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[randomwab]

Didn't know that, Ford just moved up a notch on my coolstick.

As far as I know, Lucas didn't like that and forced Ford to do an "I love you too" take. I think it was Kershner who convinced Lucas to keep it.

 

[-tetsuo-]

The Vader/Palpatine/Luke scene. Why.

 

[Cheerilee]

The jabba scene in ANH looks absolutely horrendous.

It was always meant to go in the movie. They did a really piss poor job in 1997 but a much better job with it in 2004. I do however like the suggestion on that site about him being a hologram instead.

No, it wasn't (not as a special effect, at least).

http://secrethistoryofstarwars.com/jabba.html

A real actor was cast and costumed, the scene was shot with no regard to SFX, and it was shot on the wrong kind of film for a scene intended to use SFX.

Jabba was intended to be an ordinary humanoid gangster. Since Jabba's only scene was cut, Lucas was afforded the opportunity to redesign the character for the later movies as a giant slug monster.

In Lucas' pathetic little world, that means Jabba was always a giant slug monster. This man is so petty that while making later movies, he actually went back to the old script of a finished movie and changed it to specifically clarify that Jabba was a slug in a deleted scene that he himself hated and fought to have removed from the final cut of the film, just in case someone went looking for evidence of Lucas' foresight. GAF mods have been demodded for lesser shenanigans.

My only issue with him being in the film is just that over A New Hope and Empire Strikes Back you are constantly wondering who this bad ass Jabba the Hut is. To show him here takes that away from the arc of the films, but given that he is in Episode 1 it doesn't matter anymore.

Episode 1 is a prequel. It's not supposed to be watched chronologically.

 

[Ecotic]

Ha, I always felt that explanation about super-imposing a stop motion creature was such crap. It was perfect in its "You can't prove otherwise" sort of way. But Harrison Ford was all-over that actor, circling and touching him, making it pretty hard to insert a creature with the technology at the time. And then I read the exact same explanation in that article.

 

[tuffy]

In fact the whole scene is very well edited...Even the dialogue leading up to the laser blast has a flowing nature to it as Greedo ends his threat with the voiced sounds of "ta oska".

The changes alter the pace of the edited sequence and (at least for me) are VERY annoying and disjointed. Again, none of this would matter if that dick would simply give us both versions.

The original Star Wars is a triumph of editing, and won an Academy Award for it as I recall. The original cut, as shot and directed by Lucas, simply did not work at all. By mercilessly cutting stuff like Biggs' role, Luke meeting his friends at Tosche station, the Jabba scene, etc., Star Wars was turned into lean, efficient movie. And that's the movie that became a phenomenon.

Star Wars wasn't successful because of how much was added to it, but because of how much was stripped away. And that's the lesson George Lucas has forgotten over the years.

 

[Dommo]

Fun fact: When Leia says "I love you" to Han as he gets lowered into the carbon chamber, he's supposed to respond "I love you too" according to the script. Harrison Ford didn't think that fit Solo's character so he said "I know" on the set.

Eh I believe it was Kershner who wasn't happy with the line and told Ford to say the first thing that came to mind in the take instead of saying 'I love you.' Ford spurted out 'I know' instead. So it was Kershner who was dissatisfied with the dialogue and Ford coming up with the magical, memorable line.

 

[Marco1]

I have heard it before but the jabba scene in ANH should have been a holographic projection.

 

[Kung Fu Jedi]

Eh I believe it was Kershner who wasn't happy with the line and told Ford to say the first thing that came to mind in the take instead of saying 'I love you.' Ford spurted out 'I know' instead. So it was Kershner who was dissatisfied with the dialogue and Ford coming up with the magical, memorable line.

Heard this too, but Kershner said that Lucas hated the line and wasn't very happy at all with the inclusion into the early cuts of the film. When Empire was test screened however, the fans really like it and Lucas had to begrudgingly leave it in. I believe thats the story that Ford tells in that interview he did with Jon Favreau a few months back.

 

[Zabka]

George Lucas doesn't understand things like human emotion and humor.

 

[randomwab]

George Lucas doesn't understand things like human emotion and humor.

