Visual Storytelling at its greatest: In depth analysis.

Well, if he showed up and Han and Leia were nearly dead, then actually died in his arms, I think Luke would have given in to some pretty serious anger!

 

Don't forget Luke showed his true anger, as soon as Vader threatened that he'll turn Leia to the Darkside.

 

Also, the shot where Anakin looks up with hatred in his eyes after his mother has died, just before he kills the Tuskens, mirrors the shot of Luke looking up after lowering his head at seeing the homestead destroyed, and his aunt and uncle dead. Of course, Anakin's is in the dark with firelight on him - but Luke is outside in the daylight.

Someone needs to post these.

 

[image=http://mywebpage.netscape.com/swadvent/Luke_reaction.jpg]
[image=http://mywebpage.netscape.com/swadvent/Anakin_rage.jpg]

 

If I recollect correctly, the scene with Anakin holding his mother, he's rubbing his hand on hers, while she was dying.

In ROTJ while Luke holds his dying father, he's rubbing his hand on his father's arm.

 

Thank you kindly, advent.

 

Openmind, that goes hand in hand with the theme of a parent dying in their child's arms.

Obi Wan/Qui Gon
Anakin/Shmi
Luke/Anakin

and possibly another in III....possibly.

it's so fascinating really.

 

I don't think that's a good comparison story-wise advent. They look kinda the same, but there the parralells end. They don't mesh on a story-telling basis. IMO

 

you are correct I believe.

 

For starters, someone thought they should be posted, so I obliged. I was trying to be nice. Secondly, how do they not mesh story-wise? They both show the reaction from Luke and Anakin after they see loved ones dead. They both represent a major turning point for the main character(s) in the Star Wars story. Seems like they mesh just fine to me. Unless there was a more specific purpose of this thread that I missed? Maybe I did. Anyway, it wasn't my comparison. I'll let DarthyMarkyMark explain his reasoning.

Now, I'll just go back to read-only mode on the message boards.

 

The stormtroopers massacring Luke's family is definitely being paralleled with the Tuskens killing Anakin's mother. Luke sees the troops representing the impersonal Empire that destroyed his father and his adopted family, the same way Anakin sees this "impersonal" tribe responsible for his mother's death.

But consider how these sequences contrast as well. It's a cool reverse doubling:

When Anakin is on the bike heading out to find his mother, he's moving screen right to left, from the Lars Homestead to the Tusken wilderness and during sunset. After he discovers her fate, he's away from Obi-Wan and acts out in bloody vengeance solitarily.

When Luke is riding his landspeeder back to his uncle & aunt, he's moving screen left to right, from the Tusken wilderness to the homestead and during the light of day. Upon discovering their fate, Obi-Wan will be there this time channeling anger and hate for noble deeds.

NOTE:It was pretty common visual language in classical Hollywood for bad guys to move right to left, while the good guys went left to right (Interesting how the Clone Troopers on Geonosis moved right to left. )
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Thanks again, advent.

 

Of course, both sequences are riffing on John Ford's "The Searchers".


George Lucas:

It's kind of a theme that reoccurs in Episode IV is that I've purposely developed themes and ideas and I repeat them. It's very very clear in the two trilogies that I'm putting the characters in pretty much the same situation, sometimes even using the same dialogue so that the father and the son go through pretty much the same experience. Obviously Anakin takes a different road than his son takes, so that at some of these turning points they go the other way. But it's been set up for you to almost expect that they will go, you know that Luke will follow in his father's footsteps because in a lot of these Episodes they do follow each other which leads to a subtle influence which gives the audience a little expectation.

Yep.

 

I think it's similar, but not a definate parallel.

There is a difference.

 

Wow and bravo! The photo imagery displayed in this topic is awesome. As a mid 30's SW fan, I love to see the blending of themes between the PT and the OT. I am also in the minority by saying that I love the PT as much as the OT. I am looking forward to seeing all 6 episodes together, back to back, starting with the Phantom Menace. Great job, Darth Solo!

 

thanks.

 

I'd never noticed this thread before... brilliant stuff though! Some of those parallels must have been really hard to spot - good work!!

I was particulary struck by just how similar the composition of some of the shots are. I consider myself a huge fan of all the films, and I think I'm inclined to over-analyse these films at times, but I'm always looking for stuff like this and a lot of these have eluded me.

I think there are some parallels within the OT though. While not necessarily composed in exactly the same way, the shot of Luke watching the burning homestead in ANH and the shot of him watching Vader's funeral pyre are pretty close (sorry, I don't have any screencaps). There must be more as well...

 

Edits : *sigh* Guess not Can't make it to work. Sorry!

 

Great work! Some of those shots are so subtle - but that's part of the enjoyment of Star Wars, in my opinion.

Keep 'em coming!!

 

This is a great thread and I've seen some things I hadn't considered before despite being a fan for, oh, a long time . Keep it up!

--MissPadme

 

I just watched an episode of the TV show "The Apprentice" where two marketing teams each had to create a new Pepsi bottle, okay? Now the first team created a bottle with no discernable logic to it, but somehow the bottle looked cool and it won the contest. The second team, well, their bottle made all the INTELLECTUAL sense in the world, but it simply did not work. Who knows why or how, not everything is rational, some things just are.

But here's my point: These tricks in the Star Wars movie did not work on an emotional level. When they created these shots, they probably seemed INTELLECTUALLY like they would work teriffically, but you know what they say about the best laid plans of mice and men....

Movies, as so routinely pointed out by James Cameron, are an emotional art form. It's not about visual gimmicks or DV vs. film, it's about making the people FEEL something.

These shots, despite their clever intellectual creation, simply did not make too many people feel anything.

But kudos to the guy who noticed it and started this thread. Very good work.

 

Had a hard time finding the ROTJ image, so apologies for the crappy scan...



[image=http://images7.fotki.com/v135/fileT8TP/48469/2/241119/865706/g_301.jpg]

Anakin leaving his mission to save his mother

[image=http://images8.fotki.com/v146/file6hAG/48469/2/241119/865706/scan0001_jpg.jpg]

Luke leaving his mission to save his father

 

Good one Wook! Brilliant really

Meanwhile, the one I was trying to show, was Luke looking at his hand, after he cuts of Vader's; and Anakin looking at his hands, just before he tells Padme he killed the Tuskens.

If anyone can put those here, I'd be grateful.

 

As requested:

[image=http://www.geocities.com/talkingfierce/sw3.jpg]

 

openmind - good one there! I only recently noticed on the AOTC DVD that Anakin is looking at his hands - the shot practically cuts it off though. Too bad - it almost has a Macbeth theme to it...y'know "Out damned spot!!"

sorry my link is busted - gotta get a new webpage for that *sigh*

 

This thread is absolutely fabulous!! I love it!!

As MissPadme said above, a lot of this I hadn't even noticed before...I'm gunna have to try to come up with a few myself

This truly *is* visual storytelling at its greatest!!

More, more....I want more!!



Here's a pic I did not do myself....just found it somewhere; totally wish I could give credit where credit is due. And it's not technically frames from the movies, but a parallel nonetheless

[image=http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v617/BrittenJ/SW/likemotherlikedaughter.gif]

It's called: "Like Mother Like Daughter". Hope whoever made it doesn't mind that I post it here

-AnakinsLuv