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  1. In Memory of LAJ_FETT: Please share your remembrances and condolences HERE

PT Those who saw the PT first, what was your first experience like?

Discussion in 'Prequel Trilogy' started by DrDre, Jan 2, 2017.

  1. DrDre

    DrDre Jedi Grand Master star 4

    Registered:
    Aug 6, 2015
    Having been born a year before ANH was released, the first Star Wars movie I saw was TESB on VHS in the early eighties, thanks to my father, who loves fantasy books and films. I was immediately hooked, and quickly developed an addiction for Star Wars toys. Darth Vader was my favourite character (still is). The first Star Wars movies I saw in the theatre were the SE in 1997. What was it like for you younger fans, who first experienced Star Wars through the PT. Did you know about Star Wars? What turned you into a fan? What was your favourite character?
     
  2. Tonyg

    Tonyg Jedi Master star 4

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    Jan 16, 2016
    Well, I‘m born in the same period but I could say that I watched PT first. There were many reasons for that. I live in a postsocialist country that in these times was still socialist and there was censorship on some movies. And the censorship actually was the biggest publicity of the American cinnema because we was under the impression that in USA are producing only high quality movies or at least blockbusters because these were the types of movies that came to us. Anyway, SW came late, in the beginning of the 80ties, after ROTJ was made (if I‘m not mistaken). Although there was very few additional information and almost no merchandising (same reasons) the movies became instant hit, only they were famous as films for boys: I was not interested at all (I‘m woman) as no matter that I liked fantasy movies and fairytales even then these were more like space war movies for me and before ROTJ Vader was just ugly and menacing villian with even uglier mask and too noisy breath (as we had no additional information we had no idea why is he breathing that way till ROTJ). I saw parts of these movies on a small screen but I wasn‘t impressed by the story: again, boy‘s movies.
    TPM came in a very stressful times for my country so I saw it later (~2002. or 2003 maybe, I cannot remember) but I decided to give it a chance. So, I liked it, I even was pleasantly surprised by the beauty of the shots and the imagination. Actually I disliked the ‘used universe‘ in OT, but the PT was different. But when I saw AOTC it blown me away. Even in small screen. The most underrated jewel of the SW Saga would be always my favorite. I saw the movies almost immediately one after another so I think the impression was dobled by this. I saw ROTS in theaters. No matter that then there wasn‘t 3D technology at least in my country but I was on the first row: practically in the movie, especially in the Mustafar scenes. Anyway, I decided to watch again and more carefully ROTJ and after I saw the life of Anakin in PT, ROTJ then made sense for me. I still appreciate OT for PT because the later is my coup of tea.
     
  3. 11-4D

    11-4D Force Ghost star 5

    Registered:
    Apr 6, 2015
    Grew up with the prequels. Especially TPM, it was fairly new when I was a kiddo. Like, The Phantom Menace WAS Star Wars for me, everytime I heard the words "Star Wars" I thought about Darth Maul, kiddo Anakin and podraces. Never did understand the plot though, never cared about the characters. I just liked the action, lightsabers were awesome. Some years later I saw Episode 2, never liked it though, thought it was boring. A few years later I saw Episode 3, and that was my favorite for years. Had the coolest lightsaber battles!!1! Wasn't a huge fan though, I preferred Harry Potter and Indiana Jones and all that other good stuff.
     
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  4. boonjj

    boonjj Jedi Master star 1

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    Jan 21, 2016
    I knew about Star Wars of course since its immensely popular but I never gave it much thought just because I tend to find things that popular are often diluted for the masses and not very good. I only watched the films after playing and loving the new Battlefront game and wanting to put a story to the game.

    Watching chronologically, the PT's turned me into a fan because they were so vast, complex, had probably the most ambitious and realised sci-fi/fantasy universe I'd ever seen in film, and the plot was open to deep exploration which still has me curious and asking questions a year later. It was also nice to see that the films were more subversive than my loose expections ever presumed - I still enjoy thinking about my realisation that maybe the Jedi are not the stereotypical good guys, or that Vader insnt actually a total cool guy bad ass lol. Funnily enough I think peoples negative reactions are for the exact same reasons (subversions, different expectations).

