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)
"Does it count if one views a pirated copy?"
I guess it does...
Outside the US there is a large number of people who are making a point NOT TO pay for hollywood films but happy to see them...
Also in cases like these it spreads much faster, like in an underworld network...
The Star Wars lost its gloss in Europe in the past years, but if it can be interpreted as "anti-Bush" it may be a comeback...
This can't be true because many "FReepers" attacked Michael Medved over making just such a statement.
The signal to noise ratio has gotten very high at FR lately as new (one year or less) accounts attack conservatives.
As Sean Hannity has also noted, we are eating our own on this website now. I suspect that some of the "we" ain't like us.
Yet, it is interesting that Mr. Liberal Lucas only had one or two black characters of any importance, and hardly any Asian/Hispanic characters of any importance.
I'm patting myself on the back for never falling for that Star Wars crapola. I saw the first one and thought it moderately entertaining. I tried to sit through the second, but my eyelids became too heavy. Lucas has proven to be just another marginally talented Hollyweird leftist nitwit who can't get over himself.
Iraq has used Russia for the overwhelming majority of its arms. We come in a pitiful third after France. We also helped the Soviet Union during WWII without any illusions as to the horribleness of Stalin. We had to defeat Hitler first. What is the point of of your comments?
I just think it was a blanket statement. I find it difficult to think that someone knows whether or not "most" fans were disappointed with the last two. Near as I remember, they did fine at the box office. It has just been my experience that film critics are generally the least qualified people on Earth to criticize films.
Sure, it's a blanket statement, but so is "Most people didn't like Battlefield Earth." It's pretty common knowledge that MOST fans think the two best SW movies are SW and Empire, and then Jedi, and then the other two. Box office is tricky--people pay to see movies based on hype, but that doesn't mean they liked them. The first two prequels are basically kids movies--Clones is the first SW movie to not be #1 at the box office for its year. That's a striking fact, and it sure says something about what people thought about Phantom Menace.
It should be pointed out that the story was written in the late 60's early 70's . It aint about Bush no matter how much the leftist trash would want it to be.
"Do you really think that the movie promotes atheism, liberalism, socialism, or communism?"
I think it mostly promotes capitalism.
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For someone who reportedly reads history, he seems like a boob. Has the rarified weedy air of N. Calif. zombified him?
Yeah, and my Irish wolfhound told me that the Wookie character was just a wolfhound knockoff.
It's just a movie, people!
I enjoyed the first Star Wars movie, but I thought it went downhill from there. Samuel Delaney once told me that he talked to Lucas after the first movie came out and asked him why the good guys were all human and the bad guys were all aliens. That's when Lucas started down the road to political correctness.
The first time I heard the phrase "the dark side of the force" I said to myself, oh oh, sounds like a cross between Gnosticism and Manicheanism. It's not a promising theological concept. Yes, it's only a movie, but when the underlying principles are skewed, then the movie is skewed.
What I find hipocritical is that this same dude (Lucas) totally sterotyped the Trade Federation (Asians), Gungans (Jamaicans), and Watto (Jewish). Yet, the left uttered not a single peep!
Lucas has this right. The democrats are the bad people who think they are good.
No Clueless George, the issue is how does a federal republic turn itself into a democracy as the US has and how many more years will that democracy last?
Those that know nothing of history are doomed to repeat it. Stick to fantasy, George! You've demonstrated yet again how well you excel at it.
Man, Lucas is no doubt a lefty but I think your vitriol is a bit over the top. This storyline has been in place since 1976.
In the Journal of the Whills prologue from the original 1976 novelization of Star Wars, (then titled "Star Wars: From the Adventures of Luke Skywalker") the following was written:
So it was with the Republic at its height. Like the greatest of trees, able to withstand any external attack, the Republic rotted from within though the danger was not visible from outside.
Aided and abetted by restless, power-hungry individuals within the government, and the massive organs of commerce, the ambitious Senator Palpatine caused himself to be elected President of the Republic. He promised to reunite the disaffected among the people and to restore the remembered glory of the Republic.
Once secure in office he declared himself Emperor, shutting himself away from the populace. Soon he was controlled by the very assistants and boot-lickers he had appointed to high office, and the cries of the people for justice did not reach his ears.
According to my sources Bush hadn't even decided to run for pres at this time, though I may be mistaken.
Lucas based the Emperor and fall of the Republic more on Nazi Germany and Hitler's rise to power than anything else. Leftists (MSM) never fail to pounce on an opportunity to connect Bush to Hitler and this is what is happening here.
He's right, the parallels can't be believed.
The war in Iraq could only have significant parallels to Vietnam if the war was started by Democrat presidents who didn't really want to win the thing, defunded halfway through by a Democrat Congress, and ended by a "moderate" Republican president who only got elected on the promise of caving to said Democrats.
Some white trash slut pointing at naked captives doesn't mean there are parallels between the two wars.
I agree with Savage_Nation, we need to boycott all "celebrity activists" of leftist-atheistic-communist sympathies. Now, of course that is hard to do since many, many actors and the like are leftist ninnies, but we can at least boycott the outspoken ones. I am upset with all who post here that put their interests in this movie ahead of their political and moral convictions.
And in this "series" can anyone find that defining moment when "the majority ruled", instead of the rule of law, and the old republic became a true democracy to eventually be taken over by the evil Emperor Palpatine?
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