Star Wars

[Bono Vox]

I know that this is off of the "Religious" discussion, but since this is a free for all, I thought that if any of you love the Star Wars movies as much as I do might like to know that Star Wars episode III has been titled "Revenge of the Sith".  

I have a feeling that this is going to be the best of the pre-quils. Moreover, the posters are going to use the same style fonts and graphics as "Return of the Jedi" which I thought were cool!

Here is a cool link to some awesome behind the scene pictures!

http://www.supershadow.com/pictures/episode3/

The new bad guy, general grevous, looks like the spookiest villan yet in the Star Wars saga.

Let me know what you think

Bagpiper

[Donna Rose]

well, im not a huge star wars fan (as in im not a fanatic), but i do like the movies (that i've seen lol yes it's true ive only seen the original star wars (1st movie made) and then the 2 prequals so far)...and i especially like sagas and things that keep the same characters (and actors ideally) and we get to see what happens to them...so for me, the most fun pics at that site are the ones of anakin and obi won (sp?) and even amidala, and how they will look in episode 3...i will surely see episode 3, just caz i wanna see where the characters go...and then im sure at some point i'll watch episodes 4-6

:::hiding from the true star wars fans out there who may wanna throw something at me:::

[Augustine]

I loved the original trilolgy (particularly the last two), liked the first prequel (wasn't as good as I thought it would be, but not bad), and hated Attack of the Clowns...err, Clones.

I'm very concerned that the next one is going to be terrible.  I hope I'm wrong.

[Schultz]

SW ranks up there with LOTR as the two loves of my life aside from religion and music.  I was very disappointed with Episodes I & II mostly due to the wooden acting and horrible dialogue, but I have high hopes for Episode III.  I really like how the title juxtaposes to "Return of the Jedi", especially since that film was originally called "Revenge of the Jedi".  

The pics look awesome, especially those of Obi-wan.  It really is just plain uncanny how much Ewan MacGregor's Obi-wan really looks like a young version of Alec Guinness' Ben Kenobi.

[Tikhon29605]

My favorite Star Wars character is Princess Armadillo, pardon me, Amadala. Although her funky Chinese Ming dynasty inspired hairdo reminded me of an Armadillo of sorts.

[Bono Vox]

I don't know if any of you have noticed on the link I posted, but there is a picture of a disfigured anikin after his duel with obi wan. This is what he will look like before his transformation into Darth Vader!

I have also heard that George Lucas is going to go back and re-edit parts of Return of the Jedi to fit christian haden's image in the parts that show Darth Vader's face (like when luke took his mask off, and when it showed him, yoda and obi-wan as ghosts at the end)

On another star wars note, I don't know if any of you have seen any of the "clone wars" cartoons on Cartoon network, but they were really cool. I have seen some of them, and it ties a lot in between episode 2 &3, especially with general grevous (who looks more scarier than darth vader to me). In the cartoon, it showed general grevous wiping out lots of Jedi without breaking a sweat!

I bet that there are going to be some awesome fighting scenes in episode III

Bagpiper

[Doubting Thomas]

Wasn't the origianl plans ("a long time ago...") to have Episodes 7, 8, and 9 also?  Whatever happened to that?  Is Lucas just gettting too old?  To me, it will seem kind of weird to end the Star Wars saga on a "bad note", so to speak, at the end of Episode 3 when Anakin turns into Darth Vader and the Empire takes over the galaxy.

[David]

Lucas is getting old and so are the actors that were in episodes IV-XI(Harrison Ford, Mark Hamill, Carrie Fisher, etc).  I think what will happen is that after the upcoming episode III he'll re-release the original trilogy theatrically with more new special effects(this is being done for the dvds anyway).  It'll be interesting to see on what note they end this film, but since I don't have much confidence in Lucas as a director, I don't have many high hopes.

[Schultz]

Lucas never had any intention of shooting 7-9.  For him, the story was about the rise and fall and redemption of Anakin Skywalker.  At the end of ROTJ, that goal was achieved.  

There are hundreds of novels and stories of what happened post-ROTJ that are, for all intents and purposes, canon.  Everything has to be cleared past Lucasfilm to be published and while he retains the right to say, "That's not what happened", all the post-Ep 6 material that is out there is pretty much the continuation of the SW saga.  It's quite amazing how all the disparate authors and whatnot have remained quite consistent with the storylines over the years.  Of course, that's largely because of Lucasfilm's insistence on continuity.

I still the think the original "Thrawn Trilogy" by Timothy Zahn are the best ones out there.

[cizinec]

My brother and I were huge into Star Wars when we were little tots.  My brother is still a fanatic.  Even though the last two weren't as great as I had hoped, I still thought they were great fun and I'm ready for this one . . . . except it's the last.

[David]

Schultz,

If I remember correctly, didn't the thing about the story being about the rise and fall of Anakin came out after Phantom Menace?

[Schultz]

Nope.  Lucas had the idea all along.  It's evident in the fact that the "first" Star Wars movie is Episode Six.  When asked about it 25 years ago, Lucas said that the films were really about Darth Vader and his life.  Episodes One through Three were about how he became Darth Vader.

[David]

Good to know...thanks.

[Bono Vox]

I just got done reading the summary of the script (including spoilers), and I must say that this is going to be one awesome movie

here is the link

http://www.supershadow.com/starwars/episode3/revenge_of_the_sith/plot_script.html

Let me know what you all think about it

repipgab

[Donna Rose]

hehehe sounds exciting

and i dont even know the after story! this will make me wanna see the original trilogy

[David]

Well, the dvd's are finally coming out, so it should be entirely possible to go see Episode three, then go have an old-school Star Wars marathon weekend.  

Anyone ever see that movie review that Abp. Lazar Puhalo did on the original trilogy?  It is quite, um, interesting.

[Schultz]

and i dont even know the after story! this will make me wanna see the original trilogy

IS OUTRAGE!

[Donna Rose]

IS OUTRAGE!

LOL well, maybe it will take Episode 3 to convert me...so at the very least, the upcoming film will have a purpose in the world

and it's possible that the old trilogy rereleased on DVD with new added special effects may also do the trick...i dont know why, but for some reason it was the old school effects that i could never get passed to watch the movie...i think what bothered me was that they tried to pretend like they were NOT old school (and i guess they weren't at the time), but watching in the 1990s, it just didn't work for me. see i have no problem w/ something like Wizard of Oz, which is completely theatrical and unrealistic, but that's because I felt like the film was aware that it was unrealistic...or sumthin.

anyway, anxiously awaiting Episode 3

[Bono Vox]

I don't know if any of you have seen the teaser trailer for Star Wars Episode III yet, but I watched it online and thought that it looked awesome.

Here is a link if you want to watch the trailer online

http://www.starwars.com/

I will wait to hear what your reactions are to the trailer (ie..what you picked up on in it ect.....) before I give my input on it.

Enjoy

Darth Bagpiper

[Arystarcus]

That's the thing about all those trailers, they made all of those prequel movies look awesome and then.... Jar Jar Binx.

[Brendan03]

The interesting thing is that we basically know the story of Episode 3, in broad terms, because we know how Episode 4 starts.  So the interesting thing is not the "what happens", but the "how it happens".

On the editing of Episode 6, Lucas already did that, in part at least, in the newly released DVD version.  When the three dead Jedi (Yoda, Obi-Wan and Anakin) appear in the scene at the end, it is Hayden C as Anakin).  He also added some neat celebration scenes from other galactic points of interest such as Coruscant.

Lucas has mentioned in interviews that television series may be in the offiing after Episode 3, perhaps telling some of the stories from the books in visual form.

And, yes, for the record I am a Star Wars fanatic.

B

[Keble]

Wasn't the origianl plans ("a long time ago...") to have Episodes 7, 8, and 9 also?  Whatever happened to that?  Is Lucas just gettting too old?  To me, it will seem kind of weird to end the Star Wars saga on a "bad note", so to speak, at the end of Episode 3 when Anakin turns into Darth Vader and the Empire takes over the galaxy.

Lucas's claims about what he was up to have acquired the quality of legend themselves, but they've changed considerably over the years.

Back when the real Episode 1 came out, the crawler at the beginning had no "Episode" headline. In those days Lucas was still willing to admit that the actual inspiration for the movie was Kurosawa's Hidden Fortress; the Joseph Campbell claptrap came much later. The talk about nine movies also came later, I think about the time that he started work on Empire. But as far as I know everything about the series after the first movie was worked out after the first movie, which had a very difficult birth in the script. And I don't think Lucas ever really had any definite plot ideas worked out beyond "the robots are in all the movies" (the heart of the Kurosawa connection) and "the first three movies will show the fall of Darth Vader" (kinda obvious).  It took him so long to come up with the obvious "first" three movies, where he at least had some direction already given by the setup for the real first movie, that everyone knew he had always been blowing smoke about the last three.

Anyone ever see that movie review that Abp. Lazar Puhalo did on the original trilogy?  It is quite, um, interesting.  

Having read it, I'd call it a reach myself. I think the analysis of Harry Potter as essentially Christian is much more plausible.

[Keble]

and it's possible that the old trilogy rereleased on DVD with new added special effects may also do the trick...i dont know why, but for some reason it was the old school effects that i could never get passed to watch the movie...

OLD school???

Sheeeeeeeeesh.

This is one of the two movies that changed everything in special effects. Dykstra's motion control system was the most important innovation in effects between Disney's gel matte (which produced spectacular results, but which proved impossible to duplicate) and computer animation. the only thing that remotely compared to it was Trumbull's efforts a few years earlier, most notably in Silent Running. But the crucial step in Dykstra's system was that the models and cameras all moved while the shutter was open. Trumbull's model work was very realistic but he could only move things at low speeds.

You have to imagine how it was back when Star Wars was released. Space movies (which were extremely out of fashion in those days) were mostly associated with cheesy effects, except for a few very geeky movies that most people didn't like. So people sit down in the theatre after passing this, um, bodice ripping poster, and this really archaic crawl rolls under John Williams striking fanfare. The camera tilts back from the surface, the rebel ship starts flying across the screen, and all the sci-fi geeks think, "this is pretty cool". Then the imperial ship enters the frame, and keeps coming, and coming, and coming..... You could hear jaws drop all across America. Nobody had EVER seen anything like it. And in those few seconds, the standard of special effects was raised forever.

[Bono Vox]

I'm still waiting to see what y'all think of the trailer. Did any of you watch it???

[David]

I watched and enjoyed the teaser trailer.  It was very good for what it was.  The trailers for Episodes I and II were likewise very good, which led to extreme dissapointment when I saw the films they were advertising.  I would like to think that episode three will be better, but recent evidence points to the contrary.

Favorite moments of the trailer:
First new Darth Vader line in 20 years
Prototype X-wing
Seeing the empreror with a lightsabre
Padme wearing Leia style hair
WOOKIES!!!
Seeing Anakin use a force choke on Obi Wan
I really enjoyed having it begin with the footage from the original Star Wars.  Good seeing Alec Guinness.  

[Antonious Nikolas]

I am a huge Star Wars fan.  Always have been.  Of course I prefer the classic Trilogy, but I also enjoyed the first two prequels, especially Phantom Menace.  I think Lucas was wise to begin the saga with Episode IV.  He knew that Episode I would be (by necessity) something of a slow starter, and then he would have never had the opportunity to complete the other films.  That is not to say that there aren't a few things in Menace I could have done without ("Ex-squeeze me!" jumps to mind, as well as "midichlorians").

Just a few continuity issues that I hope Episode III clears up:

1.) Why doesn't Vader recognize the droids (Especially Threepio, whom he created)?  It kind of blows your mind when you consider that when Threepio said "Thank the maker!" in Ep. IV, he was thanking Darth Vader!  For that matter, why doesn't Obi Wan recognize Artoo?

2.) What happens to Count Dooku?   There can only be two Sith at one time (no more, no less).  If we don't get to see him croak (and Anakin take his place) it will be something of a rip-off.  Maybe Anakin will have to kill him in a lightsaber battle, like the Emperor was trying to get Luke to do with Darth Vader.

