canofhumdingers

My brother gave this to me for my birthday. I just played my first little bit tonight. Played the intro mission(s) and then a single round of online dogfighting. My team lost but I got first place on my team. And there was one super player on the other team who pretty much won the round for them single handedly. I killed him at least twice… this is going to be so much fun! evil laughter

I’m so happy to have a valid successor to the X-wing series! I’ve been dying for a new, honest to God Star Wars flight simulator for YEARS! This game looks to be everything I wanted! Now I’ve just gotta learn more about the upgrades and various weapons and features of the ships…

I didn’t have a major issue with it when it was for brief cameos or minor roles such as Rogue One (though I’d have been perfectly happy with them using actual actors to portray those roles instead of CGI recreations).

But when it comes to doing it for the main character of an entire film, no thanks. I’d rather have a new actor who looks enough like the established character and does a great job playing that character than have some Orwellian digital facsimile anachronistically inserting a younger (or dead) actor into a modern film. And with Solo, that’s what we got so I guess I win!* 😛

*that last part about me winning was tongue in cheek if it wasn’t obvious

I’ve had this book for years but reading it to my kids tonight it occurred to me; is this the first instance of Chewie getting a medal?

Star Wars The Mystery of the Rebellious Robot published in 1979.

While less extreme in execution, Count Dooku’s curved hilt is based on the same principle:

Sorry but that’s just dumb. Why not give the actors who actually portrayed the character for the film a chance? The new casting of Han, Lando, and Chewie (ok so he’d played chewie already in a few films but it’s not Mayhew) is one of the highlights of Solo imo. The new actors really do a phenomenal job nailing the old familiar characters without being just impersonations of previous actors.

Did I buy them as Harrison Ford or Billy Dee Williams? Of course not. But did I buy them as authentic Han Solo and Lando Calrissian? Absolutely 1000%!

The “backwards” grip of Zatoichi and Ahsoka is purely movie magic. It’s completely impractical and nigh useless in real combat. There might be a few random techniques that briefly use a similar grip for very specific movements before switching back to a more normal grip, but I’m not aware of ANY martial art that uses that as a standard grip for the basis of the fighting style.

And for what it’s worth, it absolutely doesn’t improve your grip strength. One of the first things you learn in Kendo is how to grip the sword. The strength is in your thumb, pinky, and ring finger. It’s hard to explain without demonstrating it in person, but it’s absolutely true. And it’s true with all hand held weapons from katana to spears to knives to rapiers to fencing foils.

Heck, it’s the reason modern fencing grips look like this:

Instead of this:

^I’ve seen the interview where Mark Hamill talks about that (heavy, two-handed swords). But the minute you watch the duel in ESB that arguement kinda goes out the window. Both Vader and Luke use the sabers single handed at various points in the fight.

But yes, Chinese martial arts (specifically thru Ray Park and his king fu training but also more broadly) definitely had a big influence on the PT choreography whereas the OT is much more classic European and Japanese in look and feel.

Though it’s worth mentioning that accurate broadsword and medieval European fighting looks very little like typical “European” fencing that we see in film (which is largely influenced by Olympic fencing) which is more based on renaissance and later sword styles than earlier medieval “Knights in armor” type fighting which had already largely been lost by then. Historically accurate medieval broadsword fighting is actually pretty wild and brutal if you’ve never seen it.

If I had to pin the OT fights to one style or influence, it would actually be Japanese sword fighting. That’s what it really looks the most like (which makes sense given the heavy influence of jidaigeki films on Lucas and his ideas for the Galaxy Far Far Away).

But, again, these are INFLUENCES. Nothing seen on screen really “accurately” portrays any sword fighting style or technique.

Well, I don’t know much about the ANH choreography but for ESB (and subsequently ROTJ) Mark Hamill studied Kendo (Japanese fencing) and Bob Anderson coordinated the fights in addition to donning the Vader suit for much of the lightsaber fight sequences. Anderson was an Olympic fencer before becoming a Hollywood sword and fight choreographer.

