Funny thing, I was entirely interested in buying the Blu-ray Star Wars Collection until I had read about that on the internet (it leaked). That one "addition" killed the sale for me (and them).
I'll ruin it for you:
With Lucas I have really difficult feelings ... without him, no Star Wars...his vision made this whole universe come true. But besides all that I was truly grateful when I heard back then that Disney bought the rights. I mean, I laughed at the Darth Mickey jokes as well, but...I also remembered how well Disney's Marvel-Division is handling their franchise.
The Marvel-Movies might not be Oscar-Darlings like the overrated Dark Knight Ttrilogy but they are damn funny, entertaning, lighthearted, with great casting-choices and rather true to their source-material. All things that I would like to see with Star Wars.
Lucas really didn't handle the prequels well...I have to go so far as to say: I am glad he made the OT in the seventies and not now, they would never have the same kind of appeal if Lucas had had all the CGI and money to do what he wants to...
Now all I have for now are a couple of seconds in a teaser-trailer, but those alone gave me more thrill than rewatching the entire prequel-trilogy...(though of course I was damn excited seeing the Phantom-Mencae-Trailer back in the days...so I am still cautiously optimistic, but the hype is growing
)
But really, Star Wars without Lucas in the hands of professional story-tellers and film-makers, it could be damn worse, really damn worse...
I think that the big problem for Lucas was that he was surrounded by "Yes-Men" when he made the prequels. Back when he made the Original Trilogy he had people there that would tell him that they thought some things were bad ideas, like Luke Skywalker being dwarf sized (I kid you not).
I also feel that a lot of the passion that was present for the Original Trilogy was absent in the Prequels. I get a strong feeling that Lucas didn't really want to come back to the Prequels and that he would have rather done other movies. The Original Trilogy gave him a lot, but it also cost him a lot, he either had a heart-attack or stroke (can't remember which) on the set of Star Wars, Return of the Jedi cost him his marriage and he was expected to make other films in the series after having finished 6. So, I think he just kind of came back to get the prequel trilogy done and finish the tale. I don't think he half-assed it or didn't try, I think he just struggled a bit with it because the passion that was present for the Original Trilogy wasn't there for the Prequels.
I can't help but feel bad for George Lucas. He made something so immensely popular and was forced to focus on follow-ups instead of being able to go off and do other films. I respect George Lucas and I am glad that he came back and finished the series, even if it wasn't exactly what I wanted. I guess he could have passed the series off to someone else back then, but I think he wanted to be able to finish his vision for the saga and he has never really liked Hollywood or its practices from what I've read.
Every change George Lucas made to Star Wars is depressing.
Every change George Lucas made to Star Wars is depressing.
Not EVERY one.
The Millennium Falcon shots were cooler, and the Vader vs. Obi-Wan duel needed FX improvements badly. That's about it, however...
Did you see the behind-the-scenes making-of feature for Episode I, Vroom? Shows a lot of how much had changed regarding Lucas making a Star Wars movie.
No, I'll give it a watch though.
The Phantom Menace is the only Star Wars film I don't own (and it isn't an issue of affordability).
How movies are made always interests me, it's something that I've always wanted to do, but I know I'll never be able to scrape together enough money to make one.
I remember that in the asteroid chase scene in Empire Strikes Back, two of the asteroids are a shoe and potato. 
I think that the big problem for Lucas was that he was surrounded by "Yes-Men" when he made the prequels. Back when he made the Original Trilogy he had people there that would tell him that they thought some things were bad ideas, like Luke Skywalker being dwarf sized (I kid you not).
I also feel that a lot of the passion that was present for the Original Trilogy was absent in the Prequels. I get a strong feeling that Lucas didn't really want to come back to the Prequels and that he would have rather done other movies. The Original Trilogy gave him a lot, but it also cost him a lot, he either had a heart-attack or stroke (can't remember which) on the set of Star Wars, Return of the Jedi cost him his marriage and he was expected to make other films in the series after having finished 6. So, I think he just kind of came back to get the prequel trilogy done and finish the tale. I don't think he half-assed it or didn't try, I think he just struggled a bit with it because the passion that was present for the Original Trilogy wasn't there for the Prequels.