I think the Anakin/Padme love scenes in Episodes II and III show differently. :lol

 

[B_Rik_Schitthaus]

George Lucas doesn't understand things like human emotion and humor.

Is getting lots of money an emotion?
Cus' if it is his one emotioned up mother fucker.

 

[Ushojax]

George Lucas doesn't understand things like human emotion and humor.

It's hard to believe that the same person who directed American Graffiti is responsible for the last few Star Wars films.

 

[spookyfish]

Not a fan of most of the new changes, but I will say this: the Yoda in Episode I works really well. And to me, the whole transfer looks good -- not reference-quality, but good.

 

[neorej]

George Lucas doesn't understand things like human emotion and humor.

He understands them very well; people like cute, people like Star Wars, people like buying things Star Wars, people like buying cute, let's turn those emotions into money.

This is how Ewoks were born.

 

[spookyfish]

He understands them very well; people like cute, people like Star Wars, people like buying things Star Wars, people like buying cute, let's turn those emotions into money.

This is how Ewoks were born.

Yep. Never once is the word "Ewok" mentioned in any of the films, yet everyone knows what they are. Sad, really.

 

[Wanace]

Ha, I always felt that explanation about super-imposing a stop motion creature was such crap. It was perfect in its "You can't prove otherwise" sort of way. But Harrison Ford was all-over that actor, circling and touching him, making it pretty hard to insert a creature with the technology at the time. And then I read the exact same explanation in that article.

I cringed when Han stepped on Jabba's tail in that scene. So awful.

 

[Angry Fork]

Just read this. I'm not crazy right? The reviewer ACTUALLY compared George Lucas, a FILMMAKER to Kim Jong Il, a dictatorial despot responsible for putting hundreds of thousands of his own people in concentration camps, or a leader like Gaddafi that readily supported terrorism? Really? I get his hyperbolic point of "oh they're narcissistic with too much power and yes-men surrounding them" but really? Was Hitler too obvious?

Good Lord... we get it: the whole incessant comments about raped childhood, broken memories, the altruistic "for the preservation of film history" schtick, etc. etc. Fine,countless people don't like the changes. But hey, he's not gonna budge on the issue so let's wait till he dies. Can we please move on till then?

Why do people always do this. They take one statement someone makes and runs with it. The reviewer wasn't comparing the 2 as if they're both murdering sociopaths. He was merely pointing out that people with too much power sometimes take advantage of it to negative effect and dictators are a good example of that. Lucas is a nut that has too much power and nobody around to tell him to stop, but that's been obvious for a long time now just saying.

'No, its because IM SO IN LOVE WITH YOU!'
'Then love is blind?'
'Well..thats not exactly what I meant.'
*Awkward pause*

The laugh track to this scene in red letter media review was hilarious.

 

[Zabka]

He understands them very well; people like cute, people like Star Wars, people like buying things Star Wars, people like buying cute, let's turn those emotions into money.

This is how Ewoks were born.

Ewoks were badass in the TV movies. If they actually used guns in ROTJ I think people wouldn't give it nearly as much shit. Who doesn't love an army of chubby, furry, gun-toting murderers?

 

[demosthenes]

Ewoks were badass in the TV movies. If they actually used guns in ROTJ I think people wouldn't give it nearly as much shit. Who doesn't love an army of chubby, furry, gun-toting murderers?

Wow, this would be awesome, haha.

 

[Lucky Forward]

Why do people always do this. They take one statement someone makes and runs with it. The reviewer wasn't comparing the 2 as if they're both murdering sociopaths. He was merely pointing out that people with too much power sometimes take advantage of it to negative effect and dictators are a good example of that. Lucas is a nut that has too much power and nobody around to tell him to stop, but that's been obvious for a long time now just saying.


The laugh track to this scene in red letter media review was hilarious.

You see the same thing in Tom Clancy's novels, which became bloated messes after he became successful because, hey, who would dare to edit the great Tom Clancy? Also, there's Hideo Kojima's tedious cutscenes in the later Metal Gear games, with characters babbling on about the nature of information and what we bequeath to future generations when we just want to play the damn game. Creative minds still need someone to rein them in.

