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GlopOfGrease

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Join date
3-Nov-2004
Last activity
9-May-2006
Posts
110

Post History

Post
#77211
Topic
ROTJ is worse than I remember.
Link
https://originaltrilogy.com/post/id/77211/action/topic#77211
Time
Lucas wanted all the main characters together. That's why Luke, Leia, Han, Chewie, Threepio, and R2 are in the shuttle together. There's no real point in bringing droids along on a military attack. The problem is that Han's character arc has already played itself out and he is left with little to do. They could have come up with something, but that would probably have required another story thread in addition to the three that were already going on.
Post
#76984
Topic
Director's Cuts?
Link
https://originaltrilogy.com/post/id/76984/action/topic#76984
Time
<This Rick McCallum guy who Lucas has producing the new movies is a no talent ass clown. Why doesn't he have someone like Spielberg or Zemekis in the seat?!?>

That's why Lucas has him as producer. Speilberg or Zemekis would give artistic input. Lucas doesn't want other people's input. After renting and watching the fourth disk with the documentary, I think Lucas believes if he had someone like McCallum, he would have been able to do more of what he wanted to do for A New Hope. McCallum may have no talent for making movies, but he will do the dirty work and say the dirty words to get the job that Lucas wants done. McCallum is there so Lucas doesn't have to get his hands dirty and can look like the good guy.

Post
#76825
Topic
ROTJ is worse than I remember.
Link
https://originaltrilogy.com/post/id/76825/action/topic#76825
Time
I remember seeing Jedi in the theater and loving it. I went with my family and some friends from my neighborhood. We went out for dinner at Wendys afterwards to discuss how much we loved the it. Around college, I started looking at movies with a more critical eye and I changed my thinking on Jedi slightly. I believe that New Hope and Empire Strikes Back are two of the best, if not the best, movies ever made any genre. They stand on their own without the rest of the movie. Return of the Jedi has some big flaws, but I still think it is a good, not great, movie. I love the redemption aspect allowing that even evil Darth Vader can be forgiven and redeemed. Too bad Lucas has now gone and destroyed the redemption with his changes to the DVD. While there are parts that seem out of place and some wild changes in tone, I still believe it works as a decent end to the saga and an entertaining movie.
Post
#76785
Topic
New to the board... thoughts on Episodes 1 &amp; 2
Link
https://originaltrilogy.com/post/id/76785/action/topic#76785
Time
<The fighting is great, especially the final duel which is greatly enhanced by John Williams, again pulling through 100% for SW. He has not let us down yet. However, the way in which Darth Maul is killed is quite questionable, if not upsetting...>

I liked it for several reasons. The first was that it showed the fighting Kenobi could do before getting old. Second, it reminded me of the Emperor getting thrown down the shaft in Return of the Jedi. Also, ever since Empire Strikes Back, I've done my own outline for the story for what the next sequal could or should be. My idea was that Darth Maul would be cloned and the hundreds of clones would go about attacking the Jedi and other important figures like Amadala. This creates the Clone Wars.

<The thing that made the OT so great was that it was this great outer space adventure, but it was happening in a world that is somehow familiar to us. George Lucas has many times mentioned his idea of a "used universe". With the new movies, I never find myself watching something which I think is actually happening, like you do with the OT. That is also a problem with the DVDs. You are buying into the story, and then a big terrible looking CG monster walks by for no reason! (see the Mos Eisley scene in ANH) Good examples of unbelievable scenes are the Gungans vs. The Battle Droids and Anakin and Padme in the droid factory. You feel as though you are watching a computer game and not a movie, and that just isn't how SW should feel.>

