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"...The Empire Strikes Back is always written about as the best of the films, when it actually was the worst one."


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What a crock of....

Please don't tell me you people actually believe this.

Even if Lucas truly believed this, which I will bet he doesn't, he would never in his life utter such a sentence because it would simply devalue a part of his empire. It's plain bad marketing, and no one with a grain of business sense would make a serious statement like this.

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I will maintain that the quote is A. mis-represented by someone with agenda to rile people up (Lucas has been known to joke about his films) B. is utter BS, until someone can come up with valid evidence saying otherwise.

You don't even need common sense to know not to make a serious statement like that.

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Oh yes, SO out of context, Gorgeous George would never say anything like this. Just like he would never say "I'm sorry you fell in love with an unfinished movie" or "Star Wars will never be available on home video".

If you're George Lucas, it's the worst because you didn't direct it. But the rest of the world is cheering in joy at the thought of having at least one Star Wars film that was directed by someone who knew a mistake when he saw one.

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I recall Lucas has said that he is unsatisfied with the original trilogy, and that the updated special effects improve the films to a point, but that they will never measure up to the prequels.

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I recall Lucas has said that he is unsatisfied with the original trilogy, and that the updated special effects improve the films to a point, but that they will never measure up to the prequels.

In terms of technical quality, no they won't.

In terms of creativity...the opening 30 seconds after the ANH Crawl is more stunning than all 12,000 shots of visual effects in the prequels combined.  

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Does Darth Vader storm the Tantive IV wielding four lightsabers? No; a mere single 'saber, and deactivated, at that...

I mean, anybody with a sense of drama, rhetoric, storytelling, etc. could point out the winning trilogy here. Lucas's dismissal of Empire makes perfect sense when you consider - uh - only special effects and sound design. Except for sloppy, unrealistic CGI backgrounds, stunt doubles, explosions, entire scenes, and such. And glazed-over, digitized cinematography. And grating, unnecessary noise like the Geonosians or the lizard Obi-Wan rides. And essentially the same background hum/roar/murmur padding every scene and utterly failing to distinguish between locations. And inaudible music. But otherwise, the post-production values are way above those of the original trilogy.

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Oh yes, SO out of context, Gorgeous George would never say anything like this. Just like he would never say "I'm sorry you fell in love with an unfinished movie" or "Star Wars will never be available on home video".

If you're George Lucas, it's the worst because you didn't direct it. But the rest of the world is cheering in joy at the thought of having at least one Star Wars film that was directed by someone who knew a mistake when he saw one.

This makes the most sense to me. It's well known that Empire is the Star Wars film in which he was the least involved. It was over-budget and Lucas, who wanted to finance it on his own, had to go back to Fox and ask for more money to finish it. The production of Empire was not pleasant for him.

George has also always had a warped view of peoples perceptions to these films. The Cantina sequence was a stand out scene. Audiences loved it. George didn't. Hell, audiences loved the original versions of these movies. George didn't. It's not much of a stretch to think George really doesn't like Empire. The fact that the average fan prefers it to any of the other films probably bugs him and now he has to start his spin on why people like it so much.

Neil

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I think I have heard him say it is his least favorite before, and I think its because it doesn't have that whole whiz bang Flash Gordon retro thing going for it that the others do. I thought maybe because he created the characters and the story that it would be hard for him to take the Star Wars world as seriously as Empire takes itself, but it works perfectly. Clearly, the Star Wars world is a place he likes to have fun. Even when Anakin and Obiwan dueled to the death on Mustafar there were somewhat wacky robotic and alien onlookers (I speak of the Mustaphar "workers" and lava pail droid)

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Wow by the sound of it....George Lucas creates his own Stars Wars films and somehow it seems as though he doesn't like it anyway...particularly ESB and the originals that everyone likes....

I mean why bother disliking something when the audiences actually likes it....

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Gotta admit though, I'd love to have hair like his when I'm his age.

It's not real hair.

It's an illusion created by Thoron fields, and Duranium shadows.

It's all CGI.

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Lucas wrote several drafts of the script after Leigh Brackett died, so he came up with a lot of the ideas and details of the final film. Sure having Kasdan and Kershner instead of "yes men" like Rick McCallum helped the film a lot, but to say Lucas wasn't involved is stupid. If people always blame him for Jedi and the prequels and raping childhood memories and whatever, I'd say it's only fair to give him credit he deserves for making Empire.

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When I first saw the title I automatically assumed it was Neil saying it and not George.

I really wouldn't have been surprised.

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I mean why bother disliking something when the audiences actually likes it....

I'm sorry, are we supposed to take that seriously?

I did wonder!!!

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I will maintain that the quote is A. mis-represented by someone with agenda to rile people up (Lucas has been known to joke about his films) B. is utter BS, until someone can come up with valid evidence saying otherwise.

You don't even need common sense to know not to make a serious statement like that.

Search your feelings, you know it to be true.

When I first saw the title I automatically assumed it was Neil saying it and not George.

That is why you fail.

Neil

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Let's see. First, Lucas said something. Then a blogger said that Lucas said something. The another guy said that a blogger said that Lucas said something. Sorry, but that just doesn't cut it.

