Star Wars: saved from Lucas

"Just Jeepin'" (macintux)
11/10/2019 at 12:47 • Filed to: None

The prequels desperately needed a Kasdan.

DISCUSSION (11)

ttyymmnn > Just Jeepin'
11/10/2019 at 12:58

The best George Lucas movies were the ones he didn’t direct.

ttyymmnn > Just Jeepin'
11/10/2019 at 13:29

Just watched it (I think I’ve seen it some years ago). Anyway, I think it’s a bit dramatic to say that the movie was “saved,” because the secret to great writing is rewriting. I can guarantee you that every world famous author out there has a fantastic, and often unknown, editor. It is interesting, though, to see how moving bits of the story around help to make the film flow and keep it exciting. But that’s what editors do. It’s a shame that Lucas felt compelled to go back and mess with the original films. His changes do nothing to make the films better, and often make them worse. I find it interesting that he finds so much pleasure in editing, because he’s demonstrably not very good at it.

Just Jeepin' > ttyymmnn
11/10/2019 at 13:42

I keep hoping that the Disney acquisition will lead to a re-released version of the original trilogy as it was initially shown , but I’ve heard rumors that George had everything thrown away to prevent that from happening.

f86sabre > Just Jeepin'
11/10/2019 at 14:27

There is no doubt that the movie was helped by having great editors. I think most good movies are. I think this also fueled the false hysteria over reshoots for the Marvel and Star Wars movies. They found the movies had needs and they made corrections.

I would like to see a good breakdown of Rouge One at some point. That seems to be a prime example of being able to see where a good rewrite and edit saved the day.

JasonStern911 > Just Jeepin'
11/10/2019 at 16:25

And the best Star Wars, Empire, gave Lucas even less power. I get into these debates from time to time. Credit to Lucas for the overall vision, but he has serious weaknesses as a storyteller to a mainstream audience. Not sure why fanboys get so worked up over that conclusion.

ttyymmnn > Just Jeepin'
11/10/2019 at 16:38

We may have to wait for him to die before we see those original versions again.

Just Jeepin' > ttyymmnn
11/10/2019 at 16:50

I can’t see why; Disney owns both Lucasfilms and Fox, so if they exist, Lucas doesn’t have anything to say about it.

Deal Killer - Powered by Focus > Just Jeepin'
11/10/2019 at 16:58

I came across an original VHS box set of the original trilogy at my church rummage sale. Bought it for $5 and gave them to my neighbor who’s a big Star Wars fan. He couldn’t believe I found it, and I just give them to him. Sounded like I gave him the holy grail or something.

ttyymmnn > Just Jeepin'
11/10/2019 at 18:54

It all depends on how the contracts are written.

ttyymmnn > Deal Killer - Powered by Focus
11/10/2019 at 18:54

I used to have that exact set. I think one of them was missing. Probably worth some decent money these days.

MiniGTI - now with XJ6 > JasonStern911
11/11/2019 at 10:03

Right. Also why Star Trek II was so good—they didn’t let Roddenberry anywhere near the script.

Back to The Future is another movie saved (Or at least vastly improved) by the editors. If you watch the deleted scenes on the DVD every one of them is awful.