The Force Awakens

[Elvis]

Oh, and 82, should I wear my super-deluxe Supreme Edition™ Darth Vader Helmet?

[82_28]

You better believe it! I wish I had my old Star Wars tie I wore to HS graduation still existed. It was very "edgy" and "original" in 1994.

[Nordic]

There was a time when the vast majority of the top grossing films in history were all scored by John Williams. I don't think that was an accident. Music is a huge part of the cinematic experience. If you've ever made a film you have seen this for yourself when you put music to it. It's incredible.

[82_28]

Shouldn't a big shout out go to London Symphony Orchestra too? But yes, the entire franchise I think really hinges on the score.

[justdrew]

The Force Awakens, realizes it's sunday, and goes back to bed.

personally, I was resigned to these movies never happening, and really didn't 'buy' any of the expanded universe stuff for 'what happened next' - it's a good choice to have left it unwritten, because now it's going to be set in stone once and for all. This wide imaginable realm will be forever limited to one storyline. Whatever is said to have happened with the Rebellion will be a significant statement on human political affairs and is likely to have significant delta-C (change in culture) potential. Certainly it will launch a billion posts to the internet. Already seen one even. Will Disney actually put out something positive, or is it all going to be some weird fantasy about Shooting Your Way to Political Power and Won't Get Forced Again and the good guys are just as bad as the bad guys if anyone has to die, but hey, this shooting here is good.

[Elvis]

Music is a huge part of the cinematic experience. If you've ever made a film you have seen this for yourself when you put music to it. It's incredible.

Haha--I was just thinking about some old Super-8 film footage I shot on a crab boat in Alaska, as an example of how music can bring life to silent footage. I decided not to mention it because it's nothing more than that -- just one example of what Nordic points out.

But -- I just remembered what the music was, that I'd cue up and play with that silent, unedited footage: a Star Wars soundtrack by John Williams.

Suddenly the scenes shot from our boat -- gliding slowly through the harbor past big, foreign (space)ships and a host of smaller vessels (evocative oboe passage), or the long, crashing-through-the-waves, storm-at-sea shots (main theme and Vader's march) -- became not only 100x more interesting and watchable, but downright "Star Wars-y," filled with new meanings and shot through with emotions.


So anyway...do I need to see any of the three Star Wars movies made since the first three, to appreciate or understand this new installment? I don't really wanna, but I do plan to be in that seat in the Cinerama next to 82 (and the whole gang maybe?) for the new one at Christmas-time.

[82_28]

No, I don't think you need to see the prequels -- I'll fill you in if you need to know. Nobody liked them and there was controversy all around. Many mistakes were made. I don't have time to look, but I've always wondered why Lucas started with Episode 4.

[BrandonD]

There are 2 versions of the 80s movie Legend, each with different soundtracks. I think it's a good example of how a soundtrack can really change the feeling of a movie. I personally prefer the Tangerine Dream soundtrack, but I'm also an analog synth nerd.

[BrandonD]

No, I don't think you need to see the prequels -- I'll fill you in if you need to know. Nobody liked them and there was controversy all around. Many mistakes were made. I don't have time to look, but I've always wondered why Lucas started with Episode 4.

That's good to know. After seeing episode 1 which I thought was awful, I didn't bother watching the others.

[Luther Blissett]

No, I don't think you need to see the prequels -- I'll fill you in if you need to know. Nobody liked them and there was controversy all around. Many mistakes were made. I don't have time to look, but I've always wondered why Lucas started with Episode 4.

That's good to know. After seeing episode 1 which I thought was awful, I didn't bother watching the others.

I feel a little silly posting about Star Wars here but I love the films and can see the broader cultural impact. I just read yesterday a blog post about watching the Star Wars films in what is called "the machete order" (named for the originator's blog). Their proposed order is:

Episode IV
Episode V
Episode II
Episode III
Episode VI

This way, after Darth is revealed as Luke's father, the viewer takes an extended flashback to discover how this could be. What's strange is that Anakin, while an asshole, misbehaves in ways that echo the way we just watched Luke being sort of whiney and bratty during Empire Strikes Back. Plus, the viewer knows Anakin turns into Darth, so it becomes somewhat easier to digest. The series then peaks and valleys in a more even-keeled way watching it this way - victory, disaster, victory, disaster, resolution.