3.) Why does Obi-Wan say that Yoda trained him (not Qui-Gon) in the classic Trilogy?  Obviously because Lucas hadn't invented Qui-Gon yet, but what is the "Star Wars" reason?  Did Yoda train Obi-Wan before he became Qui-Gon's padawan?

And a few from the classic trilogy that have always been a burr under my saddle:

1.) Why is the tractor beam control system written IN ENGLISH?!? (Ep. IV)

2.) Why does the Emperor's hologram look so deformed? (Empire Strikes Back)

I'm hoping someone is a big enough Star Wars fan to help me out here.  I'm looking in your direction, Herr Schultz!

[Schultz]

Seek and ye shall find!

Let me see if I can flex my Star Wars muscles a bit here and answer your questions:

1.  Threepio is not the only droid of his kind in the Star Wars universe.  Remember in ESB, right before Threepio was blown into dozens of pieces, he came across another droid of his type (albeit of a more silvery sheen) who was rather rude to him.  Vader could just confuse Threepio with one of these other droids, as droids have no "force sensitivity" and therefore no "presence".  They are merely inanimate objects animated via machine and computer, not the "luminous beings" that generate the Force.  Plus, who knows what warping Vader went through after his battle with Obi-wan that killed Anakin and created the Dark Lord of the Sith.

2.  No idea.  We'll have to wait and see.    Maybe Palpatine kills him for failure to exterminate Yoda and Obi-wan?  

3.  I think you're on the money regarding Obi-wan's comments about Yoda training him.  Yoda probably trained Obi-wan prior to the latter achieving "padawan" status under Qui-gon.


For the "burr under the saddle" questions:

1.  Production mistake.  I never noticed if they "fixed" it in the Special Edition or in the new DVDs.  I'll take a look tonight.

2.  Different actor (actually a woman I believe...Clive Revill supplied the voice) than what we're used to int he guise of Ian McDiarmid.  I think it was just a bad makeup job and when they did a better on in ROTJ with McDiarmid, everyone went, "Wow, that Emperor from ESB looked deformed!"  You're not the only one who noticed

[Bono Vox]

1.) Why doesn't Vader recognize the droids (Especially Threepio, whom he created)?  It kind of blows your mind when you consider that when Threepio said "Thank the maker!" in Ep. IV, he was thanking Darth Vader!  For that matter, why doesn't Obi Wan recognize Artoo?

I would say that first, vader has been around so many droids that he probably doesn't think of c3po; especially since turning to the dark side. A droid is probably meaningless to him. Secondly, R2 & C3po will have their memories erased at the end of Episode 3. They don't know that it was vader who created them. You can read the whole synopsis of what is going to happen at this link---  (warning, there are major spoilers)

http://www.supershadow.com/starwars/episode3/revenge_of_the_sith/plot_script.html

2.) What happens to Count Dooku?  There can only be two Sith at one time (no more, no less).  If we don't get to see him croak (and Anakin take his place) it will be something of a rip-off.  Maybe Anakin will have to kill him in a lightsaber battle, like the Emperor was trying to get Luke to do with Darth Vader.

Anikin kills Count Dooku at the begining of episode 3. Dooku is just a tool that the emperor has been using to ultimatly get anikin as his apprentice.

3.) Why does Obi-Wan say that Yoda trained him (not Qui-Gon) in the classic Trilogy?  Obviously because Lucas hadn't invented Qui-Gon yet, but what is the "Star Wars" reason?  Did Yoda train Obi-Wan before he became Qui-Gon's padawan?

We only saw part of obi-wan's training. Perhaps yoda did some training with him at any given point?

2.) Why does the Emperor's hologram look so deformed? (Empire Strikes Back)

In the new trilogy put out on DVD, the emperor is clear as a bell; he is not deformed any more.

As far as the trailer goes, I thought that it was good. It looked very dark, and from everything that I have read, this is going to be the darkest of all of the Star Wars movies. Also, there is going to be more light saber fighting in III than in the rest of the movies as well.

Here are some things that I thought were interesting about the trailer that I picked up on---

-Anikin's eye's were like Darth Maul's after he turned to the Dark Side

-James Earl Jones pronounces "master" the way hayden christensen does when he is rising on the table

-Darth Sidious's voice sounds scarrier in this one (due to effects); for instance, when he says "Lord Vader.....Rise". Rise sounds really creepy.

I haven't seen the new trilogy on DVD yet, but I have seen pictures and have read about it online. It is supposed to tie some things in with the prequils.

For instance, I think that the emperor's voice is altered a bit, like I stated in my previous post.

At the end of return of the jedi, when it shows the ghosts of anikin, obi wan and yoda, hayden christensen is in there instead of the old guy from before. Obi wan is still alec guiness; however, I don't understand why they have an old decreped obi wan, who has always done the right thing and followed the right path, be old as a ghost, then anikin who has chosen the wrong path come out looking like a young man! shouldn't it be the other way around, or at least have all of their ghosts young??

Anyway let me know what you think. May the force be with you.

Darth Bagpiper

[Antonious Nikolas]

Hmmm...the force is strong with this one!  

Schultz - Since you said that LOTR and Star Wars were two of the great loves of your life (mine too!) you may find this website interesting (if you haven't seen it before).  It explores various influences upon Lucas and his creative process, including Tolkien.  Let me know what you think...

http://www.jitterbug.com/origins/lotr.html

[Schultz]

At the end of return of the jedi, when it shows the ghosts of anikin, obi wan and yoda, hayden christensen is in there instead of the old guy from before. Obi wan is still alec guiness; however, I don't understand why they have an old decreped obi wan, who has always done the right thing and followed the right path, be old as a ghost, then anikin who has chosen the wrong path come out looking like a young man! shouldn't it be the other way around, or at least have all of their ghosts young??

I think he did this not only to tie the old films with the new, but also because Anakin "died" when he became Darth Vader, at least in Lucas' mind.  So when he comes back as the force ghost, he looks like he did when he "died".  However, since Darth Vader was redeemed at the end of ROTJ, would not Anakin be considered "reborn", especially after he tells Luke, "Tell your sister you were right."  Does this not mean that Anakin never really died, as there was still some good left in him, like Luke said he felt?  

I bet those who could care less about Star Wars are scratching their heads at this point

[Antonious Nikolas]

Wow Bagpiper!  Now I have to run out and get the classic Trilogy on DVD!  I always had a suspicion that the droids would have their memories wiped.

[Robert]

ABOUT THE TRACTOR BEAM INSTRUCTIONS:

In the NEW trilogy that was just released on DVD, they actually changed the tractor beam instructions to some alien language.

I don't have pictures handy, but a google search will turn up the "new" instructions.

R

[Antonious Nikolas]

I just snuck out and copped the DVDs on my lunch break.  Can't wait to see what Lucas has changed.  I hope he also touched up the scene after Darth Vader has killed Ben, when Luke hesitates before boarding the Falcon.  Before the blast doors close on Vader, you can clearly see that his lightsaber is a white plastic shaft.  I know, I know, I sound like that fat comic book guy on the Simpsons!  Pitiful, ain't it!  Worst oc.net post ever! (BTW, Cap'n Roberto, please pm me if you get a chance...)

[Schultz]

Worst oc.net post ever!

No intelligent Star Wars discussion should ever be counted as the "worst post" on any board!

[Brendan03]

There are a lot of little things changed on the new DVD versions, they are well worth a look.

I also agree that Ep. III could be a downer even in light of the attractive preview trailer, but I like SW enough that it would probably still be interesting for me.  I actually liked Ep. I and II, while most of the non-SW world panned them both.

B

[Antonious Nikolas]

Hey y'all!  I just read the script summaries for Episodes 7,8, & 9 (supposedly authored by George Lucas) over at supershadow.com.  All I can say is uggh!!!  Thank goodness these abominations were never made!

Luke fighting a clone of himself, and a clone Vader?!?
And the "Dark Jedi" put the Vader clone in the mask, etc., even though he has no breathing problems (because he never took a lava bath like Anakin).

The Mandalorians invade the New Republic?  I thought Boba Fett was wearing Mandalorian armor.  And I never liked Mara Jade and those other characters.  I'm strictly into the "canonical" Star Wars universe myself.

Ohh...almost forgot this classic line from the "script":

Luke uses Force vanish and re-materializes behind Horgon

What?!?

[Schultz]

I would never, never, never! take what I read on the internet as a "script", especially supposedly authored by Lucas, as being the real thing.

[Keble]

I hope he also touched up the scene after Darth Vader has killed Ben, when Luke hesitates before boarding the Falcon.  Before the blast doors close on Vader, you can clearly see that his lightsaber is a white plastic shaft.

Well, he's failed to fix it on every other chance he had, including the extended version (which frankly I don't care for).

Trivia time: How many of you can tell me where this line comes from:

"You'll laugh! You'll cry! You'll kiss three bucks goodbye!"

[Antonious Nikolas]

That would be from the same place as this one:

Fluke: Do you feel a great disturbance in the Force, as if millions of voices cried out in terror and were suddenly silenced?

Auggie Ben Doggie: No, it's just a headache.

The Hardware Wars short they used to show on HBO (I never had HBO as a kid, but my Aunt did!  One time we watched Star Wars and The Empire Strikes Back over there back-to-back!)

As for the new editions - I think it is great that Lucas was able to go back and restore scenes that had to be cut because of time/budget constraints, like Jabba's scene it Ep. IV or the Wampa in Ep. V.  The only nitpicks:

1.) Jabba duplicates Greedo's dialogue

2.) The new sequence at the end of ROTJ means we don't get to hear the Ewok song.  I loved that song!  The Ewok playing the drums on the Imperial helmets just doesn't have the same ring to it now.  

[Schultz]

2.) The new sequence at the end of ROTJ means we don't get to hear the Ewok song.  I loved that song!  The Ewok playing the drums on the Imperial helmets just doesn't have the same ring to it now.

We still get to see Lando exhibiting his atrocious rhythm skills at the very end before the final credit launch, though!

[Arystarcus]

"You'll laugh! You'll cry! You'll kiss three bucks goodbye!"

Sounds like something I said after seeing the first prequil at the cheap theater and another time when I rented the second from Blockbuster.  

[Antonious Nikolas]

We still get to see Lando exhibiting his atrocious rhythm skills at the very end before the final credit launch, though!

  I'll have to watch out for that!  Although to give him the benefit of the doubt, it could be that there wasn't any actual music playing at the time he was dancing or whatever.  I've discovered that a lot of the time, the directors of TV shows or movies just tell the cast to move, and then add the music later, which makes everyone look like a bunch of idiots.

BTW, I checked out the revised scene with the Emperor in Empire last night.  Perfect!  Some "purists" may decry the revisions as ruining the Star Wars legacy, but I personally think their great.  I'd rather see Lucas' definitive vision for HIS creation, than see what he was bound to create by the technology of the day.

Oh, and I hear Chewie is gonna be in Ep. III!!!!  If these on-line sources can be trusted, that is.  Which beings me to my question for Bagpiper:  How sure are you about all of these plot elements which have been revealed on-line (i.e. Ani killing Dooku in front of the Emperor, etc.)?  These could have been leaked to throw the audience off.  I remember when that awful American version of Godzilla came out.  People on-line swore that they had the script, and it turned out to be a red herring released intentionally by the studio.

[Bono Vox]

No intelligent Star Wars discussion should ever be counted as the "worst post" on any board!

amen shultz. The force is strong in you!

I think he did this not only to tie the old films with the new, but also because Anakin "died" when he became Darth Vader, at least in Lucas' mind.  So when he comes back as the force ghost, he looks like he did when he "died".  However, since Darth Vader was redeemed at the end of ROTJ, would not Anakin be considered "reborn", especially after he tells Luke, "Tell your sister you were right."  Does this not mean that Anakin never really died, as there was still some good left in him, like Luke said he felt?  

You make a good point.  After pondering it a bit, I came to another conclusion. I think that in all reality, Lucas left the older Obi Wan because it is the easiest way to tie in the way Obi Wan's ghost looked in Empire & ROTJ. What would Luke think if he saw an old Obi Wan all this time, then suddenly he looks young again after all of the turmoil is over???

It would also require more work for lucas to switch Ewan Mcgregor in the ghost scenes in Empire and ROTJ (Which, also, if he did would piss off a host of the die hard fans who have a heart attack at even the slightest changes).

