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Jumpman

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Join date
20-Sep-2006
Last activity
11-May-2007
Posts
150

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Post
#251242
Topic
What do you think of the <strong>Prequel Trilogy</strong>? a general discussion thread
Link
https://originaltrilogy.com/post/id/251242/action/topic#251242
Time
aural,

Yeah, we covered Potemkin for at least two weeks in one of my classes. We did the same for Joan of Arc as well. Difficult days in class, but totally understand why we did.

I wasn't a big Keaton fan and I could barely stand Chaplin until I saw the Great Dictator...for me, one of the greatest films of all time and Chaplin's best performance....(I seriously need to get that on DVD soon.)
Post
#251229
Topic
What do you think of the <strong>Prequel Trilogy</strong>? a general discussion thread
Link
https://originaltrilogy.com/post/id/251229/action/topic#251229
Time
aural,

You know, the usuals...De Palma, Coppola, Scorsese, The 'Berg, John Milus, and Walter Murch. In film school, we obviously studied many directors and writers but I just took a keen interest in Lucas more than the rest of them. Alot of that comes from Episode IV, but most of it comes from seeing THX 1138 for the first time while in college. Took two days to pull my jaw off the floor after watching that film.

And since then, I've just almost read every interview and insight that he's ever given ('98 to the present) when it comes to what he feel film is....

I'm no expert at all in his thought processes but alot of what he says about film (being a visual medium and how filmmakers have gotten away from that) and his films just makes alot of sense. Now, of course, you have to weed through alot of it because Lucas has a habit (and I don't think it's one purpose) of contridicting himself. But, I can sort of understand why. He's been talking Star Wars for 30 years and essentially repeated the same phrases over and over again, so I can see how, in interviews, there are "WTF?" moments in some of his comments.

I'm one of those guys, like him, that feels that dialogue is way overrated and way overused today. As much as there are alot of dialogue in the Prequels, you can easily turn the volume down on those films and easily get what's going on just based on composition, lighting, costumes, color, and body language. Not saying all of them but most directors in today's Hollywood don't do that....or they don't think in those terms as much as they should. There are a few that do...Michael Mann being one of them (Best working director today if you ask me....)

But if you were to take the isolated score from the films and no dialogue, every Star Wars film works because of the visuals. And it's rare today to see that. I'm not saying it's in every scene, in every frame, but it's there alot in his films.

Post
#251040
Topic
What do you think of the <strong>Prequel Trilogy</strong>? a general discussion thread
Link
https://originaltrilogy.com/post/id/251040/action/topic#251040
Time
Mike,

You didn't get snippy. I understand your position and many others like you. I'm just cut from a different cloth because, while I grew up with Star Wars, it didn't hold the significants to me until around '96. I didn't see A New Hope and The Empire Strikes Back during their intial release(s). I did see Return of the Jedi in the theatre. I grew up with the Original Trilogy on VHS but I didn't know the ends and outs of the entire process until I got to college and majored in film...

It's just my philosophy on film has been shaped mainly by him and a few others of his generation. And for me, his thought processes on his Original Trilogy just make alot of sense to me. I try to see both sides when it comes to criticism of film.
Post
#251034
Topic
What do you think of the <strong>Prequel Trilogy</strong>? a general discussion thread
Link
https://originaltrilogy.com/post/id/251034/action/topic#251034
Time
aural,

From a technological standpoint, his contribution is quite significant. Pixar. Advancements in visual and special effects. Digital editing. Digital photography (not the only one pushing it but he's the figurehead). the THX standard. Digital projection (again not the only one pushing it but the figurehead).

The guy has pushed the medium forward. I'm not saying we wouldn't have advanced in cinema and that he's the only one doing it.

I'm saying, without him, we might be a few years behind from where we are now...
Post
#251022
Topic
What do you think of the <strong>Prequel Trilogy</strong>? a general discussion thread
Link
https://originaltrilogy.com/post/id/251022/action/topic#251022
Time
Mike,

I'm only for high quality transfers of the theatrical versions so the bitchin and the accussing of Lucas as being the antichrist, can stop because it's gotten ridiculous at this point. The guy does what he thinks is right, with his money, and he's the anitchrist of Star Wars and cinema....and yet, without the guy, cinema would still be in the dark ages, if you continue to follow the bean counters and suits that have run the industry into the groudn.
Post
#251018
Topic
What do you think of the <strong>Prequel Trilogy</strong>? a general discussion thread
Link
https://originaltrilogy.com/post/id/251018/action/topic#251018
Time
Mike,

He was a producer. It would be different if he was the one who brought Lucas in as a hired hand to produce this set of films he created and financially backed. He didn't. He's there to make sure Lucas has everything he needs to create his vision. That's all a producer is there for.

With Episode V, the budget, under Kurtz's watch, got out of hand and Lucas let him go because of it. Budgets go out of hand all the time in films and sometimes they do in fact make the difference. That doesn't change the fact that Kurtz went over budget. You've read the stories about how "cheap" Lucas when it comes to his money in projects. He's not going to spend a cent more than what's neccessary for a film.
Post
#251016
Topic
What do you think of the <strong>Prequel Trilogy</strong>? a general discussion thread
Link
https://originaltrilogy.com/post/id/251016/action/topic#251016
Time
Mike,

I hear you but, more than likely, you're not going to get them. And if you do, I'm still sure that there will still be some bitchin' and moanin' from the fanbase in some form or another. Not saying you but I'm sure Lucas will miss something (not purposefully), even if they are in pristine, high quality transfers, and it'll continue on and on.

