Film Poll: The Final Battle!

[Ocicat]

Lucas is like a pet dog you've had since it was a puppy.  Years ago it was a great companion, now it lays about and piddles the rug when it's not wrecking your furniture, but you're still too fond of it to put it out of your misery.

Bwhahaha!  I wonder if we'll ever manage to convince him that his behavior just isn't cute anymore...

[stePH]

 

Full disclosure: I copped that from Jeremy "Toastyfrog" Parish's review of Episode I, though I can't remember the exact words he used ... something to that general effect.  Might have been something about farting and smelling up the room all the time too.

[oddpod]

NONONO!!!!
i wont do it!
i carnt do it
you carnt make me!!!
kill me insted, kill me!

[errant371]

Raiders... is the better movie.  Star Wars has had a huge impact on the way many people see science fiction, but as a film, as a story, Raiders... is superior. 

Part of my opinion is based on the fact that Raiders... did not need sequels (although I am glad that they did a good job with Last Crusade, though Temple... and Kingdom... should never have been made).  Certainly, the Star Wars trilogy can be viewed as one large 3 act play (composed of 3, 3 act plays which appeals to symmetry), however, even when viewed as such, they are a mish-mash of conflicting sub-plots, story inconsistancies, overly complex character interaction, uneven direction and acting and rests on a backstory not clearly thought out. 

Raiders... on the other hand (despite some rather obvious flaws) is nicely self contained.  The backstory is nicely summed up in the first 20 minutes; we learn all we need about Jones and his world quickly without resorting to long and tedious exposition (unlike Star Wars) in a wonderfully concieved and directed action sequence.  The story hangs together much better and makes wonderful and appropriate use of pulp and adventure genre cliche.  You know there is going to be a jilted woman, because there is always a jilted woman in this sort of story.  The story and the film play to the audience's expectations while remaining fresh and interesting.  The direction is great.  There is inspired use of static shots and close-ups to imply movement, emotion and detail reminescent of pulp comics and old film serials.  All around, Raiders of the Lost Ark is a great film that has not only aged well, but continues to impress on every viewing.

That said, Star Wars will probably win.

[Ocicat]

Looks like Star Wars is going to win it... I'm not particularly surprised.  If nothing else, it's just so formative for an entire generation (and more) of SF fans.  Even though, of course, it's not really Science Fiction.  But I do think it's a great movie all on it's own... and the greatness probably owes more to Campbell then to Lucas.  The Hero's Journey is simply and well presented, amid a background that just can't help but be fascinating.  The other thing that still impresses me about it is the "used future" look, something he let go of in the newer movies. 

[Russell Nash]

The other thing that still impresses me about it is the "used future" look, something he let go of in the newer movies. 

I was at the train station the other day and I watched one of these super-fast euro-trains come in.  It was a rainy, crummy day.  The train was streaked with dirty water and looked horrible.  the only thing I could think about was the "used future" look from SW.

[Ocicat]

Annnnd that's it! 

Star Wars wins the Escape Artist's Favorite Film Award!

[Bdoomed]

yay.

[deflective]

the award ceremony

[stePH]

the award ceremony

Holy living f**k Harrison Ford was young back then.

No medal for Chewie?  I thought I remembered Chewie getting a medal too.

[deflective]

and i remembered a free spirited Carrie Fisher bouncing with excitement.
might be one of the many other versions of the movie.

edit: ever see the Kurt Russell audition? there's a version may have been

[eytanz]

(quietly, beneath my breath:) boo

[wintermute]

the award ceremony

Holy living f**k Harrison Ford was young back then.

No medal for Chewie?  I thought I remembered Chewie getting a medal too.

Chewie is just a squire. It's only the knights who get the medals.

[CammoBlammo]

Chewie is just a squire. It's only the knights who get the medals.

Some would say that Chewie was in charge of the whole rebellion.

[Ocicat]

Some would say that Chewie was in charge of the whole rebellion.

Possibly the most brilliant piece of film analysis ever.  Or at least... damn funny.  Always knew there was more going on with R2 than his beeps and bloops let on.

[Roney]

Some would say that Chewie was in charge of the whole rebellion.

Inspired.  I think I might actually enjoy watching Star Wars again if I remember that this is going on in the background.

[wintermute]

Pah. The whole thing falls apart when you remember that Yoda was working with Palpatine to destroy the Republic.

It was Yoda who sent the Jedi knights (the double-0's of Star Wars) into a stand-up battle where they all got slaughtered. Only Mace Windu disobeyed to do the sneaky thing Jedi are so good at, and almost won the whole battle right there. If only someone had gone with him, it might all have been different.

Then, at just that moment, it turns out that there's a new army the Republic can use, to replace the one Yoda just threw away. And the people who built that army seem to think that it was Yoda who commissioned it. Which happened on a planet that someone managed to delete from the Jedi archives. You think they let Palpatine go snooping around in there?

Obi-Wan (the only other Jedi to survive the meat grinder, who relied on Yoda more and more after Qi-Gonn's death) hides Anakin's son in a fiendishly clever place: Anakin's home town of Mos Espa, Tattouine. In the care of Anakin's brother (half-brother, I suppose), Owen Skywalker. With everyone knowing that he's Anakin's son. Hardly an attempt to keep him safe, I'm sure you'll agree.

And then he (and Yoda, later) continually lies to Luke about the relationship between Vader and Anakin. Which gives Vader the perfect opening when the truth is sprung on him in the middle of battle. Leah was just a girl, and therefore could be more easily ignored.

Once Obi-Wan dies, and the rebellion begins in earnest, Yoda summons Luke to him to keep the one force-sensitive person around out of the field of battle under the guise of training him. Again, he lies to Luke about his ability in an attempt to keep him away from Bespin. Because without Luke, the rebellion would have been crushed there, and the Galactic Empire could have continued unopposed.

It's also interesting to note what happens to the Jedi conspirators when they die: Unlike any of the other Jedi we see (such as Qi-Gonn), their bodies just disappear and they become part of The Force. Palpatine doesn't seem to know this trick, though he offers to teach it to Anakin, to win him over. Is this some secret teaching Yoda discovered to prevent his Jedi agents being uncovered in compromising situations? It wouldn't do, after all, if the Jedi Council found out that Jango Fett had been acting as Yoda's catspaw on Kamino.