How to Introduce Children to Star Wars

[Chodon]

Okay, this is one that has been bugging me since the release of the "New" trilogy: how to introduce Star Wars to a new generation of viewers (our children)?  For those of you who have already made this leap, I'm looking for some guidance.  I don't have any kids yet, but I'm not far off.  I don't want to mess this up.

[Heradel]

When I was a kid(mid-90's) only IV-VI were out, and I was basically just given them.

Honestly, don't make too big a deal over it. Give them the tapes, let them watch if they want to, and don't push them into it. They'll like it, or dislike it, on their own, and there's not much you can do to affect that.

[eytanz]

I think the correct way is to limit exposure until the child reaches the age of 8, and the take the kid, and show them Episode 1 and Episode 4 end-to-end. Then, you and the kid step out of the house, and you turn to them holding a $100 bill and ask "So, which of the two did you prefer?"

If the kid answers "A new hope", you pat them on the head, and go with him to a local toyshop where he can buy and Star Wars toys he wants with the $100.

If he answers "Phantom Menace" you hand him the $100 bill, tell him to use it to get a cab to the nearest orphanage, and lock him out of the house. Then, you and your spouse can work on making a new kid who hopefully will have better taste.

 

[Chodon]

I think the correct way is to limit exposure until the child reaches the age of 8, and the take the kid, and show them Episode 1 and Episode 4 end-to-end. Then, you and the kid step out of the house, and you turn to them holding a $100 bill and ask "So, which of the two did you prefer?"

If the kid answers "A new hope", you pat them on the head, and go with him to a local toyshop where he can buy and Star Wars toys he wants with the $100.

If he answers "Phantom Menace" you hand him the $100 bill, tell him to use it to get a cab to the nearest orphanage, and lock him out of the house. Then, you and your spouse can work on making a new kid who hopefully will have better taste.

 

Perfect!  I love it!

[stePH]

There are only three Star Wars films.  Why they were labeled "Episode IV" through "Episode VI" is beyond me, though.

[birdless]

I think the correct way is to limit exposure until the child reaches the age of 8, and the take the kid, and show them Episode 1 and Episode 4 end-to-end. Then, you and the kid step out of the house, and you turn to them holding a $100 bill and ask "So, which of the two did you prefer?"

If the kid answers "A new hope", you pat them on the head, and go with him to a local toyshop where he can buy and Star Wars toys he wants with the $100.

If he answers "Phantom Menace" you hand him the $100 bill, tell him to use it to get a cab to the nearest orphanage, and lock him out of the house. Then, you and your spouse can work on making a new kid who hopefully will have better taste.

 

Hilarious! I admit I did like Episode 3, but enduring Eps 1 & 2... I'm just not sure it was worth it.

[Darwinist]

I think the correct way is to limit exposure until the child reaches the age of 8, and the take the kid, and show them Episode 1 and Episode 4 end-to-end. Then, you and the kid step out of the house, and you turn to them holding a $100 bill and ask "So, which of the two did you prefer?"

If the kid answers "A new hope", you pat them on the head, and go with him to a local toyshop where he can buy and Star Wars toys he wants with the $100.

If he answers "Phantom Menace" you hand him the $100 bill, tell him to use it to get a cab to the nearest orphanage, and lock him out of the house. Then, you and your spouse can work on making a new kid who hopefully will have better taste.

 

Hilarious! I admit I did like Episode 3, but enduring Eps 1 & 2... I'm just not sure it was worth it.

Yeah, that was great.  I'm with birdless, I did like Episode 3, it was pretty dark and it was cool seen the making of DV.   My kids (12 & 16) have seen them all, several times each.  They prefer the first trilogy.   

[CammoBlammo]

Apart from the recurrence of a few characters, I thought the two trilogies were unrelated.

Except, of course, for that thirty seconds at the end of 'Revenge of the Sith' where they crammed all the continuity stuff. That was one of the worst examples of storytelling I've seen, and I've seen --- yeh verily, I've written --- some unpolished turds in my time.