I think the real reason that Hayden Christenson replaced the original ghost was to tie in ep I-III into the original series. I agree with your assesment that Vader always did have some good left in him and wasn't 100% turned over to the dark side (mabey just 99% over)  (Is vader's fall similar to the fall of man?.........this could lead to an interesting discussion)

I hope he also touched up the scene after Darth Vader has killed Ben, when Luke hesitates before boarding the Falcon.  Before the blast doors close on Vader, you can clearly see that his lightsaber is a white plastic shaft.

Perhaps Lucas compares Star Wars to the eastern rug makers. Both the films and the rugs are made almost flawlessly, yet a purpousful flaw is made in order to show the human element of the craft?  Just some food for thought.


I find it interesting that Starwars is the thing that unites us all on this board. If only all the nations could get together and talk about starwars, perhaps this world would be a better place???

Darth Bagpiper

[MsGuided]

Hey, anybody ever seen Space Balls?

::runs and hides!::

[prodromos]

Hey, anybody ever seen Space Balls?

I see your schwartz is as big as mine

[ania]

Out of all the Star Wars jokes out there, I think I like this one best...
You Might be a Redneck Jedi If.....
* You ever heard the phrase, "May the force be with ya'll."
* Your Jedi robe is camouflage.
* You have ever used your light saber to open a bottle of Bud Light.
* At least one wing of your X-Wings is primer colored.
* You can easily describe the taste of an Ewok.
* You have ever had a land-speeder up on blocks in your yard.
* The worst part of spending time on Dagobah is the dadgum skeeters.
* Wookies are offended by your B.O.
* You have ever used the Force to get yourself another beer so you didn't have to wait for a commercial.
* You have ever used the Force in conjunction with fishing/bowling.
* Your father has ever said to you, "Shoot, son come on over to the dark side... it'll be a hoot."
* You have ever had your R-2 unit use its self-defense electro-shock thingy to get the barbecue grill to light.
* You have a Confederate flag painted on the hood of your land-speeder.
* You have the doors of your X-wing welded shut and you have to get in through the window.
* Although you had to kill him, you kinda thought that Jabba the Hutt had a pretty good handle on how to treat his women.
* You have a cousin who bears a strong resemblance to Chewbacca.
* You suggested that they outfit the Millennium Falcon with a redwood deck.
* You were the only one drinking Jack Daniels during the cantina scene.
* Your business cards read "Billy Bob, Jedi Master".
* Your Y-wing fighter has a bumper sticker that reads "My other fighter is an X-wing".
* You know Ewoks squeal like pigs.
* You use your R-2 unit as a beer coaster.
* When your sister wears her metallic bikini, you insist she travels by clinging to you while swinging on a rope.
* Your land-speeder had a light saber rack.
* Your land-speeder has a bumper sticker that reads "Protected by Smith & Wesson Light Sabers"
* If you hear ... "Billy Bob, I am your father ... AND your uncle!"

[Keble]

Heck, one of my grandfathers is his own brother-in-law. (I haven't quite worked out whether that makes me my own second cousin.)

[Antonious Nikolas]

Here's an interesting question: Are the Storm Troopers from the OT clones or conscripts?  I have heard that George Lucas says they are clones, but the noticable lack of discipline, marksmanship, and automata-mentality of the OT troops makes me doubt this (not to mention they are different heights, etc.)   I know that this was the result of the limits of SE in the 70's, but I am looking for an "in universe" answer.

In the words of Emily Litella: "Nevermind!"

From wikipedia.com:

The first stormtroopers were introduced in 22 BBY. Then called Republic clone troopers, they were clones of bounty hunter Jango Fett. With Fett's death at Geonosis, clone stock had to be taken from other sources. By the time of the Battle of Yavin, Fett's progeny were heavily supplemented with troopers recruited in the traditional way. When the New Republic defeated the Empire years after the end of the Galactic Civil War and took over the machinery of galactic government, they terminated the stormtrooper program, though the Imperial Remnant continued to use stormtroopers in battle until a peace treaty was signed some years after. Following the treaty, stormtroopers became little more than guards and police officers on Remnant worlds.

And Star Wars Insider has this to say:


If the stormtroopers are supposed to be clone troopers, why do most of them have different sizes and voices in A New Hope?

The realities of filmmaking in the 1970s and 1980s dictated the differences in stormtrooper voices and sizes in the original trilogy. Completely computer generated, exactly identical troopers were not possible until a few decades down the road.

However, there is also an in-universe explanation, provided by none other than George Lucas himself. During the production of Episode III, Lucas told crewmembers that the stormtroopers seen in Episode IV are--in the story world--made from multiple sources. That is, they're not all Jango clones. By that time in the saga, other clone hosts had been selected.

Lucas intimated that the selection process has become more politcal than stragic in some cases--a highly placed officer's cousin might be selected over a more capable specimen, for example. This politicalization results in less-than-ideal candidates, which could explain some of the embarassing marksmanship witnessed in the Original Trilogy.

In addition to multiple clone hosts, stormtrooper ranks also include conscripted soldiers and academy graduates, as has been chronicled in the Expanded Universe for many years now.

May the Force be with all of you!

[Schultz]

...but the noticable lack of discipline, marksmanship, and automata-mentality of the OT troops makes me doubt this (not to mention they are different heights, etc.)  

I've heard the theory that cloning wasn't all that it was cracked up to be and that the Empire didn't get all the technology from the Kaminoans.  The newer clones made by the Empire were breaking down and not really carbon-copy clones of Jango Fett.

[Aklie Semaet]

1.) Why doesn't Vader recognize the droids (Especially Threepio, whom he created)? It kind of blows your mind when you consider that when Threepio said "Thank the maker!" in Ep. IV, he was thanking Darth Vader! For that matter, why doesn't Obi Wan recognize Artoo?

Vader did recognize the droid that he made. When Han was about to go into carbonate and Chewy went crazy and started pimp slapping storm troopers Darth Vader prevented Boba Fett from shooting Chewy because he had C-3PO on his back. Also this theme has been elaborated on in the latest Expanded Universe comics. In one, when the imperials are on Bespin (Cloud City in Empire Strikes Back) and 3PO is shot they give his head to Vader. In the comic Darth picks up 3PO’s head and immediately starts reminiscing how he had found that head in a trash heap when as a boy he was collecting parts to build him on Tattoine. He then orders some confused imperial officers to give the droid parts to Han Solo’s wookie. An early example of Darth Vader still having good in him and struggling with the Dark Side.  

[prodromos]

Hey there Aklie! Where have you been all this time?
Its good to see you post here again

[Bono Vox]

I was wondering if any of you have seen the "Clone Wars" cartoons on the Cartoon network. I have downloaded them online, and I have to say that they are completely awesome!!! The fighting is superb, and it helps to build towards episode III.

Also, I don't know if any of you are of the same opinion  as me, but I think that the fighting in episodes I-III are by far superior to episodes IV-VI. I think that George Lucas should have redone the fight scenes in the original star wars trilogy when  he re-released them on DVD. The fight scenes suck in comparison to the new films.

Darth Bagpiper :'( (this is how I look after 6 shots of Jack Daniels single barrel)

[Antonious Nikolas]

Vader did recognize the droid that he made. When Han was about to go into carbonate and Chewy went crazy and started pimp slapping storm troopers Darth Vader prevented Boba Fett from shooting Chewy because he had C-3PO on his back. Also this theme has been elaborated on in the latest Expanded Universe comics. In one, when the imperials are on Bespin (Cloud City in Empire Strikes Back) and 3PO is shot they give his head to Vader. In the comic Darth picks up 3PO’s head and immediately starts reminiscing how he had found that head in a trash heap when as a boy he was collecting parts to build him on Tattoine. He then orders some confused imperial officers to give the droid parts to Han Solo’s wookie. An early example of Darth Vader still having good in him and struggling with the Dark Side.   

Great answer Aklie!  That certainly explains why they gave Chewie Threepio's remains when he was in the Cloud City slammer.  Now answer this one for me:

Anakin (i.e. Lord Vader) wants Luke to join him and kill the Emperor in ESB, so why does he stop Luke's lightsaber stroke from decapitating the old coot in ROTJ?  Did he give up on betraying his master after his failure to capture Luke at Bespin?  Or did he realize that the Emperor was more than capable of defending himself, and would have deflected the blow himself, and then kicked both of the Skywalker's butts (Since he is a Sith Lord, presumably he has his own saber...)?  What gives? 

[Bono Vox]

Anakin (i.e. Lord Vader) wants Luke to join him and kill the Emperor in ESB, so why does he stop Luke's lightsaber stroke from decapitating the old coot in ROTJ?  Did he give up on betraying his master after his failure to capture Luke at Bespin?  Or did he realize that the Emperor was more than capable of defending himself, and would have deflected the blow himself, and then kicked both of the Skywalker's butts (Since he is a Sith Lord, presumably he has his own saber...)?  What gives?

Unless Luke was in agreement with Vader on overthrowing the Emperor, it would have been impossible for Vader to do it alone. The Emperor had controll over Vader via Vader's suit (which was another reason I think that Vader's good side was additionaly suppressed by external forces). Remember also in the empire strikes back that vader said "let me complete your training" to luke; Luke needed to be trained in order to combine their powers to overthrow the emperor.


Darth Bagpiper

[Antonious Nikolas]

So then what would have happened if Vader had just allowed Luke to keep on swinging?  Could the Emperor have deflected the blow somehow?

[Bono Vox]

So then what would have happened if Vader had just allowed Luke to keep on swinging?  Could the Emperor have deflected the blow somehow?

Perhaps, but remember, Luke was not complete in his training. The risk would have been too high for Vader, but then again, this is all in the mind of George Lucas, so it could have gone anyhwere!

Darth Bagpiper

By the way, I bought the game " Knights of the old republic" used for the Xbox, and it gives quite a bit of insight on the history of the sith and the jedi. The characters in the game are supposed to be 4000 years before the galactic empire.

[Aklie Semaet]

Hey there Aklie! Where have you been all this time?
Its good to see you post here again

Hey John, I have been around just not on the internet. It is good to hear from you as well.

[Aklie Semaet]

Anakin (i.e. Lord Vader) wants Luke to join him and kill the Emperor in ESB, so why does he stop Luke's lightsaber stroke from decapitating the old coot in ROTJ? Did he give up on betraying his master after his failure to capture Luke at Bespin? Or did he realize that the Emperor was more than capable of defending himself, and would have deflected the blow himself, and then kicked both of the Skywalker's butts (Since he is a Sith Lord, presumably he has his own saber...)? What gives?

Well if you notice from the Expanded Universe at one time the Sith were and empire and there used to be many sith. Now, as we learn from the Phantom Menace there are always two a master and an apprentice. Apparently this is because the nature of the dark side prevents its practitioners from being followers. They all have ambition to rule, to be the master. So in the past, when there were many Sith at one time they would start little factions and plot against their master (like capos in the mafia always plotting against and trying to replace the don).

According to this logic Darth really meant that he wanted to rule the Empire with his son (as his apprentice) and kill (replace) the Emperor.

IF you remember from Attack of the Clones Count Dooku offers a similar offer to Obi One; betrayal and deceit are just the nature of the dark side.

I can not answer why Vader did not let Luke kill the Emperor; probably because he did not think that it would turn him to the dark side.

One more thing; above you were talking about clones being different from Stormtroopers. If have a chance to see the recent DVD trilogy release you will notice that Lucas has replaced Boba Fett’s original voice with the actor that plays Jango Fett in AOTC. This actor also supplied the voice of the clones. However the storm troopers voices were allowed to remain in their original (American accented) voice so yes I think the clones will end up not being storm troopers.
 

[Antonious Nikolas]

Good answer Aklie. I don't really get into the EU too much, but I can appreciate it now and then. I liked some of the Admiral Thrawn novels, the Darth Maul novel where he was on Coruscant, and some of the comic books. On the other hand, I hated that whole Yuuzhan Vong (sp.?) thing, with those inside-out Klingons turning Star Wars into (blech!) Star Trek, and Luke acting like a pacifist instead of a Jedi. Still, I guess that's no worse than some of the other stuff the EU has put out, like Luke falling to the Darkside and serving a Palpatine clone, Boba Fett pulling himself out of the Sarlacc pit TWICE, Palpatine having an illegitamte son named (lol)Triclops, creatures existing that negate the Force, Force Ghosts appearing prior to TPM, the Quarren species not going into space till the time of the Empire, and Luke being cloned.

