<<<-- Originally posted by Ken Tanaka : A well-written, well-acted, well-filmed, and well-edited story that connects with its viewers is, in itself, already a sufficiently immersive experience.

But I suspect that it's hard for George Lucas to walk away from perhaps the $50 mil-$100 mil that Star Wars devotees, a crowd well-primed to buy into gimmicks, will likely reward him for such an effort. -->>>



That's awefully cynical, don't you think?

In the interest of some moderator-pleasing levity, this link:

LUCAS WARNS FINAL ‘STAR WARS’ MOVIE NOT SUITABLE FOR CHILDREN, ADULTS, SENIORS

Am I the only one who though the past 2 star wars looked like ass. Start to finish the movie looked like a cartoon, and its even worse on DVD in all its crisp glory

Chris, you aren't the only one. But, this is about 3D man....the original trilogy in 3D. I'd pay to see that..

<<<-- Originally posted by Chris Ivanovskis : Am I the only one who though the past 2 star wars looked like ass. Start to finish the movie looked like a cartoon, and its even worse on DVD in all its crisp glory -->>>

And it's worse than the real cartoon.

http://www.starwars.com/clonewars/

VolII starts tonight!

It's funny, when I saw "Phantom" in the theaters I left feeling like I had just played a video game and not been given any controls to actually play! The same with "Attack" too, but it had a little more movie appeal in it.

The classic trilogy is different, of course..

josh, where are you! we need to come defend the prequels!

Aside from some cheesey romantic moments, I liked Clones a lot. And for me, it wasn't Jar Jar that ruined Phantom, it was mannaquin Skywalker.

heath

<<<-- Originally posted by Heath McKnight : And for me, it wasn't Jar Jar that ruined Phantom, it was mannaquin Skywalker.
heath -->>>

HAHAHAHA!


I agree with Chris, the first 2 were ass. The second slightly more attractive ass than the first, but ass nonetheless.

Aaron

<<<-- Originally posted by Yi Fong Yu : josh, where are you! we need to come defend the prequels! -->>>


I turn my back for five seconds . . .



I don't know where the cartoon rub comes from other than the fact that people know that there's a lot of animation in it. It still doesn't look like a cartoon or a video game. Particularly Phantom Menace, its got a lot of sets and that crisp 35mm look. Sure it's got some vibrant colors, but it's not the only film that's ever done that. It hardly looks like a cartoon. Clones has that HD look, but it still doesn't look like a cartoon.


It's uneven storytelling wise, but there's nothing wrong with the craft of the film. Phantom Menace is a monument of design. Whatever other problems it has, it looks incredible.

Josh and Yi..

Guys, even on the DVD for "Phantom" isn't there a moment when Lucas and his posse are in a theater looking at the latest cut and they're all saying the same thing we are??? They knew it when they were making it...I think Lucas said something like "wow, that's just to much" and "well, we can't go back now" and "we've come to far with it and that's just the way it's going to have to be". That's paraphrasing, so feel free to get the quotes..

That scene where Anakin is a kid and does that race...it's the longest "movie" commercial I've ever seen. It was there to sell video games. Also, the "Attack" scene where Anakin and Obi Wan are racing around....same thing. It was a commercial for his games. I felt cheated myself because his other Star Wars films didn't have games until afterwards - the movies came first. (I know I'm a dickhead for thinking this way.) These new ones seemed like one long commercial for his junk.

Remember now, I have an objective view! I grew up on Star Wars, so the last thing in the world I want to do is slam it. I LOVE the original trilogy.

I didn't like Phantom Menace but the one cool thing I do remember fondly WAS the pod race. It was a great ride.

I didn't buy any of the games either.

Was the speeder bike chase in Return of the Jedi a game commercial too?

Exciting concepts can just happen to work for more than one medium.

What is funny is watching how movies have been influenced BY games.

<<<-- Originally posted by Joshua Starnes : That's awefully cynical, don't you think? -->>>

Actually, no. It's merely an observation. In the 28 years since the first Star Wars film was released revenues from cross-marketing of affinity products and events may have equalled or even exceeded actual box office revenues of these films. Consider Star Wars books, magazines, t-shirts, toy light sabers, Darth Vader helmets, baby juice cups, diapers, conventions, calendars, video games, etc., etc., ad nauseum. I suspect that some little colleges probably even offer courses (if not degrees) in Star Warsology.

