Moviegoers owe George Lucas and his pal and collaborator Steven Spielberg a debt of thanks for the first Star Wars and Indiana Jones films. Without them, we would likely be watching Silent Running 8: A New Beginning and The Colonization of New Solaris. Mr. Lucas also deserves credit for founding Industrial Light and Magic, top dog in visual effects until James Cameron's Digital Domain and Peter Jackson's WETA gradually took over.
Lucas also deserves credit for developing a very basic, elemental story to go with all the Star Wars technology. Here it is:
1) Jedi master Obi-Wan had a student.
2) His name was Anakin Skywalker, and he was the best
3) Anakin gave in to the Dark Side.
4) He became Darth Vader.
Simplicity itself, folks, along with subsequent revelations in the first trilogy that Vader was father to one Luke Skywalker, and that they had a chance to patch it up before Papa shuffled off this mortal coil.
There was, therefore, no need to learn "The Rest of The Story", except that sometime around 1997, Lucas updated his computers and thought we all might enjoy a galactic version of C-SPAN in 1999 with The Phantom Menace
Really, what was there to truly enjoy?
A lifeless podrace that looked like a video game trailer?
Anakin, played by that little twerp from Jingle All The Way, managing to blow up the enemy planet even though he was shooting like a drunken sailor?
Jar Jar Binks?
The death of Liam Neeson's Qui-Gon Jinn, which robbing the other newer films of any gravitas whatsoever?
Jar Jar Binks?
Just because you can create an interactive CGI character does not mean that you should create one unless he is integral to the plot, which he most certainly is not. But George created him simply because he can. But hey, we can end on a positive note: Jar Jar is a direct descendant of Avatar.
And if the 3D rerelease of the first trilogy goes as planned, I will be there with bells on!
Next time: Hollywood Yay and Nay
Later,
MTMG
Tuesday, January 12, 2010
Wednesday, January 6, 2010
Wanna be a Movie Buff? Some Helpful Tips...
If one of your New Years resolutions is to dive into the wonderful world of movies and share that love with fellow movie buffs, here are some helpful tips, as well as some pitfalls to avoid:
1. If you sign up for a night class on the films on Alfred Hitchcock and haven't seen Psycho prior to the first class, DO NOT admit this to anyone. Two things will happen:
a) Everyone will look at you as if you've just arrived from Mars.
b) The first class will likely include a screening of Time film critic Richard Schickel's excellent 1973 documentary on Hitchcock, which includes the Janet Leigh murder scene in its entirety, as well as detailed analysis of that scene. There is only one way to feel its pulse-pounding power for the first time, and that is with the rest of the film. I know this because it happened to me in 1997.
2. When discussing spy movies, there is more to life than Bond, Flint, and Matt Helm. Really, there is. Honest.
3. When saying something pseudo-erudite like "The Purple Rose of Cairo is the thinking man's Last Action Hero" or "Wow, Barry Lyndon looks like it was shot by God!", be prepared to back it up. Your film afficionado friends will respect you in the morning. Or don't say it at all. It's your call.
4. Watch Ingmar Bergman movies in the morning and Ingrid Bergman movies in the evening, not the other way around. You'll thank me later. What to do at supper time? Reflect on the fact that Morgan Freeman is the very definition of cool.
Next time: George Lucas: Because He Can!
See you later!
MTMG
1. If you sign up for a night class on the films on Alfred Hitchcock and haven't seen Psycho prior to the first class, DO NOT admit this to anyone. Two things will happen:
a) Everyone will look at you as if you've just arrived from Mars.
b) The first class will likely include a screening of Time film critic Richard Schickel's excellent 1973 documentary on Hitchcock, which includes the Janet Leigh murder scene in its entirety, as well as detailed analysis of that scene. There is only one way to feel its pulse-pounding power for the first time, and that is with the rest of the film. I know this because it happened to me in 1997.
2. When discussing spy movies, there is more to life than Bond, Flint, and Matt Helm. Really, there is. Honest.
3. When saying something pseudo-erudite like "The Purple Rose of Cairo is the thinking man's Last Action Hero" or "Wow, Barry Lyndon looks like it was shot by God!", be prepared to back it up. Your film afficionado friends will respect you in the morning. Or don't say it at all. It's your call.
4. Watch Ingmar Bergman movies in the morning and Ingrid Bergman movies in the evening, not the other way around. You'll thank me later. What to do at supper time? Reflect on the fact that Morgan Freeman is the very definition of cool.
Next time: George Lucas: Because He Can!
See you later!
MTMG
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