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Roger Ebert Answers Star Wars Questions
pamri writes "Roger Ebert, in his weekly answer-man column, answers Star War related questions, chief among them being, why he gave the "Revenge of the Sith" 3.5 stars despite his criticism of the acting and whether George Lucas be faulted for violating his own work?"
The dangers of knowledge trigger emotional distress in human beings.
The 3.5 for ROTS , it had really great action scenes and the plot was all together rather better than the previous two , unfortunatly the acting was kind of poor ,, but compared to the last two star wars films it really shines.
The only things certain in war are Propaganda and Death. You can never be sure which is which though
This guy has a great sense of humor. If you scroll to the bottom of his questions/answers section:
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o m/
Q. I greatly enjoy your reviews and the thoughtful observations they contain. However, I get a little worried about the strength of your argument in your review of "Unleashed," when you make the case for women being able to stir a man's humanity by using Ann Coulter as your example. That is the same person who claimed women should bear arms but not be able to vote.
C. Perla, Miami
A. Wouldn't you sleep more soundly at night knowing Ann Coulter was in the Army and not in a voting booth?
If you like laughing at Ann Coulter, please don't miss these stories:
http://ifuckedanncoulterintheasshard.blogspot.com
http://backinanncoultersasssaddleagain.blogspot.c
(bye karma...)
Q. Is George Lucas a knowing Economic Terrorist? Lucas KNEW that by releasing the last "Star Wars" movie what effect it would have on the United States Economy. The movie was released on a working day. Lucas could have well waited to release his movie on Saturday or even Sunday. The effect was a $627 million loss in American Productivity.
The box-office take was $158.5 million. That leaves a $468.5 cost to the U.S. Economy. But that's not the end of the loss. Each day, Lucas is losing $1.5 million to pirates -- a capital cost to his investors of $6 million in four days and climbing. The loss could and should have been avoided by release on a Saturday or Sunday, and Simultaneous Distribution to Television, Sales and Rentals. The question becomes, would George Lucas really damage the economy to make a point of his hate for the Republican Party and President George Bush?
D.L. Graham, San Diego
Sigs are like bumper stickers.
Q. There is a pants/no-pants continuity error in Padme's maternity getup when she arrives on the lava planet. How do such errors creep into movies made with such budgets and so many eyes checking and approving things?
Mark Suszko, Springfield, Ill.
A. I cannot recall this detail, but as you describe it, it certainly sounds like the kind of detail that should be noticed.
Gee, thanks Roger... you really put your advanced film knowledge to good use there.
Random rants about technology: http://technorants.blogspot.com
There seems to be a disconnect between critics and just about everyone I've talked to about the movie. Just about every review has overlooked the awful dialog, bad editing, and crappy sructure/pacing and praised the movie as one of the best, I'm sorry but in a post-B5, Firefly world, my Sci-Fi (or Sci-Fantasy, if you prefer) requires MUCH better dialog than 14 characters commenting on how much STRESS Annakin is under. F-in STRESS! As though the Republic could have been saved if the Jedi had had a better insurance program that had covered counciling!
Someone needs to stand up and hit Lucas with a rolled up newspaper, hopefully it'll be #2 this weekend and some lesson will be learned (though they'll probably blame it on poor elitetorrents and their crappy workprint).
An odd observation - I have seen all the SW movies their first weekend out with the exception of ANH, which I saw about a month or so after it opened, though it was still a *packed* house just as the opening weekends of the others. I remember at the end of each movie, people cheered, clapped, went nuts, and were generally really, really positive (even with Empire, which ended on a down note).
With thRevenge of the Sith, people filed out of the packed theater *without a sound.* It was like leaving a funeral. Completely different from the others, it was strangely depressing. Anyone else see this?
Buffy - "I really thought that you were a nice, normal guy."
Riley - "I am a nice, normal guy."
Buffy - "Maybe by this town's standards, but I'm not grading on a curve."