By comparison "Western" adventure films, on whose shoulders Star Wars stands, had a 25-30 year run as a popular genre. Westerns spawned the basic cross-marketing concepts for toys and other paraphernalia, although those campaigns look meager by comparison with Star Wars' (whose licensing proceeds all travel to one man's organizations: George Lucas).

Significant technological developments and sociological shifts have kept the Star Wars marketing machine going strong for nearly thirty years. Look at this thread as ready evidence: 4 pages and still growing as the result of one small announcement. I'd bet that many, probably most, of the participants weren't even born when the first Star Wars film was released. Throughout all of these years devotees (nearly all of whom are males) have shown an insatiable appetite for immersive paraphernalia and "gimmicks". I imagine that there are families whose basements are full of grandpa's Star Wars junk, followed by the son's junk and now the grandson's junk. ("Wow, look at grandpa's old light sabre and Darth Vader helmet!")

So while you can debate the visual and story quality of the films as a recreational pastime, you can be sure that Lucas' coffers will again runneth over if he releases a "3-D" version of the movies. Then again in 10 years when he re-releases them in "3-D Smell-O-Vision".

So, no, it's not cynicism I'm expressing. It's speculation well-grounded on historical fact. More power to George Lucas. He single-handedly spawned perhaps the most powerful, family-friendly entertainment genre in history. I do not begrudge him of any of the wealth he has accumulated, and continues to accumulate, from this venture.

<<<-- Originally posted by Ken Tanaka : <<<-- So while you can debate the visual and story quality of the films as a recreational pastime, you can be sure that Lucas' coffers will again runneth over if he releases a "3-D" version of the movies. Then again in 10 years when he re-releases them in "3-D Smell-O-Vision".

So, no, it's not cynicism I'm expressing. It's speculation well-grounded on historical fact. More power to George Lucas. He single-handedly spawned perhaps the most powerful, family-friendly entertainment genre in history. I do not begrudge him of any of the wealth he has accumulated, and continues to accumulate, from this venture. -->>>


That's not what I mean. While its certainly true that he has made and will continue to make plenty of money off of Star Wars, it seems that the observation is that he does what he does first and foremost to make money. As if he were looking for some new technological spin he could through onto to the old movies to give him a plausible reason for putting them back in the theaters. That seems cynical to me, and not really in keeping with his personality.

Considering, on the other hand, his lifelong obession with the technology of filmmaking and with the desire to create the best possible image for viewing and preserve that image as long as possible in order to create the most immersive viewing process possible - a train of thought that led to the creation of THX and their services, and eventually to his current desire off keeping things digital from acquisition through exhibition in order to keep the viewing experience as pristine and immersive as possible - that the 3D thinking is just a further extension of that, not necessarily some lame ploy for money.

While your facts are true, it seems, to me, that you're coming to an incorrect and cynical conclusion.

<<<-- Originally posted by Christopher C. Murphy : Guys, even on the DVD for "Phantom" isn't there a moment when Lucas and his posse are in a theater looking at the latest cut and they're all saying the same thing we are??? They knew it when they were making it...I think Lucas said something like "wow, that's just to much" and "well, we can't go back now" and "we've come to far with it and that's just the way it's going to have to be". That's paraphrasing, so feel free to get the quotes. -->>>

I think it's pretty obvious, based on the conversation directly after that between Lucas and Burtt, that they're talking about the tone of the film and how uneven it is, not the look of it or the quality of the picture. It is uneven movie, and somethings in it, no matter how good the idea behind them may have been, just plain don't work.

<<<-- That scene where Anakin is a kid and does that race...it's the longest "movie" commercial I've ever seen. It was there to sell video games. -->>>

By that logic the attack on the Death Star at the end of the first Star Wars must have been a commercial for toys as well. Certainly the battle against the AT-ATs in Empire must have been. And I can certainly see how, just watching the scene, if you don't like the movie, it could seem that way.

On the other hand, if you look at Lucas' history as a director and person, and consider that he has had a life long obsession with cars and racing to the point where he has included some sort of racing scene in every filme he's ever directed (even THX-1138, which is about as incongrous to car racing as any movie I could imagine) and two his short films in college were devoted entirely to car racing, I think its easy and more logical to come to the conclusion that he just loves racing scens, and car racing in general, and that scene was created as part of his particular style as a person and director, not some nefarious scheme to market toys and video games.