Question

[cnamon]

I don't want to be all up in their Star Wars thread, but what is the appeal of those movies?

I am a movie fan, but I can't see myself waiting hours and days in line for a movie.

I just want to understand. 

I want to believe.

[Jessie]

Wow, I haven't heard/seen "I want to believe" in a long time.

[cnamon]

Wow, I haven't heard/seen "I want to believe" in a long time.

I just saw it during a GIS today and thought it felt the future geeking that will ensue in this thread.

[BigDun]

George Lucas was a fan of Joesph Campbell's works including Hero of a Thousand Faces. He wrote the original series based on themes found in the mythology that crosses all cultures. This made the movie very appealing since just about everyone could relate to the Star Wars saga as it represents the common Hero theme found in the ancient myths that span the world.

[Beefy]

To be honest, it's mostly a nostalgia thing.  So far, the prequels haven't been very inspiring.

But when we were young, Star Wars took us somewhere no other film ever had.  It opened up the imagination of an entire generation of children.

Looking back, with a certain amount of objectivity, they're not that good.  In fact, when Star Wars got rereleased in 97 I fell asleep watching it.

But the story has grown in strength nonetheless.  It is modern mythology, much like Lord of the Rings is.

[Gamplayerx]

Like Beefy said, when the original Star Wars came out, it was unbelieveably amazing.  There just had not been anything like it before.

[ignom]

I don't really care for any of them except for the very first one. But when I was a kid, I thought the Ewoks were awesome. Even those two made-for-TV movies and the cartoon.

I'll take Indiana Jones over Star Wars any day of the week.

[Dry then Catch]

i like them but there are better nerdy sci fi serieses out there

[ReBurn]

When I was a kid the appeal was the the opportunity for imagination that the stories afforded.  It was so easy to play Star Wars games with friends because everyone could relate to the heroes and the struggle between good and evil.

Now that I am grown up I think that the appeal is more nostalgia than anything.  I think that the first two prequel movies, while not that great, were somewhat necessary links in the chain to get us to where Return of the Jedi ended up.  I think that The Phantom Menace had potential to be a much better movie than it was, and Jar Jar would have been ok if there hadn't been so much of him.  Darth Maul should have stuck around longer, too.

[Alice]

For me it's such a great story.  It is so well written I want to cry.

The dialogue is as cheesy as any comic book, which is great to me too.

Also, the fact that unknowns made it is very appealing to me too. 

Dunno, just has a special place in my heart.

[VikingJuice]

To be honest, it's mostly a nostalgia thing.  So far, the prequels haven't been very inspiring.

But when we were young, Star Wars took us somewhere no other film ever had.  It opened up the imagination of an entire generation of children.

Looking back, with a certain amount of objectivity, they're not that good.  In fact, when Star Wars got rereleased in 97 I fell asleep watching it.

But the story has grown in strength nonetheless.  It is modern mythology, much like Lord of the Rings is.

I agree with all of Beef's comment on this one, I also agree-mostly with what AL said with the exception of the writing.  The STORY writing is brilliant, the dialogue and screen plays varied from film to film, but many were less than exceptional.

For me, Star Wars was the first real passion of my life.  I saw it at the age of 6 in the movie theatre on the first month it was out.  I remember liking the commercials so much that when it came time to go I was chomping at the bit.  I remember we had pot roast that night and at the time, I hated cooked carrots.  My father threatened that if I didn't clean my plate, there would be no Star Wars.  I gulped down every bite in seconds!

After that, it was a movie experience that colored, hell, in some ways created my sense of wonder and imagination.  Every thing I did, drew, played with, created and thought about had SW somehow woven into the fabric.  Back before I'd even seen a SW figure or toy, I sat down with my dad and made a LEGO version of R2D2. 

A couple years later, we were vacationing in New Mexico and David Prowse(Vader-not the voice) and Peter Mayhew(Chewbacca) were both making a guest appearance in a local mall.  I was so determined to go but since it was hours away from where we were, we missed the whole thing.  I was so depressed that my father bought me a couple action figures to compensate-Darth Vader and C3PO.  I remember not choosing Luke because his yellow lightsaber looked dumb.

As the years have gone on, it's become a sweet part of my childhood that always makes me smile.  I had such high hopes for EP I and II because I thought they could take me back again, sadly, it didn't work that way.  Reading the new EP III book did a little of that for me and I'm hoping the film can do something similar.  In a way, tonight's viewing will be the last vestage of my childhood on screen.  I'm happy and excited to see it, but part of me laments that it will indeed be over to a certain extent.

To Quote Governor Tarkin, "the last remnants will be swept away..."

[Beefy]

It's also worthwhile to note that George Lucas hated Hollywood and has gone on to become the biggest independent filmmaker of all time.  He alone has been an enormous driving force behind the evolution of digital technology in cinema.  He is an honest to goodness pioneer.

[OBB]

I liked Star Wars because the long lightsabres were a way of vicariously compensating for my tiny genitalia.

[Alice]

He is an honest to goodness pioneer.

The movie is running out of money.  You lose:

13 gaffers
5 lbs craft services
2 droids
4 cameras
CHEWBACCA (cholera)
DENGAR (scarlet fever)

[cnamon]

He is an honest to goodness pioneer.

The movie is running out of money.  You lose:

13 gaffers
5 lbs craft services
2 droids
4 cameras
CHEWBACCA (cholera)
DENGAR (scarlet fever)

I love you so much for that!

+1 for Oregon Trail!

[Jessie]

He is an honest to goodness pioneer.

The movie is running out of money.  You lose:

13 gaffers
5 lbs craft services
2 droids
4 cameras
CHEWBACCA (cholera)
DENGAR (scarlet fever)

I love you so much for that!

+1 for Oregon Trail!

I loved oregon trail, even if we never made it out of the camp before dying.

[Jessie]

[Bennyhana]

So...could I Harrison Ford the river?
...
*crickets chirp*

Sorry. 

Anyway, I've come to the conclusion that I'll never really get the whole Star Wars thing.  I saw all three when they were re-released, and I saw episode 1 the day it came out (largely because most of my friends are fans).  I'd always liked the movies okay, but I'd never been a fanatic.   Since watching episode 1, I've really had no will to see the other new ones.  It feels, to me, to be more moneygrubbing pricks humping my childhood for every dime they can squeeze out of me.   The only thing that would get me to see Episode 3 is if someone said that Mace Windu's lightsaber said "Bad Motherf*cker" on it.

[Beefy]

The only thing that would get me to see Episode 3 is if someone said that Mace Windu's lightsaber said "Bad Motherf*cker" on it.

I don't know about that, but the Millenium Falcon is in it.  And Chewbacca.  That's 2/3 of a Cool Sandwich.

[Bennyhana]

The only thing that would get me to see Episode 3 is if someone said that Mace Windu's lightsaber said "Bad Motherf*cker" on it.

I don't know about that, but the Millenium Falcon is in it.  And Chewbacca.  That's 2/3 of a Cool Sandwich.

I don't think I want to know on which side of Chewbacca Han Solo is in that Sandwich.