    My favourites characters are palpatine because he is hilarious and amazingly acted; Qui-Gon because he is rogue and rubs against the Order; And Padme because I love her empathetic and brave personality and how she was able to elected Queen (by vote!), and that her homeworld just reinforces all of these traits of hers. I'm also quite fond of Luke as I like his innocent beginnings and transition - his introductory scenes in anh make me laugh, him whining to the droids lol.
     
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  5. Tonyg

    Tonyg Jedi Master star 4

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    Jan 16, 2016
    I forgot to add that Anakin became on of my favorite characters of SW exactly in AOTC: paradoxically because I think this is the movie with the strongest feminine vibe in whole Saga. But this is part of the charm of Anakin‘s character: he is not invader ;) (pun intended) of the feminine space he is embedded in it.I was also amazed how Lucas created so rich, mature and complete female character as Padme. Padme doesn‘t need “to kick ass“ to be strong, to win battles defeating the others, etc. She is just who she is and she feels comfortable beeing a nerd. Ani also accepted his nerdism (with some difficulties); when he decided to change that, Vader appeared.
    And of course, there are so many colorful small characters in PT: Jango, Dex, Clieg Lars, the handmaidens, Jar Jar, even Watto. The bad guys are sofisticated and layered. Should I mention the incredible world building and the amazing costumes? real fantasy.
     
  6. BadCane

    BadCane Jedi Master star 4

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    Oct 28, 2015
    I saw the 1997 cuts first, and already loved the whole thing. Next thing I knew I was already a proud owner of a lot of Star Wars toys. TPM came and it was HUGE for me. Also, I got my first videogame around that time (Playstation 1) and played A LOT of TPM-based videogames, like Jedi Power Battles, The Phanton Menace Videogame, Star Wars Racer and Starfighter. TPM will always have a sweet spot in my heart, it reminds me of great childhood times.
     
  7. DementedMeerkat

    DementedMeerkat Jedi Knight star 1

    Registered:
    Nov 10, 2015
    My first Star Wars exposure was the LEGO Anakin's Podracer set. My first movie exposure was Attack of the Clones when it was new on TV a year or so after release, specifically the moment where the Jedi charge in the arena. I remember it was at my uncle's house and I was playing with my dinosaurs/playmobil I took there with me, which were my favourite toys at that time. That all changed after I saw that scene though! Dropped them all and just watched, pulling a similar face to this I imagine: =P~
    Immediately I asked to watch the other films and got hooked, especially on the PT, and bought as many action figures as I could. Honestly I got hardly any OT stuff at that time apart from Han and Chewie, most of it was Droids, Clones, and Geonosians to fill the Arena playset! I got the Speeder Chase vehicles and Slave I as well, and the figures to go with them. I remember I had my PS2 as well and was super hyped for the release of Battlefront 2. Everyone in school was crazy about that and the prequel films because that was my generation's SW I guess, which is super cool in hindsight. We all wanted to be Clone Troopers or Jango Fett! I also started getting the LEGO sets more as well. Anyway I digress...
    The build up to RotS was sudden for me as a kid, because back then the internet wasn't as huge and advertising wasn't really present on the TV I watched. My folks went to see the film first and then I went with my dad - my first SW cinematic experience at 10 years old! I still get goosebumps, chills, and shed a tear when the drums start as the Venator soars over Coruscant and Anakin and Obi Wan fly into battle - probably my favourite movie scene of all time! I would pay good money to see it on the big screen again. That film, and that scene, impacted me so much as a child. I genuinely feel it changed my life so much for the better. I dunno, it's so hard to put it into words to be honest. I tell you what though, it solidified my love for Clone Troopers! I mean GOD DAMN that Phase II armour is gorgeous!
    As I grew older and racked up more and more figures, LEGO, SW viewings, and Battlefront hours, I still felt at home... up until I was about 14/15 yo. That was when I was first exposed to the haters, and it was in a shop while I was looking for merch. Two older guys completely bashing the PT figures which I was about to take off the shelf and buy lol! Kinda shook me, and it seemed to get worse after that. My friends stopped enjoying Star Wars because of similar experiences - we talked about it recently and they say they just didn't feel like they could enjoy it anymore, because when they brought it up to other older 'fans' they were shunned. Fortunately for me that meant they wanted to give me their LEGO/figures! But I went into a mini 'dark age' shortly after, when I didn't get as much SW stuff and got into LotR instead. Luckily The Clone Wars came out and it brought me back in. It's been a relatively constant love since then (the only shake up was TFA, but I won't get into that)! :) I started joining forums, and lurking on lots of others like this one haha! Also started browsing Wookieepedia, which is basically a black hole for my concentration during work time!