- Buffy The Vampire Slayer
Like Buffy's love life, movie reviews should be on an absolute scale, not comparing a film to previous films of the same series. Because, quite frankly, I'm sure ROTS is f**king brilliant compared to the previous two. That doesn't make it a good movie, it makes it "less sucky".
Freedom: "I won't!"
Natalie Portman was involved in a "no-pants continuity error"? I'm surprised this wasn't on the front page as its own article.
Freedom: "I won't!"
First, you ask yourself "Was this film made for movie critics?" - in other words, lots of "character development" (i.e. pointless talking that does not REALLY develop the character), lots of "stunning camera work" (e.g. artsy shots of rotting fruit), and so on. If yes, then you blither on about the film, and how it is a shame that nobody in "the mainstream" will "get it" - thus assuring your street cred with other movie critics. The people who make your column pay (the common man) won't care. Next movie.
Failing that, you ask yourself "Is this film likely to be a popular success?" - such as a Terminator movie, or Back to the Future. If so, you give it a good review, so that the people who actually make your column a success won't stop reading you. It won't hurt your movie critic street cred: the other movie critics will understand - they will be doing the same thing. Next movie.
Lastly, if there is some question as to whether the movie will be a success, you do one of two things: You either give it
- a glowing write-up but a poor numerical rating, or
- a high numerical rating but a poor write-up.
That way, you are covered no matter what: if the movie is a success, you point to your glowing review (or high rating), and say "See! I told you this was a good movie!". If it is a total flop at the box office, you point to your poor rating (or bad review), and say "See! I told you this was going to be a flop!" Either way, you conveniently ignore the part of your review that was incorrect.So, Ebert just did the third option: he knows the movie will be a box office success, but he doesn't know what the fans will say after they've seen the movie, especially a few months afterwards, when the blush is off the rose. So, he gives the movie a good numerical rating, but then gives it a poor review. So, right now, when the movie is popular, he can point to the high rating and say "See! I know what I am talking about - you want to read ALL my reviews, and my web site, and my books, and....". Months from now, when rationality rears its unwelcome head and people start saying "Yes, the visuals were stunning, but I've heard more convincing delivery of dialog in pornos" he can point to his text reviews and say "See! I know what I am talking about - you want to read ALL my reviews, and my web site, and my books, and....".
www.eFax.com are spammers
Aha, not a troll then so much as a genuine idiot. I wonder if he could afford some swamp land.
I'm still standing here, you know.
The dangers of knowledge trigger emotional distress in human beings.
How is that significant? It makes absolutely no difference to the story, it's just a petty quibble about a minor detail.
This space intentionally left blank.
You fast-forwarded the movie? Didn't the other people in the cinema get upset?
Uhm, yeah, well ... No, they didn't like it too ... Did I said i fast forwarded the movie? I meant I fell asleep during it. Yeah, that's it. I was sleeping! Look! There! Nekkid women!
As an aside, there is also an annoying difference between C3PO's voice in the new trilogy and the voice in the original trilogy.
I haven't gone back to listen to the movies to see if there is something odd about C-3PO's voice, but Anthony Daniels has always done his voice.
-prator
He is terrible in Star Wars. I wouldn't say he is terrible in general. I thouhgt he was great in Shattered Glass. The same it true of Natalie Portman. Good in just about everything else but Star Wars.
Yeah, yeah, yeah. The story is a dupe, the topic is boring, the facts weren't checked. WE GET IT!!
To be fair, 1998 was a dismal year for movies.
Sure, there was Saving Private Ryan, but otherwise? Yikes!
Shakespeare in Love won the Oscar that year, in spite of being one of the shittiest movies Miramax ever made. Other movies that year included:
Bullworth
Patch Adams
Godzilla (US Version)
Armageddon
Deep Impact
Need I go on?
Dark City was a very good movie in a year which only saw two or three very good movies.
