PT Iconic Images: Favorite visuals of the PT

As simple as it might be to some of these other examples, the light saber battle between Anakin and Dooku in AotC. After Obi-Wan is wounded and Anakin saved him, he and Dooku battle while it's fairly dark in there and the visuals of the light sabers and the glow that they give off just amazes me every time.

 

This is another frame that I like a lot. Probably because the lighting enhances the silhouettes of the characters and they almost mirror each other. The man and the alien:



It's also a good shot to showcase the CG breakthrough that was Jar Jar.

 

Jar Jar was a pretty big deal in the CGI world.

 

Yeah, I think too many people let their dislike for Jar Jar the character color their assessment of Jar Jar the special effect. It really was impressive work for over a decade ago.

 

I love that shot, too! Reminds me of those nice doorway silhouette shots in John Ford movies.

 

I love this image because it is very symbolic in the overall arc of the SW saga. It shows the "union" of worlds (of land (symbolic of Padme) and sky (symbolic of Anakin) and the beginning of the change in everyone's fate. It is a tranquil moment of peace before the galaxy erupts in turmoil:

 

Actually, people do stand between him at the end of ROTS -- namely, Yoda and Obi-Wan.

Or the transcendental masculine-feminine mutation of the anima/animus selves of Obi-Wan and Padme (padawan), in the form of an unfilled space between Vader and the Emperor, or around them.

Oh, and notice how Obi-Wan, in the above shot, looks like Palpatine's alter ego? Watch how this co-relationship between Anakin's Jedi and Sith mentors is advanced upon in AOTC and ROTS.

I'd also say there's an interesting "fire from the gods" motif in ROTS. In the TPM shot, we can see that the characters are illuminated from the warm glow of the flames billowing around Qui-Gon's still body, but in the ROTS version, this glow is gone, as Vader and the Emperor now look at a corpse in reverse: a mechanical skeleton inexorably being assembled into the killing sphere of the OT we know and love. The cold of space now encompasses this slowly-forming death object.

In the ROTS shot, everything is dark grey, almost black, like charred bodies. The arm-folding Vader -- tall, broad-shouldered, calm, passive, with the hint of a small beard framing the front of his face (his triangular mouth-nose piece) -- creepily and unmistakably evokes the dead Qui-Gon from TPM, like he has been quietly brought back to life, in wrecked, twisted, dark form.

At another board, TFN user MisterVader had a picture that illustrated an even-more eerie resonance between TPM and ROTS on this level (the caption/name of the image file suitably reads "Two Parents"):



(The effect, I contend, is much more dramatic up close: i.e., in higher resolution).

And if you look at it a second time, you realize that the aliens/beasties out-number the "human" Qui-Gon.

There is also a sly contrast in human timescales of art: from cave dwelling/cave painting to the digital rendering of creatures with kinetic (sequential) illustration and sound. The more things change...

Jar Jar's gangly body and eye-stalks are also given a matching building-form in the background, see?

There is even a kind of heart-shaped outline between Qui-Gon and Jar Jar if you look closely (like the one that appears between the figures of Anakin and Padme in a shot of them being wed at the end of AOTC).

I think the shot is also very well-composed from a lighting perspective: Qui-Gon and Jar Jar are in the foreground, in shadow; the mid-ground shows another dinosaur-like creature and an archway in medium light; buildings even further behind, in the background, are pale/washed-out; and then you have the pale-blue sky finally backgrounding everything -- or does it?

Lots of great things to say about this one, too, but I'll keep it brief.

See how Anakin and Padme are of a near-equal size to the grazing animals?

Even in a scene of nature, Anakin is surrounded by metal objects.

Anakin, in his Jedi tunic, is also the darkest object in the picture.

At this distance, we register something of the two characters' personalities (a sort of monolithic portrait): Anakin's head is down, as if in pain, and Padme is turned to his side, as if ready to reach out and stroke him -- soothe him -- at a moment's notice.

This sort of wide shot is also the tiniest bit like the wide shots of Anakin and Obi-Wan dueling on Mustafar. Only here, we can actually identify the characters by their clothing; we don't need exactly-matching lightsaber blades to identify them; and we can still tell who is who.

I like film grain!

This is a marvelous image because you can sense that the perspective or lighting of the the central figures, arranged in circle, is somewhat "off". It's more like a comic book or a screenshot from an arcade game. It has a level of abstraction that speaks to the core of AOTC, the core of SW.

All... just my opinion.

 

Some of my favourite shots that haven't been mentioned before:


That shot always summerized Naboo's pain and sadness for me.


"Don't look back."


Love it or hate it (the Love Story)..but it was beautifully filmed, wasn't it?


Turning point.


Predecessor and successor.


Seed of evil.


Twilight of the Jedi.

