Star Wars DVDs...vs LOTR: A question

[ikojo]

Why is it that with the Lord of the Rings DVDs many were anticipating the extended versions (which had added footage that was not in the theatrical or original versions) but when the same thing was done BY GEORGE LUCAS people get their knickers all in a bunch? The way I see it is that there was a huge break in time between the last Star Wars movie and Phantom Menace. Maybe Lucas did not intend the break to be as long as it was but it happened.

So, he finally gets around to making the Phantom Menace and Attack of the Clones. In so doing he (the creator of the franchise) decided to patch up some holes in his movies. Peter Jackson adds more scenes and people cheer. George Lucas does it and if some Star Wars fans had their way, he'd be brought up on charges of treason.

[Chovexani]

1. Well, this is the difference

(BTW, I think you are confusing two separate but related issues of contention in fandom, that is 1. the "special" editions of the OT and 2. the making of prequels. I'm going to mostly speak to the former issue because that is my beef with Lucas). I can't speak for all angry SW fans, but I think there is a big difference between what Peter Jackson did and what George Lucas did, which makes PJ a hero and George Lucas a heinous moneygrubbing prick. Here's my opinion on it.

1. Peter Jackson explicitly stated from the beginning that there would be extended versions of the LotR movies, and that there would be two DVD releases--one of the theatrical version for the "mainstream" public, and one of the extended edition for the hardcore fans. I remember hearing about it way back during the initial theatrical run of FotR, and I hardly have my ear to the ground when it comes to this sort of thing.

2. PJ did not make explicit changes to characterization and story in the EEs of LotR. Everything he added was either in the original novels (much of the dialogue), or if it wasn't it simply fleshed out the characters a bit more--nothing was actually changed. Nothing was shoehorned in or felt out of place, either in terms of plot and characterization or in terms of the technical aspect.

3. The original theatrical versions of LotR are all on DVD, and are available to the public and will be for the forseeable future. Fans have a choice as to which version they want to purchase; if you preferred the theatrical version for some reason it is widely available for you to purchase. The same is not true for the Star Wars OT--I am stuck with my widescreen "faces" VHS copy and when that dies I'm fucked unless I resort to fan bootlegs. Which is a complete shame, when you think about it, and makes little sense because Lucas could be making a lot of money off the fans that buy bootlegs. But then it's never been about the fans who made him filthy rich, it's about "his vision" and masturbatory exercises in computer graphics.

No, Peter Jackson's EEs and George Lucas' monkeying with Star Wars are two completely different animals. If you want to defend Lucas' crapping all over his legacy by bashing Ringers, a better tactic would be to point out the changes Tolkien made to the novel over the years. That's a far more legitimate comparison IMO (still doesn't make Lucas any less of an assclown, though, but thanks for playing). Now, if Peter Jackson decides twenty years from now that Arwen killed the Witch King of Angmar, and Frodo tossed the ring in Mount Doom of his own volition; changes the movies so that they reflect this while sprinkling some dancing CGI Smurfs all over Lorien for no reason; and then decrees this is His Vision of LotR and the original theatrical and extended versions will never be sold again, maybe THEN you'll have a point and I will eat my plastic elf ears. :P

Actually, if I had my way, George Lucas would be brought up on Crimes Against Technology, but fortunately for him I'm not in charge of such things. :)