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Star Wars II Trailer Online
Jager writes: "You can download the new starwars trailer here. Enjoy." Seemed to me as if Lucas was worried about the "love story" emphasis in the previous teasers, and wanted to make sure people knew there would be plenty of zapping and slashing.
I don't know how it works at any other download sites, but if you go to www.starwars.com it won't let you download the hi-res version without Quicktime Pro. What gives? I want my free, bandwidth-consuming movie trailers, and I don't want to pay for them!
Hey, this was from the other thread, and the new trailor is up there. Nice Compression.
http://node2.callihq.net/
Someone from the earlier thread posted a nice Divx 5 version of the trailer at 640 x 480 resolution. Check it out here.
Last night I shot an elephant in my pajamas. How he got in my pajamas I'll never know.
Admiral: Slashdot? You're belief in that ancient religion hasn't help you conjure up that Episode 2 trailer.
Vader: I find your lack of faith disturbing, Admiral.
*Admiral chokes under weight of a full frontal Slashdotting.*
I have to admit, Im impressed. We took down Apple.
Toodles D. Clown
Crap, I got 1/2 the trailer at the end of malcolm, the other 1/2 in the beginning of the Xfiles ... so I can't watch it all at once ... ARGH!
102 Posts saying the link is dead /. effect
101 Posts reposting the original link
57 Posts discussing
4 Posts that rip-off yoda there be only
13 Posts that post a new link, also dead
12 Posts that declare that link dead
41 Posts declaring that the trailer sucked, but that they'll see the movie anyway
17 Posts declaring that the trailer sucked, but that they'll rent it
2 Posts declaring that Star Wars is dead
31 Posts declaring the dark side (Walmart?) alive
So they show the trailer on Fox and then tell you to see "Ice Age" in order to see the theatrical version of the trailer...wow. A trailer for a trailer, with an inline hype for another picture. Wonder if the actual movie is that creative... rj
There's so many odd tensions inherent in seeing the latest Lucas movie/product that it's tough to sort them all out...
- Lucas's movies from the 70's are the primary reason (debatably equal with Spielberg's movies) for the "blockbuster-centric" state of the movie industry today. (i.e. opening weekend-oriented, with receipts fading fast even for popular films, therefore "hyper-able" films with a fast return get the most attention). ergo, supporting a new Lucas film is consistent _not only_ with generally supporting the MPAA, but also with supporting the "big (and not necessarily smart, therefore often stupid) movies advertised with big $$" business model which the major studios are so slavishly following.
(hey! lucas started a tsunami of crap! he's indirectly responsible for tomb raider! lucas is bad!)
- OTOH, Lucas is in the ultra-elite group of filmmakers who is beholden to _none_ of the movie studios (i.e. MPAA). He doesn't _have_ to create "big blockbusters", this is the kind of movie he _wants_ to make. Lucas even has the clout to create his own distribution company (in addition to Lucasfilm's production end), ala the Spielberg/Geffen/Katzenberg Dreamworks, were he interested.
(hmm... lucas is powerful! but independent... therefore good?)
- Lucas has, in fact, been using his clout to push digital production _and_ display techniques (which would be going faster were it not for distributor/theater overgrowth and mismanagement... which is a side result of the "blockbuster mentality, but I digress...). Aesthetic questions of "digital film" aside), these techniques can dramtically lower distribution costs while increasing theater flexibility, and thereby create new opportunities for distribution and showing of "non-blockbuster" films (independent or otherwise low(er) budget)...
(yay! Lucas is good! he's undoing what he hath wrought! and doing cool digitial stuff! Lucas is good!)
- Lucas's narratives tend to reflect a rather benevolently feudal/fascist view of the world, in which an elite group (Jedi) rules over/provides protection to the general classes; he has furthermore stated his preference for "benevolent dictator" style organization for his businesses (Lucasfilm/ILM/etc.), as well as indicating that his films are very specifically his own (versus "for the fans")... this idealized feudalism is further reflected in his deity-like relationship with his (legions of) fans. i.e. Lucas' s "independent" streak is very much a part of a tendency towards complete control over his work.
(boo! Lucas is anti-democratic... but he's an artist, so it's OK... but he does this in business, too... and see how he treats his fans... but we love him! Lucas is, uh, is...)
Anyway, Lucas's position in Hollywood/business practices/audience relations/artistic bent are very much an integrated and consistent (but still complex) thing - at least to the point that it's hard to reduce it to pure "good" or "bad". Let's just call Lucas a unique, smart, lucky bastard and focus on more concrete matters.
Just something to chew on.
Actually what is most disappointing, is the constant non-stop whining about how the new trilogy sucks.
:-)
C'mon people, please come up with new reasons for not liking the prequels. Do we have to constantly read about "continue milking money out of the franchise" ?