(While I'm on it, I didn't think the prequel trilogy was that bad. Writing Jar Jar Binks was a far better decision artistically than casting Mark Hamill as, well, anything.)

[Russell Nash]

Show the kids IV-VI and forget the other three.

[DKT]

Apart from the recurrence of a few characters, I thought the two trilogies were unrelated.

Except, of course, for that thirty seconds at the end of 'Revenge of the Sith' where they crammed all the continuity stuff. That was one of the worst examples of storytelling I've seen, and I've seen --- yeh verily, I've written --- some unpolished turds in my time.

(While I'm on it, I didn't think the prequel trilogy was that bad. Writing Jar Jar Binks was a far better decision artistically than casting Mark Hamill as, well, anything.)

I remember when I was a kid thinking Bail Organa was going to be a major prequel in Episodes I - III because, you know, Princess Leia said he fought beside General Kenobi in the Clone Wars. 

I did like Sith quite a bit, though, and I didn't hate the other two as much as some people do, but I can't help thinking how amazing they might've been if Lucas had just produced them and let somebody else handle the writing/directing chores (as he did for the original trilogy). 

I don't think my daughter's going to mind the "old special effects" I've heard people say will put her off of SW IV - VI.  OTOH, I might wait until she's a bit older because I think Darth Vader would scare the crap out of her.  (She got scared of the pirates in Peter Pan -- not Capt. Hook -- just the pirates). 

[birdless]

HA! DKT, you beat me to the punch:

My theory is that Lucas knows how to weave a great story... he just can't direct worth a damn. I mean, c'mon: Natalie Portman is a good actress, but you would never know it from watching Eps 1-3.

[DKT]

Yeah, it's why I have a bit more faith in Indy 4 

[Planish]

I picked the order they were originally released in, because of the spoilers in I-III, and because of the way the special effects and CGI were racheted up from one release to the next.

[eytanz]

I don't have kids, but when I do, I'm wondering if I should really introduce them to Star Wars at all. By which I don't mean I don't think they should be exposed to Star Wars, but growing up, I didn't watch Star Wars (or Empire or Jedi) with my parents, I watched them with my friends. I think these are the kind of movies kids should discover on their own, with others their own age, and not with their parents sitting behind them waiting for their reaction.

[Tango Alpha Delta]

HA! DKT, you beat me to the punch:

My theory is that Lucas knows how to weave a great story... he just can't direct worth a damn. I mean, c'mon: Natalie Portman is a good actress, but you would never know it from watching Eps 1-3.

I believe Tom Waits said it best... I shall paraphrase:  "I could eat alphabet soup and crap a better script than that."

Honestly; even Sith only looked good because a) the first two were SO bad, and b) by that point we were used to the pain.  If I could have my way, I would remake those damned movies... most of the damage could be corrected by a good editor and a voice actor to replace Hayden "made of wood that whines" Christensen.

Feh.  What Lucas "wrote" wasn't a back story... it wasn't even a story.  It was a shoot-'em-up video game that the viewer didn't even get to control.  It was a 6 hour collective toy commercial.  It was a two-film waste of Samuel L. Jackson.



Sorry; you must have hit a nerve that caused a violent reaction.  I'll go get a bottle of medication now.

[Planish]

I think these are the kind of movies kids should discover on their own, with others their own age, and not with their parents sitting behind them waiting for their reaction.

I dunno. I've had my kids (now in their 20s) introduce me to movies and shows, sitting behind me and waiting for my reaction. I think they were pleased that I enjoyed watching (for instance) the Samurai Jack series with them. They got to return the favour.