    But yeah... bet my folks regret letting me have the figures when I was younger... I must have hundreds now [face_tee_hee]
     
  8. DrDre

    DrDre Jedi Grand Master star 4

    Registered:
    Aug 6, 2015
    Thanks for sharing your experiences. It's interesting to read about the similar experiences people have had with Star Wars for decades, whether it be the OT or the PT they saw first, and there's a whole new generation of fans, that are experiencing the birth of their fandom with the onset of the ST. Star Wars is here to stay! The PT hate really sucks, though. Nobody should be pressured to give up his or her fandom.
     
  9. {Quantum/MIDI}

    {Quantum/MIDI} Force Ghost star 5

    Registered:
    Dec 21, 2015
    And the trumpets from the heavens sing.....
     
  10. SW Saga Fan

    SW Saga Fan Jedi Grand Master star 4

    Registered:
    Apr 19, 2015
    For me, it was more or less a similar experience than the ones mentionned above.

    Born at the end of the 1980's/beginning of the 1990's, I mostly grew up with Disney movies, european comics as Tintin and Spirou, etc. Since I'm living in the French part of Canada (Quebec) and I've done all my studies in primary and secondary school at a French school which was following the european education program, not the North American one, and also had the chance to live in a foreign coutry for some years, I've been exposed to different cultures during my childhood...

    Star Wars only came into my world later, during my teenage years. But I had some very vague memories of having watched once the original Star Wars from 1977 (ANH) when I was 4 or 5 years old on TV, in the mid-1990's. But since I was very young back then, I didn't remember anything until I rewatched it again, after the PT, when the DVD box was released in 2004, then some flashback came back into my mind.

    So I could say that my first exposure to Star Wars was with the PT. It started when I was offered The Clone Wars video game on XBox, which was released on 2002 or 2003, after AOTC was released. I haven't watched any of the Star Wars movies before (maybe expecting ANH years ago), so The Clone Wars/PT era was my introduction to this galaxy far far away. And since I was during my teenage years and was starting to get interested in more "adult" or serious subjects, I was somehow fascinated with the storyline in the video game which had subjects such as "destiny", "Republic", "fate of the galaxy", etc. But I was also amazed by how detailed things were, from planets, to vehicles and costumes. You could have the sensation of having been introduced in a very wide galaxy.

    One of my friends was offered the DVD box of the OT when it was released for the first time in 2004. I didn't watch the movies since I wasn't too interested in it, so I asked him questions about it. I learned more and found out that there was somehow a family's story in this saga when Luke Skywalker was the main character of the OT while Anakin Skywalker was his father in The Clone Wars. But I was totally surprised when my friend told me that the main villain of the OT, Vader, was also Anakin Skywalker. Of course, my friend spoiled me before I could watch any of the movies, but I asked him too many questions and he was kind enough to answer.

    From that moment, a question was stuck in my mind: "How a good person could turn evil?" It was no longer the fairy tales or the stories in which the good guys always win I grew up with. I decided to watch the Star Wars movies and all of this occured more or less at the same moment when ROTS came out in 2005. I decided to watch it, the first Star Wars movies I saw and which introduced me to the cinematographic saga. I was blown away by the movie, I watched it 3 times back then. I couldn't believe how dark it was. From that moment, I learned that every decisions you make, even when you're young, can have an impact on your future as Anakin did in ROTS. I could say that was really one of the main lessons of ROTS and the whole PT.

    After watching ROTS, I watched the other two PT movies and the OT.
     
