I saw Episode III this morning

In the beginning part of the movie, I said to my husband "It is too bad that we know how this all turns out." I was anticipating him turning to the dark side. I was anticipating the fall of the Republic.
Despite this, I was bawling when he turned into Darth Vader and went on his killing spree. It was still emotional to me.
I wonder though how it would be though if I hadn't known. In the future, people may watch the first 3 before seeing the next 3 or knowing what will happen. It certainly would be different, wouldn't it?
Would you have preferred to see the first 3 before the last 3? Do you think that it would have made the third movie more dramatic, feeling, and powerful?

I was eagerly anticipating an intensely cool moment when the helmet snapped into place. Instead I felt very sad...Vader isn't a badass...or isn't just a bad ass. He's a seriously fucked up individual, an emotional basket case.

Who made some angry calls to a local radio station here.

They were angry because the DJ's had said over the air that Anikan (sp?) became Darth Vader at the end and they were upset that the ending was announced over the air.

:crazy:

I guess some people just look for reasons to be upset...or maybe just not to bright.

I mean people who would go to that movie or any movie at all. Did they not understand that Episodes 1-3 were prequels to the popular Star Wars movies 4-6? Or didn't they understand that Vader from 4-6 and Anakin Skywalker were the same person?
I suppose that it is possible that they didn't see the the Star Wars movies but wanted to see the cool new popular movie.

Where Marge and Homer go see Empire Strikes Back and while walking out Homer spills the beans about Vader being Luke's father in front of the line of people waiting to see it!

:rofl:

that's how the people are kept valiumed....i saw star wars 'episode one' just last eve, on tv, on purpose to see what it was about; and marvel that anyone could waste that much time/energy for shabby written-by-committe soap operas...these movies made lucas etc rich meanwhile using up whatever they had that might have contributed to life and the limits of present knowlege; meanwhile, the human drama which is vastly more interesting and germane to everybody on earth, passes by barely noticed!....too many people care about lord of rings, henry potter, the star wars bs and titanic rambo debbie does dallas etc when they or their guardians should have been looking out for their souls...reagan would not have been possible had newsmedia simply reported what went on around us and who was doing it for what reason...instead, tv and entertainment distracted enough people so that other distractions could then reduce those in the know-again and again and again until there were only a handful who cared about the world and what's needed to preserve or save it from piggy...i predict that every single human being who invested even one cent in the hollywood valium movies like star wars will be forever sorry for it....
question: if pleasure is the object, why doesn't everyone get stoned on junk? why substitute a 5th rate high like star wars?

I see value in literature, written or performed. I think that Annakin/Vader is a good tragic hero. I also find the whole philosophy/religion of the force interesting. The political lessons could also be applied to our time. Although there is a lot of action and special effects, unlike many "action" movies the story and themes do have a lot of humanistic merit. Star Wars isn't just a thrill for me.

distract from better art, perhaps.

of every day life, politics and the world around us. Perhaps a little escapist entertainment keeps us well-balanced, or else all of us would be posting incoherent screeds on internet forums scolding others for not thinking about how fucked up things are in our society for about 2 1/2 hours.

I just got back from the afternoon showing on the west coast.

When the scene in the senate came, I said 9-11 out-loud which I didn't realize I did until I looked and some people next to me looked at me in a uncomfortable manner.

Loved the movie, I would have liked to have seen it on digital theater screen, the visuals were outstanding. But I'm a big Star wars fan so not completely an unbiased viewpoint.

I enjoyed the escape to "a Galaxy Far, Far, away."

:thumbsup:

watching "The Apprentice" or "Survivor." I NEED a little escapist entertainment a few hours a week, or I'll go mad.

Since when Star Wars first debuted, it was was an homage to old Hollywood serials and was most definitely not "written by committee". Lucas made Star Wars only after the success of American Graffiti and essentially had to create the company that provided the special effects out of his own money. Had Star Wars bombed, Lucas would have lost everything.

