Discussion
I’m no expert but my understanding is that he had written the lot before IV came out but didn’t have any money to make them. The only studio to offer him the money decided IV made the best on screen story so they offered him the cash to start with that one and the rest is history so to speak.
The best serried of films ever made IMHO BTW. Just got Revenge of the Sith on DVD the other week – to complete the collection
The best serried of films ever made IMHO BTW. Just got Revenge of the Sith on DVD the other week – to complete the collection
FourWheelDrift said:
IIRC He only had funding to originally do one film, episode IV is the only film that really has a start (introducing characters) middle and an end so could stand alone as a single film. It was a success so he continued with V & VI which also made sense I guess.
That’s a good point. It’s difficult to imagine any of the first three standing in their own right as a story line if we hadn’t have seen IV first and have know what was to come. Really they were just explaining the build up. I suppose the first three may have been very different films had he started at episode I though.
I don't think he originally "wrote" the full plotline for all six episodes. He had a very basic idea which he hawked around various studious until 20th Century Fox decided to go with a very baisc "goody/baddy/shoot 'em up" storyline in 1975.
With the success of the original film, he was able to find funding for the two sequels. By 1983 he had so much financial clout, he could do whatever he wanted. However, just to prove that one good idea doesn't a great film maker make, his next film was the dreadful "Howard The Duck". After that, he had to be a bit more circumspect and waited over ten years before producing the three Star War prequels, which, despite the superior special effects, are poor succeesors to the original three films.
With the success of the original film, he was able to find funding for the two sequels. By 1983 he had so much financial clout, he could do whatever he wanted. However, just to prove that one good idea doesn't a great film maker make, his next film was the dreadful "Howard The Duck". After that, he had to be a bit more circumspect and waited over ten years before producing the three Star War prequels, which, despite the superior special effects, are poor succeesors to the original three films.
Gazboy said:
Same here- got all 6 now.
Is it me, or do 4,5 &6 look a bit pants compared to 1,2,&3- especialy the Vader vs Kanobe fight in episode iv???
apparently i heard a story that many fans asked the same question to Lucas directly. the best he could up with was "they were older". which is kinda daft - he should of just said "it was made nearly 30 years ago - get a grip".
theres an interesting bit in 3 when that guy (the one off LA Law) turns to one of his staff and says something like "wipe the droid's mind" (C3PO). I believe this was put in to stop all the nagging Lucas had from fans about why C3PO apparently had memory loss in 4,5&6.
>> Edited by tinman0 on Tuesday 3rd January 00:11
Gazboy said:
Same here- got all 6 now.
Is it me, or do 4,5 &6 look a bit pants compared to 1,2,&3- especialy the Vader vs Kanobe fight in episode iv???
Noooo! 4,5, and 6 are far more realistic, those models look better to me than any CGI stuff.
Cheers,
Rob.
Realism left the building a long time ago- eg: how do all those soldiers breath when Vader's ship lands on the Death Star (doors to space are open).
because there is a force field they go through. you see that on another type of large ship in 1 and 3.
Rob_F said:
Same here- got all 6 now.
Is it me, or do 4,5 &6 look a bit pants compared to 1,2,&3- especialy the Vader vs Kanobe fight in episode iv???
Noooo! 4,5, and 6 are far more realistic, those models look better to me than any CGI stuff.
Cheers,
Rob.
Agreed. 4 to 6 are the original and best. 1 to 3 are just profiteering on the original films.
Nerd Alert!!!!
The original 3 movies started life as 1 story (Called "The adventures of Luke Starkiller" ) and were split into 3 parts by Lucas before writing the original screenplay for Star Wars.
He did this as he was under the impression that either the studios wouldnt pick up the film or that the Audience would hate it. He had an outline for the start of the story but only an outline. It wasnt until he decided to make the first three that he actually put pencil to paper.
Non interesting fact: The film "Return of the Jedi" was originally called "Revenge of the Jedi" (I actually have a crew shirt from this time with the proper logo featuring the name "Revenge"
but was changed to "Return" as Lucas decided/realised that Revenge was a trait of the Dark side. Go figure, he titled the movie, had all the crew gear made and only then remembered what he wrote down......DOH
The original 3 movies started life as 1 story (Called "The adventures of Luke Starkiller" ) and were split into 3 parts by Lucas before writing the original screenplay for Star Wars.
He did this as he was under the impression that either the studios wouldnt pick up the film or that the Audience would hate it. He had an outline for the start of the story but only an outline. It wasnt until he decided to make the first three that he actually put pencil to paper.
Non interesting fact: The film "Return of the Jedi" was originally called "Revenge of the Jedi" (I actually have a crew shirt from this time with the proper logo featuring the name "Revenge"
but was changed to "Return" as Lucas decided/realised that Revenge was a trait of the Dark side. Go figure, he titled the movie, had all the crew gear made and only then remembered what he wrote down......DOHDon't be too harsh on the SFX in the original film. When it was released in 1977 it was simply the most stunning science fiction film ever made up to that time. Prior to Star Wars, the only SF film that had "quality" effects had been "2001" (1968), which was very staid in comparison.
Star Wars showed what could be done with computer controlled cameras, highly detailed model work, fast paced editing and, sometimes forgotten in all the reverence later attached to the series, quite a funny script at times. Indeed, the main reason why I find the three recent films so dire is because they take themselves far too seriously and lack characters possessed of an ounce of humour. I'm pretty sure Lucas realised this when doing the first prequel and inserted that God-awful character Jar-Jar Binks in an attempt to slot in some laughs. It didn't work. What the later films desperately lack is a cynical Hans Solo type character. It was Solo and the tensions he created between the various characters with his mercenary and cynical atitude that lifted the original Star Wars stories from the hum-drum to the enjoyable.
>> Edited by Eric Mc on Tuesday 3rd January 07:58
Star Wars showed what could be done with computer controlled cameras, highly detailed model work, fast paced editing and, sometimes forgotten in all the reverence later attached to the series, quite a funny script at times. Indeed, the main reason why I find the three recent films so dire is because they take themselves far too seriously and lack characters possessed of an ounce of humour. I'm pretty sure Lucas realised this when doing the first prequel and inserted that God-awful character Jar-Jar Binks in an attempt to slot in some laughs. It didn't work. What the later films desperately lack is a cynical Hans Solo type character. It was Solo and the tensions he created between the various characters with his mercenary and cynical atitude that lifted the original Star Wars stories from the hum-drum to the enjoyable.
>> Edited by Eric Mc on Tuesday 3rd January 07:58
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