  11. Darkslayer

    Darkslayer #1 Sabine Wren Fan star 7

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    Mar 26, 2013
    Wish I could answer but I watched the OT first :(
     
  12. DrDre

    DrDre Jedi Grand Master star 4

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    Aug 6, 2015
    Any perspective is welcome, I say. How did the PT change your perspective on the OT, for better or for worse. Did you have many expectations going into the PT?
     
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  13. Force Smuggler

    Force Smuggler Force Ghost star 7

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    Sep 2, 2012
    I saw the PT in theaters first, haven't seen the OT in theaters at all. Does that count?
     
  14. Darkslayer

    Darkslayer #1 Sabine Wren Fan star 7

    Registered:
    Mar 26, 2013
    Zero expectations. I will admit when I first watched the PT, I was thinking along the lines of "why would I watch the OT agains when the I can watch this instead)? The battles of Geonosis and Naboo blew my kid brain away lol. And then the two lightsaber fights with Sidious in ROTS (the only one I originally saw in theaters)! Mace vs Sidious had me on the edge of my seat, and Yoda vs Sidious had me dropping my jaw.

    That's one thing about growing up that sucks IMO - you are less open-minded, although I always try to be.
     
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  15. DrDre

    DrDre Jedi Grand Master star 4

    Registered:
    Aug 6, 2015
    Fire away!
     
  16. Force Smuggler

    Force Smuggler Force Ghost star 7

    Registered:
    Sep 2, 2012
    Watched the OT on VHS a lot before then.
    I barely remember TPM and AOTC in theaters myself. I remember getting home from TPM and shouting "best movie ever!" and for AOTC, loving the Yoda duel and seismic charges.
    Was blown away from ROTS. Saw it first with my dad. The first moment. R2 on the Invisible Hand, Yoda blasting the Imperial Guards, the music. Darth Vader coming to be. The suit. Seeing the moments that caused the OT to be as it was. Great experience.
     
  17. DrDre

    DrDre Jedi Grand Master star 4

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    Aug 6, 2015
    Great stuff! I would like this thread to show the diversity in the Star Wars fandom in the most positive way, but mostly from the PT fan's perspective. I think it's also great to hear the personal stories behind the fandom.
     
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  18. Darkslayer

    Darkslayer #1 Sabine Wren Fan star 7

    Registered:
    Mar 26, 2013
    One funny anecdote to my story: after I first saw Yoda fight in AOTC I ran around the house jumping and screaming with my replica Yoda lightsaber [face_laugh]
     
  19. DrDre

    DrDre Jedi Grand Master star 4

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    Aug 6, 2015
    Yoda is such a strange yet great character. He is so different from any other character ever invented. Lucas is such an imaginative person.
     
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  20. Deliveranze

    Deliveranze Force Ghost star 6

    Registered:
    Nov 28, 2015
    I must say DrDre this is a great idea for a thread. Much more personal than the usual. :)

    I was born in 1997, so I don't remember TPM. My brother (4 years older) loved TPM and had Qui Gon action figures and Battle Droids plus Jar Jar related merchandise. We owned it on VHS and I always watched it around 2000-2001. I remember enjoying it and loving how adventurous it was. The lightsaber duel was also amazing. My brother and I had cheap plastic Qui-Gon and Obi-Wan sabers and would duel for fun. That was my first SW experience.


    In 2002, I was 5 and AOTC came out. I remember buying electronic Anakin sabers and me and my brother would duel with the lights off to see the glowing blades clash. :p
    This was when I consciously became more aware of SW and AOTC was the only prequel I saw in theaters. Luckily, the Clone War Era was what kept SW in my mind as I remember reading junior novels about young Boba Fett's adventures and watching the 2D Clone Wars TV show.

    I remember then watching Empire and ROTJ. I don't remember which one I saw first but I always remember liking Empire and disliking Jedi. I do know ANH was the last of the OT I saw and I was underwhelmed by it. I didn't become a SW fan until 2005 when ROTS came out with its incredible marketing and changed my life forever. ROTS was action packed and yet made me curious to see good men go bad and I was forever enthralled in SW because of it. The Clone Wars show that followed kept SW interesting post-Saga films (at the time) for me and the prequel Era is why I'm here and SW didn't just fade for me.

