Seems like Lucas’s condescending opinion of his fans is well deserved. He understands the fanbase only too well. Popcorn and circuses “have always ruled”. Indeed.

I simply disagree with you about Anakin’s character. And not in any real way that can be argued - just a difference in interpretation. I thought Anakin was a sympathetic character, particularly from what was established in the first film, and I thought the romance between him and Padmé was simplistic, yes, but equally sincere. Of course I didn’t expect, nor did I even really desire, to see the same kind of love-story interaction from the original trilogy so that may or may not have something to do with it. The same can be said for his relationship with Obi-Wan. I understood the two characters and their place in the setting, and I understood each of their points of view. But I never got the sense that Anakin just didn’t care about Obi-Wan or vice-versa. There are plenty moments in Episodes II and III where they show good will towards one another. But again, that’s just my take.

In Episodes II & III, the feelings and vulnerabilities between Anakin and Padmé are meant to be taken at face value. Their dialogue is just a reflection of that. “I don’t like sand. It’s coarse and rough and irritating and gets everywhere.” - “I’m haunted by the kiss you should never have given me”. Of course it’s awkward, awkward is the point. Anakin is just a kid talking to a pretty girl; he’s not suppose to be smooth like Han or Lando, he’s uncomfortable, he doesn’t know what the hell he’s doing… or saying. It’s a doomed-to-fail high school romance that has been injected into a B-movie space opera: Those are the conditions - that’s the aesthetic.

Not really worth the time to compose a careful response to your message as they’re your friend’s thoughts and not your own.

I’ll simply say this: all the intellectual masturbation in the world doesn’t address the fact that the prequels are dramatic failures. Viewers don’t give two *hits about grand sociological comments about organized religion when the essential story of Anakin’s rise and fall is unsympathetic, his relationship to Obi-Wan consists of whiny adolescent protestations, and his romance with Padme is wooden and awkward. If you want to give yourself a pat on the back for figuring out Lucas’s subtext, go right ahead. The rest of us, who don’t need to compensate for cognitive dissonance, will call these prequels exactly what they are: bad written films.

“What’s really interesting is how people rag on and on about how the prequels had no story, no grand ideas - about how all the political stuff was unnecessary and useless to the films.

And yet here we are, discussing some of the most integral aspects of the political and sociological elements that Lucas played with through out the prequel trilogy.

I think that one of the biggest in-house Star Wars taboos that Lucas proposed was that the Jedi order was not the perfect all knowing league of good guys that fans had, for so long, built them up to be. It was a curve ball, plain and simple. My interpretation was that even the best most noble intentions are not immune to corruption. In the case of the Jedi, it wasn’t necessarily power that corrupted them, but a complete devotion to the never changing establishment that was the Jedi Order. What made Darth Sidious a truly sinister villain wasn’t because everything he told Anakin was a lie, but because he ever so deceptively mixed truth with persuasion and one-on-one propaganda. When he refers to the Jedi as being dogmatic he is actually making a valid point.

In many ways, the Jedi were blind-sided by their own rules. And as a result, they were just as easily caught up in the political fever and confusion as everyone else. Without being the wiser, they got conned into playing Sidious’ dirty games by selecting Anakin as a spy (which, it turn, created mistrust between the two) and further making decisions on their own to overthrow the Chancellor. Sidious WANTED them to come and arrest him. It was all preplanned like a game of chess. He knew that Anakin had the potential to become great and to make a difference; he knew the Jedi would never allow Anakin to marry and have a family and so he used these rules to his advantage. Yes, he manipulated Anakin, but he did so by incorporating the flaws that were already inherent in the order in which Anakin served.

But it was more than just rules; it was much of the philosophy of the Jedi that ultimately put them at a disadvantage. Consider the mentality that both Obi-Wan and Yoda carry with them into the latter films when training Luke. They keep telling Luke that Vader is pure evil and that he is beyond redemption. They assume that because Anakin fell to the dark side, there was no possible way he could ever be brought back. And they assumed this because it had been the Jedi mentality for so many ages. Luke didn’t succeed in the end because he did exactly what he was told, rather instead, because he broke away from conventional Jedi wisdom and chose compassion and complete self sacrifice in order to save his father, or at least to show his father that the dark side of the force was not all consuming. It wasn’t easy of course, but he still pulled it off.

Up until the very end Yoda and Obi-Wan Kenobi served the old Jedi way, the way of the Jedi before the fall of the Republic. Had this been the “true” ideal then either one of them could have perhaps made certain choices that would have given the Jedi the upper hand and prevented the rise of the Empire. They were still both heroic characters who definitely made a difference - just like Han, Leia, Lando, Padmé and yes… even Jar Jar. Anakin too had come close to stopping the Sith in their tracks but, as we all know, he had weaknesses of his own that were used against him by Sidious. Luke, on the other hand, was born free from any pre-existing order. Luke was like a “Freestyle” Jedi who, by keeping a more opened mind than any Jedi before him and by learning from the mistakes that his father made, discovered the true understanding of the force - The “Balance” so to speak.

