An article by Jamie Stuart
I’m
trying to figure out George Lucas. His first two features, THX-1138 and American
Graffiti, were independent and experimental. He hit the mother load with Star
Wars, in 1977, and his career took a major detour. After the success of that
film he swore off directing -- in part, because of its troubled production --
and spent his time producing features like the Indiana Jones series and
building up Lucas Films, Ltd., which includes the special FX house Industrial
Light and Magic and the sound system THX.
After an absence of 22 years he directed Star Wars, Episode I: The Phantom
Menace. Although it made a lot of money, it was generally considered a
creative disappointment. It even lost out to The Matrix for the FX Oscar.
Lucas seemed uncomfortable in the director’s chair, and it was well known that
he was looking for others, including Steven Spielberg, to direct the follow-ups.
I don’t think Attack of the Clones is much better than its predecessor,
though like everyone else, I agree that Yoda’s fight scene was pretty cool.
But for a 2 1/2 hour feature that’s not enough. While we all marveled at the
FX when I was a kid, watching the original trilogy now, two things stick out:
first, the FX are outdated, and second, the most memorable thing about the
trilogy are the characters. I miss Han Solo’s recklessness, running down a
Death Star corridor screaming at the top of his lungs. I miss the Millennium
Falcon being a pile of junk. These movies had life. They were dumb, but fun. I
can’t say that about the new ones.
The new series is about 95% digital, to 5% live action. It often appears to be
little more than a high end cartoon with a couple of people scattered about as
decoration. This is the antithesis of American Graffiti, wherein Lucas
wanted picture grain. He wanted flaws. He purposely chose takes with errors, and
let the camera operators cover the scenes without much direction to lend it a
documentary ambiance.
It seems obvious to me that Lucas is making these films out of obligation,
rather than devotion. He’s crafted them to function in the form of modern
video games, gambling that this realm of entertainment is now the most
influential. It is. But I don’t quite believe that video games translate well
to cinema -- think: Mortal Kombat, Super Mario Bros., Final Fantasy: The
Spirits Within.
Interestingly, what most people don’t understand is that this new series is
independently financed by Lucas. 20th Century Fox is simply releasing it, and
they get a fraction of the revenues -- they’re doing it out of prestige. This
says something important about Lucas and confirms his standing as an
independent-minded filmmaker -- something he always was. The bad guys in this
series represent the Trade Federation. His heart is in the right place.
Lucas has stated that he intends to return to making small avant-guard pictures
after he finishes with Star Wars. I hope he does. He’s surely more talented
than his most successful creation would suggest. He’s a born innovator. It’s
time for him to return to making innovative movies, rather than innovating just
their technology.
-Copyright
2003 by
Jamie Stuart