I'm sorry that you apparently have lost the imagination, magic and wonder that accompanies having a love for speculative fiction and film. Unfortunately, your simplistic view of what allowed Reagan to occupy the Whitehouse is as child-like as a love of Star Wars and Harry Potter, just in a far more dangerous sense of the word.

Finally, I'll be glad to answer your question regarding drugs vs Star Wars. If you consider that anti-depressants are probably more over prescribed than any other class of drugs and prescription painkillers are more abused than ever, then I would say your analogy is dead wrong. The people are in pain and are seeking relief wherever they can find it. Watching films like Star Wars and reading novels like Harry Potter are far more healthy than taking unnecessary doses of Zoloft and getting hooked on Vicodin. I'm sorry you don't seem to be able to see how film and literature like Star Wars & LOTR can actually help shape future political attitudes with their various themes & motifs.

Yeah, all the problems in our society are caused by people watching geek films :eyes:

Stop taking yourself, and your self-righteous "opinions" so seriously. I assure you no one else does.

Filmed entertainments in and of themselves are not the problem. While it's true that newspaper readership declined with the advent of newsreels and then televised news, by far the majority of newspapers were uninformative trash anyway. There's *always* been junk to consume, and people have always been eager to consume it in enormous quantities. Big-spectacle technicolor escapist trash musicals were the most popular form of entertainment when FDR was elected, so blaming the advent of the Reagan years on insubstantial entertainments is foolish.

They exist only to keep you buzzed and having a couple of hours of fun with the only life you get, when you SHOULD be hunched over in an efficiency with no furniture reading the Little Red Book under the harsh glow of a bare light bulb.

Ha! You cannot be taken seriously unless you read by good old fashioned candlelight! Only then can the oppressors be defeated by your amazing powers of sacrifice. :P

enslave the workers and peasants

It has erased natural limits on labor and robbed us of the night sky.

with their ankles chained to sweatshop table legs making candles for 40 cents a week just to satisfy AmeriKKKa's bloated illumination addiction!

puppet, trained by the CIA to work a fax machine, installed by Revlon and MaxFactor so they can produce cheap cosmetics by having kids making eyeshadow without respirators (eyeshadow powder causes cancer and genital elaphantism) and paid pennies an hour by their whip weilding slavedriving managers, who are trained in a secret military base in Ft. Myers, Colorado to produce the maximum amount of pain on the children. :tinfoilhat:

I shall purge myself of my reactionary nature through harsh self-critiscm and random self flagellation.

I was hypnotized by your stream-of-consciousness sentence fragments.

You can call any entertainment bread and circuses. Just because it comes out of Hollywood doesn't necessarily make it bad. Geez! at least there is a moral to Star Wars. What about the countless hours wasted by Americans on pro sports?

It's really amazing that a tired old cliche favored by killjoys the world 'round could be paraphrased into such an incomprehensible diatribe. Very well done. :thumbsup:

When he slaughtered those children, I swear i lost it, and was bawling. The sweet faces of the little ones, and him turning on that saber broke my heart. I figured I was the only one crying at fucking Star Wars. I felt a little retarded, to tell you the truth, but when it comes to kids, I freak out when they're hurt.
Duckie

That's George Lucas' son. Must be nice :D

his beard was suppose to be an obvious giveaway, but I didn't see it.
too much eye candy.

1.) When Vader/James Earl Jones asked, "Is Padme alright?" etc. Also, when Obi-wan gave Luke to Beru and Owen. I stopped bawling, because I knew there act of kindness and bravery would kill them in the future. They weren't even really related to Luke, they had no rational reason to accept this burden, and no one would have faulted them if they didn;t. But they did. For some reason, I cried.

Keisha Castle-Knight was the Queen of Naboo, btw.

ND JAR-JAR DIDN'T SAY A DAMN WORD!!!

