell that means), but there are OT fans that simply don't care. There is huge amount of story, before the OT(and even before the PT) and after the OT, a huge amount of other characters, a huge amount of this FANTASTY GALAXY that's been created that is left unexplored by many.
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I will say, however, that these so-called "OT Purists" make me sad sometimes. This is because, for a decent number(but certainly not all) of these purists, it's not just "The prequels suck". It's that ANYTHING Star Wars related that isn't in the OT, doesn't matter. There is a huge amount of "Expanded Universe" stuff that is "canon"(whatever the hell that means), but there are OT fans that simply don't care. There is huge amount of story, before the OT(and even before the PT) and after the OT, a huge amount of other characters, a huge amount of this FANTASTY GALAXY that's been created that is left unexplored by many.
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Dagobahexile, that was a good and honest assessment of the PT, and the thing about this site is you aren't going to get crap from people when you are just giving your honest opinion.
I will address this part of your post, and I think this is the reason the OT appeals to a mass audience rather than a niche audience. The OT is very basic in its story, if you wipe away all of the dust off the glass, it is trilogy of good vs evil where you root for the good guys for 6 hours, and they win in the end. A simple formula in Hollywood.
The OT was able to combine that storytelling yet have drama,mythology, humor, groundbreaking effects, action that was marketed as a scifi/fantasy adventure. I understand there are more stories before and after the OT movies, I have friends who love the EU, and like the PT cause it is more SW.
But the OT I believe was able to capture the average movie fan like me, a person who wasn't a big scifi fan, a person who wasn't a big action summer blockbuster fan, and a person who never loved these type of films in general. And the OT grabbed a whole market of non scifi fans cause even though it was SciFi/Fantasy it had other elements that made me a fan. The OT has that rare quality of great films that are fun to watch, and I believe the PT, because of the story that it presents are not as fun to watch, cause it is a tragedy. Most great films I watch are heavy dramas that you have to be in the mood for, yet the OT movies I feel the same way as movies like Schindlers List and The Godfather in terms of dramatics, yet they are fun as hell to watch.
So for most fans, I don't think they really cared about what happened after Episode VI, and what happened before Episode IV, yet they got sucked in in 1999 because it was more SW. There is nothing wrong with loving the EU and The PT, but those are for the true diehards, and I firmly believe many, not all of the OT fans were never going to love the PT no matter how great Lucas executed it. The PT did not contain Luke, Han, and Leia, it was not about the good guys winning, it was not about adventure for 2 hours, the PT and EU are just different, they are more SW'ish in a way, and the more SW'ish the movies get, the more I don't love them.
I have always said, the O-OT to me is like being a World War II buff or Civil War buff, there is a hell of alot of stuff that comes before and after it, but this one is the most interesting. I think there is a reason Lucas started with the OT, and not the PT, he knew what the masses would love, cause even though they do form one story, the OT can form one story from the galaxy, or more of just a snapshot in time.