Things I noticed While Watching The Saga...

I am intending to compile lists of all the subtelties/not-so-subtelties I notice whilst viewing the Saga a film at a time.

My main interest is in things that happen in one film, which we can now see impact on the other films as the Saga has now been completed.

Those that have read any of my posts before will know I really am interested in parrallels between the 6 films and the 2 trilogies. Things which link the whole Saga together into one viewing experience.

This may take a while, and I don't intend to post on every film at the same time.

Anyway, please feel free to compliment/add to/argue with/debate/completely ignore as you wish!

FILM 1 - THE PHANTOM MENACE

PART ONE

1.the film starts with a diplomatic crusier, the same as ANH.
2. the jedi ask for permission to board the trade federation ships, contrast this with Vader capturing and boarding the Tantive 4.
3.we see a protocol droid almost immediately, good link to 3PO being the first character to speak in ANH.
4.the jedi remove their hoods, much like obi1 when we first see him in the OT
5. obi1's first line is "i have a bad feeling about this", not only is this a classic line but it links into...
6....qui-gon warning obi1 to concentrateon the here and now (a subtle link to yoda commading luke to do the same thing in TESB)
7. this piece of dialogue also informs us yoda was once obi1's teacher, as stated in TESB: "master yoda says i should be mindful of the future". Genius.
8.we see darth sidious appear as a hologram. just the way we first meet him in TESB.
9.the shot of the droids waiting outside the conference room the jedi are in mirrors ANH's tantive crew waiting for the stormtroopers to board their ship.
10.the destroyers firing at the jedi mirrors them firing at anakin & obi1 in ROTS.
11. just to reassert point 8, we then see palpatine as a hologram also (he must be real quick at changing costumes!).

To Be Continued...

 

"The ambassadors are Jedi Knights, I believe."
"If this is a Councillor's ship, where is the ambassador!?!"

What's funny is both groups are "disguised" as ambassadors. The Jedi in TPM really are ambassadors I suppose, but it covered the fact that they were Jedi.

Contrast it again with the opening of Revenge. Two Jedi interceptors instead of an ambassador's ship, and the hangar door bay slamming shut just as the Jedi make it into the ship.

This is one of the best reasons I've heard for Yoda becoming Qui-Gon's apprentice at the end of ROTS. Besides the force-ghost thing, of course.

haha, I didn't think of that

"How can that be true? I have assurances from the Supreme Chancellor himself, his ambassadors did arrive."
lol-acoaster

I enjoyed this post, looking forward to future intallments

 

cheers my friend

hopefully, football on the tv permitting, it will be 2nite!

 

9.the shot of the droids waiting outside the conference room the jedi are in mirrors ANH's tantive crew waiting for the stormtroopers to board their ship.

Don't forget that both scenes have what looks like mist before Qui-Gon Jinn and Obi-Wan enter in TPM and before Darth Vader enters the ship in ANH. Sorry I'm using mist as a generic term here.

 

May be a tiny bit off topic here, but seeing obi wan and quigon defending themselves from the droidekas in episode one, then seeing the same scenario with anakin and ObiWan in revenge of the sith was always a good memory for me, when ObiWan was a padawan.

..i wonder if george did that on purpose?

 

Of course he did. That would be a rediculously big coiencidence if he didn't.

 

The films are all about the same thing. or at least the same story. of course theres going to be a lot of similarities. otherwise, they would all be completley different films, not one big saga.

Keep up the good work tho

BoShek

 

bravo. I particularly liked where we are reminded Yoda taught Obi as well. I never caught it like that. Good job. It's a different view on the film, very nice.

 

Cheers for the comments

My Internet is now up & running again, so expect part 2 soon...

 

12.qui-gon's quote "the ability to speak does not make you intelligent" always seemed a tad harsh to me. role model jedi anyone?
13.qui-gon using hi slightsaber in the swamps of naboo always reminds me of luke on endor.
14.obi1 breaks his lightsaber - the very thing he tells anakin off for one film later.
15. the first sighting of Otoh Gunga is impressive, even in a saga filled with impressive locations.
16.the first jedi mind trick in the saga - and note the similarity of camera angle (behind boss nass) to that of jabba & luke in ROTJ.
17.i like the fact qui-gon shows his good samaritan side by saving jar jar at the expense of having to put up with him for the rest of the film!
18.sidious tells gunray he will have the senate bogged down in procedures - a clue that maybe he is a senator...
19."master, why do you keep dragging these pathetic life forms along with us"? obi1 showing exactly how a jedi shouldn't act, but most of them do act like this in the PT.
20.

