George Lucas keeps on making Star Wars better (Sarcasm)

[Flatpicker]

FWIW Spielberg admits that the ET changes were a mistake.

Star Wars? FUCK George Lucas already.
With the amount of money and time he's spent on changes, he could have made 3 more movies already. They would have sucked, but at least it wouldn't be the creative dead end he's in now.

Also, George. FUCK YOU for Indy and the Fuggin space aliens. And nuclear explosions that can be avoided by sitting in a fuggin fridge.

[RacerX]

:idea:Hey, is titty fuggin cheatin'? I mean really..I don't think so. Wait, I'll ask the wife....she said yes!

What did you think she was gonna say? Durrrrrr!

[Tekky]

Here's my .02...

Kevin Smith (yes, that Kevin Smith) puts it best (and I'm paraphrasing from what I've heard on Hollywood Babble-on and Smodcast)... This is George Lucas' story and he has the right to make whatever changes he wants to them. If it weren't for him these stories wouldn't exist to begin with.

Nobody's childhood has been harmed. You still remember the original way the movies were presented when you first saw them. Chances are that many of you have a copy of them just the way you remember them. If you don't like the changes you are hearing about... Don't buy it. If enough people feel the same way you do about it and don't buy the blu-ray in its current form, chances are he'll re-release it with the original form as well. (he did that with the DVD versions, remember?)

I bought the blu-ray but hadn't had a chance to see them yet. But from what I'm hearing of the changes, I have to say in the grand scheme of the entire saga, they seem pretty insignificant. It's not like he changed the entire arc of the stories, he just added some flourishes that he felt told HIS story a little better.

[Endrik]

Just to point out, the story wasn't originally Lucas' in the first place.

[Accept2]

Lucas's last great film was Star Wars, which is a remake of The Hidden Fortress. Why do people even pay attention to this midget? Star Wars, as great as it was, became irrelevent once movies like Aliens and Star ship Troppers came along, kicked its ass and gave us a real space adventure................

[Cliff]

Just to point out, the story wasn't originally Lucas' in the first place.

Really? Who do you think wrote it?

[Snoogans]

What about the guys who directed Empire and Return? Do they have any say in what changes get made to their movies?

[Sephiroth]

What about the guys who directed Empire and Return? Do they have any say in what changes get made to their movies?

Don't know about the director of Return, but Irwin Kirschner (director of Empire) died last year, and he died hating Lucas's guts with Lucas hating his guts. Lucas HATES the fact that Empire is the best SW movie and Lucas had little to do with it, so in the name of his ego he's even gone on record claiming Empire is the worst SW movie. Lucas was so pissed at Kirschner for doing such an awesome job that he refused to let him direct Return and hired another director instead.

http://www.slashfilm.com/geroge-lucas-says-empire-strikes-back-was-the-worst-star-wars-movie/

Lucas is an ass who wants SW to be 100% about George Lucas. That's why he keeps changing the original trilogy to do shit that doesn't even need change because in his mind its him doing what HE wants instead of what other people who helped make them wanted and did. And he hates the fact that the best SW movie had almost no George Lucas in it.


And in the end, Lucas owns the SW series completely, and no one else has any say in what Lucas does with it. So expect him to keep on changing the original trilogy until Lucas's ego has been fed enough for him to feel like he's destroyed the "outside" elements and it's all his work

[Endrik]

Really? Who do you think wrote it?

Kurosawa, Lucas made his samurai film into a family friendly sci-fi flick.

[Sephiroth]

Kurosawa, Lucas made his samurai film into a family friendly sci-fi flick.

It's not entirely Akira Kurosawa. Some elements like the opening credits layout and spacecraft were borrowed from the 1950's Buck Rogers TV show.

[Cliff]

I don't think it's fair to characterise the story as being someone else's, simply because there's some (acknowledged by Lucas himself) influence from Kurosawa's movie. I mean, you wouldn't deny the legitimacy of Joyce's Ulysses because it was based on Homer's Odyssey, would you?
I disagree with the implication that Star Wars was not original. The cultural impact at the time was huge. When taken as a whole, there was nothing like it that had come before. It's not great art by any means, it is, as you say, a family friendly sci-flick. Personally, I don't think there's anything wrong with that.
Sephiroth - if you have a link to a video from Buck Rogers which foreshadows Star Wars' opening sequence of the star destroyer coming into view, I'd love to see it. I must say, I thought this was an outstanding shot, and wasn't aware it had been done before.

[shreddermon]

Don't know about the director of Return, but Irwin Kirschner (director of Empire) died last year, and he died hating Lucas's guts with Lucas hating his guts. Lucas HATES the fact that Empire is the best SW movie and Lucas had little to do with it, so in the name of his ego he's even gone on record claiming Empire is the worst SW movie. Lucas was so pissed at Kirschner for doing such an awesome job that he refused to let him direct Return and hired another director instead.

http://www.slashfilm.com/geroge-lucas-says-empire-strikes-back-was-the-worst-star-wars-movie/

Dude, I'm sorry but that's way incorrect. Lucas absolutely prized Kirsch, and that was mutual. Kirsch was largely his mentor in Lucas' young days. And after ESB was done, Lucas wanted Kirsch to do ROTJ, too. However, Kirsch turned it down. He said that while he was proud of ESP, it just took so much out of him and he wanted to do something else. At the time, he had already committed to doing the next Bond movie, anyway.

BTW, the quote was taken way out of context. What Lucas meant by it was that he always considered Empire to be the weakest storyline of the three. He's always given the "it was the middle part of a three act play" opinion. Essentially, he thought it was simply the cliffhanger, sandwiched in between the other two. But that doesn't mean he thought Empire was the worst of the original movies. That's not what he said or meant.

And, quite frankly, IMHO the reason Lucas cites as why he thinks Empire's storyline was the worst one is exactly why it was actually the best. Let's face it, Lucas' strongpoints were never about plot and telling the story. Once he became more obsessed with the technical aspects of the special effects, other people firmed up the plot and stories for him. IMHO, that's exactly why the Prequels were so lame - he tried to do the effects (digital now), full plot, and directing all himself. As with ESB and ROTJ, he should've hired someone else for the directing, and leaned harder on others for fleshing out the plotlines and acting better.

[Nightbat]

as great as it was, became irrelevent once movies like

...and Star ship Troppers came along

Wait, what?

Now I enjoy ST as much as the next guy, but a gem in sci-fi filmmaking it was not

[Endrik]

I don't think it's fair to characterise the story as being someone else's, simply because there's some (acknowledged by Lucas himself) influence from Kurosawa's movie.

Some influence? Dude, Star Wars is a sci-fi remake of Kurosawa's "The Hidden Fortress". Just as Sergio Leone's first spaghetti western "A Fistful of Dollars" is a remake of Kurosawa's "Yojimbo".

I disagree with the implication that Star Wars was not original.

Who said that? I don't recall someone else using so much money to put samurais into spaceships before. And I'm sure that Paris fashion shows had none of those wicked costumes.

The cultural impact at the time was huge.

And that is related to originality?

When taken as a whole, there was nothing like it that had come before.

I can say that to at least one flick made in every single year since the birth of cinema till the death of Fassbinder.

[horns666]

Endy's right..he always is...godammit!

Execpt when he debates with me..then he's always wrong..