My first inkling that something was wrong was winter of 1977. Everyone at my elementary school was dreaming of getting some sweet Star Wars toys. Instead, we spent $9.99 for a mail-away certificate, and months of waiting for some action figures. It was pretty cruel, getting us kids all excited for the toys, and then not having the toys available right away.
My first inkling that something was wrong was winter of 1977. Everyone at my elementary school was dreaming of getting some sweet Star Wars toys. Instead, we spent $9.99 for a mail-away certificate, and months of waiting for some action figures. It was pretty cruel, getting us kids all excited for the toys, and then not having the toys available right away.
Which toy was it that you ordered? I remember ordering the Boba Fett with the spring action rocket and then finally, after 6-8 weeks of waiting, which is an eternity for a kid, finally getting it and the damn thing wasnt as advertised! Supposedly, “it was a choking hazard” and they discontinued it!! I got the stupid non-functioning version.
My first inkling that something was wrong was winter of 1977. Everyone at my elementary school was dreaming of getting some sweet Star Wars toys. Instead, we spent $9.99 for a mail-away certificate, and months of waiting for some action figures. It was pretty cruel, getting us kids all excited for the toys, and then not having the toys available right away.
Which toy was it that you ordered? I remember ordering the Boba Fett with the spring action rocket and then finally, after 6-8 weeks of waiting, which is an eternity for a kid, finally getting it and the damn thing wasnt as advertised! Supposedly, “it was a choking hazard” and they discontinued it!! I got the stupid non-functioning version.
It was the 4-figure pack: Luke, Leia, Chewie and R2. Luke’s stow-away lightsaber was bent after a couple of play fights.
http://toyworth.com/browse/action/figure/star/wars/89/1977/Items/Early/Bird/Kit/Mail/Away.html
You actually make my point! You saw the OT when you had already been immersed in contemporary film making and special effects. You are a product of your generation.
I don’t get that. So you’re saying that it is a huge difference if you watch the PT as an adult and immediatly don’t like it or if you watch it as a kid and first like it but then realize how flawed it is? And this somehow proves that these movies are better than people say they are?
Ceci n’est pas une signature.
A kids movie? So that’s why the original version was full of blood, exploding heads, arms being pulled off, humanoid looking aliens sliced into several pieces, alien bounty hunters being toasted alive? Yeah, a typical kids movie.
Yes, I know, he toned down most of the violence in post production and even more in the 1997 SE, but still the movies have many deaths, many arms cut off, the prequels have even things like that Anakin burning alive scene …
Exploding heads? What? I know Kylo Ren’s a Scanner, but… when did anyone’s head ever explode in the Star Wars Trilogy?
Ol’ George has the GOUT, I see.
Never. I was talking about his plans when he started to shoot the original film. It was meant to be much more bloody, as you can see in the early scripts, novel, storyboards etc. Some of his violent ideas were dropped before he got to the final script, some of them were only storyboarded, some of them were actually shot but cut out (like the alien in the cantina which was originally to be sliced into pieces).
He’s been saying it’s a kid’s movie since at least the 1992 box set.
92??? He said it before the dang movie came out in 1977!!
Note the fact that I said “at least”. I’ve also not been too involved in this thread because of the huge walls of text.
You actually make my point! You saw the OT when you had already been immersed in contemporary film making and special effects. You are a product of your generation.
I don’t get that. So you’re saying that it is a huge difference if you watch the PT as an adult and immediatly don’t like it or if you watch it as a kid and first like it but then realize how flawed it is? And this somehow proves that these movies are better than people say they are?
Some of the people that frequent these forums rnage in age from 45-50. They saw the movie in 1977 as young children. At the time, there was nothing else in entertainment even close to SW. Movies were stagnant and rehashed ideas. The cinema experience was droll and nothing too special outside of a good Disney cartoon. So a child in 1977 with his cinema going resume being at most, a spaghetti western, a Disney cartoon or some stale racecar movie had very little to compare to SW. SW blew people away in 77’. But to kids, it transported them to a different place in their imagination, to some, it was life altering. Fast forward 20 years. A child seeing SW for the first time in 1997-2005 already has an exstensive resume in cinematic/TV/media experience e.g. “Jurassic Park”, “ET”, “Harry Potter” etc. So SW isnt going to have the affect that it did in 77’ on a child who experiences it 20-30 years later. The times were so different that they cant be compared. Now, in the present, as adults, its much tougher to impress us. Like you said, we see the flaws, we critique every little nuance. We expect the new movies to move us like they did when we were kids and they dont quite measure up. Since thats the case and we cant return to the innocence of childhood, we have to do our best to channel our inner child and be as objective as possible when viewing the PT. The PT will never match the OT’s affect it had on me as a kid. But I sure try and imagine how I wouldve received it had I seen it as a 7-13 yr old. Im not saying that theyre better than folks say they are. Im saying its tough to be objective when viewing them. We have so many great movies of the genre since the release of the OT to compare the PT to, that its really tough for PT to measure up. The OT had no competition, nothing to compare it to. It was the litmus test for everything to come. I agree with you and others, the PT fell short in more ways than I can count. But I choose to overlook those short comings and look at it as I might of as a child. I go back to a time when I was 9 or 10 and recall how after hearing Obi-Wan tell Luke of the clone wars and how I imagined that it mighve looked. Then I look at AOTC from that that mindset and I get a bit more enjoyment out of it. Thats all Im saying. Despite the PT being a let down, I try and view it as I might have when i was a kid, a kid from 1977 who was blown away by SW. A kid who had no other referance material to draw from. Can you say that your experience was devoid of other comparable material that might have detracted from you first experience of SW?
