The very day that Episode III hit DVD (11/1/05) my best friend and I watched all 6 in numerical order for the first time. We had such a good time that we vowed to do it every year! Over the years, friends and family have joined us and we just had our 17th viewing about 2 months ago in December. I remember the night of Episode VII's release, that we did indeed discuss the logistics of adding 3 more movies to the Saga as we waited in line. Then we saw it. It was decided, right then and there, that we didn't need to make any changes. The 6-episode Saga was all we ever needed. We just didn't know it until we saw "The Force Awakens".
oh my god man I did the nine-movie marathon when IX came out and it was *awesome.* (Yes, I thought IX was really good, in the context of the other eight movies. That or I was delirious from spending 27 hours watching Star Wars but it holds up for me, so....)
@@fast.jortimer Really?!Did you have to split it up between 2 days? Or did you actually pull off an 18-hour marathon? For us, the 12-hour long Saga can take up to 16 hours to get through (depending on how long the breaks are between each movie).
Prequel haters are like “the prequels are so much different and worse” but this perfectly shows that the 6 Star Wars episodes have the most cohesive artistic vision ever put to film on a high budget. People hate what they don’t understand.
they suck and groege sold it to disbey for billions this was always about money not art grow up you absolute children you can make your own star wars i hate star wars killed the creativity in culture make your own soace wizards cowards
@@AidzWithAZ I was thinking the same thing. Contiuously borrowing the same lines of dialogue in this manner is pretty damn lazy. When people do this words we recommend a thesaurus. Also, Lucas used many of the same lines/phrases from Star Wars movies and put them in the Indiana Jones movies, not especially creative.
I love the irony that young Anakin wanted to be free from slavery and come back and free the other slaves, but later he simultaneously became the ultimate slave (to Palpatine and to his dark desires) and the ultimate enslaver of the galaxy (via fear and violence).
I'm so sick of all the Star wars channels saying the same thing with the same narrative. Your channel has reignited the love I once had for the OG trilogy. Thank you
@@Voltar by OG I mean George Lucas Star Wars not Disney. In case you didn't know the last Lucas Star Wars was 2003 ( not counting Clone Wars). That's 20 years ago, so yah OG
You are probably the only person that makes star wars videos that actually cares about the thematic and cinematic qualities the movies present. I feel like most people just write them off as childish block busters, when they really are one mans life long passion project.
@@rickworley9081 On that the note, what is your opinion of the machete order? Do you think it's a decent way of viewing the films or is it should be disregarded entirely.
One of the things I love most about your videos is that you are always giving George Lucas the love and respect that he deserves. I feel that so many Star Wars fans these days are so quick to discredit his contributions and ideas.
Now this is a sight to behold. The 6 Star Wars movies are perfection and I’m glad Lucas is finally getting the respect he deserves for being one of our greatest artists. How can anyone call Lucas incompetent after seeing this? I’d like to see what his critics are capable of.
I'm so grateful for the day i typed "Star wars prequels are awesome" into search bar and found your channel. Always loved all six movies by Lucas and now i link people to your videos to support my arguments that they are indeed great movies despite what toxic minority of idiots think.
Phew! That was quite the watch. Here I will put various timestamps I found interesting, along with my thoughts on them; it’s by no mean exhaustive and good bit of it is paraphrasing but it really helps me reflect a little bit more on the themes of Star Wars, which I’ll comment on after. If anyone wants to share other timestamps or comment on other things, please go ahead. 3:12 - Dooku missing Qui-Gon; how his death affected Anakin is often discussed, but less so how it affected Dooku, Obi-Wan or the rest of the Jedi. 4:08 - Both Padme’s double and Shmi’s death serve as an echo of Padme’s death, and Anakin’s fixation on stopping it, and making up for his mother’s death by proxy. 5:17 - It’s quite touching to see Anakin and Obi-Wan have grown close enough to resemble how the latter was with Qui-Gon; it also forms an interesting parallel of their relationships, as well as Qui-Gon’s with Dooku. 6:37 - Vader’s pose her also resembles Obi-Wan’s pose as he reveals himself to him in Mustafar. 7:34 - A great contrast between the Gungans and Jabba the Hut; the first like in a planet of green and water, then second on a desert planet. Ones cooperate, the other doesn’t. 11:10 - And George says he can’t write dialog. 12:28 - It’s common to compare Anakin to Luke, but here we can see how Leia’s personality is a lot like their father’s. One can assume Luke’s personality would then be more like their mother’s, which completes the chain of Shmi and Padme and Vader’s redemption. 17:33 - This was the one callback that inspired me to make this comment. The contrast here is incredible. Both scenes happening at the same place just completely changes the meaning of the scene in ANH and retroactively the one in AotC. It’s a perfect example of something that can only be done in a visual medium. 36:54 - Here I have to ask the question: Is Obi-Wan talking about the Anakin he knows or the Anakin he thinks Qui-Gon would have wanted to see? 46:01 - This whole section is amazing. 48:25 - The cycle is complete as Qui-Gon and Vader end the same. 49:24 - Never expected Boba Fett to fit into all this. 1:36:53 - Here Qui-Gon acts out a mature version of Anakin’s own point of view. 1:37:57 - Then Anakin turns into the complete opposite. 1:38:07 - And Palpatine corrupts him through this same line of thought. 1:38:18 - Then finally, through Obi-Wan, Luke finally answers the call. 1:38:40 - And the alliance with the Ewoks reflecting the one with the Gungans, bringing things full circle. 1:39:50 - It all end in Vader revealing his true self. 1:41:09 - I always found it really tragic how Anakin shows the most of his sensitive and mature side in RotS. 1:41:12 - Tragically, Windu doing the same thing as Anakin did earlier sends him over the edge; prompted, of course, by Sidious. Perhaps things would have ended up differently if Samuel L. Jackson hadn’t asked for that purple lightsaber. 1:41:30 - Dooku was lured by Sidious in the same way as Anakin was, by him appealing to his good qualities and the shortcomings of the Jedi. 1:41:57 - Sidious appeals to Anakin’s feeling that the Jedi can’t change things, don’t matter in the grander scheme. 1:42:03 - Anakin tries to continue what Qui-Gon did with Padme. 1:44:15 - This is a great echo. The Sith thrive by wanting to destroy each other. 1:55:34 - Ewoks and Gungans both using primitive weapons to defeat advanced technology. 1:57:23 - Anakin, just like Luke, refuses to leave people behind, not just those close to him but even clones and droids, which would seem expendable to others. So what do I deduce from all this? The use of repetition by Lucas serves many purposes. Diachronically, it could be seen as an influence of the kinds of film he likes; the reuse of footage and the restriction to certain angles is a practical cost saving measure in serials or movies with big special effects. However, this repetition also has a hand in creating the iconography of Star Wars (and other movies). There is referencing, yes, and auto-referencing, but it’s not only that. It’s a means of establishing themes and drawing connections. The connections though, are drawn in an abstract, visual manner. What this means is that the same image can be used for similar, but contrasting purposes. This deepens the film as we can go back to rewatch it and fin a host of parallels. More importantly, it parallels the deeper philosophy of Star Wars and the idea of the wheels; the films constitute a series of microcosms, with similar repeating patterns yet also their own autonomy, just like a living system. The autology is impressive by itself, but it’s a bit more than a “medium is the message” kind of thing; it is also a way to induce a specific way of perception. And that way of perception is the key to the story. The error that lead to the fall of the Jedi lies precisely in their inability to see that “as above, so below.” It’s that capability that Qui-Gon, Luke and to a degree Anakin all share, but Obi-Wan and Yoda lack. They are always quick to care for and consider anyone, even if they are below them, because they can see (to their own personal degrees) that they are all part of one same universe.
I'm not agree about obi-wan and yoda can't see "as above, so below" because they learn from their mistake in ROTS where they survive by seeing the clone betrayal and the lie of palpatine. I think if Luke is a great Jedi like qui-gon it's because he use knowledge of Obi-Wan and yoda to make his ways
@@lornithogeek7049 I see your point there and mostly agree, but don't forget that both Yoda and Obi-Wan started to concede failure in Return of the Jedi at the notion of Luke not wanting to strike down the Sith. They learned many important lessons that were passed on, but their notions of being a Jedi will always be tied to their old order, so some mistakes still linger.
@@NotOrdinaryInGames Did you watch the first minute? Lucas specifically said he repeats specific lines of dialogue much as a composer might repeat motifs in a symphony. He literally said it haha.
Was not a fan of Star Wars, even after watching the originals, until I saw Episode 1 on a whim in 1999. Have loved it ever since. Your videos have raised that love to an atmospheric level. Thanks for all your hard work.
@@rickworley9081 You know according to the online "Authorhour" Interview with R. A. Salvatore, who wrote the attack of the clones novel, he wrote a lot of additional material that he was told to take out as the entire movie took place over 3 days. I asked him if that included the marriage scene and he said that they didn’t say. Would such a timeline be in line with the traditions of classic movies and myths that Lucas followed?
@@samlerf I mean, myths aren't really beholden to strict timelines, they are entirely focused on the narrative they are telling, and the classic movies and serials generally kept the chronology to be linear and "baton" like to continue telling the story so that anyone can understand them. Lucas' star wars movies have a really big strength with narrative process; everything goes in a straight line.
