Would A New Hope hold up today?

[Blahface]

Let's say that there was no Star Wars until Rogue One and A New Hope would be released next year. It would have the same script, but have been made with modern day special effects and technology. Do you think it would still be a box office success or would it flop? Do you even think Rogue One would have done well without the Star Wars films to put it into context?

 

[Underseer]

Nope. In fact it hasn't held up for me even with the nostalgia.

What made it interesting was a peculiar combination of styles, genres, influences, etc, but the movie itself isn't that great and the dialog is pretty atrocious.

 

[repoman]

It is The Empire Strikes Back that saved Star Wars from the dustbin.

 

[prideandfall]

i think that it would, because there's a long and storied tradition in the history of cinema in the US of movies with sci-fi elements or backdrops and pretensions of being about something deeper than are actually outrageously stupid and full of god-awful dialogue that did extremely well and are fondly remembered for years.

the terminator (notably 1 and 2), robocop, the matrix... these are basically all 'star wars' in some slight variation. honorable mention goes to crap like 2001 and interstellar which is the same BS except minus even the excuse of cool action scenes.

so yeah i think so, though it's also very interesting to think about whether 'star wars' would do well in the current movie culture given that the current movie culture exists largely because of star wars (and other big bombastic films from that period).

 

[Underseer]

i think that it would, because there's a long and storied tradition in the history of cinema in the US of movies with sci-fi elements or backdrops and pretensions of being about something deeper than are actually outrageously stupid and full of god-awful dialogue that did extremely well and are fondly remembered for years.

the terminator (notably 1 and 2), robocop, the matrix... these are basically all 'star wars' in some slight variation. honorable mention goes to crap like 2001 and interstellar which is the same BS except minus even the excuse of cool action scenes.

so yeah i think so, though it's also very interesting to think about whether 'star wars' would do well in the current movie culture given that the current movie culture exists largely because of star wars (and other big bombastic films from that period).

Seriously? The Matrix?

Whatever flaws the Matrix has, is actually about stuff. In fact the sequels allow the story to suffer in order to further the discussion being carried out in the symbols and themes. If anything, I would compare it to Star Trek, not Star Wars, only they manage to cover more themes into one movie than Star Trek shows manage in an entire season.

 

[Underseer]

Heck, the old Matrix web site had a mess of essays written by philosophy professors. I actually learned stuff from those essays and realized that there was much more to the movie than what I myself noticed. I found other essays written by theologians that we just as interesting.

I never did read Baudrillard, though.

 

[abaddon]

Not the same box office success. I think that was largely because few things before it really compared for special effects combined with a spirited, fun adventure. If my memory’s right, the previous year’s big “WOW” movie for special effects and costumes was Logan’s Run… which was pretty dreary fare.

Roger Ebert called Star Wars an out of body experience, and that describes my experience of it pretty well. I saw it, I think, about 15 times in the theater, just couldn’t get enough of it. For years after, all other sci-fi was boring in comparison, except of course Empire Strikes Back. Everything else before it seemed primitive, effects-wise. Or in Space Odyssey's case, just boring. Didn’t notice if the dialogue in Star Wars was good or not, that hardly mattered compared to what the real draw was — the mythic adventure.

Today it’d have competition that it didn’t have then. You’d go in, enjoy it, but then the comparisons would begin that exist now but not then. I want to be wow'd the same way again, but there seems nothing that can do it in the same way regardless if there are better movies, in whatever sense (effects or artistry or cerebral content), since then.

 

[Jimmy Higgins]

The special effects is what made the movie and you can't compare a 40 year old film's special effects with those of today's which happen in every other action film. The story wasn't brand new, but its presentation was.

 

[thebeave]

The SJWs would have a field day with it today. Too many white people (especially white men! ). They would demand a trigger warning for Han Solo's toxic masculinity (before we even see "A long time ago in a galaxy far, far away...), and assume that Leia was denied the opportunity to fly an X-wing fighter simply because she's a woman.

They would probably skip class to protest and egg George Lucas's house and call him a racist.

 

[KeepTalking]

The SJWs would have a field day with it today. Too many white people (especially white men! ). They would demand a trigger warning for Han Solo's toxic masculinity (before we even see "A long time ago in a galaxy far, far away...), and assume that Leia was denied the opportunity to fly an X-wing fighter simply because she's a woman.