For the prequels Ray Park (Darth Maul) is trained in Northern Shaolin and (primarily) Wushu Kung Fu. He competed at the international level before his film career.

The choreographer for the prequels was Nick Gillard who started as a circus performer before transitioning to a very long and successful film stunt career. A quick and completely UNcomprehensive google search doesn’t reveal any formal martial arts or sword combat training, which when coupled with his circus background might explain some of the common complaints about the prequel choreography (baton twirling…).

I’ve never really looked into who worked on the sequel trilogy fights, although I always really enjoyed the fight between Kylo Ren and Rey in the snow in TFA. The fights in TLJ and TRoS are vastly inferior choreography in comparison.

FWIW I took Olympic style fencing for a few years in college and then spent a decade practicing and competing in Kendo regularly. I also studied a small amount of Iaido and Battojutsu and have a strong general interest in sword combat and general medieval combat (european and Asian). IMO the ANH fight between Vader and Kenobi is the most “realistic” sword fight in the whole franchise, the ESB duel is the best stage combat that’s realistic “enough” and is terribly fun to watch, and the Snow fight between Rey and Kylo really does a great job conveying the sheer intensity of sword fighting to the audience while also being very entertaining. The prequel fights are mostly preposterous and cringe inducing. And finally, NONE of it is even remotely ACTUALLY realistic when compared with actual sword combat. It’s make believe space wizards with laser swords. And that’s ok!

I was doing research around a decade ago for an article on what materials they actually had in their archives w/regard to the OOT back when there was a lot of uncertainty about what they actually had in their possession and what condition it was in. Unfortunately the article ran into some snags behind the scenes and never got published and I don’t think they allow amateur researchers into their film archive anymore.

That wasn’t complicated at all. I actually quite agree with that article. Nice post. And for the record, I totally disagree with wincing or cringing at anything between Han and Leia in the OT. And I think that article better articulates why than I could. Han is often stupid (or really good at appearing stupid). And he doesn’t always know the best way to pursue Leia (despite his over-confident swagger). But calling their interaction sexual harassment is an over reaction imo.

Predatory? Sorry but that’s a bit of an extreme description of Han and Leia’s relationship. Han is a typical overly confident buffoon but Leia is a strong and confident woman who is never forced or coerced into anything. She’s clearly in control of any situation she’s placed in with any of her “suitors” throught the OT.

But their relationship is portrayed in the very classic style of the lovable buffoon pursuing the fiercely independent woman that goes all the way back to Shakespeare’s Taming of the Shrew.

I agree that I wouldn’t point to Han as a romantic role model, but I’d stop way short of calling him predatory.

Empire is a magical film. I once heard it called the best 80’s fantasy film ever made, and I have to agree.

As others have mentioned, the effects, the music, the writing, the character development. It’s all top notch. It’s a movie made by some of the most talented filmmakers when they were at the absolute top of their game.

Also this:

NeverarGreat said:

Star Wars might have been the best contained story of the series, but Empire feels more than any other film like you have stepped into an ancient world where things of myth and archetype are happening all around you.

Very well said NeverarGreat!

An aside:

What’s wrong with the romance between Han and Leia? Their back and forth banter is one of the oft-cited strengths of the film, and I agree. Their chemistry on screen is really fun and engaging.

Remember it or not, that’s definitely how it was. I offer proof!

Source:
https://steamcdn-a.akamaihd.net/steam/apps/361670/manuals/Star_Wars_X-Wing_Alliance_Manual.pdf?t=1586467460

^i haven’t played this yet, but I bet I know. In the X-wing and TIE Fighter games the default setup had the stick control pitch and a kind yaw/roll combo (more yaw than roll) while the rudder input controlled pure roll. It allowed you a full 3 axis flight control that still felt natural but didn’t feel like a conventional airplane. Helped make it feel more like a spaceship in a way.

I bet that’s what they were going for.

Man, I was planning on waiting to get this for a while but the more I hear about it the more I want to just get it now.

