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Thanks Episode III... Now I'm unimpressed with A New Hope

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tedtropy

$50/hour, but no kissing on the lips and colors must be pre-separated
xabre said:
Palpatine had Mace's measure earlier than that anyway, after he took out the other Jedi he had Mace at a disadvantage but he had to by time for Anakin to arrive so the fight continued.

And just allowed Mace to melt his face like so much Velveeta? I have a hard time buying that one. I think it was just one of those not-so-uncommon Lucas inconsistencies (TM).
 
J2 Cool said:
True, I thought Starwars.com said they fought to a draw though they didn't, which peeved me, if that was Lucas' intent. But you're right.

Wasn't the Dooku-Yoda fight added at the last minute or so? I think I heard Lucas bowing to pressure from fans in this case so he threw a bone in the form of this worthless duel, just as fan service.
 

ManaByte

Member
Instigator said:
Wasn't the Dooku-Yoda fight added at the last minute or so? I think I heard Lucas bowing to pressure from fans in this case so he threw a bone in the form of this worthless duel, just as fan service.

Uh, no. The Yoda duel was always in the script and is why Yoda had to be CG.

The droid factory was what was added at the last minute and was never in the script.
 

ManaByte

Member
Uh? The Episode II DVD? The whole reason Yoda had to be CG was because of the fight. There's an entire documentary on the DVD about the digital Yoda and how long they worked on it.

The Droid Factory was never in the script and added at the last minute because it was originally just all dialog before the Arena. It went:

Padme & Anakin arrive on Geonosis
Meeting with Dooku
Trial of Padme & Anakin
Arena
 
In 1976 there was this science fiction spectacular released upon the world. It was called...

Logans Run.

I dare you to watch the movie today. It was only one year before Star Wars and it looks like 20. Disco balls and mirrors being the primary artistic influence.
 
tedtropy said:
And just allowed Mace to melt his face like so much Velveeta? I have a hard time buying that one. I think it was just one of those not-so-uncommon Lucas inconsistencies (TM).

His face always looked like that. He used it to his advantage and to bring forth sympathy. That is how Sidious was able to work the Trade Federation over without them knowing who he was.
 

DarienA

The black man everyone at Activision can agree on
Warm Machine said:
In 1976 there was this science fiction spectacular released upon the world. It was called...

Logans Run.

I dare you to watch the movie today. It was only one year before Star Wars and it looks like 20. Disco balls and mirrors being the primary artistic influence.

Dood Logan's Run still rocks today... shame on you, burn in hell you damn runner!
 

arter_2

Member
I agree a little with oli but I like to keep things pure. Here's an idea how bout the finish the series and complete episodes 7-9 cause if they are any thing like ROTS they will be spectacular and I have really been curious about those more than the first three movies for years. I just really want to see how it all ends I want to see the republic rebuilt and the rebirth of the Jedi.
 
You guys are whacked....A New Hope shits all over the new trilogy and it's visual flash. If all I wanted were a slide show of neat pictures, then yeah, I guess maybe the new ones would be better. But if I want some actual humanity thrown into the story telling, I'll watch the originals. Maybe they should release the new trilogy as silent flicks, they would probably work better. III was better than I and II, but it still falls short of the originals. If you're taking all 6 into account, it breaks down like this:

1. Empire
2. New Hope (But if we're talking about each film as a seperate movie and not part of a bigger story, I like Hope over Empire simply because it has a beginning, middle and end.)
3. Jedi
4. Sith
5. Menace
6. Clones

That's it, that's the list.

Edit: And the Obi-wan/Vader fight in Hope doesn't seem so bad if you approach from the perspective that Obi-wan wants to get struck down anyway, so why waste the energy jumping around like he's in a choreographed Vegas number?
 

Lardbutt

Banned
It just seems to me the emphasis of "coolness" in the Star Wars movies changed in the new series. In the classic series, it was more about epic, exciting space battles. You had huge space fortresses, Star Destroyers, asteroid fields, etc. A lot of the action was focused in space.

Yeah sure, Ep 4-6 had lightsabers too, but it seemed to me the more important "skill" and the ones that ultimately saved the day, involved flying and fighting in a spaceship.

On the other hand, the new series has focused more on lightsaber and physical battles. I can't remember a single decent space battle from Ep. 1-3, while there were a lot of awesome lightsaber duels.
 