 

[Barrett2]

Ewoks were badass in the TV movies. If they actually used guns in ROTJ I think people wouldn't give it nearly as much shit. Who doesn't love an army of chubby, furry, gun-toting murderers?

Imagine an RTS set on Endor.

 

[brianmcdoogle]

Was this posted? I might have glossed over it in the last several pages:

George Lucas Strikes Back

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_BMgegut3UM&feature=youtube_gdata_player

 

[B_Rik_Schitthaus]

Imagine an RTS set on Endor.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4MHKd1_0I4Y

 

[mrklaw]

He understands them very well; people like cute, people like Star Wars, people like buying things Star Wars, people like buying cute, let's turn those emotions into money.

This is how Ewoks were born.

I thought Ewoks were used because they couldn't get enough tall people to have a planet of wookies? Ewok is basically Wookie backwards. e-wok, wok-e

 

[Davey Cakes]

Even when I first saw the Jabba scene in ANH I thought it was dumb and unnecessary, and I wasn't even a teenager yet when that special edition first released. They should have just kept that scene cut. Technology has hurt Star Wars more than it has helped, and if this is apparent to a kid it should be apparent to the film maker.

 

[Kung Fu Jedi]

Imagine an RTS set on Endor.

Isn't there a level on Endor in the Empire at War game?

I use to play Star Wars: Rebellion on the PC back in the day. It was a 4X strategy game. When playing as the Empire, when ever I'd complete my first Death Star I would always, without fail, test fire it on Endor.

 

[Warm Machine]

No, it wasn't (not as a special effect, at least).

http://secrethistoryofstarwars.com/jabba.html

A real actor was cast and costumed, the scene was shot with no regard to SFX, and it was shot on the wrong kind of film for a scene intended to use SFX.

Jabba was intended to be an ordinary humanoid gangster. Since Jabba's only scene was cut, Lucas was afforded the opportunity to redesign the character for the later movies as a giant slug monster.

In Lucas' pathetic little world, that means Jabba was always a giant slug monster. This man is so petty that while making later movies, he actually went back to the old script of a finished movie and changed it to specifically clarify that Jabba was a slug in a deleted scene that he himself hated and fought to have removed from the final cut of the film, just in case someone went looking for evidence of Lucas' foresight. GAF mods have been demodded for lesser shenanigans.


Episode 1 is a prequel. It's not supposed to be watched chronologically.

When making a film you have to make concessions. Lucas indeed shot the scene with an actor, but even from the article you can gather that he originally wanted more from the character visually than what he ended up shooting. Normally you shoot with what you have and hope it is good enough to work. End of the day it wasn't so he cut it out of the movie. He obviously liked the scene enough to want to see it reintegrated into the film. Since it was photographed already and reshooting it impossible he later thought he could do something clever like composite the creature over top which is why in 1981 he was making the attempt at doing just that.

I've often had to make compromises when working on a piece. That doesn't mean I didn't want the material included if completed it to my taste. He wanted the scene and he got the scene put in. It isn't a Retcon sort of situation because the original footage was never included in the original because Lucas wisely didn't think the scene had enough effect and didn't hold up, which if you watch the original version he was right.

 

[Haunted]

Old, but this is an edit I wouldn't mind seeing:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6IPAGXyFvrs

Silent Star Wars
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eOjzLggAKis

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=M0Asjh-HjRE&feature=related

Was this posted? I might have glossed over it in the last several pages:

George Lucas Strikes Back

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_BMgegut3UM&feature=youtube_gdata_player

I greatly enjoyed these.

And this.

 

[Sneds]

I thought Ewoks were used because they couldn't get enough tall people to have a planet of wookies? Ewok is basically Wookie backwards. e-wok, wok-e

I read that Lucas liked the idea of a technologically inferior group taking on, and defeating, a strong military force. He apparently got the idea from the Vietnam War. He was originally going to use Wookiees but realised that Chewbacca had shown a lot of knowledge of, and skill with, technology in ANH and TESB. He decided, then, to create a new species and came up with Ewok.

