I don't get the outrage either. When this first surfaced a few days ago, I checked the clip in question, actually laughed and shook my head. Hell, I cancelled my Blu Ray pre-order since I have about $250 trade credit at a local store and sooner or later, someone will trade theirs in and I'll get it with credit.
Exactly my response too. Then I went back to the two disc DVDs which apparently are an insult to fans because they're from a laserdisc master and aren't anamorphic and < Insert Your Own Insane Reasoning Here >, so they're just terrible.
By using the same laughable "No-o-o-o-!" from the Frankenstein scene in Episode III, he likens the older Vader's despair at seeing his son tortured to the younger Vader's regret at having strangled his pregnant wife for no good reason.
I've had a sneaking suspicion that Vader's "Noooo!" in Return Of The Jedi is nothing more than a "re-use" idea of Vader screaming "My Soooon!" in the ROTJ radio drama.
Midi Clorians (or whatever the hell they are called)
As someone who actually enjoyed the prequels, didn't give Jar Jar a second look, blanked out on Jake Lloyd, didn't mind the at-times weak dialogue or half-assed fight scene set-ups. The character motivations that weren't motivating. The lame love story that flopped around like a fish out of water.
... I really could've wrung out George's neck like a wet dishtowel over the midiclorian thing. You got me there, buddy.
(Something we should note about the prequels: He never brought up midiclorians again ((and neither did the series!)) so he probably responded to the outcry on that.)
I checked out the ROTJ "Nooo!" yesterday and was surprised that I didn't hate it. In fact, it comes dangerously close to subtle. Almost like Vader was saying it under his breath to himself. Which makes sense, for to have said it louder would have tipped off Palpatine to what he was about to do (though why Palpatine didn't SENSE it first anyway is known only to Lucas and his analyst... probably just WAY too into frying Luke). The second "No" was gratuitous, but by then it was too late for Palpatine. I didn't like the second one.
Anyway, as far as changes go it's not too horrible at all. Could have been worse.
Midi Clorians (or whatever the hell they are called)
As someone who actually enjoyed the prequels, didn't give Jar Jar a second look, blanked out on Jake Lloyd, didn't mind the at-times weak dialogue or half-assed fight scene set-ups. The character motivations that weren't motivating. The lame love story that flopped around like a fish out of water.
... I really could've wrung out George's neck like a wet dishtowel over the midiclorian thing. You got me there, buddy.
(Something we should note about the prequels: He never brought up midiclorians again ((and neither did the series!)) so he probably responded to the outcry on that.)
Well, technically midichlorians are mentioned again in Episode III. Palpaltine is describing to Anakin that Sith Lord legend and the Darth who could manipulate midichlorians to create life and also keep people from dying. Lucas discusses it in one of the DVD commentaries. He wanted a way to explain how Anakin's ability to use the Force was diminished once he lost most of his human self, his arms and legs. He could never create Force lightening. The Force communes with living things only and thus the more you lose of your organic self, the less you can tap into it. Midichlorians were basically akin to Mitochondria. This didn't really bother me as a fan and I liked how I could reason from this on my own why Vader was diminished in later years in his physical abilities and still kept under Palpatine's thumb.
I fall into the, I Dont Care What George Does Camp...but I still have to wonder how he arrives at what he wants to change. I can totally see maybe wanting to insert new digital creatures and upgrading Yoda...maybe even fixing some sound effects, but.... making Jabbas door bigger? Eyebrows? Blinking Ewoks????
Well, technically midichlorians are mentioned again in Episode III. Palpaltine is describing to Anakin that Sith Lord legend and the Darth who could manipulate midichlorians to create life and also keep people from dying. Lucas discusses it in one of the DVD commentaries.
Ahhh, right you are.
He wanted a way to explain how Anakin's ability to use the Force was diminished once he lost most of his human self, his arms and legs. He could never create Force lightening. The Force communes with living things only and thus the more you lose of your organic self, the less you can tap into it. Midichlorians were basically akin to Mitochondria. This didn't really bother me as a fan and I liked how I could reason from this on my own why Vader was diminished in later years in his physical abilities and still kept under Palpatine's thumb.
I never quite bought it. I don't need a scientific explanation to many things, I can just accept them.
(There was also a fantasy cycle that used a similar story device to Midichlorians and I can't remember the name of it...)
I've been giving some thought to Lucas and it has just dawned on me that I cannot think of a film-maker who has a reputation that so far outweighs his actual ability.
