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Giant Magazine's "Things We Love About Star Wars" A tribute...
GIANT JUNE/JULY ’05 from p.62-70 by Mark Remy and Brooks Peck With it's last installment, Episode III: Revenge of the Sith, the Star Wars franchise is done. Finished. Kaput. With that in mind, we figured a tribute was in order. Here are some of the things we love about Star Wars: Star Wars: Episode IV A New Hope No. 10 Red Three’s mustache. No. 09 The fact that the Death Star’s tractor beam controls are on a big column located in an enormous chasm, with only a narrow walkway around it. And no guardrail. No. 08 The stormtrooper who bumps his head on the doorway as he enters the Death Star control room. And the way Lucas kept the scene in subsequent DVDs–in fact, enhanced the “thump” sound–rather than edit it out. No. 07 Han’s affection for Chewbacca. It’s subtle, but it’s there. Like when he pats him on the head. No. 06 The evil, Imperial staff meeting. The sleek black table! The hostile guy with the Caesar haircut! The petty infighting! No. 05 The Sand People attack. Still scary, after all these years. No. 04 The way Jawas cavort like kids. So playful, yet slightly menacing. No. 03 Our very first glimpse of Darth Vader. No. 02 The opening scene, where the huge Imperial destroyer is chasing Leia’s li’l Rebel ship and eventually swallows it up. No. 01 The fact that this all took place “a long time ago,” rather than in the future. It’s a pretty cool little twist when you think about it. 
Do not hurry yourself in your spirit to become offended, for the taking of offense is what rests in the bosom of the stupid ones. (Ecclesiastes 7:9) | |
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Star Wars: Episode I
The Phantom Menace No. 10 The moments before the climactic battle scene on Naboo, as those huge transports deploy the battle droids row by row. And the way the droids stand, draw their weapons and march when commanded–all in perfect unison. No. 09 The superbrief glimpse of the E.T. creatures during the Senate debate scene, as the camera pans. A nod to Steven Spielberg. No. 08 The way Tusken Raiders show up in a remote stretch of the pod race just to take potshots at the participants. We like to imagine they’re slightly drunk: TUSKEN RAIDER 1: Check it out, the big pod race is today. Let’s go shoot those assholes. TUSKEN RAIDER 2: Should we pick up another case on the way? TUSKEN RAIDER 3: Dudes! Look at how long and skinny our guns are [laughter]. No. 07 The sound effects during the pod race scene. The race itself may be a shameless rip-off (*cough* Ben-Hur! *cough*), but the sound effects are completely cool. No. 06 Those little black spherical probes that Darth Maul dispatches to find his prey. No. 05 Jedi Knights: The way they can mentally send foes (or chunks of the scenery) flying. The Jedi mind trick. The way they wear robes and stuff, instead of actual uniforms. It’s the space-fighter equivalent of wearing jeans to work. No. 04 Destroyer droids1–the ones that ball up and roll into battle, where they uncurl themselves and kick ass from behind a force field.Ê No. 03 The throne with robotic spider legs that carries another reptilian Trade Federation guy later in the movie. Cooler than a Segway, more dignified than being carried. No. 02 Those little scuba-breathing things that Obi-Wan and Qui-Gon use when they follow Jar Jar to the underwater city.2 No. 01 Darth Maul: That whole red-and-black motif he has going on. “You know those lightsabers that are, like, double lightsabers?”3 That air scooter he rides on Tatooine. The way he leaps off said air scooter to engage Obi-Wan in combat. How Maul stares Qui-Gon down and paces back and forth behind the energy shield, during their climactic duel.
