OMG! It's happening!

Well, I have to say I never thought that time would be kind to the PT. I was not particularly pleased with the PT. I thought that as time went on I would appreciate them less and less. However, this week I decided to watch the Saga again. So I watched the PT, and I noticed that I was enjoying it alot more than I used to. Well, then I went to the OT, and I couldn't set through ANH. This has never happened to me. I usually love ANH, but I just found it dragged. I never thought this would happen, but I am beginning to prefer the PT. Yes, I still love the OT, but as far as just fun movie time I prefer the PT. I was wondering if anyone else is beginning to like the PT more?

P.S. I hope I posted this in the right place. If I didn't if a mod could move it I would be appreciative.

 

Most people find ANH boring coming off of ROTS. Its like editing--you change the experience of what comes after by changing the pace and content of what came before. I imagine Lawrence of Arabia would seem really dull and boring after watching Speed Racer, Spider-Man 3, and Hellboy all in a row right before it. Rather than proving that this makes the PT better, all it really proves is that the PT can manage to make a good film worse when its connected to it.

 

This might be a reason to watch the Saga 4-6, 1-3.

 

Funny thing: I've watched the series with several adult non-fans--all of whom preferred ROTS to ANH--and I never heard the "too boring" charge leveled against the original. They simply thought it was too corny. They ate up the operatic proceedings of III--e.g., Padme's Ruminations, the birth of Vader, etc.--and as a consequence, were turned off by the emotional vacuity and streamlined nature of the subsequent film. In short, no one wanted Flash Gordon. So in a way, ROTS was their Lawrence of Arabia, while ANH was the Speed Racer/Spider-Man 3/Hellboy confection.

Really, ANH reminded them why they never took to the franchise in the first place.

 

I've come to appreciate ROTS and AOTC as much as I do ESB (in the case of ROTS, perhaps even more so). I used to heavily criticize the direction that the prequels were taking before ROTS came out, I don't really know why in hind sight.

But once the prequel trilogy was completed, I have had a hard time watching ANH and long stretches of ROTJ. ANH in its entirety seems dull to me know, and ROTJ - post-Jabba's Palace and pre-Battle of Endor bores me now. I really don't know if my opinion of TPM has changed at all, I don't believe I've watched it since AOTC came out.

Posting on the prequel board, I've come to find that there is simply a lot more to talk about (or at least interesting things to talk about, IMO) surrounding the prequels than there is in the original trilogy. The conflict of the hero, the conflict between Separatists and CIS in a way that there doesn't appear to be a "good guy," Palpatine's rise to power, etc. All of these things have more thought behind them, inspiration, and moral lessons than the OT which now seems like a dumbed down (in comparison) story of good vs. evil.

 

I'm not accussing you of making that up but I really have a hard time believing that. I've never seen any non-fan over 25 voluntarily watch the prequels in the first place, and every one that has at some point had to view ROTS has not made it more than the first 35 minutes before they have to either get out of the room, put something else on, or complain really vocally about how bad the movie is. ROTS might be a teenagers LOA, but I just find most adults don't really go for the whole "kids blockbuster" stuff in the first place.

"They ate up the operatic proceedings of III--e.g., Padme's Ruminations, the birth of Vader, etc.--and as a consequence, were turned off by the emotional vacuity and streamlined nature of the subsequent film."

This is exactly what I was saying in the first place. Star Wars on the tails of ROTS is an entirely different experience than just sitting down and watching Star Wars. No one ever complained that Star Wars lacked emotional gravity before ROTS came out--people disliked it because the franchise itself was simply not their thing, not because it paled in comparison to its own sequels. Ergo, ROTS is not necessarily a better movie, it just makes a good movie worse through its narrative connection.

 

I wonder if it has something to do with the volume of viewings. I've seen the OT more than any other film (well, ANH and ESB, at least, but I've seen ROTJ a lot, too). Even as good as the films are, the more times I watch them the harder it becomes to sit through a single viewing without taking a break, but that's true with all my favorite films that I have watched many times.

 

Thanks for not-quite-making-it-to-accusation. The fact remains, I watched the series with my girlfriend and, on a separate occasion, my mother and sister, with the intent of showing them what it was I found appealing. They all ended up liking ROTS the most, and kept waiting for Vader's wife to be referenced in the next film.

And for the record, the girls did fine after the first 10 minutes.

You've never come across an Empire Strikes Back-only fan? I sure have. Just finished Glenn Kenny's introduction to A Galaxy Not So Far Away, where he sums up his adolescent/young adult OT experience: Star Wars left no impression, Empire enthralled, and Jedi disappointed. Similarly, Chuck Klosterman, in Sex, Drugs and Cocoa Puffs, devoted an entire chapter to praising TESB, even as he tore ANH and ROTJ to tatters. (He goes right out and pans the original as a bad movie.) Hell, even the Dark Lord of the Sith herself, Pauline Kael, had a few nice things to say about Kershner's film.

There's plenty of people who don't like their Greek myths cobbled with fairy tales..

 

I can't really sit through any of the Star Wars episodes without falling asleep because I've watched them too many times and they bore me now. I just think you've become bored with the movies, DarkLordoftheSith14.

