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Favorite Star Wars Movie — Page 2

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Originally posted by: Dr. Tongue
"Return of the Jedi" ... it's got the best space battle ever filmed, and IMO the Luke/Vader confrontation is the highlight of the entire series.


OMG, that one-two fx shot. You all know the ones I mean. Have you ever seen so many tie fighters in your freaking life?!?! Sitting in the front row of the Egyptian on opening night, those two shots coming one after another were like a physical assault!

And, I've mentioned it here before, but the moments when Darth Vader was actually making a choice between Palpatine and Luke had the loudest fan reaction of any Star Wars opening night ever.




Forget fan edits of the movies. I want a fan edit of the 50 greatest moments of the O.T.


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I was at the Avco Westwood that opening weekend and it was the same thing. Why the hell didn't Empire and Jedi play at the Mann Chinese anyway?
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Yeah, that was lame.


But not nearly as lame as Sith not playing there, after the other two prequels had. Really messed up our 6-week line-up (that had been in heavy logistical planning for months prior. Bah.)


ah well,

bridge
_______

water


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Did a lot of you see them when they were originally released in '77, '80, '83?

I don't know the age group here.

I was too young to see the first, I was a one-year-old. Never saw Empire, still too young. However, I do remeber seeing Return of the Jedi, when I was 7. Well, some of it I remember, mostly Jabba's palace! I remember being totally mesmerized by all the strange creatures, especially Jabba. His whole creation is something to behold, looking back at it now. He looked so real, slimy, gross, disgusting, and you wouldn't want to within 10 feet of the thing. From the synthetic to the final product, the creative talent that went into creature design and creation, really something to marvel at ... even to this day!
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I'm the offspring of the true generation. My mom went to see the original back in 1977, Empire in 1980, and was dating my Dad when seeing Jedi in 1983. I did however see all the Prequels though . But I shall see all of them on the big screen in the coming year...
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Originally posted by: Seiji
Did a lot of you see them when they were originally released in '77, '80, '83?

I don't know the age group here.

I was too young to see the first, I was a one-year-old. Never saw Empire, still too young. However, I do remeber seeing Return of the Jedi, when I was 7. Well, some of it I remember, mostly Jabba's palace! I remember being totally mesmerized by all the strange creatures, especially Jabba. His whole creation is something to behold, looking back at it now. He looked so real, slimy, gross, disgusting, and you wouldn't want to within 10 feet of the thing. From the synthetic to the final product, the creative talent that went into creature design and creation, really something to marvel at ... even to this day!


Saw SW in '77 at five years old, and loved it from day one, cause the characters just grab you right into the story, and never look back. Saw ESB at 8 years old and have to say was a bit too dark for me, and partially I feel the reason Lucas has gone kiddy ever since, he didn't want to lose kids my age for merchandising if these movies were too adult, so that is why The Ewoks & Jar Jar have appeared in the same galaxy as Chewy & Yoda. At 11 years old, I loved ROTJ, and now I think it is OK, but a good enough ending for me on the saga. But it proves that alot of young kids who are wowed by the PT now will grow up and start noticing its flaws the same way I was with ROTJ when I hit high school, it never fails.

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Although I didn't see Star Wars till it had been out for over 3 weeks!, I saw each of the ensuing sequels and prequels on opening night in Hollywood, California - after waiting in line for 24 hours for Empire, 7 days for Jedi, one month each for Episode One and Attack of the Clones and 6 weeks for Revenge of the Sith.

I was 16 when I saw Star Wars in '77 ... and, ugh, the math speaks for itself.


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I'd have to say that my favorite Star Wars movies are the prequels that were never made. I know that sounds strange, but as far as I am concerned, the prequels never were made. I don't know what episodes I through III are, but they aren't Star Wars. For me the prequels still exist in my mind as an abstract concept, roughly defined but still unseen. A trilogy of movies with the depth of story, character, emotion, fun and subtext that made the original series timeless, but with a level of care, detail, and respect that the backstory so richly deserves. The possibilities for fun, exciting storytelling and true Star Wars style swashbuckling are almost overwhelming when you stop and think about it...what could have been.
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I voted ESB. I always find it interestin that CO always says that ESB was too dark for him as a kid, whereas I was about the same age when I saw it and loved how dark it was and especially loved how the heroes got beaten around the block for the entire movie. It was great! But Star Wars is a very, very close second. Especially after having gotten the DVDs, I've been appreciating the magic of the first movie more and more, and it's helped a lot that it's lacking all of the crappy additions that George made. There is just something so special about it. So it's very close to me between those two movies, but I had to go for ESB in the end.