@@samlerf there are 3 nights that occur during the film, with respect to Anakin and Padme. 1, Coruscant: Padme sleeps while Anakin & Obi-Wan stand guard and then investigate the assassin. 2, Naboo: after confessing his feelings the night before, Anakin dreams of his dying mother, Padme awakes to find him meditating, they depart for 3, Tatooine: Anakin leaves Padme at the homestead to find his mother, the suns set in blazing fire as he speeds to the tuskan camp, it is midnight when he frees her and massacres her captors, and morning when he returns with his mother’s corpse. They receive Kenobi’s distress signal, alert the Jedi, and travel to Geonosis where the battle takes place, all on that final day. Anakin’s arm is severed and he is left unconscious from his duel with Dooku. I think that surely counts as a 4th night, whereafter his bionic hand is given and held in marriage on Naboo. So no, the 3 days does not include that. But it is close! And as for myth and movie, I doubt George is trying to conform to “three days” for literary reasons so much as, in his words, “it’s just neat.”
LOL! This video shows that when people complain about the dialogue in the prequels being "terrible," they are putting down the dialogue in the OT as well without even knowing it! I knew about some of this repetition, but there's way more than I realized, and I've watched all 6 films back to back multiple times, including just the other day. There's always more to notice in these films.
Hate to have to tell you this but the dialogue sucked in the OT as well. Lucas is amazing at so many things, unfortunately dialogue is just not one of them. It's Marcia Lou Lucas who made the dialogue work in the edit. She saved him.
@@MrDeanWeenlol. No she didn't. She was away making other films when George was writing the script for the first film and was only on the edit for a few months. George meanwhile was there the entire time and had final say on all decisions.
I’d love to see the prequels on the big screen again some day. I saw the second one twice when it came out, despite letting RLM and co convince me that they were bad years later lol. I was young and dumb. Great work as always, Rick!
@@AardvarkDK Mike Stoklasa (the guy behind RLM and Mr. Plinkett) is like a chess beginner criticizing the play of a grandmaster. He read in some beginners book that you shouldn't lose your pawns, and now when he sees the Grandmaster doing so repeatedly, he figures he simply sucks at chess. Little does he know the Grandmaster has actual reasons for it, and didn't lose his pawns but sacrificed them. His moves weren't mistakes. The problem is the limited understanding of the beginner, not the decisions of the master player. Similarly, Stoklasa read something about a clear main protagonist in some shitty "How to write a screenplay in 30 days" book and now criticizes Lucas for not following those rules, when in reality what Lucas is doing is much more interesting. Same with the acting and dialogue. If you want to understand why Lucas did it the way he did, why not start by listening to his audio commentaries of the films? Or read the Making Of books by J.W. Rinzler. Try to educate yourself.
Absolutely brilliant. I’ve picked up on a lot of the recurring themes between the movies over the years but was pleasantly surprised by the many, many more highlighted in your video .
Wow. This is amazing and so incredibly intricate. It will take me several days to watch, but this looks to be your most interesting video yet. I really admire your channel and work and all the research and interest you put into examining films such as Star Wars, and really peeling back their layers and exploring all the different layers to it (homage to cinema, reference to his previous work, the visual language of Star Wars referencing itself, colour choices, the way John Williams theme develops, how the dialogue connects moments, the concern with abstract storytelling and ideas such as the Whills, and Midichlorians, etc.). The best researched stuff on RUclips!
14:46 So besides the cool visual parallel here, something really neat is how C3PO says "strange how small it is from here" George was playing around with size, perspective and our scale ever since the very beginning, not just through taking the droid's perspective, but intentionally drawing attention to it through dialogue.
Just got Paul Duncan's Star Wars Archives Episodes 1-3. Very happily pre-ordered the reprint for 1/10th of the price of the original. Excitedly digging in, though I wish it had come out sooner. Instead, I have to make time to read it as the spring semester is ramping up.
This is amazing. Really can't wait for How to Watch Star Wars Part Three. Out of curiosity, how much of that video will tackle Lucas's treatments that Disney rejected?
@@rickworley9081 The youtube essays "Star Wars Apocrypha" 1 & 2 have done wonders to get past Disney's lies and show how and by who in particular Lucas was betrayed and how Disney changed their own story. I really liked those videos. The same channel also used Rinzler's book to disprove the "Star Wars was saved in the edit" myth from Lucas haters.
I have watched your entire channel this week. While I don't always completely agree with you, you are a unique voice, and I appreciate your nonconformist views and diligent research and work ethic. Kudos.
At first I thought it would be a little far fetched just matching the same words, but there are definitely a LOT of shots that intentionally mirror or compliment others, like several scenes of Luke on Dagobah being mirrored between episode 5 and 6, as well as repeated dialogue. It makes me appreciate the cinematography on a whole new level.
I’m watching this for the second time after watching your video on the Whills again, and I am drawing all kinds of new conclusions and inferences, just based on how that video inspired me to look at this one. I’m not gonna try to list all my little (debatably correct) flashes of insight here, just know that there are a lot, and I’m grateful to you for helping me see them.
I just want to say real quick. I just noticed how Anakin holds his dying mom just like how Padme holds her dying double. Its foreshadowing for how Padme's gonna die. That's two times Anakin can't save the women in his life. "Senator Amadala" died on that platform. Very clever, very foreboding.
complete list of Star Wars quotes not included (updated 5/26/23): - phantom menace obiwan peering around the corner to the battle droids - "the thought of losing you... is unbearable." vs "the thought of not being with you... I can't breathe." - "im endangering the mission, i shouldn't have come." vs "i have a very bad feeling about this." - mace windu being shot down by super battle droids vs ki adi mundi being shot down by his clones - quigon haggling with watto vs obiwan haggling with han - maul folding his arms vs vader folding his arms - "be mindful of your thoughts anakin, they betray you." vs "he betrayed and murdered your father." [note: technically included, but lack of emphasis doesn't show the connection between these two as being any stronger than all the other instances of "betray"] - maul's binoculars vs luke's binoculars - maul overlooking vs luke and obiwan overlooking - padme's shuttle landing in mos eisley vs the falcon taking off from mos eisley subsections: - sirens * inside the tantive * luke and anakin escaping the death star * vader and obiwan accidentally cut off the force field This isn't anything missing, just a personal affectation from me. I know there's purpose around the sequential order of these. Some of them are general vocabulary, and many of them are prevailing in every movie and so they're placed together to further blur the lines between each film, as it is one film in six parts. However, for the "forum weapon" aspects that your other videos have, these are not exactly ideal. I think it's better if you put the "I don't like you" and AotC homstead vs aNH homestead stuff front and center. Because as amazing as all of this is, if we're to truly eradicate all the 50 somethings who cling to the OT and ESB especially then we need the undeniable proof that they're wrong to be the first things in the video. And it's true, "it doesn't make any sense to compromise how the films work for every other generation to please that first one." but I think, more relevant than that, you clearly aren't just interested in providing a solid foundation, you dedicate nearly half of your content to quelling naysayers and showing them the light. So I don't know, maybe have two versions, one that focuses on direct movie quotes for all the oldheads and one that focuses on the more generalist stuff for everyone else. Just throwing it out there, you don't gotta, but that's my two cents.
@@coletale Yes, every generation needs heroes and their own mythology that shows them right from wrong, good and evil, love over hate, and the importance of being part of a collective whole.
Funny how Qui Gon saying 'the whill of the force' and everyone else says 'use the force' like he was the only one who let the force control him and everyone else is trying to control it.
Awesome. Another one to add to the fog/shroud montage is in AOTC when the Trade Federation ball crashes and the whole battlefield is engulfed in a red dust storm.
All these Star Wars video essays have ultimately convinced me that George Lucas is a historian and all his films are nostalgic. if you're too literate, Star Wars seemingly insists upon itself and George's childhood over, and over, and over again. If you are not literate in cinema, it's a children's movie about political and economic complacency in a declining Republic and how the infrastructures and cultures of modernity have within them the trappings to enslave us in authoritarian mass-production zones, and our only redemption can be found not in society itself but within the smallest and most immediate society of all, family- a very common theme in movies made for the youth. It's either a series that exists so George Lucas can reintroduce particular scenes, lines, and camera-tricks to new audiences, or it's one of the most elaborate stories ever written- difficult to say for a fella who notoriously has stated over and over again he hates writing scripts and that he's always been happiest filming obscure documentaries.
It's both. 😊 George has often said as a maker of films he sees it as his responsibility to be aware of what he's saying in his films as he's a teacher with a very loud voice. His whole philosophy has been focused from the beginning on the same types of issues and eventually became about introducing kids to larger issues that they will carry with them for the rest of their lives. Watch all of his films and television shows and you'll see how everything builds off of what came before. George is an undisputed master of his craft but you wouldn't know that by the way people talk about him.
