ST The nuances / ingredients that make a Star Wars film

How about the fact that they all came out around the 3rd/4th week of May. Does this matter? A holiday release would be fun.

 

Nope. But I have a feeling that may be the only possible answer to a question I've been pondering since I wrote that. If the PT showed a young man making an improper moral choice and killing someone, and the OT showed someone making a proper moral choice and refuse to kill someone, what possible third option could there be in the ST? You either kill someone or you don't. What's the third option in a choice that really only has two options: kill or not kill? And yet one of the hallmarks of the Saga is its insistence on the need for moral choices and and an understanding of the consequences of those choices, and this is the way they've decided to illustrate that thus far.

There's really only two choices I've thought of so far: the first is to see if having the main character be a female, a life-bringer, being the deciding agency brings a new dynamic to the kill-or-not-kill decision; the other is, as you've said, seeing what the gray area in between those choices looks like. Only problem is, what gray area can there be in deciding this sort of thing? What goes in between killing and not killing? What moral third option is there, to not kill someone but just WOUND him grievously? That's what gets me stuck.

 

Hilarious! Short trilogy...

 

Star War films (at least the OT) also have a "lived-in" feel to them. Makes it more authentic, like this planet is actually a place.

 

For me, the little nuances that would be important to make this truly feel like part of the saga would be the sound effects.

light sabers must sound the same,
blasters must be the same,
the millennium falcon (if shown) must sound the same...

different kinds of minor elements like that...

Also how certain things look will be important to me: the falcon must look the same,
planets must look the same,
Light sabers must look the same when illuminated, etc...

Seems like a minor thing but in my opinion, those are major elements that can make or break how these episodes fit as part of the Saga. If we are watching episode seven and suddenly we see that the light sabers look and sound different, Or Dagobahs terrain is all different, I would imagine many people would agree that Would be somewhat jarring. a different kind of continuity so to speak- not story related, but a different sort-visual continuity.

I can deal with unexpected points and storylines (as long as they don't directly conflict with something we've already learned), but it's the little things like that for me that make the biggest difference...

 

I wanted to add Swashbuckling...swinging from high places or from place to place. Also, the humanity...when our hero is headed down the trench and he turns off his targeting computer (a very insane thing to do, especially with the fate of all those rebel lives on Yavin IV, I'm sure they didn't appreciate it) and decides to use the force. Then he looses R2 and he's on his own, just about to get it from Vader, then Han comes in out of nowhere...that's just great writing.

Yes, the Captain Blood and Robin Hood adventure writing.

 

Yes, this! I'm doubtful but hoping that Abrams has some swash in his buckle. Time will tell.

 

I just got this from another thread, but COSTUMES!

Sometimes plain. Sometimes Elaborate. But always original. From Padme's dresses in TPM to Lando's cape in ESB. Cool costumes are a must.

 

He's what I say makes a Star Wars film (along with screen wipes, Wilhelm Scream, etc)...

At the end of the opening crawl of Episode VII there will be a smaller ship, like it Ep I and IV, with the "good guys". Then a larger ship with the "bad guys". This will set up the sides to the War that has to be there. Someone somehow will need rescuing, which will lead to the next 30 to 45 minutes of encounters, setting up the main characters for the Trilogy (PT, Qui-Gon and Obi-Wan meet Padme, they meet Anakin, OT, Droids meet Luke, meet Ben, meet Han and Chewie, meet Leia). Near the end a senior Jedi must die in a lightsaber duel, passing the lightsaber if you will down to the next generation. There will be a ceremony capping the end of Episode VII.

Episode VIII will have the main protagonist meet up, split up, with story threads following them as they go. There will be some kind of "romance". One of the Jedi characters will be offered a chance to join the Darksider side and he'll turn it down. They will get back together at the end of the film for the climax and then the film will end with the characters in a long shot looking out at something.