I can't help but feel bad for George Lucas. He made something so immensely popular and was forced to focus on follow-ups instead of being able to go off and do other films. I respect George Lucas and I am glad that he came back and finished the series, even if it wasn't exactly what I wanted. I guess he could have passed the series off to someone else back then, but I think he wanted to be able to finish his vision for the saga and he has never really liked Hollywood or its practices from what I've read.
Well, I guess you have watched the inevitable Red Letter Media-reviews of the PT then, since I saw there that behind the scenes footage of the first watching of the raw cut of Phantom MEnace with Lucas and his producers etc ... I think this is right somehow, he might not have had a lot of people standing up to him. Or give him creative input. I think its vital for any writer or director to have people telling him what might work or not, or different opinions. If you are only focused on your own stuff you either get something genius or ... stuff like Matrix 2 + 3
Yet I am not so sure if Lucas really didn't want to do it. I could also imagine that indeed he wanted to use the awesome new technologies and create a Star Wars of the new era...and the problem maybe wasn't that the "heart" was missing, but PR-people told him (or he thought it himself) that we needed a kid-Vader to atract youngsters, have not too much real violence and war-stuff in STAR WARS (we got childish droids and faceless clones, no real people with real lives to relate to, like friggin Porkins, Biggs, Dack, Wedge!) ... and then he tried to take the kid-friendly stuff and combined it with "Fall of the Roman Empire"...
I still fail to see how that could have worked out ...
And in the end it indeed may have left him a little tired...all the backlash of fans, critics etc...no matter what I don't think this leaves one unaffected. I really don't like joining the huge bandwagon of Lucas-is-the-antichrist...though I still can't watch the PT without thinking about how much better it could have been (if I had written the script, of course ! )
Every change George Lucas made to Star Wars is depressing.
You mena the Special Versions of the OT? Not everything. Better Special Effects? Thanks, I take it. Having actually 30 Fighters attack the Death Star? Makes sense. Some dewbacks, better sabers? No problem! Ian MCDiarmid replacing the other Emperor? I am game ...the musical-number in the palace? Miles more entertaining!
I only rolled my eyes at the replacement of Sebastian Shaw with Hayden, made no sense at all. And the scenes on Coruscant with the cheering crowd...well, I still believe right after the cut we don't see how a Tie-Bomber-Squad eradicates the crowd and returns the order...
Guest_greengoron89_*
The special editions are almost as big an affront to the franchise as the prequels. Particularly ANH and ROTJ with the awful Solo/Jabba scene at Mos Eisley and the god awful sing/dance routine in Jabba's Palace. I can't stomach to watch either SE for those movies and can only just tolerate the SE of TESB.
Well, I guess you have watched the inevitable Red Letter Media-reviews of the PT then, since I saw there that behind the scenes footage of the first watching of the raw cut of Phantom MEnace with Lucas and his producers etc ... I think this is right somehow, he might not have had a lot of people standing up to him. Or give him creative input. I think its vital for any writer or director to have people telling him what might work or not, or different opinions. If you are only focused on your own stuff you either get something genius or ... stuff like Matrix 2 + 3
Yet I am not so sure if Lucas really didn't want to do it. I could also imagine that indeed he wanted to use the awesome new technologies and create a Star Wars of the new era...and the problem maybe wasn't that the "heart" was missing, but PR-people told him (or he thought it himself) that we needed a kid-Vader to atract youngsters, have not too much real violence and war-stuff in STAR WARS (we got childish droids and faceless clones, no real people with real lives to relate to, like friggin Porkins, Biggs, Dack, Wedge!) ... and then he tried to take the kid-friendly stuff and combined it with "Fall of the Roman Empire"...
I still fail to see how that could have worked out ...
And in the end it indeed may have left him a little tired...all the backlash of fans, critics etc...no matter what I don't think this leaves one unaffected. I really don't like joining the huge bandwagon of Lucas-is-the-antichrist...though I still can't watch the PT without thinking about how much better it could have been (if I had written the script, of course !
You mena the Special Versions of the OT? Not everything. Better Special Effects? Thanks, I take it. Having actually 30 Fighters attack the Death Star? Makes sense. Some dewbacks, better sabers? No problem! Ian MCDiarmid replacing the other Emperor? I am game ...the musical-number in the palace? Miles more entertaining!