    My favorite character has to be Anakin. He is just compelling to me and his reactions to the environment around him make me curious to his mindstate. Regardless of your views on the PT, it's hard to deny Anakin's fall to the dark side is interesting and his character arc is still my favorite in all of movie history. Also, whoever came up with his Episode III design deserves a billion dollars. :p Love that hairstyle and look. :p


    I didn't become aware of PT critics until around 2011. On my On Demand channel, the Saga had a consistent ranking. Out of 4 stars, TPM had 3, AOTC had 2, ROTS had 3, ANH had 4, ESB had 4 and ROTJ had 3. While I thought AOTC had an unfair rating and ROTS deserves 4 imo, I didn't see any PT hate until I typed in "Revenge of the Sith review" on YouTube and saw RLM and Confused Matthew. I thought they would be praising the film but I was shocked that they were bashing and just assumed it was a small thing and not blown up like it seems now. I watched it but I just cringed and didn't agree. There is no way, no matter how many memes or vids, that will ever let me think ROTS is near a bad movie or the worst film ever. It's like someone making a 3 hour video titled "Why The Empire Strikes Back is the Worst film ever." It's hard to take serious to me as RLM and other PT detractors.

    Anyway that's my story :p I will always appreciate the PT and it will always remain why I love SW. :p
     
  21. DrDre

    DrDre Jedi Grand Master star 4

    Registered:
    Aug 6, 2015
    Interestingly enough ANH was also underwhelming for me, when I first saw it around 1983, which was not long after I saw TESB. For many years I preferred both TESB and ROTJ over ANH. However, as I got older I appreciated the genuis of the simplicity of ANH more and more, eventually becoming my second favourite in the series. From the brilliant opening shot to using the droids as an audience avatar to the amazingly dynamic and unique way the Death Star trench battle was shot.

    When TPM was announced, I bought every Star Wars magazine I could get my hands on to get a glimpse of the sets, and characters. The first trailer was a real happening, and the size of a postage stamp on your computer. :) Because at the time there was a delay of sometimes months before a film was shown in my country after it had been released in the U.S., I first saw TPM on my computer screen. It was one of those horrible theatre bootlegs with truly awful quality, but it was exciting none the less. I really enjoyed the film, and saw it many times in the theatre, and despite becoming more critical of it as time progressed, there's still a part of me, that secretly loves TPM.
     
  22. DrDre

    DrDre Jedi Grand Master star 4

    Registered:
    Aug 6, 2015
    I remember when the first teaser poster was released in 1998:

    [​IMG]

    Those were some exciting times! It's amazing to think, that TPM is almost as old now as ANH was, when TPM was released.

    Great poster by the way...
     
  23. Torib

    Torib Jedi Master star 2

    Registered:
    Jan 27, 2016
    A nice heart-warming topic! I didn't see the PT first but I decided to write a (rather long) post about it anyway. :)

    I was in 5th grade when TPM came out and by then I had the OT entirely memorized from watching it over and over again on VHS. Technically my first Star Wars cinema experience had been two years earlier when I saw the SE in theaters, but that didn't leave a lasting impression on me: it was cool to see them in theaters, but perhaps I had expected something more, and in the end they were the same movies I already knew. But TPM coming out was a Big Deal. I remember excitedly telling my friends about the trailer I had seen where there was some sort of dragon (the underwater serpent) and a guy with a two-ended lightsaber. When it came time to see it, my excitement was through the roof. I remember clearly those first few moments with the Republic ship rocketing past the camera, the sound of its engines reverberating in that trademark Star-Warsian way, and then later that striking image of Amidala in her strange makeup and elaborate costume rippling into view on the federation screen. It was like an entire world I could never have conceived of was suddenly right there before me. I'm not sure it's possible to describe in words the pure awestruck sense of wonder that I felt in that moment. I think as adults when we encounter something unfamiliar we tend to slot it into our existing mental framework (if not reject it outright) so that few experiences really change us very deeply, but as a child I could practically feel my mind exploding in wonder, as though the world that I knew had suddenly grown so much larger. I saw TPM at least 5 times in theaters and when it came out on VHS I watched it another 5 times in 5 days. At some point around that time though I first became aware of the backlash to the movie, when an older Star Wars fan who I respected made some sort of dismissive comment about it. And after having seen it so many times it wasn't like I couldn't see things to criticize: maybe Anakin's child acting wasn't the greatest, and maybe the lightsaber duel didn't have as much personal stake as in ESB. I began to feel I was too old and sophisticated for Jar Jar. Someone pointed out that the Neimoidians were kind of racist caricatures, which of course dismayed me too. Gradually I lost interest and moved away from Star Wars, which I felt I had outgrown.

