SpringHeelJack wrote:Give "A New Hope" a try. At the very least, it's a fun homage to sci-fi serials, much like what "Indiana Jones" was to explorer movies and "Pirates of the Caribbean" essentially is to older swashbuckling pirate flicks.
My newspaper reprinted its review of "A New Hope" from 1977, which I thought was cool. The review made note that the movie had "the best special effects, bar none" of any film the critic had ever seen, which in all honesty hold up pretty well today (I know I made that point back when we were discussing the list of best special effects).
Or better yet actually watch Star Wars before it was called A New Hope
Anyway if you haven't given any of the films a try, at least try Star Wars/A New Hope. Whatever you do don't start with the Prequels.
darth_deetoo wrote:But the first film would have passed you by at 3 years old. I was 7 when the first film came out, which really was a magical age to get into Star Wars from the ground floor.
That's right, of course. But nevertheless, I did grow up in a time when the original SW and the two sequels were very much part of popular culture... If I were a little bit older I guess that wouldn't have made that much of a difference in my case, though, since I usually didn't get very caught up in whatever was popular anyway. But that's just me.
DarthPrime wrote:Anyway if you haven't given any of the films a try, at least try Star Wars/A New Hope. Whatever you do don't start with the Prequels.
I beg to differ.
It can only get better if you've made it through the prequels without rolling on the floor laughing at the stupid dialogues.
Can you imagine that there are still people not knowing about Star Wars? My English teacher doesn't.
We read a text on Friday and there was a reference to Yoda, and he asked us what these Yoda things were.
So we were like: Uhm, ever heard of Star Wars?
Him : Not really.
--------- DeadSilence--------
We then explained to him who Yoda was and that he should really watch Star Wars. it's not like he's a young guy. He's in his 50s and could have seen Star Wars in theaters when it came out, and he doesn't know about it. It's just incredible!
Dottie wrote:It can only get better if you've made it through the prequels without rolling on the floor laughing at the stupid dialogues.
Sorry to say but I did just as much laughing during the originals. Maybe it's because I never grew up on those, but trust me when I say, there is stupidness galore in the OT.
"See, I'm not a monster. I'm just ahead of the curve." - The Joker
Dottie wrote:It can only get better if you've made it through the prequels without rolling on the floor laughing at the stupid dialogues.
Sorry to say but I did just as much laughing during the originals. Maybe it's because I never grew up on those, but trust me when I say, there is stupidness galore in the OT.
Yeah, the dialogues in the originals aren't great either, but the stuff that Padmé and Anakin say to each other is worse!!
I have a soft spot for Star Wars since I grew up with them, but if you never saw them as a kid they might seem ridiculous at times.
Some years ago it occured to me, that the thrid one "Return of the Jedi" which had always been my favorite, is actually in some parts the weakest of the original three. The ewoks are cute and everything, but seriously, teddy bears???!! In a Sci-Fi movie? That is weird, and not that great. But still, you gotta love these fuzzies.
I've changed to "Empire" being my favorite for some years now.
darth_deetoo wrote:But Jedi also has some of the most powerful stuff of the whole saga in it. The confrontation between Luke, Vader and the Emperor is epic!
True, with "Jedi" it got much worse and much better than before, but I think it is just more uneven as the other two. There's som really spectacular stuff, and some "hmm-meh" stuff. But it's still a great movie and I love it!
Come to think of it, the space battle was pretty awesome too! And the forest battle, even with the Ewoks.
I think the problem Star Wars has (it's not really a problem with Star Wars - but it's a problem we as fans have), is that we forget that the films were really targeted at children, and we've all grown up (though I'm desperately fighting against growing up).
We all grew up with them, and expected Star Wars to grow up too, except it didn't (except perhaps with Revenge of the Sith).
There are some powerful, mythic tones running throughout the Star Wars saga - all 6 of them - but there are also some very silly things running throughout all 6 films too.
Even Sith and Empire have their silly moments, although admittedly they are the darkest of the 6 films.
What people need to do with Star Wars is to embrace the silliness of it just as much as the rest. Learn to love Jar Jar and the Ewoks, I mean seriously, are they really any sillier than a pair of camp robots, a 3 foot green midget with big ears and a hairy ape like being who can pilot spaceships?
darth_deetoo wrote:Come to think of it, the space battle was pretty awesome too! And the forest battle, even with the Ewoks.