In Cinescape Magazine, July 2002 GL said:

"There are two worlds here," explains Lucas. "There's my world, which is the movies, and there's this other world that has been created, which I say is the parallel universe-the licensing world of books, games and comic books. They don't intrude on my world, which is a select period of time, [but] they do intrude in between the movies. I don't get too involved in the parallel universe."

He also said: "The movies are gospel. Everything else is gossip."

That's like a breath of fresh air to me. I know its silly, saying that one piece of fiction is "less fictional" than another, but I like George's vision of Star Wars better than most of the others I've read.

I've heard that there is a new Star Wars TV show in the works that wil feature Mark Hamill and be directed by Kevin Smith. Of course, this all could be rumors. If it is true, the storyline will supposedly by post-ROTJ. If so, I hope it obliterates that whole Yuuzhan Vong travesty.

On a related topic, I am actually a fan of the prequels and of GL's completion of the OT in the way he originally envisioned it, but I am sick of people saying that the OT duels were not as good as those in the PT, or that the PT characters are more powerful than those in the OT. It seems that some people think that flipping and doing jump kicks equals deadliness, but I'm not buying it. I think that the Obi-Wan/ Lord Vader duel in Ep. IV is fine the way it is. Its like kendo, or chess with swords. Two old masters being very careful and feeling each other out, the way two cautious prize fighters do in the first round. People read too much into GL's comment that Lord Vader is weaker than he was pre-suit. So what? The guy is still stronger than anyone we see in the PT except maybe Yoda. He would own Maul, Qui-Gon, or Windu. This is the guy who blocks BLASTER BOLTS with his hands, uses the force to throw multiple objects around the room while dueling, picks the Emperor up like Hulk Hogan slamming Bobby Heenan, and force chokes someone on another ship while talking to someone else. Acrobatics does not equal greater strength in the force or greater lethality (Is that a word?  ).

Okay, that's my Star Wars rant for today. Thanks for letting me get that out of my system!

[Bono Vox]

On a related topic, I am actually a fan of the prequels and of GL's completion of the OT in the way he originally envisioned it, but I am sick of people saying that the OT duels were not as good as those in the PT, or that the PT characters are more powerful than those in the OT.  It seems that some people think that flipping and doing jump kicks equals deadliness, but I'm not buying it.  I think that the Obi-Wan/ Lord Vader duel in Ep. IV is fine the way it is.  Its like kendo, or chess with swords.  Two old masters being very careful and feeling each other out, the way two cautious prize fighters do in the first round.  People read too much into GL's comment that Lord Vader is weaker than he was pre-suit.  So what?  The guy is still stronger than anyone we see in the PT except maybe Yoda.  He would own Maul, Qui-Gon, or Windu.  This is the guy who blocks BLASTER BOLTS with his hands, uses the force to throw multiple objects around the room while dueling, picks the Emperor up like Hulk Hogan slamming Bobby Heenan, and force chokes someone on another ship while talking to someone else.  Acrobatics does not equal greater strength in the force or greater lethality (Is that a word?  ).

Okay, that's my Star Wars rant for today.  Thanks for letting me get that out of my system!

I'm gonna have to respectfully disagree with you on that one buddy. The awesome coreographing of the PT displays more accuratley the way in which the Jedi use and demonstrate their powers. I don't think that this kind of fighting was feasible in the original trilogy, but it is ok; perhaps lucas could add new fighting scenes in the OT fifteen years from now?

On to some interesting star wars news, I heard that there are going to be some people in the prequil who have been in previous starwars films, but aren't going to be listed as cast members. (Liam neeson comes to mind). Also, the film is going to get a PG-13 rating for the first time because of the violence and darkness of this one.

Check this picture out

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v108/Ixion83/vanity.jpg

Darth Bagpiper

[Antonious Nikolas]

I'm gonna have to respectfully disagree with you on that one buddy. The awesome coreographing of the PT displays more accuratley the way in which the Jedi use and demonstrate their powers. I don't think that this kind of fighting was feasible in the original trilogy, but it is ok; perhaps lucas could add new fighting scenes in the OT fifteen years from now?

I find your lack of faith disturbing, Bagpiper.

I understand your point of view, but I'm still not convinced. Of course I realize that the techonlogy available when the PT was made was not available in the 70's & 80's, but nevertheless, I think that the fight scenes make sense the way they are. Darth Vader would not be flipping around like Darth Maul. He was immobilized by the fact that he was fighting in a walking iron lung. Nevertheless, even in the suit he would (in my opinion) house Maul, Qui-Gon, or Mace. Luke obviously had a ways to go in his use of the Force. Throwing the skull to crush the Rancor? Why not use the Force to hit the button? Pulling a blaster and carrying one around? Not a Jedi's weapon. Obviously a result of his rushed training.

Besides, each Jedi/Sith is bound to have their own style. Hey, everyone is free to enjoy the movies in their own way though.

On to some interesting star wars news, I heard that there are going to be some people in the prequil who have been in previous starwars films, but aren't going to be listed as cast members. (Liam neeson comes to mind). Also, the film is going to get a PG-13 rating for the first time because of the violence and darkness of this one.

Check this picture out

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v108/Ixion83/vanity.jpg

Darth Bagpiper

Wow! That's a great pic! I'm gonna go out on a limb here and say that this is going to be one of the best films of the entire series (and yes I'm including ESB)! Hayden is a great Anakin BTW, and Ewan is awesome as Obi-Wan. Ian McDiarmind is fantastic as Palpatine. The only one who seems a little dry to me is Natalie.

[Tony]

Is that Jake Lloyd next to Liam Neeson?

[Antonious Nikolas]

Looks like him!

[Bono Vox]

   
   Howdy Y'all!!!!!! here is an article regarding the starwars tv series that is in talks right now. It will problably be produced shortly after ROTS by KEVIN SMITH of all people. Let me know what you think

Darth Bagpiper
   
   
   

Updated December 23, 2004
Source: Anonymous, Various    
Author: Robert Sanchez

Update! So is Kevin Smith and Mark Hamill involved in the rumored Star Wars TV series? Our friends over at NewsAskew not only hope that Smith may be involved but believe that one of the reasons he's been so coy is that the deal may not be officially signed on the dotted line and once that happens Kevin will let his "Smithites" know the specifics. But wait, we got more!

We received an email from the same source that first revealed to us that LFL was interested in Kevin and he/she was kind enough to give us an early Christmas present. Here it goes:

    Hey Rob

    I guess the fans are very excited about Kevin's involvement on the TV show. The reaction up here has also been very good. There has been some questioning lately trying to find out who your source was but they just can't keep this under wraps.

    There has been plenty of plans for future re-assignments and plenty of moving around inside the "Ranch", they have already started making room for the offices that will handle the TV show. I am not quite sure if the bulk of the work will be done here or if they will be done over at the Presidio. Smith is definitely the top choice and I have been told that he has been staying very busy with negotiations before he starts up with his Clerks sequel. There was some up here that claim that he was spotted up here a few weeks ago, I didn't see him.

    The TV show will go full speed as soon as Sith is released by that time Kevin should be done with most of his work on Clerks 2. Your scooper that sent you the info on Hamill is right, they are hoping to get Mark to come back and be like the mentor of the new Jedi Knights or something. I am trying to pin point the time frame and if they are expected to keep the EU continuity. I personally doubt that EU storylines will be explored, they might be mentioned but from what I understand Kevin and George want fresh new storylines. I was told about a possible twist to show, even though it's to take place after Return of the Jedi a few ILMers have been talking about showing some flashback sequences via Holocron- type technology.

    I was also told that the public should expect an official announcement within a few months. Part of not releasing any information on the show is because News Corp. [20th Century Fox] is hoping to be involved with the distribution of the show. There has also been some rumblings coming from the Sci-Fi Channel hoping to land the domestic distribution but I doubt that will happen. One other thing, Sith is turning up nicely.

    Talk to you next year.

    Darth Scooper

     

December 10, 2004

Back in Febuary of 2003 we here at the IESB started reporting about a possible Star Wars TV series. Nothing much was known except that George promised to keep Star Wars alive in other mediums besides film.

A few months ago we were the first to report that Kevin Smith was being considered for some kind of creative role in the upcoming Star Wars TV series. We even caught up with Kevin a couple of times and asked him about his rumored involvement. You can actually click here and here to see the video interviews.

As you can see in both of the interviews he does not deny that he is involved. He actually teases us quite a bit about the rumor. Even the News Askew website acknowledges that he might be involved in the TV series in some capacity.

We are not known for posting many rumors that are sent in by scoopers but this one has quite a bit of validity. This e-mail was sent to me early today and we went as far as trying to contact Kevin Smith's publicist but we have had no response as of yet. Take this as a rumor but if it turns out to be true remember that you heard it here first.

Guys,

You were the ones who had the star wars TV scoop up right?

OK, Can I be the first to confirm that?

I've been doing some [work] at Studio E Productions - the Annex - and a pal's working on a film called Through the Moebius Strip there concurrently.

It features Mark 'Star Wars' Hamill.

Which brings me to the news item.

Kevin Smith and Mark Hamill are doing the pilot for a new weekly Star Wars series. It'll feature Hamill as Skywalker in a 'pop up now and then' role, but mostly, it's new characters, set in the same world as the films.Lots of talk about it here, but don't expect anything until Episode III is out. Its a go project, but I don't think there's much on it yet.

Hope this helps.

Original e-mail edited to protect privacy.

Kevin Smith and Jason Mewes at the Premiere of Blade Trinity -¬ IESB.net 2004


One of the reasons that I personally believe that there is some truth to this rumor is because for the first time ever since I have covered a media event that Kevin has attended he refused to talk to the press line during the Blade Trinity premiere. I was told about a couple of weeks ago that Kevin was asked not to discuss the Star Wars TV series by the powers that be (cough cough George Lucas cough). As Kevin was about to finish the photo line I started to get his attention and started shooting some b-roll video footage, I am pretty sure that he saw us since we were at the very front of the TV press line right next to WWE and a couple of other large outlets. Next thing you know Kevin is rushing to get inside the theater and refusing to talk to the press.

So there you have it! Stay tuned to the IESB for the latest on Star Wars.

[Ian Lazarus]

A TV Show, eh?

All depends on how it's done.  if its done like Babylon 5 or the New Battestar Galactica, then it might be cool. 
If its like the movies though , I think it'll loose a littel lustre.  Its just gotta be different fom the movie.  Its gotta look diffeent, and its gotta feel different.  Besides, I think we are living in CGI overkill.  Nothing wrong with it, but toom uch is too much.  Look at the origionals.  I felt like the planet could be real!  It looked so good!  The new stuff.............well...........Kill Jar Jar!  Heesa suck!

On another subject, any Dune fans out there? (the origional De Lauretiis film)? :bomb:

Bi'la Kaifa! (nothing more need be said, for this Email at least) :happy2: :Spam:

Pazi,

Ian Lazarus :grommit:


 

[aurelia]

I'm coming in pretty late on this one but...
just for background i saw Empire strikes back 16 times in the theatre...yes, 16...heeh, i still love that one the best.

I would have liked the Episode 1 if they hadn't killed off Darth Maul (sp) so soon...he was interesting.  All I can really say is that they are going to have a LOT of ends to tie up, and gawd i hate the guy they chose for Annikan.

[Tony]

I liked Darth Maul as well. I wish he was kept at least through Attack of the Clones and developed more fully.

I'm not a fan of Hayden Christensen either, but I heard a rumor that Lucas was originally going to cast Leonardo DiCaprio as Anakin for Attack of the Clones.  I don't know if there was any truth to the rumor, but I'd rather have as Anakin Christensen than DiCaprio.

I'm coming in pretty late on this one but...
just for background i saw Empire strikes back 16 times in the theatre...yes, 16...heeh, i still love that one the best.