 

Whoa...

14.obi1 breaks his lightsaber - the very thing he tells anakin off for one film later.

He also rejects Anakin's claims that he is ready to face the trials using the same logic that Qui-Gon used to say Obi-Wan was ready for the trials.

 

Another thing that I noticed, was that in TPM, QGJ says to Anakin: "Your focus determines your reality." In AOTC, OBW says to Anakin: "You are focussing on the negative." It's not a parallel perse, but an interesting link nonetheless, because we all know how it all ends up for Anakin: by focussing on the negative, he is basically losing his grip on reality.

 

to be continued soon...

 

20.whilst trying to convine amidala to come to coruscant, qui-gon says "my feelings tell me they will destroy you". was qui-gon's premonition here wrong or did sidious' ultimate plan include killing padme this early on...?
21.watch how padme gives sabe the acoded signal to make her decision by saying " we are brave your highness"
22.r2-d2's introduction is just about perfect, he starts by doing what he does best - saving the day.
23."here master, tatooine" and with that reading from the monitor, obi-wan introduces us to probably the most important planet in the saga for the first time. its getting more like star wars this film!
24.a first appearance for darth maul - in hologram form as well. "this is getting out of hand, now there are two of them". if only nute gunray knew how much sith lords were going to dominate his destiny for the rest of his life.
25.artoo's name is read out and the sabe orders padme (the real queen) to clean r2 up! although padme should be thankful of a chance to aquaint herself with r2 surely the decoy shouldnt be ordering her about!
26.a little interchange between padme & jar jar shows us padme is much more accepting of strange life forms than the jedi and doesnt think she is better than the gungans as the gungans wouldve believed.
27.the approach shot, as we see tatooine "again" is great. i love that blue round the planet.
28.anakin's first appearance. "are you an angel" are his first words to padme. he was smooth with the laydeez at 9 years old.
29."im a pilot you know, someday im gonna fly away from this place" fits in nicely with an older obi1s statement that luke's dad was already a great pilot when he first knew him.
30. "you're a slave?" "i'm a person and my name is anakin." great interchange.
31. i love the way qui-gons mind trick doesnt work on watto, mirroring how lukes mind trick will fail on jabba for similar reasons later.


All for now folks.

 

23."here master, tatooine" and with that reading from the monitor, obi-wan introduces us to probably the most important planet in the saga for the first time. its getting more like star wars this film!

Obi-Wan found Tatooine in TPM and he ended up living there for 19 or 20+ years after ROTS. Coincidence I think not.

 

I noticed when vader strikes down Obiwan he robes fall and he disiperies before vaders lightsaber even hits him. I also noticed when it shows Obiwans robes on the ground after he gets strikes down his robes are not cut or burnt by the lightsaber.

 

At the moment we are only really discussing TPM.

ANH will be discussed in time.

Patience my padawaan.

 

32. our introduction to c3po. the interchange between him & r2 is priceless ("naked?"). the scene establishes not only that anakin is very skilled mechanically from a young age, but also he is "the maker" we hear threepio refer to in episodes 2 & 4.
33.the dinner table conversation shows us even though the republic is still functioning, its laws dont exist as far as tatooine where some people are left to be slaves. How just are a republic & jedi order that let this carry on?
34.as the conversation turns to anakin's jedi reflexes - qui gon shows what he means by catching jar jar's tongue.
35.anakin: "no one can kill a jedi knight"
qui-gon: "i wish that were so"
how much more meaning this has now we have seen anakin killing jedi, and learned that qui-gon will in fact ecome the first jedi to retain some identity after death. Interesting...
36.anakin's dream that he frees all the slaves may seem to be the only dream he talks about that doesnt come true, but could it be argued he frees ALL the slaves by killing the emporer in ROTJ? we certainly see tatooine amongst the planets celebrating.
37.anakin "you said the biggest problem in the universe is no one helps each other" a good establishment of young annie's ideology. we shall contrast this with his ideologies in later films...
38.first view of coruscant - as a base for shadowy sith operations (how fitting). obviously darth maul's revenge line is legendary and fits very well with the title of episode 3.