And yes, he does focus on cinematography. He's said many times that film is not a mere storytelling medium. It's also a work of art crafted with light and sound.
Otherwise, there would be no "film buffs", and everybody would be perfectly happy watching all movies on 13" TV sets.
Information wants to be anthropomorphized.
The voice is higher-pitched, and sometimes even shrill. Daniels spoke with a slow, consistent tone in the original three, and in the newer three, it seems as if he is rushing the words. However, the pitch is so consistant, I would blame it on audio effects.
Informatus Technologicus
While your assumption is interesting, it's not necessarily correct. The difference between being shot by a plasma weapon (that uses excited gasses... as opposed to a phaser, which is modulated light) is energy overload. Perhaps the blaster shorted 3p0's head, where an impact would not.
Statesmen serve to better the country and help the people.
Politicians serve to better themselves and help friends.
The audio engineers just processed it differently, I'm guessing. I mean, I can notice a slight difference, but it doesn't really bother me in any meaningful way. Maybe the droids got a frigging tuneup in the intervening 20 years.
...His head is detached, and the power is off. Apparently, the power source (possibly the batteries) is located in the torso. Later, Chewbacca re-attaches the head, and it turns back on. Of course, C3PO continues his comedic monologue.
Now, in SW II, we see that C3PO loses his head again when an assembly tool knocks it off in the droid factory. However, the head continues to be powered and keeps talking....
One possible explanation: NiCad battery in the head, charger in the torso (where there is some kind of generator.) The battery got fried when he was shot in Empire, so he needed the juice from the charger to power up.
Another: The torso has nothing to do with head power. Chewie just happened to close a broken circuit (or open a short) when he put the head on.
Of all the possible nitpicks I've heard, this isn't really a very big one.
Watch any version of Star Wars prior to the DVD (including a bootleg of the theatrical "Special Edition.")
After killing Ben, Darth walks toward the Falcon and the iris doors close in front of him... They forgot to animate his lightsaber! He's carrying a metal stick.
Not good enough for you? Try this one: In III, Obi-Wan says goodbye to R2 after all they had been through together. In IV, he doesn't recognize him at all. "I don't remember owning a droid."
Still want more? Leia tells Luke about her childhood memories of their mother... but now it turns out that mom died on the delivery room table. Either Leia was never told (and never suspected) that she was adopted, or she sees dead people.
There. That should be enough to fuel your nitpicks for a while.
Information wants to be anthropomorphized.
Penny Arcade are, as always, right on the money.
"I think it would be a good idea!"
Gandhi, about Internet Security
Ebert, Roeper, that guy waiting in line in a stormtrooper outfit...they're all missing the true point of this movie. It's not about an innocent man's decent into darkness. That's just a subplot, a minor detail if you will. No, this is George Lucas's attempt at a public service announcement about the importance of contraceptives. Because if Anakin hadn't knocked up Padme, he wouldn't have had visions of her dying in childbirth, he wouldn't have searched for the power to save her, and he wouldn't have sold his soul to Palpatine in a vain attempt to do so. Because even in a world as technologically advanced, like a few inches of impermeable rubber, that make the world go round.
Ok, most AMericans in a life time watch probably 90% Hollywood made films. Well-written is a term so unbelievably diluted in U.S mainstream cinema.
Die Hard as well as Revenge of the Sith was written mediocre at best. These are substance movies with enough machine guns and hype to attract the average crowd. I rarely if ever give credit to Hollywood screenwriting. Where Hollywood always shine is the producing and directing.
First, you ask yourself "Was this film made for movie critics?"
It's not for you.
There is a whole subculture these days just for people who dislike movies because they have the potential to be popular, and this entire Slashdot thread seems like the embodiment of that.
When I went to see the movie, my entire experience was completely ruined by hecklers. People who went on opening night with the sole purpose of making fun of the movie. Laughing at Palpatine's makeup, booing when Anakin first appears, shouting "LOG!" whenever Padme shows up.
