Are you a Star Wars fan?

[diy_fun_uk]

As a child of the 70s, I was a prime target for the Star Wars phenomenon, if not the movies then the merchandise. However I never really engaged with it then and never have. Not entirely sure why. tbh I've never even watched a Star Wars movie all the way through. One of my mates had a lot of the toys but again, they never really interested me.

I watched a documentary last night re 'the making of ...' and found it very interesting. Original movie made on a shoestring budget, some people thinking it would never amount to anything etc. One thing I found interesting is how some of the props were made, cobbled together from this and that. As the guy on the documentary said 'as long as it looks convincing on screen, that's all that matters.'

So, were/are you a fan of this massive franchise?

 

[crystal ball]

Watched the first one, quite enjoyed it, didn't watch any more.

 

[Odds]

If you only watched the first one then you missed out on one of the all-time great sequels. 'The Empire Strikes Back' is by far the best movie of the whole franchise. I saw the making of...and always find their ingenuity interesting - the Star Trek show on how they made props was just as good. One of the fierce weapons used in 'Arsenal of Freedom' on Star Trek TNG was a hairdryer of a wife of one of the prop makers.
Recent sci-fi films are technically superior but lack a certain spark - Silent Running and Dark Star were made on a budget but were far better in many ways. Talking of props; most of the models and ideas used in SR were leftover from Space Odyssey: 2001 - Kubrick got a bit ahead of himself and cut back a good deal of the original film, so Silent Running is his love-child.

 

[Dork Lard]

I was a BIG fan of the original & I still remember me & my childhood bestie queuing outside the 'Empire Cinema' all those years ago. I'd already read the book & the film didn't disappoint.

I think I watched 10mins of the sequel, I couldn't tell you anything about all the others . . . .

 

[diy_fun_uk]

If you only watched the first one then you missed out on one of the all-time great sequels. 'The Empire Strikes Back' is by far the best movie of the whole franchise. I saw the making of...and always find their ingenuity interesting - the Star Trek show on how they made props was just as good. One of the fierce weapons used in 'Arsenal of Freedom' on Star Trek TNG was a hairdryer of a wife of one of the prop makers.
Recent sci-fi films are technically superior but lack a certain spark - Silent Running and Dark Star were made on a budget but were far better in many ways. Talking of props; most of the models and ideas used in SR were leftover from Space Odyssey: 2001 - Kubrick got a bit ahead of himself and cut back a good deal of the original film, so Silent Running is his love-child.

Yeah was interesting on the making of when the director of one of the more recent releases (prequel?) said he wanted more actual sets and minimal green screen / cgi.

Although I'm not a massive movie buff, I do think real sets are always more impressive, although I understand why cgi etc is used these days. Even when you watch old movies e.g. Ben Hur, you can't help but marvel at the sheer scale of the sets. In some ways, to me they remain more impressive than the blockbusters of today that use computers to achieve their impressiveness.

 

[Ihavenojob]

Not seen a single Star Wars film. Seen all the Star Trek films, though I can't say if they are better.

 

[wobs]

Seen them all. Empire Strikes Back is probably the best, and New Hope is also good.
Prequels are obviously flawed in many ways, but the recent sequels make the prequals actually look good. The appalling story telling of the sequels was unforgiveable, and given Rogue One was one fo the best of the franchise, it is particularly gauling.

We have the MCU with a huge multi film storyline that all fits together, and was well made, and then we had Star Wars sequels, and they couldn't manage three films and spaffed millions up the wall.

Mandalorian was good as well.

I grew up with it, but didn't go for the merch and never been to a convention. Just try to enjoy the films etc. Its just they seem to make it harder to do that, by making so much dross.

Conclusion: Its a mixed bag.

 

[IT Minion]

In the recent stuff there's a clear trend where the further away from the original trilogy it is, the better it is. They need to stop being quite so tied to the past for it to have a future

 

[denso13]

Watched the first one, quite enjoyed it, didn't watch any more

Same here.

 

[Odds]

Yeah was interesting on the making of when the director of one of the more recent releases (prequel?) said he wanted more actual sets and minimal green screen / cgi.

Although I'm not a massive movie buff, I do think real sets are always more impressive, although I understand why cgi etc is used these days. Even when you watch old movies e.g. Ben Hur, you can't help but marvel at the sheer scale of the sets. In some ways, to me they remain more impressive than the blockbusters of today that use computers to achieve their impressiveness.

CGI can make a difference with sci-fi - the recent Star Trek: Discovery was visually brilliant...but the dialogue and the storyline were woeful. (The only thing that saved the show was the presence of the incomparable Michelle Yeoh.)
You make a point about real sets and the way they constructed them in Lord of the Rings was interesting as every piece was done to a high degree of skill, whether it was on screen or not. No detail was too small to give the actors a complete sense of their world being real - which it was, in the sense that all the sets, props, weapons and wardrobe were made according to character and setting.
I think the only comparison i can come up with for sci-fi would be the set design for Space Odyssey: 2001. The film that really changed sci-fi forever.

 

[noseall]

As a child of the 70s, I was a prime target for the Star Wars phenomenon, if not the movies then the merchandise. However I never really engaged with it then and never have. Not entirely sure why. tbh I've never even watched a Star Wars movie all the way through. One of my mates had a lot of the toys but again, they never really interested me.

I watched a documentary last night re 'the making of ...' and found it very interesting. Original movie made on a shoestring budget, some people thinking it would never amount to anything etc. One thing I found interesting is how some of the props were made, cobbled together from this and that. As the guy on the documentary said 'as long as it looks convincing on screen, that's all that matters.'

So, were/are you a fan of this massive franchise?

I think that like all movies coming out at that time, people were amazed by the special effects being used by the savvier directors like Ridley Scott, Kubrick and Spielberg. It wasn't so much as how good the effects were on these movies, rather, how bad they made lesser sci-fi movies appear to be. I'm a massive fan of Scott and his attention to detail.

 

[Odds]

I think that like all movies coming out at that time, people were amazed by the special effects being used by the savvier directors like Ridley Scott, Kubrick and Spielberg. It wasn't so much as how good the effects were on these movies, rather, how bad they made lesser sci-fi movies appear to be. I'm a massive fan of Scott and his attention to detail.

Ridley Scott is The Master. You can't imagine anyone else making Alien with the same success. Or Bladerunner. I actually prefer the original, with Harrison Ford's voiceover. It just makes more sense.