George Lucas to give up film-making because of Star Wars critics

[Admiral Yi]

I'd say the first one was a fun adventure movie, something that was increasingly rare during the 1970's.  This was during the "New Hollywood era", which produced some dull and dreadful films.  Star Wars was a bit of throwback, with simple morality and swashbuckling fun.  I think this is why is was so popular and why it resonated with audiences.  The second film was a bit darker and more complex, but still had many of those simple themes that audiences craved.  The third one kinda went off the rails after the first act.  The rest of Hollywood followed suit after the Star Wars films, and you got many of the same type of films.

By the the time of the prequels the market was already saturated with that kind of film so it had less impact.  It didn't help that the prequels weren't that well made.  They had lousy writing, terrible acting and awful direction.  The first films weren't spectacular in these departments but they got the job done.

What you said, plus for the time the special effects were mind-boggling.

[Valmy]

This is all I am going to say on the first two films: they are good movies and for whatever reason their themes and characters resonate.  As to why it does is hard to say.  I mean the Wizard of Oz has a ridiculous amount of cultural impact, and it was a good book and film, but why it resonates so much is hard to say.

[Barrister]

I'd say the first one was a fun adventure movie, something that was increasingly rare during the 1970's.  This was during the "New Hollywood era", which produced some dull and dreadful films.  Star Wars was a bit of throwback, with simple morality and swashbuckling fun.  I think this is why is was so popular and why it resonated with audiences.  The second film was a bit darker and more complex, but still had many of those simple themes that audiences craved.  The third one kinda went off the rails after the first act.  The rest of Hollywood followed suit after the Star Wars films, and you got many of the same type of films.

By the the time of the prequels the market was already saturated with that kind of film so it had less impact.  It didn't help that the prequels weren't that well made.  They had lousy writing, terrible acting and awful direction.  The first films weren't spectacular in these departments but they got the job done.

It's easy to forget now, but remember that for the 1970s the special effects blew everything else out of the water.  From the opening scene with the looming Star Destroyer, to the final epic space battle, the special effects were outstanding, and continue to hold up very well to this day.

Edit: Damn you Yi!

[fhdz]

(and, I think, Moon)

Love that film. Sam Rockwell is fantastic.

[dps]

So anyway, Star Wars has been ingrained in my consciousness since age 4.  I'm not so much into it now, apart from my kid forcing me to play Lego Star Wars with him, but it's one of those things that sort of stays with you whether you realize it or not.

Well I was pretty obsessed with transformers and GI Joe and all that as a kid but I can look back now and see that it was pretty crap entertainment.  I do not know if just because I liked something as a kid I am going to like as an adult and consider it culturally important.

Sure, but Transformers and GI Joe only really ever had appeal for kids.  The original Star Wars pics were "fun for the whole family"--really, some of the only movies to ever live up to that billing.  FWIW, the first one was the last movie I ever saw in the theater with my parents.

[The Brain]

Don't forget the Christmas Special.

[derspiess]

So anyway, Star Wars has been ingrained in my consciousness since age 4.  I'm not so much into it now, apart from my kid forcing me to play Lego Star Wars with him, but it's one of those things that sort of stays with you whether you realize it or not.

Well I was pretty obsessed with transformers and GI Joe and all that as a kid but I can look back now and see that it was pretty crap entertainment.  I do not know if just because I liked something as a kid I am going to like as an adult and consider it culturally important.

GI Joe and Transformers both were bad TV shows designed to sell toys.  Totally different from Star Wars, at least the original trilogy.

[Maximus]

Ok if the first two movies were mediocrity what is excellence in Sci Fi movies?

Something with decent acting and a compelling plot.

[Barrister]

Ok if the first two movies were mediocrity what is excellence in Sci Fi movies?

Something with decent acting and a compelling plot.

Acting was pretty good - outstanding considering some of the dialogue they had to work with.  I mean Alec Guiness, Harrison Ford - okay MArk Hammill wasn't outstanding, but that's about it.

And a "compelling" plot?  It's a simple plot, but how on earth is it not compelling?

I think you're just playing the movie snob card - it's popular entertainment, not highbrow in the least.  But it's still one of the few 10/10 movies ever made.

[The Brain]

The thing the first movies had and the competition did not was awesome special effects. Other space/fantasy movies from the era looked like crap.

[Maximus]

Acting was pretty good - outstanding considering some of the dialogue they had to work with.  I mean Alec Guiness, Harrison Ford - okay MArk Hammill wasn't outstanding, but that's about it.

And a "compelling" plot?  It's a simple plot, but how on earth is it not compelling?

I think you're just playing the movie snob card - it's popular entertainment, not highbrow in the least.  But it's still one of the few 10/10 movies ever made.

I'm the furthest thing from a movie snob. I've seen very few movies compared to most people. What I am doing is viewing it without the nostalgic baggage. Phantom Menace was the first Star Wars movie I saw, that was in 2000.

From that point of view it is a horribly cliche plot. Poor backwater kid discovers he has some magical power that can save the world and does so, discovering along the way his long lost family etc. The kind of story teenage girls write.

And Harrison Ford couldn't act his way out of a paper bag. Carrie Fisher wasn't much better, and of course Hamill was much worse.

[Ed Anger]

I bent my wookie

[Razgovory]

I'd say the first one was a fun adventure movie, something that was increasingly rare during the 1970's.  This was during the "New Hollywood era", which produced some dull and dreadful films.  Star Wars was a bit of throwback, with simple morality and swashbuckling fun.  I think this is why is was so popular and why it resonated with audiences.  The second film was a bit darker and more complex, but still had many of those simple themes that audiences craved.  The third one kinda went off the rails after the first act.  The rest of Hollywood followed suit after the Star Wars films, and you got many of the same type of films.

By the the time of the prequels the market was already saturated with that kind of film so it had less impact.  It didn't help that the prequels weren't that well made.  They had lousy writing, terrible acting and awful direction.  The first films weren't spectacular in these departments but they got the job done.

What you said, plus for the time the special effects were mind-boggling.

Yeah, the special effects were impressive for the time (and I think the they still hold up today), but I think the swashbuckling fun and simple themes are what made last.  Many of the films of the 1970's were simply dreadful.  George Lucas and Steven Spielberg began to produce movies with simpler themes and story lines and people were eating it up.  They remembered what so many had forgotten at the time.  People go to the movies to have fun.

[Eddie Teach]

GI Joe and Transformers both were bad TV shows designed to sell toys.

There weren't many 80s cartoons better than Transformers.

[Razgovory]

I'm the furthest thing from a movie snob. I've seen very few movies compared to most people. What I am doing is viewing it without the nostalgic baggage. Phantom Menace was the first Star Wars movie I saw, that was in 2000.

From that point of view it is a horribly cliche plot. Poor backwater kid discovers he has some magical power that can save the world and does so, discovering along the way his long lost family etc. The kind of story teenage girls write.

And Harrison Ford couldn't act his way out of a paper bag. Carrie Fisher wasn't much better, and of course Hamill was much worse.

Ah, but what you aren't recognizing is the time period this film was made in.  Some thing that is endlessly copied looks cliched from hindsight.