Some poetry, or shit that just makes you think not found in this vid: AOTC Cliegg Lars: “30 of us went after [Shmi], 4 of us came back” ANH: 30 ships attack the Death Star (reverse womb) to protect Leia, 3 + 1 Falcon come back AOTC: Corde does her “duty”, Padme needs to be coaxed by Tycho to leave her, Obi-Wan makes Anakin recognize his “duty” to leave Padme when she falls off the clone gunship AOTC Yoda: Happy to see Padme, Padme too focused on assassination to exchange pleasantries AOTC Jar-Jar: Happy to see Anakin, Anakin too focused on Padme to exchange pleasantries Heavy implication that Anakin gifts 3PO to Padme, who he created, and Padme gifting R2 to Anakin, who she had as part of her ship’s crew Jango and 3PO get decapitated in the same battle TPM: Obi-Wan argues to train Anakin, Yoda pissed TESB: Obi-Wan argues to train Luke, Yoda pissed Anakin/Padme and Han/Leia quarreling and then hugging it out, mirrored shots Saga: Little “asides” during an action scene where a creature or droid that doesn’t speak Basic screams all high-pitched before getting merc’d “Lost a planet Master Obi-Wan has” -Alderaan blown up Some deleted scenes are mirrors like the Naboo waterfall and Mustafar, there’s a promotional shot of Anakin and Dooku crossing sabers over Palpatine like Vader and Luke do, etc Anakin wrestling with Greedo, wrestling with Padme, wrestling with Obi-Wan. Anakin blocking Dooku’s execution of Obi-Wan, Obi-Wan trying to execute Anakin in the same position he was in There are also many shots or concepts like Vader moving exactly like Maul during a duel, or 3PO mirroring whatever Anakin/Luke/Han/Vader is going through, that Rick included in other vids but not here. There’s just so much.
Would be funny if it was discovered that Michael Arndt wanted to include a lot of these words in the episode 7 script and that is one of the things him and Abrams disagreed on.
At first I was skeptical of the ones that were just little bits of dialogue, but after I saw how many “alright”s there were I realized that it couldn’t just be a coincidence. Maybe the reason those bits went over my head is because they were supposed to. If I had to guess I would say that phrases of dialogue are repeated so that the audience digests it as quickly as possible so they can focus on the story. Also I don’t like how Han’s “it’s not fair” line was put next to Luke and anakin’s. Those lines were probably meant to draw a direct line between father and son, because part of the story is that Luke could have just as easily turned to the dark side. Han’s line on the other hand is completely unrelated to any of that. Just saying it kind of waters down the meaning when the dialogue alone gets it grouped in as poetry.
It's partly that and also because George has openly talked about how the dialogue in Star Wars is like music. It's repeated like lyrics to a song and used to convey tone. It's an emotional anchor to tell us where we are during the story as Star Wars is a silent film where the visuals tell the story more than the dialogue. And, although this is true the video shows he still found it important to keep it consistent across the six films. It also crosses over with his entire career if we are being technical. That also shouldn't be a problem as there's always a counterpoint in poetry. One moment that goes against the rules. George bends at least one rule per film.
90s kid here, I didn’t see the prequels because back in ‘99 at age 13, you were considered a geek for liking Star Wars. But I was also in “the geek class” - where we made robots and listened to Pink Floyd all day, hippy teacher.
I came here specifically for "No I don't think he likes you at all." *Beep "No...I don't like you either." "He doesn't like you. "Sorry" "I don't like you either."
I don’t know how you have the time to make these videos. The research put into these is insane. I am interested to see what other videos you make because I have heard Criticism of your videos and it would be interesting to hear your responses to them. I feel very conflicted about Star Wars because I hear so much from both sides, but these videos are very interesting.
i'm looking so much forward to the part in your larger Star Wars series, dealing with the Disney era :-) on its way? :-) You're doing such great work I can hardly wait 👍👏
Right around 23:00 or so, you compare Greedo's exposition to Jabba's in episode IV. But that's not entirely fair: Greedo's exposition was written because Lucas was unable to make the Jabba scene work in the original theatrical release. He, therefore, had to give Jabba's lines to Greedo.
Maybe, but it actually argues against the most common criticism of this Special Edition change. I think that is a big reason why he included it. And besides, the Special Editions are the definitive versions of 4-6.
I think I found one u missed (maybe I oversaw it in the 2 hours). The smile at the goodbye of anakin and his mother in ep.1 and the reference scene in ep3. when Obi wan and Anakin depart. Both saying there last words to the anakin they knew.
I'm convinced that "thinking" is considered to be an inherently bad thing in Star Wars. Which probobly has a lot to do with what we're all learning now. Literal vs Thematic. The "feelings" of Star Wars are what were important, not the characters or the worldbuilding; but those psychological underpinnings and the anthropological motifs.
Rick! first of all, i wanted to thank you for the tremendous work you have always done in explaining and displaying the greatness of George´s work. You have inspired me (as many others, i am sure) to delve into the creative process of his movies. There is a question i wanted to ask you: In the Audio Commentary of Episode II, George explains that in the battle of Kamino, Jango bumps his head entering his ship as a reference to the classic moment in the OT where the same thing happens to a Storm Trooper. What took me off guard is that he claimed this little incident showed how even small traits of Jango got passed through their cloning. Does that mean that the storm troopers in the OT are still clones? I know that in the EU/DISNEY canon clone troops are decomissioned at some point between episode III and IV, but is that what George had in mind? By looking through some old forums i found someone who wrote that in a 2003 interview George confirmed that all the stormtroopers in the OT were indeed Clones, but then why didn't he re- record their voice lines like he did with Boba in Episodes V and VI? An answer provided by fans is that by the time of the OT the Imperial Army includes a mix of clone and human troopers in its ranks. But i really wanted to know if George said anything else related to the matter. Hope i'm not stealing any time from you by asking these silly questions! and i apologize for any grammatical error, english is not my first language.
Hi, I can answer this for you. George gave his definitive answer in Paul Duncan's Star Wars: Archives 1999-2005 book. He said, "Yeah, they started out as clones. Once all the clones were killed, the Empire picked up recruits, like militia." I think at the time of Attack of the Clones he was leaning the other way but upon reflection his ideas evolved. He has never been one to limit himself on one way of doing things. He seems to be more firmly set now though based on him knowing his Sequels storyline versus before where it wasn't completely set. He also said this: "Then after the Rebels won, there were no more stormtroopers in my version of the third trilogy." "Episode VII, VIII, and IX would take ideas from what happened after the Iraq War. "Okay, you fought the war, you killed everybody, now what are you going to do?" Rebuilding afterwards is harder than starting a rebellion or fighting the war. When you win the war and you disband the opposing army, what do they do? The stormtroopers would be like Saddam Hussein's Ba'athist fighters that joined ISIS and kept on fighting. The stormtroopers refuse to give up when the Republic win. They want to be stormtroopers forever, so they go to a far corner of the galaxy, start their own country and their own rebellion." There's a lot more to his Sequels but this seems more aligned with what you're wondering as don't forget Luke was interested in going to the Imperial Academy. We also do see at least one clone on the Death Star. So they're not all dead. Ulimately, I think George became more definitive when he knew how his story concluded as before he was still figuring out how to fully form it. By the way, how did your girlfriend like Star Wars?
@@zoetropeguardian thank you so much for your answer! And apologies for not answering your question earlier, I forgot i had mentioned my plans here haha. Up to this point, we have only watched Episodes I and II (Luckily we’ll tackle III this weekend or the next). She really enjoyed The Phantom Menace, had a few laughs with Jar Jar, thought little Ani was cute and dug the aesthetic of every planet. The idea that an upbeat quirky film like it could generate such insane levels of controversy was incomprehensible for her. The case for Attack of the Clones is a bit more complicated, as she felt it dragged on some parts and found the cgi a bit distracting. Nevertheless, her reaction was still a mostly positive one.
@@sonny8686 You're very welcome. Thank you but that's okay. I'm happy to help. If there's anything else you want to know about what he says I'll more than gladly share with you. Oh, that's so great! I'm so glad she's having such positive feelings with them so far. My close friend had the same feelings in a lot of ways about The Phantom Menace. Attack of the Clones I find grows on you the more you think about it as it's intentionally more reflective and murky than instant knowing what to make of what is happening. Adding Revenge of the Sith helps! Please let me know what she thinks of it and the others. I love hearing how new fans feel. What are your own rankings? 😊
@@zoetropeguardian I absolutely agree with everything you have said about Attack of the Clones. It is the one I rewatched the least over the years but this time I just found it so heart breaking knowing where the story is going, from padme’s "I think our lives are about to be destroyed anyway” to Yoda‘s “begun the Clone War has”; and the ending! Greatness all around. I hope she likes Episode III as much as I do, easily my favourite Star Wars movie! And I can’t really tell you my rankings but i’ll say that from the last three I always enjoyed Episode VI the most. The ending is so powerful to me.
@@sonny8686 My apologies for never getting back to you. I hope you are doing good. Well said all around. What did she think of Revenge of the Sith? Did she like the others?
He's definitely ONE of the all time greats. The coolest thing about him is how he made both super experimental stuff AND made it accessible. He also is definitely the biggest tech innovator in the medium without a doubt.