Tabris

Member
Actually, the most important skill used in the entire series was the "pick-up and throw" technique :p just kidding.

I'm not actually dissing on ROTJ, I think that scene rocks and was done perfectly, just having a bit of fun with it :)
 

DarienA

The black man everyone at Activision can agree on
Fans of the Darth Vader blog you can now download the whole thing as a PDF, details are HERE
 

Fatalah

Member
Back from watching Episode 6. Return of the Jedi. This....may be the best Star Wars movie of them all.

THE STORY

After never seeing any Star Wars movie in my life, I watched all of them in proper order the last 2 weeks. The outcome?

THE OUTCOME
Wow, RotJ proves to be the best. It's great looking, it's aged so well--and the plot comes full circle. In fact, you could probably skip episodes 4 and 5 and go right to 6. Such a great movie. Now I understand the greatness of Star Wars.

MY OFFICIAL RANKING OF THE EPISODES

1) Jedi
2.) Sith
3.) Menace
4.) Clones
5.) Empire
6.) Hope
 

Fatalah

Member
Consider this: the focus of the first 3 was on Annekin. With 4-6, I'm looking for more Annekin. Instead, I get Mr. "But I was going into Toshi Station to pick up some power converters!".

They're all good movies, but I'm more intrigued by Annekin's past. Sorry folks.
 
Fatalah said:
Consider this: the focus of the first 3 was on Annekin. With 4-6, I'm looking for more Annekin. Instead, I get Mr. "But I was going into Toshi Station to pick up some power converters!".

They're all good movies, but I'm more intrigued by Annekin's past. Sorry folks.
Just cause its been buggin me, but its "Anakin" and "Leia" :) But yeah wow this is realyl interesting to hear impressions from someone who has never seen any of the movies until now. You might get a lot of flack for having EpI that high on the list, but looking back on things now, I can understand at least why you would put it there.
 
Fatalah said:
Consider this: the focus of the first 3 was on Annekin. With 4-6, I'm looking for more Annekin. Instead, I get Mr. "But I was going into Toshi Station to pick up some power converters!".

They're all good movies, but I'm more intrigued by Annekin's past. Sorry folks.
Well, looking at the OT as actual followups to the PT is certainly a viewpoint we don't see much around here, and certainly in that regard ESB and ANH have less connection than ROTJ...
 

AirBrian

Member
I watched ANH last night, and here's a few thoughts:

1) Obi/Vader fight is complete weaksauce now. At one point, Vader kinda jabs at Obi 4 or 5 times in a row, and I couldn't help but laugh. Absolutely pathetic and completely disappointing.

2) There are many parts in the movie that are completely quiet. No dialogue, no background music, no sound FX. These parts seem awkward now.

3) R2-D2 and C-3PO are still great. Their interactions are probably my favorite parts of ANH.

4) The trench run still kicks ass.

5) The dialogue isn't as bad as I remember. Although, this is probably skewed a bit because it's so bad in I-II-III. :lol

6) And Olimario, I have no idea what you're talking about with the costumes. They looked fine to me.

It's definitely the weakest of IV-V-VI, but it's also the oldest and Lucas' first attempt in the series. I think we sometimes forget that it was released in friggin' 1977. I can't wait to watch ESB and ROTJ.
 

jett

D-Member
Jacobi said:
4,5 and 6 aged a LOT better than 1 and 2 already did. Ugly...CGI...

Yeah, you're right. I watched EP1 on Thursday, and nearly in every scene it seemed like the characters were "detached" from the background, like they didn't belong. Jar Jar and the rest of the CG characters look pretty crappy as well, very cartoon-like. EP5 and 6 still look awesome, and that will probably never change.

On another note, did anybody else think that the re-done lightsabers in the DVD edition of A New Hope look like SHIT? They tried to make them look like the ones in the PT, but they failed. They just look completely different from the ones in EP5/6, simply out of place. It's mostly the bright, cheap yellow flash effect whenever they clash.
 

DDayton

(more a nerd than a geek)
I'm still awaiting the day we can purchase the original versions of Star Wars, Empire Strikes Back, and Return of the Jedi on DVD. The DVD version of Empire is okay, but Jedi's Sarlaac beak is annoying... and Star Wars is just full of pointless CGI sequences that either drag the film down or make it as inane as The Phantom Menace.
 