I only rolled my eyes at the replacement of Sebastian Shaw with Hayden, made no sense at all. And the scenes on Coruscant with the cheering crowd...well, I still believe right after the cut we don't see how a Tie-Bomber-Squad eradicates the crowd and returns the order...
I've not seen the Red-Letter Media reviews, never even heard of them (it?) until now I do feel George's enthusiasm waned over the years, because when he first started out it was going to be 12 films, then it became 9 and eventually we ended up with the 6. The Sequel Trilogy was going to be about Luke going off to find his sister and eventually confronting the Emperor, but Lucas decided to mesh those things into Episode 6 in a way that worked rather well (the end result was awesome) the fact that he did this signals to me that he just wished to not be burdened with being responsible for Star Wars.
I don't know though. I've heard the argument that he was so impressed by the special effects that he had difficulty restraining himself when it came to using them. This rings a bit true due to all of the green screen (or was it blue) acting, I know the actors were often alone when the acted in Episode 3, so you might be right. I remember Lucas stating that the reason he waited so long to do the prequels was because the special effects weren't we he wanted them to be, but I truly don't know if that was actually the case, he said a lot of things that changed.
One of the reasons that Episode 1 may have ended up being so kid friendly is because George Lucas wanted a film that his kids could watch and enjoy. If I recall correctly his kids were still fairly young around the time TPM came out (I'm not sure though, I'm just trying to offer a possible explanation for the way it got so kid centered). To be clear, I'm not trying to place blame on anyone, I'm just saying that maybe Lucas wanted to make a film that he felt his kids could enjoy and that's why he decided to go the route he did with TPM.
From what I've read the backlash has definitely affected him, I vaguely remember him saying something about that being why he didn't want to make anymore films after Episode 3 had come out (I'll try to find the article later). I think Lucas was fine with constructive fan criticism and did try to make use of it, I mean Jar Jar was made relevant to the plot in Episode 2 and his appearances were cut down considerably in both 2 and 3.
I'm with you on not being a part of the "George Lucas is the Anti-christ bandwagon". While some of his additions to the Original Trilogy frustrate me to no end, I've come to accept that it is his series and he has the right to tinker with it how he wants. Afterall, without George Lucas we wouldn't be able to have conversation about star wars (and my crappy fan fiction wouldn't exist). Han Shooting Last, Darth Vader screaming No in Jedi and the Hayden Christianson Ghost are the only changes that really bothered me.
I've not seen the Red-Letter Media reviews, never even heard of them (it?) until now
Well, here you go...the reviewer is a bit ... weird and you either hate or like his humour, but when you can get past that the points he makes are mostly spot-on...especially when he showed what Revenge of the Sith is mostly made of: Two people walking a corridor before green-screen having exposition...always the same pattern, once has to see it, its hilarious
Oh great those reviews. The ones that cherry pick points and demonize George Lucas. It's really hard to like the prequels when the only argument that people give is to shove this down your throat and claim "victory". I'd argue that those reviews further divided Star Wars fans. 
And people are seriously saying IT'S ALL GREEN SCREEN!!!!! Well check this thread out: http://boards.thefor...s-etc.50017310/
The Prequels used more models on set than the Original Trilogy did.
Funny thing, I was entirely interested in buying the Blu-ray Star Wars Collection until I had read about that on the internet (it leaked). That one "addition" killed the sale for me (and them).
I'll ruin it for you:
*expletive*
*expletive*
*expletive*
HOW DARE THEY.
Why they added the "No" is beyond me.....
Guest_greengoron89_*
People don't like the prequels because they're terrible. You don't need to watch the RLM reviews to see that... although the reviews are pretty hilarious.
People don't like the prequels because they're terrible. You don't need to watch the RLM reviews to see that... although the reviews are pretty hilarious.
Who's "people" please specify because I know plenty of people who love the prequels.
So... the moral of the story is: the Original Trilogy is overrated & the Prequels are underrated
...?
Guest_greengoron89_*
Who's "people" please specify because I know plenty of people who love the prequels.