@@AardvarkDK I mean, funding and helping conceptualize the first digital audio and film editing consoles is pretty goddamn critical to how films, short films, songs, videos and the entire last 40 years of art, media and content has been conducted. Pioneering the use of digital cameras, mocap characters, and the entire conception of the modern production process is pretty critical too. And of course his effects and sound mixing companies are still unmatched technical gods in thier fields. Also, funding the first 3D animation studios like Pixar and promoting the first real cracks at making video games "narrative art". I mean, the man on his first film assignment in college made 1 short film and edited another, and BOTH won Palme D'ors in that respective year and were considered groundbreaking. Also, I would consider American Graffiti one of the top 100 films ever made, and Star Wars 1-6 as one movie deserving of a top 100 title, kinda like Kieslowski's colors saga should be considered 1 film. I agree those calling him the greatest filmmaker ever are cringe, but I would easily put him in the top 15, but he's deserving of a top 10 slot due to his impact on the industry alone. But the only thing that wierds me out about your post is how dead set you are that the number of movies determines the quality of the film maker. Kind of, only if they maintain a super high standard. Lucas didn't make a lot of movies, but goddamn the movies he made were pretty fucking good.
@rickworley9081 What is your opinion of the argument of movies shot on film compared to digitally shot films? I only ask this because after watching Oppenheimer on 70mm I was amazed by how much detail I got out of the picture. I prefer actual film because it reminds me more of oil paintings. Still, I understand that when it comes to time management digital is a hell of a lot quicker in production, post-production, and when releasing the film to theaters. I know George Lucas was the prime proponent for digitally shot movies, but it seems to me that I just grasp the picture a lot more when shot on actual film. If you could provide some insight that would be cool!
Was just wondering when the next one would be. Great job as always, really well put together. Are there any other series/works you're interested in making videos about?
@right_in_the_tockles they wer approved george and were canon. They did nit contradict his vision for the most part. I ask of you to please watch Captain Fordo’s video titled **The Truth about The Expanded Universe** to understand how the eu DID fit into his vision. As for rick, if he ever UNJUSTLY insults the eu, I WILL smash him to pieces in the comments of that video, no matter my level of respect to him as a fellow gl loyalist
Lucas is on record saying the EU was a sandbox and he had little to do with it. He was smart enough to know that demand was far greater than he could create himself, and many fans/writers gained a great deal out of it. Sure, he had the power to veto stuff he didn't like, and I'm sure there were things he did like, but he didn't consider it part of his movie saga. The books and games are the same as the animated shows; part of the world for the fans and creators, but not part of Lucas theatrical saga. Given that Lucas movies are not just creating lore, but doing interesting things with references, framing, editing, composition etc, it's impossible to replicate that in a book in the same way. The EU is its own thing.
@Darth Doofus Of course it isn´t. And I actually doubt it´s even possible. You can look at these movies from so many perspectives, visual, dialogue, music. But it´s great to start somewhere, and recognize at least some of the intricacies of these films.
One one hand, "You're lucky to get out of there!" rhymes. On the other hand, "You're lucky you don't taste so good!", which was improvised by Mark, is better.
I wish that after all this fan warfare that's went down over the years, that George could come to an agreement between Disney, himself, and the fanbase where George would be allowed to do HIS sequel trilogy without any iron fist rule of Disney or the fans reigning over his every decision. This would the best solution they could possibly do. Have the current mandoverse stories lead to the unplanned sequels getting erased or revealed to have been just a possible timeline, and then reveal the real sequel trilogy happen with Lucas at the helm to finish and complete the set of circles he's set up here. Yeah, maybe have a big name director in HIS circle of retro directors of his choice help him with the dialouge and acting direction because to me, that seems to be the only thing that Lucas ever got wrong. If we have to be honest, while the big picture of this story is amazing and deep, you can very clearly see a distinction in the writing between the PT & OT. This isn't his fault either because he admitted he asked his director first to help him on it with him because he wasn't sure if he could do everything on his own. And well, now we know the answer. HAD another director help Lucas with writing better, more natural versions of all this quotative dialogue for the actors, dialouge that felt it needed a bit more humanity and emotions in it, the prequels wouldn't have been as bashed as they are. The stiff atmosphere isn't as lively as the OT, and while sometimes yes that's the point with the whole idea of the Jedi order, Sith order, Clone army, and Droid army, other times I feel like Hayden was missing the right acting direction he needed to fully express his emotions like an actual human. That's what kinda puts people off, and had it been better, things would've been way more watchable to audiences. From a certain point of view, this is a failure on Lucas' part, and I bet Lucas feels this pain and I bet this definitely gets to him because at the end of the day he warned them he wasn't sure if he was ready to tackle these movies ALL on his own. You gotta think about how taxing that is on a person, especially an artist who really needs to be intellectually focused on achieving his creative vision. People take great artists FAR too much for granted. Dialouge, beyond how to make it quote itself within his structure, was just not Lucas' specialty. He was still learning as an artist. Had Lucas not been demonized by his toxic fanbase, and had he remained noble with his art and not let the fans delusional ideas about what they think HIS own art is, he could've made an AMAZING sequel trilogy. Hell, maybe he'd learned more about writing and worked on his dialouge skills in that timeframe. Maybe this time he COULD rise up and made that trilogy 10× better, maybe up to OT standards or maybe even better since the cycle would be complete. It's tragic, but it all makes sense now. Thank you for opening my eyes to all this with these documentaries. This has me appreciating Lucas' work from an artistic perspective that I didn't know went as deep as it was till now.
There is actually nothing wrong with Lucas' dialogue, at all. It's way more natural than the crappy run-of-the-mill blockbuster dialogue most people are so used to ("It's now or never! Punch it! Good to see you again, old buddy! We got company!" etc.). I would even argue the dialogue is one of the best things about Lucas' saga.
Ehm, Rick that first opening is just the Century Fox logo. It would be there regardless of it was made by a director who references his own material or not.
Rick, your research and passion absolutely crushes 99% of the “video essay” population... thanks for shining a light on Lucas’ masterpiece
The very day that Episode III hit DVD (11/1/05) my best friend and I watched all 6 in numerical order for the first time. We had such a good time that we vowed to do it every year! Over the years, friends and family have joined us and we just had our 17th viewing about 2 months ago in December.
I remember the night of Episode VII's release, that we did indeed discuss the logistics of adding 3 more movies to the Saga as we waited in line. Then we saw it. It was decided, right then and there, that we didn't need to make any changes. The 6-episode Saga was all we ever needed. We just didn't know it until we saw "The Force Awakens".
Dam this is a very nice idea. I aspire to do this type of event. :)
Thank you.
oh my god man I did the nine-movie marathon when IX came out and it was *awesome.* (Yes, I thought IX was really good, in the context of the other eight movies. That or I was delirious from spending 27 hours watching Star Wars but it holds up for me, so....)
@@fast.jortimer Really?!Did you have to split it up between 2 days? Or did you actually pull off an 18-hour marathon? For us, the 12-hour long Saga can take up to 16 hours to get through (depending on how long the breaks are between each movie).
What an incredibly, deeply and sad story you felt the need to share with us. I hope your recovery works out well
Prequel haters are like “the prequels are so much different and worse” but this perfectly shows that the 6 Star Wars episodes have the most cohesive artistic vision ever put to film on a high budget. People hate what they don’t understand.
they suck and groege sold it to disbey for billions this was always about money not art grow up you absolute children you can make your own star wars i hate star wars killed the creativity in culture make your own soace wizards cowards
It’s one of the most cohesive artistic visions because they say and do the same things a lot? You must have a low bar for art
@@AidzWithAZ I was thinking the same thing. Contiuously borrowing the same lines of dialogue in this manner is pretty damn lazy. When people do this words we recommend a thesaurus. Also, Lucas used many of the same lines/phrases from Star Wars movies and put them in the Indiana Jones movies, not especially creative.
@@TheLedonne3 5 IQ shit
@@AidzWithAZ Shut up bug chaser
I love the irony that young Anakin wanted to be free from slavery and come back and free the other slaves, but later he simultaneously became the ultimate slave (to Palpatine and to his dark desires) and the ultimate enslaver of the galaxy (via fear and violence).
I'm so sick of all the Star wars channels saying the same thing with the same narrative. Your channel has reignited the love I once had for the OG trilogy. Thank you
@@Voltar by OG I mean George Lucas Star Wars not Disney. In case you didn't know the last Lucas Star Wars was 2003 ( not counting Clone Wars). That's 20 years ago, so yah OG
@@BubblegumCrash332 Still not the original trilogy, that’s 456
@@BubblegumCrash332 ROTS came out in 2005 actually. But not that far off.
This channel is as refreshingly non cynical as Star Wars was when it premiered
@@michaelblaine6494yeah, I hate that the toxic OT nerds fucked up the fanbase for so long, we all love big man George for one reason or another
You are probably the only person that makes star wars videos that actually cares about the thematic and cinematic qualities the movies present. I feel like most people just write them off as childish block busters, when they really are one mans life long passion project.
Have you seen So Uncivilizeds stuff?
So Uncivilized also has pretty good videos like this, but they are much shorter
As a real fan of the OT, you've got to stop obsessing over these flicks and their senile creator
@@sexobscura What makes you the authority and bearer of knowledge on who the creator of Star Wars is?
@@zoetropeguardian
*Yoda*
Like Lucas said, it really is one movie in 6 parts.
That's one of the things I was hoping to show by mixing them together.
@@rickworley9081 On that the note, what is your opinion of the machete order?
Do you think it's a decent way of viewing the films or is it should be disregarded entirely.
@@nabbit5574 machete is just about maintaining the "i am your father" twist, which only makes sense if all you want to do is relive your childhood.
@@nabbit5574 Lucas put numbers on the movies in case you were confused how they're supposed to go
@@TheJiminatorHS, and that's dumb anyway, because that revelation isn't meant simply to be a twist. It's meant to inform the rest of the story.
