[Impaler]

1) Episodes 4, 5 and 6 all have a better "Feeling" (a term you CAN'T define) because they were open-ended adventures. You had no idea what to expect going into the theatre, and they delivered on the surprises. On the other hand, Episodes 1, 2, 3 were all just backstory filler. You KNEW that Anakin would become Darth-Vader-who-would-be-killed-by-his-own-son-a-few-movies-later the very second you saw him in Watto's shop. Lucas SHOULD have made Episodes 7-9.

2) "CGI YODA?! ARGHHH. TOO MANY COMPUTER VISUAL EFFECTS!" You know, Yoda (along with the other 35 aliens or whatever) was a FUCKING MUPPET in the originals. He even had that look of consternation that all muppets get when the operator makes a fist inside the head. You know the one, it looks like they just ate an atomic lemon. Star Wars was a menagerie of rubber suits and puppets, and a lot of them weren't all that good. Consider the source material next time you bemoan the CGI bastardization of Star Wars.
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QED, sort of.

[gLitterbug]

@Impaler - Dude, your last reply. No.

[Diruo]

Hmm.. call me crazy.. but I much prefered the puppets and miniatures. Including Yoda. The rancor looks better than any of the CG creatures in say, the gladiator arena in EPII imo. And muppet Jabba > CG jabba.

And maybe it's just poor imagination. Or maybe it's that I've worked with 3d applications. But I never feel that CGI is real, maybe because I know how they're made. Puppets and miniatures feel more real because it's obvious that they're really there. It's hard to imitate and achieve the same detail with CGI that you can with puppets. Of course, you have more freedom in movement and thus also creativity, with CG. But it's not worth it imo. Not yet.

[Capt. Fred]

Not long after seeing sith, I saw episode 4 on tv.
Very very different film styles. Episode IV is like india jones style action/drama. Episode III is like an oversimplified space opera fairy tale.

IV was more a movie, and III was more of a showreel.
IV I watch all the way through with interest and anticipation. III I intend to buy on dvd and fastforward/rewind, to gawp, with absolutely zero interest in the undeveloped/unelaborated plot-outline.

RE: CG/puppets: I reckon the only problem with CG characters is that they don't move right. As soon as the so much as breathe, you can see that they have no mass, no inertia, and feel no gravity. The pixar and old school disney animators had that down better than the starwars animators imho. Maybe if they can't imagine the effects of weight with their imagination good enough, maybe they need get the programmers to come up with better physics models to work within.

[Drunken Monkey]

Yeah Sidious is Anakins daddy... there is definetly almost fatherly affection in some scenes.

I am also getting convinced that special effects will never look as real as real life... just not going to happen. We will always be able to pick it up. Anyone else just totally immune to the space battles and droids by now... the whole time i was watching waiting to see some normal non CG people.
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"A fear of weapons is a sign of retarded sexual and emotional maturity" - Sigmund Freud

[eyewoo]

yup... Just saw III and was very disappointed... It had a plot line that could have been scripted on one page, double spaced, beginning to end. It was all show...

I thought Yoda was quite well done... though...
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HonePie.com
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[Naeem]

i gotta agree with gort,
where anickan was writhing was killer. u could really feel the 'hatred' from anickans side and the sadness from obi's side.
the movie was... amazing. general watever, however, sadly reminded me of legos...

[pb]

You have to understand this film isn't supposed to be anything more than 70's fantasy fairytale cheese, it isn't some gritty film with naturalistic acting, but it's still good.

Cg Yoda was nicely done, but I don't think the cg version beats the crapness of the original puppet, it has more warmth to it

[Reidar]

http://www.thebestpageintheuniverse.net/c.cgi?u=episode3

[Naeem]

Reidar> i died laughing man. oh god, so funny. thansk! brightened my day

[Godwin]

[Drunken Monkey]

thanks for that link Reidar,, good stuff
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"A fear of weapons is a sign of retarded sexual and emotional maturity" - Sigmund Freud

[ozan]

[[666]Flat]

It's nothing but a high-tech sci-fi fairy tale, ffs. In the same spirit of the sequels. This flick ain't no deal about realism and plausibility, obviously. Going on a killing spree to save his wife might seem a pretty dumb plot twist, considering his life time dedicated to the ways of the righteous jedi. But if you think about it, this is a story about a guy whose actions are not only lead by fear - it's a story about fighting that "war within", the ever lasting battle "of heart" between good and bad everybody has to encounter day by day. Your personal holy war. Can you justify doing something immoral with a greater cause? Don't you have to adapt to the methods of your enemies in order to defeat them? Where's the thin line between being a salvator and a tyrant? Skywalker has lots of potential but he's vain, he's curious and, despite of his principles, selfish. Teaching us something we already knew but easily forget - it's not all about using "the force" but using it well. For me it's a worthwile movie, I still like the SFX-opera (don't let us forget the effects were breathtaking in Ep.IV-VI at that time) and still don't care much about wacky plots and logical gaps. Star Wars is part of my childhood and when I watched that movie it didn't take me too long to re-enter that place "far far away" that stimulated the minds of people and among those of so many artists ever since. Ep.VI is still the best IMHO but that's only due to the pr0n-factor that comes with a sexy Leia showing off some tasty skin.
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[spooge demon]

My lusty friend flat speaks truth. Anyone have screen grabs from ROTJ with leia in that costume? Please?

When under attack, the need for strong central authority can exist. Democracy can be a luxury that you cannot afford. In dangerous places one absolute voice can keep a lot of people alive. Think about naval ships. Of course there will be a variety of opinions about the precariousness of the situation, and the possibility that it might have been �manufactured.� But eventually, the strong leader will become corrupt, and the efficiencies of absolutism lost.

There was a neat study done with people in a made up prison. One half was guards, the other half prisoners. Eventually, they had to stop the experiment, as the people started playing their roles a little too well. Power gets in your head, nothing you can do about it, you are human.

So I guess the problem is, 1) bad situation, we need martial law. 2) Crisis averted 3) now, how to get rid of the drooling monster that a year before saved all our asses and is now burning books and making opponents disappear.

I was struck in �Hero� at the pro government propaganda. The assassin who sees the need for the dictator! Amazing! In some cases that may be right.

I look at SW and think that it might have been more interesting if the idea of inherent evil was dropped and the conflict produced by honest differences of opinion as to the correct path of a society in crisis. Evil is what you disagree with and the internal struggle in all of us is to not see it that way.

I agree about too much CG. It does not move right, no weight. Not yet anyway. Give me models, with strings, that�s OK.

[StylesDavis]

[ceenda]

[eyewoo]

ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ... Reidar... that link is wonderful!

This toon says it all...

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HonePie.com
tumblr blog
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[Capt. Fred]

styles - that german movie was a 'reality style' dramatisation of an actual experiment. The movie was just a movie. The real thing was a separate happening.

[Impaler]

Here's some info about the experiment Ceenda mentioned. It was conducted by Stanley Milgram, which is a handy name to remember the next time your boss starts nagging you.

"I REFUSE TO VALIDATE STANLEY MILGRAM'S THESIS BY NOT PARKING IN YOUR SPACE!"
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QED, sort of.

[Impaler]

Also, was I the only one who saw the Milennium Falcon near the beginning of the movie? It's when Obi Wan and Anakin are returning to the hangar on Coruscant with Palpatine. It's very small and near the bottom of the screen, but it's pretty unmistakable. There were other small touches like that all over the movie..
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QED, sort of.