My "discovery" of Star Wars was the original cinema release of Ep IV when I was in my early 20s. What made it a unique experience at that time was not the special effects, but the way the audience was engaged and allowed themselves to react like kids watching a saturday matinee serial western "back in the day". Booing the villains, jumping up and cheering maniacally when Han Solo came up from behind and shot up Vader in the canyon run. I had not seen that in an audience (of mostly adults) for a long time.

[Heradel]

I don't have kids, but when I do, I'm wondering if I should really introduce them to Star Wars at all. By which I don't mean I don't think they should be exposed to Star Wars, but growing up, I didn't watch Star Wars (or Empire or Jedi) with my parents, I watched them with my friends. I think these are the kind of movies kids should discover on their own, with others their own age, and not with their parents sitting behind them waiting for their reaction.

That's pretty much what I was try to say too. I'd just leave them someplace low-down on the shelves and never mention them. I know you want to share them with the kids, but if they're drawn to them they'll watch them. I mean, I asked my dad for them in the store when I was all of 5-7, so if it's meant to be it'll happen.

[CammoBlammo]

... most of the damage could be corrected by a good editor and a voice actor to replace Hayden "made of wood that whines" Christensen.

Oh come on. I'll see your Hayden Christensen and raise a you a Mark Hamill. I mean, Mark Hamill!

You don't have any of those meds left, do you?

[Boggled Coriander]

Hayden Christensen

Oh, come on.  As I have opined numerous times to my friends:

If you assume throughout Episode 2 that Anakin has no real feelings for Padme at all, and is just trying to get her to sleep with him, then Hayden Christensen actually did a pretty decent acting job.

[Ocicat]

I think anybody could re-edit episodes I, II, or III and come up with better movies.

Wait - here's one now!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EkWvddcvwzs


(I really wish I could embed YouTube content here - but everyone should go watch this - it's a trailer for "Romance of the Jedi", and - well, just go watch it)

[Heradel]

<a href="http://www.youtube.com/v/EkWvddcvwzs&amp;hl=en" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" class="bbc_link bbc_flash_disabled new_win">http://www.youtube.com/v/EkWvddcvwzs&amp;hl=en</a>

Just swap in the appropriate youtube URL, and make sure to fix the numbers to 425,355 at the beginning.

Code: [Select]

[flash=425,355]http://www.youtube.com/v/EkWvddcvwzs&hl=en[/flash]

[DKT]

I don't have kids, but when I do, I'm wondering if I should really introduce them to Star Wars at all. By which I don't mean I don't think they should be exposed to Star Wars, but growing up, I didn't watch Star Wars (or Empire or Jedi) with my parents, I watched them with my friends. I think these are the kind of movies kids should discover on their own, with others their own age, and not with their parents sitting behind them waiting for their reaction.

That's cool.  I had the completely opposite experience.  Star Wars was the last movie my parents saw in the theater before they adopted me.  Empire Strikes Back was the next movie they saw (taking me, at the ripe-age of three -- which might explain how warped I am now).  Star Wars was always a part of my family's life.  I remember it being very important to me to see Phantom Menance (God, Mom, and Dad, please forgive me) with them when it came out. 

Maybe it depends on your parents.  My dad was a pretty cool big geek, before being a big geek was cool.  I watched a lot of Star Trek with him when I was a kid.  After reading Scalzi's Old Man's War, I gave it to my dad knowing he'd go nuts for it (he did) and then later gave him some Richard Morgan stuff, which he also enjoyed.  So I hope I get to share some of that with my daughter and any future kids we have.

For my last birthday, my parents got me a SW card that played the Imperial March when you open it.  My daughter LOVES that thing, so today she wanted me to play some more SW music on the way to school.  She greatly enjoyed Duel of the Fates.

[Tango Alpha Delta]

... most of the damage could be corrected by a good editor and a voice actor to replace Hayden "made of wood that whines" Christensen.

Oh come on. I'll see your Hayden Christensen and raise a you a Mark Hamill. I mean, Mark Hamill!

You don't have any of those meds left, do you?

