Star Wars - Episode III

Pedro · Post by **Pedro** » Fri May 20, 2005 2:29 am

Most of you are probably going to the cinema to look the latest episode. I've been amused by reading what parallels some people are seeing beetween the film story and political reality in world.
It looks like the most political film since Fahrenheit 9/11

Some examples below:
http://cbs4boston.com/entertain/enterta ... 54228.html
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-chat/1403968/posts

Pedro

THE Materializer · Post by **THE Materializer** » Fri May 20, 2005 3:32 am

I kind of see a similarity between G.W. and Darth Vader at the end of Return of the Jedi, when he throws the evil mass murdering dictator down the tubes. That's about it.

Selie · Post by **Selie** » Fri May 20, 2005 7:18 am

Episode III was a great, great movie. I'm not going to get into a political discussion but I WAS very, very pleased with this movie. Went to see the midnight showing of it and was not the slightest bit disapppointed. Quite the opposite, in fact.

Adamo · Post by **Adamo** » Fri May 20, 2005 1:32 pm

I saw first part (from 1972, I guess), and I have enough (what a shit!).
But.. did you saw sitcoms with Rick Mayall ("the bottom" for example)?

Post by **linflas** » Fri May 20, 2005 1:47 pm

1977 is the correct date for Episode IV. Anyway, I can understand younger people who don't like the old trilogy : my 17 years old brother had the same reaction.
hem.. please don't spoil Episode III, i haven't seen it yet !

Adamo · Post by **Adamo** » Fri May 20, 2005 2:18 pm

I don`t like movies like that at all. They`re completely separated from real life, wchich I think is waste of time

Post by **Gambit37** » Fri May 20, 2005 2:22 pm

What? You could argue that the the games we play and discuss on these forums are far more separated from real life than the Star Wars movies.

I find it utterly bizarre that you like Dungeon Master and fantasy games, but can't relate to a sci-fi adventure!

Adamo · Post by **Adamo** » Fri May 20, 2005 6:41 pm

I love games like DM (this and player`s custom levels are the ONLY sort of games I play), but not necesarly sf/fantasy films (why? because almost all of sf/fantasy films and books have a lot of inner unconsequences and logical inaccuracies inside).
DM charmed me mostly because of it`s original, finished, complex, considered, logical, etc. in-game structure (maybe because designing a computer programs is mostly a mathematics, so there`s not so much place for unconsequences as it`s in creating a scenario). The authors really put a lot of their work to end it up.
The phisical and logical structure of a world everywere (no matter if it`s a game or a story) is always most important for me than the "fireworks" (in films) or "impressive graphic" (in games).
DM has not much FORM (pure graphics), but great CONTENTS/ESSENCE of a game (ideas, structure!).
Thats what I like in books, films, art etc: not too much of form, but good essence.

(damn my english- I hope you understood what I want to say!)

Florent · Post by **Florent** » Fri May 20, 2005 6:58 pm

I agree with you Adamo, although I did love the original SW trilogy. How about something like Blade Runner ?

"Episodes" 1 & 2 were such a let down I'm not going to watch 3 before it airs on TV... Just like I did for Ep 1 actually (and I'm glad I didn't waste my money on it).

THE Materializer · Post by **THE Materializer** » Fri May 20, 2005 8:49 pm

I've been hearing people refer to the new Star Wars as "the best movie ever made". That I have to see to believe, because that's a very bold statement. I just hope its nothing like Episode I or II.

Trantor · Post by **Trantor** » Fri May 20, 2005 9:11 pm

I really loved the old trilogy when I was a teenager, and I still like them today (especially Empire Strikes Back). Episode 1 was a huge disappointment to me, with the music being about the only good part. Episode 2 was better, but still left a lot to be desired. I am semi-excited to see Episode 3, if only for more screen time of Darth Vader...

THE Materializer · Post by **THE Materializer** » Fri May 20, 2005 9:52 pm

Yeah, the music and Darth Maul made Episode one. Episode II would have been good if it weren't for the horrendus acting of Natalie (she's still hot though) and Hayden. Ewan McGregor is a really good actor though, as is the guy playing Palpatine. I'm not too big of a fan of the CG characters in Star Wars, its like watching Roger Rabbit but with aliens. As for this movie, I hope Hayden brushed up on his acting skills for Revenge of the Sith.

beowuuf · Post by **beowuuf** » Fri May 20, 2005 10:53 pm

Seen ROTS, won't spoil it for anyone...so really, was there a point in posting here...probably not...

