PT What was your Worth The Price Of Admission Scene in the Prequels?

Since AOTC has now become my fav prequel, for me has to be:


And there is an ultracool thing that happens in the scene that possibly has not been noticed by all of Prequel fandom (and naturally hard to catch) yet it must be revealed . Ask me if you are interested what it is.

Without further ado, what was your WTPOAS?

MJ

 

The scene where the Ambassador's ship landed on the Trade Federation Battle station.

Yeah, that scene is really great.

 

Cool. Would you consider that entrance scene enough for you as THE best part of ROTS to you?

MJ

 

The Phantom Menace had 2 great scenes... The Pod Race and The duel at the end!

 

No, I mean in the scene in Episode I when Qui-Gon and Obi-Wan land.

Basically the first 10 minutes of TPM is probably my favourite sequence in all of Star Wars. It never lets up until right when the droid fleet lands.

 

My bad! I read it as Trade Federation shuttle. How confused could one get? Too much coffee.

Yes, for a very long time, till I got into AOTC, it was the first 10 mins of TPM was just outstanding to me. Good call! Ditto for the saber battle. Cinematic history there.

MJ

 

I have several for each film, so I am going to list the ones that had me thinking for the 1st time while watching the movie: oh my goodness, this is gonna be one of the best movies I've ever seen.

The Phantom Menace:


Attack of the Clones:


Revenge of the Sith:

 

That first moment of ROTS. Up to the point where Anakin and Obi-Wan first speak.
The seismic charges AOTC.

 

Any scene with Lee from AotC.

 

The Obi-wan vs Jango fight in AOYC comes to mind. Also the fight between Yoda and Dooku towards the end. I dunno, there are so many moments from all the films that I can't truly give an answer. I just like the movies in general.

 

Okay, I'll bite.

Bail slamming his fist into the balustrade? Something some clone does in the background? The neat little red flare at the end (these are all over AOTC)?

And yes -- a magnificent capper! It's high on my list.

Here are some more:

- As mentioned, the opening sequence of TPM. The first thirty minutes are one long burst of doesn't-let-up, blaring brilliance until they land on Tatooine, and then the movie eases into a more gentle pace.

- Dinner table scene in TPM. Very nicely directed and acted. A scene that gives every character something to do, grounds the fantasy of the movie, and takes its time, delivering key exposition and establishing much about Anakin's character and his relationship with Shmi. I love the subdued, tan-driven colour scheme, too.

- "I hope you didn't kill anyone I know for it..." Watto is just a blast in this movie.

- The pod race. Duh! Symphonic exultation of kinetics and sound. A movie within a movie. And there's still half a movie left after it's over.

- Anakin leaving his mom and those fateful words: "What does your heart tell you?"; "Don't look back."

- The reveal of the Galactic Senate and the political intrigue on Coruscant. Brings palpable (*cough*) gravitas to the entire Star Wars saga. It began "right here".

- Anakin's testing scene in dimming sunlight, the scene between Amidala and Jar Jar, and the sad transition in-between.

- "WESA GOIN' HOME!!!" Jar Jar brings a fitting end to the self-serious (but entirely compelling) Coruscant interlude.

- "I ask you to help us. No, I beg you to help us." A hero character down on their knees, forging a new alliance to drive back evil, changing all the rules. I think it works.

- Sneaking into Theed and all the ensuing chaos. "It's on automatic pilot!"

- Laser gate sequence. Brings a strange calm and added intensity to the movie at the same time.

- Obi-Wan hanging over the pit and decisively defeating Maul. Cool scene. And I like how this is the last action thread to be wrapped up.

- "We shall watch your career with great interest." We're sure you will.

- "Peace!" Everything seems peaceful. But is it?

- "Senator, we're making our final approach into Coruscant." First words of AOTC are very ominous.

- The chatter between Anakin and Obi-Wan as they guard Padme. I love how this is lit, scripted, and directed.

- The speeder chase. Pure exhilaration with incredible visuals and great character moments for the doomed brothers.

- The nightclub scene. The intense colours and general atmosphere of the place are something else. And I like how Anakin is on the prowl (though, for an assassin, not sex).

- Anakin heading off on his first assignment and Padme's stark admission: "Suddenly, I'm afraid." And the little joke at Artoo's expense.

- Dex. I don't think I need to say anymore.

- "Are you allowed to love?" Padme trying to understand Anakin better and the bond between them beginning to grow. Love the blues in this section of the film. Also love the outtake where Hayden discovers that the soup he's drinking is too actually hot.

