Whatever you say about this post, it does utilize the original theatrical posters for the first three flicks.
Star Wars (George Lucas, 1977)
I realize that I'm one of those people who saw
Star Wars at the theatre upon original release, twenty times in the first year, so to me, yes, it was something akin to the second coming of
Jaws. No, this time the film didn't save my life, but I graduated from college just about a week after the film came out, so it did seem to come along as the completion of the
Jaws miracle two years previously. Nowadays it's usually taken for granted that people think that
The Empire Strikes Back is the best of the series, but I still don't buy it personally. Sure, the sequel is more-serious and darker, more-operatic, introduces the Jedi Yoda, and has one of the greatest reveals in film history, but it's just not really all that fun and then it ends anti-climatically. I love
The Empire Strikes Back, but I love
Star Wars much more.
For all its seeming ripoff of legends and tales from all over the world (and it's not my place here to discuss those; they have been discussed at the site elsewhere),
Star Wars still feels fresh and new to me. I'll be the first to say that the acting and dialogue may
seem weak here and there, but in the context of the entire stand-alone film and awesome universe and characters created,
Star Wars deserves as much slack as just about any film I can think of. It's not meant to be all that deep, yet it easily becomes "the stuff that dreams are made of". Besides that, for all the acting you may think is weak, much of it actually fits the youngish characters, and to balance them out, you have the wonderful Alec Guinness, Peter Cushing and the overpowering voice of James Earl Jones.
I know that a lot of people hate Lucas based on his constant tinkering of the old trilogy and what they see as a raping with the new trilogy, but
Star Wars was cool from the get-go and it still remains cool and just one of the most fun film experiences a child of any age can have. I put
Star Wars on last week with a friend who hadn't even seen the version with all the changes and the extra F/X, and we both became little kids again. We didn't give a crap who shot first because we both remembered who shot first. It's not that big a deal in the grand scheme of things, at least it's not worth changing your opinion on what rating to give
Star Wars. Go ahead and give Lucas some personal low ratings if you feel the need, but please don't attack the film (I have it in multiple incarnations, including the original release). I guess in this case, you can switch around the saying about "attack the message, but not the messenger."
Anyway, why do I love
Star Wars? The opening scene with the Empire starship flying over your head at the beginning attacking Princess Leia's ship is still as memorable as it ever was. Tattoine is an awesome planet, containing tons of non-human life and the awesome space port of Mos Eisley and its charming cantina. No matter what Guinness thought of his character or dialogue, his Obi-Wan Kenobi is an awesome anchor to give this seemingly-lightweight film some needed extra
gravitas. The switch to Warp Speed and the attack on the Death Star trench are two of the greatest scenes I've ever seen with a packed audience where everyone went insane laughing and clapping. John Williams did compose better scores than he did for the
Star Wars series, but 95% of people will always remember him for the
Star Wars films.
Just to remind people that
Star Wars is actually full of wit or at least some form of humor, what about these
bon mots of dialogue: "Uh, everything's under control. Situation normal." "Don't call me a mindless philosopher, you overweight glob of grease." "Who's the more foolish: The fool, or the fool who follows him?" "Aren't you a little short for a stormtrooper?" "Look, Your Worshipfulness, let's get one thing straight. I take orders from just one person: me." "It's a wonder you're still alive." "Will someone get this big walking carpet out of my way?" "You came in that thing? You're braver than I thought." "So, what do you think of her, Han? "I'm tryin' not to, kid." "Good." "Still, she's got a lot of spirit. I don't know, whaddya think? You think a princess and a guy like me... " "No." "Let him have it. It's not wise to upset a Wookiee." "But sir, nobody worries about upsetting a droid." "That's 'cause droids don't pull people's arms out of their sockets when they lose. Wookiees are known to do that." "I have a very bad feeling about this." "One thing's for sure, we're all gonna be a lot thinner." "Garbage chute. Really wonderful idea. What an incredible smell you've discovered!" "It could be worse." "It's worse." "Your eyes can deceive you; don't trust them."
May the Force be with You.
Raiders of the Lost Ark (Steven Spielberg, 1981)
I guess that poster pretty much explains why I
have to love this flick, but no, it's just a coincidence.
I tend to think of this as a Spielberg flick rather than a Lucas one, but I guess you'll look at it whatever way you do. Since this film came out well after
Jaws and
Star Wars, I saw this one at the theatre that summer less than I saw the others; this time, it was only 17 times. I can remember buying some tickets for my second viewing (believe it or not, the first time was a sneak preview, a process which seems to have "gone with the wind"), and while I was waiting at the next-door fast food joint, I heard some teenage girls describe the movie as "
Star Wars but without any boring parts".