They would probably skip class to protest and egg George Lucas's house and call him a racist.

And the alt-right idiots would boycott it because they thought it was portraying Trump in a bad light, when it was really just portraying fascism as... fascism.

Nah, who am I kidding that would never happen, because the alt-right isn't a bunch of special snowflakes like the SJWs... oh, wait, they just did that with Rogue One.

Anyway, back to the OP. A New Hope would hold up today, in fact it just did that last year when it was repackaged as The Force Awakens.

 

[Tom Sawyer]

Hey, The Force Awakens was not just a repackaging of Star Wars. There were at least three scenes which were moderately different.

 

[ronburgundy]

The SJWs would have a field day with it today. Too many white people (especially white men! ). They would demand a trigger warning for Han Solo's toxic masculinity (before we even see "A long time ago in a galaxy far, far away...), and assume that Leia was denied the opportunity to fly an X-wing fighter simply because she's a woman.

They would probably skip class to protest and egg George Lucas's house and call him a racist.

And the alt-right idiots would boycott it because they thought it was portraying Trump in a bad light, when it was really just portraying fascism as... fascism.

Nah, who am I kidding that would never happen, because the alt-right isn't a bunch of special snowflakes like the SJWs... oh, wait, they just did that with Rogue One.

Anyway, back to the OP. A New Hope would hold up today, in fact it just did that last year when it was repackaged as The Force Awakens.

The Force Awakens didn't "hold up", it relied completely on nostalgia for the New Hope and the original trilogy. Very few people would have seen the Force Awakens without the background of the prior movies, and very few of those who saw it would think it a good movie.

Remove the intoxicating member-berries, and it is very dull. Comparing them as stand alone films, A New Hope is still better than the Force Awakens, despite its inferior special effects. Imagining a New Hope as a new release today is tough because it would mean that almost nothing in sci-fi for the past 40 years would have been the same.

 

[Jimmy Higgins]

And the alt-right idiots would boycott it because they thought it was portraying Trump in a bad light, when it was really just portraying fascism as... fascism.

Nah, who am I kidding that would never happen, because the alt-right isn't a bunch of special snowflakes like the SJWs... oh, wait, they just did that with Rogue One.

Anyway, back to the OP. A New Hope would hold up today, in fact it just did that last year when it was repackaged as The Force Awakens.

The Force Awakens didn't "hold up", it relied completely on nostalgia for the New Hope and the original trilogy. Very few people would have seen the Force Awakens without the background of the prior movies, and very few of those who saw it would think it a good movie.

Remove the intoxicating member-berries, and it is very dull. Comparing them as stand alone films, A New Hope is still better than the Force Awakens, despite its inferior special effects. Imagining a New Hope as a new release today is tough because it would mean that almost nothing in sci-fi for the past 40 years would have been the same.

I disagree, A New Hope's special effects are still pretty good by today's standards. The death star exploding (spoiler alert!) excluded, overall the special effects hold up pretty well.

The Force Awakens was A New Hope remixed, a little.

 

[thebeave]

The SJWs would have a field day with it today. Too many white people (especially white men! ). They would demand a trigger warning for Han Solo's toxic masculinity (before we even see "A long time ago in a galaxy far, far away...), and assume that Leia was denied the opportunity to fly an X-wing fighter simply because she's a woman.

They would probably skip class to protest and egg George Lucas's house and call him a racist.

And the alt-right idiots would boycott it because they thought it was portraying Trump in a bad light, when it was really just portraying fascism as... fascism.

Nah, who am I kidding that would never happen, because the alt-right isn't a bunch of special snowflakes like the SJWs... oh, wait, they just did that with Rogue One.

Anyway, back to the OP. A New Hope would hold up today, in fact it just did that last year when it was repackaged as The Force Awakens.

You mock me, but this shit's real. Even William Shakespeare is no sacred cow:

http://dailycaller.com/2016/12/12/ivy-league-students-tear-down-shakespeare-portrait-in-name-of-diversity/

Students at the University of Pennsylvania (Penn) have removed a portrait of William Shakespeare and replaced it with a picture of a black, lesbian poet for the sake of having greater diversity.