Do not hurry yourself in your spirit to become offended, for the taking of offense is what rests in the bosom of the stupid ones. (Ecclesiastes 7:9) | |
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Star Wars: Episode II
Attack of the Clones No. 10 The millipede-type things sent to kill Amidala while she sleeps. We think we have those in our apartment. No. 09 The levitating booster seat that Yoda uses to get around sometimes. Cute and practical. No. 08 The “clone factory” on Kamino, that creepy, rain-swept planet. What better place to build a clone army? No. 07 Jango Fett. And, on a related note: seeing Boba as a punk-ass kid. Weird to see Boba calling someone “dad.” No. 06 The fight on the landing pad. Jango makes use of his jet pack, rocket launcher and wrist cable thingyÉall during a thunderstorm. Meantime, junior warms up the ship. Very nice. No. 05 Learning that R2 can fly. Little dude is full of surprises. No. 04 Seeing Uncle Owen and Aunt Beru as young ’uns–they’re still boyfriend/girlfriend. Aww. No. 03 Anakin’s wholesale slaughter of the Tusken Raiders who kidnapped his mother. So disturbing, Yoda senses it from afar. No. 02 Hearing Yoda say, “Begun the Clone War has.” No. 01 Anakin and Obi-Wan vs. Dooku: Anakin double-fists it! Briefly! Anakin loses a limb! Partially! Enter Yoda! Judge him by his size, do you? Yoda’s mini-lightsaber emerges–as do his skills
Do not hurry yourself in your spirit to become offended, for the taking of offense is what rests in the bosom of the stupid ones. (Ecclesiastes 7:9) | |
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10 Ways George Lucas Changed Everything
GIANT JUNE/JULY ’05 from p.67 by Eric Alt A long time ago, in a galaxy far, far away,1 George Lucas wrote a little space saga and wound up turning Hollywood upside down. Here’s how. No. 10 He killed the holiday special. We live in a world blissfully free of The Matrix Holiday Special or Harry Potter and the Eight Tiny Reindeer. You can thank Lucas for that. His 1978 Star Wars Holiday Special was such a stinker, it’s entered the realm of legend. For now, it exists only in bootleg form. If you get a chance to view it, you’ll marvel at a dazed Carrie Fisher, a singing and dancing Bea Arthur, Chewbacca in drag and a Wookiee named Itchy. To this day, any director who even thinks of doing a Christmas special wakes up in a cold sweat. No. 09 He influenced religion and politics. Lucas’s movies have made some waves in the real world too: In a 2002 Australian census 70,000 people listed their religion as “Jedi.” And back in the ’80s, President Ronald Reagan pushed for the creation of a space-based defense shield for the U.S. called Star Wars...with a straight face. No. 08 He defended the tweak In the ’90s the original Star Wars trilogy returned to theaters in “special edition” versions - which meant they featured updated visual effects, new sound designs and tons of hidden fan-boy treats. The reissues paved the way for other direcxtors to fix up their past mistakes. (Spielberg, for one, digitally removed FBI agents' guns from E.T.) Of course, this constant reworking meant that Lucas could sell umpteen versions of his movies. And that we, being true fans, would snap them all up. No. 07 He jump-started the adventure genre (in his spare time) Taking a breather from Star Wars, Lucas vacationed with Steven Spielberg in Hawaii, where the two of them spit-balled a wacky idea about a bullwhip-toting archaeologist who fights Nazis. The Indiana Jones franchise would go on to become the action-adventure-flick gold standard. No. 06 He gave power to the people. Thanks to Lucas, and his company’s advances in digital photography, films are cheaper and easier to put together. All you need to be an indie filmmaker now is a home video camera and a computer. For guys like Kerry Conran, who made Sky Captain and the World of Tomorrow based on animated shorts, computer desktops are the new film school. No. 05 He did it his way-or no way at all. Lucas so despised the way the studio handled American Graffiti that he vowed to use his own money to make movies his way and created Lucasfilm. His system is still in place: He used the money from Phantom Menace to make Attack of the Clones, which in turn funded Revenge of the Sith. No. 04 He played with our ears. Lucas helped usher in a new era of quality acoustics, intricate digital sound, and, of course, that ominous THX “hum” sound that precedes every other movie. These days even video games like Halo 2 proudly tout their sophisticated sound effects. No. 03 He created his own magic. While making Star Wars, Lucas created his own special effects company, Industrial Light & Magic2, to handle the 300-plus effects shots he needed. ILM’s dabbling in computer-assisted camera cranes, stop-motion animation and-most recently-digital imagery have inspired directors such as James Cameron and Robert Rodriguez. No. 02 He made merchandising mass. These days the McDonald’s Happy Meal tie-in is a given before most films are even finished. This was not the case when Lucas was making Star Wars. Fearing that box-office dollars might not be enough to finance the next chapter in the saga, Lucas slapped the likenesses of C-3PO and Chewbacca on everything from bed sheets to breakfast cereals. No. 01 He gave music a leading role. Even before Star Wars, Lucas was doing things a little differently. He wrote the script for his nostalgia-tinged ode to car culture, American Graffiti, with specific music cues for each scene–classic rock ’n’ roll cuts like Bill Haley’s “Rock Around the Clock.” Never before had music been so omnipresent and integral to a movie plot. Lucas insisted on using something like 80 songs through the movie, although he eventually pared the list down to 45. Consider the impact this had next time you watch a Quentin Tarantino flick.
Do not hurry yourself in your spirit to become offended, for the taking of offense is what rests in the bosom of the stupid ones. (Ecclesiastes 7:9) | |
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Things 2the9s loves about JediMaster's theads:
Ummm.... Hold on. I'll think of something...  | |
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2the9s said: Things 2the9s loves about JediMaster's theads:
Ummm.... Hold on. I'll think of something...  Shut it, you!
Do not hurry yourself in your spirit to become offended, for the taking of offense is what rests in the bosom of the stupid ones. (Ecclesiastes 7:9) | |
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