ouch! My backside is stinging!

I thought PlayItAgainSam put it well, but that's just my opinion. Eh, maybe it's just that time of the month for me.

I would say that there is merit in Britney's and N'Synch music, to lots of people even if it is not my cup of tea. There is no denying that people LIKE these artists. Now it's easy to be a music snob and dismiss anything that is not your tastes, just as it is easy to be a movie snob. But the facts are indisputable: THERE ARE MILLIONS OF PEOPLE WHO LIKE THE MUSIC OF THE AFOREMENTIONED ARTISTS.

Just as there are millions of fans of both the SE's and the PT. Now you can say these movies suck, but why why why why go into a discussion about SW when YOU DON'T LIKE IT? Do you cruise the Britney Spears boards crapping all over the place? I think the truth is this:

Many of the PT and OT's detractors secretly like these movies. BUT since the trendy popular internet opinion of them is that they are crap, they must agree to fit in to the snooty critic mold. They come in to see if the pendulum of pop opinion is swinging so that they will be able to say they DO in fact like these movies.

Well said Jim, very well said.

My apologies for threadcrapping. The discussion of whether Ep.1-3 suck is up to the individual. Like a painting, some people like some styles, some do not. Beauty is in the eye of the beholder, as they say. ...shutting up...

and depending upon where you shop

99% will prefer to purchase their Star Wars sets in Full Screen
1% will be anal enough to make a stink to anyone in earshot about how this compromises the experience.

to which
another 27% will respond "oh get over it.
it's still Star Wars. and why would you want to watch a smaller picture for a big movie like this?"

And *THIS*, right here is the root of the problem. When you get right down to it, Star Wars is nothing more than a saturday morning movie serial. A big, overblown multi-million dollar movie serial, but a serial nonetheless.

It is NOT some big important drama, with important social issues and oscar winning acting and deep meaningful storys on the human condition. Why some people try and atribute these qualities to Star Wars is beyond me.

It is light fluff. Always has been, always will be. Cheesy acting, simple (yet entertaining) plots and great action pieces. To expect more from these films is setting yourself up for a disapointment.



And yet again the Movie Snob shows it's ugly head. "Popular things are CRAP! Only low budget art house films, independent bands that nobody has ever heard of, and cult television shows on obscure networks are the ONLY true forms of art. If more than three people have seen or heard of The Work Of Art, then it's too mainstream and must be shunned!"

Please - what does Britney put Subliminal Mind Control messages in all her songs? If not, then there must be SOME reason that people find pleasure in her music. *YOU* may not like it (I dont) - but you cant deny that it must be hitting true for some people.

One really bad Star Wars movie that makes HUGE box office could be chalked up to a fluke. However, 15 years and and three "shitty" Star Wars movies (Jedi, Menace and Clones) later , and yet somehow nobody seems to have noticed that they're being had?

No - the fact is that Movie Snob Internet Geeks cant own up idea that Star Wars doesn't suck. Deal with it.

I think this is the point that really makes it. If people had been burned that bad by TPM, then AOTC wouldn't have done nearly as well as it did. I do enjoy all five films, but there are scenes that I honestly think that I could have walked off the street, with no moviemaking experience, and directed just a smidge better. Lucas is not a "people" person, he's an idea person, and he's admitted this himself.

But to constantly harp on the PT is start to get a little tiresome. Five years later, a lot of the ideas started in TPM are starting to show up*, and AOTC was a heck of a jump up in quality from TPM. I honestly have pretty high hopes for Ep 3, even though I know I could be setting myself up for disappointment.

Give them a little time to settle, I bet you'll start to appreciate them a bit more.

*spoilers

Don't be a jackass, and pretend you don't know what I'm talking about. Maybe you should read again the example i just gave you, about Salieri. I am not saying that popular things are NECESSARILY crap. I am just saying that popularity does not automatically equal value, and to think otherwise is just "stealing your own hat".

The original trilogy was campy, but it was new, original (in execution, at least) and funny at the time it was made. That's another thing - it came at the right time. The second trilogy is *tired* - neither original, nor funny (unless you're one of those who believe Jar-Jar is funny), and it came at a time when there's much more being offered in terms of action, SF, SFX and fantasy, from all around the globe.

Hence, altering the OT to make it fall in line more with the prequels would be a "faux pas" of galactic proportions, and a demeaning gesture for a true artist (which Lucas certainly used to be), no matter how much tie-ins with McDonald's you can establish, and how many fans you lead into hysteria.

:thumbsup: