Get it while it's up! A boatload of SW:Episode 3 stills *Much Spoilage Ensues*

[Krieg]

For Obi-Wan, use a mixture of digital and Ewan McGregor to pull it off. For Hamill, they can easily digitize his face for a few adjustments in RotJ. Still, I'd rather they just state the obvious rather than come up with asinine excuses.

How about we just leave the original films alone and let them stand on their on merits?

Personally I don't think the yoda on crack saber duel is necessarily a good thing.

 

[Ankh-Morpork Guard]

How about we just leave the original films alone and let them stand on their on merits?

Agreed. I don't mind the Special Editions, but none of the changes were nearly as extensive as completely changing lightsaber fights and replacing the actors with CG.

The explanations for why the saber fights are like they are have been given(beyond the simple idea of them being older movies), and if you can't accept them, oh well. Nothing I can say will change that. It is logical...from a certain point of view.

 

[KnowTheToe]

Well there were some excellent stills there. Maybe Lucas had vision for this film, but had no idea how to get the story to this point and that is why the first two were lacking. That is my hope anyway.

 

[The Serge]

How about we just leave the original films alone and let them stand on their on merits?

While I agree with leaving certain story elements alone (like not including Jabba the Hutt in ANH and not allowing Greedo to shoot at all), other elements definitely should go or be adjusted. Just as how the entire dog fight at the end of ANH was overhauled, greatly improving the drama and action of the story, overhauled duels would serve the same purpose.

If I was so interested in revamping the entire original trilogy, I'd be for digitizing virtually every fight sequence, from the Battle of Hoth to the fight above Endor in RotJ. I'm not because those effects still stand and do not detract from the integrity of the story. Heck, I even have no problem with the dilapidated appearance of Rebel armaments and vehicles (they're rebels on the run, afterall, with little opportunity to keep their things in tip-top shape). Even from a film production/FX historical perspective, it's nice to see how much ingenuity was put into those effects. But the duels? They're not even consistent from film to film and they have little to do with effects as much as they had to do with time and money spent on creating them. Furthermore, I posit that as presented, they distract from the story regardless of Lucas' excuses.

Personally I don't think the yoda on crack saber duel is necessarily a good thing.

I was and continue to be amused by Yoda's duel. Still, I do agree with you to a point. I would have preferred a more... stately display of his sabre tactics. If he was so fast that you really didn't see him move or if initially, he doesn't even wield the sabre but uses it like a dancing sword.

 

[The Serge]

Well there were some excellent stills there. Maybe Lucas had vision for this film, but had no idea how to get the story to this point and that is why the first two were lacking. That is my hope anyway.

While Lucas probably did have an overarching idea of where he wanted the story to go, he has never done the best job of path to reach his destination (aside from ANH). The problem with Lucas is that he fancies himself as a writer and he's not. He's an excellent conceptualist. He has great ideas and vision. However, he can't direct, he can't write, and I wonder how well he understands human motivation. This is why the dialogue in these films have been so pathetic, the acting stilted, and the story meandering.

I'm convinced that one of the reasons TESB is considered the best of the trilogy (and is the best IMO) is because after Lucas created the basic story line, others came in and directed and revised the story. More drama, more human motivation, more cohesive story... We lose a lot of this by the time we get to RotJ in which Lucas retook more direct control. We're introduced to Ewoks, the acting deteriorates, the story line doesn't have the same kind of emotional impact (aside from the final confrontation between Vader and Luke... and even that's somewhat wanting) and we essentially have a retread of the first film (not much originality). This trend continued and worsened in the prequels because Lucas hadn't directed in years.

Also, Lucas himself has stated that he prefers to have a "fluid" script. He doesn't really have a finished script before filming as he likes to make changes as time progresses. In the hands of a more competent storyteller and dialogue writer, this may work; for Lucas, not so much. This is why the prequels, while having some great moments, are often stilted with poor performances (considering the work I've seen from Portman and McGregor in other films, it's not them but Lucas who's to blame for some of the acting) and horrific dialogue (the whole scene with Anakin and Padme when she's in the black dominatrix outfit was painful to watch in theatres. Thank god for DVD forward buttons).

Lucas has great ideas and probably also has great moments in mind. Thus, there are certain jewels in his films. But, that's it. He should have accepted more collaboration a long time ago for these prequels.

 

[Psychic Warrior]

For Obi-Wan, use a mixture of digital and Ewan McGregor to pull it off. For Hamill, they can easily digitize his face for a few adjustments in RotJ. Still, I'd rather they just state the obvious rather than come up with asinine excuses.

The point about the time travel machine was mildly amusing.

Reveal clarified the point about Hamill's acting.

Obviously you and I want different things out of Star Wars. Digitized Obi-Wan wouldn't interest me in the least. Heck i don't even like most of the so-called improvements Luca$ has already inflicted upon the original trilogy.

And Hamill's acting ability is still in question, imo.

 

[The Serge]

Obviously you and I want different things out of Star Wars.

I'm not sure this is true. If you want a cohesive story line with proper amounts of symbology, drama, action, and humor with interesting characters, plot twists, and the appropriate degree of consistent FX, then we want the same things.

Digitized Obi-Wan wouldn't interest me in the least.

It only interests me because that's the only option... And it's an option I'd prefer to watching too guys playing around with obvious pieces of plastic and barely moving as they duel. That duel (and the one in RotJ to a lesser degree) is inconsistent with what we've seen in Empire or the other flicks.

Heck i don't even like most of the so-called improvements Luca$ has already inflicted upon the original trilogy.

I'm curious as to what else you didn't care for. I already mentioned the whole issue of Greedo and Jabba in ANH... I also hated the extended wampa scene (it added nothing to the story) and the extended scenes of Vader returning to the Executor. I can't recall any problems with RotJ that wouldn't require a complete re-write (jettison the ewoks and kill someone... Lando, maybe).

And Hamill's acting ability is still in question, imo.

What else has he been in since Star Wars? Other than voice acting, I think everything he's done went straight to video. I'm convinced that some actors, like Hammil, need stronger directing in order to shine. He did a very good job in Empire, was so-so in Jedi (he and Carrie Fisher both sucked big ones when they were chatting about their relationship on the Endoran moon), and wasn't bad in Hope (largely because everything was sort of hammed up in that film). Has he been in anything else...?

 

[Taelorn76]

What else has he been in since Star Wars? Other than voice acting, I think everything he's done went straight to video. I'm convinced that some actors, like Hammil, need stronger directing in order to shine. He did a very good job in Empire, was so-so in Jedi (he and Carrie Fisher both sucked big ones when they were chatting about their relationship on the Endoran moon), and wasn't bad in Hope (largely because everything was sort of hammed up in that film). Has he been in anything else...?

Some one else has already mentioned Jay & Silent Bob Strike Back, I also remember seeing in something else once, but the name escapes me right now

 

[Klaus]

How can you forget Mark Hamill's groundbreaking performance as The Trickster, in the WB series The Flash?!?!?!?

 

[The Serge]

How can you forget Mark Hamill's groundbreaking performance as The Trickster, in the WB series The Flash?!?!?!?

Well, I wasn't really put out by the performance as much as I was put out by the fact that their version of The Trickster was essentially The Joker-lite (a trend that would plague the later Batman films).

Wasn't this before his voice acting for The Joker (and eventually The Hobgoblin)?