There is no lingerie in space…

C3PX said: Gaffer is like that hot girl in high school that you think you have a chance with even though she is way out of your league because she is sweet and not a stuck up bitch who pretends you don’t exist… then one day you spot her making out with some skinny twerp, only on second glance you realize it is the goth girl who always sits in the back of class; at that moment it dawns on you why she is never seen hanging off the arm of any of the jocks… and you realize, damn, she really is unobtainable after all. Not that that is going to stop you from dreaming… Only in this case, Gaffer is actually a guy.

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Originally posted by: Gaffer Tape
I voted ESB. I always find it interestin that CO always says that ESB was too dark for him as a kid, whereas I was about the same age when I saw it and loved how dark it was and especially loved how the heroes got beaten around the block for the entire movie. It was great! But Star Wars is a very, very close second. Especially after having gotten the DVDs, I've been appreciating the magic of the first movie more and more, and it's helped a lot that it's lacking all of the crappy additions that George made. There is just something so special about it. So it's very close to me between those two movies, but I had to go for ESB in the end.


If I made this list in 1983, I would be gushing about ROTJ, saying that was a close second to SW, and ESB would rank 3rd on my list. I can't say I hate ESB when it came, and even when it came to HBO in 1986, I was in Jr. High, I still didn't love the movie like Jedi & SW. I remember the day Jedi came out to buy on VHS in the mid to late 80's, I bought it and loved it. I really think my problems with ESB stemmed from the darker tone and the lack of resolution, and Jedi had that resolution that SW had in '77. I guess as a kid, I didn't want to watch a movie without a proper ending, I felt it to be very anti-climatic.

But I do remember when ESB finally hit as the great movie it is, I got one of VHS boxsets in High School, I believe I was in 11th grade, and I watched all 3, and it had been a couple of years since I really watched all 3 SW movies since being in High School was the first time I thought it wasn't cool to like SW and tried to distance myself from the movies.

I watched SW and always get the same result: nothing beats it, and that has never changed. But being older now and watching ESB, I remember just being utterly speechless after watching it and saying, "God, that is such a great F**** movie, what the hell was I thinking all those years?" As I watched Jedi, I started really noticing the ewoks, and the slower parts of the movie stuck out now, but watching it as a trilogy really put ESB in context for me, and the lack of resolution didn't bother me anymore.

And that hasn't changed for the past 15 years, SW & ESB are really the same in terms of quality, but I just love SW more cause of the standalone movie it can be watched as whenever I feel like it. But I will give Kersh credit for really delving into the characters more in ESB, and that is its biggest strength, not 'I am your father."
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I guess the difference in opinion could stem from the fact that I didn't have to wait three years for the resolution. I could go right to the next movie and find out how it all ended, while you were stuck with this drop forever.

There is no lingerie in space…

C3PX said: Gaffer is like that hot girl in high school that you think you have a chance with even though she is way out of your league because she is sweet and not a stuck up bitch who pretends you don’t exist… then one day you spot her making out with some skinny twerp, only on second glance you realize it is the goth girl who always sits in the back of class; at that moment it dawns on you why she is never seen hanging off the arm of any of the jocks… and you realize, damn, she really is unobtainable after all. Not that that is going to stop you from dreaming… Only in this case, Gaffer is actually a guy.

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Originally posted by: Gaffer Tape
I guess the difference in opinion could stem from the fact that I didn't have to wait three years for the resolution. I could go right to the next movie and find out how it all ended, while you were stuck with this drop forever.



That is an interesting way of looking at it, and I guess seeing every movie in their respective year does have a different effect then seeing them right after each other.

