OK, I'm very late to this party. But here's a little rant:
After going to see Rogue One last month, I realized it had been so long since I'd seen the original trilogy of films that I forgot big chunks of the stories. Then, with Carrie Fisher's death, it seemed even more important to revisit those early films which gave us such a radically different female character, especially for that time. OK, yes, Princess Leia needed rescuing a time or two, but so did the fellas. And Princess Leia was never, ever helpless. She knew her way around a battleship, was handy with a blaster, and the Force was as strong in her as it was in her twin brother, Luke. So why didn't she ever get her own lightsaber? As Carrie Fisher put it, "Even in space, there's a double standard."
With that in mind, Rick and I bought Blu-rays of the original three films and binge-watched Star Wars this past weekend.
I remember reading about fans' outrage over changes George Lucas made to the original films in his "special edition" versions, but that got lost in my memory behind the even louder wailing and gnashing of teeth that greeted the release of the prequels. So it was jarring to watch the originals and realize that, even with all I had forgotten, I could spot things which were clearly added, deleted or altered. Lucas seemed obsessed with tinkering a little here, tweaking a bit there, so that he could line everything up into one big saga. Some of the changes are understandable, in terms of continuity, or just the fact that Lucas now had the money and technology to restore his original vision to certain scenes (even if he removed much of the mystery and magic, in the process). But other changes make no sense at all.
The biggest insult came at the end of Return of the Jedi, where we see an age-regressed Anakin standing with an ancient Yoda and Obi-Wan Kenobi, the former appearing as the sullen character we saw in the prequels, the latter as they originally appeared in this film. If you're going to do that, then wouldn't it make sense to show all three as their younger selves? Lucas could have replaced Alec Guinness with Ewan McGregor, just as he replaced Sebastian Shaw with Hayden Christensen. (Oh, the heresy!) Besides, how would Luke recognize the younger Anakin, whom he'd never laid eyes on? He'd only just seen the older, dying Anakin after removing Darth Vader's helmet. Maybe the Force told him?
Rhetorical questions. I know why Lucas did it. He wanted to draw yet another line to the prequels. Obviously that was important to him, but I really couldn't care less. The prequels felt more like an academic exercise than emotionally engaging stories. The characters just didn't draw me in, which was a shock after the original three films, where every adventure had us on the edge of our seats, waiting to find out what happened to Luke, Leia and Han. It's less frustrating now that The Force Awakens and Rogue One have entered the picture, restoring fun, energy and emotional resonance to the series. I'm back to caring what happens to the characters.
Oh well. As Rick says, what's good is still good. And so much of it was, and is, brilliant. So we can hold on to that.
It's interesting to contrast today's multiplex movie-going mentality with the way things were back then. Jaws brought us our first summer blockbuster in 1975. I don't recall one for 1976. Then 1977 rolled around, and I remember reading newspaper stories of people lining up for blocks to see Star Wars. Other than that, I didn't know much about the film. My parents and I had just moved to Evansville that summer. My father's younger sister and her husband, Aunt Marti and Uncle John, came to visit. They lived near Chicago, and were eager to see Star Wars but hadn't gone yet due to the sellout crowds. Once we found out that Star Wars was playing in Evansville, we had to go!
Star Wars was playing not in one of the major cinemas, but at the Washington Theater (http://historicevansville.com/site.php?id=washingtontheater) on the corner of Washington and Kentucky Streets. Word-of-mouth had gotten around, and the theater was packed with a rowdy, boisterous crowd. The opening crawl was intriguing. But it was the sight of Princess Leia's starship being pursued by the Empire's Star Destroyer that drew gasps. First you see the starship, which is impressive enough. Then you see the tip of the Star Destroyer ... and it just keeps getting bigger and bigger. Not only that, but the sound of the ship's passing rumbled through the theater. That was different, as was John Williams' thrilling symphonic score blazing through each scene, giving us memorable themes for each character.
That opening scene was only the start of a wild, witty romp through space, full of fantastic special effects and alien creatures. The audience whooped, hollered, clapped and booed the villains, cheered the heroes. I've never before, or since, been part of an audience so carried away by a movie. In the climactic scene, the destruction of the Death Star (surely that's not a spoiler for anyone by now), the crowd erupted. People were literally jumping up and down out of their seats! I'd never seen anything like it. I loved it, as did Aunt Marti and Uncle John. My parents were less impressed. I think they were expecting something along the lines of 2001: A Space Odyssey or a film that followed Star Wars in 1977, Close Encounters of the Third Kind. Star Wars' comic-book portrayal of good vs. evil, with the Force vaguely characterized as following one's feelings, did not appeal to them.
I sided with Aunt Marti and Uncle John. Fun was in short supply in my own life right about then, and Star Wars delivered. Watching it again this past weekend, and setting aside all the tinkering Lucas did, it was great fun to relive that Star Wars experience.
It's interesting to contrast today's multiplex movie-going mentality with the way things were back then. Jaws brought us our first summer blockbuster in 1975. I don't recall one for 1976. Then 1977 rolled around, and I remember reading newspaper stories of people lining up for blocks to see Star Wars. Other than that, I didn't know much about the film. My parents and I had just moved to Evansville that summer. My father's younger sister and her husband, Aunt Marti and Uncle John, came to visit. They lived near Chicago, and were eager to see Star Wars but hadn't gone yet due to the sellout crowds. Once we found out that Star Wars was playing in Evansville, we had to go!
Star Wars was playing not in one of the major cinemas, but at the Washington Theater (http://historicevansville.com/site.php?id=washingtontheater) on the corner of Washington and Kentucky Streets. Word-of-mouth had gotten around, and the theater was packed with a rowdy, boisterous crowd. The opening crawl was intriguing. But it was the sight of Princess Leia's starship being pursued by the Empire's Star Destroyer that drew gasps. First you see the starship, which is impressive enough. Then you see the tip of the Star Destroyer ... and it just keeps getting bigger and bigger. Not only that, but the sound of the ship's passing rumbled through the theater. That was different, as was John Williams' thrilling symphonic score blazing through each scene, giving us memorable themes for each character.
That opening scene was only the start of a wild, witty romp through space, full of fantastic special effects and alien creatures. The audience whooped, hollered, clapped and booed the villains, cheered the heroes. I've never before, or since, been part of an audience so carried away by a movie. In the climactic scene, the destruction of the Death Star (surely that's not a spoiler for anyone by now), the crowd erupted. People were literally jumping up and down out of their seats! I'd never seen anything like it. I loved it, as did Aunt Marti and Uncle John. My parents were less impressed. I think they were expecting something along the lines of 2001: A Space Odyssey or a film that followed Star Wars in 1977, Close Encounters of the Third Kind. Star Wars' comic-book portrayal of good vs. evil, with the Force vaguely characterized as following one's feelings, did not appeal to them.
I sided with Aunt Marti and Uncle John. Fun was in short supply in my own life right about then, and Star Wars delivered. Watching it again this past weekend, and setting aside all the tinkering Lucas did, it was great fun to relive that Star Wars experience.