Pedro · Post by **Pedro** » Sat May 21, 2005 12:03 pm

Yes, but you could share your general impressions with us. That won't spoil it I think.

Tom Hatfield · Post by **Tom Hatfield** » Sat May 21, 2005 10:17 pm

I heard a lot of people say it's at least as good as Ep V. I totally disagree. I'm glad Lucas finally pulled away from the kiddy approach he took in Eps I and II. . . it actually feels like Star Wars again. The special effects were great, which is why you'd want to see it in the theater, but Natalie Portman and Hayden Christensen still can't act. Ian McDiarmin (the chancellor) did a great job, though. (Why is it all actors named Ian are excellent?) The last scene between Obi-wan and Anakin was pretty awesome. At least watch it for the action.

Note: I'm not a blathering Star Wars fanatic like some of you might be. If you're a die-hard fan of the series, you probaly can't afford to miss Ep III.

beowuuf · Post by **beowuuf** » Sat May 21, 2005 11:07 pm

Funny, I thought the action sequences (except the light saber duels which were completely darker in tome) had a very boys own adventure feel ...

And I don't know if it's can't act - i felt it oddly had brilliant and terrible moments of acting, sometimes within seconds of each other. Compare Ewan in the temple to when he is talking to natalie after, or even hayden's first reaction to natalie and the next ones... they all go from good to bad.
I really like the end scenes with anakin, thought it was summed up nicely and played well - just cringed at the darth vadar scene!

To sum up, there were still some clunky moments, anbd it was uneven in places, but on the whole i liked it and thought it was a good note to end the series on - made me want to watch all the rest again! (ITV just showed ep 1, caught the end, so watched ep 2, and now wanna watch the second first trilogy soon again! And boy does it tie everythign up neatly and perfectly to flow into ep 4!

Post by **Gambit37** » Sun May 22, 2005 2:00 pm

I haven't yet seen it, so I can't comment on the film itself, but I wanted to respond to the comments that neither Hayden nor Natalie can act.

Both these people are very good actors. Hayden is excelent in Shattered Glass, and Natalie as we all know is a superb young actress (ranging from the child in leon through to excellent performances in Garden State and Closer). The problem isn't with them, it's with George Lucas. He is not a character director and he writes apalling dialogue. Even as a fan of the original films, I recognise that he got similarly dismal performances from some of the cast and the dialogue was also to blame. Everyone slates mark Hamill as appaling as Luke, yet he displayed much more talent in the 1980 war film, The Big Red One -- I'm sure Lucas could have got a similar performance out of Hamill in Star Wars if he could get over himself long enough to actually communicate with the actors on a better level.

The problem with Lucas is that he is a victim of of his own hype. People say 'the great George Lucas' as if he's some kind of God among film directors. It's simply not the case. Lucas is a good story teller and an average director and that's about it. The whole Star Wars mythos and magic has generally been created by the hundreds of talented artists, sound-engineers, tech heads and actors that have been there to develop the world he envisioned. Problem is that I think he's come to believe all this crap that's said about him so he feels as if he can do no wrong, but the prequels (in terms of character development, story arc and all round coherence) are somehow 'less' than the original trilogy.

Whoops. I took this off topic! Sorry!

Trantor · Post by **Trantor** » Sun May 22, 2005 4:10 pm

I disagree with you on one thing Gambit - and that is your last sentence. I, too, think that George Lucas is not a very good director and that he doesn't care enough about character development. The most striking proof for that is Episode 5, which is generally considered as the best of the series. I have a book that depicts how the whole Star Wars saga came together, and it says that Lucas was horrified when he saw the raw cut for Episode 5. In Lucas' opinion, the evolving love between Han and Leia played a too big part in the story, he wanted to shorten all the character development and have more action scenes. In my opinion, Episode 5 is so great because the characters are more developed and not as flat as in almost all the other parts. Episode 1 and 2 especially demonstrate boring, one-dimensional characters with no development at all. Any five seconds of Natalie Portman in Leon is better than everything she does in Episode 1 and 2 combined, and I blame this mostly on the director.

I do like the old trilogy, as I stated above, but I think it is very striking that the part I (and many others) like best is the one where Lucas was least involved.

Florent · Post by **Florent** » Sun May 22, 2005 4:14 pm

Couldn't agree more with you 2, Gambit and Trantor ! I was pretty shocked to read that Nathalie Portman couldn't act !

beowuuf · Post by **beowuuf** » Sun May 22, 2005 6:27 pm

I think the point is George Lucas is certainly not an actor's director, which he almost needs to be since lots of the acting and development in Star Wars need to be against nothing (in terms of being able to bounce a performance off of another actor or the situation/scenery). Shame that, as even clunky lines can be sold with a solid or nuanced performance behind them (I'm realising how bad Han Solo could ahve been if it the charatcer had been played differently or by a different actor, for example...)