I will say that after seeing SW in '77, I was one who didn't want sequels, and I just loved the original so much, I got it in my mind, "How can you top this?" So for years, I was an OT fan, but nothing really beat the Original SW. As I got older and started looking more into the story, that is where the ESB & ROTJ really made SW that much better, cause they enriched the whole story. (Something the Prequels should have done!)

Gaffer, you may be suprised but I have never been a huge fan of 'I am your father' and I think that is where the split among SW '77 & ESB fans come in to what is their favorite. I just love the rebels vs empire story, and just following the good guys. Darth Vader was always cool as hell to me, but the more Lucas delved into his personality, the more turned off I became. I don't mind that the OT has Vaders story of redemption in it, cause the story is still about Luke, but it bothers me now that the saga 1-6 is supposed to be watched as a character arc of Anakin Skywalker. For me, that just isn't nearly that interesting, even if it was done well.
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I agree. I mean, I love looking at the sequels in context of Vader's redemption, but the star always is Luke throughout all three of them. The goals that have to be accomplished, whether defeating the Empire as a whole or saving Vader, they're all Luke's goals that we're taken along for. What bugs me most about the 1-6 mentality is that the original movies simply don't fit that mold. You can tie the sequels to the original movie because the motivations in all three are Luke's. You have to do a lot of mental stretching to believe that the original movies are Anakin's story as well as the prequels.

There is no lingerie in space…

C3PX said: Gaffer is like that hot girl in high school that you think you have a chance with even though she is way out of your league because she is sweet and not a stuck up bitch who pretends you don’t exist… then one day you spot her making out with some skinny twerp, only on second glance you realize it is the goth girl who always sits in the back of class; at that moment it dawns on you why she is never seen hanging off the arm of any of the jocks… and you realize, damn, she really is unobtainable after all. Not that that is going to stop you from dreaming… Only in this case, Gaffer is actually a guy.

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Originally posted by: Gaffer Tape
I agree. I mean, I love looking at the sequels in context of Vader's redemption, but the star always is Luke throughout all three of them. The goals that have to be accomplished, whether defeating the Empire as a whole or saving Vader, they're all Luke's goals that we're taken along for. What bugs me most about the 1-6 mentality is that the original movies simply don't fit that mold. You can tie the sequels to the original movie because the motivations in all three are Luke's. You have to do a lot of mental stretching to believe that the original movies are Anakin's story as well as the prequels.


Exactly, and that is why I never had a problem as an OT fan even though SW '77 was my favorite movie of all-time. ESB & ROTJ enriched SW '77, but they didn't change it the overall story, even though Lucas fudged a couple of family members in there!

My point was Lucas never changed SW '77 to fit ESB & ROTJ, he wrote ESB & ROTJ to fit SW '77, and tried to work around the new plot points like Vader being Lukes father, and Leia being Lukes sister. The worst thing he could have done was go back and reshoot some scenes in SW '77 like Kenobi/Luke conversation, cause that would have probably turned me off from being an OT fans and I probably would have stayed a SW '77 fan.

I like that the OT enriches the basic SW '77 movie, and I really do think the patchwork making it on the fly story Lucas eventually ended up with in 1983 is pretty good. It flows well, it keeps its basic message from 1977, and gives you closure.

The problem with the PT movies, putting asides its faults, is the story doesn't enrich the OT, but it fucking changes it! Lucas has said in past interviews he wanted fans to look at the OT in a whole different way after the PT, and that is just wrong. There is nothing wrong with looking at certain aspects that the PT fleshes out that enriches the OT, but the basic premise of the tragedy of Anakin Skywalker now for 6 movies really does an injustice to 4-6. Not only did Lucas put out average PT movies that only a niche audience really loves, but he has fucked up the OT now, so any newcomer will watch it out context.

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Exactly. I have nothing against making up story parts as you go along. If you manage to do it well, it can come across quite seemlessly. Like the OT for the most part. Another example is Back to the Future Part II, where they never wanted to go to the future, but they were stuck with the gag ending they had written for the first movie. So they took that and let that springboard them into another plot about time paradoxes. Just the fact that the PT has "forced" George to go back and actually change the original movies to fit it is a testament to how poorly they were conceived.