I would have liked the Episode 1 if they hadn't killed off Darth Maul (sp) so soon...he was interesting. All I can really say is that they are going to have a LOT of ends to tie up, and gawd i hate the guy they chose for Annikan.

[Bono Vox]

Aurelia,

First and foremost, I have to say WOW!!! what a beautiful name!!  My daughter's middle name is Aurelia (after my Romanian mother in law). Is that your real name? If not what attrackted you to that name??

A TV Show, eh?

All depends on how it's done.  if its done like Babylon 5 or the New Battestar Galactica, then it might be cool.
If its like the movies though , I think it'll loose a littel lustre.  Its just gotta be different fom the movie.  Its gotta look diffeent, and its gotta feel different.  Besides, I think we are living in CGI overkill.  Nothing wrong with it, but toom uch is too much.  Look at the origionals.  I felt like the planet could be real!  It looked so good!  The new stuff.............well...........Kill Jar Jar!  Heesa suck!

I completely agree with you 100%. It has to have a different style than the movies, otherwise it won' t make it.  Just like Star Treck the next generation was quite a bit different than the original, I thought that it was great because of it's uniqueness. I hope that Kevin Smith can pull it off (I believe that he can......It can't be any worse than some of the EU books out there!!).

I liked Darth Maul as well. I wish he was kept at least through Attack of the Clones and developed more fully.

I agree with you; he was gone and over before we really got to know him. I think that he should have filled the role of count dooku. It would have been easy to fill with darth maul (especially given the fact that dooku bites it early on in episode III). But that is just my opinion.



May the fore be with you

Darth Bagpiper
 :brew: :brew:

[Antonious Nikolas]

Yeah, I would have enjoyed seeing a little more of Darth Maul myself.  He was a very interesting character.  But I have to respectfully disagree in terms of Hayden.  I think he's being underestimated because of some of the clunky, wooden, dialogue.  Also, if you listen to the intonations of his voice, I think he's doing a "Vader voice".  You know, using the same kind of tone and delivery (sans bass of course) as James Earl Jones, so that Vader's intonations won't be that much of a big jump once he dons the mask.

Think about the scene in AOTC when Obi Wan says, "You'll be the death of me." and Anakin says, "Don't say that Master.  You're the closest thing I have to a father." (Or something like that!) The intonation is very similar to lines like, "You are part of the Rebel Alliance, and a traitor!".  I think that like Ewan, he studied the OT character he was portraying, and tried to keep him consistent.

[Arystarcus]

I also thought that Darth Maul was a cool character, I wondered why they didn't keep him around for another "episode". It was a real disappointment to have him eliminated so quickly.   

[aurelia]

First and foremost, I have to say WOW!!! what a beautiful name!! My daughter's middle name is Aurelia (after my Romanian mother in law). Is that your real name? If not what attrackted you to that name??


actually no, that isnt my real name. I am a rabid ancient history freak, took Latin in high school for fun, and when i started playing The Sims (yes, yes i do) I discovered Roman Simming (we made things in the ancient theme that worked inthe game...If you want i can give you a link to may old site) anyway (am I boring you yet? lol) I picked Aurelia (Romae) as my simming community name, that is what I am know by there, so I just continue to use it. It seems to fit, ya know? I really like it too, and thanks!

Actually I hate the current annikan because he is a whiny little twit...but then so is his son Luke when he is on Tatooine (or am i the only one that thinks Luke is a whiny brat at first?)  I also am having a very hard time visualising him as Vader in all his glorious evilness. I have a spft spot for the bad guys, they are always so much more interesting in a lot of ways than the good guys...take Batman (michael keaton version) he is only interesting as a good guy because of his dark side.  Maybe I am warped.  I like a little dimension to my characters.  So I am hoping that they can develop the annikan/vader thing enough in the next movie to make it worthwhile, and believeable.

Ewan McGregor did a great job recreating Obiwan, i thought, I'm looking forward to him in the next one (he is going to be in it yes?)

one more question...when did the bad guys stop speakng in English accents?  LOL!

[Mor Ephrem]

Actually I hate the current annikan because he is a whiny little twit...

I'm not a big Star Wars fan (if a fan is described as almost everyone in this thread), but on this much I can agree.  I think he sucks. 

[Nacho]

I'm not a big Star Wars fan (if a fan is described as almost everyone in this thread), but on this much I can agree.  I think he sucks.

LoL, I think he sucks too!!!

[BJohnD]

LoL, I think he sucks too!!!

I never made it to the Clones flick, based entirely on the preview I saw in which, in response to Princess Whatshername's statement that he wasn't all-powerful, Annakin responds -- exactly as if his mother had said, "You're not allowed to drive the family landspeeder" -- "I should be!!!"

[Schultz]

I never made it to the Clones flick, based entirely on the preview I saw in which, in response to Princess Whatshername's statement that he wasn't all-powerful, Annakin responds -- exactly as if his mother had said, "You're not allowed to drive the family landspeeder" -- "I should be!!!"

Which is the perfect compliment to Luke's whining, "But I was going into Toschi Station to pick up some power converters!" in ANH.

The more I watch Christensen acting, the more I see how good a choice he is for the role of Luke's father. I hated him at first, but not as much as Jake Lloyd, who totally ruined TPM for me. That kid couldn't act his way out of a wet paper sack.

[BJohnD]

Which is the perfect compliment to Luke's whining, "But I was going into Toschi Station to pick up some power converters!" in ANH.

The more I watch Christensen acting, the more I see how good a choice he is for the role of Luke's father. I hated him at first, but not as much as Jake Lloyd, who totally ruined TPM for me. That kid couldn't act his way out of a wet paper sack.

Ya know, I'd forgotten about that. I can hear Lucas now, "Use the Luke, Hayden."

As for Lloyd, you're saying he didn't make you believe that an 8-year-old could fly combat missions?

[Antonious Nikolas]

Jackson's Character Dies in 'Star Wars'
Jan 17, 8:17 AM EST

The Associated Press

SAN FRANCISCO - Samuel L. Jackson dies in his next huge film ù but he does it in a really cool way.

Director George Lucas assured the actor that his Jedi knight character would go out in a blaze of glory in the forthcoming "Star Wars: Episode III ù Revenge of the Sith," and the director apparently made good on his promise.

"It's rousing," Jackson told the San Francisco Chronicle in Sunday's editions. "It's a great light-saber battle with 102 moves in three big rooms."




I think that Lucas caters to Sam Jackson too much:

1.) Giving him a purple light saber, just 'cause he demanded it.  Why shouldn't he get blue or green like everyone else?

2.) Actually taking his complaints about not wanting to go out "like a punk", seriously.  The fight scenes should go down as Lucas scripts them, not as actors feel they should.  If Lucas wanted to make Boba Fett shoot Windu in the back, that should have been good enough for the actors.  Its not their saga.

I think much of this has to do with the fans perception of Jackson from some of his other roles (Shaft, the thugs in Pulp Fiction and Jackie Brown) which have about as much to do with Mace Windu as Sam's crackhead character in "Jungle Fever".  If Clint Eastwood or Robert DeNiro were cast in Star Wars, I guess they'd get to be automatic tough guys too.  I can really see why GL usually tries to cast unknowns.  Too much of Jackson's personal mystique is tied up with Mace Windu.  Many fans don't seem able to make the distinction between the two.

[Antonious Nikolas]

I hate to double post, butá I found this really funny story on-line trashing the EU.á It was written by some guy posting under the name of Darth_Holliday.á Very funny to Star Wars fans.á For everyone else, more proof that I am a Star Wars geek!á Enjoy!

And now an Episode II scene for all the people who love the EU (Exploited Universe):



Obi-wan Kenobi and Anakin Skywalker stand back-to-back fending off an army of stormtroopers, Mandalorians, and bounty hunters.

A ship drops out of the sky and lands on the battlefield, squashing the bad guys. Out step Grand Admiral Thrawn, Jorus C'boath, Prince Xizor, Dash Rendar, Garm Bel Iblis, Kyle Katarn, Mara Jade, a dozen cloned Emperors, a gaggle of Solo-babies, hundreds of Noghri, and a ysalamiri in a pear tree.

Obi-wan: Who are you people?

Thrawn: Well...that's a very long, boring, convoluted......

Xizor: ...and crappy, don't forget crappy!

Thrawn: ...yes, and crappy, story.

Anakin: Why are you here?

Thrawn: Because fanboys wanna see us. Aren't we cool?

Obi-wan: Umm.......no.

Xizor: Not even a little bit?

Obi-wan: Not even a little bit.

Thrawn: But, but, but........ZAHN RULES!!!! Besides, we brought you a delivery: some spaarti cylinders.

Anakin: Some what?

Thrawn: You know, spaarti cylinders. They're used to make clones.

Anakin: No they're not.

Jorus C'Boath: But you can imagine what it would be like if they were. Right?

Anakin: No. This is the Clone Wars. Don't you think we'd know about these things?

Thrawn: The CLONE WARS!!!!! But, that's supposed to happen when you're four years old. You don't look four to me.

Anakin: Good point. Why don't you guys go back to Bpfassh, Myrkyr, Bakura, Shaba-daba-doobie-doobie-doo, or whatever crappy planet you come from?

Thrawn: How dare you! Feel the wrath of my ysalamiri! It blocks out Force powers, you know.

Anakin: I feel fine. How 'bout you Obi-wan?

Obi-wan: I feel fine, too. Whoever told you guys that a lizard could block out the Force?

Thrawn: Well....

Mara Jade: Don't you at least like our ship? It's a Dreadnaught, you know.

Obi-wan: Looks like a real POS to me. You sure that's a real starship?

Thrawn: Not really, no. But I'm told they used to be all the rage in the galaxy during the Clone Wars.

Obi-wan: Do you see any 'Dreadnaughts' around here?

Thrawn: No....Come to think of it, I don't see any Z-95 Headhunters either.

Anakin: Thank the Force I don't have to pilot something called a 'Z-95 Headhunter'.

Xizor: Come on, give us a chance. Trust me, it all 'fits together' somehow. You just have to use a little 'imagination'.

Obi-wan: I sense a disturbance in the Force.

Anakin: I have a bad feeling about this.....


INT. Palpatine's apartment.

PALPATINE stands near the window, staring out into the dazzling lights of the Coruscant nightlife. Next to him stands the new Sith Apprentice, DARTH ZAHNDERSON.

PALPATINE: We must do something about that pesky Jedi Obi-wan Kenobi and his plucky sidekick Anakin.

DARTH ZAHNDERSON: And that little Whill buddy of theirs, too. Right Palps?

PALPATINE: That little what?

DARTH ZAHNDERSON: Whill....you know, Master Yoda.

PALPATINE: Right.........'whill'.........anyway, we must do something about them.

DARTH ZAHNDERSON: Something...............evil?

PALPATINE: Yeah, something evil. You got a problem with that?

DARTH ZAHNDERSON: Well, we do something evil every night Palpy.........

PALPATINE: (glaring menacingly) grrrrrrr.......

DARTH ZAHNDERSON: Okay, okay....evil it is. Your the boss Palpy. Anyway, I've hired some new help for you, sir.

PALPATINE: You mean, like an intern?

DARTH ZAHNDERSON: Sort of.....

In walks MARA JADE. She almost trips over Palpatine's coffee table, but manages to steady herself by grabbing onto his robe.

PALPATINE: Who is this?

DARTH ZAHNDERSON: Her name is Mara. She's gonna be your 'Emperor's Hand'. Pretty nifty, eh Palps?

Palpatine lifts his hands up, examining them carefully.

DARTH ZAHNDERSON: No, not that kind of hand. She'll be like your special servant--running your errands, doing your bidding, washing your laundry, etc.

PALPATINE: Isn't that your job?

DARTH ZAHNDERSON: Let's talk about something else........ahhhhhh, one moment please.

Darth Zahnderson leaves the room, reentering alongside a freshly-cloned Emperor Palpatine.

PALPATINE: ?? What's the meaning of this?

DARTH ZAHNDERSON: It's a clone....of you. You can never have enough clones.

PALPATINE: He is kinda cute. What should we call him.

DARTH ZAHNDERSON: I was thinking.....Paalpatine.

PALPATINE: That's my name!