But Hamill at least had Harrison Ford as a counter-balance... otherwise, touché!

[stePH]

... most of the damage could be corrected by a good editor and a voice actor to replace Hayden "made of wood that whines" Christensen.

Oh come on. I'll see your Hayden Christensen and raise a you a Mark Hamill. I mean, Mark Hamill!

You don't have any of those meds left, do you?

But Hamill at least had Harrison Ford as a counter-balance... otherwise, touché!

Christensen had Ewan MacGregor.

[Darwinist]

Another way my kids got in to Star Wars was from playing the video games.   We have every Star Wars game for XBox and XBox 360.  When it came time to pick a movie to watch they always wanted something Star Wars. 

[Leon Kensington]

I know that Ken Newquist talked about this in one of his episodes of Nuketown Radioactive.

[DKT]

... most of the damage could be corrected by a good editor and a voice actor to replace Hayden "made of wood that whines" Christensen.

Oh come on. I'll see your Hayden Christensen and raise a you a Mark Hamill. I mean, Mark Hamill!

You don't have any of those meds left, do you?

But Hamill at least had Harrison Ford as a counter-balance... otherwise, touché!

Christensen had Ewan MacGregor.

Hamill had Lucas for one movie at the beginning of Lucas' career (arguably when he was still hungry and giving it all he had, although American Graffiti had been a success).  Christensen had Lucas for two movies toward the end of Lucas' career.  I'd say Christensen had the bigger handicap, but YMMV. 

[Heradel]

Another way my kids got in to Star Wars was from playing the video games.   We have every Star Wars game for XBox and XBox 360.  When it came time to pick a movie to watch they always wanted something Star Wars. 

If it's not Rouge Squadron or X-Wing it doesn't count.

[Chodon]

If it's not Rouge Squadron or X-Wing it doesn't count.

I thought TIE Fighter was the best of that series.

I'm ashamed to admit I tried Star Wars: Galaxies for a while.  Talk about a time sink.  I finally broke that addiction by playing WoW, then broke that addiction by getting married.

edited to correct my crappy quoting

[Tango Alpha Delta]

... most of the damage could be corrected by a good editor and a voice actor to replace Hayden "made of wood that whines" Christensen.

Oh come on. I'll see your Hayden Christensen and raise a you a Mark Hamill. I mean, Mark Hamill!

You don't have any of those meds left, do you?

But Hamill at least had Harrison Ford as a counter-balance... otherwise, touché!

Christensen had Ewan MacGregor.

Hamill had Lucas for one movie at the beginning of Lucas' career (arguably when he was still hungry and giving it all he had, although American Graffiti had been a success).  Christensen had Lucas for two movies toward the end of Lucas' career.  I'd say Christensen had the bigger handicap, but YMMV. 

I'd say MacGregor had the biggest handicap... Ford had "fresh Lucas" and Hamill, while MacGregor had "sucky Lucas" and Christensen. 

[birdless]

Rouge Squadron

That sounds like something that comes on Cinemax after-hours.

Loved X-Wing, btw, and I loved that old Star Wars arcade game where it was all basically wireframe. That game rocked.

[Heradel]

Rouge Squadron

That sounds like something that comes on Cinemax after-hours.

Loved X-Wing, btw, and I loved that old Star Wars arcade game where it was all basically wireframe. That game rocked.

Over-reliance on inline spellcheckers claims yet another victim.

[Darwinist]

Rouge Squadron

That sounds like something that comes on Cinemax after-hours.

Loved X-Wing, btw, and I loved that old Star Wars arcade game where it was all basically wireframe. That game rocked.

The one where you blew up the Death Star over and over?  Yeah, that was a cool game - and the graphics were awesome for that time.

[birdless]

Rouge Squadron

That sounds like something that comes on Cinemax after-hours.

Loved X-Wing, btw, and I loved that old Star Wars arcade game where it was all basically wireframe. That game rocked.