The movie looks like fun, big battles, cool characters, etc. If you've seen previous star wars films you know what to expect. Just saying , "it's not creative" enough amounts to saying nothing. What do you want ? I really doubt that you could come up with anything more creative that the visuals and excitement in those few minutes of the trailer.
Oh BTW, your post is not "creative". Did I already mention that ?
- sigs are for wimps.
Instead he cranked out more fodder, really for nothing more than to continue milking money out of the franchise. Looks like it's continuing.
Let me take this opportunity to say this: Thank god that Peter Jackson filmed all three LOtR at once. Read why before you mod me offtopic:
Lucas had a dream. He made Star Wars. It was... a little campy, in retrospect, but rollicking fun nonetheless.
Years pass.
Lucas made The Empire Strikes Back. It was much more serious. Darker. There's Dagobah and stuff. The sets, the effects, the tone all change. Why? Because Lucas now had better technology, and a different expectation to film for.
Years pass.
Lucas made Return of the Jedi. It was serious, yet fluffy. Dark, yet light. Wonderful effects, of course, now that years have passed. But again, the tone had shifted to become completely different. It reflected years of hindsight and expectations that affected the original artistic vision.
And it's only getting worse with the prequels.
Which is why I'm glad Peter Jackson shot all three LOtR films in one big go. Sure, the CGI is going to still be cranked out for a while. Editing can be affected by time. But overall, he has the chance to make a coherent hole of the trilogy, which is something I don't feel Lucas has been able to do with the time he's had. As Prufrock would say, time for a hundred visions and revisions...
Right, big ships, a few explosions and some dodgy gunk-cum-plasma firing guns.
When are we going to see films that really capture the true scale of the energy levels we're going to be flinging around? I don't want to see ships throwing primary coloured blobs at each other, I want to see them fling high yield nukes, antimatter weapons that light up the sky and threaten to melt any surface nearby, I want to see missiles that fill space with incandescent plasma that fades before being blown appart as it's lanced by otherwise invisible beams of radiation.
I want to see acceleration an issue; I want to see people who couldn't get to a chair to scream in agony as they get crushed down by high G forces or get torn to bits by decompressions, not a few panels exploding and some lame shaking.
I want to see ground troops frying acres of land as they desperately try to kill an enemy, I want to see them blowing shit up with gauss guns and worryingly powerful antimatter devices, or proper ray guns where you only see what's reflected off dust and things they're melting/frying (and which cause the atmosphere to explode like lightning). Screw phasers.
I want to see believable universes, filled with Humans for a change; no humanoid "aliens" who happen to act like certain stereotypes (aliens will, of course, get a look in, but not as human analogs ffs); there's huge scope for different cultures, technologies, types of people and things people will become (from tweaked to entirely redesigned) that you get with humans alone without having to think up Unlikely Stereotypical Alien-with-ridged-forehead-and-attitude-problem 31338.
Of course, it's not going to happen.. tried and tested paper thin plots and people and a few shiny special effects is just too damn easy to throw together and make money out of.
<fume>
See, George Lucas' inspiration for Star Wars came largely from a man by the name of Joseph Campbell. If you're unfamiliar with him, he was a renowned mythologist (really a mish-mash of cultural anthropologist and psychologist with a focus on cultural dialectics).
Mythology is rarely original. In fact, Campbell, were he alive, would likely point out that there are only a handful of basic mythological stories and most every contemporary myth has some root in a far more generic myth.
So, my point: indeed, there isn't anything original about Star Wars. It's just another way of characterizing a myth, in this case, the fall from grace, that has been around for thousands of years.
Here's the (hidden) direct link to the movie in "large format" (640x288):
e /ep2_clone_war_p640.mov
http://starwars.apple.com/ep2/clone_war/media/gat
From this link, you can save the entire 31MB movie to hard disk and play it whenever you want without downloading it again. I'm sure that they'll appreciate me doing this to help reduce the load on their server.
A massive confrontation like this unfortunately leaves little room for personal interaction. Sure, you might have the last minute Kennedy to Khrushchev calls, but other than that, the plot would involve millions of people being blown up without even knowing the individual who pressed the button. Moviegoers want to watch movies that have some relevance to their life, and interpersonal relationships is one of the more complex and challenging topics for movies to explore.
I think part of the problem is that with CGI, they don't have the limitations of real life, so they just forget about them. "Hey, let's make the camera fly around the race course at a million mph. Ooo, cool." "Okay, while you do that, I'm going to make my CG character figit around annoyingly while the real actors are talking just because I've got a handle on Inverse Kinematics." WTF? Real life actors can sit still, why can't CG ones?