And Yoda was da man!

and took out the two door guards with just a wave of his hands.... Yoda ROCKS!

And when he was talking to Chewbacca and the other Wookie when the Clones got their Order 66 instructions... he just lowered his eyelids, twitched his ears and WHAM! Two dead proto-stormtroopers. Hehehe... I also loved how the Wookies were just like, huh? Quickly got the situation, and spirited Master Yoda away.

"I have failed." and he looked like HE was about to cry! The whole movie was just such an emotional roller coaster. I've been waiting forever to see this movie, but in a way I'm sad to see that it's finished. I was born in '79 so Star Wars has been around my whole life and I grew up watching the original trilogy over and over again. But I can't wait to have kids and to show them the movies... and they WILL like it!

I was in 8th grade when "A New Hope" came out (just plain old Star Wars then).

I know, Yoda was very powerful in this movie. He, Ewan McGregor, and Ian whatshislastname playing the Emperor were by far the best actors!

But when people scoff at me and say I 'wasn't there' when the original star wars came out I tell them exactly that: I have never known a life without star wars, thus it was a very moving experiece to see it concluded at last.

You're not too young, I'm just too old!

had the same thought while watching the movie, "I can't cry, this is Star Wars."

It was sad. :(

But I loved it. I thought it was really good.

I watched it. (I saw it in the cinema too.) Although I agree that the idea of people watching the series sequentially is attractive, Ep1 is SOOOOOOOOOOO bad, and might put people off. But I'm sure that there will be parties after the DVD comes out where all six are played in sequence ...

I believe they did it in the order of IV to VI then I to III. That is the best way to see it.

I wish I got to see the LOTR SE trilogy all at once in the theater back in December 2003.

forget JarJar. He isn't much worse than C-3P0. But the rest of the film is damn good. Darth Maul is one of the baddest ass star wars villians ever.

He rocked

that double ended light saber of his was righteous too

Part of the reason why I hate Ep 1 is all the kiddie-fluff they put in it, instead of Maul going after the Jedi.

And don't get me started on that lamer speed-moped they had him riding around on

If I had to choose between Maul and Jar Jar, I'd take Jar Jar.

I think Lucas has the creative power to have come up with a far better, less cliched, design for Maul.

It turns my stomach to watch him.

He's the character equivalent to all those action movies in the 80s that had the line "Let's rock and roll!" before they went shooting at the enemies.

??? was that the puppet character with the crown holding ten trinkles, sparkle like?

I thought Ep 1 was better than 2, at least from a narrative standpoint. I seem to be in the minority though.

The light saber fight between Qui Gon, Obi Wan, and Darth Maul at the end of ep I more than makes up for the annoying Jar Jar.

I don't care to think 1-3 exist at all.

It's a huge antithesis that takes away from later episodes. Which is sad given how PALTRY the first three (or even four) are.

1. "Luke, I am your father" will still be a surprise.

2. Several of most powerful Episode III moments are the ones linked to the original trilogy: Vader's transformation, the Tatooine house, and of course, the astounding musical score that weaves together Duel of the Fates, The Imperial March, and The Rebel Anthem, and builds on them to set the stage for the Anakin's Fall Theme.

Reason 1 is a really good reason.
I also agree that the music themes introduced in the earlier made films are an important part of the effect. I learned about light motifs, which were an important part of Wagnerian opera, in my college music literature class and did think that it was cool that they were in the Star Wars movies.

bawled my eyes out. Felt sympathy for Annakin. Darn it!

He was such a sad little boy afraid to lose someone else he loved. I liked that aspect of his turn to the dark side.

When he knelt in front of the Emporer and said you are my master (or whatever) and the Darth Vader music from episodes 4-6 started playing very softly, I got chills. That was so well done.

The killing of the younglings was heart wrenching and what happened to Annakin after battling Obi-Wan was just horrific.

