I find 'A New Hope' hard to watch nowadays
- Thread starter ED-209
- Start date
Of course, that's true. I'm just thinking (speculating really) as to how to convince Lucas. Thus far, the petulant demands from fans do not appear to be working. The appeal to history from a peer might.
In context, Star Wars Episode IV is the best movie of the franchise. It was a quantum leap ahead of anything in its time. And while some critics berated it as campy, they totally missed that being campy was part of the charm. I think it has aged well.
The Star Wars Episode 1 ~3 movies are of course superior in terms of CGI advancement. And yet, many of them abused the tech. Super-saturation. Too much going on. Too many details. It's overwhelming to the eye, to the point where you have to tune out much of it. Granted, once you've rewatched enough, you have the luxury of devoting a lot of eye time on CGI minutia, to see if there's anything interesting going on, Easter Eggs, etc., because you've already seen the primary details enough times. Episode VII suffered from some of this, but VIII started to become more CGI conservative.
Then of course there's Mandalorian where FINALLY, Lucasfilm has toned down the CGI, attenuating it just right. You get the Earthy feel of Episode IV, while also benefiting from super HD quality & well thought out detail.
The Star Wars Episode 1 ~3 movies are of course superior in terms of CGI advancement. And yet, many of them abused the tech. Super-saturation. Too much going on. Too many details. It's overwhelming to the eye, to the point where you have to tune out much of it. Granted, once you've rewatched enough, you have the luxury of devoting a lot of eye time on CGI minutia, to see if there's anything interesting going on, Easter Eggs, etc., because you've already seen the primary details enough times. Episode VII suffered from some of this, but VIII started to become more CGI conservative.
Then of course there's Mandalorian where FINALLY, Lucasfilm has toned down the CGI, attenuating it just right. You get the Earthy feel of Episode IV, while also benefiting from super HD quality & well thought out detail.
totally agree. it's the best, it's my favorite, its the strangest, the roughest, the most perfectly paced, has the most charm yet the most edge, .. the best tension, the most clearly defined narrative.. it feels both old and new and of its time yet far ahead of its time. perfection.
Absolutely - other films in the series had bigger and better set pieces and lightsaber battles but there's something so special about this movie that the others don't have - for all the talk of ESB being 'darker' the harder edged violence in ANH always scared me more as a kid, there's nothing in ESB as graphic as vader crushing Antilles throat or the burnt corpses or severed arm - this gave the film an 'edge' - I feel the same way about 'Raiders of the lost Ark' compared to the others too - everyone says 'Temple of doom' is the dark sequel but the violence in raiders is just so much more visceral and realistic in comparison. Compare the two big fist fights in the movies - the one next to the plane in raiders is brutal in parts with indy going for broke and repeatedly smashing the big thugs face in - the one in doom is almost played for laughs at times. The truck chase where indy is shot and punched in the arm is pretty hard core for a PG film, and yet the equivalent mine cart chase is again, full of humour. It's this 'edge' that helps to elevate the respective movies above their sequels in my opinion, and is one of the reasons I love ANH so much.
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Agreed. Even before Alien--ANH made space dangerous
I honestly can't think of a flaw with ANH. Yes, no movie can ever be 'perfect', but ANH is maybe as close as you can get.
Guess some people might point to the lightsaber duel as being limited by the Vader costume and Alec's age, but I think that's mostly because they've become used to how the prequels did things. It's kinda my favourite one.
Hmm, I guess I don't like Obi-Wan's little twirl.
Guess some people might point to the lightsaber duel as being limited by the Vader costume and Alec's age, but I think that's mostly because they've become used to how the prequels did things. It's kinda my favourite one.
Hmm, I guess I don't like Obi-Wan's little twirl.
It's a gentlemen's duel, and was more about the dialogue than the fighting anyway.
Vader was a cybernetic shell of his former self and Obi-Wan had spent the past 19 years in exile on a desert world where his combat skills were not exactly in demand and he lived as a hermit trading for supplies to eke out a meager existence. It sort of makes sense that Vader and his former Master wouldn't be at the top of their respective games nearly two decades after the tragedy on Mustafar.
A man connected to a sensitive life support system and another man who'd begun to grow old in hiding from tyranny. I'd say they were pretty good all things considered.
A man connected to a sensitive life support system and another man who'd begun to grow old in hiding from tyranny. I'd say they were pretty good all things considered.
yes.. absolutely. Plus their "style" of fighting is only a bit dated today.. but was certainly in line with 40s sci fi serials from which the film drew inspiration
Eh, I’m not a huge fan of that explanation. During the OT, lightsabers were basically just really heavy swords. The fight between Vader and Obi-Wan is a little stiff, but it does feel like a classic duel with swords, only with the violent hum of their weapons giving a greater sense of power. Both Luke and Vader are said to be powerful by the time ROTJ comes along, and they don’t move with much more speed.
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I never understood the little twirl. And I have no issue with the lightsaber duel. There was no need to take it to 111% like the PT.
Also, your point about the lightsabers being very heavy broadsword style weapons is accurate to how Lucas described them to the actors.
Oh, ANH has many a flaw, in my opinion. It is absolutely part of its charm.
Well, until we get the upcoming Kenobi show. Where it will be shown he spent the time between Episode III and Episode IV vanquishing Sith all across the galaxy.
What do you think the flaws are?
Bet Lucas wishes he’d never told the actors that. I’ve always felt lightsaber duels in the OT were more about power, while those in the PT were more about skill.
'Oh, hey Obi-Wan! You want to fight like we're actually trying to kill each other?'
'Nah, let's fight like we're doing a dance routine for Britain's Got Talent.'
Ugh. A total departure from the style of the film it's supposed to be in, and that music...blah.