That was one of the neat things about the prequel trilogy; is that it gave all of these ideas so much more significance. We had to see how and why things first went to shit before they could be reconstructed in a better fashion. This means that Lucas could not just play nice by keeping both the Jedi Order, and the Republic in which it served, all super-duper and on top of things. He had to push some ideas and perspectives that were, within the Star Wars universe, a bit controversial. Even to the degree that Yoda was perhaps not the greatest Jedi of them all and could still be defeated.

Unfortunately, many of the fans (whether they acknowledge it or not) expected the same exact bare-bones WWII “Rebels Vs. Empire” type plot lines from the original trilogy. So when the prequels got ambitious and busted out with all of the additional political intrigue which naturally, and as a result, introduced new kinds of plot elements - fans made a big stinky in their pants because they weren’t treated to the same exact material as they got the first time around. Nobody was willing to accept a broader view of the Star Wars universe. Everyone just wanted to see the same three movies over again.”

*End Chris Crocker impersonation.

Lucas should have left the directing to someone else, especially in the prequels. I didn’t care for ROTJ either. Lucas wanted to make kids movies. He failed to remember that the kids that grew up with Star Wars in the “70’s and ’80’s grew up and wanted the series to grow up with them.

Hopefully, if (when?), Lucas decides to make a sequel to the original sequels, and with him, one never knows, he will remember that fact.

Good points made, sir. I agree that George’s comment about Empire was probably intended as irreverent humor, and then taken out of context.

Still, apart from the obvious assertion that Empire is no Serpico (and I seriously doubt that any SW fans would make that comparison), I think the reasons Empire succeeds are, as you pointed out, adherence by cast and crew to the source material, but also the sustained tone of the film, which I believe was provided by Kirshner. Solo’s “I know”, for instance, was not in the script, and Kirshner encouraged Ford to improvise, resulting in one of the best lines in all of the films. I wonder if Lucas would have allowed Ford, or anyone else, to go off the page like that.

Sure, there are some sort of slapsticky moments, but they never feel at the expense of the overall tone of the film. And with all due respect, I think that comparing a tool box falling on Solo’s head (which at least served the story - the “feel” of the blast that tipped the toolbox alerted Solo to the fact that something other than a laser had hit the ship) to just about ANYTHING concerning Jar-Jar is really stretching it. The last third of Phantom Menace is a friggin’ Bugs Bunny cartoon, and a bad one at that.

Over the many years of nostalgic hindsight, fans have come to regard The Empire Strikes Back as a work of high pedigree; part Serpico, part Neil Simon play. But I assure you… it’s not. Compared to the standards of anything non-Star Wars, Empire is inherently juvenile in its approach. Of course this is not criticism of Empire. I’m ecstatic over that film. I think Episode V is nothing short of a goddamn masterpiece. But that’s how I feel about all six of the Star Wars movies.

There is nothing uber-sophisticated about the writing and acting from The Empire Strikes Back. It’s all done well and straight forward. What defines Empire, what defines any one Star Wars movie, is that it takes place in a certain part of the overall story - one that is in many ways, unique onto its own. Yes, Lawrence Kasdan and Irvin Kershner did a fantastic job with that film, yet not because they broke away from George Lucas’ B-movie/Pure Cinema mentality by creating something not-Star Wars. Kasdan and Kershner didn’t “create” anything of that scale. The reason they did an awesome job is particularly because they kept it within the parameters and stayed true to the material that Lucas gave them: a detailed story and at least two drafts of the screenplay. And as for the comedy, do you really think that Jar Jar stepping in “Icky icky goo,” is any more low-brow than a tool box falling on Han Solo’s head? It’s all relatively slapstick.

I’ve long held the notion that George just can’t stomach the fact that TESB is most fans’ favorite since he didn’t write the screenplay or direct. I’ll bet that knowledge has been a thorn in his side for years. I couldn’t guess whether he’s just jealous or a narcissist, but it seems pretty clear that George has an unquenchable desire to be seen as the only source for everything Star Wars. It’s weird because I don’t think any fan would argue that he’s not “the guy” when it comes to who is solely responsible for the Empire which now surrounds him.

However, the poor quality of the new films (on several levels) are excellent examples of how many creative ventures that succeed are often the product of many ideas from many people. Anyone who’s seen the Genndy Tartakovsky 2-D animated Clone Wars series will understand how totally awesome a fantasy story can become when you bring in fresh eyes, minds and talent. I think they’re the best thing to happen to the series since TESB. I’m definitely going to buy them soon.

My guess is we’ll have to wait until George passes before another decent film will be made. He seems too much of a control freak to involve anyone on a significant level with future Star Wars projects.

Dave S.