I still think it would have been a better idea to use Wookiees in ROTJ.

 

[ascii42]

'No, its because IM SO IN LOVE WITH YOU!'
'Then love is blind?'
'Well..thats not exactly what I meant.'
*Awkward pause*

Yeah, that dialog was painful, but I always thought Padme's retort, "So then love has blinded you", was decently clever. It was like she was aware how stupid these lines of dialog were.

 

[IAmtheFMan]

Why do people always do this. They take one statement someone makes and runs with it. The reviewer wasn't comparing the 2 as if they're both murdering sociopaths. He was merely pointing out that people with too much power sometimes take advantage of it to negative effect and dictators are a good example of that. Lucas is a nut that has too much power and nobody around to tell him to stop, but that's been obvious for a long time now just saying.

Pot/kettle, meet black. I knew and said exactly what his point was, but it's still hyperbolic rhetoric comparing a fucking filmmaker making whimsical movies to political issues.

Let's also give Jeremy Soule a pass on comparing piracy to the Holocaust because he was merely pointing out that the creators are targeted, struggling and treated indifferently by their contemporaries!

 

[MattKeil]

I thought that was Lucas' intention though. I recall a Lucas interview way back when when he said something like a "project is never finished even after you release it", and something along the lines of "people will eventually forget the first version".

"Good job."

Episode 1 is a prequel. It's not supposed to be watched chronologically.

Of course it is. This mentality among old fans is ridiculous. The movies are intended to be watched 1 through 6, and they will be by everyone except people who refuse to accept the prequels. Does that mean you have to watch them like that? Of course not, everyone has their own Star Wars "personal canon" and the prequels don't have to be part of that. But the film series goes 1 through 6. They're numbered that way, they're packaged that way, that's how they're meant to be watched now.

 

[richiek]

Of course it is. This mentality among old fans is ridiculous. The movies are intended to be watched 1 through 6, and they will be by everyone except people who refuse to accept the prequels. Does that mean you have to watch them like that? Of course not, everyone has their own Star Wars "personal canon" and the prequels don't have to be part of that. But the film series goes 1 through 6. They're numbered that way, they're packaged that way, that's how they're meant to be watched now.

Agreed. If Lucas wanted the films to be watched OT first, he wouldn't have given them episode numbers.

The Best Buy in Union Square in NYC is doing a midnight opening for the Blu-rays. Can't wait!

 

[Marty Chinn]

"Good job."

Of course it is. This mentality among old fans is ridiculous. The movies are intended to be watched 1 through 6, and they will be by everyone except people who refuse to accept the prequels. Does that mean you have to watch them like that? Of course not, everyone has their own Star Wars "personal canon" and the prequels don't have to be part of that. But the film series goes 1 through 6. They're numbered that way, they're packaged that way, that's how they're meant to be watched now.

Regardless of what someone might say of it being set up to be watched from 1-6, it's clear that when you watch it the way things are introduced to the audience, reveals, information given, etc, that it only makes sense to watch 4-6 then 1-3. 1-3 still relies on some knowledge that you gain from the OT.

 

[megashock5]

Regardless of what someone might say of it being set up to be watched from 1-6, it's clear that when you watch it the way things are introduced to the audience, reveals, information given, etc, that it only makes sense to watch 4-6 then 1-3. 1-3 still relies on some knowledge that you gain from the OT.

I would HATE for a kid who's never seen any of the films (and is too young to know from pop culture references) to know that Vader is Luke's father before the reveal in TESB. That was such a huge blow in 1980 at age 9, never saw it coming.

 

[electroshockwave]

I would HATE for a kid who's never seen any of the films (and is too young to know from pop culture references) to know that Vader is Luke's father before the reveal in TESB. That was such a huge blow in 1980 at age 9, never saw it coming.

Also finding out who Yoda is, and the mystery of the force and Obi-Wan when they're introduced, finding out Luke and Leia are siblings. There's probably more I can't think of right now but saying that they're meant to be watched 1-6 is just fucking stupid.

