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This is a little bit out of sync - I have three other films to fit in here - but I don't want to overtalk about these and they belong together.
XXVI-XXVIII: Star Wars: Episodes IV-VI (George Lucas 1977; Irvin Kershner 1979; Richard Marquand 1983)
I was probably the right age for these - seven for episode IV, nine for episode V and perhaps pushing it at episode VI at thirteen. I can't recall my reaction to the final film - I think disappointment over teddy bears as warriors. I will have watched them all again on video - at university aged about twenty I thought them dumb, and when I saw the Special Editions (did I see them all?) I think I was resentful. I saw most of Jedi on tv a couple of years back, and it was better than I remembered - the disjointedness now second nature, the teddy bears more convincing on a small screen, the advert breaks bringing relief?
I've had the DVD boxset since it came out - 2004? - but a friend watched them before me, although I saw Empire last year so that's not entirely true. As with THX, Lucas has buggered around with it and tried to fix what he thinks is the stain on the tablecloth. Now there are ruddy great scuff marks - I assume much of the homage to Chris Moore is new, but the 1977-83 effects were more Chris Foss. Those cities are just too shiny, and the extras too clearly out of the ILM toolbox. Most of the rest seems fine - or perhaps was better camouflaged. Do we need that Jabba the Hutt scene? I think we get it, but then so much of the saga is unnecessary exposition. The worst bit is when Emperor Palpitations tells us the new Death Star is actually operational and then we see Lando and the alien work it out. Is the new song and dance routine better? Nope, still an embarrassment of the dancing dad type.
Last year I watched a puppet die on stage, and prayed he would come back to life. You don't need photorealism if you do it right - and because Lucas has alerted us to effects, the dodgy matte work in Jedi stands out.
So, what's the verdicts? I'd not picked up upon the running line of new and last hopes before and having a bad feeling hasn't resonated before (is that a quote from King Kong?). I suspect that you could stop the film every twenty minutes and feel that was the end of an episode - but it is very plot driven. I think I've finally worked out the Vietnam context, but I'm saving that for elsewhere. Empire remains the best - but is a bit more broken backed than I recalled - and A New Hope does some interesting things (Leia - whose name seems to shift pronunciations - is more feminist than I recall). But Jedi, whilst not the mess I once thought it, goes for the comic relief too easily, and falls apart on the moon of Endor. Either those Ewoks have been planning revolution for a few years, or they have a few dozen chain tucked away. Even allowing for the high risk trap of luring the rebels to the planet, it's too big a flaw.
So, Flash Gordon or Superman next?
Totals: 28 (Cinema: 7; DVDs: 15; TV: 6)
XXVI-XXVIII: Star Wars: Episodes IV-VI (George Lucas 1977; Irvin Kershner 1979; Richard Marquand 1983)
I was probably the right age for these - seven for episode IV, nine for episode V and perhaps pushing it at episode VI at thirteen. I can't recall my reaction to the final film - I think disappointment over teddy bears as warriors. I will have watched them all again on video - at university aged about twenty I thought them dumb, and when I saw the Special Editions (did I see them all?) I think I was resentful. I saw most of Jedi on tv a couple of years back, and it was better than I remembered - the disjointedness now second nature, the teddy bears more convincing on a small screen, the advert breaks bringing relief?
I've had the DVD boxset since it came out - 2004? - but a friend watched them before me, although I saw Empire last year so that's not entirely true. As with THX, Lucas has buggered around with it and tried to fix what he thinks is the stain on the tablecloth. Now there are ruddy great scuff marks - I assume much of the homage to Chris Moore is new, but the 1977-83 effects were more Chris Foss. Those cities are just too shiny, and the extras too clearly out of the ILM toolbox. Most of the rest seems fine - or perhaps was better camouflaged. Do we need that Jabba the Hutt scene? I think we get it, but then so much of the saga is unnecessary exposition. The worst bit is when Emperor Palpitations tells us the new Death Star is actually operational and then we see Lando and the alien work it out. Is the new song and dance routine better? Nope, still an embarrassment of the dancing dad type.
Last year I watched a puppet die on stage, and prayed he would come back to life. You don't need photorealism if you do it right - and because Lucas has alerted us to effects, the dodgy matte work in Jedi stands out.
So, what's the verdicts? I'd not picked up upon the running line of new and last hopes before and having a bad feeling hasn't resonated before (is that a quote from King Kong?). I suspect that you could stop the film every twenty minutes and feel that was the end of an episode - but it is very plot driven. I think I've finally worked out the Vietnam context, but I'm saving that for elsewhere. Empire remains the best - but is a bit more broken backed than I recalled - and A New Hope does some interesting things (Leia - whose name seems to shift pronunciations - is more feminist than I recall). But Jedi, whilst not the mess I once thought it, goes for the comic relief too easily, and falls apart on the moon of Endor. Either those Ewoks have been planning revolution for a few years, or they have a few dozen chain tucked away. Even allowing for the high risk trap of luring the rebels to the planet, it's too big a flaw.
So, Flash Gordon or Superman next?
Totals: 28 (Cinema: 7; DVDs: 15; TV: 6)