- Anakin and Padme's first kiss. The scenery, the costumes, the hair and makeup, and the cinematography are all stunning. Music and sound design are utterly terrific, too. I also like Anakin's trashy lines as a realistic contrast to the exorbitant beauty of Naboo.

- Obi-Wan glimpsing the clones for the first time and the swelling of the Trade Federation March. "Magnificent, aren't they?"

- The meadow scene. Another scene of perfect beauty, which also offers a lot of character development for Anakin and Padme, and some pretty naturalistic acting, too. I also appreciate the long camera take at the start, before Anakin reveals his leanings for dictatorship.

- Obi-Wan pacing into Jango's private apartment and the two psyching each other out while Boba looks on. Fantastic atmosphere and very taut direction. Taun We perfects the scene with her guileless attitude to these hairy, adrenal, posturing ape-men. Love Jango's remarks, too: "I'm just a simple man trying to make my way in the universe"; "They'll do their job well, I'll guarantee that."

- The fireplace scene. Brooding, erotic, intense. The cinematography is, again, awesome. And Hayden and Natalie are both quite strong here. It's more like watching a play. I appreciate the focused nature of the scene. The flickering fire in the background and the rather understated music give the scene added beauty and texture.

- Meditation scene. Visually, this is the most gorgeous scene in Star Wars, in my opinion. Everything about it is quietly stunning. I love the tentative sensuality, too. And Anakin has what must be the most devastating and ironic line of the movie: "Jedi don't have nightmares."

- Jango/Obi-Wan fight. After the calm, anti-septic interiors of the cloning facility and habitation areas, this fight brings a real sense of muck and grit to the film: two people kicking and punching each other in the rain (while an impressionable young lad observes a stranger kicking the crap out of his dad). Very well-staged and cut together. The moment when Obi-Wan plunges toward the water is hugely symbolic and is arguably the most visually-dramatic moment of "falling", particularly "unintended", in a film replete with falling imagery. And I like how Obi-Wan rescues himself, flips to the platform, and does that finger-wave thing on the door. An excellent demonstration of how tough it actually is to take a Jedi out.

- Anakin appearing to Watto again as an adolescent Jedi. This whole scene is stupendously done. The animation of Watto couldn't be better. I also like how a theme is developed here when Watto tells Anakin that they'll go and check his records. Record-keeping is important in orienting these characters and allowing them to move forward. But whereas the Jedi Archives are incomplete and lead to a dead-end for Obi-Wan, Watto apparently keeps better track of things and is able to send Anakin on the next leg of his journey.

- The asteroid sequence and those sonic charges! It was actually scary in the cinema. The LOUDNESS of those charges! BWAAAAAAAHHHM! I also like the cat-and-mouse thing between Jango and Obi-Wan. And I dig Obi-Wan's little "standby" to Arfour. Not to mention the cockpit alarm sounds heard when Obi-Wan flies through that massive asteroid which has a rather chaotic interior. Visually and aurally abstract in all the right ways.

- The growing sense of desperation in Anakin as he arrives at the homestead, only to discover that Shmi isn't there. Then the shadows on the wall, Anakin mounting the speeder bike, and the primal rush of Duel of the Fates as Anakin zooms BACKWARD (right-to-left), burnished by a blood-red sunset. Wonderfully operatic. Lucas gets into a lot of "wordless poetry" in AOTC and this section of the film really shows the strength of that approach.

- Obi-Wan spying on Dooku and the Separatists. It's all appropriately moody and creepy. A vast conspiracy. In our own world, we currently have the Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership, or TTIP, which is scarily similar to the deals being struck between Dooku and the Separatist Leaders, and something not enough people are talking about:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Transatlantic_Trade_and_Investment_Partnership

(The prequels are astonishingly prescient)

- Anakin finding his mother and pleading with her to "stay" with him. And his attempt at reassurance, which he cuts short as he glances at her injuries. Truly heartbreaking. Another scene with beautiful and highly memorable cinematography and a strong performance from Hayden. The hammer of the Dark Side falls here. I love the gesture of Anakin covering his mother's eyes after she exhales her last and he decides what he's going to do. And that spine-tingling music!!!

- Remorseless visual beauty: the purple-kissed sky of Tatooine (purple is a very ambient colour in Clones) and the "beheading" wipe (beheading is a major motif in Clones) as Anakin chops up the Tuskens and the film cuts to Yoda who is pulled from his deep meditation. And in clever contrast to Anakin's frenzied attack, Mace just calmly strolls into the chamber like a boss. I also like Mace's compassion when he asks Yoda what the matter is. And the design of the chamber, especially with that amber light filtering through. Clones is an incredible looker! Just being around this movie again is... intoxicating.