Episode IX, the structure is much more open. This is probably because for RotJ Lucas had to cram in as much of the plot from what would have been VII-IX as well as VI. For RotS he had to set things up for the OT. The only definate is that who ever fills the Skywalker role in the ST (Anakin in PT, Luke in OT) will be tempted by the darkside and a duel will result (Luke refusing and dueling Vader, Anakin succumbing and dueling Obi-Wan).

All films start in space. There will need to be at least one lightsaber duel per film. There will need to be a massive Space Battle/Lightsaber Duel/Ground battle inner-cut as the climax of one of the films. They've done it in the first and three movie of the trilogy, so I'm guessing they'll do it in Episode VIII this time around.

 

Thought I would *up* this.
I think one thing that is subtle in SW is mystery.
Little things are used to get people's imaginations going.
For example, in ANH, when Luke says: "You fought in the Clone Wars?". Other examples, would be the bounty hunter of Ord Mantell, Syfo-Dyas and Darth Plageius. These things are introduced but not explained and leave it to the imaginations of the audience.
Hopefully we get a little more of this.

 

for me these little things are what make the movies special.... i think Episode 7 will be similar in style, why call it Episode 7....i agree with people saying everything must sound the same, as far as im concerned this 'original' story is still the seventh in the same story so everything must be believable in continuity...ill be miffed is there is no pan down etc.... i think GL though far removed and in the background will still have influence, even tho not around all the time, still his story/ treatment. Just hope the script and the acting is more universally solid (i still love the PT despite its flaws) and they must still be the best B movies ever made!!!

 

You must have been pretty "miffed" then when the camera panned up in AOTC.

 

actually now was one of my fave bits, y'know what i mean i forgot to write down/up

 

That is one of the subtle little nuances in the films. Alot is mirroring but there are little changes in the continuity to make a particular point. The point being made in AOTC is that a BIG change is going to happen in the Saga (Anakin's descent to the Dark Side begins).

 

honestly as long it stays away from OT nostagia fanservice then fine by me

 

i think, like it or not, there will lots of nostalgia PT and OT as well as new stuff....i think there will holocrom/ghost/or reference to most of the major characters

 

I know I mean I hope it isn't an attempt to recapture the suppose magic of the OT and well you know what happened after singer did that

 

With the recent talk about possibly casting Ryan Gosling & Zac Efron, there have been discussions about the use of characters for "sex appeal". I think it is almost unanimous that although the actors/actresses may be attractive, the characters should not be exploited for sex appeal and sexual situations, male or female.. The Star Wars universe is "dirty and gritty", there shouldn't be pretty boys and female models..Just a small nuance..

 

It was great to see GL, Kathleen Kennedy and JJ Abrams in a conference. Collaboration. This is how I always wanted George to work.

 

Yeah, the fact that GL is the "referee" of this, as he puts it, gives me much more confidence that it will look and feel legitimate and fit with the previous 6 films.

The spin-offs can get away from the SW tropes a little more, and the ST does need to bring new things and hopefully some off the wall stuff like GL was wont to do, but still be recognizable as SW movies.

There's movies, and then there's Star Wars movies. There is a difference.

 

I agree with almost everything you said. I believe the equation goes "GL=SW". You are right, there are movies, then there are Star Wars movies. For them to be Star Wars movies, they have to have GL influences. We know that this is the case because of ESB and ROTJ. Even though Lucas didn't direct these, they had the "Star Wars feel" and had Lucas influences.

 

Agree with this. For the Saga, GL's inspiration is part of the subtle nuance. That is why I was really pleased when KK said at CEII that one of the pieces of advice that GL had given JJ was that the Saga is "aspirational" and "fun". SW is subtly "aspirational". Perhaps ANH exemplifies this best.

 

It seems that everyone is trying to bring theyre blood and passion into the new Movies.
And when i see how hard Filoni and his Crew working on the Look of the new Show, to recreate Mcquarries concepts. Than i hope that JJ and his Folks bring the same sensivity into VII.

When we believe what KK is saying all day long, especialy yesterday on CEII, then they do it very well.

But i hope they recognize all these little details we loved in the classic Movies.

For me its the old Lightsabers sound and look. It was so much more powerful and mythical. Its energetic flow...