DARTH ZAHNDERSON: No, it only sounds exactly the same. It's actually spelled with two 'a's.

PALPATINE: How creative.

In walks another cloned Emperor....

PALPATINE: And what should we call this one?

DARTH ZAHNDERSON: Palpaatine.

In walk two additional clones.

DARTH ZAHNDERSON: Allow me to introduce you to Palpatiine and Ppaaaallllppaaaaaattttttiiiiinnnee.

PALPATINE: Good lord.

DARTH ZAHNDERSON: Okay, so which clone would you like to use for the Soul-Transfer.

PALPATINE: The what?

DARTH ZAHNDERSON: You know, the soul-transfer. Where you transfer your soul from that decaying body of yours into a fresh clone.

PALPATINE: First of all, my body is not decaying. Second of all, you've obviously been reading way too many comic-books, Zahnderson.

DARTH ZAHNDERSON: I can't help myself....

PALPATINE: Where did you learn about all this 'soul transfer' mumbo-jumbo'?

DARTH ZAHNDERSON: The teachings of the great Sith Lord, Exar-Kun.

PALPATINE: There's never been a Sith Lord named 'Exar-Kun'. He doesn't even have the word 'Darth' in his name. That 'Darth' thing is the first thing they teach you at Sith school. Haven't you learned anything from me, Zahnderson?

DARTH ZAHNDERSON: I have a short attention span. Well maybe you'll like this clone better...

In walks a tiny cloned Mini-Palp.

PALPATINE: What is the meaning of this!? Are you trying to mock me?!

DARTH ZAHNDERSON: I thought it would be funny...

PALPATINE: Oh, brother......

DARTH ZAHNDERSON: Oh...I almost forgot....I bought some ysalamiri for you.

PALPATINE: Some what?

DARTH ZAHNDERSON: Ysalamiri....you know, they block out the Force.

PALPATINE: Will you fall for anything? Where did you get the money for those?

DARTH ZAHNDERSON: Well....I...kinda....spent my allowance...

PALPATINE: I gave you that money to buy a new double-bladed lightsaber!!!!!! You spent it on some furry lizzards!!!!! You know they don't let me have pets in this building!!!!! That's it!!!!

Palpatine sends a jolt of Force lightning into Darth Zahnderson, knocking him right through the window, off the balcony, and into oncoming traffic.

He turns to survey the room. He sees the four 'Palpaclones' running around in circles, bumping heads. Mara Jade is mesmerized by a piece of fragile pottery in the corner. She reaches out to touch it with her hand, knocking it over in the process.

PALPATINE: I have a bad feeling about this.....


EU-pisode II--"Chapter 3: Enter the Fett"

Anakin Skywalker and Obi-wan Kenobi are taking a little stroll through the vast deserts of Tatooine. They've taken a break from the Clone Wars, and Anakin has brought Obi-wan back to take a tour of his home planet, show him the best tourist-sites, etc. They've stopped in front of the sarlaac pit.....

ANAKIN: ......and this is a sarlaac pit. I'll never foget the time when that red-headed punk called me 'bug-squat'. Me and Kitster snuck out later that night, kidnapped him, and threw him into the pit. I could hear his girly screamin' until the thing chomped down on his little body.........Good Times........

OBI-WAN: Anakin!!!!!!!!!! Too much info!!!!

ANAKIN: Sorry.

Suddenly an uber-cool looking being dressed in Mandalorian combat armor, brandishing a blaster, leaps up from his hiding place in the sands near the pit,.

ANAKIN AND OBI-WAN: Who are you?!?!?!?!

BOBA FETT: My name is Boba Fett. You killed my father, prepare to die.......I'm a Mandalorian, you know.

OBI-WAN: Excuse me, I didn't catch that last part. Did you say you were a "Delorian Man"?

BOBA FETT: NO. The term was Man-Da-Lor-I-An. They were a group of warriors who fought the Jedi during the Clone Wars. Duh!

ANAKIN: I think you must be mistaken. I've never heard that term before in my life.

BOBA FETT: You've insulted me for the last time. Prepare to die, or my name isn't Jaster Mereel, d'oh I mean, Boba Fett!!!!!

Anakin and Obi-wan fall to the ground in hysterical laughter. Finally, Obi-wan manages to get back up to his feet.

OBI-WAN: Please don't shoot............JASTER!!! (fighting back tears of laughter). Are you sure that's your real name?

BOBA FETT: Not really, no. But I've been told....

ANAKIN: Sounds like you've been told a lot of things, son. Do you believe everything you're told?

BOBA FETT: That's it!!!! Disintegration time!!!!!

Boba prepares to fire his blaster, but Obi-wan uses a quick Force push to knock him into the Sarlaac. He falls in with a girlish scream.

ANAKIN: Well, that's the end of that guy. Now, what were we talking about? Oh yeah....anyway, one time me and Kitster brought the girls out here for some.........

His story is halted, as Boba Fett leaps up out of the pit and lands on his feet.

ANAKIN AND OBI-WAN:

BOBA FETT: The Sarlaac found me 'somewhat indegestible', boys.

OBI-WAN: Excuse me?

BOBA FETT: You know, indegestible. It's like when you eat something that's......

OBI-WAN: I know what the word means. Shouldn't you be dead?

BOBA FETT: Hmmmmm....you'd think so, but well, I guess not. Prepare to die!

He fires a shot at the two Jedi with his blaster. Thinking quickly, Anakin deflects the blaster bolt with his lightsaber, redirecting it squarely into Boba's chest. It burns right through him, leaving him dead in the sand.

ANAKIN: So as I was saying.....

Boba Fett jumps back up to his feet.

BOBA FETT: The blaster bolt found me 'somewhat impenetrable'.

Obi-wan slices Boba Fett in half with his saber. The two halves join back together, and Boba Fett gets back on his feet.

BOBA FETT: The lightsaber found me 'somewhat un-sliceable'.

Anakin grabs a nearby thermal detonator, lobbing it at Fett and blowing him into bits. The bits float back to the ground, reforming into, you guessed it....Boba Fett.

BOBA FETT: The thermal detonator found me somewhat........ummm........'un-blow-up-able'.

ANAKIN: This guy just won't die! Can you explain it Obi-wan?

OBI-WAN: He's just too damn cool, I guess.

Obi-wan falls to his knees in prayer...

OBI-WAN: Oh great and powerful Force, please send us someone powerful enough to defeat Jast...ummm, I mean Boba Fett.

Suddenly a weird portal opens up in the clear desert sky above Tattooine. A strange-looking silver pod falls to the ground. It opens up, revealing a plethora of bratty-looking children.

ANAKIN AND OBI-WAN:

MYSTERIOUS CHILDREN: We're the Solo kids. We've been sent back through time to help you (You know it's only a matter of time before an EU hack author goes there!!!)á

OBI-WAN: How can YOU help US?

SOLO KIDS: Well, we're younger and more unexperienced than anyone else, we're incredibly annoying, and we get kidnapped on a daily basis, yet we somehow manage to implausibly solve every single problem that the grown-ups have in the most incredibly stupid, unlikely fashion imaginable.

ANAKIN: Oh, I get it....sort of like Wesley Crusher....

OBI-WAN: ?

SOLO KIDS: ?

BOBA FETT: ?

ANAKIN: Sorry.........

SOLO KIDS: Just listen to our song: "Solo baaaabies, they make your dreams come true! Solo baaaabies, they...."

OBI-WAN: THAT'S ENOUGH!!!!!!!

BOBA FETT: Helllooooo.....bad guy with blaster over here.........

OBI-WAN: Okay, Solo Babies, do whatever it is you're going to do....

The Solo Babies form a circle around Boba Fett, holding hands. Their tummies begin to glow, ala Care Bears, as they chant softly now..."Solo baaaabies..."

The Solo Babies are using the power of 'luminous beings' to defeat Boba Fett. The overall utter 'pathetic crappiness' factor of this tactic causes Fett's head to explode, killing him for real this time.

OBI-WAN: Well, we got rid of Fett, but now we're stuck with these kids...

ANAKIN: And you thought Jar-Jar was annoying....

OBI-WAN: I have a bad feeling about this....

[aurelia]

I guess I am a star wars geek too...that was great!

and i dont even know the after story! this will make me wanna see the original trilogy

surely you jest! *flabbergasted* get thee to a video rental store!á

edit later: I almost forgot!á has anyone else here seen The Fifth Element?á it has so many Star Wars references, i pick up something else every time i watch it...hilarious!

[Antonious Nikolas]

Hi Aurelia!  You mean that Bruce Willis movie with Chris Tucker in it?  I only saw it once, a long time ago.  What were some of the references?

[aurelia]

Oh yes, that is the one!!!á Go rent it with the Star Wars idea in your head, you will probably start to see it

the infiltration of the Death Star (priest getting onto Flotsanwhatisis)
the priest as Obiwan
Ruby Rhod as sort of a C3PO
the costuming, if you look, especially of the priest, is right out of star wars.
the hairdo on the female officer they try to get to be Corbins "wife" for the trip

and on and on...you have to try it, you'll see!.á All those real life supermodeels running around acting, its a stitch.

[Antonious Nikolas]

Oh okay, you meant visually!  I was thinking in terms of story line, or homage, or whatever.  Even though its been a while since I've seen the film, I can see what you're talking about.  Even the singing "diva" looks vaguely Twi'lek.

[Bono Vox]

Ok kiddies,

I got another goodie for y'all!!!!!!

Here is a link to the new and official scroll down for the begining of episode III. Enjoy!

http://www.starwars.com/episode-iii/bts/production/f20050126/indexp2.html

Darth Bagpiper

[Bono Vox]

 

I just got done looking at a sweet website that has a bunch of new cool pics of episode III and some even more indepth spoilers about specific scenes. There is even one pic of anikin standing over count dookus dead bodie!!! Check it out!!

http://www.starwarz.com/tbone/movie_news/

Darthbagpiper :headbang: :headbang:

[aurelia]

You may not have seen it yet, so check out the latest movie review from the Onion Dome:
http://www.theoniondome.com/2005/02/18/kh/

[MsGuided]

LOL I love the movie ratings...

PG 13- Priest blessed for Old Calendar Greeks.

[Bono Vox]

Check this out!!!

Here is a link to the new official movie poster for Revenge of the Sith!!!!

http://starwars.com/episode-iii/release/promo/news20050308.html


Bagpiper

[Bono Vox]

HERE IT IS!!!!!!!!!!!!

HERE IS A LINK TO THE BRAND NEW TRAILER FOR EPISODE III THAT JUST DEBUTED TODAY!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

http://www.movie-list.net/exclusive/star-wars-ep3-trailer-hd-640.mov


It is awesome; especially the part where the chancellor bum rushes the jedi!!!!!!!!

Bagpiper

[Bono Vox]

Here are some links to 5 new trailers that just came out for episode III

Jedi action 1  http://www.starwars.com/episode-iii/release/trailer/jediaction1.html

Jedi action 2   http://www.starwars.com/episode-iii/release/trailer/jediaction2.html

Unite   http://www.starwars.com/episode-iii/release/trailer/unite.html

trajedy   http://www.starwars.com/episode-iii/release/trailer/tv_tragedy.html

the dark side unleashed  http://www.starwars.com/episode-iii/release/trailer/tv_unleashed.html

Enjoy

Darth Bagpiper

[aurelia]

I finally saw (on a discount store tv, no less) the trailer...i was sitting there rooted to the spot, then i got chills, i kid you not.  Cant wait...

BUT, really, shouldnt the movie be like 4 hours long in order to properly address all the issues to tidy up?  One can wish, lol!

[Deacon Lance]

Anybody going to SW Celebration III in Indianapolis?  I'll be there Saturday.

[monkvasyl]

Now if we were talking about The Hitchhikker's Guide to the Galaxy...I'd still have to wait until after Pascha.  After being bombarded with the 1st 3 Star Wars movies over and over and over again, I just can't stomach it anymore.  Maybe too much of a good thing...

[Bono Vox]

Anybody going to SW Celebration III in Indianapolis?  I'll be there Saturday

According to a recent scientific study, this event was the largest gathering of celebet men since the last vaticin conclave.


