Re-watched the Star Wars prequels.

[jwyblejr]

I always have to wonder how these would have turn out had someone else had directed them? I mean Lucas was all gung-ho for Speilberg to direct one of the originals,why not let him tackle a Prequel?

[Mikey]

I always have to wonder how these would have turn out had someone else had directed them? I mean Lucas was all gung-ho for Speilberg to direct one of the originals,why not let him tackle a Prequel?

Speilberg would probably look at a prequel script and turn it down.

Speilberg knows garbage when he sees it and he wouldn't want his name connected with it.

[Tothiro]

I always have to wonder how these would have turn out had someone else had directed them? I mean Lucas was all gung-ho for Speilberg to direct one of the originals,why not let him tackle a Prequel?

Re: Lucas eager to hand it off - My take is that was before the prequels. Lucas is, in my private opinion, not a very strong director. He's not super with a camera either, or that seems to be Spielberg's opinion. If you listen to the commentary that came out on the DVD Indiana Jones set just before the IJ:4 release, Spielberg was basically handing over second unit to his DP, and raving about the action sequences coming back in on the dailies. Someone actually asks him, "what about Lucas, was he involved?" and Spielberg's response is like, "Oh... yeah... uhm. George was there too. He got some coverage shots. I don't think we used anything."
It's unflatteringly inter-cut with Lucas saying something like, "they gave me a camera and set me up on a hill-top, I think they really appreciated what I got because it added flavor. I'm not sure exactly what we used..."

Lucas did American Graffiti as a response to people saying THX1138 had no soul, was mechanical, and the characters had no emotional depth. I think when he finished AG to a certain degree he was like, 'got that out of my system...' and he realized what he liked was not directing so much as moving pieces around a chessboard.
Empire I thought was better, and it had LK directing and some heavy script doctoring. Return went a little goofy but Lucas started digging in again. I think by the time he decided to do Prequels he wanted recognition, emphasis on the dammit, and that it was a face thing, and of course at this point he's Lucas, so it;s not like he's going to have an editor argue with him on story points because no one can tell him anything. That's why I think they turned out such a mess. I think somewhere in Lucas land he was going to show us all what an artist he could be without people holding him back.

[Bruce Banner]

As a die hard SW kid from the 70s, once I realized what Lucas's intent and focus was with the prequels, I found I could manage to enjoy them on certain levels.

Finally seeing stuff that I'd waited decades to see such as the outbreak of the Clone Wars, the fall of the Republic and the rise of Palpatine was awesome. (And seeing Jedi battling Sith in full on lightsaber combat will always be a genuine rush).

But the original trilogy will always be my Star Wars.

[gummi]

I was one of the idiots that took time off from work and stood in line to see The Phantom Menace. I don't think the walk from the theater to the car will be that disappointing ever again.

[jds1911a1]

I'll keep my thoughts short...

The Phantom Menace - I still wonder what happened to all those people who quit their jobs to get in line and watch this film. I paid standard admission price and felt ripped off. Can you imagine their reaction?

Attack of the Clones - Should have been renamed "Attack of the Pedophiles". Honestly folks. Padme looked like she could have babysat Anakin in the Phantom Menace and now she's slobbering over him like she can't wait to be hammered? It's both creepy and odd. Imagine the look on Padme's face if Yoda could have looked into his crystal ball during the Phantom Menace? "Oh yes Padme. That little boy will have your beaver oh so soon. Eh hee hee hee..."

Revenge of the Sith - Lucas rewards us by allowing Anakin to be slowly maimed after putting viewers through two films of chronic whining. One question - Why did Lucas feel inclined to have Vader rise off the table like the Frankenstein monster? I believe James Earl Jone's reaction was heartfelt - "NOOOooooOOOOOoooo!"

I will defend the Anakin and Padme romance in that we have to suspend disbelief quite a bit to see such a minor change in her when he has grown from a 8-10 year old to a 18-20 plus year old. I do this the old Star trek way different species age at different relative rates.
but even with that they had no chemistry on screen to make me feel the romance we felt with Luke and Leia at the rope swing (till Jedi,when we find that was brotherly love in a creepy way)

[jds1911a1]

For Phantom Menace everybody always points out Jar Jar was the worst thing ever...

It totally overshadows other lousy stuff like the 12 hour long pod race.

