DVD Review *** Official HTF REVIEW & Discussion Thread: Star Wars Trilogy, pt. 1 (1 Viewer)

[Ricardo C]

They sure are round and shiny

 

[Mike Wadkins]

ooh navy seals

 

[Fredrik L]

I can't believe in God.

 

[Ricardo C]

Why can't you believe in me?

 

[Peter Svensson]

Crap. When you thought it was almost over, you have to re-buy Episode I, because of the "minor changes" that have been added for the upcoming re-release... It´s time to stop now Mr Money.

 

[Ricardo C]

I don't know... I'd re-buy TPM even if nothing was changed, just to get a brand-new transfer. I can barely stand the current release, especially when projected.

 

[Jerry Thomas]

I'll buy it again for a new transfer, and the audio brought up a couple db.

 

[John Alderson]

I didn't say Lucas should've put midichloreans into the OT; his "misstep" was putting them into TPM. Now, I don't think it was that big of a deal (and it doesn't, actually, explain anything about The Force), but it was unnecessary. We already knew people could be strong or weak with the Force from the OT, and Qui-Gon and Obi-Wan should've known Anakin was exceptional without a blood test.

 

[Richard Kim]

I'm betting that midichlorians will come into play in ROTS

Spoiler:when the twins are given a midichlorian test to confirm that the Force runs strong in Anakin's family, and that they are the "new hope" for the galaxy.

 

[Tim Glover]

Good theory Richard.

 

[Harman Hoetink]

I seem to remember reading somewhere that GL said he basically "borrowed" the idea for midichlorians from the way mitochondia work in terrestrial biology, and that he needed a simple way in the story to establish that some people were more "attuned" to the Force than others.


For me, I really didn't need that. The Force as a mystical energy field works fine for me, and I have no problem believing that one Jedi could simply "sense" that the force was strong with someone.


I've always seen the Jedi as a brotherhood of a more spiritual nature, rather than a club of people who share a similar chemical imbalance.

 

[Jerry Thomas]

quote:I didn't say Lucas should've put midichloreans into the OT; his "misstep" was putting them into TPM.

So, he should have waited for AOTC or ROTS?

quote:Now, I don't think it was that big of a deal (and it doesn't, actually, explain anything about The Force),

Watch the scene again with QGJ and Anakin from TPM where midi's are explained by QGJ.

quote:but it was unnecessary. We already knew people could be strong or weak with the Force from the OT,

So what your saying is that anyone watching the films in order will have to wait until EPIV to "learn" what the force is?

quote: and Qui-Gon and Obi-Wan should've known Anakin was exceptional without a blood test.

If you don't mind, please tell the rest of us how.

 

[Sam Favate]

Over the weekend, I watched ROTJ (after watching ANH and ESB the weekend before) and although I always considered Jedi the weakest, I was struck yet again at just how much of the movie is played for laughs.







Every scene, it seems, is supposed to make the audience laugh. I remember seeing it in the theater opening day and the audience was so giddy that we loved it. But it doesn't hold up. From Vader's line about the Emperor not being as "forgiving as I am," to the comedic role 3PO plays in the Jabba sequence to Han Solo's badly written lines and the silly monsters in the palace, the movie is like a comedy.







Then you get to Endor and the Ewoks and the gags just keep coming ("Oh, Chewie, you're always thinking with your stomach!" Groan). The only part of the movie, it seems to me, that isn't intended to be funny is the Luke-Vader-Emperor segment.







I can't imagine what they were thinking. After the success off the first two -- a success that depended largely on creating a realistic universe and realistic tone -- to go this way was wrong, and I think history will continue to judge Jedi as a disappointment.







Imagine what could have been.

 

[RafaelB]

Sam,

it's funny how people can get different interpretations on the same piece of dialogue. I remember when ROTJ opened and me and my friends went to see it opening day and the Vader line "He is not forgiving as me" always seemed to me like that it was more foreboding than comical.