Everyone here is so quick to dismiss the movie on the simple things (like if Samuel delivered his lines well) or tries to focus on bad interpretations of the themes (oh yeah, G. Lucas hates women because Padme is ineffectual in the last movie) or claim that the movie was high-schoolish (erhem, this is Star Wars, what did you expect?). People who complain this movie is campy seem to forget that the Star Wars trilogy is part of what helped us define what campy meant. It wouldn't be true to its roots if it didn't sound campy!
I wish people could just accept movies for what they are, appreciate the hard work that went into them, and enjoy them. Given the cost of movie tickets today. If you aren't ready to enjoy the movie, why fork over your $10 for it in the first place?
Slashdot. It's Not For Common Sense
Did that Bit Torrent guy give you a copy too? Wow, I really have to meet this person.
Perhaps Ebert is paid to write his reviews, and you are not, because, for instance, he could get the movie's MPAA rating right.
Just sayin'.
--grendel drago
Laws do not persuade just because they threaten. --Seneca
OR, for the faint of heart, convince him that it would be really cool if he made the prequels using ONLY 1978 technology.
Come on. Lucas invented most of the technologies used to make the original Star Wars. He founded companies to provide the sound and special effects that he wanted - and now you complain that he's too focused on the special effects?
Please. Star Wars was always about special effects and nothing else. I remember an entire issue of Time magazine discussing how Lucas had revolutionized the industry with his use of computer controlled models to automate the stop-motion techniques already in use. I remember articles discussing the chess game between Chewbacca and R2D2 and how Lucas created the effect and whether such a thing could actually exist.
Lucas took the state of the art, pushed it to it's utter limits and beyond. Stop judging them as an adult and watch them in the manner they were meant to be watched - with the eyes and heart of child.
Clear, Dark Skies
Hell, why can't Jedi fly? You say they can't manipulate flesh like they can manipulate plastic and metal? Well, why can't they make their goddamn shoes fly?
But yeah, the Yoda thing bugged me.
Yoda: Into exile, I must go.
Senator Organa: Dude, he's right back there. You were way ahead.
Yoda: No.
Senator Organa: You could totally kick his ass.
Yoda: To the starting line, we must get.
Senator Organa: Then why'd you fight him, if you were just going to run like a little green bitch?
Yoda: A flying muppet, the fans demand.
--grendel drago
Laws do not persuade just because they threaten. --Seneca
I figured he was calling up the lightning for so long that the dark side was starting to take its toll on his body a little faster than it usually does.
who need to revisit their childhood homes - just so they can feel the shock and realization of how small they look now compared to how big they seemed then.
That might give them the perspective they need to enjoy Ep3 for what it is instead of complaining that it doesn't measure up to something that actually never was.
Clear, Dark Skies
I hear complaints about the acting so much, but I got news for you all: episodes 4,5,6 weren't exactly monuments in film-acting history either. It's star wars. It's cheesy. It's fun. Get used to it.
This won't be modded up enough to be visible to anyone, but I'd like to chip in and say that Ebert is pretty much accurate. The acting is dreadfully wooden in the non-action scenes, and this is probably due to the fact that the script isn't really very good.
I was sat with a group of five or six friends watching it, some of whom weren't really massive fans of the Star Wars series and hadn't seen Phantom Menace or Attack of the Clones, and I was actually embarassed by the quality of this movie.
It's let down by the script to some degree, but I think what really killed it was the direction. Actors never seem to know what they're doing, where they are, or what they're supposed to be feeling and this makes their delivery poor and wooden. When Anakin (Hayden Christensen) turns to the dark side, he's clearly been directed to be "mad, insane, confused, evil". And here he excels; it's easy to be mad and evil. However, in the more delicate scenes he's hopeless and swimming around without direction.