One of the things I love most about your videos is that you are always giving George Lucas the love and respect that he deserves.
I feel that so many Star Wars fans these days are so quick to discredit his contributions and ideas.
100%. Also, the praise goes too far at times.
This is a landmark, I cannot image how long this took you to make, but after all this editing I'm sure you are now the world's expert on Star Wars...
Now this is a sight to behold. The 6 Star Wars movies are perfection and I’m glad Lucas is finally getting the respect he deserves for being one of our greatest artists. How can anyone call Lucas incompetent after seeing this? I’d like to see what his critics are capable of.
We've seen what they're capable of. The sequels.
I'm so grateful for the day i typed "Star wars prequels are awesome" into search bar and found your channel. Always loved all six movies by Lucas and now i link people to your videos to support my arguments that they are indeed great movies despite what toxic minority of idiots think.
So happy to hear you found someone to think for you!
One can only wonder how the poetry would have worked in Lucas's sequel trilogy...
Only as badly as they movies were. Nothing could save those ridiculous money-spinners
Phew! That was quite the watch. Here I will put various timestamps I found interesting, along with my thoughts on them; it’s by no mean exhaustive and good bit of it is paraphrasing but it really helps me reflect a little bit more on the themes of Star Wars, which I’ll comment on after. If anyone wants to share other timestamps or comment on other things, please go ahead.
3:12 - Dooku missing Qui-Gon; how his death affected Anakin is often discussed, but less so how it affected Dooku, Obi-Wan or the rest of the Jedi.
4:08 - Both Padme’s double and Shmi’s death serve as an echo of Padme’s death, and Anakin’s fixation on stopping it, and making up for his mother’s death by proxy.
5:17 - It’s quite touching to see Anakin and Obi-Wan have grown close enough to resemble how the latter was with Qui-Gon; it also forms an interesting parallel of their relationships, as well as Qui-Gon’s with Dooku.
6:37 - Vader’s pose her also resembles Obi-Wan’s pose as he reveals himself to him in Mustafar.
7:34 - A great contrast between the Gungans and Jabba the Hut; the first like in a planet of green and water, then second on a desert planet. Ones cooperate, the other doesn’t.
11:10 - And George says he can’t write dialog.
12:28 - It’s common to compare Anakin to Luke, but here we can see how Leia’s personality is a lot like their father’s. One can assume Luke’s personality would then be more like their mother’s, which completes the chain of Shmi and Padme and Vader’s redemption.
17:33 - This was the one callback that inspired me to make this comment. The contrast here is incredible. Both scenes happening at the same place just completely changes the meaning of the scene in ANH and retroactively the one in AotC. It’s a perfect example of something that can only be done in a visual medium.
36:54 - Here I have to ask the question: Is Obi-Wan talking about the Anakin he knows or the Anakin he thinks Qui-Gon would have wanted to see?
46:01 - This whole section is amazing.
48:25 - The cycle is complete as Qui-Gon and Vader end the same.
49:24 - Never expected Boba Fett to fit into all this.
1:36:53 - Here Qui-Gon acts out a mature version of Anakin’s own point of view.
1:37:57 - Then Anakin turns into the complete opposite.
1:38:07 - And Palpatine corrupts him through this same line of thought.
1:38:18 - Then finally, through Obi-Wan, Luke finally answers the call.
1:38:40 - And the alliance with the Ewoks reflecting the one with the Gungans, bringing things full circle.
1:39:50 - It all end in Vader revealing his true self.
1:41:09 - I always found it really tragic how Anakin shows the most of his sensitive and mature side in RotS.
1:41:12 - Tragically, Windu doing the same thing as Anakin did earlier sends him over the edge; prompted, of course, by Sidious. Perhaps things would have ended up differently if Samuel L. Jackson hadn’t asked for that purple lightsaber.
1:41:30 - Dooku was lured by Sidious in the same way as Anakin was, by him appealing to his good qualities and the shortcomings of the Jedi.
1:41:57 - Sidious appeals to Anakin’s feeling that the Jedi can’t change things, don’t matter in the grander scheme.
1:42:03 - Anakin tries to continue what Qui-Gon did with Padme.
1:44:15 - This is a great echo. The Sith thrive by wanting to destroy each other.
1:55:34 - Ewoks and Gungans both using primitive weapons to defeat advanced technology.
1:57:23 - Anakin, just like Luke, refuses to leave people behind, not just those close to him but even clones and droids, which would seem expendable to others.
So what do I deduce from all this? The use of repetition by Lucas serves many purposes. Diachronically, it could be seen as an influence of the kinds of film he likes; the reuse of footage and the restriction to certain angles is a practical cost saving measure in serials or movies with big special effects. However, this repetition also has a hand in creating the iconography of Star Wars (and other movies). There is referencing, yes, and auto-referencing, but it’s not only that. It’s a means of establishing themes and drawing connections.
The connections though, are drawn in an abstract, visual manner. What this means is that the same image can be used for similar, but contrasting purposes. This deepens the film as we can go back to rewatch it and fin a host of parallels.
More importantly, it parallels the deeper philosophy of Star Wars and the idea of the wheels; the films constitute a series of microcosms, with similar repeating patterns yet also their own autonomy, just like a living system. The autology is impressive by itself, but it’s a bit more than a “medium is the message” kind of thing; it is also a way to induce a specific way of perception.
And that way of perception is the key to the story. The error that lead to the fall of the Jedi lies precisely in their inability to see that “as above, so below.” It’s that capability that Qui-Gon, Luke and to a degree Anakin all share, but Obi-Wan and Yoda lack. They are always quick to care for and consider anyone, even if they are below them, because they can see (to their own personal degrees) that they are all part of one same universe.
I'm not agree about obi-wan and yoda can't see "as above, so below" because they learn from their mistake in ROTS where they survive by seeing the clone betrayal and the lie of palpatine. I think if Luke is a great Jedi like qui-gon it's because he use knowledge of Obi-Wan and yoda to make his ways
@@lornithogeek7049 I see your point there and mostly agree, but don't forget that both Yoda and Obi-Wan started to concede failure in Return of the Jedi at the notion of Luke not wanting to strike down the Sith. They learned many important lessons that were passed on, but their notions of being a Jedi will always be tied to their old order, so some mistakes still linger.
Jeeze what a nice gift Rick, I was just watching THX 1138 and this is what shows up in my notifications
Hope you enjoy it!
@@rickworley9081 After experiencing it over a few days, I can can finally say "Good Job!" on this compilation of poetry that rhymes
Yoda: "Miss them, do not."
Also Yoda: "Miss you, I will."
The parallel is there, but the context is different, like with the "too dangerous to be kept alive" comment.
@@moondog3855 Forget about parallels, do not overthink.
@@NotOrdinaryInGames The creator of the series says there’s parallels. No overthinking here.
@@moondog3855 Every time someone blinks or takes a breath is a parallel to someone else blinking or breathing. Gotta include every second of that!
@@NotOrdinaryInGames Did you watch the first minute? Lucas specifically said he repeats specific lines of dialogue much as a composer might repeat motifs in a symphony. He literally said it haha.
Was not a fan of Star Wars, even after watching the originals, until I saw Episode 1 on a whim in 1999. Have loved it ever since. Your videos have raised that love to an atmospheric level. Thanks for all your hard work.
Thanks!
@@rickworley9081 You know according to the online "Authorhour" Interview with R. A. Salvatore, who wrote the attack of the clones novel, he wrote a lot of additional material that he was told to take out as the entire movie took place over 3 days. I asked him if that included the marriage scene and he said that they didn’t say. Would such a timeline be in line with the traditions of classic movies and myths that Lucas followed?
@@samlerf I mean, myths aren't really beholden to strict timelines, they are entirely focused on the narrative they are telling, and the classic movies and serials generally kept the chronology to be linear and "baton" like to continue telling the story so that anyone can understand them. Lucas' star wars movies have a really big strength with narrative process; everything goes in a straight line.
@@samlerf there are 3 nights that occur during the film, with respect to Anakin and Padme. 1, Coruscant: Padme sleeps while Anakin & Obi-Wan stand guard and then investigate the assassin. 2, Naboo: after confessing his feelings the night before, Anakin dreams of his dying mother, Padme awakes to find him meditating, they depart for 3, Tatooine: Anakin leaves Padme at the homestead to find his mother, the suns set in blazing fire as he speeds to the tuskan camp, it is midnight when he frees her and massacres her captors, and morning when he returns with his mother’s corpse. They receive Kenobi’s distress signal, alert the Jedi, and travel to Geonosis where the battle takes place, all on that final day. Anakin’s arm is severed and he is left unconscious from his duel with Dooku. I think that surely counts as a 4th night, whereafter his bionic hand is given and held in marriage on Naboo. So no, the 3 days does not include that. But it is close! And as for myth and movie, I doubt George is trying to conform to “three days” for literary reasons so much as, in his words, “it’s just neat.”
@@TheJiminatorHS I can think of one myth that is rather beholden to a strict seven-day timeline...
This should be required viewing in every film studies class. Magnificently assembled!
Thanks!
LOL! This video shows that when people complain about the dialogue in the prequels being "terrible," they are putting down the dialogue in the OT as well without even knowing it!
