Posted on 05/16/2005 2:07:19 AM PDT by Savage_Nation
CANNES The last episode of the seminal sci-fi saga "Star Wars" screened at the Cannes film festival Sunday, completing a six-part series that remains a major part of popular culture and delivering a galactic jab to U.S. President George W Bush.
"Star Wars: Episode III Revenge of the Sith" was seen ahead of a celebrity-laden evening screening to be attended by its creator and director, George Lucas, and its cast, including Natalie Portman and Hayden Christensen.
Reaction at advance screenings was effusive, with festival-goers, critics and journalists at Cannes applauding at the moment the infamous Darth Vader came into being.
But there were also murmurs at the parallels being drawn between Bush's administration and the birth of the space opera's evil Empire.
Baddies' dialogue about bloodshed and despicable acts being needed to bring "peace and stability" to the movie's universe, mainly through a fabricated war, set the scene.
And then came the zinger, with the protagonist, Anakin Skywalker, saying just before becoming Darth Vader: "You are either with me or you are my enemy."
To the Cannes audience, often sympathetic to anti-Bush messages in cinema as last year's triumph here of Michael Moore's "Fahrenheit 9/11" attested, that immediately recalled Bush's 2001 ultimatum, "You're either with us or against us in the fight against terror."
Lucas, speaking to reporters, emphasised that the original "Star Wars" was written at the end of the Vietnam war, when Richard Nixon was U.S. president, but that the issue being explored was still very much alive today.
"The issue was, how does a democracy turn itself into a dictatorship?" he said.
"When I wrote it, Iraq (the U.S.-led war) didn't exist... but the parallels of what we did in Vietnam and Iraq are unbelievable."
He acknowledged an uncomfortable feeling that the United States was in danger of losing its democratic ideals, like in the movie.
"I didn't think it was going to get this close. I hope this doesn't come true in our country."
Although he didn't mention Bush by name, Lucas took what sounded like another dig while explaining the transformation of the once-good Anakin Skywalker to the very bad Darth Vader.
"Most bad people think they're good people," he said.
The political message, though, was for the most part subsumed by the action and heroics the series set "a long time ago in a galaxy far, far away" is known for.
And for fans hungry for a last look at "Star Wars" elevated above the disappointing two other films that preceded "Sith," it was satisfying closure.
"Whatever one thought of the previous two installments, this dynamic picture irons out most of the problems, and emerges as the best in the overall series since 'The Empire Strikes Back,'" the Hollywood trade magazine Variety said.
The buzz meant the movie was the hottest ticket at Cannes this year. It also signalled the end of a cinematic era for a generation of filmgoers.
"Revenge of the Sith" is the last of three prequels to the landmark trilogy that burst onto the screens in 1977, 1980 and 1983.
It is in fact the middle episode of the epic story arc, explaining the events that led young Luke Skywalker to battle Darth Vader in order to save Princess Leia, before going on to vanquish the Empire.
Its success could be measured in the claps and smiles in the theatre, which were light years away from the tepid response engendered by the first two prequels, released in 1999 and 2002, widely panned for their boring exposition and wooden dialogue. (Wire reports)
These stories were penned during the Vietnam War.
Who cares what George Lucas' political views are. He is obviously living in a fantasy world and has no idea what the real world is about. My four year old grandson has a more reality based opinion of the world than Lucas does.
George- just keep smokin' them joints...
George Lucas is the Troy McClure (Simpsons) of Hollywood directors.
"Hello, I'm George Lucas, you may remember me from such films as THX and (pause for a long thought) well that sucked. You know me best for directing the most overrated retread project seen in the universe Star Wars."
To stay on the topic of the films, I think Return of the Jedi was a victim of its producer's success. I'm not sure SW had really become the transcendent gig when he was making The Empire Strikes Back, although those snow scenes were sort of ridiculous.
I'd rather watch American Graffiti, to be honest with you.
For a newer example, see the Matrix movies. The first one could stand on its own, the second one pickled your brain, and the third one was like a damn cartoon.
