Originally posted by: Scruffy
When approaching Star Wars as art, I like to think I practice connoisseurship, no matter how amateur it may be. And as a connoisseur, I feel that Empire is the best of the films, and the others succeed where they most resemble Empire. I think this is true in pretty much every respect; whether it's direction, dialogue, plot, music, set design, miniature work, costuming, sound effects, or poster art. I did not arrive at this opinion capriciously, but by plumbing the depths of the other films.
So my use of Empire as a lens to view the saga is both the result of unconscious and conscious factors. It is the "kind" of story I like, and it also compares favorably to the rest of the saga on technical grounds. In the latter case, I am not deprived of the "wealth and depth" of the rest of the saga; I could not have made my conscious choice for Empire unless I had already explored the rest of the saga.
When approaching Star Wars as art, I like to think I practice connoisseurship, no matter how amateur it may be. And as a connoisseur, I feel that Empire is the best of the films, and the others succeed where they most resemble Empire. I think this is true in pretty much every respect; whether it's direction, dialogue, plot, music, set design, miniature work, costuming, sound effects, or poster art. I did not arrive at this opinion capriciously, but by plumbing the depths of the other films.
So my use of Empire as a lens to view the saga is both the result of unconscious and conscious factors. It is the "kind" of story I like, and it also compares favorably to the rest of the saga on technical grounds. In the latter case, I am not deprived of the "wealth and depth" of the rest of the saga; I could not have made my conscious choice for Empire unless I had already explored the rest of the saga.
I agree that Empire was the height of the OT Star Wars saga, but within the OT+PT saga, Empire actually kind of sucks. It's like that boring filler episode that the little kids don't really enjoy but will sit through anyways . . . .
Wow, I'm suddenly getting the feeling that George has been unconsciously trying to destroy the impact of Empire Strikes Back . . . I mean, I know that the above quote was a joke and that he doesn't really dislike Empire (nor does he really think it's the worst), but, when I think about, perhaps he subconsciously wants to tear down the movie in the eyes of popular culture. His prequels (and RotJ) make the film seem out of place and unimportant while simultaneously ruining the meaning and impact behind every revelation in the film. The two remaining strengths of Empire, its character drama and emotional impact, have been at least partially maimed in his latest edits of the film.
If it weren't for the fact that I know George Lucas better, and the fact that I know he doesn't have the attention span to carry out such a long-term vendetta, I'd almost call his mistreatment of Empire deliberate. Hell, its worked well enough on me that I'm almost on the verge of becoming a fan of the original, original Star Wars only (like Anchorhead). Perhaps his desire to make money and turn Star Wars into a money-making franchise is the external expression of his inner hatred for Empire Strikes back. It was his initial and only lasting criticism of the film, and now it's as if his desire to be right (in the end) is actually destroying what was best about it. It suddenly seems more than coincidence to me (at the moment at least). Perhaps it's so easy to believe that George Lucas hates Empire because he really does deep down.