- Anakin returning to the homestead and his confession to Padme. There is such a brilliant intensity and tragic ache to these scenes. It's a serene day outside, but Anakin is burning with heartache inside. He has become a ghost in the world of the living.

- Scene at Shmi's grave. Heartrending when Anakin sinks to his knees and Shmi's theme lightly plays. "I wasn't strong enough..." What I think I like most is the reaction shot of Padme (and the costume she has on) as she inhales Anakin's grief. Very touching.

- Rerouting Obi-Wan's message back to Coruscant. I really like the way Obi-Wan is stood holographically in the centre of the room in a deep and heroic "blue". And the way the camera gently pans round. I also like how the droidekas that attack Obi-Wan and cause the message to end appear to emerge from Padme's chest ("Alien" reference?). The Jedi's calm, understated reaction back on Coruscant again expresses their strong mental control. "More happening on Geonosis than has been revealed..."

- The little moment between Anakin and Padme where Padme offers Anakin the perfect loophole-exploit to fly to Geonosis and rescue Obi-Wan. I have to also think that Threepio's line to Artoo is meant to symbolically express Anakin's joy at how well Padme now appears to know him: "I've never flown before..."

- Jar Jar being manipulated. Poor sod.

- Dooku interrogating Obi-Wan. Boy, what a scene to put in your movie! Christopher Lee being Christopher Lee, Ewan McGregor being all knightly, and the brilliant visual design of the scene. Plus the revelations. It is clear that AOTC is a movie, on some level, about prowling/pacing, which is used to symbolically suggest shifting allegiances and characters subtly ensnaring one another. "Around the survivors a perimeter create." Dooku creates a perimeter around Obi-Wan as he paces around him. I love the whole execution of this. And the way Obi-Wan is suspended (and again associated with blue) gives you some sense (this is merely one layer) of Obi-Wan's steadfast loyalty to the Republic and to the Jedi. His attachment to the existing order makes him both strong and weak. It keeps him free of Dooku's manipulations, but also shackles him to a particular fate. There's an interesting tension there and a rather subtle meditation on destiny. Love the spotlights and the way Dooku treads in and out of the light, too. This is a fantastically-done scene.

Well, that's enough for now.

I may conclude this later.

Call it the Pre-Clone-War ramble.

 

Nope. Come now. All of fandom could miss that?

Quite. But just random movements can't be cool enough for what I would consider a little playfulness by the ILM magicians yet, it's more to what these particular clones themselves are thinking.

You got me here. I didn't notice that. I'll check it out but, still not awesome enough imo.

Agreed!

There is also the cute "Boom, and they blow you up!" and Jar's Jar's response. GL's SW humor for the kid in all of us.

I like Watto's encapsulation of that immediately with the "...so I supply the boy.." Watto as greedy as he is. Perfect!

Sure. Meanwhile, My main focus was to the "big picture" moment that defines the episode, subjectively. Mileage surely varies to each person.

MJ

 

IMO the best sequence in the whole PT doesn't even have dialogue. The 2 mins at the very end of RotS is perfect. Everything from the moment 3PO says "oh no" are my favorite scenes. Alderaan with Leia, Vader & Palpatine on the SD overlooking the Death Star & then the scenes on Tatooine. Perfect music, perfect visuals, perfect sequence.

 

I like the battle near the end of TPM with 4 fronts and how they are intermixed.

 

That's great. Proving more than ever SW can succeed even if the 6 part story were silent films. The genius of GL a true filmmaking phenom of our time.

MJ

 

This.

The beautiful irony of it was the Gungan front was a diversion. Yet a plot point!

MJ

 

Why would you do this? Why would you list every amazing scene in the PT? T_T

 

Yes, I am interested, could you please reveal it?

 

I'm crazy, m'kay?


But seriously, in deference to MarcJordan, and in kindness to my keyboard, I'll try and whittle it down, to a handful of picks for each movie:

TPM

i) Swim to Otoh Gunga. I found this perfectly enchanting on my first-ever viewing and still do. John Williams' beautiful choral passage really takes this moment places.

ii) Qui-Gon cutting through the door on the TF ship. Again, John Williams' wonderful quoting of the Force Theme does a lot here. Fantastic moment!

iii) The sad scene between Amidala and Jar Jar on Coruscant. Really reminds you that something is at stake. Even a stoic queen and a crazy amphibian outcast (well, shoot - they're both now outcasts) have deep feelings when things grow desperate and they have a moment to reflect. Flung half-way across the galaxy, they're both worried about their home planet, and bonded in their quiet grief. If TPM is about precious connections sparking up new realities, then this scene is the heart of the movie. Love it.