There is no lingerie in space…

C3PX said: Gaffer is like that hot girl in high school that you think you have a chance with even though she is way out of your league because she is sweet and not a stuck up bitch who pretends you don’t exist… then one day you spot her making out with some skinny twerp, only on second glance you realize it is the goth girl who always sits in the back of class; at that moment it dawns on you why she is never seen hanging off the arm of any of the jocks… and you realize, damn, she really is unobtainable after all. Not that that is going to stop you from dreaming… Only in this case, Gaffer is actually a guy.

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Back to the Future II, atleast Zemeckis admits he didn't have this grand plan all along, other then our creator who never tells the truth on Documentaries. Can you say egomaniac?

I read an interesting editorial on what has happened to the SW fanbase since the PT is over:

-He has made 25% of the fans happy who really like the story of Anakin and the PT
-He has made 50% of the fans pissed off now who really like the OT and didn't want it changed
-He has made 25% of the fans think it is mediocre now who were not diehards but thought the OT movies were good in their day.

Hey George, you say that SW was 25% complete in 1977 and that is why you did the SE, well atleast you were able to make 25% of the fanbase happy after the PT.
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I voted for Star Wars, though I really like it and ESB equally. The thing about SW is, it has a resolution, an ending, and when it ends it ends on a very upbeat note letting you leave the movie excited and cheery. ESB leaves you kind of depressed, but is still an excellent film and a very, very close second. ROTJ is my least favorite, but I do love it. It drags a little, and whilst SW and ESB were nonstop action, ROTJ doesn't have that feeling. And the whole part at Jabba's palace is just....ugh...
Watch DarthEvil's Who Framed Darth Vader? video on YouTube!

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Originally posted by: Darth_Evil
ROTJ is my least favorite, but I do love it. It drags a little, and whilst SW and ESB were nonstop action, ROTJ doesn't have that feeling. And the whole part at Jabba's palace is just....ugh...

Funny thing is, back in the day, ROTJ was considered the most action packed of the series (Or at least among my friends and I). I mean, the entire second half of the movie is one big battle/chase.

And I remember everyone loving the scenes in Jabba's palace as well, 'cause after the first two movies hyping this guy, he totally lived up to all of our expectations. Totally ruthless and disgusting, ruling over all of Tatooine's scum and villiany. I'll never forget the first time they showed Jabba on the big screen, almost every kid in the theater shouted "Woah!"
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I don't know I really don't think the classic trilogy changed in any substantial way to "fit in" with the prequels. Most of the changes had nothing to do with the prequels, such as Greedo shooting first, and the Monkey Woman being replaced by the real Emperor. The only changes that I can think of that were made to tie things together with the prequels were merely cosmetic. Boba's lines were merely re-recorded, not changed; Hayden's face was just used to represent the same character that was already appearing before.

The new Emperor scene in Empire pretty much sticks to the dynamic that was already there. With both of them talking about Luke as the son of Skywalker as if Anakin wasn't in the room with them, and both of them have Vader discussing Luke's potential conversion as if they could all be one big happy Sith family, with the Emperor giving that paused "yeah... I won't ditch you the second I convert Luke... Can it be done?" To me the meaning is about the same. Especially when you compare it to Jedi where the Emperor shows his true colors by ordering Luke to strike Vader down.

If you ask me, the prequels were made in such a way as to stick to the way the classic trilogy was already set up. It wasn't just some huge new thing out of left field.

Seriously how do you guys see things as being forced to match up to the prequels?

The classic trilogy is still mainly Luke's story. The only "mental stretching" I am aware of is that of actually accepting more information than what we already had in the classic tirlogy. Was it some kind of huge "mental stretch" to watch ESB and ROTJ after ANH? After all in ESB we find out that Vader is Luke's father. Who saw that coming? Then they had to "stretch" Obi-Wan's comments to Luke about Vader Killing Anakin as some kind of "point of view" convenience.

Then it's like someone was like, didn't Yoda say something about an "other"? Obi-Wan thinks..... looks off set where George is frantically writing out a cue card: "Leia is the other! That's the ticket" .

Are you telling me that's okay and makes perfect sense but we can't know about Anakin or else it somehow changes Luke's contribution to the overall story?

