And so we begin where we left off – munchies at the ready
and time to begin….
Episode IV: A New
Hope
Not seen this in about two years! So, hairs on the back of
neck already, the music fanfares us into what is the original Star Wars. The
iconic massive starship flies over the screen and were aboard Princess Leia’s
ship. The opening scenes with Vader are very different now after watching his
back-story; you see he’s not just an ‘evil’ man, but a man who has chosen the
wrong side, the side who happen to be in power. As with any dictatorship, Vader
is a victim of his own choices?
The cut I’m viewing is the 2003 DVD Special Edition – and
the picture quality is outstanding; you’d think it was shot a few years back,
not thirty-four! Already though, the dialogue and actors involved are a class
above the prequel trilogy – the words just seem to flow and are not forced.
What’s brilliant is how, in Episode III, Lucas built the
Droids’ relationship up, so now when we meet the some twenty years later in
Episode IV and they are bickering on the sand planet, Tatooine – they’re like
the ultimate bromance! I feel already that with watching the prequels and now
pretty much straight into this one- the back-story is heavily there and it influences
you while watching the original trilogy in ways I hadn’t thought of or would
expect myself to feel (like how the droids are a lot more rounded out by this
point and how I know what’s behind Vader’s mask and he’s not a mysterious black
knight as when I watched these as child). Lucas truly has given these films a
new lease of life and viewing enjoyment – I heartily encourage fans to try this
marathon – I would be interested in what others notice now watching these again
with all the blanks filled in of Episodes I-III?
And we also have to give the film licence (or suspend our disbelief!)
The droids arrive by chance at the Lars moisture farm, where a 3PO with a wiped
memory was, many years before, with Anakin and Padme. Then of course, R2 knows exactly
where he is and who Luke is! How convenient!
‘Ben’ Kenobi enters the film and Alec Guinness has such a
presence to him, it’s uncanny and the transfer from Ewan McGregor to him is awe
inspiring (a credit to McGregor’s performance in Episode III). What’s clever is
how Obi-Wan recognises R2 when Luke’s unconscious and then makes out he doesn’t
when Luke’s awake. The scene where Obi-Wan informs Luke of the half-truth of
his father has much greater weight to it now we the viewer know the complete
truth, also in Obi- Wan wanting Luke to study the force and train to be a Jedi
(with the knowledge that Luke is the son of the chosen one).
“I find your lack of faith disturbing”… A classic line and
still haunting to this day. Peter Cushing is fantastic as the Grand Moff Tarkin,
commander of the Death Star. Cushing brings a gravitas to the role that brings
the villains heads above the dangers of been cartoony or unbelievable. His
performance brings a sincere sinister edge to a dark man.
The Cantina scene is a classis western saloon in space. What’s
nicely woven across Episodes III and IV is Chewbacca and how Obi-Wan approaches
him to get safe passage across the universe. Chewbacca is a trusted ally of
Yoda. Then it’s ruined by Greedo shooting first – yes, the old debate. But my
stand point is that Han Solo is a space pirate, a rogue; he would shoot first
in this scene showing he’s the gunslinger. His story is he redeems his past by
becoming a rebel fighter- he shouldn’t be a hero from the get go, that’s the whole
point of him, yes?
“That’s no moon!” The Death Star is introduced in such a
grand way – shot after shot to give it the scale it deserves. The space station
is a character in the film by itself- you could argue that the Death Star is
the villain of A New Hope. What does come to mind though – at the end of
Episode III, we saw the Death Star being built and now it’s only been completed
some twenty years later, but in Return Of The Jedi a new Death Star is nearly
built in less than six years? Come now – this is a major flaw?
“Boring conversation anyway!” The cell-block escape, which
leads to the trash compactor scene (a scene that, every time I watch the film,
I find it unnecessary and a little too pantomime for my liking). Then, of
course, the great running-around-Death-Star-corridors and the iconic swing
across by Luke and Leia, which leads us to the rematch between Anakin and
Obi-Wan, which feels very underwhelming after the prequel duels. What is
heightened though is Obi-Wan transcending into the Force as Vader kills him and
the knowing smile that his sacrifice will fuel Luke onto become the new hope
for the Jedi.