Runner-Up:
Jar Jar and Anakin waiting aimlessly outside of Palpatine's apartment, separated from (and spared) the Machiavellian scheming of Palpatine by a thin glass membrane. Things will be different in the future.

AOTC

i) The whole of the speeder chase. It really is a riveting passage. Opens up the world of Coruscant tremendously, is a great way to snap to a big burst of action, and gives the viewer good insight into the Anakin/Obi-Wan pair dynamic. It is equally adept at revealing what is unique about them as individuals. Thus, like the staging of the action itself, it is revelatory on multiple planes.

ii) The meditation scene. I honestly think it is the most visually-sumptuous scene in entire Star Wars saga. And there's something devastatingly intimate and sad about it. The look and the mood of the scene are just perfect.

iii) Ending montage. It is an extraordinary end to the picture. Spell-binding imagery and music. Perfect compositions, camera movements, colours... you name it. The ending montage, combined with the credits and that wonderful love theme, could almost be a movie unto itself. As dense as AOTC already is, this end passage capably furnishes the movie with an even greater sense of the epic, satisfyingly adding whatever the movie itself could not squeeze in. I haven't had this feeling from any other film. I know the OT has the aching simplicity of the binary sunset, but perhaps this is Lucas' and John Williams' finest collective moment.

Runner-Up:
When Yoda tells the clones to fire on the TF ship taking off on Geonosis. I love the bassy sounds of it cracking and disturbing the sand. And the ensuing dust cloud is a very neat visual effect. Also love how everything is then blanketed in this cloud for a few moments. And everything that follows once the cloud clears: including the argument between Anakin and Obi-Wan (rather intense). Great dramatic moments, exhilarating battle footage, and wonderful symbolism throughout.

ROTS

i) Opening shot. Absolutely monumental -- almost frightening -- on the big screen. Your heart almost stops when those drums kick in. "What is happening here? OMG, OMG, here we go..." That feeling is almost impossible to duplicate outside of the cinema, but the first shot is still powerful and enveloping. And then there is the opening sequence itself, which is probably the one time I might have ironically said in my head, "Okay, you can stop entertaining this much, any time, now..." Great start to a great movie.

ii) Opera scene. It's just so good. Performance and scripting aside, the staging of this scene is just surreal, and the camera work is, again, first-rate. I remember being intrigued -- beguiled, almost -- when a brief snapshot of this scene cropped up in the theatrical trailer. The full scene delivers and then some. The film changes and deepens from under you as this scene unfolds. Tremendous execution. Speaking of which...

iii) Sidious killing Mace. Well, the whole encounter, really, but the end of it is particularly brutal. This is really the Emperor's movie. Everything feels very dark from this moment forward.

iv) Yoda and Sidious duelling in the Senate. But especially that wide shot when the drums kick in and Sidious and Yoda rise up from a distance on the Chancellor's podium (nice "birthing" imagery, too). It's just so visceral, so operatic. The fight for supremacy in the heart of the Republic. Really fantastic on the big screen.

Runner-Up:
Yeah, it's a small one compared to the above, but I love that short scene between Anakin and Obi-Wan in the briefing room, with Anakin both apologizing to and concealing the truth of his lateness from Obi-Wan. Not only is this small scene very moodily lit, and the renewed tension between the Jedi brothers both palpable and ominous, but the room itself is beautifully grand -- and actual! Yes, they really built a set for this one short scene, which I find very pleasing in light of all this "practical" nonsense for the sequel trilogy marketing scheme. Prequels are tangible and evocative exactly when they need to be; and they remain flush with depth, intrigue, texture, and beauty.

I hope that's better.

 

Which one was not as far as I am concerned.

 

Not a scene, but the fact that they were the prequels that were promised years ago, the missing part of the story, was what made it worthy.

 

I only saw ROTS in theaters, but anyway what was worth the price of admission?

All of it.

 

The Phantom Menace - Darth Sidious & Darth Maul converse on the balcony

Attack of the Clones - Pan up to Coruscant

Revenge of the Sith - Darth Sidious vs. Master Yoda

 

Yes. And the fact that Lucas saw it through to completion.

The existing Star Wars saga -- however large it grows -- is forever bounded by the cyclical rise, fall, and redemption of Anakin Skywalker.

Everything else is gravy.

 

The arena battle from AOTC.