 

[mattp]

you watch them 4-6 then 1-3. this isn't up for debate
http://secrethistoryofstarwars.com/structuringtheprequels.html

 

[JetBlackPanda]

Also finding out who Yoda is, and the mystery of the force and Obi-Wan when they're introduced, finding out Luke and Leia are siblings. There's probably more I can't think of right now but saying that they're meant to be watched 1-6 is just fucking stupid.

Exactly..

Yoda:There is another Skywalker..

Yah we know YODA

watching 1-3 takes the wind out of the sails of the OT

 

[devildog820]

Agreed. If Lucas wanted the films to be watched OT first, he wouldn't have given them episode numbers.

The Best Buy in Union Square in NYC is doing a midnight opening for the Blu-rays. Can't wait!

I really think that, because of the way the films are set up, the very first time you see them you should watch 4-6 first. Part of what makes the other films passable (good?) is the nods to all the stuff from the older movies. But after everything is spoiled, yeah, 1-6 is the right order.

 

[Mr. Sam]

I had this set in my hands today. I was nearly at the till. Then I put it back on the shelf.

 

[JetBlackPanda]

I had this set in my hands today. I was nearly at the till. Then I put it back on the shelf.

The force is strong in this one.

I would have purchased it and I know if I end up anywhere near it I will buy it.

 

[richiek]

Also finding out who Yoda is, and the mystery of the force and Obi-Wan when they're introduced, finding out Luke and Leia are siblings. There's probably more I can't think of right now but saying that they're meant to be watched 1-6 is just fucking stupid.

By watching the OT first, you're spoiled by the fact that the kindly old Chancellor Palpatine is an evil Sith Lord and was able to corrupt the savior of the galaxy to the dark side and conquer the galaxy. It works both ways.

 

[megashock5]

Also finding out who Yoda is, and the mystery of the force and Obi-Wan when they're introduced, finding out Luke and Leia are siblings. There's probably more I can't think of right now but saying that they're meant to be watched 1-6 is just fucking stupid.

Great point - when we're introduced to the small swamp dweller in TESB, we don't know he's Yoda.

 

[megashock5]

By watching the OT first, you're spoiled by the fact that the kindly old Chancellor Palpatine is an evil Sith Lord and was able to corrupt the savior of the galaxy to the dark side and conquer the galaxy. It works both ways.

That would probably hold more weight if I *ever* thought Anakin came across as a savior of the galaxy instead of a whiny, bitchy, self-absorbed, murdering teenager.

 

[ZombieSupaStar]

yeah if i have kids they are watching it 4-6 first, so many reveals and mysteries in the OT are ruined if you see 1-3 first.

 

[BattleMonkey]

Of course it is. This mentality among old fans is ridiculous. The movies are intended to be watched 1 through 6, and they will be by everyone except people who refuse to accept the prequels. Does that mean you have to watch them like that? Of course not, everyone has their own Star Wars "personal canon" and the prequels don't have to be part of that. But the film series goes 1 through 6. They're numbered that way, they're packaged that way, that's how they're meant to be watched now.

Prequels are called "prequels" because they are meant to be watched/read after the original material.

 

[Liquidsnake]

yeah if i have kids they are watching it 4-6 first, so many reveals and mysteries in the OT are ruined if you see 1-3 first.

I agree first time its probably best to watch them 4-6 first.

I can tell you I enjoyed 1-6 very much, and I felt it was grander in scope.

 

[Rocket Punch]

The solution is as elegant as it is simple: have your children only watch Episodes 1-3 and skip the rest.

 

[richiek]

The "I am your father" reveal I feel is overrated. There's no context to it and comes out of left field.

Watching the SW saga 1-6 adds more weight and drama to Luke's quest, knowing the events that transpired in the past. When we see Luke stopping his Jedi training to save Han and Leia in ESB, someone watching the prequels first knows the same thing happened to his father, seeing visions of his loved ones in pain and rushing headlong into danger to save them, with dire consequences. They've seen this before and now fear the same thing will happen to Luke.

 

[Jason's Ultimatum]

What gets me about EP1-3 is the technology compared to EP4-6. Everything looks much better in the worlds in the prequels than the sequels. =\