PT Revenge of the Sith Turns 20!

Well currently most Star Wars lacks an aesthetic of its own. The TV shows and even Rogue One and Solo are 50-60% mostly playing with the toys we already seen in the movies but in different ways. And Disney are very much dependent on those familiarities because the fans also like those details. The Mandalorian is 70-80% familiar aesthetic.

The ST being one of the earliest to delve into those familiarities could actually become more nostalgic. While being one of the later ones delving into that familiarity could make it more forgettable. Because we are fairly used it now that none of it is giving us the same emotions as it did when we were surprised by it being possible.

But of course lets not pretend the ST hasn't introduced its own stuff. Babu frick for example or that species seems to be getting used a lot now.

 

I also think that Simply having a THIRD trilogy to compare to the original helped fans learn to be a little more 'forgiving' of the PT-especially once we all saw how that third trilogy ended up..It reminded us all that SW used to be better, more epic, more...special-and the PT was part of that. The existence (and disappointing factors) of the ST helped us all realize how great the PT really was, what the ST was missing that all the previous SW films had. Many fans didn't realize the PT for what it was while it was being released, simply cos it was the ONLY thing we could compare to the OT, and it was ultimately different from what most OT fans expected. People are always more forgiving of the quality of something, when there are MORE examples available to compare it to.

The other part of what made the PT start to grow more admired over time IMO is what was mentioned before-that it attracted its OWN new generation of hardcore fans; the ones who were around middle-school age (give or take a few years) when it came out-helped by the toys, the TCW series etc... And that younger new generation grew up, matured and became more vocal about their opinions. The ST didn't do that at all-it was more or less widely seen as just another fun blockbuster, a la Avengers or Spiderman. Once it was gone from theaters, it was gone from young people's minds-they had moved on to the next CG-heavy blockbuster.

I don't mean to be a doom-sayer, but I see all that's happening lately with SW as the 'beginning of the end' for SW as an IP. Sure it'll be around for a couple decades still before it's completely gone...but it already is not-and hasn't been-the culturally-influencing experience it once was, back in the early 2000's. Now, it's basically just...a collection of entertaining productions-some amazing, some not so great. The fact that LFL can't decide what to do with the franchise and as a result it'll be almost a decade since the last SW film had been in theaters doesn't help matters at all.

 

BB-8 has been another example of designs that made to pop culture iconography.

@DARTH_BELO
Concerning the impact of the ST for young people: I dont think you can compare that to the times of the PT. Despite the PT had some good competition too the times were quite different. People and young people were as flooded with content it has been since the 2010s. All franchises struggle with this nowadays. None of the Fantastic Beasts movies made as much as an impact as the Potter films, the Jurassic World films all seem to have come and gone, even Dune which was so praised has not raised a huge new following and grapped the minds of young people. Marvel struggles too lately because the new generations are not vastly involved emotionally whith those characters as we were. They have not read the the comics or seen the TV Shows.

These are difficult times for any established franchise because young people dont get to deep into that stuff. They cant quote whole movies like we did because they dont watch them as much as we did. These days its more about "seeing as much as you can for the sake of seeing it" and be good. Its more like chores. When the PT came out we didnt have the amount of content and the easy way to watch anything we want where and whenever we want. Streaming is great for us of course but it takes so much away from the movie experience, from the movie value. For me a movie as value, it has weight. A DvD/Bluray release gives the movie a certain importance and grounding, its made to stay. Streaming is...air. Its there and its gone. Whenever I see Gen Z people in Quiz shows here in germany and they are asked movie questions they for the sake of it can not answer them. They just dont remember. They dont get into that stuff as much as we did.

The fact that young people didnt as much into the ST as we did get into the PT and OT isnt the fault of the ST. Its just the zeitgeist. And for that the ST did pretty well I'd say.

 

Speaking as somebody who thought he'd join a Star Wars forum because he loves Star Wars, I completely agree with you both.

Additionally, as much as I wouldn't wanna see this positive and celebratory thread devolve into yet another Sequel debate, I'd also fully endorse the point about generational shift @KyleKartan is making (and about how iconic BB-8 is, bless that adorable lil' ball of joy).

I'm not much of a social media person, but I do love a good Prequel Meme, and it's quite telling how the majority of them come from Revenge of the Sith. Even those that re-contextualise certain scenes or characters demonstrate how timeless the movie is, and how timeless Star Wars can be in general. That's another reason why I'll be steering clear of the cinema, though. You just know some younglings are gonna be shouting those memes at the screen!

 

The Prequels were my childhood and i saw this in the theaters as a child. They were my childhood so they should be my favorite of the three. But no the ST are my favorite. Rey Skywalker is up there with Anakin Skywalker for me. TFA and TLJ is up there with ANH and Empire. I am one of the Prequel generation who both love Prequels and Sequels.

 

True that, the ST was so badly made that it actually increased the popularity of the PT for a lot of people. That and the PT did a lot better in the toys department like you said due to the varied new designs Lucas kept coming up with. Also the massive popularity of Avengers killed the SW market among a lot of kids.

 

The Toy market is dead in gerneral. SW Toys are made for kids who dont play with toys that much anymore. Its the same for nearly every fanchise out there. Dont pretend to make it a SW/ST thing. Kids just dont play with toys that much anymore as PT era or OT era Kids did.

Beside that the ST is no way shape or form a BADLY made movie series. You can like or not like story or plot that they decided on but from a technical, directive and acting point of view those movies are just as good as any other SW film...it is just unfounded to say otherwise...

