When the new re-digitized enhanced versions of the original three Star Wars films (now called Episodes IV-VI) were released in the late 1990's, some fans were outraged about certain elements. While overall, the enhancements did improve on the original, particularly the scenes in space, a few little "changes" made hardcore fans literally scream in protest in theaters. The two biggest annoyances were from the first film: the killing of the agent in employ to Jabba the Hutt in the bar at Los Eisles Spaceport. In the original, Han Solo fires a single shot from a hidden gun and kills the agent. In the enhancement, the agent fires first, then Han fires his gun. Fans who had seen the original more times than going on dates during adolescents complained it diminished Solo's character from being "dangerous" and "unpredictable". Problem no. 2: the inserting of a scene with Jabba Hutt in discussion with Solo outside the Millennium Falcon. I think those two things might be questionable but they didn't really hurt the new enhancements significantly. But if fans were nit-picky about these aspects with the new versions, they didn't know what being unhappy with Star Wars was really about.
Most fans would admonish the new films of the series, the prequels, Episodes I-III. Bad characterizations, particularly Jar-Jar Binks, bad writing, silly dialog, and terrible acting plague the more recent films. If these films had been not great but good, I think fans could have lived with that. But these films were for the most part god-awful. The visuals were good, but visuals don't make up for a bad story and really bad screen writing. Although the films made a zillion dollars at the box office, most fans, including myself, were beyond disappointed. The resulting Star Wars product appeared to be what a 12 year old might come up with, not a seasoned filmmaker whose creative control would supposedly make the films incredibly good without the interference of dimwitted studio executives. (See my review of Star Wars Episode I: The Phantom Menace, where I gave it 2 stars out of 10.) I rated Episode III a mere 5 stars, that would be barely a C- without much entertainment value but still better than Menace. However my minimum for real entertainment value is 7.
The present film, called The People vs. George Lucas, is a kind of cinematic hate mail response to Lucas from the fans of Star Wars in the form of a loose format documentary. The film is mainly about how the fans of the original Star Wars films, and a little bit about the 4th Indiana Jones film, felt betrayed by Lucas. The first part demonstrates how the original kids who saw Star Wars in 1977 (before it became Episode IV) and the two sequels energized a cultural phenomenon, now called "fandom". The first generation of kids in the late 1970's and early 1980's did more than simply see the films, they lived and reenacted them. They made their own videos, movies, and plays, even their own props, as well as buying all the merchandise for sale. Much of this documentary shows endless homemade videos and movies inspired by Star Wars, as well as interviews with the most hardcover of fans.
These same kids were young adults when the new films were released in the late 1990's and early 2000's and felt betrayed by Lucas. I saw it during its first run at the Chinese Theater in Hollywood, and I remember there were screams of elation when the words "STAR WARS" in its special lettering took over the screen. But there was little to be happy about when by film's end, all of my group were talking about how dumb a film it was and how could Lucas have come up with something so ill-conceived and poorly produced. Some people regard it as Lucas' worst film since he became a high-budget filmmaker, right up there with Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom. It may be the worst film to gross over $1 billion.
Some elements could have made the documentary much better. I didn't want to just hear endless fans talking about their disappointments. There's a few scenes where hardcore fans are tearing up their cherished Star Wars toy collections. Even one group of conspiracy theorists proposed that Lucas was in fact dead, having been killed by corporate executives circa 1990, and a corporate figurehead had taken his place which will do the studio's bidding! I wish the documentary had gone into more details about the releases of the original films and the newer ones, and offered box office and merchandising information. That said, the fans needed to have their say about why they were disappointed in Lucas. It shows that sometimes artistic creations can occasionally have lives of their own outside their creators. Lucas may be the creative head of the Star Wars Franchise, but he doesn't and can't own how fandom will either deify or vilify him for his next Star Wars creations. In a word, Lucas inadvertently created a Frankenstein's monster (the fans) when he made the original Star Wars movies, and now he can't seem to control them.
Most fans would admonish the new films of the series, the prequels, Episodes I-III. Bad characterizations, particularly Jar-Jar Binks, bad writing, silly dialog, and terrible acting plague the more recent films. If these films had been not great but good, I think fans could have lived with that. But these films were for the most part god-awful. The visuals were good, but visuals don't make up for a bad story and really bad screen writing. Although the films made a zillion dollars at the box office, most fans, including myself, were beyond disappointed. The resulting Star Wars product appeared to be what a 12 year old might come up with, not a seasoned filmmaker whose creative control would supposedly make the films incredibly good without the interference of dimwitted studio executives. (See my review of Star Wars Episode I: The Phantom Menace, where I gave it 2 stars out of 10.) I rated Episode III a mere 5 stars, that would be barely a C- without much entertainment value but still better than Menace. However my minimum for real entertainment value is 7.
The present film, called The People vs. George Lucas, is a kind of cinematic hate mail response to Lucas from the fans of Star Wars in the form of a loose format documentary. The film is mainly about how the fans of the original Star Wars films, and a little bit about the 4th Indiana Jones film, felt betrayed by Lucas. The first part demonstrates how the original kids who saw Star Wars in 1977 (before it became Episode IV) and the two sequels energized a cultural phenomenon, now called "fandom". The first generation of kids in the late 1970's and early 1980's did more than simply see the films, they lived and reenacted them. They made their own videos, movies, and plays, even their own props, as well as buying all the merchandise for sale. Much of this documentary shows endless homemade videos and movies inspired by Star Wars, as well as interviews with the most hardcover of fans.
These same kids were young adults when the new films were released in the late 1990's and early 2000's and felt betrayed by Lucas. I saw it during its first run at the Chinese Theater in Hollywood, and I remember there were screams of elation when the words "STAR WARS" in its special lettering took over the screen. But there was little to be happy about when by film's end, all of my group were talking about how dumb a film it was and how could Lucas have come up with something so ill-conceived and poorly produced. Some people regard it as Lucas' worst film since he became a high-budget filmmaker, right up there with Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom. It may be the worst film to gross over $1 billion.
Some elements could have made the documentary much better. I didn't want to just hear endless fans talking about their disappointments. There's a few scenes where hardcore fans are tearing up their cherished Star Wars toy collections. Even one group of conspiracy theorists proposed that Lucas was in fact dead, having been killed by corporate executives circa 1990, and a corporate figurehead had taken his place which will do the studio's bidding! I wish the documentary had gone into more details about the releases of the original films and the newer ones, and offered box office and merchandising information. That said, the fans needed to have their say about why they were disappointed in Lucas. It shows that sometimes artistic creations can occasionally have lives of their own outside their creators. Lucas may be the creative head of the Star Wars Franchise, but he doesn't and can't own how fandom will either deify or vilify him for his next Star Wars creations. In a word, Lucas inadvertently created a Frankenstein's monster (the fans) when he made the original Star Wars movies, and now he can't seem to control them.