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has the PT, especially ROTS, captured the essence that was present in the OT?

Discussion in 'Prequel Trilogy' started by DARK_HELMET_05, Jun 27, 2005.

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  1. DARK_HELMET_05

    DARK_HELMET_05 Jedi Youngling star 3

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    Mar 27, 2005
    Now that ROTS has been released, and the saga is complete, do you feel that George Lucas has finally captured the essence and magic feeling that was present throughout the OT? For me, i feel that epsiodes I and II were a bit of a let down in the way that they failed to resurrect that special feeling that you gained from watching the OT. However, from watching ROTS those old star wars memories and emotions came flooding back. does anyone else agree?
     
  2. jedi_master_ousley

    jedi_master_ousley Manager Emeritus star 8 VIP - Former Mod/RSA

    Registered:
    Jun 14, 2002
    Well, they didn't generate the same feelings for me, but then again, I never felt that they were supposed to. The PT wasn't supposed to be the OT, they were supposed to be entirely new films. The PT has it's own "special feeling" about it for me. It's not like the OT, but that's perfectly fine with me. I do agree that ROTS was much closer to the feel of the OT. It was a mixture of the feelings generated by both sets of films, and that's what made it all the better.
     
  3. GTyper

    GTyper Jedi Youngling star 1

    Registered:
    May 23, 2005
    No.

    I did not feel the PT captured any of the magic or essence of the OT. Especially the first two episodes.

    The first two episodes were made for an entirely different generation. The "ADD Generation". Instead of "situational"/"dialogue" humor - we have "slap stick"/"Fart joke" humor. Instead of flawed characters with a heart - we get one-line characters with no heart.

    ROTS came close to resurrecting the OT, but fell short of the mark.

    It really boils down to the fact that Lucas can't write nor can he direct.

    Strilo edit: That comment about the ADD generation is borderline offensive. This post is really unnecessary.
     
  4. Wester547

    Wester547 Jedi Master star 4

    Registered:
    Nov 5, 2004
    Really? Then why was ANH, a movie that was both directed and written by George Lucas, so successfull even in that particular aspect? I'm fairly certain that Lawrence Kasdan didn't supervise the script(s) for ANH either.
     
  5. GTyper

    GTyper Jedi Youngling star 1

    Registered:
    May 23, 2005
    Stilo:

    That comment about the ADD generation is borderline offensive. This post is really unnecessary.


    I'm part of the ADD Generation. It's pretty much the proper name for the generation.

    Should I call it the "Need It Now" generation? Everything must be instant, fast, quick. Which is why all our adds are jumpy, our movies are jumpy, fast food dominates food sales, the average person eats more snacks than healthy food, etc etc.

    It's just a statement of fact.
     
  6. BleepsSweepsCreeps

    BleepsSweepsCreeps Jedi Youngling star 1

    Registered:
    Nov 11, 2004
    No...but that's not necessarily a bad thing. I think one of the main factors is because of the musical score. While the musical score used in the PT was indeed fantastic, I felt that it abandoned the memorable themes of the OT a little too much.....and as a result it felt a little less "Star Warsy".

    Aside from the beginning of TPM when the droids attack Obi Wan & Qui Gon and the very last sequence in ROTS when Obi Wan delivers Luke, I don't think the main theme is used even once.
     
  7. GTyper

    GTyper Jedi Youngling star 1

    Registered:
    May 23, 2005
    Really? Then why was ANH, a movie that was both directed and written by George Lucas, so successfull even in that particular aspect? I'm fairly certain that Lawrence Kasdan didn't supervise the script(s) for ANH either.

    Truly - if you REALLY dig into the first Star Wars, it isn't anything that special. It was just different in comparison to the norm of the time.

    It's no better than the stuff that is cast off on the sci-fi network every day.

    Also, kind of like how Darth Vader killed Anakin - and they are no longer the same person. Darth Lucas killed George Lucas.

    There was once a time that Lucas was unique and decent. American Graffiti is an example of this. Star Wars is an example of this.

    I truly feel that George Lucas was born in the wrong generation. He would have been a PERFECT video game developer. Just enough storyline to be coherent. Just enough acting to pull the story. Enough special effects to choke a horse.
     
  8. theN00_Jedi

    theN00_Jedi Jedi Padawan star 4

    Registered:
    May 26, 2005
    not to mention TPM was a pretty obvious reworking of the indiana jones secondary theme
     
  9. Lars_Muul

    Lars_Muul Jedi Grand Master star 6

    Registered:
    Oct 2, 2000
    I don't care what magic is there, as long as there's magic. TPM is fun, AOTC is exciting and ROTS... well, what can I say? It's a hell of a pay-off, that's what it is.

    Comparing movies with video games is out of place, since they are two entirely different mediums. Sadly, many people these days tend to think that they are two sides of the same coin.
    Video game developing is not for Lucas, but with movies, he's a genius. Why is that? Because that's where his heart lies.

