Now, at this point, I’ve more or less eschewed the notion of
May the 4th, or Revenge of the 5th/6th
(whichever pun is better), and decided that May is Star Wars Month. George
Lucas was born in May, and all of his Star Wars films (including Empire and
Jedi) came out in May. That being said, when the Star Wars Prequel AppreciationSociety dubbed
this Friday “Prequel Appreciation Day” (traditionally May 19th, the
release date of Phantom and Sith, but moved a day over so people can celebrate
on a Friday) and called out to friendly bloggers to share the love by posting
their Top Ten favorite things about the films, well I felt inspired to write
about Star Wars for the first time in many months. Now it goes without saying,
I will be repeating myself here, and these are going to be mostly subjective to
my experience. But as I said in my previous post those many weeks back, we need
positivity now more than ever.
Like any self-respecting list-maker, I’m going to be
counting down from ten:
10. I keep noticing
new things every time I see them
 |
| "Like that guy in the back there." |
There’s so much going on in nearly every frame of Episodes
I-III that even today I find new things I never noticed in nearly each viewing.
It keeps it new and exciting for me. The Galaxy Far, Far Away really came alive
to me through these films.
9. The Political
Commentary
 |
| "I hate election years." |
As I get older and learn just how needlessly complicated and
self-serving politics can often be, I appreciate more just what these movies
say about how easy it is for governmental systems can rot from the inside when
checks and balances either don’t work correctly or are nonexistent. One of the
more chilling and relevant lines in the films is Padmé’s exasperated “So this
is how liberty dies: with thunderous applause.”
8. Curved-Hilt
Lightsabers
 |
| "Awesome." |
7. Podracing
 |
| "Now THIS is Podracing!" |
Not only does it feature one of the few Star Wars vehicles I
actually care about (and my favorite at that), but it shares a distinction with
Quidditch and Calvinball as one of the only sports I would ever be interested
in. Unless you count Heroes of the Storm as a sport, which I don’t no matter
how many time you call it “ESports”.
6. The Music
No picture here. Just listen to it. John Williams at his
finest.
5. Great Casting
 |
| "I wish he was...still alive." |
Qui-Gon to Watto, Dooku to Bail, Grievous to Padmé, Anakin
to Palpatine, the actors all did a fantastic job bringing these characters to
life and making them memorable (whether people will admit that or not).
4. The Production
Design
 |
| "Speaking of Elegant..." |
Now I feel this applies mostly to Phantom, which is without
a doubt the most beautiful movie I’ve ever seen in my life. But even with the
other two, the set/costume/creature/effects/sound designs were some of the most
unique and wondrous in cinema, and one thing many newer films sorely lack.
Speaking of which…
3. Dugs
 |
| "[Camelfaceus handwalkeri]" |
Coolest. Alien. Design. EVER.
2. Anakin’s Journey
 |
| "I believe that you have made a critical error in your assessment of the level of my overall energy, strength, and potential, in that you have come to the conclusion that it is far less than it's actual value." |
I am almost ashamed to admit it now, but I was just as
confused as many people by the story George Lucas was telling with Anakin when
I first saw the films. But when it clicked for me, it clicked hard. It is one
of the best and most complete character arcs I’ve ever seen in a fictional
work. And what makes it so tragic is that, even with Anakin’s mistakes and the
mistakes and machinations of everyone else around him - if just one thing had
gone any differently at any point until Anakin walked in on Mace and Palpatine,
things would have turned out far differently and far better for everyone.
And the Number One
Thing I Love Most about Episodes I-III is…
1. This Guy
 |
| "The shocked gasps are deafening." |
You know why.
Great list! I would watch Podracing as a sport too. The only thing I don't understand is how those pilots ever manage to enter another race. How many of those racers actually survived the Boonta Eve classic? Off the top of my head and not counting Anakin, maybe three of them? :)
ReplyDeleteFrom what I read, I think there were only two deaths (Ratts Tyrell and someone else, I forget), and Neva Kee (who aside from a quick shot of his pod was never seen in the film but was in the video games) got sent off-course during lap two and was never heard from again.
DeleteEveryone else I believe survived.
Agreed re: Phantom's visuals--I think it's by some margin the prettiest of the films along with Empire, and perhaps truest to the aesthetics of ye old Republic serials and such the films were inspired by. Just the amount of contrasting locations and environments in the first 30 minutes alone (the Federation ships, the swamps, Otah Gunga, and Theed) showcase that in spades.
ReplyDeleteI am almost ashamed to admit it now, but I was just as confused as many people by the story George Lucas was telling with Anakin when I first saw the films. But when it clicked for me, it clicked hard. It is one of the best and most complete character arcs I’ve ever seen in a fictional work.
ReplyDeleteI think Anakin Skywalker is one of the most complex fictional character I have ever come across and Lucas' masterpiece. It seems a pity that many people feel otherwise.