On to other star wars news, check out the vanity fair review of episode III (I likes what I sees)

The Force returns with most of its original power regained in "Star Wars: Episode III -- Revenge of the Sith." Concluding entry in George LucasGeorge Lucas' second three-pack of space epics teems with action, drama and spectacle, and even supplies the odd surge of emotion, as young Anakin Skywalker goes over to the Dark Side and the stage is set for the generation of stories launched by the original "Star Wars" 28 years ago. Whatever one thought of the previous two installments, this dynamic picture irons out most of the problems, and emerges as the best in the overall series since "The Empire Strikes Back." Stratospheric B.O.B.O. is a given.

Indeed, "Sith" looks likely to follow the commercial pattern of the initial trilogy, wherein the second edition, "Empire," dipped considerably from the first, only to see the third, "Return of the Jedi," bounce back closer to the level of "Star Wars." In the case of the most recent set, "The Phantom Menace" grossed $921 million worldwide (slightly more coming from foreign territories than from the U.S.), while "Attack of the Clones" slipped to a $647 million worldwide cume. There's little doubt "Sith" will significantly improve on the latter figure.

Everyone who has followed the "Star Wars" saga over the years will come to this film knowing that it all has to pay off here: the transformation from Anakin into Darth Vader, the face-off between Anakin/Vader and his mentor Obi-Wan Kenobi, the morphing of the Republic into the Empire, the exile of Yoda and Padme's birth of the twins Luke and Leia, siblings who become the central figures in episodes 4-6.

Given the general awareness of what's going to happen, it's up to Lucas to make it exciting. Despite fans' varying degrees of loss of faith that set in with "Menace" and "Clones," most will be inspired enough to believe again.

As if deliberately setting out to reassert his mastery over his iconic creation, Lucas opens with an amazing shot of his two Jedi Knights, Obi-Wan Kenobi (Ewan McGregorEwan McGregor) and Anakin (Hayden ChristensenHayden Christensen), threading their little spaceships through an extraordinary maze of explosions and airborne craft.

In fact, the initial 23 minutes virtually constitute one eye-popping action sequence, as the Jedis fight an assortment of battles to rescue the kidnapped Chancellor Palpatine (Ian McDiarmid) from the clutches of the skeletal separatist General Grievous.

When things settle down to reunite Anakin with Padme, who announces she's pregnant after the idyllic secret wedding that climaxed "Clones," one is briefly reminded of Lucas' shortcomings as a writer and director of intimate, one-on-one scenes. But it's a minor problem here, as the dynamic of onrushing events soon becomes all-enveloping, and several interconnected conflicts are brought to a head.

As was not always the case the last two times out, Lucas' storytelling sense is admirable as he lays out the growing schism between the Jedi council -- which supports the Republic -- and the Chancellor, who has been granted exceptional powers in the current crisis.

Caught in the middle is Anakin, trained all his life by Obi-Wan to be an exemplary Jedi, but suddenly plagued by dreams of his wife's death in childbirth, offended by the Council's refusal to grant him master status and susceptible to the Chancellor's promise that only through the attainment of dark powers can he save his wife.

As Anakin stews, Jedis led by Obi-Wan attack General Grievous, which occasions more spectacular lightsaber fights (the movie is full of them). When Jedi Knight Mace Windu (Samuel L. JacksonSamuel L. Jackson, finally given something to do) attacks the Chancellor after learning he's a Sith Lord, Anakin must decide once and for all where his allegiance lies, his ultimate choice pitting him tragically against those closest to him, Padme and Obi-Wan.

Picture's final hour is steeped in apocalyptic imagery, tragic pop mythology and effective cross-cutting, as Yoda takes on the Chancellor at the same time Anakin/Vader engages in ferocious combat with Obi-Wan.

Resolution of the latter is significantly gorier than anything previously seen in the "Star Wars" sextet, thereby earning the series' first PG-13 rating. It also results in the transfixing final metamorphoses of Anakin into the black hooded-and-caped Vader unseen since the initial trilogy, an emergence dramatically contrasted with the birth of the twins.

Entertaining from start to finish and even enthralling at times, "Sith" has some acting worth writing home about, specifically McDiarmid's dominant turn as the mastermind of the evil empire. McGregor remains a steady presence, and both Portman and Christensen have loosened up since "Clones" to acceptable, if hardly inspired, levels. Expressiveness of the digitally animated Yoda, voiced as always by Frank OzFrank Oz, is amazing.

The technical achievement here is on such a high level that one is lulled into taking it for granted. Neither of the digitally shot recent episodes has looked consistently great, but this one does.

Perhaps this is the moment to remember it was the original "Star Wars," modest budget and all, that forever raised the bar and set the standard for the new generation of special and visual effects (a taste of "Star Wars" decor is provided by a reproduction of the gleaming white interior of the escaping Jedis' spacecraft). Composer John Williams also seems to have put extra effort into his virtually continuous score, which increasingly invests familiar themes with darker and richer tones.

Bagpiper

[Bono Vox]

Director STEVEN SPIELBERG wept at a premiere of pal GEORGE LUCAS' final STAR WARS movie EPISODE III: REVENGE OF THE SITH.

JURASSIC PARK film-maker, Spielberg was so moved by the eagerly-awaited conclusion of the sci-fi saga, he burst into tears at its screening last week (begs29APR05).

But he's unashamed by his tears, insisting fans will also cry at the end of the film, because its moving conclusion marks the end of Lucas' epic story.

Spielberg says, "I saw it about a week ago, and it's absolutely amazing.

"It's the best of the last three episodes. It's the best way you could possibly imagine for George to finish it off, it has a tremendous ending and it's very dark. You'll cry at the end, it's wonderful."
06/05/2005 02:41

[Asteriktos]

Fwiw, Rotten Tomatoes now has about 16 reviews of Star Wars from Critics up; most of them are very positive.

[Bono Vox]

Has anyone seen Revenge of the Sith yet?

I have seen it three times now; I absolutly love it. Episode III is hands down the best of the new series; even as good as Return of the Jedi (which there were a lot of parallels between luke and anakin that you can see in episode III & ROTJ).

I'm sad that the series is over; I wish that it could go on and on.

Anyway, let me know what y'all thought about it. I will post more of my thoughts later.

Darth Bagpiper

[Nacho]

Has anyone seen Revenge of the Sith yet?

I have seen it three times now; I absolutly love it. Episode III is hands down the best of the new series; even as good as Return of the Jedi (which there were a lot of parallels between luke and anakin that you can see in episode III & ROTJ).

I'm sad that the series is over; I wish that it could go on and on.

Anyway, let me know what y'all thought about it. I will post more of my thoughts later.

Darth Bagpiper

Step back ya'll because Darth Nacho is in da house! 

Just saw it on Saturday, must say I was very impressed. I do have a little complaint that it could have been longer. I felt like something was missing and it ended abruptly also, it could have been a 3 hour movie. All in all though Lucas did a great job sticking to the plot and eveything was done very well besides a few cheesy lines here & there. I'm going to have to go and see it again.

[Augustine]

WARNING: THERE ARE LIKELY TO BE SOME "SPOILERS" IN THIS REVIEW/RANT

While I don't think the prequels were complete garbage (and certainly the newest one is the best of them), since so many people are saying how much they love the newest one, I felt it was my duty as a die hard Star Wars geek (who grew up with the original films), to rain on the parade. (or put better, to add some balance by offering the"other side.")

I was disappointed with the "prequels", and feel if anything they highlighted George Lucas' weakness as a director, and writer of convincing dialogue.  These inherent weaknesses were only made worse by films which suffered due to being (primarily) showcases for new/experimental computer FX technologies.

Thus, wedded to weaknesses in the writer/director's abilities, you had actors being filmed continually in front of blue screens (with an astounding lack of real sets and real locations) and being only given the script in bits and pieces (because it's all oh so super secret); IOW, all of this created a situation where otherwise competent-to-great actors (like Liam Neeson or Ewan McGregor) come off looking quite badly.

The films also suffered due to George Lucas' "autonomy" this time around - for the original trilogy, he had a lot of limitations to work under, and due to them being studio films (20th Century Fox is now only the distributor - this time 'round Lucas is an empire unto himself, and really didn't need their involvement as such), he was forced to work with people he may not have wanted to.  And most significantly, the second and third films of the original trilogy (while scripted by Lucas) were not directed by George Lucas.  Agreed by most to be easily the best of the Star Wars films, The Empire Strikes Back was directed by Irvin Kershner, a very talented director, who brought a great deal of passion and personal depth to the 'Star Wars' saga.  Kershner is a Buddhist, and a lot of the sensitivity and "feeling" that was associated with the Jedi/the Force, etc. is really the result of his direction and his input into what got onto the screen (including him ad-libbing dialogue at times, much to the chagrin of Lucas.)

It would be this film (Empire Strikes Back) which would deeply affect how it's sequel (Return of the Jedi; directed by Richard Marquand) turned out and "felt", and interestingly enough, totally coloured how people would interpret and remember the original 'Star Wars: A New Hope" (which if taken on it's own, while very innovative for it's time and entertaining, is pretty corny and has obvious limitations - not to mention it could have stayed a "stand alone film" had it bombed at the box office.)

While the new special effects are interesting, I wasn't as wowed as perhaps some people were - cgi technology is still (IMHO) not at the point where it's flawless, and as such the cgi work in the new films is all over the place; some of it's fantastic, some of it's not so fantastic.  The "fantastic" stuff isn't so much bad, as just not convincing - you know deep down that what you're looking at is fake.  The best cgi was the stuff done for Yoda in the second and third prequel, though not even all of this is consistantly excellent.  I think the best approach would have been to use the strengths of different mediums; there is still a place for model building and miniatures in special effects, the biggest strength of cgi being the ability to seemlessly and credibly intigrate these with live action shots in a way that wasn't possible in times past.  The ships in the original came off as substantial, and "real" - even down to the wear and tear that flying through space debris and radiation would cause.  The ships in the new film struke me as looking like something out of a really slick video game; visually exciting, but not convincing.  And was there any reason why so many Storm Troopers and aliens had to be completely done in cgi?!!  I felt at times like I was watching a really elaborate cartoon - there is no good reason for this - in fact it probably would have been easier and cheaper to create the actual Storm/Clone Trooper battle suits, and put them on real extras - and when you needed to create scenes with unfathomably huge numbers of soldiers, you use the computer technology to multiply those real extras, or fabricate them entirely for long distance shots.

Ultimatly, what this come down to is the films were being used by Lucas as a showcase for the cutting edge in CGI technology, as innovated by his long standing business/firm Industrial Light and Magic (ILM).  This annoys me, since I would have liked to have thought that the emphasis for something as "sacred" (to us geeks and closet geeks who grew up with the original Star Wars films) would have been on creating the best films possible, and not on simply finding excuses to showcase new technologies, particularly when they're often inferior to existing/older approaches.

I guess these issues are contributors to my big, over riding problem with the new films - basically, that they were "souless".  The originals, for all of their flaws, had a lot of soul; even their visual style expressed this (which once again, is in large part not something which originated with Lucas, but others.)  These ones struck me as being very superificial, and the work of someone trying to imitate what the originals pulled off naturally.

Also, while some of the plot elements (which is perhaps Lucas' strong point, though I'm not sure if that's saying a lot) were pretty good in the new films, many were much less impressive, and some pretty weak.  Weakest of all, were the inconsistancies with the original trilogy.  Granted, the originals had some inconsistancies which were only excused by the most threadbare rationalizing (I don't buy for a second that Lucas had all of these films, prequels included, already mapped out and roughly scripted in a secret briefcase somewhere for the last 25 years...nonsense, and manifestly so), but they stood up pretty well.  OTOH, there are some big continuity problems with the new films.

- the principles (Anakin as played by Hayden Christenson and Obi-Wan as played by Ewan McGregor) are way, way too young to match up to their characters as portrayed in the original trilogy.  We know this, because Luke and Lei are portrayed as new born infants at the end of Revenge of the Sith, and they're both supposed to be just shy of 20 in A New Hope.  That means about 19 years separate Revenge of the Sith and A New Hope.  Does Ewan Mcgregor look like he could be Sir Alec Guiness in 19 years, even as he's aged and made up in  ROTS, let alone have been a fresh face "Paduan" (Jedi student) only ten years before that in The Phantom Menace?  Also, it's pretty clear from Return of the Jedi, when you see Darth Vader without his helmet on near the end (or when you see his ghost, as a redeemed spirit - though my understanding is that Lucas has messed around with this too in his new DVD edition), that he was probably only ten years (no more) younger than Obi-Wan as played by Guiness - in other words, somewhere in his mid 50's.