He’s been saying it’s a kid’s movie since at least the 1992 box set.
92??? He said it before the dang movie came out in 1977!!
Note the fact that I said “at least”. I’ve also not been too involved in this thread because of the huge walls of text.
Yes, you are correct. My bad.
In the original Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory, four children and at least one of the parents were killed in various gruesome ways. One boiled alive (assuming he didn’t drown in chocolate first), one exploded, one was incinerated along with her father, and another was torn in half by the taffy stretcher after being shrunk. The new remake ruined all that by showing that the kids survived. That just teaches children that they can do whatever you want and get away with it. Kids need to watch movies that tell you if you to dare disobey you get turned into a blueberry. An entire planet was destroyed in Star Wars. I’m a better person because of the horrifying violence in the children’s films I was exposed to. If I had grown up watching the Fine Brothers like kids do now, I would not be here today.
The Person in Question
He’s been saying it’s a kid’s movie since at least the 1992 box set.
92??? He said it before the dang movie came out in 1977!!
Note the fact that I said “at least”. I’ve also not been too involved in this thread because of the huge walls of text.
Good move.
I thought that was the whole point of a forum?!? Its to discuss and talk about our opinions, likes, dislikes, ideas etc.
When did you feel George Lucas was turned to the Dark Side?
First of all like many of you I’m not a fan of the current official versions of Star Wars or the prequels. However, there was a time I was actually exited about the prospect of Special Editions. Who didn’t want to see the movies restored in the movie theatre? Who didn’t want to see an extended cut? Jurassic Park was a sensation, and CGI seemed to have a bright future. Reviews for the Special Editions were also generally very favourable. I couldn’t wait to get them on video, at the time. So what happened?
For me things changed with the prequels or actually after the second prequel. I didn’t hate TPM, but didn’t love it either. For me the love scenes in AOTC were rock bottom. These scenes rank to me with the worst scenes in movie history. Then the OT came out on DVD, and things started to take a turn for the worse. Prequel characters and voices in the movies I loved. Now I could not even enjoy the OT, without the stink of the prequels. That’s when I got a very bad feeling. How about you guys?
The moment the first bit of dialogue was spoken in TPM, I knew something was different. I dont know if it was George, Me or both. Something told me that this wasnt the SW I grew up with. BUT, I still found a way to overlook that feeling and enjoy it.
You actually make my point! You saw the OT when you had already been immersed in contemporary film making and special effects. You are a product of your generation.
I don’t get that. So you’re saying that it is a huge difference if you watch the PT as an adult and immediatly don’t like it or if you watch it as a kid and first like it but then realize how flawed it is? And this somehow proves that these movies are better than people say they are?
Some of the people that frequent these forums rnage in age from 45-50. They saw the movie in 1977 as young children. At the time, there was nothing else in entertainment even close to SW. Movies were stagnant and rehashed ideas. The cinema experience was droll and nothing too special outside of a good Disney cartoon. So a child in 1977 with his cinema going resume being at most, a spaghetti western, a Disney cartoon or some stale racecar movie had very little to compare to SW. SW blew people away in 77’. But to kids, it transported them to a different place in their imagination, to some, it was life altering. Fast forward 20 years. A child seeing SW for the first time in 1997-2005 already has an exstensive resume in cinematic/TV/media experience e.g. “Jurassic Park”, “ET”, “Harry Potter” etc. So SW isnt going to have the affect that it did in 77’ on a child who experiences it 20-30 years later. The times were so different that they cant be compared. Now, in the present, as adults, its much tougher to impress us. Like you said, we see the flaws, we critique every little nuance. We expect the new movies to move us like they did when we were kids and they dont quite measure up. Since thats the case and we cant return to the innocence of childhood, we have to do our best to channel our inner child and be as objective as possible when viewing the PT. The PT will never match the OT’s affect it had on me as a kid. But I sure try and imagine how I wouldve received it had I seen it as a 7-13 yr old. Im not saying that theyre better than folks say they are. Im saying its tough to be objective when viewing them. We have so many great movies of the genre since the release of the OT to compare the PT to, that its really tough for PT to measure up. The OT had no competition, nothing to compare it to. It was the litmus test for everything to come. I agree with you and others, the PT fell short in more ways than I can count. But I choose to overlook those short comings and look at it as I might of as a child. I go back to a time when I was 9 or 10 and recall how after hearing Obi-Wan tell Luke of the clone wars and how I imagined that it mighve looked. Then I look at AOTC from that that mindset and I get a bit more enjoyment out of it. Thats all Im saying. Despite the PT being a let down, I try and view it as I might have when i was a kid, a kid from 1977 who was blown away by SW. A kid who had no other referance material to draw from. Can you say that your experience was devoid of other comparable material that might have detracted from you first experience of SW?