The one where you blew up the Death Star over and over?  Yeah, that was a cool game - and the graphics were awesome for that time.

Yeah! That's the one... good times, good times <sigh>.

[Heradel]

They just don't do them like that anymore (I had a shop teacher that rebuilt old arcade machines on the side, there were about 5 machines in there mostly working on a good week). Not to tangent, but part of the problem with the gaming industry (which the Wii partially solves) is that it creates such a high barrier to entry. I loved WoW, but I had nowhere near the amount of time to sink into it that it needed, so I'd constantly be hovering about 10 levels behind people I was playing with a few weeks back.

[stePH]

Not to tangent, but part of the problem with the gaming industry (which the Wii partially solves) is that it creates such a high barrier to entry. I loved WoW, but I had nowhere near the amount of time to sink into it that it needed, so I'd constantly be hovering about 10 levels behind people I was playing with a few weeks back.

That's just MMOs.  What about the rest of the gaming industry?

[Russell Nash]

Not to come back to the topic, but I have a question.  What is the proper age to first show a kid Star Wars?

[wintermute]

Not to come back to the topic, but I have a question.  What is the proper age to first show a kid Star Wars?

Birth?

To be fair, the first movie my daughter watched was Die Hard, when she was 9 days old, so I might not be the best person to ask

[Heradel]

That's just MMOs.  What about the rest of the gaming industry?

Well, the FPS pretty basic, but if you go to online play after the game's been out for 2 months you need to invest a fair bit of time in figuring out the maps/weapons/bugs. RTSs can be easy to get into if they're done right at first, but after a while it can get to a point where it's a formula of X infantry with Y siege and Z cavalry. I loved Starcraft and Warcraft, but when I went online I was usually playing the tower defenses/RPGs because it takes too much time to figure out/learn/innovate the various strategies that they apparently teach in South Korean elementary schools.

I'm not saying there isn't a market that wants that depth and wants to make it a full time hobby, but as a recovering hard gamer(Call of Duty, WoW, Starcraft) that sticks to casual these days because he doesn't have the time, I play Tetris. Sometimes I'll go back to the games I used to play (Baulder's Gate mostly, which finally got fixed for Intel Macs), but for the most part I haven't taken up any games from the last few years. One of the things I like about the Wii is that it encourages that casual kind of gaming.

Not to come back to the topic, but I have a question.  What is the proper age to first show a kid Star Wars?

I'd say 6-8. I certainly remember having seen it enough in first/second grade that I got into the trading card game at about that age.

[stePH]

To be fair, the first movie my daughter watched was Die Hard, when she was 9 days old, so I might not be the best person to ask

Hey, it's in my top 5 list of Christmas movies

[DKT]

Not to come back to the topic, but I have a question.  What is the proper age to first show a kid Star Wars?

Depends on the kid.  I don't know that my daughter will be able to watch them before she's like 5, because she's a bit of a sensitive soul.  I was three. 

I'm trying to think of other parents I know and how old their kids were when they let them watch it, but I'm drawing a blank.

[Chey]

I have a seven and a five year old, who have watched all of the Star Wars movies except III.  Personally I would have rated that one at as R instead of PG 13, perhaps because I could just see my kid's face when he realized the heroic Anakin just murdered all those cute little Jedi kids.  Not to mention the crispy near corpse who crawled out of the lava flow.  Ick.

My seven year old has been obsessed (truly a pale word for his emotion) since about age four.  He started off watching the original IV-VI movies, he loves Lego Star Wars (really…who doesn’t?) and the whole family thought Gendy Tartakovsky’s Clone Wars was the best Star Wars we’ve ever seen.  Really, I’d like to see Gendy be put in charge of the forth coming animated series and movies.

As far as the series themselves, I’ve always thought the second trilogy suffered from the lack of a Han Solo character.  Han Solo really kept the original trilogy grounded.  I love Patrick McLean’s essay The Seanachai » The Han Solo Theory.  He says it much better than I ever could have.