    On top of being a hell of a pay-off, ROTS perfectly bridges the feel of the PT with that of the OT and makes the Star Wars Saga feel like one entity. It connects all the dots with ANH and with it's lightheartedness during the first hour it makes the lightheartedness of ROTJ feel very appropriate.
    Impressive, George. Most impressive.



    You were lucky to get outta there
    Anything broken?

    /LM
     
  10. Mrs. Sei-Jil Kenobi

    Mrs. Sei-Jil Kenobi Jedi Youngling star 1

    Registered:
    Jul 28, 1999
    The one thing that really bothers me about the PT is the lack of chemistry. The cast of the original trilogy had fabulous chemistry, and while Han and Leia's romance was believeable, Anakin and Padme's romance was not. They were as stiff as boards together. It's almost painful to watch them on screen together.
     
  11. nyjet10

    nyjet10 Jedi Youngling star 2

    Registered:
    Feb 1, 2005
    PT had:

    Too Much CG
    Great Special FX
    Bad dialouge
    Bad Chemistry
    Complex Story
    Too Much Jar Jar

    OT had:

    Not enough CG
    Bad Special FX (for 2005)
    Good Dialouge
    Good Chemistry
    Simple Story
    Perfect number of Jar Jar appearences
     
  12. Grand_Moff_Jawa

    Grand_Moff_Jawa Jedi Grand Master star 5

    Registered:
    May 31, 2001
    Not at all.

    The SINCERITY of the OT was totally absent for me. Everything was too deliberate and forced (no pun intended).

    All show and no go. (I'm full of cliches tonight!)


     
  13. jangoisadrunk

    jangoisadrunk Jedi Padawan star 4

    Registered:
    Mar 7, 2005
    God, prequel bashing is so passe. :rolleyes:

    While I can't say that the PT captured the "essence" of the OT since I have no definition for what said "essence" was, I will say I liked the PT just as much as the OT. They both have thier weak link in the chain (ROTJ and ATOC), but that still makes for 4 killer awesome films, and 2 that are just pretty good. I'm interested to see which one I watch the most here in 5 or 10 years. Right now I'm thinking ROTS will be the most watched since I've seen it far less than the others.
     
  14. DINVADER_RETURNS

    DINVADER_RETURNS Jedi Youngling star 3

    Registered:
    Mar 10, 2003
    Your reaction to these films is largely related to what era you saw them in and what age you were.

    What would you have thought of the prequels if you saw them back in, say, 1980 when you were younger? Would you as an 8 year old, or somewhere in your preteens complained about acting and dialogue? LOL, no you would not have.
     
  15. MOC Vober Dand

    MOC Vober Dand Manager Emeritus star 5 VIP - Former Mod/RSA

    Registered:
    Jan 6, 2004
    Your reaction to these films is largely related to what era you saw them in and what age you were.

    Definitely. This also makes it difficult comparing the two experiences, as anyone who did feel the "magic" of the OT when seeing it as a child would be seeing the PT as an adult.

    For me though, 31 now and saw ANH when I was 4, ROTS recaptured the essence of the OT. There were moments in TPM and AOTC, but they were few and far between. The duel between Maul, Obiwan and Qui Gonn and the end of AOTC spring to mind.
     
  16. Grand_Moff_Jawa

    Grand_Moff_Jawa Jedi Grand Master star 5

    Registered:
    May 31, 2001
    God, prequel bashing is so passe.




    We are not allowed to speak our minds here?
     
  17. Lord_Maul_the_Sith

    Lord_Maul_the_Sith Jedi Youngling star 3

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    May 31, 2005
    I dunno about recapturing the essence of the Originals (I kinda think that's impossible), but I definitely loved all three Prequels, especially ROTS. I agree with BleepsSweepsCreeps's view that the abandonmet of too many of the familiar melodies of the Originals made the Prequels a bit too removed from them; we saw Yoda in all three Prequels, but did we ever hear "Yoda's Theme"? I don't recall it. Though I do like the Prequels' soundtracks ("Duel of the Fates" is awesome, and I haven't stopped listening to the ROTS soundtrack for about a month now), they're not as, well, magical-sounding as the Originals. So that took away from some of the "essence", since one of many major things that set the Originals apart was the soundtrack.

    I think one of the things that set the Prequels and the Originals apart was the lack of a real mythological basis for the Prequels. Sure, it was a different story, leading up to the mythological one, but we didn't have those same character archetypes to cling to-- We knew what Anakin would become, and that he certainly was no everyman like Luke was, Obi-Wan and Yoda weren't the mysterious beneficial mentors, and Padme wasn't the typical damsel (though at times she was in extreme distress). So, even though I loved the Prequels and gladly accepted them into the "Star Wars" canon, I don't think they captured the essence of the originals. The magic, perhaps, but not the essence.