    I went to see AOTC as a cynical 8th grader, skeptical that I would like it because the name sounded corny and I wanted something more like LOTR that took itself seriously. But then it blew my mind anyway! I remember my head spinning with excitement all the next day after I had seen it. The clones, Kamino, Jango vs. Obi Wan, the final battle on Geonosis... it was all so amazing. I even liked the romance, too (actually, I still melt a little inside each time Natalie Portman admits her secret love to Anakin). I re-watched that one a bunch in theaters too. But eventually, after a few more viewings, some things started to bother me about this movie as well: Anakin coming across like a jerk when he's bad-mouthing Obi-Wan, and his awkward romantic moves (which probably hit a little close to home as an awkward teenager),and C-3PO's puns in the droid factory. And I remember reading some negative reviews of it, for example from Roger Ebert, and thinking that he made some good points, and that I couldn't really disagree that the original trilogy had a certain spunk, a simple ease to the dialogue, that just didn't seem to quite be there in the prequels. So I came to think less of the movie, even though it had totally blown my mind when I first saw it.

    By the time of ROTS I was in high school and certainly felt that I was much too old for Star Wars. And by this point I kind of took for granted the conventional internet wisdom that the prequels were bad. Which in retrospect is very strange because they had given me what were easily two of the best (probably the two best) cinema experiences of my life. I saw this one more out of a sense of obligation than anything else. I had mixed feelings about it. Parts of it were undeniably awesome, like the first sweeping shot of the space battle, and the well-choreographed emotional duel between Anakin and Obi-Wan. But its flaws also seemed to stand out more to me -- stilted dialogue, etc etc.

    So I was hardly an unabashed prequel lover, and when the RLM reviews came out and were being passed around the internet I watched the reviews and thought they were pretty funny and those more than anything I think solidified in my head the idea that these were flat-out bad movies. As time passed I realized that most of the modern movies coming out in theaters were not interesting to me any more. I might go see Star Trek '09 or Ironman or what have you, movies that were getting strong critical acclaim, and find myself enjoying them well enough, I suppose, on some shallow level, but in a way that didn't leave any real impact on me at all, as though I were consuming a meal with no calories in it. I thought maybe I had just outgrown going to the movies.

    Imagine my surprise then when a full ten years after ROTS I re-watched the prequels on a whim, still thinking that they were bad movies. I was blown away by all three. The amazing visual imagination that had enthralled me as a child captured me again, but it wasn't just that. These movies were unlike anything else out there: they were brave and bold and yes, strange in some ways, but they were so much unlike the usual insipid inoffensive blockbusters that I had grown accustomed to. And there were so many fascinating elements to them that I had never noticed before: how the sleek curved design of the Queen's spaceship evokes memories of pre-world war culture, for example, as does Jar Jar as an homage to old slapstick characters. Or how the relationship Anakin establishes with Padme has this weird slightly Oedipal twist to it from the beginning that hints at his need for stability in his life. And I began to consciously notice the kinds of things I had always taken for granted before in Star Wars movies: how a republic gunship tumbles through a dust cloud just so; how a pod-racer engine whirrs and rumbles in such a satisfying manner as it kicks to life; the angle of a particular shot of Obi-Wan facing off against a giant alien insect as though he were a samurai in a fantastical version of a Kurosawa movie. There is true artistry in all these little details. And personality, too. It's obvious from the way the pod-race is filmed that Lucas loves engines, for example. I didn't know he was into race cars when he was younger, but when I read that somewhere I knew immediately that of course it must be true-- someone who didn't have that kind of love couldn't have filmed the pod-race that way -- wouldn't have known how to. As adults, I think we tend to see things through the lens of our mental constructs rather than experiencing things quite as directly as we used to. While a child might be entranced by, say, the exact way a spaceship moves and sounds as it rips across the screen or the remarkable visuals of Amidala pleading her case in the Senate chamber, an adult might barely care to notice those things, only really paying attention to the dialog and acting (because to them that's what a movie is "supposed to be", is dialog and acting that entertains you). It seems to me now that watching the prequels with such an attitude is a bit like watching an opera performance while wearing ear-plugs -- it's not going to be the best experience.That's my explanation, anyway, for the wide range of responses to these movies. Not to say of course that if someone doesn't like the prequels that it's their fault. If a movie doesn't connect with you that has to at least partly be the movie's fault, no doubt about it. But anyway, it's been fun coming back and rediscovering Star Wars and the prequels. I'm glad that there's not as much negativity around them (and the Star Wars fandom generally) as there used to be.
     
