It struck me recently that, ever since the Special Editions, Star Wars movies have really been struggling with their tone. In fact George Lucas seems to have become tone deaf.
In the original 1977 Star Wars we realise Tatooine is a dangerous place, when Luke get’s attacked by Sand People. Soon after this his aunt and uncle are brutally murdered. Luke decides to join Obi-Wan on his quest and the adventure is on it’s way. Obi-Wan introduces Mos Eisley as a hive of scum and villainy. We meet assassins, smugglers, and just generally dangerous people and aliens. Han Solo is introduced as a shady character. <span style=“line-height: 14.3999996185303px;”>There is a sense of danger when we enter Mos Eisley.</span><span style=“line-height: 14.3999996185303px;”> </span>
<span style=“line-height: 14.3999996185303px;”>George Lucas has said while introducing the Special Editions he always wanted Mos Eisley to be this bustling town. He also introduced tonal inconsistency. We now have slapstick humor when we enter Mos Eisley (just after we’ve seen Luke’s aunt’s and uncle’s burning corpses). We have a “funny” beebing droid when when our heroes are interrogated by the stormtroopers. </span>
The same thing happens in Jabba’s palace in ROTJ. In the 1983 version Jabba’s palace is a dangerous place, where people are fed to monsters. From 1997 on this tension is undercut by a “funny” musical interlude with cartoon characters.
<span style=“line-height: 14.3999996185303px;”>Some would argue that the changes are only small and cosmetic in nature, and that it is essentially the same movie with some digital effects added in the mix. I disagree. </span>I would argue that George Lucas deliberately tried to make the tone of the original films more kiddie friendly. The most obvious example being the “Han shot first” scene. In the end he only succeeded in making the film’s tone inconsistent, and it ultimately becomes a less great film, a watered down version of Star Wars, with less sharp edges.
What do you think?
Excellent post. I have shared those same thoughts for years. Especially the examples you cited.
I think the prequels (and the SE changes you mentioned) showed us that George Lucas doesn’t understand tone and had little to nothing to do, creatively, with some of the more polished and refined aspects of the original films. I think the prequels and the SE versions are EXACTLY what George Lucas would have created if he could have done it all himself in the 1970s and early 1980s, and obviously Star Wars would never have become what it is today. There likely never would have been a second movie.
It was only with the collaborative help of other people that George Lucas’s otherwise childish, banal idea for an episodic film serial was turned into something not only watchable, but wholly beloved by so many people.