 

ANAMORPHIC WARPING (curved straights)


VAST


ARCHWAY VIEW / HOLY LAND


FLAGS


SIMPLE COMPOSITIONS (Simple but elegant; long lens Ani, bar of white light -- Amidala mask; audience projecting feeling)


OLD ARABIAN EVIL


LOOKING AT US


AWESOME MULTI-FRAMING (within frames, within frames, within frames -- exquisite use of lines)


TRIFECTA


COOL ABSTRACT (copy and rotate image for weird effect)


SIMPLE COMPOSITION (reflection; double saber)


R2 LENS FLARE (suck it, Abrams!) -- GOOD MOTIVATOR

 

WILD


SKYFALLWALKER


BIG BANG


'X' MARKS THE SPOT (which has been erased)


SIMPLE COMPOSITION (vertical elliptic shapes)


ARENA


HARRYHAUSEN


OATH


DUST STORM LIGHT SHOW


SYMBOLIC SCREENWIPE (Think about it...)

 

FACE


GREAT USE OF DEPTH


CROSSED SWORDS


SCREENSAVER


LET THE WOOKIES WIN


DIAMETRICS


HALLS OF THE DEAD


TANTIVE ESCAPE


ERROL FLYNN KENOBI


ALL-ENCOMPASSING VISUAL (opposing magnets)

 

Jar Jar was a breakthrough as an animated character interacting with real world characters.

How about Watto as a seamless visual? Always beilevable. The acting with the eyes in AOTC is superb. Here he is from TPM.

 

The Swoop races were a sight to behold, and everything about it...the crowd, the Hutts, the announcers, the racers themselves...

The Tatooine fight scene between Qui-Gon Jinn and Darth Maul was classic, as was the expression of exhaustion by Qui-Gon escaping aboard the ship a small but effective subtlety in showing as to how hard Maul really was to battle...

Also toward the end of Phantom Menace...Qui-Gon's been struck down, Obi-Wan has to watch through a force field and the scene continues from there by showing off the two very different personalities. Maul paces aggressively whilst Obi-Wan Meditates peaceably...

Those scenes were a lot of fun...

 

Wow that Jar Jar picture is a great shot! He really does look life-like...crazy!

 

This thread is making me notice so many things I never saw before that its making me love the prequels even more!

Surprised not too many people said the first shot of Revenge of the Sith... I could see the visually-amazing-protracted-first-shot becoming a tradition in the newer films. ANH had one, other movies arguably had them or not, but RotS really just takes the cake in that department.

 

Eh, I think some people thought it was too long.

 

I think about it this way:
We start off focusing on one huge ship, and then two fighters. We pan over the side of the ship to see all those other countless ships firing on each other as the fighters dive right in. The further the fighters fly, the closer our focus draws in, from groups of ships broadsiding each other, to one ship firing directly at another, to the collateral debris that damages yet another ship, til finally we're inside the cockpits.

In the following sequence, we go from focusing on squadrons fighting squadrons, fighters fighting fighters, missiles chasing fighters, droids attacking fighters, all the way down to R2 defending the fighters against the attacking droids. The scale of the battle on the whole starts out gigantic, and slowly closes in on the actions of fewer and fewer participants until we're only following the heroes aboard the enemy vessel; and that first shot is a microcosm for the entire sequence.

Too long? Maybe. Incredibly well crafted? I say certainly.

 

Oh yeah the mo-effing MUSIC! How could I forget to mention that?

Bum...bum-bum...bum-bum...bum-bum...bum-bum... Then the marching Force theme kicks in and I am required to change my pants from excreting multiple bodily fluids...
I digress, I'm sure there's a thread out there for favorite musical queues.

 

Yes, Alderaan is my favorite planet from all of Star Wars. If I had a choice (and the Empire wasn't around) I would live there. I looks like what I feel paradise is like...

 

Loving this thread, folks. If there's one area the PT absolutely triumphs over the OT, it's in the visual intelligence, beauty and iconography.

I remember a post which once discussed the symbolism of the surfaces on which the climactic lightsaber battles take place - in particular, the one close-up shot of the lightsaber hilt in each. In TPM its a clear, smooth, clean and reflective surface, showing the relative innocence of the story at that point. In AOTC, its still smooth and clean but darker and more clouded. In ROTS, it's ashen and rugged.







Also, more obviously, the end battles go from taking place in the daytime during TPM, sunset in AOTC, and night in ROTS.

 

Wow, so many great images and comments/analysis posted in this thread. I love so many of the images already posted and will just add one more which I don't think is an exact repeat of any of the above:



I was especially blown away by the examples selected and posted by Ingram_I The image quality is so high on every one! I'm curious how you isolated those--they all look too good (and too "obscure" in some cases) to have been just cut and pasted from the web...?? However you did it, you have a really excellent eye for interesting visual compositions and detail! I liked your captions too ("Errol Flynn Kenobi" )

One of my faves that is mentioned by several posters above but I haven't seen posted yet is the Dooku/Anakin battle from AOTC. As several others mentioned, the visuals are great with all the darkness which is seemingly only illuminated by their lightsabers. I tried to find a still to illustrate this from the web but couldn't.

Also, another visual I love but couldn't find the exact still of is from the Anakin/Obi-Wan duel when they are on that massive tower-like structure. There's a long shot where their figures are very small in the shot and I love how their lightsabers stand out amidst all the eerie darkness and glow of Mustafar--tiny little bits of light engulfed and struggling vainly in the middle of gloom and chaos.