Han shot first!
That saying gives me the shivers, as it denotes fan entitlement. But there’s no denying that many of George Lucas’ changes to “A New Hope” he debuted with “The Special Edition” in 1997 continue to create frustration for a great many fans.
On this episode we dove into why, whether any of the changes are good, and how this problem came into being in the first place.
Continue reading WhoDatJedi podcast: Han shot first! Until he didn’t!With every movie, there’s always stuff that ends up on the editing room floor. And there’s always some good and some bad.
Which Star Wars cut scenes should have stayed?
Continue reading WhoDatJedi Podcast: Which Star Wars deleted scenes belong back in the movies?WhoDatJedi is back again! On this podcast, we started an MCU watch marathon with Aaron and had on Aaron’s brother, who spoke to what that magic was like, seeing Star Wars for the first time as a 10-year-old. Oddly enough, these topics merge when talking about “Iron Man,” a movie that has its own kind of magic.
Continue reading WhoDatJedi Podcast: What was it like experiencing Star Wars for the first time (and why can’t Star Wars recapture that feeling)?The original “Star Wars” movie was terrible!
Okay, not really. But almost?
We dive down that rabbit hole this week, looking at how many issues the original film had in production and how it narrowly avoided becoming a complete disaster.
Is there something to be learned from this in regards to criticism of the newer movies in the saga?
Continue reading WhoDatJedi Podcast: A New Hope: Virtual disasterThere is a scene in the original “Star Wars” (1977) that is often cited as being most representative of the themes contained therein. It is of the protagonist Luke Skywalker staring off into the binary sunset as John Williams’ epic score swells. Thanks to the fantastical sci-fi imagery on display (two suns, not just one!), and of course Williams’ wizardry, the audience is meant to take a breath (or perhaps lose it) in a moment of pure poetry. Thematically, this is where the renamed movie earns its new subtitle, “A New Hope,” for we are now all in on joining Luke on his hero’s journey from this point forward. It is deeply relatable, this hope, wonder and ambition of youth. And truly, the golden boy will end up saving us all (multiple times, in fact).
But this is never the first scene I come to when I recall the movie. Likewise, I don’t immediately go to the film’s most awe-inspiring sequence, the Star Destroyer rumbling overhead to open the movie and blowing out our eardrums while simultaneously making us question: “How big is this thing, anyway?”*
* Appropriately, this question can be applied to the size of the ship as well as the overall spectacle contained within the movie itself.
I don’t generally go straight to my earliest Star Wars memory either, that of the shoot-out on the Tantive IV or the droids’ subsequent journey through the desert (these images are burned into my subconscious forever). What about the phenomenal closing space battle winding over and around the Death Star? Or Jedi mentor Obi Wan’s heroic self-sacrifice? Or our first glimpses of the outlandish Cantina and all of the bizarre creatures inhabiting it? Nope, nope and nope.
