Star Wars is better ok, but LOTR is really close.

I think to make an honest opinion lets wait 25 years or so and see if people still hold the LOTR trilogy up to SW!

I would tell George, "Sorry, but I don't own any of LOTR sets. You see, I'm in my 30's and the movies are OK, but I'm past the age where a fantasy movie can really capture my imagination like your original trilogy did." I thought LOTR was well made and "spectacular" but very hollow and contained little suspense. The good guys were all so good. The bad guys so bad. There was no "I am your father" type of twist. Everyone knows it is a trilogy filmed at once so that guarentees the survival of every major player, eliminating the treat of death in battle in the first two films. I'm sure if I was well versed in the book, it would make up for some of the shortcomings of the film, but I'm not so I've just got to go on the film's merits alone. I'm an adult and need more from a movie. That being said, the SWT is from a more innocent time and has massive nostalgia value that any movie you want to own has, not to mention effects more amazing than anything in LOTR for its time. I gasped when the Destroyer flew onto the screen in SW. I wanted to drive around in a landspeeder. LOTR was realistic, impressive, but not awe inspiring to me as a 30-something year old. So I'd make the trade for a Star Wars Trilogy SE in a second. That is if George would take something besides LOTR.

Would you tell him this before or after you propose to him?

I'd take the SW movies quicker than you can say 'Wookie'.

To claim that one is better than the other is ridiculous - while the acting in LOTR is better, the plot of Star Wars is far less muddled and much more focused. LOTR is spectacular and has raised trilogies' to the next level, but it is only a ghost of what Star Wars was and is.

Darth Vader, Lightsabres and the force are cultural icons. People will, believe it or not, forget the hoopla around LOTR in a few years and SW will still be there.

Damn Right! Come and ask this question in 25 years and lets see what kind of answers we get.

That is only your opinion. Not fact.

I could say the same thing the other way around:

People will, believe it or not, have a place in their hearts for LOTR and forget about Star Wars in ten years.

What makes you right and me wrong?

What makes you wrong is the proven durability and longevity of the Star Wars Saga that has lasted 25 years, spaned 3 decades, and been embraced by several generations. It's not like we will wake up tommorrow and the world will have turned their back on the film and no one will watch it anymore.

LOTR may very well prove to be just as durable, but it has yet to be proven. Star Wars on the other hand has already proven itself.

That doesn't prove me wrong at all. I can't speak for everbody but Lucas has lost a lot of fans with the prequels. No matter how you may personally feel about these new episodes, you can't deny the fact that *many* people think they are awful (me included) I still love the original trilogy, but the new ones have left a "bad taste" so to speak. And depending on how good/bad Episode 3 is, Star Wars may continue to lose its luster.

"It's not like we will wake up tommorrow and the world will have turned their back on the film and no one will watch it anymore."

No of course not, but you are replying to a hypothetical statement that I stated to prove the ridiculous-ness of the post I was replying to. Do you think 'we will wake up tomorrow' and no one will watch LOTR anymore? It sure seems like it with your enthusiastic thumbs-up agreement with Kerborus.

Also for your information, the "proven durability and longevity" of The Lord of the Rings has lasted 50+ years, which makes you wrong.

The books are not the movies. Star Wars is more popular than LOTR.

books yes, movies NO

This is also only your opinion. Considering the box office performance of Episode 2, the 'popularity' of Star Wars may not be as high as you think.

But then again you are probably referring to the OT. Fine. Suppose they released the Original Trilogy this year on DVD as 3 individual releases- would those 3 sell more units than LOTR's previous two releases along with the upcoming ROTK? I'm not convinced.

Yes I think they would. Dvd sales dont equal popularity either.

They could, I'm not saying they couldn't. But you think they would I think they wouldn't.

And you're right, I guess more people buying a DVD so they can watch the movie doesn't make it more popular. What was I thinking.

Well I think the original intent of the thread has now been accomplished.

But just to join in, I think what Star Wars had going for it was that there really was nothing after it for a long time to take it off people's minds. I mean, for the longest time, a fat guy was "Jabba". If you wanted to be a hero, you were "Luke". Any wise-guy type person was either "Yoda" or "Obi-Wan"(heck, even upto now). LOTR for the longest time was what I would call "under the radar". Yes, it was popular but it wasn't something that those who weren't into Fantasy really latched onto, but almost everyone latched onto Star Wars.

As for losing fans, you guys really think this happens? That some person actually goes, "I don't like Star Wars anymore. I'm not gonna watch it ever again." Cuz I criticize the prequels just as much as those who bash it that sometimes it's hard to determine which camp I'm in, but I know that in May 2005, I know where I'll be at midnight. I reeeaaaly think this "losing fans" phenomena is just an internet thing. Cuz every Halloween whenever I go to the mall, members of the 501st legion go around in groups, one's usually dressed as Vader with some Imperial guards and Storm Troopers with him(last year they actually had a Jango Fett) and people flock to them for pictures every year. Every year. It just puts a smile on my face when I see that.

The LOTR movies hit in the prime of the dvd market. Star Wars was released in '77 when dvds were far far away. Star Wars is more popular. I dont know how you can doubt that. Its part of our culture. People know what a wookie is. People know what a jedi is. Most don't know an orc or a ringwraith.

over $300 million domestic is poor boxoffice?

Uh, people know what a hobbit is. People know "Gandalf".

Yes, SW came out a long time ago. And it was 'popular' long time ago. If Star Wars was more 'popular' than LOTR right now, it would sell more DVDs.

Did I say it was poor boxoffice? It is certainly no where near the height of SW popularity. Poor in comparison to the OT's drawing power. And by comparison it is not nearly doing as well as LOTR (compare TTT's gross- both released in 2002) And the overall (read: worldwide) gross is not that hot either.

They do NOW. Did they 10, 15 years ago? Will they still in 2028? I guess we'll have to see.

This one I think we'll :

A. Never really find out, if Lucas doesn't release the CLASSIC OT (which *is* the version stipulated by the thread)

B. Have a more reasonable discussion on by this time next year if the rumored release of the SE is true.


I think 3 pages of rehashed "my movie can beat up your movie" is plenty. Closing thread. - Static