DavidDayton said:
I'm still awaiting the day we can purchase the original versions of Star Wars, Empire Strikes Back, and Return of the Jedi on DVD. The DVD version of Empire is okay, but Jedi's Sarlaac beak is annoying... and Star Wars is just full of pointless CGI sequences that either drag the film down or make it as inane as The Phantom Menace.

Me too Although someone on ebay was sold me the Laser discs on DVD. They are pretty sweet. My friend swears the Special editions are better cause of the graphics.
 

Hitokage

Setec Astronomer
galeninjapan said:
Me too Although someone on ebay was sold me the Laser discs on DVD. They are pretty sweet. My friend swears the Special editions are better cause of the graphics.
Out of curiosity, what version? Speaking of which, there are several ambitious projects currently in progress in that area.
 

J2 Cool

Member
JoshuaJSlone said:
Well, looking at the OT as actual followups to the PT is certainly a viewpoint we don't see much around here, and certainly in that regard ESB and ANH have less connection than ROTJ...

That's because Lucas began thinking more Star Wars, and thus prequels, wasn't it? Anyway, I still think that list is messed up, Anakin fan or not. I also remember being shocked a little putting TPM and the OT next to each other when I was younger. Seeing both a first time, and not being a big Star Wars fan yet. I seen Hollywood production, and older films, and Jedi which was pretty good as far as how it looked. That became my favorite then because the way it wraps things up and looked modern when it did it. But then years later, I watch the OT again, and that changes. I guess I watch movies differently now, but I'm a lot more removed from expectations. I definitely think that sways OT and PT enthusiasts both ways. Anyway, here's my list



1.) Empire Strikes Back - This just hits all the notes that define Star Wars imo. If Star Wars was a phenomenon, this was a masterpiece in sci-fi. Not that it was perfect as a movie, few movies are. But it contained so much 'Star Wars' in it. Dark undertones, memorable space wars, character development, new classic characters, tragic elements, great lightsaber fight (especially given what fans must have expected after ANH), mutliple plot twists. The movie is just so entertaining to watch on it's own, even if it is a middle chapter.

2.) Return of the Jedi - This was a tough one to edge out Sith. Both have a great entertaining start, some problems throughout, and then get terrific once it starts gaining momentum until the end. Unlike some feel though, the 'moments' in both eclipse the rough spots imo. I'm looking for entertainment in a movie and both deliver quite a bit. With that said though, Jedi's climax just feels so right. It ties the whole saga together and has some of the best, in fact, maybe the best scenes in Star Wars. I want to get the OT on dvd though, to check out some of the improvements. The extended ending sounds like it could do some good for this movie.

3.) Revenge of the Sith - I really liked it. It gave me everything I wanted out of it really except some more screen time for Vader in the mask. Wanted to see him slaying hidden jedi around the galaxy like a bad ass. Should have done it in a small box as the credits played imo.

4.) A New Hope - This movie has aged quite a bit. Things like it's Obi-Wan/Vader fight really are hurt by this. Also, some things like the Empire's crewmen just look.. wrong. Also, why the hell did some anonymous captain of the ship, get so much screen time? It was nice to only see Vader involved in almost every showing of the Empire's fleet in ESB. He didn't really become the Vader people know and love until ESB. But anyway, I could definitely see Lucas just trying to find his footing throughout this movie, where as he came with guns a blazin' the next episode. Like he said in documentaries, he just wanted to get filming in a movie he had no clue how it'd turn out. In that, along with his mistakes, he still created some of the saga's greatest moments. I thought TPM had some bright spots too, but ANH's best moments push it down a spot even if this flick is aged too much a bit.

5.) The Phantom Menace - Like some people, because it's 5 for me, I still don't hate it at all. It's got problems in creating a new ewok menace, in the gungans and Jar Jar. Also, Anakin blowing the space ship up by accident. I thought young Anakin was played quite well but why Lucas made that such an accident after developing him in the pod race, I have no clue. I also loved Qui-gon. The scenes cut out of Sith with him, is really a shame. It was nice to see a good light-side character like him weaved into the saga. And Yoda having bowed to his wisdom.. It really gives a nod to the jedi's inperfection, and supports belief in ones self. Qui-gon didn't need the title of jedi master to give solidification to his wisdom, though he deserved it. But back to what was in this movie though. I liked young Anakin, Qui-gon and padawan Obi-wan, the technology, the republic, and the duel. It was bogged down though by some weak spots.