I’m not sure where the obsession came from; we never planned to indoctrinate our kids into the Star Wars universe.  If we were into indoctrination, there are many other beloved movies I would have chosen long before Star Wars.  But at least it is Star Wars and not something I really felt attachment to.  Three years of constant obsession and trivia has really killed most of the enjoyment I get out of Lucas’s work.

[stePH]

I’m not sure where the obsession came from; we never planned to indoctrinate our kids into the Star Wars universe.  If we were into indoctrination, there are many other beloved movies I would have chosen long before Star Wars.  But at least it is Star Wars and not something I really felt attachment to.  Three years of constant obsession and trivia has really killed most of the enjoyment I get out of Lucas’s work.

The prequel trilogy hasn't done that already? :p

[Russell Nash]

I’m not sure where the obsession came from; we never planned to indoctrinate our kids into the Star Wars universe.  If we were into indoctrination, there are many other beloved movies I would have chosen long before Star Wars.  But at least it is Star Wars and not something I really felt attachment to.  Three years of constant obsession and trivia has really killed most of the enjoyment I get out of Lucas’s work.

The prequel trilogy hasn't done that already? :p

My opinion of the originals really got hurt by episode I.  Then he went ahead and started changing things in the originals.  Han Solo goes from the guy that will blow a guy away at a table in a seedy bar to a guy who's scared of a bounty hunter who can't shoot the guy on the other side of a table.

[birdless]

I have to say, though, that knowing more fully the relationship between Anakin and Obi-wan does make their encounter in A New Hope much more dramatic. Episode III was just on TV last night (probably the first time I had seen it since it was on at the theater), and though the movies don't do a great job of showing the closeness of the relationship, it is stated quite plainly by Obi-wan (I believe the words he uses in reference to Anakin are "He's like a brother to me"). Made me want to watch Episode IV, again.

[DKT]

I’m not sure where the obsession came from; we never planned to indoctrinate our kids into the Star Wars universe.  If we were into indoctrination, there are many other beloved movies I would have chosen long before Star Wars.  But at least it is Star Wars and not something I really felt attachment to.  Three years of constant obsession and trivia has really killed most of the enjoyment I get out of Lucas’s work.

The prequel trilogy hasn't done that already? :p

My opinion of the originals really got hurt by episode I.  Then he went ahead and started changing things in the originals.  Han Solo goes from the guy that will blow a guy away at a table in a seedy bar to a guy who's scared of a bounty hunter who can't shoot the guy on the other side of a table.

To be fair, he made the changes to the originals and then released Episode I.  Possibly screwing with the originals helped make the prequels (at least Episode I and II) poorer movies.

[DKT]

As far as the series themselves, I’ve always thought the second trilogy suffered from the lack of a Han Solo character.  Han Solo really kept the original trilogy grounded.  I love Patrick McLean’s essay The Seanachai » The Han Solo Theory.  He says it much better than I ever could have.

Before the prequels ever came out, I always thought Obi-Wan was going to be the young and reckless one (because that's how Yoda described him in front of Luke), and that his recklessness was going to lead to Anakin's downfall.  (I also thought Bail Organa might fill the Han Solo role to a degree -- sadly, he did really very little.) 

Ewan MacGregor did well with what he had, but I would've have loved to see him unleashed -- like a Jedi Han Solo.  He was a hell of a swordsman, but he never seemed reckless to me.

[Russell Nash]

I’m not sure where the obsession came from; we never planned to indoctrinate our kids into the Star Wars universe.  If we were into indoctrination, there are many other beloved movies I would have chosen long before Star Wars.  But at least it is Star Wars and not something I really felt attachment to.  Three years of constant obsession and trivia has really killed most of the enjoyment I get out of Lucas’s work.