But, yeah, I do agree that at least half the film had gratuitous humour in it, notably the Endor/Ewok scenes.

Rafael.

 

[FredK]

opening day and the Vader line "He is not forgiving as me" always seemed to me like that it was more foreboding than comical.







This is a significant line in the trilogy, because up to this point Vader isn't forgiving at all. Something's changed in papa Skywalker that is very telling for the rest of the movie.

 

[Richard Kim]

quote:I remember when ROTJ opened and me and my friends went to see it opening day and the Vader line "He is not forgiving as me" always seemed to me like that it was more foreboding than comical.

Also, the Vader Force choking scenes in ESB had a humorous (albeit darkly) quality to them ("Apology accepted, Captain Needa.") It's the same with Vader's line in the beginning of ROTJ.

 

[Sam Favate]

I respect that others have a different view of Jedi. In fact, I did too, once upon a time. It was only upon seeing the movies in the 90s, and again this past week that my view of Jedi as a comedy has been cemented. It seemed almost like Spaceballs in some ways. I'm not trying to knock it completely, because it has some great moments, but nearly every scene includes some bit of comedy.

Take, for instance, the Rancor scene. It's intense and maybe even a little scary for the younger crowd, but it ends with the animal's keepers in tears about its demise. Silly. Boba Fett's end is all jokes. The characterization of Han Solo in the whole movie is one of a comedic character. Or the droid torture scene (the concept itself is silly). Or Salacious Crumb's laugh. Or Han and Lando's giddy exchange at the briefing room ("You're gonna need it..." Heh heh.) Or the ground battle on Endor with the Ewoks. Etc.

My girlfriend watched the trilogy with me over the past week. It was the first time she'd seen some of the movies. She agreed that Jedi was more humorous, and said it was "less compelling" than the others.

I will say I liked the celebration scenes at the end (could have done without Jar-Jar's "Weesa free!" exclamation). It was nice to see the events of the movie have a reaction across the locales we saw in the other films. Maybe this will get added to yet again after Episode III.

 

[Aaron Reynolds]

quote:

quote: and Qui-Gon and Obi-Wan should've known Anakin was exceptional without a blood test.

If you don't mind, please tell the rest of us how.

Same way Vader knew the force was strong with Luke? He just felt it. I don't think he dispatched midichlorian-counting needle probes from his TIE fighter during the trench battle.







If something in ROTS "pays off" the midichlorian explanation, I'll be fine with it. If not, I don't see it adding anything to the stories. I mean, we weren't all sitting around going "Those Star Wars films were pretty good, but they'd be way better if we knew how the Force worked" before the release of Phantom Menace.

 

[Carlo_M]

Chalk me up as another who felt that midichlorians was a pretty bad way to try and give a "measure" of someone's strength in the force. It took away a bit of the spiritual nature of the force by rendering it measurable by scientific instruments.

In the OT, we knew that Obi and Vader were roughly equal [as Jedi Knights] in power, and that the Emperor and Yoda were a clear step above [being Jedi masters]. No midichlorian count necessary. There are ways to convey power without having to resort to the cheap use of a scientific readout. They clearly knew how to do it in the OT (otherwise we wouldn't have distinguished between the Force power levels of Kenobi/Vader and Yoda/Emperor).

 

[Carlo_M]

oh, and someone asked how else GL could have conveyed Anakin's power if he didn't use midichlorians, here's a simplified example (which of course would be touched up by a professional script doctor):

Bring Anakin before the council, we all know they can "feel the force" flowing through a person, and show some really concerned/astonished looks on the council's faces as they "test" him. Then later, when Anakin is not in the room, have them launch into a discussion about how they have never felt such power in the force, and it could lead into an argument about how to deal with this incredibly powerful child. That could have been a compelling scene (and would have given some life to the various members of the council who heretofore are simply windowdressing), and all without the use of midichlorians.