I swear, I almost walked out of the theatre during th pod race because it made me sooo mad how long it was ......

In comparison, that pod race reminds me of a Family Guy style prank like having Stewie say mom, mom, mom, mom, mom, mom, mom, mom, mom, mom, mom, mom for 10 straight minutes.

I think Lucas was watching thx 1138 when he wrote that part

[jds1911a1]

At the end of Jedi, if Vader was soooo bad and caused the deaths of millions of people including slaughtering children, would Obi and Yoda's ghosts be so quick to forgive him even if he supposedly turned good ?

Anakin seems like the kind of person you can't trust whether he's good or bad at a particular moment.
He's a backstabber.

He was only "good" for a short time ... He was bad Luke's entire lifetime

In the real world Obi and Yoda wouldn't forgive him so quickly

to quote Obi wan "vader was suduced by the dark side of the force"
I guess they forgave him the way people forgive an addict when they are clean and sober for the wrongs they did while under the influence of the drug

[CaptainTrenchcoat]

I think it's time for the prequels to be "reimagined." By someone else of course. Maybe Ron Howard?

[ctc]

>Speilberg knows garbage when he sees it

*cough*cough*theisland*cough*jurassicpark3*cough*

"Phantom Menace" was bad. REAL bad. Some neat ideas, but I hated having to sit through the film to get at them. I liked "Attack of the Clones" mostly 'cos of the army of armoured guys fighting robots. Everything else, and "Revenge of the Sith" wasn't a kick 'cos I knew what was going to happen.

Don C.

[david_b]

I'm proud of the fact that except for briefly watching Ep 3 (being bored out of my skull during my last deployment..), I've seen none of the prequels.

[enyawd72]

I have to chime in here, because I really think the prequels get a bad rap.

I think the prequel trilogy is just as good as the original trilogy. The problem lies not so much with the films, but the viewer.

I truly believe that as adults we lose some of that sense of wonder and tend to pick things apart to death. Couple that with the fact that we tend to look at the original trilogy through rose-colored glasses, and there you have it.

The original trilogy also had gaping plot holes, bad acting, cringe-worthy dialog and *gasp* Ewoks, yet as children, we didn't care. We loved it.
People I know who saw the prequels as children love them just as much, and see little difference between the quality of all six films.

[jds1911a1]

Speilberg would probably look at a prequel script and turn it down.

Speilberg knows garbage when he sees it and he wouldn't want his name connected with it.

I don't know Mike he did agree it IJ4 Kingdom of the Crystal Skull

[jds1911a1]

I have to chime in here, because I really think the prequels get a bad rap.

I think the prequel trilogy is just as good as the original trilogy. The problem lies not so much with the films, but the viewer.

I truly believe that as adults we lose some of that sense of wonder and tend to pick things apart to death. Couple that with the fact that we tend to look at the original trilogy through rose-colored glasses, and there you have it.

The original trilogy also had gaping plot holes, bad acting, cringe-worthy dialog and *gasp* Ewoks, yet as children, we didn't care. We loved it.
People I know who saw the prequels as children love them just as much, and see little difference between the quality of all six films.

bad is bad I thought Jedi was pretty bad even as a twelve year old kid becuase of the ewoks. And for that reason I do put it as worse than Ep 3 but that still makes the OT a better trilogy. If it wasn't star wars then we wouldn't compare it to the original trilogy but it is and since the OT is in the same timeline the plot of the OT is corrupted by the Prequels which considering they were made when practically everyone had access to home video tech and would there fore have fresh memories of the originals was unforgivable. never mind that they Special editions had been in theaters 2 years before Phantom menace

[jds1911a1]

>Speilberg knows garbage when he sees it

*cough*cough*theisland*cough*jurassicpark3*cough*

"Phantom Menace" was bad. REAL bad. Some neat ideas, but I hated having to sit through the film to get at them. I liked "Attack of the Clones" mostly 'cos of the army of armoured guys fighting robots. Everything else, and "Revenge of the Sith" wasn't a kick 'cos I knew what was going to happen.

Don C.

In speilbergs defense he didn't direct either. according to IMDB - JP3 was directed by Joe Johnson, Spielberg was an executive producer (uaually meaing he funded part of it).
The Island director was Michael Bay (no plot that's ok just blow it up) they don't evne list him as part of The Island