[The Dude]

Seeing as Episode III opens up in 3 days, I felt it would be nice for me to start up an official discussion thread (especially since Spidey, pp2 and myself have been discussing SW in the box office thread). But this isn't going to be your ordinary "who wants to see this I think it looks awesome lol!!!111" threads. I'm going to start this thread off proper by giving my very strong feelings on the events leading up to this film.

I remember as a kid my brother would watch the original trilogy a hell of a lot. And being a kid, I always preferred cartoons to real films and was never into science fiction to begin with. The only live action film I truly liked at the time was JAWS (I was a shark freak, what can I say). However, when I was about 8 or 9 I finally gave the films a shot (with my brother introducing them that is).

I was enthralled. There are no words to describe how much the films meant to me. I simply LOVED the story, the characters, the effects. I was blown away by the whole thing. I was, quite simply, hooked.

I continued my fan dom and once 1997 rolled around I was due for another shocker: the films would be re-released in theaters in a special edition format. There would be improved special effects, a cleaner print and hell...we could see it as it was meant to be seen.

I came out of the theaters three times (once for each film of course) delighted. The new special effects were great (for their time, and have been further improved on the DVDs to my delight) and I was just happy to see the films that I loved on the big screen!

I remember working for six or seven weeks cleaning banks (no, not stealing money sillies, actually CLEANING them) with my uncle just so I could by the Special Edition VHS. I got 7 dollars a week (working once a week) and when I got that trilogy in my hands, it was all worth it.

When I slipped the VHS tape in and began my reenjoyment of the SEs, I was very happy to see little bonus features before the films. Then Dennis Muren said it. These SEs were a testing ground for the PREQUELS.

Skip forward to May, 1999. Episode I opens. The hype has been great, the anticipation is building. I see the film....and don't know exactly what to think. I knew I liked a lot of the film, but didn't quite get what all of it was about.

It wasn't until I was able to view the film on home video that I understood why it was so great (a view which I stick by despite the negative media and many haters). The film is quite simply, amazing especially knowing what we (or many of us fans anyway) know now.

"I dreamed I was a Jedi. I came back and freed all of the slaves."

Anakin has premonitions throughout the prequels. This is one of them (as is his dream of his mother's death in AOTC). And just like all his other dreams...this comes true, over time anyway. Yes, we the viewing audience know this boy will become Darth Vader, Dark Lord of the Sith. But in Jedi, we know he is redeemed, and afterwards the galaxy itself is freed from the reign of the Galactic Empire. Anakin DOES free the slaves...the slaves of the Empire's tyrrany.

"Nobody can kill a Jedi," he says. This is one of Anakin's sadder statements. It is Darth Vader, formerly Anakin Skywalker, who assists greatly in the Jedi Purge (for those who aren't huge Star Wars fans and have probably stopped reading by now, that's the killing of all the Jedi).

And, I must add, it's incredibly fun watching Palpatine scheming his ultimate plan to rule the galaxy. ;)

The film recieves a lot of flack for Jar Jar Binks and Jake Lloyd (who I thought did as good a job as any child actor could do), but I just don't see the hate. The film has a wonderful story and is also able to stand on it's own as a fun film for everybody.

That being said, I was anxious for Episode II to be released. Zip forward to 2002, and I'm sitting there opening weekend. There wasn't one time through the film that I didn't have a shit eating grin on my face. I thoroughly enjoyed it. Everything just worked for me. It was exciting, funny, the story was even more complex. It was just awesome.

Of course, people had to go and bash the acting and dialogue, which made me wonder if these folks had even seen the original trilogy. Anakin whiny? And Luke WASN'T (i.e. "It just isn't fair! Biggs is right, I'm never getting out of here!") ? The acting wooden? The originals weren't? Hell, this entire series has been an homage to the Flash Gordon serials, down to the wooden acting of the thirties.

The film was great and did what it was meant to do: have me begging for more.

And now, here it is 2005. Revenge of the Sith comes out in three days and I'm thrilled. I remember my older brother who introduced me to the series, telling my that Anakin and Obi-Wan fight on a volcano planet and Anakin falls in lava and burns, losing limbs in the process.

Here it is, Star Wars geeks. The final film we have alllll been waiting for. Whatever negative feelings you have for the past two films, put them aside. Sith will blow all of us away.

[Joe Cool]

Well my thoughts won't be as long as yours Dude but I have some things to contribute.

I, like many, loved the original three films. Many times through my youth I would watch the VHS versions at home playing with my action figures.

The original three films were cinema classics in my view. The characters were near and dear to my heart and the experience of seeing Return of the Jedi in the theater is something that still remains with me to this day.

