And for the 80-90% of the population without DVD players? What should we say? I don't have DVD yet. When I get it, I want to do it right and not settle for a crappy $99 drive in my computer. I want the total package and I can't afford that right now. I can however afford a VHS version. And again, this is not about making everyone buy two copies! He said a year ago you wouldn't see *any* Star Wars DVD's til after Episode 3 is released! The way I see it is that I'm buying the tape for the next 6 years before the DVD versions of all 6 come out. If you can't handle that, then wait til 2006. And quit yer whining.
And hey, guess what? The amout of people with DVD's now is still quite small! 97% of Americans have VCR's, while the amout with DVD is probably closer to the 10-20% range. And many consider $300-$400 for a DVD player to be rather expensive when a decent VCR (which allows TV recording which DVD of course doesn't) can be had for less that $100. Why pay 3 times as much for something that does *less*? That's the same logic used for HDTV's. Why should people trash perfectly good TV's for the new ones? Better picture and sound? Most people couldn't care less. If they can see and hear it's all good.
I know that this is a pretty general statement, but I will give a little support.
Not only general, but also false.
When Lucas went to Fox for the money to do Star Wars (as I am sure everybody has heard) the Head of the studio was Alan Ladd, Jr. Lucas didn't ask for a lot of money to do the picture, just the rights to merchandise it. Previous to SW the most a movie had made off of merchandising was in the 10k range.
This is not true. While Star Wars set new standards in this department, it certainly wasn't the first. Remember a certain film series called Planet Of The Apes? 5 films, A TV series, a cartoon series, action figures, lunch boxes, coloring books, etc. etc. etc. So in essence, you could say Charlton Heston and his "damn dirty apes" are the reason movies suck today.
Ladd, Jr. said something to the effect of knock yourself out. We all know what happened after that. But one of the side effects of that financial success of Lucas's we have only really been seeing in the last decade as movies are no longer sold on things like plot and character development and good story, but they are merely one piece of a vastly bigger product that includes: soundtrack, video rental and sales, fast food tie-ins, toys, etc. Who cares if the movie sucks or does badly now cause it was poorly made and stinks? Not the studios, they'll make it all up with the peripheral products.
Movies have been like this for decades. Again, Star Wars brought it to new levels, but didn't create it. Critics bombed Gone With The Wind when it was released, but look how many people went and saw that movie. It was a marketing machine before the machine existed.
Look at the recent "Blair Witch Project". These guys are the true scions of all that Lucas has taught.
This movie defies all logic. I mean C'mon, forget the fact that it was horrible filming, but I better not get started on that.
I long for the days when movies were not the giant commercials that they have become and were actually about telling a story and not just to sell some piece of crap at Burger King. It is unfortunate, but there is only one way to make it stop. Don't buy any of it! Don't go see the movies, don't buy the stupid trinkets, and don't buy the soundtrack albums. It is the only way...
In my opinion, the worst thing in film is product placement. At least Obi-Wan and the gang didn't stop at Taco Bell during TPM. That's what I see as the worst thing in film these days. And you can say TPM was nothing but a marketing ploy, but c'mon, how many people begged Lucas to make it? Of course it's going to be a marketing machine. It has to be. Personally, I liked the film. No way did it compare to the originals, (though it was close to Jedi) but it's unfair to judge it in and of itself. The true judgment of Episode I will come when 2 and 3 are completed. SW in and of itself is a great film. But as the beginning of the Trilogy, it's legendary. In time, TPM will probably come to be better understood and enjoyed after the new trilogy is complete.
All TPM showed us was what Lucas was truly concerned about and the fact that he got lucky twenty-three years ago because he can't direct or write worth a damn (he didn't even direct or write the second two!).
So he was lucky with American Graffiti? He happened to write and direct that movie too, and from what I've heard it did pretty well.
The bottom line is that George Lucas isn't to blame for the decline in quality film today. He only cleared the path that the makers of "Apes" had already done.
Because the Original trilogy is on VHS already. There is no reason to stop the VHS release of TPM cuz it's not exclusive. Also, you have to remember, the demand is out there, regardless of how many of you think it sucked, people (including myself) still want to own it. He said there would be no DVD til 2006 for *any* Star Wars film, so this isn't anything new.
