THE PHANTOM MENACE - YES!!

[ScottotD]

Here's a bigger question: Have any Riffaholics not seen Phantom Menace? At all? (I know some of you said you couldn't make it all the way through.)

I've seen it plenty of times (including a Midnight showing on opening day back in 1999 where we stood outside in the hot Florida sun for over 12 hours twice, once to buy the tickets, then again on opening day.)  But I think it has been several years since I have seen it.  Like I said, I don't even have it on DVD.

I actually have come to think that Episode 1 isn't even the worst movie of the prequel trilogy.  That would be Episode II : Attack of the Over the Top, Really Bad CGI.

I thought Obi-Wan's little mystery movie within a movie (when he finds out about Jango) was the ONLY good thing in any of the new three.

[dlobro1080]

I hated Sith and Clones more then Menace. Sith was just too unrealistic in character development. Anakin becomes a Sith in the name of love? Bah!!!! Sith is all about Tyrany, power, and control! How dare Lucas try to make Anakin's grand crusade of murder and betrayal into a sympathetic quest.

Well not to get into a whole thing here, but it's obvious from the get go -- A New Hope -- that Vader is a tragic figure.  A good man who fell from grace; so what's wrong with that fall having to do with him trying to make good ends (saving his wife and child) justify the means (turning to the dark side)?  I thought it worked really, really well.  And I don't think that contradicts the tenets -- "tyranny, power, and control" -- of being a Sith (okay we're getting really geeky here).  Anakin wanted to the power to be able to control things as he saw fit.  And once he achieved that, he became tyrannical.  Remember at the end, how he starts saying he can overthrow the Emperor, and "If you're not with me, you're my enemy."  Power corrupts.  He became a tyrant.  Very Sith-like, methinks.

[starfighter]

   I'm another one who needs to know if there is a specific version I need. I've got the OT but avoided this trilogy like the plague, so I hunted around before buying a .50 VHS copy off eBay, so if I do need another copy I'm not out much on this one.  Looking forward to the Rifftrax; I might actually stay awake through the whole movie for the first time.
     I want to add something I found through Neil Gaiman's blog today.  He linked to a piece in Wired magazine where a number of writers were asked to contribute short stories of exactly six words. The relative one in this case is by Steven Meretzky:  Leia: "Baby's yours." Luke: "Bad news..."

[Cambot]

Finally, a DVD I already have! This and Road House are the only movies I haven't had to run out to Half Price Books to buy the $2.98 VHS to enjoy.

[Jeyl]

Power corrupts.  He became a tyrant.  Very Sith-like, methinks.

Oh no. Not if that son of a gun yells "NOOOOOOOOO!!!" and goes to work the next day feeling relaxed and dignified. That Anakin was so dumb.

[James of LinHood]

I think it's masturbatory, is the problem.  The senate debates, the 15-minute pod race, the CGI aliens, too much Jar Jar -- too much everything.  By the time Lucas got around to "Sith" -- not sure how you feel about that one, but I love it -- he'd managed to reign in his indulgences and just make a solid action film with some heart.  My 2 cents.

I love Sith too.  It's one of, if not my favorite, Star Wars movies.  I think the prequels got better and better as they were released.  It's almost as if Lucas was slowly getting his head back into Star Wars with each film that was released.

I hated TPM so much that I found a fan edit on the net and downloaded it.  In the version I have they dubbed over Jar Jars voice, made him speak an alien language with subtitles, and changed everything he said.  They also edited out a lot of the scenes that made him look like an idiot.  They turned him into more of a smart ass Han Solo-type character and it actually worked very well.  It was very well made.  Much better than the theatrical release.

[labeth]

They seem to be picking on a lot of trilogies lately, which makes me wonder if they have plans to go after their sequels as well. I'd really love to see Attack of the Clones and the rest of the Matrix movies riffed, so if they are, yay for us.

[dlobro1080]

Power corrupts.  He became a tyrant.  Very Sith-like, methinks.

Oh no. Not if that son of a gun yells "NOOOOOOOOO!!!" and goes to work the next day feeling relaxed and dignified. That Anakin was so dumb.

I don't think he was relaxed.  He knew the Emperor was lying to him.  "That's impossible -- she was alive, I felt it."  And that scene where he crosses his arms looking out at the Death Star, was not meant to convey him feeling relaxed and dignified, but rather emptiness at what he was left with due to his actions.