The prequel trilogy hasn't done that already? :p

My opinion of the originals really got hurt by episode I.  Then he went ahead and started changing things in the originals.  Han Solo goes from the guy that will blow a guy away at a table in a seedy bar to a guy who's scared of a bounty hunter who can't shoot the guy on the other side of a table.

To be fair, he made the changes to the originals and then released Episode I.  Possibly screwing with the originals helped make the prequels (at least Episode I and II) poorer movies.

I was referring to the order in which I saw them.  I was given the final version of the originals after I had already seen Ep. I+II.

Now that I think about it.  I think you're wrong.  My version of Jedi has the tall kid, who can't act, in place of the old Anakin when Luke sees the visions of Yoda, Ben, and Anakin.

Anyway it goes, I don't see how you can make comments about being fair.  He fucked up The Classic.  He did it twice.  Once by making content changes to the originals and once (or three times) by making shitty prequels.

[DKT]

I’m not sure where the obsession came from; we never planned to indoctrinate our kids into the Star Wars universe.  If we were into indoctrination, there are many other beloved movies I would have chosen long before Star Wars.  But at least it is Star Wars and not something I really felt attachment to.  Three years of constant obsession and trivia has really killed most of the enjoyment I get out of Lucas’s work.

The prequel trilogy hasn't done that already? :p

My opinion of the originals really got hurt by episode I.  Then he went ahead and started changing things in the originals.  Han Solo goes from the guy that will blow a guy away at a table in a seedy bar to a guy who's scared of a bounty hunter who can't shoot the guy on the other side of a table.

To be fair, he made the changes to the originals and then released Episode I.  Possibly screwing with the originals helped make the prequels (at least Episode I and II) poorer movies.

I was referring to the order in which I saw them.  I was given the final version of the originals after I had already seen Ep. I+II.

Now that I think about it.  I think you're wrong.  My version of Jedi has the tall kid, who can't act, in place of the old Anakin when Luke sees the visions of Yoda, Ben, and Anakin.

Anyway it goes, I don't see how you can make comments about being fair.  He fucked up The Classic.  He did it twice.  Once by making content changes to the originals and once (or three times) by making shitty prequels.

Ah, that's right.  He changed things twice, didn't he?  He put out the special editions in 1997, then redid them again after the prequels were done.

Final version?  Heh.  Yeah, right.  Wait 'til his kids get access to the legacy...

[wintermute]

He fucked up The Classic.  He did it twice.  Once by making content changes to the originals...

Actually, I disagree with this. Lucas owns Star Wars, in every way that is relevant. If he wants to release a new version in which every single character is a Gungan, or Han Solo wears a gingham dress, then fine. It's his art, and he can do what he wants with it.

What he did that was seriously dickish, however, was to say "No! You cannot buy the version of the movies that you grew up with and that you love! You may only have this new version! And if anyone argues, I shall crush you with my totalitarian might!"

Once he released the laughably titled "Special Edition" DVDs, with the original movies as "bonus features", I stopped caring about anything Lucas might do to to the movies, because I finally had the version that I wanted. In fact, I've come to think of Lucas as an Emo kid, cutting himself for attention. Though, in this case, it's not his wrists, but the one good artwork he created that he continually destroys as he screams "Look at meeeeeeeee! I'm still relevant! People still care about me, right?"

Contrast this with Ridley Scott's recent Final Cut of Blade Runner, sold as a 5-disc set, with every single previous version. In the introduction to one of them (Original theatrical release?), he says something along the lines of "This isn't my favourite. It didn't really turn out the way I wanted it to. But if you like it, then great. Hope you enjoy watching it." And I thought, yes. This is exactly the attitude to take.

[Heradel]

Contrast this with Ridley Scott's recent Final Cut of Blade Runner, sold as a 5-disc set, with every single previous version. In the introduction to one of them (Original theatrical release?), he says something along the lines of "This isn't my favourite. It didn't really turn out the way I wanted it to. But if you like it, then great. Hope you enjoy watching it." And I thought, yes. This is exactly the attitude to take.