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And for the 80-90% of the population without DVD players? What should we say? I don't have DVD yet. When I get it, I want to do it right and not settle for a crappy $99 drive in my computer. I want the total package and I can't afford that right now. I can however afford a VHS version. And again, this is not about making everyone buy two copies! He said a year ago you wouldn't see *any* Star Wars DVD's til after Episode 3 is released! The way I see it is that I'm buying the tape for the next 6 years before the DVD versions of all 6 come out. If you can't handle that, then wait til 2006. And quit yer whining.
And hey, guess what? The amout of people with DVD's now is still quite small! 97% of Americans have VCR's, while the amout with DVD is probably closer to the 10-20% range. And many consider $300-$400 for a DVD player to be rather expensive when a decent VCR (which allows TV recording which DVD of course doesn't) can be had for less that $100. Why pay 3 times as much for something that does *less*? That's the same logic used for HDTV's. Why should people trash perfectly good TV's for the new ones? Better picture and sound? Most people couldn't care less. If they can see and hear it's all good.
I know that this is a pretty general statement, but I will give a little support.
Not only general, but also false.
When Lucas went to Fox for the money to do Star Wars (as I am sure everybody has heard) the Head of the studio was Alan Ladd, Jr. Lucas didn't ask for a lot of money to do the picture, just the rights to merchandise it. Previous to SW the most a movie had made off of merchandising was in the 10k range.
This is not true. While Star Wars set new standards in this department, it certainly wasn't the first. Remember a certain film series called Planet Of The Apes? 5 films, A TV series, a cartoon series, action figures, lunch boxes, coloring books, etc. etc. etc. So in essence, you could say Charlton Heston and his "damn dirty apes" are the reason movies suck today.
Ladd, Jr. said something to the effect of knock yourself out. We all know what happened after that. But one of the side effects of that financial success of Lucas's we have only really been seeing in the last decade as movies are no longer sold on things like plot and character development and good story, but they are merely one piece of a vastly bigger product that includes: soundtrack, video rental and sales, fast food tie-ins, toys, etc. Who cares if the movie sucks or does badly now cause it was poorly made and stinks? Not the studios, they'll make it all up with the peripheral products.
Movies have been like this for decades. Again, Star Wars brought it to new levels, but didn't create it. Critics bombed Gone With The Wind when it was released, but look how many people went and saw that movie. It was a marketing machine before the machine existed.
Look at the recent "Blair Witch Project". These guys are the true scions of all that Lucas has taught.
This movie defies all logic. I mean C'mon, forget the fact that it was horrible filming, but I better not get started on that.
I long for the days when movies were not the giant commercials that they have become and were actually about telling a story and not just to sell some piece of crap at Burger King. It is unfortunate, but there is only one way to make it stop. Don't buy any of it! Don't go see the movies, don't buy the stupid trinkets, and don't buy the soundtrack albums. It is the only way...
In my opinion, the worst thing in film is product placement. At least Obi-Wan and the gang didn't stop at Taco Bell during TPM. That's what I see as the worst thing in film these days. And you can say TPM was nothing but a marketing ploy, but c'mon, how many people begged Lucas to make it? Of course it's going to be a marketing machine. It has to be. Personally, I liked the film. No way did it compare to the originals, (though it was close to Jedi) but it's unfair to judge it in and of itself. The true judgment of Episode I will come when 2 and 3 are completed. SW in and of itself is a great film. But as the beginning of the Trilogy, it's legendary. In time, TPM will probably come to be better understood and enjoyed after the new trilogy is complete.
All TPM showed us was what Lucas was truly concerned about and the fact that he got lucky twenty-three years ago because he can't direct or write worth a damn (he didn't even direct or write the second two!).
So he was lucky with American Graffiti? He happened to write and direct that movie too, and from what I've heard it did pretty well.
The bottom line is that George Lucas isn't to blame for the decline in quality film today. He only cleared the path that the makers of "Apes" had already done.
Because the Original trilogy is on VHS already. There is no reason to stop the VHS release of TPM cuz it's not exclusive. Also, you have to remember, the demand is out there, regardless of how many of you think it sucked, people (including myself) still want to own it. He said there would be no DVD til 2006 for *any* Star Wars film, so this isn't anything new.