It’s fascinating to see the trajectory George Lucas’ career has taken in the arena of public opinion. Here is a man beloved by seemingly everyone on planet Earth for creating “Star Wars,” a man who succeeded in beating the Hollywood studios at their own game, and one who opened us to a world of tremendous imagination. Then came the “special editions” of the original trilogy which funded the prequels, and the man went from being a demigod to a pariah of the worst kind. Our love for George Lucas turned into a vicious hatred that has us out for blood. Has he really become a greedy CEO, or are we all just a bunch of ungrateful bastards?
Those issues are examined in the highly entertaining documentary directed by Alexandre O. Philippe, “The People vs. George Lucas.” After all these years, we finally get to see the filmmaker get his day in court. Granted, he only appears in past footage of interviews and behind the scenes stuff, but Alexandre does make it seem like he’s giving his side of the story.
This could have been just a one-sided portrait of Mr. Lucas and of the venom he has inadvertently inspired in the most devoted fans this past decade or so. But what’s great about this documentary is that it gives us a multi-faceted view of the man. We see George at his humble beginnings and how he developed a love for film and a deep hatred for the corporations that ended up taking over Hollywood. We feel for him when he talks about how upset he was with the studios re-cutting “THX-1138” and “American Graffiti,” and we find ourselves rooting for him to get his independence from the studio system forever. The fact that he did through getting exclusive merchandise rights was a kick. No studio will ever let another filmmaker get away with that again!
Then we see how George Lucas, by gaining complete independence from studio executives, became the very thing he fought against. There’s a great interview with Francis Ford Coppola in how he talks about the George Lucas that could have been. Francis described how George truly had many great films inside of him, but that the success of “Star Wars” has pretty much enslaved him for life. George has said that with the conclusion of the prequel trilogy, he was going to make the smaller and more experimental films he always wanted to make. Sure enough though, he is now working on 3D versions of all six “Star Wars” movies just as the apathy towards that extra dimension gets worse and worse.
Philippe also presents Lucas to us as a mass of contradictions. On one hand, this is a filmmaker who fought the fight against the colorization of black-and-white movies, yet he will do nothing to save the original versions of the trilogy that started it all. When he did release the versions we grew up on, it was in a basic format that felt like a giant insult to what we collectively came to love.
But many feel like he totally ignored the fans who helped build “Star Wars” into a mighty franchise by giving them “The Phantom Menace” and Jar Jar Binks. Yet George also agreed with them that “The Star Wars Christmas Special” was a BIG mistake. While he would love to smash every copy of it to smithereens, you can still watch it on YouTube.
By presenting all these different sides of George Lucas, we don’t come out hating him or loving him. In the end he’s a human being like the rest of us, prone to making inescapable mistakes. While many of us despise him for what he has done, even with “Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull,” he’s still created an amazing world which we all would love to be a part of.
One of the great things about “The People vs. George Lucas” is watching the fan made films and parodies that “Star Wars” inspired. Granted, they are recreating the original movies so there’s not much originality going on, but there are slight differences in appearance which make them oddly unique. Seeing filmmakers use stop motion animation, anime, and other methods is a lot of fun to take in. Among my favorites were “Troops” which is a spoof of the TV show “Cops” with Storm Troopers. I especially liked the “Misery” parody which has Annie Wilkes making the injured George Lucas rewrite “Episode III” the way she wants to see it. Why she didn’t want him to rewrite “The Phantom Menace” is beyond me.
Like just about everybody else, I am a big fan of the original trilogy even though I got a rough introduction to it. The first “Star Wars” movie I ever saw was “The Empire Strikes Back,” and that Wampa monster seriously freaked me out at the tender age of five years old. I never understood what was going on, and it took me over a decade to recognize it as the best of the bunch.
With the prequels, I enjoyed them for what they were. They were far from perfect, but for me they were better than nothing. Like the original trilogy, it left me with many great memories that I cherish. Being at the premiere of “The Phantom Menace” is something I will never forget as someone dressed as Darth Vader baptized me in the name of the force. When the opening words of “a galaxy far far away” appeared on the screen for “Attack Of The Clones,” I couldn’t help but say out loud:
“I’ve seen this one!”
The laughter that resulted from me making this statement is something I’m very proud of.
Ever since I saw “Star Trek V: The Final Frontier,” I have come to curb my expectations for the movies I look forward to the most. The problem is that our excitement for the films we so want to see, and that moment when we’re in the movie theatre when they are about to begin, are far more exciting than the finished product. It reminds me of what Lewis Black had said:
"There is no better moment than this moment, when we're anticipating the actual moment itself. All of the moments that lead up to the actual moment are truly the best moments. Those are the moments that are filled with good times. Those are the moments in which you are able to think that it is going to be perfect, when the moment actually happens. But, the moment is reality, and reality always kinda sucks!"
The anticipation for “The Phantom Menace” was higher than any other movie before it, and there was no way that it could have been completely satisfied everyone. In retrospect, the excitement of the upcoming prequels was far more enthralling than the finished product could ever hope to be.
What “The People vs. George Lucas” seems to suggest in the end is that we should be thankful he continued the series at all. It also suggests that despite our anger at the prequels, he still gave us a wealth of imagination we can still derive from. In spite of our indifference to Episodes I-III, we have to admit that we would love to see Lucas make more “Star Wars” movies in the future, assuming he would take the time to collaborate with other people on them.
Had this been just a documentary bashing George Lucas to within an inch of his life, it would have become tiresome very quickly. But “The People vs. George Lucas” is great because it give us the different dimensions of the man and shows us how the ways he fought the system ended up working against him in later years. Nevertheless, “Star Wars” remains a powerful narcotic for us all, and regardless of how we feel about the prequels, there is a part of us that yearns for movies from the man (providing he is not the director).