  24. Seagoat

    Seagoat Former Manager star 6 VIP - Former Mod/RSA

    Registered:
    Jan 25, 2013
    Being a SW fan since she saw it in theatres in '77, it's one of the first things my mom introduced me to when I was able

    I have no memory which way I started, but some of my earliest memories are of SW stuff, hype for Episode III, etc.

    I skipped school to see the ROTS premiere (I was a bad little 4th grader) and then saw it five more times while it was still in

    So I've grown up with them all as a cohesive entity. It's stayed that way for me, though I admit I see the spinoffs as separate from that entity (scheduled to see RO the first time tomorrow)
     
  25. Macready1306

    Macready1306 Jedi Youngling

    Registered:
    Dec 18, 2016
    Hi all. New here and SO happy to have finally found a forum that appreciates the prequels! I am a 36 year old so I grew up watching the original trilogy. When TPM was announced I had a book at work that was like a diary for us workers to write notes for each other for tasks. We didn't see much of each other at changeovers of shifts so it was a great communication tool. I wrote in that book every single day, from a year out before TPM arrived, a countdown until its release! I actually got told off for it but I still kept it going!
    The night it was released I saw it with my youngest brother and my parents. When that Star Wars crawl came up I couldn't have been more excited! I loved TPM! Darth Maul was an incredible villain. Palpatine was so amazingly deceptive throughout. Qui-Gon Jinn was so rebellious and smart and a great fighter and wise and I loved his character so much. Obi Wan as an apprentice! Anakin as a little boy! This movie had it all for me. And I was 19 years old! I saw it 7 times at the cinema! Loved it more each time.

    By the time AOTC came around I was in a pretty serious relationship (she is now my wife!!!) so I was only able to see it once, but really enjoyed it. Only problem is it was just the appetiser for episode 3, where all the action would take place! Funniest thing is, AOTC was for a while the Star Wars movie I liked least. In the years since its release on Blu Ray I've watched it numerous times with my kids and I really really enjoy it so much more!

    ROTS is brilliant! The real birth of Darth Vader. Palpatine showing his true colours (Palpatine really took over Vader as THE bad guy in the Star Wars universe thanks to the prequels) and Obi Wan finally proving why he is, along with Yoda, the true, wise Jedi. This movie is so damn good! It has my favourite scene in any Star Wars film (the opera scene) where not only do we get some insight into the ways of the dark side but we also possibly find out how Anakin was born. Ian McDiarmid is brilliant in that scene and he is amazing in this film. The way he plays all sides is so satisfying. His birthing of Darth Vader is what I'd always hoped it would be. The fight between Obi Wan and Darth Vader is beautiful. Obi Wan almost crying at the end telling Vader/Anakin he was like his brother is so moving... everything about ROTS is incredible.

    I only rate the OT higher than the Prequels because I grew up with the OT. But I actually do prefer to watch the Prequels. I think my love of the prequels is why I don't really rate TFA highly. I was so disappointed in that film yet Rogue One amazed me!

    Anyway, I'm a huge prequel fan and I will defend them against anyone who bad mouths them!