I think someone needs to come up with a plug-in for Softimage (or whatever program they use) that will prevent the virtual camera from doing anything a normal camera couldn't do in real life. Like if you moved it too high, it would make you build a virtual crane to hold it in position. Or if you moved it around in the air, you'd get a $3,000 virtual helicopter rental fee deducted from your bank account.
c-hack.com |
Is Anakin going to become Vader in this episode? That would be the best, as the whole next movie we could see him in action. Yet, maybe Anakin is too young...
BTW, How come Anakin grows up so fast, and the Queen still looks like a teen? Then they fall in love... in the first movie there was a big age difference... it's a little strange. Oh well, just a movie.
This is really excellent, because as you cheat yourself out of enjoying the film because you're foolish enough to prejudge this, the rest of us will probably love it because it's bigger and better than any of the other movies. I loved Ep. 4 when I was a kid, and my nephew loved Ep.1 and so did I. I'm really looking forward to Ep. 2, and your opinion won't matter an iota when the tidalwave of this movie arrives. So go ahead gripe and bitch, it says more about you than the film. Some people are just spoiled, they get Star Wars and it ain't enough they still find room to bitch and moan. Don't tell us how bad it is, nobody cares, just don't go and see it, I dare you. Of course there's no chance of that, you WILL see this movie. At least I'll get my moneys worth when I go see the film because I'll have a chance of enjoying it.
Greetings!
You may download the trailer from: http://lavender.cime.net/~aotc/ep2_clone_war.mpg
I got it from Drestin (thanks, Dude!)
Cheers,
E
http://eugeneciurana.com | http://ciurana.eu
It is NOT required. Open QuickTime player. Go to FILE, open URL: http://starwars.apple.com/ep2/clone_war/media/gate /ep2_clone_war_p640.mov
Then it will just play - full screen at all. Apple people are f&cking clowns.
<^>_<(ô ô)>_<^>
I am afraid it is you who are mistaken about many things... You have a decent analysis, but your facts are all wrong. Of course, that is always a bad start.
George Lucas did make the original Star Wars. And that movie turned out pretty much how you describe it. However, George Lucas did not make the two following films. Not really. Not in the sense we usually give that word.
The Empire Strikes Back was directed by Irvin Kershner. Lucas is credited with the role of executive producer and with the story, but not the script. Apparently, Lucas gave Kershner a lot of leeway. Kershner put a lot of himself in the film, which explains why it stands out so vividly in the franchise. As for Lucas, he thought it was a bit too dark. (There is an anecdote, verified by Kershner, about Han's macho "I know" line, which he says to Leia when she tells him she loves him. Lucas didn't like the line and wanted it out, but Kershner held his ground. Lucas only let it stand after he saw how the public reacted in a private screening. Sad but true, Lucas would have preferred Han say "I love you too.")
Now admittedly The Return of the Jedi looks more like a Lucas movie. But he still didn't direct it. He gave that job to Richard Marquand. Again, Lucas is the executive producer and is credited with the story, but not the script. Obviously the film is going to feel a bit different. Now apart from the advance in technology which you mention, I personnally see this film as a return to the aesthetics of the first film. I think that this is what Lucas wanted when he picked Marquand. Now, I understand that Lucas guided Marquand more than he had Kershner. But maybe Marquand just happened to share Lucas' tastes more than Kershner did.
So do not be surprised if the movies look and feel different... They were made by diferent people. Funny thing is, I think Lucas used to be very open about all of this. But not anymore. He doesn't usually mention neither directed nor wrote the scripts to two of them. Kind of strange. So... As long as Lucas writes and directs the prequels, don't expect any one of them to turn out like Episode V. Especially since he didn't like it that much in the first place.
Yeah, it'll have some nice pictures. But that doesn't make it a good film. There's a quote from a guy who worked on Shrek along the lines of "People think that the holy grail of animation is to be able to animate a human. In fact, it's to tell a story." TPM didn't tell a story, it just filled in some lame links between CGI sequences, and the content of those CGI scenes was usually trite and uninteresting.
The pod race that you all drool over is nothing more than "Days of Thunder" with different pictures (and hey, did that film ever suck!) - nice speed effects, but nothing interesting happening to make you worry about the character. The ground battle scene sucked by taking place on a manicured lawn and the simple question "if they have bombs, why don't they get other better weapons?". The storming-the-palace scenes sucked by the "oh hey, they all suddenly get guns with ropes on, yeah right" bit. And the space bit was just "Home Alone" - kid lucks out with slapstick to save the day. Never mind the totally irrelevant fish-chasing-the-submarine sequence.
The only new and interesting thing in the whole film was the Jedi fight scenes - they finally worked out how a Jedi (who can use the Force to jump and stuff) would be able to fight.
Grab.