The finale- the Trench, the X wings and the Tie Fighters!
What makes this a fantastic sequence is it is made so simply. It takes moments
from classic war movies- it treats the space battle as a fantastical dogfight.
We are introduced to the pilots – Red 2, Red 3, Red 4 etc- we see them all, we
know their faces and when they die, we do care. The trench runs- three in
total- give us a great pace for the battle, also using that great rule of thumb
in movies- great things come in threes! Vader being shot, rolling into space at
the last moment, by Han Solo sets up Luke- and the Death Star is no more!
Awards and credits!
This film is a classic – no one can say anything else to
argue the fact. It is the original blockbuster – nothing comes close for its
originality, its use of mythology to engage us within the characters and the
universe. This film is as fresh now as it was thirty-five years ago. Let the Hollywood suits never dare to remake this film. This is
the film I will show my kids and it will be the film I will watch and own until
I die. Just perfection.
Rating: 5 out of 5
Episode V: The Empire Strikes Back
The film opens with Luke trapped out on the Ice Planet of
Hoth. Solo rescues him and then he is in the medical bay being repaired (which
is because Mark Hamill had his face reconstructed after a car accident!) What
follows this is the gut-churning, most horrific thing of the entire saga- the
kiss. The incestuous kiss between Luke and Leia. Everytime I see it, I say to
myself “No tongue, it’s all good, there was no tongue – was there tongue? Was
there? NO, surely NOOOOO!!!!” So moving swiftly on… Of course there’s no tongue
because Lucas had this al mapped out down to the final details when he wrote
the original trilogy…right?
The battle on Hoth is by far one of the greatest of all the
battle scenes in the saga- what I love is the Empire have the upper hand and the
rebels are buying time for everyone to evacuate and re-group. The AT-AT walkers
are a great piece of cinema and effect work for the time, hand-animated (using
stop-motion) and they look great; the jerkiness of this animation actually
lends some realism to the mass and size of the walkers, which sells their believability.
Our heroes on the Falcon escape and are under pursuit by TIE
fighters- they end up flying through an asteroid field. John Williams’ score here
latterly invokes a classic
Hollywood feel, giving the
sequence a romantic feel of adventure which brilliantly compliments the whole idea
of a modern version of old cinema serial sci-fi adventures (like Flash Gordon
and Buck Rogers). Harrison Ford embodies Han Solo; he is perfect as the rogue smuggler and the blossoming romance between Leia and Han is superbly
handled- delicately done and brilliantly intimate when needs to be.
The introduction (or now, should I say, re-introduction) of Yoda
is genius, Yoda makes out he’s some eccentric recluse and then the character
sweeps back into the Jedi Master. As the viewer, you forget you’re watching a
puppet- Frank Oz brings an amazing life to this puppet; we look right into the
puppet’s eyes and are completely immersed into the character and don’t doubt it
for a second.
“This is no cave!” Yeah, that never gets old. The Falcon was
hidden inside a giant cave-dwelling creature- they had landed inside its belly
and then managed to fly out of its mouth! Right! A step too far, you say? No.
Never. Never! Why? This is Star Wars; this is the Holy Trinity of cinema. We do
not question the Holy Trinity. It just is; it just is right. Well, that’s how I
rationalise this (it’s also how I rationalise Jake Lloyd and Jar Jar Binks!).
Now, meanwhile on Dagobah, Luke enters another cave! He
enters a cave, Darth
Vader walks towards him in this dark-side-of-the-Force cave
and Luke slices his head off, Vader’s mask explodes to reveal Luke’s severed
head within the mask! (Did I mention it’s all in slow motion?) OK? To this day
I have no idea what this is about – answers on a postcard please (or email us
at thewatchersfilmshow@gmail.com)!