6.) Attack of the Clones - I liked this movie better than TPM on first viewing. When the action picked up, it got really quite good I thought. The way the Clone Wars were fought, being visualized, and Yoda's fight was a cheap hook the first time. It was cool to see jedi just start battling too. But, I sat through a lot of bad scenes, to see the saga progress. Once you know the only real result is the Clone Wars begin and the dark side amasses, it's really a pointless movie. The Yoda hook becomes slightly annoying too. Not helped by what was the other most important plotline, Anakin and Padme's love. That should have been the most important plotline too, but they just completely failed in execution. Also, I didn't like the whiny teenage angst-ridden Anakin they wanted. It's ridiculous. It was like a complete exaggeration of teenage angst. I don't know too many who have it that bad. More so what I would have expected is a kid who grew up too fast. Save the whiny bits for stories of when he was 13-14 years old. In a way, I feel they could have just made this the animated series, bridged TPM and episode II. Then fixed the pacing which some complain about in episode III, and stretch out some of it's best moments, adding new ones, over 2 movies. Though I'm quite happy with episode III on it's own as a kick ass movie.
 
Hitokage said:
Out of curiosity, what version? Speaking of which, there are several ambitious projects currently in progress in that area.

The Laser discs are the Pre-Special Edition versions that have the sound improved with THX.
 
im hoping that when lucas releases the two trilogies in a box set he releases the theatrical versions of the OT and as a bonus completely change the OT to cg excluding the actors as a little bonus for star wars fans. make the backgrounds and ships look as good as they do in episodes 1-3. ive already bought the OT on DVD, dont just try and pawn of the same stuff again youre already a billionaire put a little work into it
 

Hitokage

Setec Astronomer
galeninjapan said:
The Laser discs are the Pre-Special Edition versions that have the sound improved with THX.
No, I figured as much. All of those are going to be from either the 94 Definitive LD Collection or the 95 Faces set. I meant what rip, if you knew.
 
Hitokage said:
No, I know that. All of those are going to be from either the 94 Definitive LD Collection or the 95 Faces set. I meant what rip, if you knew.

I didnt even know there were more than one. hmm, I have no idea, you best bet is to ask the seller.
 

Pimpwerx

Member
Damn...I actually enjoyed this movie. Actually, I enjoyed the last hour or so. The start of the movie was slow and boring, but overall, it was a good movie. Lucas sucks as a director...but still a good movie. I can't believe I've said that about a Star Wars flick. :?

Vader's "NoooooooooooooOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!" made me crack a smile. The delivery was off, but just the number of comments that one line has generated had me grinning. Oh well, Vader is now a much cooler character than I remember. And Obi gained back some respect for getting totally punked in the first movie. Samuel L. Jackson needed a good line before he made his exit. After all, it's Samuel L. Jackson. :D Overall, I walked away happy. Damn you, Lucas. I wanted to hate this one sooooo much. PEACE.
 

AniHawk

Member
I'll be burned alive like a character we all love and hate for this, but:

1. ESB:
Classic. What's there to say? Good interaction with all the characters. Acting and dialogue is a little poor (particularly Luke, but he was the only one to stand out). Han/Leia was done well, and Yoda rocks in this movie. There's good foreshadowing going on here, and of course, there's the big, BIG plot twist. Hell, I don't even remember when I first saw this movie (or any of the OT, in fact), but I must have been surprised.

2. RotJ:
I have a hard time choosing between this and Sith. This slightly edges out Sith because... well, the acting is a lot better, including Mark Hammil's. The ewok scene is okay (I still don't get everyone's hang-up on that, they weren't really winning, they were getting the shit knocked out of them until Chewie hijacked one of the Empire's machines). Then there's the Duel between Luke and Vader, and Palpatine is SO FUCKING EVIL in this film. Plus, there's the best space battle of the OT. It's great.

3. RotS:
Bad (though improved) acting, and some bad dialogue. A bit clunky in Anakin's turn, but I think it works well as long as you try not to focus so much on it and remember that he's trying to save his wife the whole time. Entertaining battle sequences, and there's little filler. I thought this had some good old-fashioned Star Wars humor at the beginning with R2D2, which helped.

