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Topic:
Is A New Hope.......Meh?
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zombie
Registered:
Aug '99
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Date Posted:
1/29 10:48am
Subject:
RE: Is A New Hope.......Meh?
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Darthdias posted:
ANH is a great movie, but it does have a... how does one say... dated feel to it. When I'm watching ESB or ROTJ, they feel timeless. Aside from maybe the lightsaber duels, I'm having a hard time separating them from movies made today; no kidding. But ANH feels very 70s. Although it is a great story, it somehow hasn't aged as well as its sequels IMO. That doesn't mean that I don't enjoy it, though. I still rank it 2nd of all the movies (only behind ESB).
I personally think that the sound is at fault here. Because ANH had a vastly lower budget than ESB and ROTJ, the sound recording quality is inferior. Especially the sounds of characters voices sound really outdated, and somewhat muffled. This is especially true of Darth Vader who's voice in ESB is chilling and awesome enough to give you goosebumps, sounds significantly tamer in ANH. ILM fixed up the visual quality for the DVDs, and it is my hope that they would be able to do the same with the sound.
So, in short: ANH is not meh. But sometimes the poor sound quality takes the edge of. Not that it can pale the greatness of such scenes as Obi-Wan talking about the Jedi, the destruction of Alderaan or the final climatic battle of Yavin (which is still my favorite space battle of all the saga Btw).
I kind of like that aspect to it. The word isn't "dated", its "classic".  It joins the ranks of such similarly "dated" movies as Lawrence of Arabia, Wizard of Oz and 2001.
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I'll swallow your soul! --------------------------------- If you're gonna die, die with your boots on! -------------------------------- author of The Secret History of Star Wars http://secrethistoryofstarwars.com
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MasterEric
Registered:
Dec '07
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Date Posted:
1/29 7:34pm
Subject:
RE: Is A New Hope.......Meh?
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Master_Starwalker posted:
MasterEric posted:
Honestly, of all the movies (including prequels) ANH is number 6 for me. Some background: I was born in the mid-eighties, so I missed the releases but grew up watching the originals as a kid. I would usually skip over ANH and just watch ESB and ROTJ. Even now I have trouble watching ANH all the way through. Blasphemy I know, but I've always found it slow and boring, not enough happens in it for me; seems like it only takes place on Tatooine. (I know its not true, just the impression I get) I read through a lot of the thread but not all of it; that being said, clearly ANH is thought very highly of by many people. Perhaps a majority would rank it second behind ESB or third after ESB and ROTS. Now, I've always been somewhat perplexed by the feelings towards ANH, considering mine are different, so my question is: is it mostly just nostalgia, people remembering what a ground breaking film it was, or am I missing something/not appreciating something? I will say that I have noticed a pattern where my friends/peers my age feel the same as I do and people I know in their thirties and forties think very highly of ANH. (and the originals in general, but thats for another thread...) Is there any hope for me?
I'm 19 and I enjoy A New Hope more than the Prequels.
Sorry, allow me to clarify: I meant among my friends and peers who I know or have heard of their opinions on the subject through mutual acquaintances that seems to be the consensus of opinion. Apologies for lack of clarity.
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-Master_Yoda-
Registered:
Feb '05
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Date Posted:
2/3 11:41am
Subject:
RE: Is A New Hope.......Meh?
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I agree that in the saga, 'A New Hope' suffers because it was the first: designed to test the market, and not necessarily spawn 5 other films. Because of this, it makes it more difficult to link, because everything is contrived around that first film.
I'm not sure I'd go as far as 'meh'. I still think it's the best film from a non-fan point of view, but it's not my favourite Star Wars film. Whereas the others (with varying degrees of success  !) try and introduce other plot points, and are more complex, I always thought 'A New Hope' followed a straight, tried and tested formula:
Underdog
Falls into something bigger
Quest
Rescues a Princess
Big Fight
Success
Go Home
OK, that is incredibly trite. But what I'm getting at is that there is much more depth to the other films, which is why I think 'A New Hope' suffers in the Saga.