[Justin]

I haven't read a lot of the Star Wars books, but I did read Dark Lord: The Rise of Darth Vader.  It takes place immediately after Episode III.  It's worth checking out.  The scenes between him and the Emperor are really well-written and interesting.  You see how bitter and resentful he is of Palpatine for leading him to his current condition.  Additionally, we peer into his mind to learn how he had to adjust to living in the suit and having mechanical limbs.  Like I said, I haven't read a lot of books in the series, but this was one of the better ones.

[SmilinJackRoss]

 I think the prequels got better and better as they were released.

I do too.  My favorite moments in ALL 6 MOVIES are Obi Wan's words to Anikin before and after their lightsaber battle on the fire planet.  Really great stuff.  (Empire is the best movie in the series IMO though)

I hated TPM so much that I found a fan edit on the net and downloaded it.  In the version I have they dubbed over Jar Jars voice, made him speak an alien language with subtitles, and changed everything he said.  They also edited out a lot of the scenes that made him look like an idiot.  They turned him into more of a smart ass Han Solo-type character and it actually worked very well.  It was very well made.  Much better than the theatrical release.

This sounds really interesting, any chance for a link?  (you can PM me if you don't want to post it.)

Also, is there any rumor of a complete box set with all 6 movies coming out?  I don't own any of the movies because I've been holding out for this, and I'm quite surprised that there isn't one yet.

[jedi2187]

I actually have that on VCD. It's called 'The Phantom Edit', and the opening scroll was changed and it pretty much described how much the 'author' of this edit hated the theatrical release and made his own cut.

I'll convert it to Quicktime movie format over the weekend and send you a pm later if you want, SJR.

[dlobro1080]

I'd love to see the The Phantom Edit too, if you can PM me the details.

[Justin]

I thought Obi-Wan's little mystery movie within a movie (when he finds out about Jango) was the ONLY good thing in any of the new three.

I agree.

"Ah, you're here to see the Clone Army the Jedi ordered?"
"Yyyyes.  I'm here...to see the Clone Army...that we ordered."

I think Ewan McGregor is the unsung hero of the whole series.  He's the only person whose acting, dialogue, and character development was most consistently not horribly conceived.  Except for that "You'll be the death of me" line.

[J-Proof]

If there's anything "good" that came out of the prequelogy, it's that we all have a knew knowledge as to how stubborn and blind George Lucas is! (haha)

But seriously....

If he were to analyze the overall outlook of the original trilogy, he'd see that the better movies were NOT directed by him..... But no, he wanted to make this one COMPLETELY his responsibility....

Now - I LOVE Star Wars, and saw all three prequels at midnight opening day, because the franchise is iconic and the SW universe is wonderful, but holy cow......

The storyline was passable (minus the whole mitochlorean bs) but the /direction/ was SO bad. In film school, we studied Lucas as being the most text-book unoriginal director. If a text book said "During a gunfight, all gunshots should be filmed at medium to close up perspectives" he'd do it..... And look at the acting!!! Just about everyone in those movies has proven themselves as great actors - so what the hell happened?

Now - When I heard rumor that Peter Jackson was going to direct the last two prequels, I damn near fainted. What he did to the land of Middle Earth was amazing, and I could see him actually bringing credibility back to the Skywalker side of things, but alas, my wish was not realized.

If Lucas /hadn't/ directed the prequels, my top chocies of people to take on the task would be:
1.) Peter Jackson - for his ability to enrichen stories with the right amount of seriousness and fantasy elements.
2.) Ridley Scott  - for his shear perfectionism when it comes to EVERYTHING (plus he made his name with sci fi)
3.) Tony Scott - for his Ridley-ness
4.) Spielberg - because as long as he's not /writing/ he has a good eye for Lucas's material (Indy Jones)

[jedi2187]

I'd love to see the The Phantom Edit too, if you can PM me the details.

Wilco roger that.

As far as directors that I'd rather had directed the prequels, just one name comes to mind:

Genndy Tartakovsky.
For a brief animated series, the Clone Wars, he showed the Jedi using their full potential of the Force abilites while also staying true to the SW universe, esp. with humor, emotions, etc...