The training on Dagaobah has a nice slow pace, without falling
for the training montage technique; instead we see Luke’s powers grow – lifting
rocks while hand standing to lifting his X-wing (a little)! We also see Luke
use the Force to see across the galaxy that his friends will soon be in danger
and he cuts his training short – which leads us to discover that there is
another new hope for the Jedi (but we already know that – now this is a
six-part saga!)
Across the galaxy our heroes have found refuge on Cloud City
and we are introduced
to Lando – the token black guy in the universe. No, I’m not
joking; this is pretty much why Lando is played a black actor – the studio
received complaints about the fact that there were only white actors in the
cast. Yeah, Star Wars is racist– never mind the green, the blue, the Wookies
and all the other races in the galaxy who live as one large universe!
But, of course the refuge is shattered as Lando has made a
deal with the Empire (now that’s something for those playing the racist card-
the only black guy in the universe is a criminal!) Moving swiftly on! The film
starts its way to the end and, as the viewer, you do recognise the signs of
middle-act syndrome (where a trilogy of films has the second film as the middle
act), or ‘we put our heroes in the darkest, most hopeless of escape places’. But
this was the first trilogy of blockbusters, remember, and they are the
blueprint!
So, the carbonite – by far, the most heart wrenching scene
in the original saga. Brilliantly handled by the cast and by John Williams’
score. “I love you’; ‘I know”. Everything about this scene is handled with real
passion for the story – the doom and the tragedy that Leia realising she loves
Han at this moment. Leia a small week
figure surrounded in Chewbacca’s arms. He’s alive! “Skywalker has landed, my
lord”; a report that things are going to just get worse as the film reaches its
climax!
The light-sabre battle between father and son is visually exciting
– I love the way they fight in a very dimly lit room that happens to add the
visual presence of the sabres! The fight
is of course fantastic- but what makes it a step above is the underlining issues
involved. Vader wants to bring out the fear, the anger within his son as they
fight, leading him to the dark side. This culminates in Luke losing his hand in
the fight and discovering he is facing his father. Vader wants to rule the
galaxy as father and son and destroy the Emperor – this gives us a whole new
dynamic to the saga. Luke leaps into the abyss of the inner workings of the city
rather than take his father’s offer. Our other heroes have escaped capture –
but failed to rescue Han at the hands of Boba Fett. They save Luke and we have
probably the bleakest ending to a film ever (well, maybe second bleakest –
anyone seen The Mist?)
The Empire Strikes Back is, by far, the perfect example of a
sequel and a perfect example of a middle act of a three-act play/trilogy. Nothing
compares to this film. Every time I go to see a sequel, this is the bar that I
have set for the films. I can make a long list of sequels that has failed- The Matrix
Reloaded to name one excellent example of a sequel FAIL! This film ticks so
many boxes – you end up running out of boxes to tick. Again, just perfect –
literally nothing wrong with this in any way.
Rating: 5 out 5
Right, watched them as a double bill, no break- so need a
break now. After a coffee, I’m ready for more!
Episode VI: Return Of The Jedi
And so we face the final curtain! Once more into the breach
my friends, and so on. We start the film at a much slower pace than Empire – we’re
back to New Hope
pace, building the tension at very nice ease –brining us the viewer back into
the universe, as the droids are sent into Jabba The Hutt’s to see what happened
to Chewbacca and Lando. We discover that Han Solo is still frozen in carbonite.
Jabba’s palace is a dismal, dreary castle – a far cry from the imperial designs
of the Death Star and star destroyers.
And then- oh dear God, NO! I had forgotten about the
travesty that is the sudden music number at the palace in the Special Edition
cut- three letters to sum this appalling sight– WTF! What’s even worse about
that godawful new CGI music scen is that budget could have gone on the next
scene: Luke in the Jabba Banther pit. This creature effect has not stood the
test of time- it’s blatantly a hand puppet meant to be a giant beast and if I’m
honest, it’s laughable by today’s standards and even more laughable by the rest
of the film’s superb standard of effect work. This is where the special edition
money should of been spent!