    EDIT: Dammit, why do I always have to type so freakin' much? -=He sighs.=- Pay me no mind...
     
  18. theN00_Jedi

    theN00_Jedi Jedi Padawan star 4

    Registered:
    May 26, 2005
    NO!





    but at least it has a sithload of special effects
     
  19. Anni_Padme

    Anni_Padme Jedi Youngling star 1

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    Jun 22, 2005
    Absolutely, and then some! RotS especially indeed.
     
  20. SWfan2002

    SWfan2002 Jedi Grand Master star 4

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    Jan 28, 2002
    I think ROTS did in fact capture the essence that was present in the OT, but then it did something else that I didn't think was possible-- it went beyond the OT and packed an emotional punch that left me breathless on the night of May 19 and every time I've seen the film since.

    ROTS captured the essence of the OT, while at the same time changing the way we'll look at the OT forever...
     
  21. Lars_Muul

    Lars_Muul Jedi Grand Master star 6

    Registered:
    Oct 2, 2000
    Would you as an 8 year old, or somewhere in your preteens complained about acting and dialogue? LOL, no you would not have.

    I agree with that. That's why I'm trying to be as uncritical as possible when I see a new Star Wars film. If I don't, I won't have given it the same chance as the old movies got.
    So, to be a critical adult with the new movies when you've loved the old ones since you were a kid is just unfair.

    To be a critical adult with ALL the Star Wars movies... Now, that's something different. That's fair.



    All mentors have a way of seeing more of our faults than we would like
    /LM
     
  22. GTyper

    GTyper Jedi Youngling star 1

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    May 23, 2005
    Would you as an 8 year old, or somewhere in your preteens complained about acting and dialogue? LOL, no you would not have.

    That's pretty interesting.

    You ask a question - and then answer it for us.

    I believe it would have bothered me at any point in my life other than when I was younger than 10. Unfortunately, the audiance of Star Wars was primarily aged 27-40. They might have brought their children, but the TRUE people going to see the movie were not children.

    What's amazing though is that at age <10 I still understood and enjoyed Star Wars ... and it was absent slap stick comedy and fart jokes.
     
  23. GTyper

    GTyper Jedi Youngling star 1

    Registered:
    May 23, 2005
    Comparing movies with video games is out of place, since they are two entirely different mediums. Sadly, many people these days tend to think that they are two sides of the same coin.

    Unfortunately, the line between the two mediums is becoming blurred. With the advent of CGI becoming a more primary concern than plot and/or acting - it only makes this line less "rigid".

    Video game developing is not for Lucas, but with movies, he's a genius. Why is that? Because that's where his heart lies.

    Lucas is HARDLY a genius moviemaker. He had a few good ideas, but I wouldn't call him a genius.

    On top of being a hell of a pay-off, ROTS perfectly bridges the feel of the PT with that of the OT and makes the Star Wars Saga feel like one entity.

    That's a laugh.

    It connects all the dots with ANH and with it's lightheartedness during the first hour it makes the lightheartedness of ROTJ feel very appropriate.

    Whoa. I better slow down the laugh-fest, I might actually strain myself.
     
  24. Happy Ninja

    Happy Ninja Jedi Knight star 6

    Registered:
    Mar 20, 2000
    I would have to say that ROTS comes the closest to doing it, but while being a very good film, it doesn't have the same pinache that the OT did. The OT had somewhat of an whimsical charm and grace to it that I don't think that Lucas could recapture...the OT was truly a case of lightning in a bottle. Saying that, I genuinely think that Lucas has tried - you have to admit there are monents of genius in the PT, but for every moment of genius, there are two moments where you hear a loud clap. That loud clap is the collective sound of an audience of 1000 people all slapping their foreheads at the same time in the "Doh!" fashion.

    The audience may have grown up, and while we didn't expect the films to grow up with us, they should have had more of a maturity...after all, weren't they supposed to be darker? If anything, they were too light. And I think that was the downfall of the PT.

    But, the good things about the PT is what Lucas tried to do was give a grander scope to the whole thing. While the OT was about a group of specific people trying to overthrow a regime, the PT shows what the new regime was overthrowing, and it wasn't trying to limit itself to just the confines of a central core of characters...there was more at stake.
     
  25. Lars_Muul

    Lars_Muul Jedi Grand Master star 6

    Registered:
    Oct 2, 2000
    I'll leave the video game debate there, since this isn't the right forum for it.

    Lucas is HARDLY a genius moviemaker. He had a few good ideas, but I wouldn't call him a genius.

    I would.

    That's a laugh.
    Whoa. I better slow down the laugh-fest, I might actually strain myself.


    I'm glad you find me amusing. Now if you'll excuse me, I'll go discuss Star Wars with someone who respects my opinion.



    It's not disrespect, Master, it's the truth
    From your point of view

    /LM
     
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