Of the six theatrical movies Lucas has directed, only two (American Graffitti and Star Wars Episode IV) are actually any good. THX1138 is woefully dull and pretentious and the 3 Star Wars prequels are dreadfully directed.
I don't count his work as a producer as that is business more than art, plus he has his name attached to things like Kagamusha and Body Heat which he really just lent his clout to rather than developing those projects.
As a writer - and I use the term loosly - Lucas hasn't a clue. Graffitti and Episode IV are again exceptions to this, but look at the rest of his output. Those Star Wars prequels couldn't have been worse if Lucas's cat had jumped on his MacBook keyboard and they had just filmed those randomly created pages of screenplay. The stuff of Padme and Anakin on Corruscant in Attack of the Clones is just painfully bad for example.
Ok, I conceed Lucas co-created Indy and so that is a feather in his fedora I can't deny. But then Lucas was also responsible for the story of the last Indy film, a movie so lamentably poor I almost walked out. Crystal Skull really does look like it was made by a bunch of people who had never even seen Raiders, Temple of Doom and Last Crusade, or indeed Any decent movie ever. A wholly hateful movie that is so bad I refuse to buy the blu ray even though it is in my local Tesco for five quid.... I wouldn't have that film in my collection even if Lucas flew me out to Skywalker Ranch and sent Laura Vandervoort along to my room at night. It's seriously that bad.
And to go back to topic, I can't think of any other film maker who needs to re-visit old glories more than Lucas. Sure, Spielberg went back to CE3K and Cameron re-cut The Abyss (and is prepping a 3D version of Titanic for 2012) but Lucas just keeps on and on trying to "improve" his old films, which is impossible. Most of them were beyond redemption as they came out of his EditDroid.
I've been giving some thought to Lucas and it has just dawned on me that I cannot think of a film-maker who has a reputation that so far outweighs his actual ability.
JJ Abrams comes to mind. Vincent Ward. Brian De Palma has made a lot of complete shit too. And lest we forget the track record of one Irvin Kershner with SPYS, Never Say Never Again, Robocop 2...
I thought it was interesting to discover that, like them or not, midi-chlorians actually date back at least to 1977, and perhaps as far back as Lucas' "original vision" for Star Wars.
After the first movie came out and became a smash, to help authors and other creative personnel to flesh out the Star Wars Universe in books and other ancillary products, Lucas shared some of the story notes he had written in the long process of developing his screenplay.
In July and August 1977, Lucas sat for several tape-recorded interviews with Carol Titelman ("The Art of Star Wars") to "record his knowledge of the world he had created," as J.W. Rinzler describes it.
On page 353 of Rinzler's "The Making of Star Wars," in the deluxe edition bonus material chapter called "George Lucas Expands His Universe," in the paragraph labeled "The Force," Lucas is quoted:
The Force is really a way of feeling; it's a way of being with life. It really has nothing to do with weapons. The Force gives you the power to have extrasensory perception and to be able to see things and hear things, read minds and levitate things. It is said that certain creatures are born with a higher awareness of the Force than humans. Their brains are different; they have more midi-chlorians in their cells.
I've been giving some thought to Lucas and it has just dawned on me that I cannot think of a film-maker who has a reputation that so far outweighs his actual ability.
I've posed this question to my friends - what if STAR WARS had merely broken even? And Lucas found himself with sequel rights to a series that didn't justify a sequel, toy rights that weren't generating big money?
He probably would have directed a couple more films, increasingly studio-driven projects as the success of AMERICAN GRAFFITI faded. Maybe another drama, another sci-fi film, who knows. He hated the pressures of directing and wouldn't have lasted long.
He wouldn't have been able to get RAIDERS OF THE LOST ARK off the ground without the success of STAR WARS, so scratch that too.
By the mid-eighties his career would be dead in the water. He'd be a director like Richard Rush - well-regarded with a couple of beloved cult films, but unknown to the general public.
No ILM either, which is an interesting thought. It would have taken much longer for digital editing / effects / cameras to come around.
Exactly my response too. Then I went back to the two disc DVDs which apparently are an insult to fans because they're from a laserdisc master and aren't anamorphic and < Insert Your Own Insane Reasoning Here >, so they're just terrible.
I'm plenty glad I have the original versions. Charmingly ragged presentation, but it's like turning off the ol' HD targeting computer. A Force comes through, one the later versions have lost for all their "enhancements," state of the art HD video, sound and fury.
Let me just chime in and say that American Graffiti is a phenomenal film, and definitely Lucas' best. I also love THX-1138 and I'll go on a limb and say that the additions actually give the film a little stronger presence as a Sci-Fi Thriller.