From the looks of it, George was trying to be complimentary of Sid Ganis, not critical of TESB. I'm sure it would come across clearer if we had an actual quote of what he said, and not just what somebody thought he said wrapped up in the context of an article with a negative spin.

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In all fairness, he has a point...

Now, hear me out.

The past few days I've been watching the star wars saga. I just finished Empire Strikes Back last night (which mind you, I have NEVER been able to get to play correctly on ANYthing... I eventually had to get Windows Media Player to play it. But If I so much as touched it, it would start the movie over and then say "Cannot read due to copyright.")

So anyways, I finally got to watch it...and I have to say, of ALL the films, Empire Strikes Back feels ... so weird.

In a way, it takes what was established in A New Hope, and in some cases, makes a joke about it.

The films attitude toward Solo/Chewie and the Falcon is meant to be laughable... but it feels almost wrong... They practically Mock them and the falcon...this ship that in A New Hope, that Han was soooo very proud of and would defend against any insult, in Empire Strikes Back, is seen suddenly as nothing more thn a bunch of bolts that can't do anything.

3PO and R2's relationship is kinda mocked... but it's more believeable with them.

One need but listen to the first track of the album to hear that even John Williams sensed the difference. Now, mind you, most of it isn't used... but if you were to listen to it against the film correctly (as the openning is inccorectly pushed off by several seconds)....you'd hear it.

Now, mind you, most of these are problems with the script and such... something George Lucas would have more blame for than the director... but Still...

But like I said... if you compare it to the overall picture of the others, it is the most jocular and easy going of all the others... and feels wrong compared to the others. The lighting is different, the acting is different, the lines are different.

I mean, the whole love thing between Lea and Han... Harrison Ford had to re-write his line to "I know" becuase he knew that had Han said "I love you too," it would imasculate his character... how could a writer NOT realize that? So I think that GL has a point...

Now, the fans may love it the best, but taking that out of mind, and looking at it in comparison to all the films, it diverges MOST from his image... which we all know that in GL's mind means its the worst.

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I agree with your points, and I think Empire is a long way from being as good as Star Wars. But it's still the second-best SW film - however many little gripes I might have with it, to compare it unfavourably to RotJ and the prequels would be insulting.

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The films attitude toward Solo/Chewie and the Falcon is meant to be laughable... but it feels almost wrong... They practically Mock them and the falcon...this ship that in A New Hope, that Han was soooo very proud of and would defend against any insult, in Empire Strikes Back, is seen suddenly as nothing more thn a bunch of bolts that can't do anything.

In Star Wars Han is pitching his ship to make a buck. Everyone else in the film comments on the falcon.

Luke: What a piece of junk!

Leia: You came in that thing, you're braver than I thought.

Han comments on the ship as well, during the TIE fighter battle.

Han: She'll hold together! (then to himself) Hear me baby, hold together.

In Empire, the ship clearly has seen some action since Star Wars. Luke, Han and company are on the run and the Millenium Falcon is probably the most wanted ship in the galaxy. It's logical that at this point in the series the ship is in disrepair. Perhaps they've had to make the jump into hyperspace more often than the ship could handle.

Jeff

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The difference from the other films is that you see it not working... not once... not twice... but like...5 times...

They mock it in the other films... but it works... in Empire, it just doens't at all...

Weither truthfull or not... or realistic or not, it still makes them look less credable... less hard edged... less capable...

Which is why I mean by it not really feeling like the others...

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I myself am not one who regards any of the Star Wars movies as the epitome of cinema. They are great though.

They captivated me when I first saw them when I was 6 in 1986....but the older I get, the less amazing they become as movies.

I think a lot of the mature audience's fascination and captivation with Star Wars comes from the idea of Star Wars which swept the world, not the pure cinematic quality of the films, and in that regard, the movies are unsurpassed.

When I watch the movies, my amazement with it and the shivers down my spine are more detached , I don't go "WOW" in the sense of how great it is in the film, but I think "WOW, how amazing it is that cast and crew did this." "WOW, John Williams was really creative when he did this." "WOW, what a daring effects shot that was," etc.

It's the same as with any mythological tale for any culture. It's the idea of the myth that's amazing, not necessarily the myth itself.

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But like I said... if you compare it to the overall picture of the others, it is the most jocular and easy going of all the others... and feels wrong compared to the others. The lighting is different, the acting is different, the lines are different.

Correct me if I'm wrong, but shouldn't it be different? It isn't A New Hope and it isn't Return of the Jedi. It's a different film, with a different plot, new characters, new locations. There should be a new feel so audiences think they're watching a film called "The Empire Strikes Back" and not "Star Wars" (and by that I mean the title of the first film, not the series as a whole). I interpret "easy going" as "fluent", and that's exactly what the film is. The plot unfolds very well with minimal unsettling cuts. It doesn't jolt around like Jedi.

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Clearly, I'm not going to agree with you here.

Neither am I.

While nothing can top the magic of Star Wars, TESB is the best film of the series as far as directing, acting, dialogue and maybe even the music goes.

The only problem I have with Empire is that it's too good because Jedi basically ruined the build up that it had established.

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