When Phantom Menace came out in 99 I too was at the theater eagerly anticipating the same experience. I know you don't agree based on your post Dude but I was not thrilled with this first prequel. Although I understand what Lucas was trying to do, the film was very cliche. The main villian Darth Maul was not used very much until the climax. They could have done a lot more with that character. Especially seeing what stunts Ray Park (Who played him and also the Toad character in X-men) is capable of. I have no issues with the dialog but this films dragged on for too long and focused on Jar Jar Binks and his race way too much. Thank God he only appears briefly in Attack of the Clones.

When Clones came out I was in the theater again and absolutely enjoyed every minute of it. It had its issues but it captured some of the magic of the original films. I give it an 8/10.

Now seeing the reviews for Sith I am anxious to see it too. I, like pp2, have avoided the books hoping to go in fresh.

Now with this said...

"Lord Vader.....Rise!"

[pp2]

Heh, but I LIKE hijacking Spidey's threads!! [/pout]

I remember first hearing about Star Wars during little league practice. Some of the kids were talking about this incredible movie with aliens, spaceships, laser guns, and (WOW!) "laser swords". It was June of 1977, just before my 10th birthday, and apparently my dad had heard about it too since it didn't take much prodding to get him to take us to see it. I remember being blown away by the opening battle in space, remember thinking how cool Vader was, how terrifying it was that he not only picked up some guy with one arm but you actually heard his neck break! WHOA! This is also the first movie I can recall people actually standing up and cheering for at the end, as the Death Star exploded and the good guys won, and needless to say it left an impression.

The rest of that summer was spent walking with my friends to the theater (ah, the old Brementowne theaters) to see this movie over and over and over, and walking around town to K-Mart and Ben Franklin to constantly monitor the arrival of the action figures. Heh, words cannot describe my joy when I FINALLY got that jawa figure at the end of the summer.

Being as spoiled as I was, at some point or another I got all the action figures and accessories. I had the TIE fighter with detachable wings (battle damage, dontcha know), the X-Wing with the light up proton torpedo thingy and "real attack formation action!", and of course the crown jewel of those early toys...the Millenium Falcon.

By 1980 I had read the original Ep 4 book along with Splinter of the Mind's Eye (anyone else remember that book?), the Empire Strikes Back novella, and was well primed for the movie release. We caught it opening night and waited in line with hundreds of others to get in and see the movie. I remember Ray Rayner showing scenes from Empire (just like he did the original Star Wars) pretty much every day, especially the battle of Hoth scenes. Even though I knew Vader's surprise for Luke because of the book, hearing it actually spoken drove it home as reality, and I was still floored. I remember actually hearing people gasp in shock as the words "I...am your father" were spoken. I also remember one scene in particular as being the most memorable to me: when Lando leads Han and the others into the Empire's trap and Han fires off some shots at Vader, just to have them deflected and his blaster pulled from his hand. I remember seeing that scene in the trailers for Empire before other movies and thinking it was so cool because the good guys were actually coming face to face with the bad guys...and losing, it seemed.

Jedi came out while I was in high school. Even though I was older I still geeked out as the release became imminent. I remember thinking the brother/sister thing with Luke and Leia was a twist I didn't see coming, and getting to see Vader without his helmet was a huge deal too. Heh, I also remember that horrible Ewok Celebration song from the end was all over the radio stations. I also distinctly remember expecting 6 more movies in the series, so it didn't really occur to me that all things Star Wars would dry up for another 15 years or so.

I remember when Menace came out I actually bought the tickets a couple weeks in advance and took my son (of course) and the woman I was dating at the time and her daughter. I left the movie unsure of how I felt about the overall body of it. I do remember thinking that the moment when Qui-Gon and Obi-Wan removed their hoods at the beginning was exceptionally cool and I immediately bought into them as jedi. I wound up cutting the movie some slack since it wasn't really new material...it was fleshing out a story we already knew, and a lot of it was character development with some action mixed in to keep it lively. However one thing I was never able to reconcile in my mind was Jar Jar. UGH!

Clones was a better situation to me. I enjoyed it a lot more (no more Jake Lloyd and much less Jar Jar) and felt the characters were developing to the point where something big was going to happen...sadly not til the next movie though. I saw it the first time with a buddy of mine (didn't have my son the weekend it came out) and I remember we both wanted to give Natalie Portman a standing ovation for that tight bodysuit she was wearing late in the film (on an obviously cold set). I also remember my disappointment in seeing those scenes touched up for the dvd release. I did rank this film highly overall in the series though, right behind Empire and New Hope.

Sith is going to rock, I just know it. I think Lucas has primed his universe for a gigantic showdown, and even though we all know the end results...getting to them is going to be a lot of fun. As I mentioned in another thread here, its not a matter of IF we're going to see Sith but rather how many times.