- in Return of the Jedi (ROTJ) it's clearly stated that while Luke never knew his real mother, Leia did - she says she remembered her/their mother, and that she was a sad woman, who carried a lot of grief (understandable), but that she died when she was "very young."  I don't know about you, but I don't have those kind of elaborate memories about my child birth, which according to Revenge of the Sith is where Padme (Luke and Leia's mom) died.  The clear implication of the original is that their mother was taken with Leia to live on Alderan, and that she lived at least until Leia was a child old enough to have concrete memories of her.

- Making Anakin a native of Tatooine, with family there to boot (as portrayed in Revenge of the Sith) creates immense problems for any notion of Obi-Wan taking Luke there to "hide him".  Yeah, that's swell - hide the son of an evil pyschic warlord (who is serving an evil more powerful and evil psychic wizard) in his home town, with actual relatives; even if said evil warlord wouldn't think you were so stupid as to do something that obvious (hence making it kind of clever), at the very least you'd think he'd head there to shake down the family residing there (his family after all) to see if they'd had any contact with you, the "stolen" child, your wearabouts, etc.  The only possible way out of this, is for it to have been clearly emphasized in Revenge of the Sith that Vader had no clue whatsoever that his wife managed to bear a child before dying, and to have really thought that his unborn child (since he didn't know she was carrying twins) died with it's mother. But even if this was so...still...that's a pretty risky (and hence crappy) place to "hide" the brat.

- The way Anakin becomes Obi-Wan's pupil, and Obi-Wan's relationship to Yoda, doesn't seem to line up between the prequels and the original trilogy.  You also get the distinct impression from the dialogue in the original trilogy, that Anakin and Obi-Wan were much closer in age than is portrayed in the prequels (and this is born out in the original trilogy by the actor they used to show what Vader looked like "under the helmet".)

There are many, many more continuity problems than this, but I won't subject others here to my nerdom beyond the above examples.

It doesn't help that I also think that alot of the "Expanded Universe" (though certainly not all of it) stuff written previous to the prequels, was far, far superior to what we got in the new films.  For example, the explanation we get in Revenge of the Sith for the Emperor's decrepit features and shriveled up face, is that he got zapped by his own "evil force lightning" when he attempted to kill Jedi Mace Windu (played by Samuel L. Jackson).  I thought the "E.U." explanation that things like this (becoming ghoulish in appearance - pale, sunken eyes, deformation of the body, etc.) was better - namely, that this was what gradually happened to the body when one was consumed by the "dark side of the Force", the evil energies corrupting not only the soul by the body.  Thus, the dark side destroys it's user, even bodily; thus requiring them to draw upon their powers to simply stay alive... which in turn only invites more harm to them.  IOW, an endless, vicious cycle which can only end in ruin.  This is why in the originals, Vader looks so awful under his helment - not simply because of the scars and wounds he received from his duel with Obi-Wan (which resulted in him being made into a cyborg), but because he kept himself alive in large part by "the dark side", and his use of those evil powers.

The same goes for the fate of the Jedi.  While I thought it was really neat how the downfall of the Jedi was portrayed in Revenge of the Sith (the Clone army numbering in the hundreds of thousands was genetically programmed/conditioned to suddenly "turn" on the Jedi, who they were fighting under in the various battles of the "Clone War" spread throughout the galaxy when the Emperor gives them a certain secret command; kind of like how certain types of attack dogs are conditioned to snap and become man eating machines when told a secret word or hearing a special whistle command), I didn't think it was enough to explain the near eradication of the Jedi - I mean, they're Jedi after all!  In the "EU" stuff, it's made pretty clear that Darth Vader (and perhaps others) spent a lot of time going around the galaxy hunting down pockets of remaining Jedi, even warranting the construction of neato "Jedi prison ships" - essentially giant led boxes whose power supplies were dedicated to complex internal force fields meant to contain wiley Jedi prisoners being taken back for examination/termination (since anyone but another of their kind killing an actual Jedi was understood to be incredibly difficult).

Ok, I think I've wasted enough time "nerding out."  Continue on with your far more meaningful, nerd-free (or "in nerd denial") lives.

[Schultz]

Making Anakin a native of Tatooine, with family there to boot (as portrayed in Revenge of the Sith) creates immense problems for any notion of Obi-Wan taking Luke there to "hide him".

Owen Lars is actually a relative of Obi-Wan, not Anakin.  Anakin has no relatives, as his was a virgin birth and Shmi was a slave who had no family.

Other than that, I share most of your musings, particularly the explanation for Palpatine's aging. 

[SouthSerb99]

Saw it Saturday night.

Overall, I wasn't that impressed.  Taking the movie on its own (and pretending for a second the other 5 didn't exist), I thought it was terribly boring.

I also happened to see it in a theatre were the audio was very low (which certainly did not help).

I just thought the movie was very slow.  However, when you take the movie as a part of the greater saga, it was nice (in as much) as it did provide an explanation for how we got to where we were with "Star Wars" ie: Darth Vader, Lord Palpatine etc... (I also thought the change in Palpatine was really well done).

Maybe I'll see it again in a theatre with better audio.  I'd give it 2.5 Stars.

[Augustine]

Schultz,

Owen Lars is actually a relative of Obi-Wan, not Anakin.  Anakin has no relatives, as his was a virgin birth and Shmi was a slave who had no family.

While I know in some of the "Expanded Universe" stuff Owen Lars is said to be related to Obi-Wan, it's made very clear in Attack of the Clowns...err...Clones that Owen's father had purchased the slave Shmi (Anakin's mother), and married her; making Owen Lars the step-brother of Anakin Skywalker (which is, again, stated pretty clearly in the scene in Episode II where Anakin meets Owen.)

The "EU" explanation is better, of course, in that it makes the location far more "off the radar" for Darth Vader.  Perhap's you're confusing the two ("EU" explanation with the new prequels.)

[Schultz]

it's made very clear in Attack of the Clowns...err...Clones that Owen's father had purchased the slave Shmi (Anakin's mother), and married her; making Owen Lars the step-brother of Anakin Skywalker (which is, again, stated pretty clearly in the scene in Episode II where Anakin meets Owen.)

Oh, bother, you're right!  I've only seen Clones once.  I totally forgot about that.

[Nacho]

Oh, bother, you're right!  I've only seen Clones once.  I totally forgot about that

Blasphemy!!!!!!

Did any of you pick up the parallels between Anikin and Luke?

1 their clothes were almost the same
2 The fight scene between anakin and dooku and luke and vader were similar. anakin cut dookus hands off, luke cut vaders hand off,   the background/stage was alomst the same in that fight as it was with luke and vader (ie..the emperor was sitting in the same place, in the same chair. when dooku was defeated he told anakin to kill him, when vader was defeated, he told luke to kill him.


Darth Nacho

[ania]

- in Return of the Jedi (ROTJ) it's clearly stated that while Luke never knew his real mother, Leia did - she says she remembered her/their mother, and that she was a sad woman, who carried a lot of grief (understandable), but that she died when she was "very young."  I don't know about you, but I don't have those kind of elaborate memories about my child birth, which according to Revenge of the Sith is where Padme (Luke and Leia's mom) died.  The clear implication of the original is that their mother was taken with Leia to live on Alderan, and that she lived at least until Leia was a child old enough to have concrete memories of her.

THANK YOU!!!  I was thinking that I was the only one who caught that!  I'm not too into Star Wars, but I have a weird kind of memory where I can't remember what I did yesterday, but can remember random little things like Leia's conversation w/ Luke re their mother in ROTJ, from watching it more than 5 years ago. 

On a whole though, I rather enjoyed seeing it.

[aurelia]

No I caught it too.

On the whole, i can do without the SECOND trilogy.  Nice effects, lame character development, they could have done so much more with palpatine and darth maul.  Whiny Annakin turned into whiny darth vader, Jedi influence not explored enough, well, anyway, I have to agree with Kevin Smith (you know, Silent Bob) when he called the FIRST three movies (in Chasing Amy) the Holy Trilogy.  I laughed over that one.  Although i wouldnt have missed the yoda fight sequence with (whatisface dukku? ) for anything in the first of the prequels.  That was truly awesome.

AND, if the storm troopers were clones, why are they all different sizes in the first three movies, with different voices.  "you're a little short for a stormtrooper"  is about as close as anyone gets to mentioning it.  hehe.  Call me a purist.   Of couse I saw Empire 16 times....in the theatre...

[Asteriktos]

Hey, anybody ever seen Space Balls?

::runs and hides!::

Good flick

[Aindriú]

Neeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeerrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrdddddddddddsssssssssssssssss!!!!!!!!!!!!!   

 

[sheenj]

Hey, anybody ever seen Space Balls?

::runs and hides!::

Good flick

You replied to a post from 2004... in 2012... with two words.

[Aindriú]

Hey, anybody ever seen Space Balls?

::runs and hides!::

Good flick

You replied to a post from 2004... in 2012... with two words.

An Ent never says anything, unless it's worth taking a long time to say.

[Asteriktos]

Hey, anybody ever seen Space Balls?

::runs and hides!::

Good flick

You replied to a post from 2004... in 2012... with two words.

Hey, anybody ever seen Space Balls?

::runs and hides!::

Good flick

You replied to a post from 2004... in 2012... with two words.

An Ent never says anything, unless it's worth taking a long time to say.

I verify and truly--and I assure you this is so--I, being Justin, of sound mind, do say, that yes, in actuality, truthfully, and rightly, do like to bump threads--what some call resurrecting them--even if, verily, there is no real content to add or supplement, but lo, for truly I, Justin, Asteriktos, sometimes called Paradosis, or Erdrick, or Erdrickgr, or one of other names, do tell you, that yes, I do like to bump old threads, perhaps threads that are past a point of bringing back, but lo, if not I then who? if not now then when? for truly, truly, I say unto you that with many words men in red can sing a song to an owl in bed, yet leastwise is this true in favor of the true adequicity of my luxurious truthful words of honesty. 

[Jetavan]

Sorry, Star Wars fails the Bechdel Test:

You expect movie ratings to tell you whether a film contains nudity, sex, profanity or violence. Now cinemas in Sweden are introducing a new rating to highlight gender bias, or rather the absence of it.

To get an A rating, a movie must pass the so-called Bechdel test, which means it must have at least two named female characters who talk to each other about something other than a man.

"The entire Lord of the Rings trilogy, all Star Wars movies, The Social Network, Pulp Fiction and all but one of the Harry Potter movies fail this test," said Ellen Tejle, the director of Bio Rio, an art-house cinema in Stockholm's trendy Södermalm district.

On a positive note, new documentary footage of Yoda has been discovered in the Nag Hammadi caves of Egypt. But seriously, deleted Yoda footage shows that it was Yoda's (not Obi-Wan's) idea to not tell Luke about who his father really was.

[orthonorm]

Sorry, Star Wars fails the Bechdel Test:

You expect movie ratings to tell you whether a film contains nudity, sex, profanity or violence. Now cinemas in Sweden are introducing a new rating to highlight gender bias, or rather the absence of it.

To get an A rating, a movie must pass the so-called Bechdel test, which means it must have at least two named female characters who talk to each other about something other than a man.

"The entire Lord of the Rings trilogy, all Star Wars movies, The Social Network, Pulp Fiction and all but one of the Harry Potter movies fail this test," said Ellen Tejle, the director of Bio Rio, an art-house cinema in Stockholm's trendy Södermalm district.

On a positive note, new documentary footage of Yoda has been discovered in the Nag Hammadi caves of Egypt. But seriously, deleted Yoda footage shows that it was Yoda's (not Obi-Wan's) idea to not tell Luke about who his father really was.

The movies suck. That is clear.

And good that they are figuring out ways to highlight the lack of decent roles for women in film.

Including women in most boys' clubs makes them better for everyone.

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