05-04-2012, 04:39 AM
Pretty sure I went over this in another discussion, but Star Wars was made for young teens. I count them as "kids" since they are below the adult age. Back then, PG-13 was a relatively new rating that Speilberg and others from American Zoatrope helped create. Before then, ratings went from G and PG straight to R; PG-13 was created to exploit the young teen demographic which was being ignored at the time.
All of Lucas' movies are geared toward this demographic. Smart on his part, that demo is full of easily impressed minds who are impulsive consumers.
And while I'm still talking about Star Wars and the Machete Order, I take issue with the factual accuracy of whoever it was that wrote that blog. That guy said Lucas started at Episode IV because the earlier parts of the story were just background. Not true, the technology of the 1970's made it impossible for Lucas to realize a full galaxy where the Prequels take place. Also, he didn't expect to get funding for more than a single film. Episode IV was merely the best option.
It was cheap. A few weeks of location shooting in Tunisia with the rest in a studio, mostly low tech gadgets like pistols that squirted smoke, laughable wardrobe, major roles casted with nobodies.
It was also the most self-contained part of the series. Still, important parts of V and VI were spliced in to give the film some finality: the original story had only one Death Star, Obiwan was supposed to oversee all of Luke's training, with Episode IV ending on a cliffhanger like Episode I, II, III and V. So, it's not really "IV" so much as "IV with parts of V and VI."
Then there's the idea that Star Wars is about Luke. Luke is merely a device for the final plot twist: he gives Anikin a reason to overcome a great obstacle (once down the Dark path...) and then he inherets the aftermath. It was ironic that the Jedi pin their hope on Luke only for him to fail and Anikin to win it.
On top of that, I disagree that the Vader relevation is best kept a secret. If you watch the series episodically it adds more emotional depth. You know that Obiwan is lying to Luke about Vader, and that Obiwan feels terrible about what happened. You see how far Obiwan and Vader have declined since their first duel. You know Yoda is fucking with him when they first meet. You see Luke walking the familiar Dark path on the way to confront his father who walked it before him. You know Leia is an alternate version of Luke (maybe better), so him surviving the Bespin duel is not necessary.
The one thing that guy got right is that Episode I is a non-starter. None of the information in that film makes it important to the rest of the series. This is why I would have had a robo-Maul instead of Greivous for an epic rematch in the middle of Episode III.
And note that none of this has anything to do with a subjective quality appraisal of either trilogy.
All of Lucas' movies are geared toward this demographic. Smart on his part, that demo is full of easily impressed minds who are impulsive consumers.
And while I'm still talking about Star Wars and the Machete Order, I take issue with the factual accuracy of whoever it was that wrote that blog. That guy said Lucas started at Episode IV because the earlier parts of the story were just background. Not true, the technology of the 1970's made it impossible for Lucas to realize a full galaxy where the Prequels take place. Also, he didn't expect to get funding for more than a single film. Episode IV was merely the best option.
It was cheap. A few weeks of location shooting in Tunisia with the rest in a studio, mostly low tech gadgets like pistols that squirted smoke, laughable wardrobe, major roles casted with nobodies.
It was also the most self-contained part of the series. Still, important parts of V and VI were spliced in to give the film some finality: the original story had only one Death Star, Obiwan was supposed to oversee all of Luke's training, with Episode IV ending on a cliffhanger like Episode I, II, III and V. So, it's not really "IV" so much as "IV with parts of V and VI."
Then there's the idea that Star Wars is about Luke. Luke is merely a device for the final plot twist: he gives Anikin a reason to overcome a great obstacle (once down the Dark path...) and then he inherets the aftermath. It was ironic that the Jedi pin their hope on Luke only for him to fail and Anikin to win it.
On top of that, I disagree that the Vader relevation is best kept a secret. If you watch the series episodically it adds more emotional depth. You know that Obiwan is lying to Luke about Vader, and that Obiwan feels terrible about what happened. You see how far Obiwan and Vader have declined since their first duel. You know Yoda is fucking with him when they first meet. You see Luke walking the familiar Dark path on the way to confront his father who walked it before him. You know Leia is an alternate version of Luke (maybe better), so him surviving the Bespin duel is not necessary.
The one thing that guy got right is that Episode I is a non-starter. None of the information in that film makes it important to the rest of the series. This is why I would have had a robo-Maul instead of Greivous for an epic rematch in the middle of Episode III.
And note that none of this has anything to do with a subjective quality appraisal of either trilogy.
![[Image: rsz_jqvaz_1.jpg]](http://z6.ifrm.com/4805/72/0/p1022159/rsz_jqvaz_1.jpg)