Star Wars for iSm (and other Star Wars Fans)

[mousepod]

I have to admit that I went back and watched the prequels when they showed them in HD on Cinemax, and didn't totally hate them. Every time I've watched the prequel trilogy, I've included the Clone Wars cartoon between the second and third movie (I have both of the commercial DVDs, but prefer to watch a version that someone stitched together with the opening and closing credits of each episode removed), and it's my favorite of the prequels. I'm not completely disgusted with the idea of the upcoming cartoons, though I'm not sure what the point really is. The Clone Wars cartoon provided a necessary narrative bridge between the two movies - I don't see that this is really an era rich with stories - especially since the war ended badly. Are WWII movies popular in Japan or Germany?

[innerSpaceman]

Letters from Iwo Jima was a big hit in Japan.





I'm sure the citizens of some planet somewhere must like the Star Wars prequels.

[CoasterMatt]

I enjoyed watching the Spanish dubbed prequels- no Hayden whine.

[mousepod]

check this out. It's from Camille Paglia's column this week:

A quite different film that I've recently enjoyed re-seeing and studying is "Revenge of the Sith" (2005) from George Lucas' "Star Wars" saga. The climactic light-saber duel between Anakin Skywalker and Obi-Wan Kenobi on the volcano planet of Mustafar (with footage of actual explosions and lava flows at Mount Etna in Sicily) is nearly mystically sublime in the High Romantic sense. The convulsive, manly passion between the two tortured Jedi is hyper-sustained by John Williams' powerful music. Then there's Anakin's shocking mutilation and Wagnerian immolation, leading to the grisly Frankenstein surgery that turns him into Darth Vader and that is cross-cut with a parallel hospital sequence, as Anakin's wife, Padme, dies while giving birth to the twins Luke and Leia.
It's amazing how much primal emotion Lucas is able to generate from such scenes. The finale of "Sith," with an adoptive couple tenderly cradling the infant Luke (separated from his sister) as they stand before a brilliant sunset, is reminiscent of "Gone With the Wind," produced at a time when Hollywood could speak in universal emotions (rather than cheap irony) to a mass audience.

[Cadaverous Pallor]

Sorry mp, but by the end of "Sith" I just wanted to bash my head against the wall to make the images go away.

I <3 RotJ

[innerSpaceman]

^ um, I wish that had occurred to me. I was that close to poking out my eyes with red-vines. Head bashing would have been easier.

[€uroMeinke]

So, I still haven't seen the 6th, er uh 3rd epsisode - does this mena I should watch some cartoons first before "completing" the series?

[Isaac]

You should watch it.
Just make sure you have a bottle of cognac by your side.

[Prudence]

I should probably post this in the You Tube thread, but if I do I might miss those I most want to leave permanently traumatized entertain.

[BunnyTravolta]

More disturbing than Mormon porn. Srsly. And the singers were one shy of a line-up. Work- release at its "finest", I suppose.