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Punctuation is your friend
'I am not a Marxist' - K. Marx
Shining on like a crazy diamond
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Grand_Moff_Jawa
Registered:
May '01
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Date Posted:
2/3 12:06pm
Subject:
RE: Is A New Hope.......Meh?
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The movies build. If the whole thing started out as deep as possible, where would there be to go? It started simple and built from there. I'm referring to just the OT here, by the way. By adding in the overly-complex PT, what I just said goes out the window. But prior to 1999, everything was put together nicely.
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"I can't abide those Jawas... disgusting creatures"! - C3PO
This sig line is [FABULOUSO!]
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zombie
Registered:
Aug '99
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Date Posted:
2/3 12:29pm
Subject:
RE: Is A New Hope.......Meh?
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It still builds, just not I-VI. By order of release, each film builds on what came before and takes what was there and spins it in new directions or adds another layer. The films were designed primarily for an audience that viewed them in a IV-VI->I-III order. Which is why the whole "episodic order" concept fails. In some ways they work episodically because the plot is linear, but the films only really progress in order-of-release manner.
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I'll swallow your soul! --------------------------------- If you're gonna die, die with your boots on! -------------------------------- author of The Secret History of Star Wars http://secrethistoryofstarwars.com
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xx_Anakin_xx
Registered:
Jan '08
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Date Posted:
2/5 8:34am
Subject:
RE: Is A New Hope.......Meh?
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All of the movies were great to me. ROTS adn ROTJ were the highlights because the hero falls and rises again in dynamic scenes. But ANH was, as a first movie, very cool. The characters were hilarious and fun, the sky battles were kick and teh lightsaber fights were new and killer cool. But what happened was after the PT, the CT lacked dynamics - the lightsaber, starfighter and land battles were not comparable - the effects had just improved and the dueling sequences were just far better - so it kind of made ANH seem lacking. But when it arrived as the first, there was nothing to compare and it was awesome.
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"Only a Sith deals in absolutes. I'll do what I must"
"You will try"
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Grand_Moff_Jawa
Registered:
May '01
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Date Posted:
2/5 9:22am
Subject:
RE: Is A New Hope.......Meh?
- Date Edited:
2/5 9:24am (2 edits total)
Edited By:
Grand_Moff_Jawa
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What you just described is a lack of visual continuity between the movies. George could have toned down the fights in the PT, but chose not to. In doing so, he caused a very noticeable rift between the two trilogies. This rift is the heart of the whole OT versus PT debate. Some prefer the style of the OT (me) and some prefer the blockbuster feel of the PT. It's too bad more care wasn't taken to merge the two sets of films more seamlessly. This lack of care on George's part in no way makes ANH "MEH" in my opinion.
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"I can't abide those Jawas... disgusting creatures"! - C3PO
This sig line is [FABULOUSO!]
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Vortigern99
Title: Manager Emeritus
Registered:
Nov '00
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Date Posted:
2/5 9:55am
Subject:
RE: Is A New Hope.......Meh?
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I just watched the film three times in a row: First, the Adywan "revisited" edit, which has its technical merits; followed by the Original Unaltered Version from the Bonus Disk (the version I grew up with 1977-1997); and finally the 2004 SE-DVD. I still find the film absolutely riveting throughout, and I cannot understand how the expression "meh" could be uttered in conjunction with this stunning, unique and exciting movie -- whatever version one chooses to watch.
-----signature-----
"I knew from the beginning I was not doing science fiction.
I was doing a space opera, a fantasy film, a mythological piece,
a fairy tale."--George Lucas
My "Vader's Origins" thread:
http://boards.theforce.net/Classic_Trilogy/b10002/8708417/p1
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Moris
Registered:
Feb '08
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Date Posted:
2/6 6:38pm
Subject:
RE: Is A New Hope.......Meh?
