[Richard W. Haines]

Well I have a different take on the series. It's interesting to note that the first movie released
in 1977 was called a 'sci-fi spoof' by some and it does play as a homage/lampoon of Flash
Gordon serials that Baby Boomers grew up with on television. The effects were quite good for their day and Lucas was wise to shoot
them in VistaVision (35mm photographed horizontally with an eight sprocket wide image) and then
reduction printed back to standard anamorphic frame. Otherwise they would've been too grainy.
He shot them in the opposite manner of "2001: A Space Odyssey". Kubrick shot his miniatures in
extreme slow motion (60 or 80 frames per second) so they floated lyrically through space. Lucas
shot his undercranked (under 24 frames per second) so they zoomed by which helped disguise some
mistakes.


The first Star Wars feature is pretty funny with off the wall characters and a sense of adolescent
adventure. In short, it didn't take itself too seriously. Beginning with the second feature, "The Empire
Strikes Back", a more serious if not grim tone commenced as if the 'force' was some kind of new cult
religion (aka L. Ron Hubbards Scientology). I also suspect that Lucas was making this stuff up as he
went along or he wouldn't have had Luke flirt with his sister in the first picture. While some people
prefer the second one best, I thought it was a tad pretentious. The third movie, "Return of
the Jedi" was more in line with the first in terms of comedy and tongue in cheek action. However,
I felt it was a bit "Muppety" and the effects were becoming repetitive. Still, I must say I enjoyed
the first three movies in 70mm which looked and sounded great. If not great art, then at least a
great 'show'. They were entertaining moviegoing experiences. When I rescreened them all in standard 35mm in the late nineties' re-issue, I was
disappointed. The effects were not as spectacular in the smaller format on megaplex screens and
I noticed some color fading (pinkish fleshtones in the first movie) and negative wear (streaking scratches
in the darker scenes). The reissue of the first movie did great business again, the second one okay and the third
one tanked at the boxoffice. The added digital which didn't match
the original optical effects and were distracting. Fortunately, Lucas later cleaned up the negatives for
DVD and removed the wear and color fading apparent in the re-issue release prints. He continued to
alter the picture and sound of all the movies. I prefer the original cuts of all three films.


I was looking forward to the new installment or prequel along with everyone but when I saw Star Wars Episode 1, I was very disappointed. The digital effects looked very computerized and artificial compared
to the VistaVision optical effects of the originals. One of the reasons is that when you photograph a miniatue and have it move by the camera, the image distorts somewhat due to the qualities of the lens
which is what gives it a sense of dimensionality. The CGE may be technically perfect but they lack
that sense of dimensionality because they weren't photographed on film (even if it's multiple pieces
of film combined optically). Digital imagery doesn't reflect light on an object or person the way it does on film emulsion. I also thought the performance of the child actor was poor. Very disappointing.



The next two installments, 2, 3, were pretty much unwatchable as far as I was concerned. Too much
clutter in each frame to follow the action. I felt like I was watching a live action video game. And
the problem with all movie 'prequels' is that you already know what's going to happen in the future so
there isn't much suspense or surprise. The new cast didn't have the appeal of the originial players either. You really miss Harrison Ford's rogue character. I didn't see these three films in the intended digital projection in theaters and I thought the outputted film elements looked very 'computerized' and murky on screen. A far cry from the quality of the earlier ones in 70mm on the Loews Astor Plaza screen.


I watch the first three movies on my DLP now and again and look forward to high definition versions
in the future, providing they haven't been altered again beyond recognition with new effects and
sound mixes. I cannot sit through the prequels again in any format since I didn't enjoy them the
first time around. I guess I'm not a true Star Wars fan any more than I'm a Treky. I only enjoy
the series on a film by film basis. The same applies to Star Trek which had some good and bad
films over the decades. True fans and fanatics of any series tend to watch them uncritically and enthusiastically. I know people who have memorized every line of dialogue (including variations in
each cut). Nothing wrong with that. I'm just not one of them.