with all the advances in technology, the ability to hire a-list actors, and a top team of writers… why did Star Wars Ep 1-3 suck?
I smell a new thread coming!
My firm belief is that it is because Lucas SUCKS at directing. Ep 4 was technologically and Archetypically an amazing movie. But when you put it up against ep 5 & 6 it is mediocre from a character standpoint.
Go back and watch Ep 1 (c’mon, you know you have it in your collection), and watch it simply for how good the acting is(n’t). Lucas is FAR to attached to his technology and hung up on how “cool” its going to look that he can’t think in terms of “directing”.
He should have let someone else direct ep 1 - 3 while maintaining a final say on the technology output.
This came out of a thread in the sketching section, and I split it over to here.
ip, not to go even deeper, but that doesn’t explain why ep 4-6 were so good. Lucas directed those too! With less time, money and experience! (check out THX, that movie rocks, probably his best, way better than star wars IMO, and it was his first)
I think the major reason why 1-3 sucked (remember 4-6 were full of bad acting and clumsy cuts) was the lack of a Han Solo type character. Somehow this guy that was kind of along for the ride voiced all of the audiences doubts. He didn’t believe in “the force” and like good blaster over antiques. His poking fun at the whole thing kind of made it more believable… besides Ford’s ad-libbed “I know” line at the end of Empire is classic… 1-3 have nothing of the sort. It’s all shiny spaceships and Jar Jar.
Like I said before, go back and watch ep 4 purely from an acting and character dev stand point. It is on par with 1,2,3…IMO. I remember being slightly embarrassed when I watched ep 4 again after it was released remastered with Lucas’ “tweaks”.
Lucas is far too focused on the tech. I have been reading a book about the making of all six episodes and it becomes even more apparent when you see how myopic he is about making sure the effects are right at the expense of the acting.
I agree with you on the Han Solo character. Star Wars is a classic archetype story. Its so simple when you go back and look at it again from a “grown-up” perspective. What I still find amazing is how much it influenced a generation.
I would say there are two problems with ep 1-3. Other than there not being a plot.
1- Acting. Ewen was the only one to show up and act. On top of that, why have live action people? Just make it all digital, 95% of the movie was anyway.
2- Design. I think the production designers were caught in a trap. All of the designs seemed too far advanced. They stood out like a sore thumb when compared to the “later” designs in ep 4,5 and 6. Heck, it makes sense. If anyone of us was working on these ship designs, it would be very difficult to pull back. They should have been a step back from the design language of ep 4,5 and 6. Instead, everthing appeared to be designed after ( as it technicaly was ). It made the time-line not sit right.
I stand corrected, you are totally right… my nerd knowledge is not as deep as I thought.
You are right, ep1 really echos ep4 in a lot of ways.
Too true. The OG stuff is very 70’s, its like they should have surrounded themselves with 50’s and 60’s stuff to design 1-3. I think in some ways they attempted to do that, some of the stuff has a distinct “retro” vibe, but it doesn’t feel authentic.
My opinion is that Ep 1-3 was poorly written and poorly directed. I was so excited to see the film only to be disappointed. I booed while everyone else cheered at the end.
there was one satisfying monment in E3 when you see Vader’s helmet in profile lying down, against the white background with the harsh lights on it. The composition, the glossy black helmet, it was nice.
Who was I supposed to root for? In the original, we had a great cast of characters in Obi Wan, Luke, Han, Leia, Lando, Yoda, Chewie, Boba Fett, Jabba, Vader, etc. In this one we had Jar Jar!? Undo!!!
Sometimes better tools, such as more advanced computer graphics, only distracts from the real heart of film or television, and that is story telling. I thought ep. 1 and 2 (I never saw 3) and the first Lord of Rings film suffered because the tools existed to make the movies realistic. I wonder if these stories had been handed to some young indie director with a budget of a million dollars would have done with either. Probably, they would have made a captivating interesting film like Lucas did in his youth with THX1138.