Post by **linflas** » Mon May 23, 2005 10:41 am

i watched Ep.3 yesterday and it's definitely the best episode i've ever seen : as you could say in french "the loop is looped" and "oh my god, ca tabasse sa maman !"

i've been totally overblasted by the quality of action scenes and special effects but especially by Hayden's role. I must clarify a thing : i've watched the movie in french (excellently) dubbed, what can alter my vision of his acting performance.
So i held my breath for more than 2 hours, i was totally taken up by the movie and i couldn't talk for 15 minutes after...

Mr Ferret · Post by **Mr Ferret** » Mon May 23, 2005 3:37 pm

i am only 25 and loved watching the original films (IV, V & VI) and wasn't dissapointed whe i watched ep III the other day. great Visual Effects and story line. i just gotta say ask thing. why does yoda walk with a stick when he can almost fly like a green thing off a shovel? has he been conning us all this time that he is an invalid? if so someone better check out his invalidity benefit claim and claim back lots of money. like 500 years worth?

beowuuf · Post by **beowuuf** » Mon May 23, 2005 6:25 pm

Yeah, I think he IS old though, maybe that's why he woosed out in his battle against the emperor. I mean come on, you coulda taken him yodie!

Did anyone else laugh when the emperor finally pointed out yoda is gree. It's like this big thing no one else has the courage to say.

Yoda: "Do I look so old to young eyes"
Luke: "No, of course not...it's just...YOU'RE SMALL AND GREEN AND SOUND LIKE KERMIT! I MEAN COME ON!"
Yoda: "When this old you reach, so pink be you will not"
Luke: "Sorry Master Yoda"
Yoda: "Your ass, I so could kick too, hmmmmm"
Luke: "Sorry Master"

Post by **linflas** » Tue May 24, 2005 10:06 am

i watched episode IV on tv yesterday evening and i was really surprised about the similarities between Star Wars and DM creatures.
Chaos is Vader, Daroou is Chewbacca of course but don't you think Jawas look like Vexirks too ?

Post by **Gambit37** » Tue May 24, 2005 10:39 am

Where do you think they got their inspiration from?

Post by **linflas** » Tue May 24, 2005 11:01 am

in the interviews you got with DM creators, did they mention something about SW ?

beowuuf · Post by **beowuuf** » Tue May 24, 2005 11:44 am

linflas wrote:...don't you think Jawas look like Vexirks too ?

Dink dink, dink dink dink DINK DINK DINK

Florent · Post by **Florent** » Tue May 24, 2005 12:26 pm

The French dubbing is so appalling I just couldn't watch it... Darth Vader has such a pathetic voice, it's unbelievable ! Special award to the guy dubbing Obi Wan, who I believe also dubbed such "celebrities" as Winnie the Pooh !!!

Not to mention the idiotic "translations" of C3PO to Z6PO (why ?????), R2D2 to D2R2 (again, why ?????), and worst of all : Chewbacca to Chiquetabac, nicknamed Chico instead of Chewy... I can't believe it !

Added to that, it was the "new & improved" version with that pathetic Jabba scene and all those useless CGIs.... Yuck !!!

Sorry I just needed to vent

I grew up in England and watched the original trilogy in English, even saw Return of the Jedi in the cinema when it came out, so all that stupid dubbing just makes my stomach turn. And it's not just with Star Wars. IMHO, the only good dubbing that has ever been done in France is in South Park !

Trantor · Post by **Trantor** » Tue May 24, 2005 12:30 pm

My god, that is horrible... I read about that strange translation on imdb.com. Guess the Germans are lucky that all names are intact. The dubbing of the old three movies is also very good, the new trilogy isn't great, but ok. It's just sad that Yoda has a different voice in the new trilogies... I suppose his old voice actor died.

Post by **linflas** » Tue May 24, 2005 1:42 pm

robert & collins wrote:dink * n (US baby talk = penis) zizi * m

cool, just learnt a new word...

about french translations for episode 4, i agree with Florent : this is ridiculous but i guess they thought it was a movie for kids...
about dubbing, i totally agree with Florent again about Vader (his french voice in Ep. 3 has been changed and sounds cool, btw) but the other characters are ok, as long as you didn't live in England for years