CT Why have the designs of the OT aged so well?

Stormtroopers remain the coolest looking henchmen of all time, but why? The designs of these movies are so timeless and I've never seen much discussion as why. Obviously the sci-fi setting eliminates most of the '70s/'80s fashion, but Star Trek and many other movies of this era look quite dated.

Alien has aged well too, so perhaps it's down to the "lived in" look of these universes?

 

Other then the fact the ST helmet looks a tad bulky, yes I will say the ST helmet has edged well from 1977 onwards.

 

To put it simply - because of two incredibly talented people: George Lucas and Ralph Mcquarrie. Geroge had a vision and Ralph was able to execute and expand upon his ideas like no one else could.

“When words could not convey my ideas, I could point to one of Ralph’s fabulous illustrations and say, ‘Do it like this". --GL

 

I think Lord of the Rings will age well also... It's cgi, pop culture and "at the time" fashion infested films that will age badly!

 

Theyre simply just terrific designs that were also very unique. For me Vaders mask is the coolest design in the history of film and scifi, followed by Terminator endoskeleton

 

Agreed. I was watching a childhood favorite the other night, the 1994 Lassie, and while this movie is hugely nostalgic for me, I can't deny that the movie is incredibly 90's in every way. From the soundtrack, to the costumes, to the way the movie is made, everything about the movie simply screams 90s. It's very dated. In a way, I can see Harry Potter somewhat becoming the same way for some of the same reasons. The fashion starting with PoA, for example, is pretty trendy, forgetting the books take place in the 90s (which the first two movies kinda didn't, and used 90s fashion), and introducing some more post-millennium era fashion like tighter fitting jeans and A&F styled hoodies. I fear that when I show the movies to my children, they'll laugh at the clothing I wore when I was 13 and 14, like I do my own parents.

The saving grace of Star Wars is, like SensationalSean says, it avoids dating itself. Heck, despite the mention of data tapes, tiny console screens and huge cords lying everywhere, Star Wars technology hasn't left us behind either. We have yet to have space travel or weaponry like Star Wars, but we can produce prosthetics just like Star Wars, we can produce hovercraft similar to Star Wars, we have holograms just like Star Wars. The technology is still relevant for us. We can watch Star Wars, point to something, and say, "Hey, that's just like the one so-and-so has!"

 

In terms of outfits I think they did a fantastic job of keeping it timeless. Our 3 heroes all usually wear fairly simple outfits that generally suit their environment. Han keeps it simple with boots, trousers and a white top... That's still a standard outfit today. Leia's princess dresses are simple and elegant while her Hoth and Endor costumes are clearly practical outfits. Luke conforms with the Jedi/monk look which we all instantly recognise.

Vader just looks like a bad ass. His style won't ever age as the Star Wars universe has been painted so well that we instinctively think that outfit is normal...normalish at least.

The Imperials have a nazi style that everyone understands and the Stormtroopers are almost like the well kitted Romans attacking the poor Celts.

It's really exceptional how good a job they did, if you looked at the films with no prior knowledge of Star Wars or its cast you wouldnt be surprised if the originals were made in several different decades.

 

Oh yeah, I forgot to add the music! If anything is a dead give away about what era a film is from - It's the music. Good thing for us Star Wars has it's own music...

 

I think the designs hit a good balance between otherworldly and familiar, so you don't have the feeling that this was what sci fi looked like in the 20's, 50's, 70's, 90's or whatever, which is dating. The classical music soundtrack also adds a timelessness to it. Compare this with something like The Matrix, which was uber cool and cutting edge at the time of its release, but which is now inextricably a product of its time.

 

I feel that the designs have a sense of reality to them, like they're actually meant to work IRL because there's a need for them to work. A lot of attention was given to details and functionality.
That's probably a contributing factor.

 

The sound design also made it all so much more. I cant imagine SW without Burt or Williams

 

The attention to background details and the actors selling the environment/characters also perhaps. I can't seperate the characters from their actors for the most part. The Empire feels like a legit galaxy.

And I just realised that isn't exactly the thread question lol.

 

The funny thing about hans look to me is how often I saw female classmates wearing his outfit at Football games in college around a decade ago.