The large Shakespeare portrait had resided near a staircase in Fisher-Bennett Hall for years, until a gaggle of activist students removed it and placed it in the office of English department head Jed Esty. In its place, they taped up a photograph of Audre Lorde.

 

[Jimmy Higgins]

And the alt-right idiots would boycott it because they thought it was portraying Trump in a bad light, when it was really just portraying fascism as... fascism.

Nah, who am I kidding that would never happen, because the alt-right isn't a bunch of special snowflakes like the SJWs... oh, wait, they just did that with Rogue One.

Anyway, back to the OP. A New Hope would hold up today, in fact it just did that last year when it was repackaged as The Force Awakens.

You mock me, but this shit's real. Even William Shakespeare is no sacred cow:

http://dailycaller.com/2016/12/12/i...wn-shakespeare-portrait-in-name-of-diversity/

Students at the University of Pennsylvania (Penn) have removed a portrait of William Shakespeare and replaced it with a picture of a black, lesbian poet for the sake of having greater diversity.

The large Shakespeare portrait had resided near a staircase in Fisher-Bennett Hall for years, until a gaggle of activist students removed it and placed it in the office of English department head Jed Esty. In its place, they taped up a photograph of Audre Lorde.

Can you keep your politics out of a M&PC thread please?

 

[Underseer]

And the alt-right idiots would boycott it because they thought it was portraying Trump in a bad light, when it was really just portraying fascism as... fascism.

Nah, who am I kidding that would never happen, because the alt-right isn't a bunch of special snowflakes like the SJWs... oh, wait, they just did that with Rogue One.

Anyway, back to the OP. A New Hope would hold up today, in fact it just did that last year when it was repackaged as The Force Awakens.

You mock me, but this shit's real. Even William Shakespeare is no sacred cow:

http://dailycaller.com/2016/12/12/ivy-league-students-tear-down-shakespeare-portrait-in-name-of-diversity/

Students at the University of Pennsylvania (Penn) have removed a portrait of William Shakespeare and replaced it with a picture of a black, lesbian poet for the sake of having greater diversity.

The large Shakespeare portrait had resided near a staircase in Fisher-Bennett Hall for years, until a gaggle of activist students removed it and placed it in the office of English department head Jed Esty. In its place, they taped up a photograph of Audre Lorde.

Oh my gosh that's terrible! Your racism is therefore justified, and no one should ever complain about racism!!!!! If they do, that's the same thing as criticizing Shakespeare!!!!!!

 

[prideandfall]

Seriously? The Matrix?

yes.
other than the bit in the 3rd movie where there is that conversation with The Architect, everything is just a rehash of every cliche new age "tibet for white people" pop-psych hippie crap self help book that your mom was reading in the mid 90s.
the dialogue is universally atrocious in all 3 movies (its only redeeming value being that it is delivered well by a couple decent actors) and the more i think about it, yeah, the matrix is star wars in 1999.

now i've seen the matrix a hundred times and i love it. i've also seen star wars a hundred times and i love it.
but they're basically the same film and i love them both for the same reason.

Whatever flaws the Matrix has, is actually about stuff.

every movie is about stuff.

 

[KeepTalking]

And the alt-right idiots would boycott it because they thought it was portraying Trump in a bad light, when it was really just portraying fascism as... fascism.

Nah, who am I kidding that would never happen, because the alt-right isn't a bunch of special snowflakes like the SJWs... oh, wait, they just did that with Rogue One.

Anyway, back to the OP. A New Hope would hold up today, in fact it just did that last year when it was repackaged as The Force Awakens.

You mock me, but this shit's real.

No, your shit was speculation, the shit I posted about alt-right snowflakes boycotting Rogue One is reality.

Even William Shakespeare is no sacred cow:

No cow is sacred to a rational, freethinking person. Not even Shakespeare.

 

[thebeave]

Speaking of Star Wars, some bad news:

http://www.latimes.com/local/lanow/la-me-ln-carrie-fisher-cardiac-20161223-story.html

 

[ZiprHead]

Speaking of Star Wars, some bad news:

http://www.latimes.com/local/lanow/la-me-ln-carrie-fisher-cardiac-20161223-story.html

"Get ready to run. She's a little crazy."