 

By badly made I was referring to the lack of an overall plan for the story of the ST, not the technical elements. Technically there's no issues and the acting is good mostly except Daisy over-acting sometimes in TFA.

 

1. I definitely agree about the toy market point! Toy sales in general are down overall compared to previous decades...makes sense, as all different kinds of tech have more or less taken that over. Kids simply demand more from their entertainment these days.

2. RE: The ST, my point was never being made about the movies being produced poorly. I'll be the first to agree that aesthetically the films were beautiful (even TLJ, my least favorite SW film). And indeed the acting was VERY well done-I actually like Rey as a character, and wouldn't mind seeing more of her. The main issue was the writing. The storytelling choices made. The way certain characters were treated, which was just...everything fans hoped NOT to see, yet that's still what we got, just for the sake of being different. I see the ST writing/storytelling as basically one disjointed missed opportunity after another, in an effort to make up for the lack of an overall plan. It's sad really, when I stop and think what this trilogy COULD have been, if only there was a plan in place. YES they did well in the box office. BUT there's no denying they were NOT the excitement-generating, culturally-influencing 'events' that I truly believe they could've been (which is the part of their success I was referring to).

Besides, my main point wasn't simply PT bashing, but rather the simple fact that now there's more examples of SW films-of all different qualities and preferences-to compare to each other, which naturally would cause one to look at a film like TPM or AOTC perhaps in a different light, and with different comparison criteria since there's now 10 other SW films to compare with (if you count the spinoffs) rather than just five others, as it was before the ST was released.

 

Just got my tickets! I'm going on Sunday 4/26. It'll be great to see ROTS in theaters again for the first time since 2005! I wanted to take my kids with me, but...alas...they're grounded so, missing this was their consequence.

BTW Sorry for the DP but it's the next day...

 

I heard Anakin becomes Vader!

 

Not to mention, somehow, Sheev returned!
Thought he lost that fight at least.

 

What would've actually been hilarious is if @Dandelo actually used spoiler tags!!

 

Spoiler

Spoiler

Spoiler

Chancellor Palpatine is Darth Sidious and declares...an empire
my source is confidential but they are never wrong, ever.
They also say Greedo briefly becomes Vader's secret apprentice and kills Plo Koon

 

As I've posted elsewhere, I didn't particularly care for the ROTS novelization. I found it too pretentious ("This is how it feels to be *fill in the blank*...") and I really disagreed with its portrayal of Vader as some sort of alternate personality. Of the novelizations I've read, I greatly prefer James Kahn's ROTJ adaptation.

 

*ahem* sooooo...

I actually DID click ALL those tags LOL!


...But Seriously, I was thinking the other day just how watching ROTS in the theater again could possibly have quite a different impact for me this time, simply cos of all that's changed since it was last on the big screen. My life was very different in 2005 for one thing-living in WI not Colorado, I was newly married-no kids yet (and I had no idea the journey we had in store in that department!). Of course, the movie itself will feel diffferent too I imagine: back then the prequels were on everyone's mind, and this was the completion of the saga! It had just come out and was all fresh and new. But now, decades later, the prequel bashing era had come and gone, the movie theater experience in general has changed, and of course the PT is viewed somewhat differently now-and if I'm not mistaken, with the passing of the ST and all that involved, ROTS is viewed now with a certain amount of reverie or respect it wasn't being given in years past.

Perhaps I'm making too big a deal out of simply an older favorite coming back to theaters for a bit. But this is surely ALL being done for nostalgia-so let's be nostalgic about it-that's what I say.

 

That looks so beautiful, I would never even open it.

 

Gonna go this weekend too. I'm very excited! Reminds me of when it originally came out, getting picked up from fifth grade early to go see it in the theater. Time sure does fly.

 

Tickets are booked for one of the showings on Sunday evening. Nice to see that its on the local Vue cinema from Fri-Weds with 4 screenings per day. Buts its absolute madness that Jedi didn't get that for its 40th anniversary celebrations here in the UK.

 

So far no imax screenings anywhere near me, so I’ll probably just go with my local theater. That novelization is something I might pick up too. I have my original hard cover book my mom got me. Has a little note written in it and everything. I really thought that book was awesome back then. It’ll be nice to read it again!

 

Yeah I didn't see ROTJ in a theater near me either-which is wierd, cos although my local AMC up the road is a smaller version, there's one of the 'big ones' in a town about a half hour drive away-and that usually gets EVERYTHING-but I didn't see ROTJ there!

My kids and I saw TPM there last year...

BTW I wonder if they'll do anything special next year for the 30th anniversary of the Special Editions...? Anyway I'm confident they'll do something for ANH in 2027! I mean, it's the 50th anniversary of STAR WARS as a whole - they GOTTA do something big!!!! I'd go for the whole saga re-eleased in theaters over the course of the year, perhaps also in IMAX or 3D...or both!

All the film soundtracks remastered on vinyl would be nice too...

I know there's supposed to be at least one maybe two new SW films coming out that year...that would be a nice addition-SW would literally dominate 2027!

 

I saw Empire for its 40th when covid was on and that was being shown across multiple chains in the UK. Yet Jedi was only on in select cinemas across the country for its 40th, I couldn't get my head around that. Now for the prequels we're back to multiple cinemas again with TPM last year and now ROTS this year.

The original has to be re-released in cinemas for its 50th, theres no way thats not happening. If they are clever they could use it as a good bit of promo for the Levy film that year too.

A re-release of the soundtracks on vinyl is long overdue, Disney recently did it for the Indy movies which coincided with the 40th anniversary of TOD, so why not do it for the OT?