Do you really think that the movie promotes atheism, liberalism, socialism, or communism? And do you really think that they hate America?
"George- just keep smokin' them joints..."
Don't Bogart that joint, my friend!
He just saved me some money.
Speaking of the Trade Federation, didn't Lucas take some serious crap because they were supposed to be charicatures of Japanese? Then he took crap because Jar Jar Binks is supposed to be black?
I don't think Lucas could say or do anything that wouldn't have some group up in arms.
The snow scenes were fantastic, and actually the perpetuation of the SW phenom can almost be marked from the first appearance of the walkers. There had never been anything like that in films before.
Yes, indeedy, SW had become the transcendent gig by that point. It stayed in theaters over a year and was nominated for Best Picture, not to mention surpassing Jaws to the #1 spot in US box office history. On top of that, Lucas retained all the mertchandising for the movie, and no movie of the 70's had so successfully perpetuated itself through merchandising.
BTW, the problem with Jedi was that the producer of the previous two was GONE--Gary Kurtz didn't produce it. His ideas for where Jedi should have gone were far, far better than Lucas's. Without Kurtz there to battle Lucas and wrestle ideas around, Lucas retreated to infantile junk. The idea Lucas originally had for the big lightsabre battle was for it to take place in an undergound lava-filled cave, similar to the situation in the new one, and the ghosts of the dead Jedi appear at one point, looking on without being able to help--it had a truly dramatic, apocalyptic feel to it. Also, Luke goes off to continue the battle with the remains of the empire at the end, and if I recall correctly, he and Leia are not brother and sister.
"I'd rather watch American Graffiti, to be honest with you."
Me too, but Lucas's first three movies are one of cinema's great triples. All three films have been hugely influential.
For a newer example, see the Matrix movies. The first one could stand on its own, the second one pickled your brain, and the third one was like a damn cartoon.
All three of The Matrix movies are garbage, IMHO. The brothers basically tossed all kinds of Philip K. Dick, Samuel Delany and philosophical scraps into a blender and mixed. The second one basically restates the same idea forty different ways. The third one at least had good effects. The trilogy is one of the great wastes of time in cinema.
Before the Matrix films the Brothers W made an entertaining Neo-Noir called Bound.
Blech! I love movie lesbians but this one was way too self-consciously hip for me. And this was before one of the brothers was revealed as a cross-dresser who said he intended to get a sex change. ;) I know many folks like this movie but it takes a lot to do a "bottle" story like that, mostly in one location, and this one just kinda bored me. That Jennifer Tilly is annoying, no matter how hot Gina Gershon is.
Wouldn't it be a terrible shame if this pot-bellied 50-something hippie lost his shirt on this movie because of peer-to-peer file sharing!
He's 61 actually. This movie has already set records in pre-release ticket sales.
He seems that way. His writings are unremittingly gay-centered nowadays, but if you can tolerate some of that, his autobiography "The Motion of Light in Water" is a terrific read. He has an ability to describe his experiences growing up black and priviledged in Harlem and then being married and writing SF in NYC in the sixties in a way that is so engrossing. Ditto his book "Heavenly Breakfast," about living in a commune. His life is nothing like mine, but this is why I read books, to look at how other people live, and he does a marvelous job of translating his experiences writing SF in the 60's.
Lucas will now be the Darth Vader of the left wing conspiracy, I so Dub him. His allies Michael (Jabba the Hutt) Moore, and George (Anakin) Soros, have formed a trio
of exploitive treasonous, snakes.
Ops4 God BLess America!
Few people in history have ever been as completely insulated from reality as cinema idiot savant George Lucas. But some tiny shred leaked through, just enough to convince him that he needed to trump up some contemporary angle to make his lame, derivative space opera appear significant. So he rips off talking points from Michael Moore and Ted Kennedy and inserts them into the plot. Voila - instant relevance.
The newer films are just awful. I like the very First Star Wars . I thought he was a Republican. I guess I was wrong.
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