Well let me be the voice of someone who WAS around 7-13 when the PT was coming out. I have to say I loved it as a kid. When you’re that age you didn’t see it as “the prequels” and “the original trilogy” we just saw it as Star Wars. It was all Star Wars. From 1 to 6. (That being said, I did tend to prefer the original trilogy at the time. Specifically return of the Jedi)
There are 2 kinds of childhood movies:
the ones that stay with you and only become stronger as you get older. The ones with a certain charm to them. The “kids movies” that don’t pander to children, talk down to them and dumb things down. The movies that remain good in your mind are the ones that treated you like you were strong and intelligent at a time where nobody meaningful saw you as anything but weak and stupid. The original trilogy (well, apart from Jedi at times) were these kinds of movies. They still bring enjoyment to you as an adult because they aren’t “kids movies”. They are “kid friendly movies”. And I think the distinction is important.
Then there are the movies that DO pander to the children watching. They talk down to them. Things are put in the films not because they serve the story but because “the kids will like it. They’ll want the toy”. These were the prequels. An attempt was made to put adult enjoyment in there by having politics and the like. But these are the reasons these movies haven’t stayed with us. As we grow older we see past the BS. We start to NOTICE that those making the movie didn’t put in an effort like it mattered. It was the standard “is that good enough? Who cares it’s a kids movie!” Human beings are very good at detecting BS like that.
When I was a kid, it was ALL Star Wars and I along with all my friends liked it all. Now, we all can’t stand the prequels. We grew up and the good, intelligent films that made us feel warm and important stuck with us, while the badly written, flashy, dumbed down, toy selling movies that talked down to us have not.
I thought that was the whole point of a forum?!? Its to discuss and talk about our opinions, likes, dislikes, ideas etc.
If I wanted to read a novel I’d read a novel.
I thought that was the whole point of a forum?!? Its to discuss and talk about our opinions, likes, dislikes, ideas etc.
If I wanted to read a novel I’d read a novel.
Ill try to be more concise in the future. 😃
A movie made for “kids” in the 70s, or even just fifteen years ago, is a lot different than what people consider a movie for kids now. When I was a kid(10-13), we all wanted to see movies involving people getting shot and/or stabbed to death, with lots of sex and/or fast vehicles in between. Kids were renting and watching Friday the 13th at sleepovers. Every kid I knew saw Tombstone at some point back in the day. My sister snuck into Scream in theatres when she was just 10 years old. Now it seems like people think kids want to see Jar Jar Binks, or maybe they don’t care what kids want to see and just care about what they think kids should see. I grew up filling my head with rock & roll music and violent movies and I turned out decent enough.
A movie made for “kids” in the 70s, or even just fifteen years ago, is a lot different than what people consider a movie for kids now. When I was a kid(10-13), we all wanted to see movies involving people getting shot and/or stabbed to death, with lots of sex and/or fast vehicles in between. Kids were renting and watching Friday the 13th at sleepovers. Every kid I knew saw Tombstone at some point back in the day. My sister snuck into Scream in theatres when she was just 10 years old. Now it seems like people think kids want to see Jar Jar Binks, or maybe they don’t care what kids want to see and just care about what they think kids should see. I grew up filling my head with rock & roll music and violent movies and I turned out decent enough.
I’ve been watching RoboCop since I was 4. I don’t think my mother has ever forgiven my father for it haha
1997, I was in college and I was ESTATIC about the Special Editions. I NEVER imagined that Lucas actually had filmed a scene with Jabba the Hut, in 1977, BEFORE JEDI!! And now I was going to get to see him in this new version of Star Wars ON THE BIG SCREEN!! Over the next 3 years I watched the whole trilogy with my girlfriend (who is now my wife) and it was like being a kid all over again.
But… in '97 I don’t think the thought ever occurred to me that the original would quite literally get “thrown away”. Might not have mattered so much anyway.
If you remember, Lucas took a LONG time getting the OT to DVD, and I was once again pumped, but by this time the prequels had come and gone. I bought the DVD box set and when Hayden’s ghost appeared at the end my jaw just dropped. “THAT MAKES NO SENSE!!?? HOW WOULD LUKE EVEN HAVE A &*(&( CLUE WHO THAT IS?”
When they came out on Blu Ray… I did a quick check on youtube to see if he had come to his senses and reverted that change. When I found a list of changes for the blu ray not only didn’t revert, but had the Return of the Sith “Vader NOOOOO” when he kills the Emporer… I nearly vomited and made a vow to never buy the blu rays.
But then I found Harmy and TeamNegative1’s restorations, and realized that I needed to go buy them to be “legal-ish” and try to keep you guys out of jail, LOL! So now I have them in these really cool steel boxes, but I doubt I will ever lay eyes on their content. Why would I?