I knew about some of this repetition, but there's way more than I realized, and I've watched all 6 films back to back multiple times, including just the other day. There's always more to notice in these films.
Hate to have to tell you this but the dialogue sucked in the OT as well. Lucas is amazing at so many things, unfortunately dialogue is just not one of them. It's Marcia Lou Lucas who made the dialogue work in the edit. She saved him.
@@MrDeanWeenlol. No she didn't. She was away making other films when George was writing the script for the first film and was only on the edit for a few months. George meanwhile was there the entire time and had final say on all decisions.
@@MrDeanWeenGood one! Even Marcia Lucas herself debunked the myth according to which she allegedly "saved Star Wars in the edit".
I’d love to see the prequels on the big screen again some day. I saw the second one twice when it came out, despite letting RLM and co convince me that they were bad years later lol. I was young and dumb. Great work as always, Rick!
Thanks!
It's amazing critics like RLM don't have the slightest clue what is actually going on in these movies.
RLM are midwits that appeal to other midwits. They aren’t capable of anything insightful.
@@AardvarkDK It's perfectly fine if you don't like those things. That doesn't make them bad, though.
@@AardvarkDK Mike Stoklasa (the guy behind RLM and Mr. Plinkett) is like a chess beginner criticizing the play of a grandmaster. He read in some beginners book that you shouldn't lose your pawns, and now when he sees the Grandmaster doing so repeatedly, he figures he simply sucks at chess.
Little does he know the Grandmaster has actual reasons for it, and didn't lose his pawns but sacrificed them. His moves weren't mistakes. The problem is the limited understanding of the beginner, not the decisions of the master player.
Similarly, Stoklasa read something about a clear main protagonist in some shitty "How to write a screenplay in 30 days" book and now criticizes Lucas for not following those rules, when in reality what Lucas is doing is much more interesting.
Same with the acting and dialogue.
If you want to understand why Lucas did it the way he did, why not start by listening to his audio commentaries of the films? Or read the Making Of books by J.W. Rinzler. Try to educate yourself.
Absolutely brilliant. I’ve picked up on a lot of the recurring themes between the movies over the years but was pleasantly surprised by the many, many more highlighted in your video .
Wow. This is amazing and so incredibly intricate. It will take me several days to watch, but this looks to be your most interesting video yet. I really admire your channel and work and all the research and interest you put into examining films such as Star Wars, and really peeling back their layers and exploring all the different layers to it (homage to cinema, reference to his previous work, the visual language of Star Wars referencing itself, colour choices, the way John Williams theme develops, how the dialogue connects moments, the concern with abstract storytelling and ideas such as the Whills, and Midichlorians, etc.). The best researched stuff on RUclips!
Impressive work as always, Rick. Looking forward to see part three of your Star Wars series. Or any other video you want to put out, really.
Thanks!
14:46
So besides the cool visual parallel here, something really neat is how C3PO says "strange how small it is from here"
George was playing around with size, perspective and our scale ever since the very beginning, not just through taking the droid's perspective, but intentionally drawing attention to it through dialogue.
22:07 "You're the closest thing I have to a father" mirrored with Luke and 3PO went over my head the first time
There goes my next two hours
Hope you enjoy it!
Just got Paul Duncan's Star Wars Archives Episodes 1-3. Very happily pre-ordered the reprint for 1/10th of the price of the original. Excitedly digging in, though I wish it had come out sooner. Instead, I have to make time to read it as the spring semester is ramping up.
This is amazing timing. I just rewatched your last Star Wars quotes video several times today. Love it!
I am so glad I found your channel.
This is amazing. Really can't wait for How to Watch Star Wars Part Three. Out of curiosity, how much of that video will tackle Lucas's treatments that Disney rejected?
The next few videos in the series will be about the Disney era, and they'll talk a lot about what Lucas intended vs. what was actually made.
@@rickworley9081 The youtube essays "Star Wars Apocrypha" 1 & 2 have done wonders to get past Disney's lies and show how and by who in particular Lucas was betrayed and how Disney changed their own story. I really liked those videos. The same channel also used Rinzler's book to disprove the "Star Wars was saved in the edit" myth from Lucas haters.
Those are great videos that could help Rick with his next one.
Rick your work is greatly appreciated.
I have watched your entire channel this week. While I don't always completely agree with you, you are a unique voice, and I appreciate your nonconformist views and diligent research and work ethic. Kudos.
RICK YOUR WORK IS A GODSEND
At first I thought it would be a little far fetched just matching the same words, but there are definitely a LOT of shots that intentionally mirror or compliment others, like several scenes of Luke on Dagobah being mirrored between episode 5 and 6, as well as repeated dialogue. It makes me appreciate the cinematography on a whole new level.
I want more...and i know i shouldnt!
Keep up the good work
I hope Rick is ok.
I’m watching this for the second time after watching your video on the Whills again, and I am drawing all kinds of new conclusions and inferences, just based on how that video inspired me to look at this one. I’m not gonna try to list all my little (debatably correct) flashes of insight here, just know that there are a lot, and I’m grateful to you for helping me see them.
Great video Rick Worley! Star Wars is so special and it is really like poetry. Thank you George Lucas!
I just want to say real quick. I just noticed how Anakin holds his dying mom just like how Padme holds her dying double. Its foreshadowing for how Padme's gonna die. That's two times Anakin can't save the women in his life.
"Senator Amadala" died on that platform. Very clever, very foreboding.
complete list of Star Wars quotes not included (updated 5/26/23):
- phantom menace obiwan peering around the corner to the battle droids
- "the thought of losing you... is unbearable." vs "the thought of not being with you... I can't breathe."
- "im endangering the mission, i shouldn't have come." vs "i have a very bad feeling about this."
- mace windu being shot down by super battle droids vs ki adi mundi being shot down by his clones
- quigon haggling with watto vs obiwan haggling with han
- maul folding his arms vs vader folding his arms
- "be mindful of your thoughts anakin, they betray you." vs "he betrayed and murdered your father."
[note: technically included, but lack of emphasis doesn't show the connection between these two as being any stronger than all the other instances of "betray"]
- maul's binoculars vs luke's binoculars
- maul overlooking vs luke and obiwan overlooking
- padme's shuttle landing in mos eisley vs the falcon taking off from mos eisley
subsections:
- sirens
* inside the tantive
* luke and anakin escaping the death star
* vader and obiwan accidentally cut off the force field
This isn't anything missing, just a personal affectation from me. I know there's purpose around the sequential order of these. Some of them are general vocabulary, and many of them are prevailing in every movie and so they're placed together to further blur the lines between each film, as it is one film in six parts. However, for the "forum weapon" aspects that your other videos have, these are not exactly ideal. I think it's better if you put the "I don't like you" and AotC homstead vs aNH homestead stuff front and center. Because as amazing as all of this is, if we're to truly eradicate all the 50 somethings who cling to the OT and ESB especially then we need the undeniable proof that they're wrong to be the first things in the video. And it's true, "it doesn't make any sense to compromise how the films work for every other generation to please that first one." but I think, more relevant than that, you clearly aren't just interested in providing a solid foundation, you dedicate nearly half of your content to quelling naysayers and showing them the light. So I don't know, maybe have two versions, one that focuses on direct movie quotes for all the oldheads and one that focuses on the more generalist stuff for everyone else. Just throwing it out there, you don't gotta, but that's my two cents.
I stopped this video to go watch all 6 movies back to back again.
I hope a good come back of your video for the 25th anniversary of The Phantom Menace!
Unbelievable work. Thank you for your dedication and your passion for the work, of the great George Lucas.
The neimodian into vader and luke shot around 3:40 is brilliant.
After watching your star wars videos it gave me a new deeper appreciation for all the star wars films ngll
Awesome, thank you for making this!
Hope you enjoy it!
@@rickworley9081 hey ruck what is your opinion on star wars expanded universe/legends
We will probably never have another Star Wars in cinema.
do we need one?
@@coletale Yes, every generation needs heroes and their own mythology that shows them right from wrong, good and evil, love over hate, and the importance of being part of a collective whole.
Funny how Qui Gon saying 'the whill of the force' and everyone else says 'use the force' like he was the only one who let the force control him and everyone else is trying to control it.
Awesome. Another one to add to the fog/shroud montage is in AOTC when the Trade Federation ball crashes and the whole battlefield is engulfed in a red dust storm.
All these Star Wars video essays have ultimately convinced me that George Lucas is a historian and all his films are nostalgic. if you're too literate, Star Wars seemingly insists upon itself and George's childhood over, and over, and over again. If you are not literate in cinema, it's a children's movie about political and economic complacency in a declining Republic and how the infrastructures and cultures of modernity have within them the trappings to enslave us in authoritarian mass-production zones, and our only redemption can be found not in society itself but within the smallest and most immediate society of all, family- a very common theme in movies made for the youth. It's either a series that exists so George Lucas can reintroduce particular scenes, lines, and camera-tricks to new audiences, or it's one of the most elaborate stories ever written- difficult to say for a fella who notoriously has stated over and over again he hates writing scripts and that he's always been happiest filming obscure documentaries.