I really felt for Obi-Wan as much as anyone -- betrayed by his brother/son. Ewan McGregor did the best acting job.

Ewan McGregor just ROCKED -- it was so poignant, such good acting, such rising above Lucas' hair-raisingly bad dialogue....

is the spelling on that one.

Don't mean to break in here and go off topic...but thought you should know.

:-)

And I agree - I'm glad Williams decided to go with the leitmotif idea for Star Wars. It really enhances the movies, especially the development of the Vader theme through II and finally coming into fullness in III. The music is an essential part of the storytelling.

of bringing a sense of 'will he' or 'won't he'. Despite the fact that we all knew he would turn in the end, it seemed there was a chance he might not. Does that make sense?

After the movie we were talking about how the prophecy said Annakin was the chosen one. And my daughter pointed out that in the end, he was the chosen one. That he did destroy the Emperor and the Siths. His journey to that point just didn't take the path expected. I thought that was brilliant because I had never thought of it that way before.

(Note: spoiler below)





As far as emotional points of the movie, the scenes of the betrayal of the Jedis was really sad to me. I'm a pretty big Star War nerd and I never realized the Jedis were destroyed in one fell swoop like that. I thought the order was destroyed over the course of the war.

My family and I think that there needs to be one more movie between III and IV. (Maybe they can do Ep III.5 like they did with Lion King.) We think they could do a movie about Obiwan and Yoda's years in exile, the rise of the Rebellion and the reign of terror of Vader. Anyone else up for that? :)

My teenage son thought that was the best part (sad, but best). The fact that they were betrayed by the "soldiers" they were supposedly leading made the Jedi seem even more honorable.

bawled my eyes out. Felt sympathy for Annakin. Darn it!

As Obi Wan said, "Only the sith see in black and white"; a statement of challenge to us, the viewers, to not be Sith-like and to remember that even those we think are evil (Vader) (or perhaps Muslims or murderers) maybe really aren't.

Vader's problem was that he loved too much, and loved in the wrong way.

I saw III and then watched IV, and I was surprised at how differently I now look at Vader. Now instead of evil and cruelty and maliciousness, I see suffering and sadness; a man who is being kept alive by machinery and, I would bet money (though III didn't say this explicitly) through the power of the Emperor. So Vader is really stuck: so long as he desires to stay alive, he is beholden to the Emperor for that life.

One of the most emotional scenes for me was the death of Padme. When she told Anakin "You're breaking my heart." and when Anakin thought that Padme had brought Obi Wan to kill him so he choked her. Then she just died of a broken heart. Very very sad.

One...There was no real "straw that broke the camel's back." It just seemed like too much "flip-flopping" (I hate that that term has became so over used now) back and forth between the Counsel and the Emperor. He kept walking the fence, but then there just didn't seem that much to do the final push that would cause him to go into a mode that it would take to make him slaughter hundreds/thousands of people including kids.

Two...Yoda leading to the "a long gone friend has learned the way to immortality", Qui-Gon. And then Yoda teaching Obi-Wan on how to reach to him, seems too paradoxical.

to come from out of no where. I do like that Anakin was on the fence for so long, it made him seem like even more of a tragic hero, that he could so easily have made the choice to stay on the light side, but he didn't.

too powerful, and also too impatient to allow things to take their natural course. His weakness of character, of course, is his undoing and he is too arrogant concerning his power to see it. Indeed a flawed, tragic hero.

(Faustian as in Doctor Faustus - did I just make that word up or do people use that?)

Anakin could have used his powers for good, but instead let his arrogance and desire for more power turn him bad.

I just read Faustus for the first time a few months ago so I wasn't sure. Thanks!

Okay, seen better acting and heard better dialogue. Still, as an installment of the space opera gendre, I found it compelling.

Anakin/Vader is a tragic operatic figure. He is powerful in his profession, but his one weakness is his insecurity in his family life. The Chancellor uses that weakness to get Anakin to turn away from his friends. Ultimately, he brings about what he fears most, the loss of his family. Because of his background, Anakin fears chaos (especially at home) above all and would probably agree with the statement that any government is better than none.

