Lucas on Star Wars...

If you listen to Star Wars IV: A new hope on DVD, during the Geoerge Lucas commentary. Specically the last chapter (50), this is my transcription:

The first three films I couldn't even have considered at this point and time ... I mean there's no way. This film was very carefully constructed around the technology I had available at the time. It's very, very controlled where we go. It's very limited in what we see. And decisions were made in the storytelling, to say well, I'll only go here and I'll only see this. It'd be great to do all this other stuff, but I can't.

No I can't do that ... like ... in this particular film, well, going to see the Emperor on Coruscant was not a possibility. Psshhtt! No way I could go there. Y'know I kind of knew what the planet was and everything but I didn't... I didn't ... there is no planet. So Y'know I had to create it. I couldn't .. Y'know. Just physically, you can't do that. It's too big. It would take a huge, huge miniature that would be that would be vastly expensive. Y'know on all these films I had limited resources; so I was sort of saying, well, can't do that.

I was very careful not to deal with alot of the other issues that would come up, especially fashion issues and cultural issues. Y'know just enviromental issues that...I was able to do it all in a desert... that kind of looks spacey... and then I'll do a little bit in the jungle. But, Y'know I had ... I controlled my enviroments very carefully, and then...went to the next film. And now we'll do snow...and, y'know, pretty much used up every ... in the couse of these three movies ... every bit of natural terrain that looks exotic, that I could find.

But to go places, to other planets, that were truly exotic, was unthinkable.
And so you couldn't tell a story like that. Like the first three stories .. I mean the first three parts of the trilogy could never have been told using this technology. I mean, it just couldn't be done. So you just don't think about it.

I mean, you could write it as a book or something, but you .. it'd never be a movie. And now ... using digital technology, we're able, esecially in terms of fantasy films, go to places, and make them realistic. That wasn't possible before. That... it's something that was a literary idea. And most science fiction is literary in nature, it's perfect for a book, but it's not ... very good for cinema. It's very easy to create those magical worlds in language. It's very hard to create them ... in a realistic way on the screen... and make them believable. And, the one thing that digital effects have allowed us to do, is to create these alternate realities, in a believable fashion. And tell more fantastic stories, than we were able to do before. Which is, y'know, great for the people trying to put these things into a cinematic medium.

The bold section in the italics is the most important area for Low-budget Indies.
1) Find your limitations, whether financial or technical, and write/shoot within them.
2) Control where the characters go and what is seen, don't build more than you need.
3) It's great to want to do lots of other stuff, but being limited by finances or technology, don't write it in.

It worked in Star wars, he had to keep it tight and personal, because it allowed him to trim expenses. But I think it was why it worked best. You might need a wide-shot or three, but if over-used, it pulls you out of the story.

Star Wars: The Musical

At leat they didn't do 'Episode One'. Officially it's called Star Wars: A Musical Journey.

Star Wars

Star Wars (now known as A New Hope)
Classic story structure put into a sci-fi setting. Because of this, it is the best of the bunch.

The Empire Strikes Back
Overall, a good movie. With the best cliff-hanger in the history of episodal movies.

Return of the Jedi
Meh. Incestous relations revealed, Wookies downgraded to Ewoks, and lots of other lackadaisical writing. Worst of the original three. Special effects never trump story. Probably the best thing was Leia in the slave-girl outfit.

- - -

The Phantom Menace
Just when you think the series couldn't get more provocative than incest, lucas goes for pedophilia with a nine-year-old Anakin(Jake Lloyd) and a seventeen-year-old Padme(Natalie Portman). Jar-Jar Binks who made C3PO look cool(not even touching the Jar-Jar french kiss candy). About the best part of this was the pod-races, as it made for a good video game. In fact, all the flying seems to be specifically to sell video games. That's not bad for the bottom line, but only if it doesn't detract from the story.

Attack of the Clones
Terrible Title, good action, but lucas had lost a huge amount of the crowd with his error in judgement for phantom menace. Now the main 'romnce' players are at least the same age(apparently using Star Trek Continuity). Zam Wesell rather than padme was the strong female. Padme's parts were missing the complexity that leia had. If Jango were a mandolorian, and storm-troopers were his clones, then genetic drift must have taken place by the time of episode IV as the troopers then were easy to knock-out and kill. Overall the best of the newer trilogy.

Revenge of the Sith
Lots of good points on this movie. Wookie warfare instead of Ewoks. The big battle scenes are cool, but lack the individual perspective that makes people love movies. Significant over-evilling of Anakin with the padawan scene. The worst of this movie is Padme. I died from heartbreak for anakin, rather than love my children. That's pathetic on a new level, and what makes this one a bad apple.

The Clone Wars
This one came down to small screen video game graphics for a big-screen movie. It should've just been direct to dvd. Again, this is directed more at selling video games and related merchandising rather than telling a great story.

- - -

So what could have been better? Well, I'll focus on the new movies since he was not limited by budgetary concerns.

The Phantom Menace
The kid should have been at least on the verge of teenager-dom. Age twelveor maybe a small thirteen would be a good figure. Remember, kids want to grow-up to be the hero ... Always. I would have probably used a younger Padme and an elder matriarchal advisor.

Attack of the Clones
Instant title change, not sure to what, but something better than this. I would have killed off the previously added elder advisor with the Padme deception. Given Padme a more girl-power role, and kept the focus on character rather than huge battle scenes. Make Anakin start the gradual descent to the dark side here.

Revenge of the Sith
Probably a different approach to Anakin's descent into the dark path. Padme should have died in child-birth, probably from injury rather than a broken heart. And the whole mention of midi-chlorians should have been avoided.

The Clone Wars
Live action or at least they should have invested in at least SHREK type of graphics. It's like sitting next to the X-box while someone else plays.

This is not a digg against Lucas as a whole, but he seems a tad out of focus with the movie-goer now. This is also shown by IJ4, but I'll save that movie for another post.

Star Wars - Luke & Leia

Reading through old entries I came across:

Kid Sis said...
I already need therapy for picturing Luke and Leia together for six years before Lucas effed with all our heads. thanks for the incest complex, george.
8/30/2005 02:49:00 PM

And I'd like to point out what I've said several times. Let's see. You've got Rebels, with American accents, and you're suprised that brother and sister are making out? Okay, so maybe it would have been more obvious what was coming if they had southern accents, still...

And if that wasn't enough to scar you, then the first book Splinter of the Mind's Eye by Alan Dean Foster in 1978 definately shows an inclination between the (as yet unknown) siblings. Bits from the book:


Moistly parted in sleep, her lips seemed to beckon to him.

and

Luke felt the warnth of the body next to him, lowered his gaze. Framed in the faint light from above, the Princess looked more radiant, more beautiful than ever.


and

At the same time, the Princess grew aware of how tightly she was clinging to him. Their proximity engendered a wash of confused emotion. It would be proper to disengage, to move away a little. Proper, but not nearly so satisfying.She was utterly drained, and the comfort she derived from leaning against him was worth any feeling of impropriety.
They stood like that for a timeless stretch. Luke slid his arm around her and she didn't resist. She didn't look yearningly up at him, either, but this was enough for him, for noew at least.