It's both. 😊 George has often said as a maker of films he sees it as his responsibility to be aware of what he's saying in his films as he's a teacher with a very loud voice. His whole philosophy has been focused from the beginning on the same types of issues and eventually became about introducing kids to larger issues that they will carry with them for the rest of their lives. Watch all of his films and television shows and you'll see how everything builds off of what came before. George is an undisputed master of his craft but you wouldn't know that by the way people talk about him.
Some poetry, or shit that just makes you think not found in this vid:
AOTC Cliegg Lars: “30 of us went after [Shmi], 4 of us came back”
ANH: 30 ships attack the Death Star (reverse womb) to protect Leia, 3 + 1 Falcon come back
AOTC: Corde does her “duty”, Padme needs to be coaxed by Tycho to leave her, Obi-Wan makes Anakin recognize his “duty” to leave Padme when she falls off the clone gunship
AOTC Yoda: Happy to see Padme, Padme too focused on assassination to exchange pleasantries
AOTC Jar-Jar: Happy to see Anakin, Anakin too focused on Padme to exchange pleasantries
Heavy implication that Anakin gifts 3PO to Padme, who he created, and Padme gifting R2 to Anakin, who she had as part of her ship’s crew
Jango and 3PO get decapitated in the same battle
TPM: Obi-Wan argues to train Anakin, Yoda pissed
TESB: Obi-Wan argues to train Luke, Yoda pissed
Anakin/Padme and Han/Leia quarreling and then hugging it out, mirrored shots
Saga: Little “asides” during an action scene where a creature or droid that doesn’t speak Basic screams all high-pitched before getting merc’d
“Lost a planet Master Obi-Wan has” -Alderaan blown up
Some deleted scenes are mirrors like the Naboo waterfall and Mustafar, there’s a promotional shot of Anakin and Dooku crossing sabers over Palpatine like Vader and Luke do, etc
Anakin wrestling with Greedo, wrestling with Padme, wrestling with Obi-Wan.
Anakin blocking Dooku’s execution of Obi-Wan, Obi-Wan trying to execute Anakin in the same position he was in
There are also many shots or concepts like Vader moving exactly like Maul during a duel, or 3PO mirroring whatever Anakin/Luke/Han/Vader is going through, that Rick included in other vids but not here.
There’s just so much.
It's like poetry..
Would be funny if it was discovered that Michael Arndt wanted to include a lot of these words in the episode 7 script and that is one of the things him and Abrams disagreed on.
It is a tone poem and it does rhyme; great work.
What an amazing montage. I was kind of hoping for a new brilliant Worley essay to go along with it😢
We’ll get new essays with time! This video speaks for itself
At first I was skeptical of the ones that were just little bits of dialogue, but after I saw how many “alright”s there were I realized that it couldn’t just be a coincidence. Maybe the reason those bits went over my head is because they were supposed to. If I had to guess I would say that phrases of dialogue are repeated so that the audience digests it as quickly as possible so they can focus on the story.
Also I don’t like how Han’s “it’s not fair” line was put next to Luke and anakin’s. Those lines were probably meant to draw a direct line between father and son, because part of the story is that Luke could have just as easily turned to the dark side. Han’s line on the other hand is completely unrelated to any of that. Just saying it kind of waters down the meaning when the dialogue alone gets it grouped in as poetry.
It's partly that and also because George has openly talked about how the dialogue in Star Wars is like music. It's repeated like lyrics to a song and used to convey tone. It's an emotional anchor to tell us where we are during the story as Star Wars is a silent film where the visuals tell the story more than the dialogue. And, although this is true the video shows he still found it important to keep it consistent across the six films. It also crosses over with his entire career if we are being technical.
That also shouldn't be a problem as there's always a counterpoint in poetry. One moment that goes against the rules. George bends at least one rule per film.
Your work is remarkable, friend, and an oasis in the sea of media illiteracy which is SW RUclipsrs in general.
You probably make the best star wars content on the platform
Him and anomaly inc
Needs more views.
Thank you for making these videos. 😊
90s kid here, I didn’t see the prequels because back in ‘99 at age 13, you were considered a geek for liking Star Wars. But I was also in “the geek class” - where we made robots and listened to Pink Floyd all day, hippy teacher.
amazing work!!!! your channel is top notch man. congrats!!!
I came here specifically for
"No I don't think he likes you at all."
*Beep
"No...I don't like you either."
"He doesn't like you.
"Sorry"
"I don't like you either."
i love it when a movie says "this time youve gone too far"
It'd be interesting to go through the sequels and see how far they divert from this pattern.
"More than you know."
I don’t know how you have the time to make these videos. The research put into these is insane. I am interested to see what other videos you make because I have heard Criticism of your videos and it would be interesting to hear your responses to them. I feel very conflicted about Star Wars because I hear so much from both sides, but these videos are very interesting.
You may not have noticed, but your brain did.
This is awesome
Thanks!
I'm making popcorn.
Hope you enjoy it!
i'm looking so much forward to the part in your larger Star Wars series, dealing with the Disney era :-) on its way? :-) You're doing such great work I can hardly wait 👍👏
A commnications disruption can mean only one thing:
We've lost all communications!
Right around 23:00 or so, you compare Greedo's exposition to Jabba's in episode IV. But that's not entirely fair: Greedo's exposition was written because Lucas was unable to make the Jabba scene work in the original theatrical release. He, therefore, had to give Jabba's lines to Greedo.
Maybe, but it actually argues against the most common criticism of this Special Edition change. I think that is a big reason why he included it. And besides, the Special Editions are the definitive versions of 4-6.
I think I found one u missed (maybe I oversaw it in the 2 hours). The smile at the goodbye of anakin and his mother in ep.1 and the reference scene in ep3. when Obi wan and Anakin depart. Both saying there last words to the anakin they knew.
27:20 this perfectly encapsulates Anakin's relationship with Qui Gon vs Obi wan
I'm convinced that "thinking" is considered to be an inherently bad thing in Star Wars. Which probobly has a lot to do with what we're all learning now. Literal vs Thematic. The "feelings" of Star Wars are what were important, not the characters or the worldbuilding; but those psychological underpinnings and the anthropological motifs.
Rick! first of all, i wanted to thank you for the tremendous work you have always done in explaining and displaying the greatness of George´s work. You have inspired me (as many others, i am sure) to delve into the creative process of his movies.
There is a question i wanted to ask you: In the Audio Commentary of Episode II, George explains that in the battle of Kamino, Jango bumps his head entering his ship as a reference to the classic moment in the OT where the same thing happens to a Storm Trooper. What took me off guard is that he claimed this little incident showed how even small traits of Jango got passed through their cloning.
Does that mean that the storm troopers in the OT are still clones? I know that in the EU/DISNEY canon clone troops are decomissioned at some point between episode III and IV, but is that what George had in mind? By looking through some old forums i found someone who wrote that in a 2003 interview George confirmed that all the stormtroopers in the OT were indeed Clones, but then why didn't he re- record their voice lines like he did with Boba in Episodes V and VI? An answer provided by fans is that by the time of the OT the Imperial Army includes a mix of clone and human troopers in its ranks. But i really wanted to know if George said anything else related to the matter.
Hope i'm not stealing any time from you by asking these silly questions! and i apologize for any grammatical error, english is not my first language.
Hi, I can answer this for you. George gave his definitive answer in Paul Duncan's Star Wars: Archives 1999-2005 book.
He said, "Yeah, they started out as clones. Once all the clones were killed, the Empire picked up recruits, like militia."
I think at the time of Attack of the Clones he was leaning the other way but upon reflection his ideas evolved. He has never been one to limit himself on one way of doing things. He seems to be more firmly set now though based on him knowing his Sequels storyline versus before where it wasn't completely set.
He also said this:
"Then after the Rebels won, there were no more stormtroopers in my version of the third trilogy."
"Episode VII, VIII, and IX would take ideas from what happened after the Iraq War. "Okay, you fought the war, you killed everybody, now what are you going to do?" Rebuilding afterwards is harder than starting a rebellion or fighting the war. When you win the war and you disband the opposing army, what do they do? The stormtroopers would be like Saddam Hussein's Ba'athist fighters that joined ISIS and kept on fighting. The stormtroopers refuse to give up when the Republic win. They want to be stormtroopers forever, so they go to a far corner of the galaxy, start their own country and their own rebellion."
There's a lot more to his Sequels but this seems more aligned with what you're wondering as don't forget Luke was interested in going to the Imperial Academy. We also do see at least one clone on the Death Star. So they're not all dead. Ulimately, I think George became more definitive when he knew how his story concluded as before he was still figuring out how to fully form it.
By the way, how did your girlfriend like Star Wars?
@@zoetropeguardian thank you so much for your answer! And apologies for not answering your question earlier, I forgot i had mentioned my plans here haha.
Up to this point, we have only watched Episodes I and II (Luckily we’ll tackle III this weekend or the next). She really enjoyed The Phantom Menace, had a few laughs with Jar Jar, thought little Ani was cute and dug the aesthetic of every planet. The idea that an upbeat quirky film like it could generate such insane levels of controversy was incomprehensible for her.
The case for Attack of the Clones is a bit more complicated, as she felt it dragged on some parts and found the cgi a bit distracting. Nevertheless, her reaction was still a mostly positive one.