Sure Lucas was making this by the seat of his pants. Hanging everything off a fairly thin outline and fleshing out the details as he went. But that's nothing new, the only reason we didn't notice that with ANH, was because we didn't have any chapters before it to compare to. If we could just roll along with it for the classic trilogy, I don't see what's so different about letting similar things slide in the prequels.
Your focus determines your reality.
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Originally posted by: Dr. Tongue
Funny thing is, back in the day, ROTJ was considered the most action packed of the series (Or at least among my friends and I). I mean, the entire second half of the movie is one big battle/chase.

And I remember everyone loving the scenes in Jabba's palace as well, 'cause after the first two movies hyping this guy, he totally lived up to all of our expectations. Totally ruthless and disgusting, ruling over all of Tatooine's scum and villiany. I'll never forget the first time they showed Jabba on the big screen, almost every kid in the theater shouted "Woah!"


Good point, and that is exactly how I felt in 1983. For some reason I was utterly fascinated with Jabba's palace, I remember watching a documentary on how they had Jabba move with all the people in the backround. You are right, we wondered for 3 movies what the hell is the big deal about this guy, what does he look like, what makes him so powerful.

Ooops, all gone now with the SE, you now see Jabba in ANH and all that anticipation I know I had as a kid before ROTJ is lost now......... Another brilliant change by Sir George.

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Originally posted by: CO
Ooops, all gone now with the SE, you now see Jabba in ANH and all that anticipation I know I had as a kid before ROTJ is lost now......... Another brilliant change by Sir George.

Agreed! This is another thing that bothers me and leads me to believe the prequels should never have been made; future generations, assuming they watch "The Saga" as Lucas so desperately wants, will be robbed of some of the the greatest scenes of the original trilogy, "I am your father", Jabba's reveal, "Leia's my sister", etc. Stuff that as a kid was amazing and totally engrossing will seem pedestrian and repetitive to future generations. Which I think is really, really sad.
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I overall like the Jabba palace, and he totally lived up to all expectations, but the language of Huttese is kind of annoying and that little wierd animal that sits by Jabba's tail and is always laughing is so damn annoying.

The stupidest addition to the OTSE was putting Jabba in SW, and this is something I doubt even Go-Mer can deny. Jabba had such a huge buildup, and in the first two films, he was just a villain in reputation, which made him a great villain. adding him into SW just ruins all that drama, and because he was so sloppily done, he no longer feels like a threat at all, and is just a big joke whenever he is mentioned. The Jabba in ROTJ is very menacing, and very well done, but it suggests he is immobile, and he also looks way different from the bad CGI Jabba of the SE.
Watch DarthEvil's Who Framed Darth Vader? video on YouTube!

You can also access the entire Horriffic Violence Theater Series from my Channel Page.
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That's exactly the point. By virtue of the way in which he chose to "tell the story" of the PT, he COMPLETELY ruined the fun, drama, suspense, and surprises of the OT. With a thoughtfully written, carefully orchestrated and directed story, he still could have told the story of the PT while completely preserving the surprises of the OT. It really wouldn't have been that hard to do. Just a little imagination and creativity is all that it would have taken...oh, that and actually giving a shit.

And I totally agree with the Jabba the Hutt ROTJ comments. That characters was a BIG reveal for us back in 1983. There was a ton of mystery and anticipation surrounding this often mentioned but never seen bad guy. It was awesome when we finally got to see him. And, it was a HUGE "wow" when we finally did.
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This is Darth Cold My favorite original triogy movie is Return of the jedi
A former SE and prequel fan who turned OOT.
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Originally posted by: Darth Cold
This is Darth Cold My favorite original triogy movie is Return of the jedi


On the left hand side of your post is your screen name, crystal clear to everyone. You don't need to repeat your name in your post.
And I'm not trying to be mean, but posts are much easier to read when proper punctuation is used. You should have written, "This is Darth Cold. My favorite original trilogy movie is Return of the Jedi." Or possibly "This is Darth Cold and my favorite original trilogy movie is Return of the Jedi." It gives your posts more dignity and makes them easier to read. Again, not trying to mean, just giving some helpful tips.
Watch DarthEvil's Who Framed Darth Vader? video on YouTube!

You can also access the entire Horriffic Violence Theater Series from my Channel Page.