The chancellor has a knack of making people realize lies. They have just enough truth in them to be believeable. Anakin's disfunctional thinking causes everything to be viewed in absolute terms. When his friends do something shady, it must be because of disloyalty. No one bothers to explain that it is just how things work in politics. When denied honors, the council must be out to get him. When he finally takes the plunge to the dark side, it is absolute. Even the children are the enemy. Darth Vader did not choose to be evil. He did it because he thinks he is right. In huberis he took it upon himself to be the wrath of God. We finally see how complete the chancellor's deception is when he litterally pulls the hood over Anakin's eyes.

The whole good vs. dark side of the force explained a lot. I felt that is was not so much a comparison of opposites, like mirror images, but that one concept was inclusive of the other. The good side is actually that fraction of the force that can be controlled without blowing up in ones face. It also represents the order of civilization and the rational. By contrast, the dark side is the entire force and often manifests itself as violent or passionate. It represents the wild aspects of our personalities.

ie having no permanent connections outside of the Jedi -- he would have had no insecurity and chaos in his home life, because they would have been none! There was a reason the Jedi were to be "loners" -- we see how Darth Sidious used this and Anakin's wounded hubris to get him to make the Dark Choice.

Free will. Anakin could have went either way until he killed Mace Windu. To me that was the real no turning back, not Order 66 and the Younglings.

And, if Anakin had followed the truth of his path --

ie having no permanent connections outside of the Jedi -- he would have had no insecurity and chaos in his home life, because they would have been none! There was a reason the Jedi were to be "loners" -- we see how Darth Sidious used this and Anakin's wounded hubris to get him to make the Dark Choice.Free will. Anakin could have went either way until he killed Mace Windu. To me that was the real no turning back, not Order 66 and the Younglings.

Exactly, the Mace/Sidious fight was the final straw… it sure wasn’t a punk death that Jackson feared for his character. The way of the Jedi was also to blame.... besides the fact that Sidious was playing everyone.

After the movie we were talking about how the prophecy said Annakin was the chosen one. And my daughter pointed out that in the end, he was the chosen one. That he did destroy the Emperor and the Siths. His journey to that point just didn't take the path expected. I thought that was brilliant because I had never thought of it that way before.

Exactly!!!!Since Ep I, I have often made the argument that it’s the severity and archaic structure of the Jedi Order that really played a part in its own downfall…. Prohibitting love beyond friendship was their ultimate downfall… If you know anything about post Return of the Jedi, that Luke starts a new order… but this time it is different, there are familial relationships. And yes Vader himself sees his son confront the same decision he had to …. But Luke was not overtly proud…. His choices were not based on power but love….so Vader saw the truth in his own choice and did what Mace should have done if he had not stepped in… But he does step in... of course in EPIII the balance is evened... there are less jedi... but in Ep VI the Sith lose their power.... at Anakin's hand.

Don’t forget that most of the story was manipulated by Sidious/Palpatine.. he alludes to the manipulation of midichlorians by Darth Plagerous (sp?)… But eventually Sidious falls into a trap of his own…. Greed and corruption…. Vader sees through it.

I was most impressed with the whole Order 66, it just drove home the true nature of Palpatine’s plan… it was simple… the Kaminoans trained them in advance… period. took out the Jedi pretty quickly so Lucas could spend more time on Vader’s story.

Two...Yoda leading to the "a long gone friend has learned the way to immortality", Qui-Gon. And then Yoda teaching Obi-Wan on how to reach to him, seems too paradoxical.

Lucas actually shot a scene with Liam Neeson for this movie which was cut out…. This scene would probably flesh it out for you…. But I am glad Yoda made the reference to Qui-Gon. I wanted more into that cause that was the one thing I wanted to see...