What is still great today as it was then is the escape from
Jabba over the desert sands. The heroes literally being forced to walk the
plank is sweet nostalgia mixed seamlessly into a sci-fi setting. Luke shows in this
opening action scene just how powerful he has become since we last saw him
(three years ago on a cinema screen, of course!).
The Emperor arrives on the new Death Star greeted by Vader.
What is great about this scene is the dialogue between the two of them has such
a different slant now with the information we have from the first three films
now in place in the saga. Just superb – you really see here how well written
Episode III was?
“Do not… do not underestimate the power of the dark side…”
Even at thirty-four, I still get a lump in my throat when Luke and Yoda talk of
the truth of Luke’s father and Yoda passes away. “There is another Skywalker”
The speeder bike chase is a great bit of cinema – well paced,
excellently edited and just a fab action sequence. Love it – never gets old and
the effects do not look nearly thirty years old!
The Moon of Endor means Ewoks. Now, the Ewoks have split
debate just as much as Jar Jar Binks does. Love them or hate them, they’re here
and they’re here to stay for the rest of the movie. Personally I’ve always
liked the Ewoks. They’re a great tribal edition to the already massive Star Wars
universe. I love the fact that these little creatures beat the Empire using
bows and arrows – it’s a great juxtaposed message.
Father and son together again. Luke gives himself up so he
can see his father – in a amazingly well written and performed scene – which is
surprising as one of them wears a mask. Poignant even more so now we finally
know who really is under the mask.
“It’s a trap!” The finale of finales – a three way split.
The attack on the shield generator on the planet below, the battle between the
space armadas above and Vader against Luke on the Death Star. The mind games
from the Emperor with Luke is fascinating – this is where the dialogue becomes
more powerful than any blaster or light sabre could ever be: “Give into your
anger”.
The battle rages on below- what makes this finale so much
fun to watch, is it is so well made. The timing between battles- when the filmmakers
choose to switch settings, the tragedy of Ewok Wicket dying, the dog fights –
everything is just perfectly organised. So many blockbusters since this film
have copied and even cloned the structure of final battle scenes.
“I am a Jedi, like my father before me”. The shield is
destroyed and the second act of this finale begins. To this day, I’m amazed that a mask can show
so much emotion as the Emperor is about to kill Luke – you can actual see the
conflict within Anakin. But, what’s
really well made is Anakin faces the same choice as he did in Episode III when Mace
Windu was about to die – which does he save, the Emperor or his friend (and now
his son)? Well, blood is thicker than water. We cut into the new trenches and
the effect work here is just outstanding for the time the film was made. Ships
weave in and out of construction pipes – explosions and small victories leading
all the way.
“Tell your sister you were right about me”. The death of
Anakin has never been more powerful now all the pieces of the jigsaw are in
place – the tragedy, the corruption and finally the redemption. And so the
Death Star is destroyed, with the Emperor dead, freedom once again comes to
this galaxy far far away. Everything is great… until we remember that Lucas
added Hayden Christensen as Anakin’s ghost at the end of this version! Oh well!
Jedi is a great swansong to the saga – serious, scary and
villainous when needs be. Tongue in cheek, humorous and loving when it also needs to
be. In all, a very well balanced masterpiece – this is the blue print for a
blockbuster and has been cloned many times since.
Rating: 5 out 5
So this brings me to an end, after two six hour sittings,
twelve hours of re-watching one of my (if not the) favourite movie franchises I
have ever seen.
My inner child and fond memories of watching my VHS copies
as a child has not been ruined by the tweaks and the changes by Lucas. These
films have lived with my generation and they’re not going away. I will have my
children on my knee watching these films and I’m sure grandchildren too. With
the soon-to-be-seen television series (Star Wars: Underworld) which charts the
time between Episodes III and IV, I don’t doubt we will see the rise of the
rebellion and who knows when Lucas needs a retirement plan, we might even see
Episodes VII, VIII and IX.
MAY THE FORCE BE WITH YOU!
Rhys