In THX the background of most of the movie is blank and white. The few bits of technology were clearly existing facilities or products that were lightly covered up (the computer room at the begining has to be an old telephone switching station and the cars near the end were the then current Le Mans winning 917 Porsche). These features only endear the film, and ironically, make it more foreign and unusual today than a chrome arrow-head space shape.
I really hope that Lucas does decide to bankroll an ep. 7-9, but hand the power to a new generation. Maybe then the old sk00l fans will have something to cheer about.
Are you all forgetting the first time we saw star wars, it was with virgin eyes?
our minds were blown, we fell in love
When we finally saw episodes 1-3 we had evolved into overly analytical, self-important designers who enjoy hearing themselves critique whatever is placed in front of them.
You can’t ignore the nostalgia factor and how it makes us remember the original movies as being so much better than the new ones.
I mean seriously, bad acting…
Mark Hamill wrote the book, might as well have been Eric Roberts playing Luke.
I mean seriously, bad acting…
Mark Hamill wrote the book, might as well have been Eric Roberts playing Luke.
No doubt that he was not the best actor from the beginning, but there was more attention to that developing his acting in ep 5/6. Hayden Christenson (sp?) isn’t as horrible of an actor as he comes across in ep 1 (especially). I put him on par with Hamill in ep 4.
I believe with the same characters, same script, that eps 1 - 3 could have been way better with a good director.
The acting in I,II,& III wasn’t good. However, I only fault the actors halfway. The other half falls on Lucas. I mean just take a listen to the writing that he did. Some of the dialogue was so bad I’m not sure even the best actors in the world could have done much better. The cast had terrible material to work with right from the start, and the result is…well…clearly evident in the final product.
My second point on this topic is that while the incredible computer technology used in the newest trilogy definitely has it’s moments, for the most part I feel that the visual effects used in the original films hold their own and in some instances are even better. For example, I’ve always felt that the ships filmed using actual scale models had more realism and weight than those generated by computer. Who can forget seeing the star destroyer coming in from overhead in the beginning of the first film? those effects just grabbed you right away and didn’t let go.
I heard Ford ad-libbed a lot… like the classic part in Empire, when he’s about to get frozen. Allegedly he was supposed to say “I Love you.” Back to Lea, but instead he rolled with “I know”… makes the whole friggen movie. That and “Phew,I thought they smelled bad on the outside”…
I heard Ford ad-libbed a lot… like the classic part in Empire, when he’s about to get frozen. Allegedly he was supposed to say “I Love you.” Back to Lea, but instead he rolled with “I know”… makes the whole friggen movie. That and “Phew,I thought they smelled bad on the outside”…
I wonder, would Lucas have allowed that? Are there any ad lib examples from ep 4? Methinks no. I may be just seeing what I want to see here, but this reinforces my belief that it is Lucas to blame for the delivery of the script. If he’s more focused on making it a great story and less focused on making it a revolutionary f/x movie, what happens?
If you haven’t seen it, there’s a version of ep 1 that has been edited to reduce Jar Jar’s impact on the movie…even with a bit more prudent editing it becomes a better movie.
real talk right there; i am always somewhat surprised when people who have seen the “1st” trilogy, cite bad acting as one the reasons episodes 1-3 “sucked.” though, it is hard to deny that there were some painful scenes to watch when there are no lightsabers or flying vehicles involved…
Design. I think the production designers were caught in a trap. All of the designs seemed too far advanced. They stood out like a sore thumb when compared to the “later” designs in ep 4,5 and 6. Heck, it makes sense. If anyone of us was working on these ship designs, it would be very difficult to pull back…
i understand what you mean, but that would have very likely been the case anyway given the increased abilities of the current technology, no?
the only reason i think this generations star wars trilogy was a let down was because we all knew the ultimate outcome and had already played it out in our imaginations well before it came to theatres…