I will pretty much totally agree with you on that point. Don't even get me started on the Mos Eisley scenes of the Special Editions of A New Hope. They change the movie so much that it ruins the pleasure of watching the movie. The droid factory scene in Attack was plain awful along with the rest of the movie. I've never seen a real factory look so clean. As for the Gungans vs. Battle Droids, it doesn't completely work, but I don't hate it and I don't think it looks like a video game. I'm usually totally against having CGI characters battle each other because it usually looks stupid and shows a lack of thought in the script. However, by that time, I was emotionally invested in the scene, so I thought it worked. I didn't hate Jar Jar and the rest of the Gungans in Phantom Menace like a lot of people do. Sometimes, he is a little much to take, but so are a lot of people. Now, the end of Attack of the Clones, that was a video game.
Post
#76664
Topic
New to the board... thoughts on Episodes 1 &amp; 2
Link
https://originaltrilogy.com/post/id/76664/action/topic#76664
Time
I am new the boards as well. I didn't really become involved until after reading the article in Entertainment Weekly where Lucas talks about the changes in the Special Editions. I happen to like Phantom Menace. There are some definite problems, but it has some great moments and one of the best swordfights in movie history. As for Attack of the Clones, I found to be trash. I found almost nothing redeemable in it.
<1) The acting is awful, especially in Ep.2 (but god bless Hayden... see Life As A House)>
I don't think it is the acting(except for Hayden). I think it is the actors are given nothing to do. Liam Neeson, Ewan Mcgregor, Samuel L. Jackson, Natalie Portman. These are great actors when given something to do. Hayden is a good actor from what I saw of him in Life as a House and Shattered Glass. The problem is that he played Anakin the same way he played his character in Life As a House. Jake Lloyd is an annoying, but so are all child actors.
<2) The story is too political and scattered>
I found the political scenes in PM brief, but insightful. I felt it was trying to incorporate a whole galaxy rather than just a few characters.
<3) The scale of the movies are not believable (EVERYTHING is too big)>
I'm not sure what you mean. I think everything is bigger because it is a Republic rather than a Dictatorship.
<4) The mood swings are RIDICULOUS, especially in Ep.1>
I can't disagree, but there is precedent. If you want to talk about mood swings, look at Return of the Jedi. Can you think of any other movie that has something like the Jabba the Hut scenes followed by Ewok scenes? And, Luke is at his lowest while everyone else switches to winning with comical sequences.
<5) These movies concentrate more on flattering the Original Trilogy (RIP) than actually entertaining the general public!>
I don't think it Lucas is trying to flatter the Original Trilogy as much as change it. If he had tried to make the movies in line with the actions and dialogue of the originals rather than changing the originals, he would have made much different and more entertaining movies. I think PM was entertaining, especially for kids. It doesn't stand alone as a great movie, but a good movie that works as part of the saga(as I think Jedi does). I walked out of theater wanting to see more. Attack is neither a good movie nor does not work as part of the saga. I walked out of the theater wanting to hurt someone.
Post
#75425
Topic
Anakin's ghost?!?!?!
Link
https://originaltrilogy.com/post/id/75425/action/topic#75425
Time
I've previously refused to get the DVD's, so I had not heard Lucas' real reasoning for the change. I thought it was a bad idea when I first heard it. Now, I believe that decision is immoral. He is changing the whole theme of redemption. The movies themes of redemption lift them out of ordinary movieland and into myth and spirituality. The saga goes from Anakin as a child(Phantom Menace) to his temptation(Attack of the Clones) to his switch to evil(Revenge of the Sith) to his rise in power(New Hope) to his tempting of his offspring(Empire Strikes Back) to his redemption(Return of the Jedi). With Lucas' changes, it shows Anakin as a child(Phantom Menace) to Anakin as a young jerk(Attack of the Clones) to Anakin dying(Revenge of the Sith) to Darth Vadar's rise to power(New Hope) to Darth Vadar tempting Anakin's offspring(Empire Strikes Back) to Darth Vadar's death(Return of the Jedi). If Hayden was Anakin's 'last true form', then Anakin and Darth are not the same person. If Anakin and Darth Vadar are not the same, Anakin did not need to be redeemed and Luke's actions are frivoulous. Luke's actions in the second half of Return of the Jedi disproves Kenobi's assertion that "The good man that was your father was destroyed". What ever happened to, "There is good in him. I feel it." and "You were right. Tell your sister you were right." Is Vadar not Anakin when he throws the Emperor down the shaft? Shaw worked as Anakin because it was his last form before death. Hayden doesn't work unless there is something in Revenge of the Sith that has Anakin not being Vadar and you change Return of the Jedi to take out the redemption quality and make it so that Luke is just trying to save his father's reputation because Vadar has stolen his identity. Lucas' effects guys have their work cut out for them.
Post
#75361
Topic
My 2 cents releasing the OT on DVD
Link
https://originaltrilogy.com/post/id/75361/action/topic#75361
Time
The person's premise is the kind of moronic thing you hear at every forum. The way films are made today, it is no wonder people believe this. Today, effects are the substitute for story. Making an effect now is a matter of pressing some buttons. In 1976/77, they had to do actual work. I would put the special effects of New Hope and Empire Strikes Back up against anything coming out today. I happen to like the orange blob under the speeder. I think it looks like the speeder is picking up dirt and sand. It adds realism. I've never noticed the matte lines. I was to busy with the story. The saber effects and Death Star attack are not crappy. They looked great up on the big screen before Lucas changed them and they'd look great on a DVD player.