Raiders doesn't have any boring parts, but it does have some stretches where the filmmakers try to expand the suspense and mystery in ways slightly different than the other flicks and it does have a little bit of exposition. Of course, it also has Harrison Ford becoming another star character in Indy. It's an awesome adventure, but I guess, to quote Holden, "Your mileage may vary" (even though I can't help but think that Holds took that from Indy's line about "It's not the years, honey, it's the mileage.")
The thing which made
Raiders so popular was that the opening scene grabbed everybody. True, it was basically an homage to '30s serials, but almost nobody who went to see the movie, repeatedly, had ever seen any serials.
Raiders may have the greatest opening of any film I've seen, and I dare anyone to see the first ten minutes and then say they don't want to watch the rest. The thing is that after the opening, the film is crammed with set pieces, such as the drinking duel in the Himalayas followed by Indy's return to the very antagonistic Marion (Karen Allen), in a scene where Spielberg showcases the fact that this film is really about shadows. (
Raiders has more significant shadows that any film I've seen, and Spielberg tried to carry on with the other three films, but never quite topped this one for shadow effects.) Immediately, we're enveloped in a machine gun battle with lots of fire. The other set-pieces include the kidnapping of Marion, the discovery and digging for the Lost Ark, the enclosure in the "Crypt" with the snakes, the Flying Wing fistfight, the truck scene (which may well be the greatest action scene in film history), the steamer/submarine scene, and the reveal of the Lost Ark scene (which to me is incredibly violent and scary, but is still shown uncut on commercial TV).
Raiders doesn't have as many memorable characters as
Star Wars, but if you count all the Nazis, it's damn close. Besides that, it's actually set on Earth which (surprisingly) gives it an other-worldly quality. The flick has another ton of witty dialogue. Should I quote it? Oh, hell, why not? "This is it... This is where Forrestall cashed in." "A friend of yours?" "A competitor... he was good. He was very good." "You Americans, you're all the same. Always overdressing for the wrong occasions." "Wave it at anything that slithers." "The whole place is slitherin'." "There's a big snake in the plane, Jock. "Oh, that's just my pet snake Reggie." "I hate snakes, Jock. I hate 'em." "C'mon, show a little backbone, will ya?" "You want to talk to God? Let's go see him together, I've got nothing better to do." "Snakes. Why'd it have to be snakes? "Asps. Very dangerous. You go first."
Of course, I've been known to say that
Temple of Doom is the best of the Indy flicks, and I still stand by that, but when I edit my Favorite Films, I'll definitely factor that in if I have to.
A Pocketful of Miracles (Frank Capra, 1961)
Capra's last film is a remake of one of his most-beloved flicks,
Lady For a Day. This version is OK, but it really explains why Capra had to retire after he almost embarrassingly was "forced" to release this flick in 1961. This version of the story of Apple Annie (Bette Davis) is still set in the middle of the Depression, but it's filmed in widescreen color and is 40 minutes longer than Capra's original, which was rightly nominated for a Best Picture when its story really mattered, and it provided so many people with so much hope and joy. I give the original flick
, and it's one of the best feel-good films of the early 1930s. If you knew nothing about the original, this version is passable, but if you think you like this version, please try to watch the original ASAP, so you can see how the Capra Magic was originally intended to be understood and enjoyed.
The Children's Hour (William Wyler, 1961)
OK now, you have to trust me that this 1961 remake is better than the original, unlike the last film, although maybe "better" is the wrong word. This version, which is far more faithful than the same director's
These Three 25 years earlier, isn't really any more entertaining or enlightening, but it's more faithful to Lillian Hellman's original play.
These Three basically omitted the lesbian angle and turned it into a menage a trois so the Hays Code would actually pass it, but since the original play did seem to deal more with children's lies than sexual orientation, that earlier film is one which didn't really suffer all that much for quieting down the L-Word. As it is, these two flicks represent the same kind of adolescent dynamics and politics which the recent
Where the Wild Things Are follows. They both detail extreme emotional lives where the youngsters can highly affect the lives of other youngsters and the adults responsible for them. In that way,
Where the Wild Things Are is a much-more kid-friendly, and for that matter, it's even more adult-friendly, so please don't dis Spike Jonze' new flick because no matter how dark or blah you think it is, it can definitely be seen as something which is positive for both adults and kids. In
The Children's Hour, Audrey Hepburn is her usual excellent self, but Shirley MacLaine really shines in the more difficult role and she also seems damned sexy too.
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