I wish Zhang Yimou had done the Star Wars prequels

[Michael Tree]

I saw the House of Flying Daggers again a little while ago, and it occurred to me that it did everything that the Star Wars prequels were supposed to have done, only a thousand times better.

Spoilers below for those who haven't seen the movie.
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In addition to the gorgeous cinematography, gripping fight scenes, and subtle love story, it's about a man who becomes so caught up in his own passion that he "goes to the dark side" and destroys everything he loves. And in the end, it has a brutal duel between two old friends, each trying their best to kill the other, one out of rage, the other because his friend betrayed him and killed what he loved.

That's exactly what Revenge of the Sith was supposed to be about, if you ignore the hackneyed script and bad acting. Wouldn't it have been awesome if Zhang Yimou had done the Star Wars prequels instead of George Lucas?

 

[Insight]

Wouldn't it have been awesome if Zhang Yimou had done the Star Wars prequels instead of George Lucas?

George Lucas is a capable technical director (maybe even a good one, maybe even a great one), but a poor acting director, and a poor writer of dialogue.

Lucas would have been better served to stay the visionary and power behind the scenes and hire more capable people to write and direct the actors in his movies. Kinda like his role in the Indiana Jones movies. No one would accuse the Indiana Jones movies of having the plot holes, stiff acting, and questionable decision-making that the prequels were fraught with. Why not do the same with Star Wars? Recognize what you are good at, and what are your weaknesses, and deal with it.

 

[Mallus]

Michael, have you seen Zhang Yimou's Curse of the Golden Flower? It's a little bit like George Lucas directing House of Flying Daggers.

Which is another way of saying 'Yes, that would be interesting, but I'm not sure about the results'.

 

[trancejeremy]

While I agree he's a very good director, at the same time, I think he tends to be somewhat long winded, with slow and somewhat languid pacing.

I'm not sure he would fit the sort of style the Star Wars movies are aiming for, which is the old pulp serials. He's a more cerebral, art house style director.

 

[Pyrex]

In addition to the gorgeous cinematography, gripping fight scenes, and subtle love story...

Don't forget the impressive use of sound.

Every time someone watches HoFD without a surround-sound setup Zhang Yimou kills a kitten.

 

[Whizbang Dustyboots]

Michael, have you seen Zhang Yimou's Curse of the Golden Flower? It's a little bit like George Lucas directing House of Flying Daggers.

Well-put. First wuxia film that ever (literally) put me to sleep.

 

[sniffles]

Well-put. First wuxia film that ever (literally) put me to sleep.

I disagree - but part of the problem is that Curse of the Golden Flower isn't a wuxia film - it's a period drama. It was just marketed poorly in the US, IMHO.

Part of what Lucas was going for in all the films was something like an old-fashioned serial, although he got away from that a bit in the prequels. Lucas is all about telling the whole story from beginning to end and explaining all the details. That isn't something Chinese films usually do. Like anime, they tend to dump you in at the deep end and let you try to figure out the backstory for yourself. I can't see Zhang Yimou doing a story like Star Wars.

 

[Whizbang Dustyboots]

I will certainly concede it's not really a wuxia film. The marketers need to be smacked.

 

[Piratecat]

Kinda like his role in the Indiana Jones movies. No one would accuse the Indiana Jones movies of having the plot holes, stiff acting, and questionable decision-making that the prequels were fraught with.

*Twitch. Twitch.*

 

[Ranger REG]

Wouldn't it have been awesome if Zhang Yimou had done the Star Wars prequels instead of George Lucas?

Would be even better if all the actors and actresses are Asians, and the films have an Asian motif.