rodneyfaile
Sr Member
"Only a Sith deals in absolutes." - Obi Wan
(wait, isn't that an absolute statement? lol)
(wait, isn't that an absolute statement? lol)
What If Star Wars?
- Thread starter SeanB13
- Start date
That's a whole different can of worms.
But, if you look at the climate of the time (76,77) films were for the most part downbeat, Hollywood was in financial trouble, westerns were being backed mostly.
SW came along at the right time, as did the development of the tech to film it at ILM.
There are a whole list of factors involved.
But, if you look at the climate of the time (76,77) films were for the most part downbeat, Hollywood was in financial trouble, westerns were being backed mostly.
SW came along at the right time, as did the development of the tech to film it at ILM.
There are a whole list of factors involved.
The reaction that this is meant to produce is disgust and fear by enlarging all those non-anthropomorphic features like huge facetted eyes, mandibles, wire-y hairs etc. We as humans can´t read anything in it´s "face" that would let us identify it immediately as a friend or a foe, so the natural reaction is primarily "caution!" and very often "fear!", to be on the safe side. The same goes for the fear of spiders or octopuses.
But the "insect" and "fear" connotation is culture-based.
The Japanese for example have a great fascination with insects. A lot of mecha designs are insect based and anthropomorphic designs with insect features are very common.
But yes, a lot of the PT designs are pretty weak because of their lack of real-world foundation, and even if it´s about giving a good sense of size, or material, or function.
Colin Droidmilk
Sr Member
Originally Posted by blip
Yes, the thing is, I'm not sure that even George Lucas knows how he did it.
That's the question I have always wondered about. What was it about Star Wars 1977 that made it so much better than anything that went before or came after it? Why couldn't George pull it off a sacond time? What changed?
Actually he did pull it off a second time, in a way, with Raiders of the Lost Ark. It's about mould-breaking. SW broke the mould for SF. And Raiders in a more modest way broke the mould for adventure. You can't break the mould for SF a second time while working within the SW universe. The next revolution in film SF was Scott's work, and there hasn't really been another since then. These mouldbreaking moments are rare things. You see the pattern right through the arts. Picasso never broke through again after cubism; he remained forever influenced by his greatest discovery. Same with Lucas. Same with Giger, the list's endless.
Not taking anything away from the movie, because I love Raiders - but don't forget by then, Ford, Lucas and Spielberg were proven, house hold names.
The same cannot be said for everyone behind SW back in 77.
chiming in late on this but i think the allure of the ot is it is what i GREW UP WITH!!! to me the prequels dont exist 
the sad thing is, this is lost on my little boy -star wars to him is the clone wars animated series , thus is what he i s growing up with so it will be HIS historicak perspective. i am working on shanging that though
the sad thing is, this is lost on my little boy -star wars to him is the clone wars animated series , thus is what he i s growing up with so it will be HIS historicak perspective. i am working on shanging that though 
I agree entirely with what has been said in relation to the idea of function being paramount and form being drawn from, and indicative of, that function. What still stands out to me the most in the original trilogy is the fact that everything is clearly used. No shiny spacesuits or polished chrome guns, instead the troopers on Tattoine are dusty, dirty and clearly bored. Things are tatty, bits break down, ships have scrapes and scratches.
I was watching a documentary that showed clips from allied camps in Africa and modern outposts in Afghanistan. Change the desert kit for dusty white armour and it could have been Mos Eisley. The troopers had the feeling of being real people in a real situation. Nothing looked like it was fresh from the factory.
Nothing really looks used in the prequels. I appreciate that the Republic was at its shiny and polished zenith but combined with the overzealous CGI it looks fake. Because it is fake - they are just props, after all. But it doesn't have to look and feel fake. The original trilogy showed us that.
CGI was probably the thing in the prequels that stood out to me. Puppetry really made the original aliens come alive.
I was watching a documentary that showed clips from allied camps in Africa and modern outposts in Afghanistan. Change the desert kit for dusty white armour and it could have been Mos Eisley. The troopers had the feeling of being real people in a real situation. Nothing looked like it was fresh from the factory.
Nothing really looks used in the prequels. I appreciate that the Republic was at its shiny and polished zenith but combined with the overzealous CGI it looks fake. Because it is fake - they are just props, after all. But it doesn't have to look and feel fake. The original trilogy showed us that.
CGI was probably the thing in the prequels that stood out to me. Puppetry really made the original aliens come alive.
I think the child's rocket ride is from a playground.
As far as PT designs, nothing really stands out right off the bat, but let check them out, refresh my memory and see if there's anything that appeals to me or, something I think has the same qualities and aspects that the OT designs have.
As far as PT designs, nothing really stands out right off the bat, but let check them out, refresh my memory and see if there's anything that appeals to me or, something I think has the same qualities and aspects that the OT designs have.
I tried really hard to find some Mecha from the PT, I really did, but I just cant find a single ship or, vessel that's looks cool or, isn't boring or, silly, boarding on the ridiculously embarrassing or, that fits into the OT Universe.
But there are quite a few designs that I do like, even though they may not exactly meet the level of originality, creativity and believability of the OT.
Like I said earlier I like the Asian influence with Queen Amidala, Anakin,s modified bicycle helmet and spectacle goggles, the Jedi communicator made of a disposable razor and soldering lugs ( I really like modified, found-items).
Here's, IMO, the very coolest aspect of the PT.
Here's a couple more cool designs that I really like and would fit pretty well into the OT.
As far as the PT Mecha goes, the Podracers were pretty cool, especially the different sounds of their engines, they also had certain elements from the OT, but overall, IMO, they just didn't work.
But there are quite a few designs that I do like, even though they may not exactly meet the level of originality, creativity and believability of the OT.
Like I said earlier I like the Asian influence with Queen Amidala, Anakin,s modified bicycle helmet and spectacle goggles, the Jedi communicator made of a disposable razor and soldering lugs ( I really like modified, found-items).
Here's, IMO, the very coolest aspect of the PT.
Here's a couple more cool designs that I really like and would fit pretty well into the OT.
As far as the PT Mecha goes, the Podracers were pretty cool, especially the different sounds of their engines, they also had certain elements from the OT, but overall, IMO, they just didn't work.