Yeah, there were a bunch of guys, over at this other Star Wars board I used to frequent, who really only like "The Empire Strikes Back". They cut down the original but they rank it in a distant second place under "The Empire Strikes Back" and they absolutely hate Lucas for the other four movies. Frankly, I think they take the crap way too seriously.

I get boos and hisses from many Bond fans for saying "Never Say Never Again" is a really good Bond film and it really feels, to me, like it's Kershner making "Never Say Never Again" a great Bond film like he made "The Empire Strikes Back" a great Star Wars film. Bond fans take the Bond movies way too seriously as well.

 

I can see how it would seem that watching ANH after ROTS would make it seem boring, but that isn't what caused it. I am very politically minded even more so as I get older, and I am noticing as I get older I am appreciating the politics in the PT. I just find teh story more interesting. Watching as an evil man destroys a republic from the inside out is just fun for me. ANH is just to simple for me now. The story is to narrow. I guess it could have to do with the fact that it is the farthest removed from the PT. As in, when George wrote it he wrote it to stand alone, and it shows. It doesn't really feel like a followup to ROTS. ESB does feel like a follow up so I still enjoy it just not as much anymore. ROTJ I find generally boring. I can't stand the Jabba stuff. The ewoks don't bother me, however. And the final confrontation is alright, but other than that I don't much care for ROTJ. Plus, I love tragedies so naturally I prefer the dark ending of the PT. Happy endings are just to sappy for me, and rarely happen in life. Honestly, I would have liked to see the Empire do more of a beating on the rebels before they won. There should have been more casualties. Anyways, I guess as I become more politically minded, and my tastes become more mature I prefer the dark manipulative undertones of the PT to the mystical boy fulfills his destiny undertones of the OT.

 

Good call there.

The same thing has happened to fans of a given band who have one notable album: it's the flagship and it's what earned a lot of fans in the fist place. But those same people get tired of hearing it over and over.

Eventually they might favor other material.

 

I'm not saying "ANH" is boring after watching "ROTS". I was saying you may just be getting bored with the saga. But don't get me wrong, my intentions were not to tell you your business but to simply tell you that I have become bored with the movies just because I've watched them so many times that they no longer hold my attention like they did a couple years ago.

Just one thing: What does "the mystical boy fulfills his destiny undertones of the OT" mean?

 

What I meant by "the mystical boy fulfills his destiny undertones of the OT" is that Luke meets a mystical figure in this case being Obi-Wan who is one of the last of his kind, and he whisks Luke off into an adventure against oppression and against all odds. And that on his way he learns about the force. Which in the OT is a mystical force that surrounds and flows through everything. Luke's story is more of an adventure and how a simple boy becomes a hero. George has even mentioned it in interviews that Luke goes on this mystical journey thats where I got that from.

 

I figured that's what you meant. I just didn't really know.

 

I don't watch any of the saga on a regular basis, myself. Last one I watched was ROTS about five months ago.

They're so 1977-2005.

 

Although I am gaining more appreciation for the Prequel trilogy as a whole, I would never place it above the Original Trilogy. Some people say the OT is too "boring" or "slow" but it has something the Prequel Trilogy left out- a solid storyline, great acting and amazing humour. The PT has a good storyline, non convincing acting and horrible writing, and very lame humour.

But I do appreciate it more now that it's complete. Lucas set out to tell the story of Anakin Skywalker to Darth Vader and he did that well, but some of the stuff thrown in was unneccesary. IMO.

 

In your opinion of course, Sublime.

 

I have to say that the more I watch the PT, the more I appreciate its strengths. The weaknesses, however, are as weak as ever.

For me, there are fewer major weaknesses in the OT and overall it was always exceed the prequels.

 

I've enjoyed the prequels as much as the classic trilogy right out of the gate.

For me there was never a period of disappointment, but I can still watch them all over and over again.

 

I favor the prequels over the OT.

I like the OT, but not as much as the PT.

 

I find with the PT if I don't watch them for 6 months or so I can enjoy them a lot more than I used to. I still use the remote to get past a few of the more difficult scenes.

They will never be a patch on the OT but still I've become sort of fond of them in my old age.

 

The thing about seeing ANH after ROTS, is that its kind of like the calm AFTER the storm. Its like going outside after the hurricane has blown through and surveying the wreckage.

Everybody's pushed off into distant corners of the galaxy. Everything is now very small with only a limited scope. The effects are minimal and you basically just follow the robots around for half an hour. The events of ROTS and the intervening 20 years under the rule of the Empire has totally drained all the colour and life out of the universe and its a much smaller and more personal experiance.

When you look at it like that, I actually think Revenge of the Sith and Star Wars complement one another rather well.

 

Wow. For you, that's a turnabout. Makes me wonder if I'm destined to post a "ROTJ: A Masterpiece!" thread somewhere down the line.

 

I know, I watched from the arena battle to the end of AOTC last night and I loved it. I got really into it..... it rocked to be honest.

 

I've always loved both as well. I will admit that during the Leia/Jabba/Luke/Han scenes I generally get food or use the restroom - dunno why I don't like that bit at all. Jar Jar is annoying, but watchable anyway because I love the whole Qui-Gon/Obi-Wan interaction. Apart from the Jabba scenes, I can sit through the movies, all of them, again and again, enjoying each one every time.