People who don't like the prequels, obviously.
So... the moral of the story is: the Original Trilogy is overrated & the Prequels are underrated
...?
No.
So... the moral of the story is: the Original Trilogy is overrated & the Prequels are underrated
...?
Never said that the Original Trilogy was overrated.
Guest_greengoron89_*
Regardless of how anyone feels about the prequels, I think it can be universally agreed that they're inferior to the original trilogy overall. I think they're just bad movies all around, but that's beating a dead horse.
So... the moral of the story is: the Original Trilogy is overrated & the Prequels are underrated
...?
Original versions of the OT are the Holy Whatever and anything that came later is an heresy to be burned at the stake. Optionally, you can say ESB is gospel, original SW is just fun, and RotJ is as bad as the PT.
Really, there´s an accentuate the minimal negative point tendency in SW (excluding ESB, where nobody seems to have problems with the nonsensical timeline, a romance made of constant bickering while a deathly threat is a few kilometers away and you can´t run, and C3PO), that I just can´t understand it. It´s even more jarring when you saw the films that got praised while the PT (which imho didn´t reach all it was reaching for, but was also reaching much further than the OT) came out.
There was an article several years ago about how SW fans only like the idea of SW, not SW films, and I tend to agree.
Why they added the "No" is beyond me.....
It's tone doesn't even fit with the situation.
Oh great those reviews. The ones that cherry pick points and demonize George Lucas. It's really hard to like the prequels when the only argument that people give is to shove this down your throat and claim "victory". I'd argue that those reviews further divided Star Wars fans.
Well, I do not think that you are a bad, evil stupid person if you enjoy the Prequels. Fair game. And the OT has its flaws as well, especially Part 6 with its reused plot, Ewoks and that. But the OT simply has the advantage of the "firstborn", and everything after it named Star Wars has to endure being compared to the OT. No way around it...
And when you look at the PT a little beyond the flashy effects and the awesome-as-ever-Star Wars Title screen you just have to shake your head at many decisions made making this movie. I do not want to go into detail and bore people to death, better people than me have pointed it out ad nauseum by now, and will in the future...
It speaks for the quality of Star Wars that even now people are biatching about the PT though, because only stuff you care about makes you go mad if handled wrong. And I am very, very curious to see if that was indeed mostly the fault of Lucas at the helm or if movie-makers generally are no longer able to create that Star Wars Magic we all feel (with a fair share of nostalgia for sure mixed in) ... Episode 7 will tell us more I guess, and I for once am already excited how these movies will be torn apart and analyzed frame by frame as well...
Not EVERY one.
The Millennium Falcon shots were cooler, and the Vader vs. Obi-Wan duel needed FX improvements badly. That's about it, however...
See, the only improvements I think are needed are ones that improve both the picture clarity or some of the visual effects, as it's often needed for any film when it's updated to a new format or remastered?
Sometimes the effects that looked great on the film it was shot on, can look hokey and dated when it's remastered to a clear quality, so having it touched up for the new release, I'm okay with, as long as it tries to stay somewhat visually similar to the original?
Random addons like those godawful CGI aliens in most of the cantina scenes or in exterior shots, really have no purpose at all and provide the visual equivalent of filler. I get that Lucas was trying to show this is a world that is lived in by multiple species, but it's not really needed on Tatooine which is meant to be the arse end of nowhere, nor have the aliens show up to briefly turn the scene into the travesty that was Kinect Star Wars.
The Jabba scene in New Hope is a good example of a positive addition in the sea of all these clunkers, taking a scene that they had to delete originally and leave on the cutting room floor because they didn't have the effectsat the time, but were able to add later when they had the tech. It's the sort of change that most people tend not to comment on because it feels like it always should have been there, because it set up the conflict between Jabba and Han that comes to a head in Empire?
Conversely, changing stuff like the "Han shot first" scene ruined the awesomeness of that scene, as well as detracted from his character growth from a selfish, morally-ambiguous smuggler, to a more selfless and genuinely heroic figure in the later films. The guy we first met in that cantina who looked out for number one, is not the same guy who was willing to risk freezing to death himself to head out and rescue Luke from a blizzard in just the next film?
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