Dang, beat me to it. I also have the original theater program book for Star Wars from 1977. They must’ve printed a ton of them. I got it, still “brand new” around 2008 at the museum gift shop for the Star Wars “where science meets imagination” exhibit in Saint Paul, MN. They had a stack of maybe 10 of them. And I checked; it’s original, not a reprint.

This is the way.

Also, season two looks awesome based on the trailer!

While any of that speculation about continued fading might be true, it’s also important to remember that the tools available to deal with and correct those problems now are vastly superior to what was available in the ‘90’s.

So even if the film elements have continued to degrade, it may still be (and very likely is) possible to achieve better restorative results now than back then.

Tobar said:

Yeah Filoni and Favreau have a clear and deep passion for Star Wars and I really hope they get more say over its future.

Man, I was truly impressed by Filoni’s passion and understanding of the GFFA. I’ve known who he is on a surface level for years, but this is my first real exposure to him as a person and creator. I don’t agree with everything he says and he’s far more of a PT apologist than I’ll ever be, but he clearly “gets it” and he obviously completely loves the material and what he’s getting to do with it. Heck, at one point as he was explaining how Qui-gon was the father Anakin needed but never got and tied it into Anakin’s fall and all the way thru the end of ROTJ I was sitting there thinking, “crap, this is amazing stuff. Maybe i should rewatch the PT with these ideas in mind.”

Forgive me if these things have been discussed before, but I just started watching the Mandalorian “Disney Gallery” making-of show and noticed some really cool bits.

One, there’s some short but great behind-the-scenes footage from the OT that’s clearly been restored in HD or better. Makes me wonder what else they’ve got tucked away in their archives. FWIW this footage may have already been seen in some of the previously released BD or 4K disc sets. I’ve never bothered to watch any of those special features and only watched a few of the OT deleted scenes.

In one episode they show the original Death Star explosion! I haven’t gone back to rewatch it and more closely scrutinize it (was it HD or just an old master upscaled?). But hey, they actually not only acknowledged it. They showed it! In an official Lucasfilm product!

There are actual motion-control shots of spaceship miniatures! They even talk about how it actually costs more to do that than CGI now, but the filmmakers wanted it so bad they managed to make a “Low budget garage version” of the dykstraflex to make those shots happen.

I’ve got a few more episodes to go but it has made me love the show even more. The people working on this show clearly understand what went right for the OT to capture lightning in a bottle, so to speak, and are doing an amazing job expanding (rather than shrinking…) the Galaxy far far away. I can’t help but feel this is the team that should’ve been in charge of the ST.

Good find. So it is a cosplayer. Neat. That’s a really nice suit he’s got!

Yuck. They were the worst part of the final season. I slogged through their episodes just to get to the stuff everyone was saying was so great (and it was pretty good). But no way I’m devoting time to a whole series based on these characters.

I would totally serve each of the items I chose with each movie because the feeling each food choice gives me when I eat it compliments the feeling I have when I watch the film.

For example, I chose fish tacos to pair with Solo because each is a modern update to an old favorite that I wasn’t sure I’d care for. But once I tried them I thoroughly enjoyed them and enjoy revisiting them periodically.

Star Wars:

The Empire Strikes Back:

Return of the Jedi:

Rogue One:

Solo:

The Force Awakens:

Those are the films I like the most. The rest I don’t care enough to bother thinking about what food fits best. And while I love The Mandalorian and thoroughly enjoy Rebels, I just didn’t feel like diving into tv and other media. Just stuck with theatrical films for this one.

It’s very brief and they are moving quickly but there’s a few shots of each of them where the sabers cast light on their faces (it only happens in that specific sequence where Anakin cuts the power cord on the floor and the lights go out and they briefly fight in a dark shadow). There was actually a better shot of Anakin but I couldn’t get YouTube to pause at the exact right frame to grab the screenshot.

ot2k said:
I really love the blue glow of the lightsaber in TFA, especially the way it lights up Rey’s face as we hadn’t seen that effect on human characters before.

Ah, but we have. Though it was in Attack of the Clones, so I don’t really fault anyone for forgetting it (or willfully suppressing the traumatizing memory, lol)