There's No Crying in Baseball (or Cinema for that matter)

Before I begin, let me be perfectly clear:  My belief will always be that any creator will always have the final say in how their art (or product, for you cynics out there) will be presented to the world. If I feel the need to rage at the world because a movie is not what I want, then I’d better damn well be ready to create something myself in response to this perceived slap in the face.

 It is far too easy to spew anger and bile, invisibly, from the MacBook Pro in your parent’s basement, with absolutely no fear of the reciprocal vitriol that normal communication should foster. If the garbage that flows from the keyboards of countless internet  trolls were to be migrated to face-to-face conversation, blackened eyes and broken noses would result. (Wow, looking back at that thesaurus breaker, I’m a little embarrassed. No apologies from me, though. Hopefully my point has been made).  I guess that what I really want to say is this: If you think you can do better, do it. Stop whining about the lack of quality in cinema. I’m not saying be a director or screenwriter, but do something to improve the status quo!

This brings us to the real subject of my post: George Lucas. I’m going to keep this short and sweet. If he wants to nip, tuck, tweak and adjust his movies, it’s his right. Are all the changes for the better? Probably not, but they are his changes to make. They are his movies. Do I wish the original versions were available? Heck yeah, so I can compare and contrast, seeing the differences in his mindset and filmmaking then and now. I think that the rose-colored glasses that everybody views the original Star Wars trilogy through need to be lightened a bit. I love the new(er) trilogy, warts and all. I absolutely have no reservations showing them to my kids, smiling as I see, in them, the same magic that I felt in the 70s and 80s.

A few years ago, Lucasfilm, due to the deafening screams from the internet and print media, released Star Wars in its original form. Not much cleanup and 4:3 framed. You could hear a resounding WAAAAAUGH from the online community. “Why didn’t he clean it up? Why didn’t he update the audio?” Because everyone demanded the film untouched, that’s why! I’m oversimplifying, of course. I’ve read about the lack of resources given to  the original, ‘bonus-disc ‘ version. I’m still hoping for a preservation version of the original ‘77 version, but I’m not holding my breath. Sounds like a perfect job for Criterion, but the odds against that nirvana are astronomical.

Anyway, I love the new Blu-ray versions of both Star Wars trilogies. The original one still holds a special place in my heart, but I enjoy them all. Also, let me take this opportunity to give a plug to the Clone Wars series. Pretty darn good and it just keeps getting better.  The next step in Uncle George’s evolution of the series begins next year with the theatrical release the Star Wars Episode 1: The Phantom Menace 3D version. Each movie will then go to theatres, one per year, until the release of Return of The Jedi (in freakin’ 3D!). Enjoy the ride, people. I understand the disappointment many of us feel, but enjoy the ride!