This is a great documentary that will appeal to fanboys and those who are not fans of “Star Wars,” assuming any such people exist on this planet.
* * * * out of * * * *
Those issues are examined in the highly entertaining documentary directed by Alexandre O. Philippe, “The People vs. George Lucas.” After all these years, we finally get to see the filmmaker get his day in court. Granted, he only appears in past footage of interviews and behind the scenes stuff, but Alexandre does make it seem like he’s giving his side of the story.
This could have been just a one-sided portrait of Mr. Lucas and of the venom he has inadvertently inspired in the most devoted fans this past decade or so. But what’s great about this documentary is that it gives us a multi-faceted view of the man. We see George at his humble beginnings and how he developed a love for film and a deep hatred for the corporations that ended up taking over Hollywood. We feel for him when he talks about how upset he was with the studios re-cutting “THX-1138” and “American Graffiti,” and we find ourselves rooting for him to get his independence from the studio system forever. The fact that he did through getting exclusive merchandise rights was a kick. No studio will ever let another filmmaker get away with that again!
Then we see how George Lucas, by gaining complete independence from studio executives, became the very thing he fought against. There’s a great interview with Francis Ford Coppola in how he talks about the George Lucas that could have been. Francis described how George truly had many great films inside of him, but that the success of “Star Wars” has pretty much enslaved him for life. George has said that with the conclusion of the prequel trilogy, he was going to make the smaller and more experimental films he always wanted to make. Sure enough though, he is now working on 3D versions of all six “Star Wars” movies just as the apathy towards that extra dimension gets worse and worse.
Philippe also presents Lucas to us as a mass of contradictions. On one hand, this is a filmmaker who fought the fight against the colorization of black-and-white movies, yet he will do nothing to save the original versions of the trilogy that started it all. When he did release the versions we grew up on, it was in a basic format that felt like a giant insult to what we collectively came to love.
But many feel like he totally ignored the fans who helped build “Star Wars” into a mighty franchise by giving them “The Phantom Menace” and Jar Jar Binks. Yet George also agreed with them that “The Star Wars Christmas Special” was a BIG mistake. While he would love to smash every copy of it to smithereens, you can still watch it on YouTube.
By presenting all these different sides of George Lucas, we don’t come out hating him or loving him. In the end he’s a human being like the rest of us, prone to making inescapable mistakes. While many of us despise him for what he has done, even with “Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull,” he’s still created an amazing world which we all would love to be a part of.
One of the great things about “The People vs. George Lucas” is watching the fan made films and parodies that “Star Wars” inspired. Granted, they are recreating the original movies so there’s not much originality going on, but there are slight differences in appearance which make them oddly unique. Seeing filmmakers use stop motion animation, anime, and other methods is a lot of fun to take in. Among my favorites were “Troops” which is a spoof of the TV show “Cops” with Storm Troopers. I especially liked the “Misery” parody which has Annie Wilkes making the injured George Lucas rewrite “Episode III” the way she wants to see it. Why she didn’t want him to rewrite “The Phantom Menace” is beyond me.
Like just about everybody else, I am a big fan of the original trilogy even though I got a rough introduction to it. The first “Star Wars” movie I ever saw was “The Empire Strikes Back,” and that Wampa monster seriously freaked me out at the tender age of five years old. I never understood what was going on, and it took me over a decade to recognize it as the best of the bunch.
With the prequels, I enjoyed them for what they were. They were far from perfect, but for me they were better than nothing. Like the original trilogy, it left me with many great memories that I cherish. Being at the premiere of “The Phantom Menace” is something I will never forget as someone dressed as Darth Vader baptized me in the name of the force. When the opening words of “a galaxy far far away” appeared on the screen for “Attack Of The Clones,” I couldn’t help but say out loud:
“I’ve seen this one!”
The laughter that resulted from me making this statement is something I’m very proud of.
Ever since I saw “Star Trek V: The Final Frontier,” I have come to curb my expectations for the movies I look forward to the most. The problem is that our excitement for the films we so want to see, and that moment when we’re in the movie theatre when they are about to begin, are far more exciting than the finished product. It reminds me of what Lewis Black had said:
"There is no better moment than this moment, when we're anticipating the actual moment itself. All of the moments that lead up to the actual moment are truly the best moments. Those are the moments that are filled with good times. Those are the moments in which you are able to think that it is going to be perfect, when the moment actually happens. But, the moment is reality, and reality always kinda sucks!"
The anticipation for “The Phantom Menace” was higher than any other movie before it, and there was no way that it could have been completely satisfied everyone. In retrospect, the excitement of the upcoming prequels was far more enthralling than the finished product could ever hope to be.
What “The People vs. George Lucas” seems to suggest in the end is that we should be thankful he continued the series at all. It also suggests that despite our anger at the prequels, he still gave us a wealth of imagination we can still derive from. In spite of our indifference to Episodes I-III, we have to admit that we would love to see Lucas make more “Star Wars” movies in the future, assuming he would take the time to collaborate with other people on them.
Had this been just a documentary bashing George Lucas to within an inch of his life, it would have become tiresome very quickly. But “The People vs. George Lucas” is great because it give us the different dimensions of the man and shows us how the ways he fought the system ended up working against him in later years. Nevertheless, “Star Wars” remains a powerful narcotic for us all, and regardless of how we feel about the prequels, there is a part of us that yearns for movies from the man (providing he is not the director).
This is a great documentary that will appeal to fanboys and those who are not fans of “Star Wars,” assuming any such people exist on this planet.
* * * * out of * * * *