@@sonny8686
You're very welcome. Thank you but that's okay. I'm happy to help. If there's anything else you want to know about what he says I'll more than gladly share with you. Oh, that's so great! I'm so glad she's having such positive feelings with them so far. My close friend had the same feelings in a lot of ways about The Phantom Menace. Attack of the Clones I find grows on you the more you think about it as it's intentionally more reflective and murky than instant knowing what to make of what is happening. Adding Revenge of the Sith helps! Please let me know what she thinks of it and the others. I love hearing how new fans feel. What are your own rankings? 😊
@@zoetropeguardian I absolutely agree with everything you have said about Attack of the Clones. It is the one I rewatched the least over the years but this time I just found it so heart breaking knowing where the story is going, from padme’s "I think our lives are about to be destroyed anyway” to Yoda‘s “begun the Clone War has”; and the ending! Greatness all around.
I hope she likes Episode III as much as I do, easily my favourite Star Wars movie! And I can’t really tell you my rankings but i’ll say that from the last three I always enjoyed Episode VI the most. The ending is so powerful to me.
@@sonny8686 My apologies for never getting back to you. I hope you are doing good. Well said all around. What did she think of Revenge of the Sith? Did she like the others?
George Lucas is the greatest filmmaker of all time up to this point. It's that simple.
@@AardvarkDK not above but still up ther
@@AardvarkDK no but I will
@@AardvarkDK I dont KNOW but I will one day
He's definitely ONE of the all time greats. The coolest thing about him is how he made both super experimental stuff AND made it accessible.
He also is definitely the biggest tech innovator in the medium without a doubt.
@@AardvarkDK I mean, funding and helping conceptualize the first digital audio and film editing consoles is pretty goddamn critical to how films, short films, songs, videos and the entire last 40 years of art, media and content has been conducted.
Pioneering the use of digital cameras, mocap characters, and the entire conception of the modern production process is pretty critical too. And of course his effects and sound mixing companies are still unmatched technical gods in thier fields.
Also, funding the first 3D animation studios like Pixar and promoting the first real cracks at making video games "narrative art".
I mean, the man on his first film assignment in college made 1 short film and edited another, and BOTH won Palme D'ors in that respective year and were considered groundbreaking.
Also, I would consider American Graffiti one of the top 100 films ever made, and Star Wars 1-6 as one movie deserving of a top 100 title, kinda like Kieslowski's colors saga should be considered 1 film.
I agree those calling him the greatest filmmaker ever are cringe, but I would easily put him in the top 15, but he's deserving of a top 10 slot due to his impact on the industry alone.
But the only thing that wierds me out about your post is how dead set you are that the number of movies determines the quality of the film maker. Kind of, only if they maintain a super high standard. Lucas didn't make a lot of movies, but goddamn the movies he made were pretty fucking good.
13:16 I was expecting “there is no escape”
It’s like poetry 🥺
I wish you would cover Ring Composition in detail, re Mike Klimo; You've hinted at it before.
@rickworley9081 What is your opinion of the argument of movies shot on film compared to digitally shot films? I only ask this because after watching Oppenheimer on 70mm I was amazed by how much detail I got out of the picture. I prefer actual film because it reminds me more of oil paintings. Still, I understand that when it comes to time management digital is a hell of a lot quicker in production, post-production, and when releasing the film to theaters. I know George Lucas was the prime proponent for digitally shot movies, but it seems to me that I just grasp the picture a lot more when shot on actual film. If you could provide some insight that would be cool!
Was just wondering when the next one would be. Great job as always, really well put together. Are there any other series/works you're interested in making videos about?
"..destroy .. whats...left..of..them.."
hey rick what is your opinion on the star wars expanded universe/legends
@right_in_the_tockles they wer approved george and were canon. They did nit contradict his vision for the most part. I ask of you to please watch Captain Fordo’s video titled **The Truth about The Expanded Universe** to understand how the eu DID fit into his vision. As for rick, if he ever UNJUSTLY insults the eu, I WILL smash him to pieces in the comments of that video, no matter my level of respect to him as a fellow gl loyalist
Lucas is on record saying the EU was a sandbox and he had little to do with it. He was smart enough to know that demand was far greater than he could create himself, and many fans/writers gained a great deal out of it. Sure, he had the power to veto stuff he didn't like, and I'm sure there were things he did like, but he didn't consider it part of his movie saga.
The books and games are the same as the animated shows; part of the world for the fans and creators, but not part of Lucas theatrical saga.
Given that Lucas movies are not just creating lore, but doing interesting things with references, framing, editing, composition etc, it's impossible to replicate that in a book in the same way.
The EU is its own thing.
@@Ruylopez778 yesh but it was still canon and FIT with the original 6 films
@right_in_the_tockles It was not useless. It expanded the universe and was canon
@@clonetrooper2003 EU was never in G Canon. G Canon is only six movies and TCW.
How long did it take you compile all this? I'm amazed
WellWhatarestoriesbutmysteryboxs
happy star wars day whens part 3?!!!!!! great vids big guy
ikr? lucas is 79 now. i hope that crazy old wizard sees at least one of rick's videos.
I once had the idea to cross reference these movies like a Bible. But this is just as good. Do you really think it's complete?
@Darth Doofus Of course it isn´t. And I actually doubt it´s even possible. You can look at these movies from so many perspectives, visual, dialogue, music. But it´s great to start somewhere, and recognize at least some of the intricacies of these films.
Nice video Rick! Got any new videos planned to release this year (aside from Star Wars)?
Yes, lots. No promises on when they'll be finished, though.
Would you ever consider making a critique video of the Disney stuff?
Rick, have you found more motifs like this?
To quote Mr. Plinkett "you didn't notice it. But your brain did."
Don’t wuote that disaster of a human being plz
@@clonetrooper2003 indeed. RLM is made for the ignorant to make themselves feel better about not understanding any film theory at all.
@@fydiousmckormick indeed
How did you ever come up with the segways, they are perfect? Each prase leading into the next, must have took days of editing
One one hand, "You're lucky to get out of there!" rhymes.
On the other hand, "You're lucky you don't taste so good!", which was improvised by Mark, is better.
New video when?
At 1h5m46s, I can't be the only person who thought of Jonathan Frakes, can I?
You forgot a big one. One so big, it was used in, "Spaceballs." The infamous, "PREPARE TO..." 😄
This is fantastic. I’m hoping in Pt. 3 of How To Watch Star Wars that you cover some of the Dave Filoni material. I’m curious of your thoughts on it.
Dave mostly misinterprets Lucas tbh
What do you think of the KOTOR games?
I wish that after all this fan warfare that's went down over the years, that George could come to an agreement between Disney, himself, and the fanbase where George would be allowed to do HIS sequel trilogy without any iron fist rule of Disney or the fans reigning over his every decision. This would the best solution they could possibly do. Have the current mandoverse stories lead to the unplanned sequels getting erased or revealed to have been just a possible timeline, and then reveal the real sequel trilogy happen with Lucas at the helm to finish and complete the set of circles he's set up here.
Yeah, maybe have a big name director in HIS circle of retro directors of his choice help him with the dialouge and acting direction because to me, that seems to be the only thing that Lucas ever got wrong. If we have to be honest, while the big picture of this story is amazing and deep, you can very clearly see a distinction in the writing between the PT & OT. This isn't his fault either because he admitted he asked his director first to help him on it with him because he wasn't sure if he could do everything on his own. And well, now we know the answer. HAD another director help Lucas with writing better, more natural versions of all this quotative dialogue for the actors, dialouge that felt it needed a bit more humanity and emotions in it, the prequels wouldn't have been as bashed as they are. The stiff atmosphere isn't as lively as the OT, and while sometimes yes that's the point with the whole idea of the Jedi order, Sith order, Clone army, and Droid army, other times I feel like Hayden was missing the right acting direction he needed to fully express his emotions like an actual human. That's what kinda puts people off, and had it been better, things would've been way more watchable to audiences.
From a certain point of view, this is a failure on Lucas' part, and I bet Lucas feels this pain and I bet this definitely gets to him because at the end of the day he warned them he wasn't sure if he was ready to tackle these movies ALL on his own. You gotta think about how taxing that is on a person, especially an artist who really needs to be intellectually focused on achieving his creative vision. People take great artists FAR too much for granted. Dialouge, beyond how to make it quote itself within his structure, was just not Lucas' specialty. He was still learning as an artist. Had Lucas not been demonized by his toxic fanbase, and had he remained noble with his art and not let the fans delusional ideas about what they think HIS own art is, he could've made an AMAZING sequel trilogy. Hell, maybe he'd learned more about writing and worked on his dialouge skills in that timeframe. Maybe this time he COULD rise up and made that trilogy 10× better, maybe up to OT standards or maybe even better since the cycle would be complete. It's tragic, but it all makes sense now.
Thank you for opening my eyes to all this with these documentaries. This has me appreciating Lucas' work from an artistic perspective that I didn't know went as deep as it was till now.
There is actually nothing wrong with Lucas' dialogue, at all.
It's way more natural than the crappy run-of-the-mill blockbuster dialogue most people are so used to ("It's now or never! Punch it! Good to see you again, old buddy! We got company!" etc.).
I would even argue the dialogue is one of the best things about Lucas' saga.
Amazing
Ehm, Rick that first opening is just the Century Fox logo. It would be there regardless of it was made by a director who references his own material or not.
Fun Fact: The 20th Century Fox fanfare for the six films was a different variation from other films from the studio.
Another one!