Many characters in Episode I are introduced and die off before the end of the film. It has little to no redeeming qualities and any major plot points are re-explained in Episodes II and III. The person who invented this viewing order was worried that it might seem strange that Anakin's mother was a slave and that he never returned to save her, but that's a fault of the films themselves and isn't explained any better with the inclusion of Episode I. Same with C3PO being created by Anakin, but the viewer can figure that out.

One of the most incredible things about viewing it in this order is that it actually somewhat bolsters Return of the Jedi for the first-time viewer: I never realized how sinister Luke acts in Return of the Jedi, and is wearing black to match Anakin's garb in Revenge of the Sith. I had never even realized that Luke force-chokes the two guards in Jabba's Palace and that no one else witnesses this - he's using the dark side of the force in secret. The viewer is led to believe that Luke is going to follow exactly in his father's footsteps and it heightens the tension of the film right up until the very end.

It's almost as if the series was made to be watched in this order. Episode I can almost be treated like the Clone Wars series - a nice little extra bonus for children if you really need to watch something more.

http://www.nomachetejuggling.com/2011/1 ... ing-order/

[vince]

There are 2 versions of the 80s movie Legend, each with different soundtracks. I think it's a good example of how a soundtrack can really change the feeling of a movie. I personally prefer the Tangerine Dream soundtrack, but I'm also an analog synth nerd.

Totally agree!
That other version, with orchestral score.... boy, talk about a 'sleep inducer'!

[dada]

I have been doing this shtick for the past year or so, where I say that I hate star wars and everything about it. I say it's dark/light philosophy creates a false morality, and the fantasy force is limiting to the imagination. It is a vehicle mainly designed and created to market merchandise to children, pretending to be a harmless escapist fantasy. I could go on, and I have.

It began after I read through the Dune series of six books for the first time (I don't bother with the ones the Frank Herbert's son wrote. I have an idea where Frank was going with it after the sixth book ended, and I'm not interested in finding out how it differs from where Brian took it.) So now I'm Duncan Idontknow, a Dune guy in a Star Wars world, and it's kind of fun seeing where I can take the critical attack on star wars. I've seen murderous intent in people's eyes when I do my shtick in person, and have to rely on my charisma to talk my way out of getting beat up.

The funny thing is, it started as just playing around, but now I really do have a distaste for the whole star wars, and I didn't watch the new trailer. And I know that I won't be going back.

As a kid, much of my life revolved around the star wars, and into adulthood I carried the star wars universe with me, like many others. I have to tell you, it feels really good to be free of it. I never thought that would happen, but I've successfully broken away. I don't like anything about it, at all, at all. The nicest thing I can say about it is that the original movie was ok, as movies go.

[justdrew]

I haven
t heard any mention the main reveal in the trailer. Luke's voice-over. in backwards order:
i have it, my sister has it, my father, my GRANDFATHER.

can't be talking about Padme's father, so it must be that the identity of Anakin's father has been discovered.

or is that not Luke talking but his own son?

[jingofever]

So anyway...do I need to see any of the three Star Wars movies made since the first three, to appreciate or understand this new installment? I don't really wanna, but I do plan to be in that seat in the Cinerama next to 82 (and the whole gang maybe?) for the new one at Christmas-time.

The only reason to see those movies is so you can understand the reviews from Red Letter Media.

Phantom Menace review (part 1 of 7): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FxKtZmQgxrI
Attack of the Clones review (part 1 of 9): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CfBhi6qqFLA
Revenge of the Sith review (full): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ABcXyZn9xjg

[82_28]

Soundtrack and the "forcing" of you to read before each movie sucked you in! I just noticed this before I just fired up Return of the Jedi tonight that I had successfully pirated. I remember as a kid just glued to those scrolling words in order to get "engaged". No star wars would be complete without its beginning.

Isn't it fucking weird?