He can't satisfy the whole damn universe.
Post
#251012
Topic
What do you think of the <strong>Prequel Trilogy</strong>? a general discussion thread
Link
https://originaltrilogy.com/post/id/251012/action/topic#251012
Time
Mike

"For how long? How long until three of the most important films in history deteriorate away into nothing because their creator dislikes them? What about their influence and the people who's lives they touched? The filmmakers they inspired? Sooner or later, the tapes and LD will deteriorate. Then what? Lucas effectively 1984ed his films."

This was what the Limited Editions were for....if you really want to preserve history.....

Listen, Lucas has stated in interviews that he went to Kersh before he made any changes to the Episode V. Why else do you think Kersh showed up in the commentary? But, make no mistake, Lucas owns it all. Kersh, I'm sure, contractually gave up that right to have any say so with Episode V.

As for Kurtz, he's just a bomb thrower. What has he done since 1980 that's worth anything? He rides the coattails of Star Wars since he was let go...only to undermine Lucas. And for what? To make people think he was the real creative force behind Star Wars? Please. He desires credit but not the credit he's clamouring for.
Post
#251010
Topic
What do you think of the <strong>Prequel Trilogy</strong>? a general discussion thread
Link
https://originaltrilogy.com/post/id/251010/action/topic#251010
Time
CO,

I'm not refuting what you're saying. What I'm saying is that because the Jedi only know of this power, it seems reasonable that Anakin would return as he once was...the Jedi we and his commrades knew. The moral of Anakin's arc, I feel, isn't diminshed by choosing one Anakin over another. He's still Anakin. But to take your place, along side other Jedi in the netherworld of the Force, I think it's reasonable to see Anakin as he once was....
Post
#250988
Topic
What do you think of the <strong>Prequel Trilogy</strong>? a general discussion thread
Link
https://originaltrilogy.com/post/id/250988/action/topic#250988
Time
CO,

The whole moral of the Saga doesn't change because Hayden represents Anakin at the end of Episode VI. It's still there. It's like having a dual personality, if you really want to get simple with it.

I believe the man Padme loved died in Episode III. I believe the man that destroyed the Emperor is the man Luke sees (when he takes of the helmet) but also the man as he once was....

Because the Jedi are the only ones who know of this power, isn't it possible to accept Anakin AS HE WAS when he was a Jedi and not when he was Sith? It's as if the Jedi and the Force granted Anakin special circumstances. That still doesn't change the fact that Anakin paid dearly for his mistakes in the past. He's not off the hook by any means...but he does stop the horror that he started and for that, he gets to become as he WAS...not what he had become....
Post
#250947
Topic
What do you think of the <strong>Prequel Trilogy</strong>? a general discussion thread
Link
https://originaltrilogy.com/post/id/250947/action/topic#250947
Time
Mike,

Alot of their "original" work still exists in the special editions, especially in Episode V. As for Kersh, he knew what he was getting into when he directed Episode V. You don't think he saw it as an opportunity to further help his career out if he was a hired hand in the biggest sequel of all time at the point?

And Lucas did produce (executive considering it's his money they're using) and write Episode V. Episode V doesn't work without Lucas' draft after Leigh Brackett died.
Post
#250942
Topic
What do you think of the <strong>Prequel Trilogy</strong>? a general discussion thread
Link
https://originaltrilogy.com/post/id/250942/action/topic#250942
Time
CO,

I saw Jedi in '83. Having Hayden at the end didn't insult me. It made sense to me, after having seen the Prequels. And that's what this is really, truly about. It's about Lucas completing it as a Saga with the "inferior" Prequels than letting the Original Trilogy stand on it's own....

As for him stopping, I personally believe that the changes that are coming in the upcoming Saga Boxset will be so small that they won't even be worth arguing over. See, you feel that the changes destroyed the credibility of Star Wars...what they were at their core foundation. I feel that the core foundation is still intact, whether it theatrical version or special edition. The core foundation hasn't changed in 30 years....

Plus, you don't have to continue on, you know. You probably have a few copies on VHS or Laserdisc, I'm guessing. If you do, continue to love the theatrical versions in that format. Nothing is stopping you.
Post
#250939
Topic
What do you think of the <strong>Prequel Trilogy</strong>? a general discussion thread
Link
https://originaltrilogy.com/post/id/250939/action/topic#250939
Time
CO,

Again, Lucas is accomodated himself. Who are we to say what he can change and what he can't change? It's his films. If he feels the need to change them to satisfy his creative mind, why can't he do that? He owns everything Star Wars.

You're right though. If the special editions never existed, we wouldn't have this. But for me, no matter what form, the Original Trilogy is the Original Trilogy. Updated effects can't change the fact that the story, plot, and characters remain the same. The outcome at the end of it all is the same. The feel is the same.