Excellent examples of awesome direction are the "SHE'S LOST THE WILL TO LIVE!" line announced by a med-bot. What sort of diagnosis is that? Rather convenient. It's as if whoever voiced that line had no idea that Anakin/Vader had actually killed her with the dark force. Another is the "Noooooooo!" that Vader screams when discovering this fact. No self respecting director would use such a dreadful cliché. He might as well have added "WHY, GOD? WHY!!!?" to the end of it. It's almost as bad a cliché as the "Oh no we are approaching a perilous waterfall of lava" bit. There's also the whole wordless ending segment where Luke's foster parents just get handed a child without question and look a bit bemused, then just gaze at the sun. What?
A few things are left unexplained too. The Death Star. Why? I was desperate to find out more about the Death Star but it's just presented as a matter of course. Slapped into the film like an afterthought. All in all, I left the theatre without the sensation of awe that I'd hoped for.
In summary: cut out a few of those massive "let's have a fight on a volcano planet" bits and wrap up the end of the film a little better.
Given the quality of writing in your post, you're clearly an expert in the English language. But I digress
Die hard was well written. It understood its medium and its audience, there were no painful moments of dialog where our hero broke into long winded speeches about man's inhumanity to man, no oddly placed iambic pentameter. It had a simple but classic plot, a NY cop trying to come to grips with his wife's success, goes through an ordeal where he learns how much he really loves his wife.
I've actually seen quite a bit of foreign cinema, and seen very little to make me non US movies are better written than our in general. Are you judging it based on the .05% of foreign films that make it to the US general release? The cream of teh cream of the crop? Or perhaps you are judging based on the fact that they follow different cultural norms? I was a bit shocked to watch a Japanese film whose moral lesson was "Its the kids fault, had he listened to his adoptive family and done what the state wanted hime to do he and his sister would be alive and happy to day. Conform or be miserable!" But I've also seen horrible French, Italian, Soviet, Polish, and Korean cinema.
Or perhaps you're refering to outside Hollywood projects such as "In the Bedroom", a dull, painfully slow moving work that rivals the infamous "Manos: Hands of Fate" for five minute riding in cars peering out the windows segements. Its bad when the high point of a movie is watch the toll bridge guy run around in circles again to move the bridge, punctuated by self-indulgent lines like "It comes in waves, and then nothing... like a rest in music - no sound, but so loud."
Is "Die Hard" superlative writing, like Shakespere's Saint Crispin's Day speech in Henry V? Heck no. It neither tries to be nor should it be.
You are in a maze of twisted little posts, all alike.
The original Star Wars movie was a fairly ordinary space opera that any mediocre writer could have written. The acting, dialog, and story have always been appropriately criticized.
However, the original Star Wars had ground breaking special effects. The special effects were not only a cut above the state of art at the time, they were a flight of stairs above the state of the art at the time.
It took tremendous talent to pull that off and George Lucas had it. The movie blew people from all walks of life away. It made Lucas rich enough to complain about Bill Gates playing his stereo too loud and elements of Star Wars have become an enduring part of the culture.
No critic can take any of that away.
However all of that was nearly 30 years ago.
Once people become accustomed to a certain quality of special effects it is no longer enough to entertain them, to blow them away.
People remember being blown away by the original Star Wars, that is why they keep going to see the sequels. They are hoping for that same experience.
Most of the time mere mortals, if they get to make a huge splash, only get to do so once.
It is unlikely that George Lucas will make a movie again that will break ground in cinematic special effects with the same magnitude that the original Star Wars did.
It is also unlikely that at this stage in his life he will sprout new talent for writing an directing _stories_. It can happen, some writers, actors, directors etc have started late in life, but it is rare.
A slashdot article earlier this week suggested that someone other than Lucas might make another Star Wars movie.
That could be the most awesome thing that would happen. The special effects are here. If someone could attach that to the devastating writing, acting and directing talent that is out there we would have a film that could blow people totally away like the original Star Wars did all those years ago in the 1970s.