The best part I loved about this movie is that it does so much to enhance ESB and RotJ (and I don't mean by comparison). The Luke/Vader scenes, Vader/Palpatine scenes, and Luke/Palpatine scenes in ESB and RotJ make a little more sense. I think Vader is humanized in Sith, and he's not the evil evil bad guy who turns good at the end of Jedi. It's more like he realizes that a choice he made was wrong, and he corrects a past mistake.

And the final shot of the movie is fucking perfect.

4. TPM:
Problems galore. Jar Jar. Gungans. Jake Lloyd's facial expressions (or lack thereof, though he wouldn't be a bad voice actor). Midichlorians, Padawan, and all the other new stuff I can live with. It didn't change my outlook on the series. This film is pretty much a set-up for Palpatine's first big promotion, and I thought it was pretty damn well done. It makes him a more cunning character than the PURE EVIL guy we saw in Jedi and Sith. The lightsaber duel was great, and Qui-Gon Jin rocked. Don't think it was terrible or anything.

4. ANH:
Don't think this is a bad film, but it hasn't aged very well. The lightsaber duel is just one of my problems with this. Vader's just kind of a generic evil bad guy who looks cool and that we have to hate because he killed the hero's dad. Scenes with the robots were entertaining, and I thought the best parts of this film involved Han Solo. The best scene is still the Death Star trench run. Poor ending though. TPM's was better even though it was damn near the exact same thing.

6. AotC
Okay, now THIS was just BAD. I mean, it was really boring throughout most of the film. I thought the beginning was funny though:

"I swear you'll be the death of me"

"Can I sell you some death sticks?"
"You don't want to sell me death sticks"
"I don't want to sell you death sticks."
"You want to go home and rethink your life."
"I'm going to go home and rethink my life."

Anakin's bored/annoyed "Yes master, I know master, I TRY master"

"We came to rescue you."
"Good job!"

And of course:
"THERE'S A PLANET THAT'S SUPPOSED TO BE THERE, BUT IT'S NOT THERE."
Kid: Uh, it's because someone removed it from the archives dumbass.

It also had a good fanboy moment with Yoda fighting like a badass, which was GREAT in theaters and a good memory to have, even though it looks silly rewatching it.
 

border

Member
Hitokage said:
Speaking of which, there are several ambitious projects currently in progress in that area.
Is there anything left for people to do? The LD versions have all been ripped, and I don't think there's a way to make give them any improved quality. I suppose they could add on the 5.1 track from the SE discs....
 

Willco

Hollywood Square
There's such a huge fanbase that just wants remastered copies of the originals, so you got to think eventually Lucas will release both versions.
 

Hitokage

Setec Astronomer
border said:
Is there anything left for people to do? The LD versions have all been ripped, and I don't think there's a way to make give them any improved quality. I suppose they could add on the 5.1 track from the SE discs....
Lots. LD video isn't digital to begin with(that's right, it's Pulse FM), so you need a good LD reader in addition to making sure LD rot isn't affecting the rip and if it is comparing with other sources to remove it. Then there's the capture settings and getting the greatest dynamic range possible. Then comes color correction, cleanup, and filtering. Then you need to get a good encoding of it all.

It's not like you can work miracles, but there's still a lot of room for improvement. The LDs have digital audio tracks so there's not much problem there.
 

Shinobi

Member
Pimpwerx said:
Damn...I actually enjoyed this movie. Actually, I enjoyed the last hour or so. The start of the movie was slow and boring, but overall, it was a good movie. Lucas sucks as a director...but still a good movie. I can't believe I've said that about a Star Wars flick. :?

Vader's "NoooooooooooooOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!" made me crack a smile. The delivery was off, but just the number of comments that one line has generated had me grinning. Oh well, Vader is now a much cooler character than I remember. And Obi gained back some respect for getting totally punked in the first movie. Samuel L. Jackson needed a good line before he made his exit. After all, it's Samuel L. Jackson. :D Overall, I walked away happy. Damn you, Lucas. I wanted to hate this one sooooo much. PEACE.

10104001.jpg


"You're weak...you're incompetent...you jeprodize the whole place."
 
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