I think the problem Star Wars has (it's not really a problem with Star Wars - but it's a problem we as fans have), is that we forget that the films were really targeted at children, and we've all grown up (though I'm desperately fighting against growing up).
We all grew up with them, and expected Star Wars to grow up too, except it didn't (except perhaps with Revenge of the Sith).
There are some powerful, mythic tones running throughout the Star Wars saga - all 6 of them - but there are also some very silly things running throughout all 6 films too.
Even Sith and Empire have their silly moments, although admittedly they are the darkest of the 6 films.
What people need to do with Star Wars is to embrace the silliness of it just as much as the rest. Learn to love Jar Jar and the Ewoks, I mean seriously, are they really any sillier than a pair of camp robots, a 3 foot green midget with big ears and a hairy ape like being who can pilot spaceships?
I totally agree with you. I love Star wars, who couldn't, and I didn't have that many problems woth JarJar as others had, and I still love the Ewoks and Endor, but growing up some of the magic somehow fades, and you see the movies more as movies, and not something magical, although they still suck you into their world.
I don't agree however that the movies were targeted at kids. The first two were PG and Jedi even was PG 13, at least here in Germany, and I think kids don't understand everything that is being said. I certainly did not. I was more crazy about how cute R2D2 was.
Gotta say happy birthday to Captain Rex(even if it's 4 months late) .
Of course, we're all tired of it now and want updates! Ironic that the movies keep getting updates with not many wanting them, while the one Star Wars related thing everyone wants to update still remains the same.
Well, with Star Wars turning 30, there's still one last hope!
No...there is another.
*Edited to get the thread back on topic*
Last edited by Timon/Pumbaa fan on Sun May 27, 2007 7:33 pm, edited 1 time in total.
When I read your original post MM1 I thought you meant it in a metaphorical sense.
But yes moving on to Star Wars, one thing I've never understood was why the Rebels had to wear camoflauge on Endo when they had a large golden robot walking around with them seems rather silly to me, but I guess that adds to the silliness Darth_Deetoo mentioned (or not). One thing that I've loved about Star Wars is the fact that it had a limitless supply of heroes and villains, thanks to the vast size of the universe the movies were set in.
I didn't see Star Wars until about 14 years ago ( I think?) when my Grade 4 teacher showed it to us in class. I didn't particularly care for any of the newer ones (ep 1-3) that I saw in the theater. I plan to re-watch them all though to give them a second chance. I guess they didn't have as much of an impact on me because I didn't grow up with them... 1977 was 6 years before I was born
After a good cooling off period, this thread has been cleaned up and unlocked. I split all the off-topic bickering to a separate thread and locked it. I also edited 2 posts to get the star wars thread back on topic. I hope you all can behave civilly this go around. But if the bickering returns, this thread closes permanently.
So anyway, I first saw Star Wars (or Empire Strikes Back or Return of the Jedi...I was never sure which) when I was about 5 or 6 years old (so this dates me to about 1990/1991), as it was on a local tv station one lazy Saturday afternoon. I literally had no idea what the hell the movie was, and I had just gotten into Star Trek: The Next Generation, and so I thought Star Wars was a syndicated sci-fi show.
It wasn't until 1993 or 1994 that I saw one of the movies again, and again, I have no idea which one I saw.
In 1995, having discovered the new action figures that were coming out, decided I might as well watch the films, and borrowed my aunt's VHS tapes of the OT. At the time, I still preferred Star Trek (still do).
I think it was 1997 when the Special Editions started coming out that I began to take a serious interest in the series (serious as in "buy the movies to own"). Got the Special Editions on VHS for Christmas that year, and they served me faithfully until the 2004 boxset, which I'm sad to say hasn't been watched in about two years.
I made it a point to avoid Episode 1 in 1999, and didn't see it until probably 2003 or 2004.
The only Star Wars film I saw in theatres was Revenge of the Sith, and that was a pleasant experience (it was on a DLP, so it looked really awesome), but wasn't really earth-shaking for me.
All in all, Star Wars is a part of my life, just not a major part.
Escapay
WIST #60:
AwallaceUNC: Would you prefer Substi-Blu-tiary Locomotion?
WIST #61:
TheSequelOfDisney: Damn, did Lin-Manuel Miranda go and murder all your families?
