HAPPY VALENTINE'S DAY! - I fixed the "Sand" Scene — Page 2

Bingowings said:

I would cut from the tonsil tennis right to planet of the oil rigs. The awkward halt to the music has always been the sad trumbone of the scene.

Bro, this comment is poetry. I’ve never heard snogging called tonsil tennis before, and my life has been poorer for it!

To your point, I almost did exactly that, but I think the scene actually works better with halt (or pause) because there’s a melodic rejoin that follows it to finish the musical phrase.

Hear me out. I need you to go grab the shiniest gold pocket watch you can find and say these words as you swing it in front of your face “Semyhr ti yrteop ekil sti.” Once you’re good and hypnotized, imagine a version of Attack of the Clones where Anakin never whines, bickers, or acts immature and where Padme treats Anakin as an equal in age and ability from scene one. Secondly, imagine a version where Anakin and Padme never talk about their relationship other than the Love Pledge scene right before the Arena Battle. The way I recut their relationship is entirely through action. Anakin says “I love you” when he saves Padme from the Bed Bugs, and I recut the Droid Factory so that Ani not Artoo says Padme from the Lava Vat. Padme says “I love you,” when she puts herself in danger so that Anakin can check on his mom, and when she gives Anakin permission to go rescue his boy Obi-Wan. So basically if you just let the tonsils do the talking, the final look from Padme in the “Sand” Scene mixed with the musical pause could read like Padme thinking, “Well I guess we’re doing this. . .” Rather than the awkward halt of the original.

arabian said:

But the I hate sand line is important. It’s not about sand itself, it’s about him hating Tatooine, hating that he was a slave, that his mother–as far as he knows, is still a slave. The line has such a deeper meaning.

I hear ya, and I think that was George’s original intention for the scene. However, from an editing standpoint, I think Episode II really benefits from “scene-focus-streamlining”, and that means reworking the “Sand Scene” to only focus on Anakin and Padme’s romance.

Anakin’s hatred of Tatooine, slavery, and his mother’s predicament, are handled better in other sequences, like Anakin’s conversation with Watto, and the scenes at the Lars Homestead. Basically, I completely agree with you in principle. I would just execute the edit differently to achieve the same goal. 😉

I feel like ppl way extrapolate the slavery thing as presented in the Prequels. They assume that it’s the same thing as American slavery bc most of us have been primed to think that way.
In the films themselves, it’s obviously still inhumane and cruel to own someone, but Anakin wasn’t physically abused. It even portrays his relationship with his owner as somewhat comedic (which is… an odd creative choice, to say the least). It’s not even mentioned in the other two movies as a source of pain or trauma, only losing his mother.
It’s not meant to be any worse then Luke’s upbringing (he had it rough too, living on a harsh desert planet).
Which is why I’m of the belief that slavery shouldn’t have been invoked in the first place. He should’ve just been a moisture farmer, like Luke.
Part of the OT’s narrative is that Luke is just as likely to then to the dark side as Anakin was.
It’s not taking a circumstances view, but placing the responsibility of their fates entirely on their own choices.

Also, it doesn’t come across that deep. Just cheesy romantic dialogue. And while that can work, it doesn’t, in that instance.