Comments on: Star Wars at 30: ‘A long time ago in a galaxy far, far away…’

by: Mike

Mon, 09 Jul 2007 17:55:25 +0000

Yeah, but it didn’t last

by: tom barnett

Sun, 01 Jul 2007 23:23:04 +0000

“My uncle took me when I was four, and apparently I spent most of the time chatting to a girl in the row behind”

Bloody hell Mike you did start young.

by: Mmmm » Star Wars at 30: ‘Return to a Galaxy… Far, Far Away’

Tue, 19 Jun 2007 08:42:28 +0000

[…] Back then, the leak of data seemed far more under control. Though you could learn much from newspapers, and television fed a limited number of updates to viewers, it was less easy to be prepared for the film to come. Star Wars and The Empire Strikes Back made for a heady broth of hype. The third part, or Episode VI, was as breathlessly awaited as any movie, a promised culmination of the saga that had led to welters of toys, books and other merchandise. Known until only weeks before its release as Revenge of the Jedi, the final chapter promised much, showing us the images of horrible looking new beasts, like Bib Fortuna, the albino butler to Jabba the Hutt, and the imposing looking Imperial Guards, with their flowing red robes and a single black slit where their eyes should have been. […]

by: Mmmm » Star Wars at 30: ‘The Adventures Continues…’

Wed, 13 Jun 2007 04:51:21 +0000

[…] So how do you follow a film like Star Wars? George Lucas could have approached the sequel to A New Hope by rehashing the original, and no doubt the film would have made its millions in both box office receipts and spin-off merchandise. Instead, he wanted something that weighed in with a heavier blow, an altogether deeper movie experience that would wow fans with its technical prowess and narrative virtuosity. […]

by: Mike

Thu, 07 Jun 2007 20:15:47 +0000

Cheers Amanda. I think the great thing about the original Wars is that kids can remove the politics, backstory, etc, and just enjoy the action and what’s going on immediately before their eyes. There’s literally something for everyone, and I suppose that’s the entire key to their success.

Thanks again for the comments. Seems a shame about Mark Hamill’s career after the Wars and everything…

by: Mmmm » Star Wars at 30: The worst programme ever made

Thu, 07 Jun 2007 20:10:46 +0000

[…] I downloaded the Holiday Special for the sake of completism, and also because I’d heard it was quite bad and wanted to know for myself. The show was broadcast in November 1978, for American audiences bloated on Thanksgiving, and sated their desire for Star Wars, by this point at its peak. Conceived as a tangential episode to the overall Star Wars mythology, it was intended by George Lucas - who came up with the story - to keep the fans happy while The Empire Strikes Back was in production, and as a consequence it enjoyed a good share of the ratings. […]

by: Amanda Jones

Wed, 06 Jun 2007 08:11:23 +0000

“I realised how much the film depends on Mark Hamill’s wide-eyed turn as Luke Skywalker, the movie’s focal point. Every inch the idealistic innocent, the sheer bewilderment on his face upon seeing Owen and Beru as charred corpses is beautifully judged”

…Also the comedic parts, like his bewilderment when Leia gives him a peck ‘’for luck'’. Thanks for mentioning this, Hamill turns a somewhat thankless character into endearing, both with the sad and the comedic parts, but doesn’t get much props for it.

“The poorest is Han’s encounter with Jabba, reprising a deleted scene during which the Hutt was originally just another bloke. It’s rubbish, made worse when Solo steps on Jabba’s tail”

One of the worst of the offenders among the ‘updated’ editions. It ruins the moment when the camera pans to the Millenium Falcon and we see it for the first time with Obi Wan and Luke. The added scene makes this redundant and ineffective.

“Do you remember the first time? I can’t.”

Annoyingly, I can’t either. I recall watching it regularly somewhere in the winter between the ages of 6 and 7 with my mom, grandma, and a movie-fanatic neighbor, and having a fabulous time of it. But everything about the movies is so familiar and like-I’ve-always-known-them that I don’t recall the first time I was actually introduced to the movie and its characters (and subsequently, I don’t remember if I was spoiled or not for such revelations as ‘I am your father’ etc.)

Nice writeup.