I saw the film in 1977 in 70mm & 6-track Dolby Stereo in the theater. I was there. I know exactly what the Star Wars phenomenon was like as it was happening, because I lived it. So I don't really need to rehash it much, because Star Wars has been a part of my life since I was 11 years old, and it was a major part of my adolescence.
I remember fully what going to the movies used to be like, and how much it cost (full price was around $4.50 or $5.00 and matinees were usually anywhere from $1.75 to $2.50), and that with the big event films you could usually buy a program related to the film that had lots of photos and behind the scenes information. Not only that, but when you paid for your ticket, you got to stay in the theater as long as you wanted, for however many showings of the film you came to see. It wasn't particularly difficult to sneak into a second film in an adjoining auditorium in a twin-screen or 4-screen theater, though (the big multiplexes had yet to be made; most theaters had one, 2, or 3 screens at most).
There still has been NOTHING like that initial shot of the Star Destroyer coming from overhead. That was an awesome thrill in 1977 that will probably never be matched.
But the overall effect of the film on the entertainment industry has been massive. It legitimized science fiction as a film genre (although Star Wars is less science fiction and more in the realm of space fantasy), it created a new standard of box office performance to measure films by (everyone in Hollywood - EVERYONE - wanted to be responsible for the next Star Wars-sized hit, and there were countless imitators), it solidified the Memorial Day holiday as the start of the summer moviegoing season, it popularized Dolby Stereo and long end credits, it revived symphonic musical scores, it revolutionized special visual effects and movie marketing (particularly in the realm of toys), it made Wall Street sit up and take major notice of the motion picture industry as a whole, and it inspired a generation of young people to pursue a career in filmmaking. There are countless motion picture professionals, including Oscar winners, who owe their entire careers to Star Wars, including James Cameron, David Fincher, John Knoll, Kevin Smith, and many others.
Simply put, had it not been for Star Wars, the American film industry would look very different than it does today.
All have fallen short.
Let's stop throwing stones at people who have made mistakes in their life, and let's start throwing medicines and food at those who need it the most. - Bono
PapiBear wrote:I saw the film in 1977 in 70mm & 6-track Dolby Stereo in the theater. I was there. I know exactly what the Star Wars phenomenon was like as it was happening, because I lived it. So I don't really need to rehash it much, because Star Wars has been a part of my life since I was 11 years old, and it was a major part of my adolescence.
I remember fully what going to the movies used to be like, and how much it cost (full price was around $4.50 or $5.00 and matinees were usually anywhere from $1.75 to $2.50), and that with the big event films you could usually buy a program related to the film that had lots of photos and behind the scenes information. Not only that, but when you paid for your ticket, you got to stay in the theater as long as you wanted, for however many showings of the film you came to see. It wasn't particularly difficult to sneak into a second film in an adjoining auditorium in a twin-screen or 4-screen theater, though (the big multiplexes had yet to be made; most theaters had one, 2, or 3 screens at most).
There still has been NOTHING like that initial shot of the Star Destroyer coming from overhead. That was an awesome thrill in 1977 that will probably never be matched.
But the overall effect of the film on the entertainment industry has been massive. It legitimized science fiction as a film genre (although Star Wars is less science fiction and more in the realm of space fantasy), it created a new standard of box office performance to measure films by (everyone in Hollywood - EVERYONE - wanted to be responsible for the next Star Wars-sized hit, and there were countless imitators), it solidified the Memorial Day holiday as the start of the summer moviegoing season, it popularized Dolby Stereo and long end credits, it revived symphonic musical scores, it revolutionized special visual effects and movie marketing (particularly in the realm of toys), it made Wall Street sit up and take major notice of the motion picture industry as a whole, and it inspired a generation of young people to pursue a career in filmmaking. There are countless motion picture professionals, including Oscar winners, who owe their entire careers to Star Wars, including James Cameron, David Fincher, John Knoll, Kevin Smith, and many others.
Simply put, had it not been for Star Wars, the American film industry would look very different than it does today.
So much for not needing to rehash!
Escapay
WIST #60:
AwallaceUNC: Would you prefer Substi-Blu-tiary Locomotion?
WIST #61:
TheSequelOfDisney: Damn, did Lin-Manuel Miranda go and murder all your families?