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The magic about the SW is the meaning of the force, like a true religion, my friend Moris Beracha is learning about the way of the force, ultimate goal: to be a Jedi, we think all can do it, at least in our soul. Without fear.
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Vortigern99
Title: Manager Emeritus
Registered:
Nov '00
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Date Posted:
2/6 7:33pm
Subject:
RE: Is A New Hope.......Meh?
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How odd that you and your friend share the same first name. 
On the topic, though, Moris, what do you think of the idea that the original STAR WARS film is "meh"?
-----signature-----
"I knew from the beginning I was not doing science fiction.
I was doing a space opera, a fantasy film, a mythological piece,
a fairy tale."--George Lucas
My "Vader's Origins" thread:
http://boards.theforce.net/Classic_Trilogy/b10002/8708417/p1
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Darth_Maul_Sith_Lord
Registered:
Mar '04
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Date Posted:
2/7 5:35pm
Subject:
RE: Is A New Hope.......Meh?
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Wow... This has been beaten to death.
D_M_S_L
-----signature-----
"At Last We Will Have Revenge" - Darth Maul
"Sticking feathers up your butt does not make you a ckicken." - Tyler Durden
R.I.P.... Heath Ledger.... R.I.P.
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Vortigern99
Title: Manager Emeritus
Registered:
Nov '00
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Date Posted:
2/7 7:14pm
Subject:
RE: Is A New Hope.......Meh?
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Thank you for that insightful comment. Do you have anything to add to the discussion?
-----signature-----
"I knew from the beginning I was not doing science fiction.
I was doing a space opera, a fantasy film, a mythological piece,
a fairy tale."--George Lucas
My "Vader's Origins" thread:
http://boards.theforce.net/Classic_Trilogy/b10002/8708417/p1
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MasterEric
Registered:
Dec '07
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Date Posted:
2/24 8:07pm
Subject:
RE: Is A New Hope.......Meh?
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I watched all six films a while back and actually enjoyed ANH. The reason for that is rather ironic: for the first time I was truly able to watch it in the context of the prequels, as Lucas has been saying for a while now is how it should be watched, and it made the movie enjoyable for me. When I realized this I just had to laugh that it took the prequels for me to enjoy ANH, if thinking ANH was meh was blasphemy, I can only imagine what this is.  I finally understand what he has been talking about with the whole "saga that should be viewed 1-6" concept. For me personally, it took the prequels adding another layer of depth to ANH for me to "get into it" and take pleasure in watching the movie.
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TwiLekJedi
Title: Classic Trilogy & YJCC Manager
Registered:
Jun '01
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Date Posted:
2/25 6:33am
Subject:
RE: Is A New Hope.......Meh?
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When the RotS spoiler period was over I made a thread about what the PT added to the CT. Not sure whether it was very successful, but I could think of dozens of things, though not only to ANH, of course.
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We do what we must
Because we can
For the good of all of us
Except the ones who are dead
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IDigMetalBikinis
Registered:
Oct '03
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Date Posted:
2/25 7:30am
Subject:
RE: Is A New Hope.......Meh?
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"...I watched all six films a while back and actually enjoyed ANH. The reason for that is rather ironic: for the first time I was truly able to watch it in the context of the prequels, as Lucas has been saying for a while now is how it should be watched, and it made the movie enjoyable for me. When I realized this I just had to laugh that it took the prequels for me to enjoy ANH..."
Jeez, what is this world coming to? It took THE PREQUELS for you to enjoy one of the greatest films ever made? So, you're not saying that the prequels enhanced AHN for you or gave it an added dimension, as many posters in this thread have stated. You are saying that you were only able to enjoy ANH because of the PT?
No offense, but I can't even begin to pretend to undertand that kind of perception.
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OT4EVER
Scoundrel? Scoouundrel! I like the sound of that.
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