Final Cut was the best one though. Especially on a nice big movie screen, though the graininess of the low-light images was a bit of a start considering what we expect from cameras these days.

Lucas can do whatever he wants to the movies as an artist, but I agree that the prior art must be preserved and kept intact. Thinking in material terms, there's the baldachin in St. Peter's, which is a great work of art, but tarnished by the fact that the bronze was melted down from the ceiling of the Pantheon. So long as the original is preserved, derivatives are desirable.

[wintermute]

Final Cut was the best one though.

Each to their own. I remain a big fan of the original (though not the ending), but I think I could piece together my idea version from that and the workprint cut.

[Russell Nash]

He fucked up The Classic.  He did it twice.  Once by making content changes to the originals...

Actually, I disagree with this. Lucas owns Star Wars, in every way that is relevant. If he wants to release a new version in which every single character is a Gungan, or Han Solo wears a gingham dress, then fine. It's his art, and he can do what he wants with it.

I never said he wasn't allowed to do it.  I said he fucked it up.  My neighbor can put fins and air dams on his Mercedes coupe and paint it pink for all I care, but he will have fucked it up.

[Corydon]

Star Wars-- the original, real Star Wars, the one that was released in the 1970s-- is probably fine for any kid who's old enough to watch and understand movies.  I saw it when it was first released, at age 4 or thereabouts.  There were some parts I found scary (the Sand People sequence was pretty intense), but it was fine.  Empire is darker, of course, and the plot is a little more complex, so I think a little kid might have a hard time understanding it; I'd think a six year old (?) could handle it, but if a parent is there with him to explain stuff, I don't think younger kids would be scarred by it.  Return of the Jedi is just silly fun; I imagine it would be fine for little kids.

I can't really speak to the other trilogy.  As a child, Star Wars was at the center of my imagination.  I lived and breathed it and couldn't wait until the new movies were released (I remember that they were originally slated for 1991; an eternity!)  Then I saw the Phantom Menace... and it was so, so awful. 

Worse, it was awful in such a way (juvenile, stupid) that it almost ruined the original movies for me: it made me wonder whether I liked them because they were any good, or because I saw them at an impressionable age.  Watching them again, I can say that the movies are okay, but they really are kids' movies; I can enjoy them now, but that enjoyment is inseparable from nostalgia.  I don't think I'd like them if I saw them for the first time today.  And I won't watch episodes 2 or 3, because I'm pretty sure they'd kill my love of Star Wars forever.

[Tango Alpha Delta]

A little perspective:

My father-in-law was a huge Star Trek fan, and loved 2001, so when Star Wars came out, he hurried out to see it.  He told me he was very excited by the loud opening sequence, but when the dialogue started, he put the bad writing and lack of real characters together with the scrolling titles at the beginning, and realized it wasn't going to be smart like Star Trek (his words) or artistic and beautiful like 2001.

He sat there getting madder and madder that he had paid for this crappy serial ripoff, until the jawas jumped out and shot the rolling garbage can.  He said he watched the blue lightning and heard the computer screech, and when R2 hit the dirt with that hollow thunk, he laughed his ass off... and thoroughly enjoyed the rest of the film.  Films, even.

He didn't even mind Jar-Jar.

So, the moral is: YMMV.  As usual. 

[birdless]

So, the moral is: YMMV.  As usual. 

Well put. For me, Star Wars is such an icon of my childhood that it's become almost more about brand loyalty than about a quality product. It took me a while to admit to myself that the first movie wasn't good. I tried to blame it on bad casting. Then the second one came out. It just didn't meet my expectations. But I still couldn't give up my love for the "brand." My hopes for Episode III were tempered, so that may have had some impact on the fact that I enjoyed it as much as I did. And probably as much for the sake of brand loyalty that I let that one redeem the first two for me. Jar Jar was inexcusable, though.