Star Wars

Giovanni and I have been re-watching the Star Wars saga over the past week or two. We are watching the episodes in the “Preferred Order” which is: IV, V, III, VI. We’re skipping I and II since, while gorgeous films, are simply a chore to watch and don’t add much substance. Episodes I and II are something I may watch a while from now out of curiosity but not while G and I are focused on the actual story. The story being essentially Anakin Skywalker’s fall and eventual salvation.

When Giovanni was young, probably 6 or 7, I remember watching Empire with him and studying his face during the big reveal. I’ll never forget his incredulous look. This time around he was the wiser, but still hung on ever word. I was also able to explain a bit about the mythology of Star Wars that I’ve learned over the years. That link was courtesy John or Martin Szinger from like 10 years ago if I recall.

As an aside, I was also privy to studying Giovanni’s face the moment he figure out how to drive a swing by himself. That was another expression of wonder and excitement that I’ll never forget.

Anyway, the “old” episodes really do hold up. While the special effects can’t compare to what we have today, they have a definitive high-quality to them. Meaning, while the methods employed were primitive by today’s standards, a lot of care and expertise was put to the task and the results were revolutionary for the time. The characters and dialogue in the old episodes were so very familiar to me and hearing them again brought a smile to my face. Ewan McGregor definitely saved Episode III. I loved every moment he was in the film and mostly dreaded every moment he was out. That said, there was some fun to be had with the scenes involving Yoda. Me and Giovanni had a laugh as the Jedi were getting slaughtered and they came to the scene where Yoda was to be assassinated. LOL. Nice try.

Another note about the “new” episodes. It’s very interesting to note how our appetite for more sophisticated action sequences has raised over the years. For instance, the swordplay in the old episodes simply can’t compare to the newer episodes. This is a shame. Good choreography of swordplay was possible at the time, as demonstrated by hundreds of chinese kung-fu movies of the era, but the audience was mostly ignorant to this so it didn’t matter.

We still have to watch Return of the Jedi but we haven’t had the time yet to sit down together and get it done. G and I are pretty excited about what Disney is going to do with Episode VII.