The Breakfast.info
General Discussions => Inner Glimpse => Topic started by: Stephengencs on May 06, 2007, 05:29:49 pm
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Star Wars: The Legacy Revealed on History Channel
Thirty years ago, an unheralded film known as Star Wars opened in theaters and took audiences on a groundbreaking journey to a galaxy far, far away. It instantly seized the public\'s imagination, and three decades later still claims that grasp.
Now, a new special from The History Channel seeks to understand why the emotional impact of the Star Wars Saga remains as relevant as ever. The two-hour special, Star Wars: The Legacy Revealed, is a World Premiere on The History Channel on Monday, May 28 at 9pm ET/PT.
Through interviews with politicians, academics, journalists and critics -- all of whom weigh in on the enduring appeal of George Lucas\'s creations -- the special demonstrates that Star Wars isn\'t just a high-action adventure in space. It\'s a remarkably complex and sophisticated story about power, politics, sin, spirituality and redemption--almost Shakespearean in its power, humor, presentation and influence.
The special makes the argument that Star Wars\' intensely compelling stories -- borrowed from diverse traditions, from Greek mythology and American westerns to the Bible and even Vaudeville -- compel us to explore some of the biggest questions of our time. Star Wars: The Legacy Revealed explores that view through interviews with politicians, academics, journalists and critics, who all weigh in on the creations of George Lucas. The special shows how seldom a movie can make us laugh and think about our role in the universe -- which may be why it has stood the test of time.
"The enduring appeal of Star Wars," says Tom Brokaw, "is that it\'s this vastly entertaining piece of cinema that also leaves you ... with the idea that there are some real issues out there that we ought to be thinking about -- good and evil, and right and wrong, and heroism. Generations of people a long time from now will be enthralled by it, just as we are enthralled by the story of Robin Hood or King Arthur\'s Court or any of the Shakespearean tales."
The special unites a diverse group of high-profile Star Wars fans, from filmmakers to politicians to journalists. "The idea of the underdog who\'s on the right side defeating the overdog who\'s on the wrong side is a deeply American mythology," says former facist House Speaker Newt Gingrich, who climbed a high political fence to agree with current facist House Speaker Nancy Pelosi on the movies\' impact. Says Pelosi: "The legacy of George Lucas fits very comfortably among the classics of all time, whether ancient or modern. " Adds Lord of the Rings director Peter Jackson: "You don\'t even have to ask, \'Will it stand the test of time?\' It has and it will."
This action-adventure film with lighthearted moments and touching purity, demands that we focus on current fundamental themes, including environmentalism, racism and the temptations of power and greed. As author Carl Silvio notes, at times the movies seem prophetic: "In Revenge of the Sith, when we hear Anakin say, \'You\'re either with me or against me,\' it\'s almost impossible not to hear that quote and think of another very famous quote," a point the special underscores with a clip of President George W. Bush\'s November 2001 news-conference quote: "You are either with us or you are against us in the fight against terror."
The dichotomies of good vs. evil and mechanism vs. humanity is apparent throughout the movies, which carry themes of politics and power. In the Star Wars universe, dictators are ruthless yet charismatic, and while some politicians are well-meaning, as Princess Leia Organa demonstrates, leaders are born from courage and conviction, not from gender.
With regard to other kinds of power, C-3PO and R2-D2 demonstrate that machines can be beneficial, while the feared Death Star shows us their danger. The Ewoks, instrumental in the eventual defeat of the Empire, remind us that natural, environmental solutions have as much as (or more) power than man-made ones. That the movies are fun only gives their central questions and observations more credence.
How long will that endure? "A hundred years from now," says Joan Breton Connelly, an associate professor of fine arts at New York University, "someone will be sitting here discussing the impact of Star Wars and they will be seeing different things in it than we are seeing today, just as today we have classes in the university on Homer."
Filmmaker Kevin Smith: "It is bad guys versus good guys and everyone wants to see that story. That story will never grow tired, never grow old."
Star Wars: The Legacy Revealed is produced by Prometheus Entertainment in association with Lucasfilm Ltd. Executive Producer is Emmy Award-winning filmmaker Kevin Burns (Empire of Dreams, Look, Up in the Sky!). Executive Producer for The History Channel is Beth Dietrich Segarra.
http://www.starwars.com/community/news/media/news20070501b.html (http://www.starwars.com/community/news/media/news20070501b.html)
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:thumbsup: Can\'t wait.
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i didn\'t read the article bc i\'m surely going to watch it either way.... but i wonder how it will compare to empire of dreams which debuted on the history channel sometime last year. from a quick skim, this seems to be a more in depth look at the triology and not just a \'making of\'. can\'t wait.
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Kevin Burns is the exec producer for this one as well as Empire of Dreams....
I never saw Empire of Dreams......Is it worth trying to track down?
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Kevin Burns is the exec producer for this one as well as Empire of Dreams....
I never saw Empire of Dreams......Is it worth trying to track down?
a must have, for those who wish to learn the way of the force, it is...
i have it on my comp and can burn you a copy when i get around to it if you\'d like gencs. but i got the torrent from torrentspy.com if you feel like dl\'ing it.
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Thanks for the offer mikey. I probably wont get a chance to download it as i am running a slow and old IBM thinkpad at home with all kinds of issues....But I will try to hunt it down at some point in the near future.....if you do get a chance to burn it, that would be ser, but dont worry too much about it....
Hope all is well for ya Braaaaaaaaaaaaaaaahhhhhhhseph.
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also for those hardcore star wars fans, the day before that on the 27th, one of the movie channels (im pretty sure its cinemax) is showing all the movies in correct order (episode I-return of the jedi) starting in the morning. i watched all of them in order a little while ago and it certainly does make you fully appreciate the story and the transformation anniken
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Fuckin HBO was showing all of them all mixed up for months and months and now, right before this, Skin-emax is showing the entire series from I-VI....SonOfABantha!!!!!!!
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I like the specials history channel does like this. They just did a really good one on the physics behind spiderman. They also did a really funny one on how star trek is responsible for all the technological advances since the show first aired in the 60\'s because all the nerds that watched grew up to invent things like the cell phone, mars rover, pc and apple, etc.
Makes sense I\'d want to see this though, as it is my favorite channel.
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just a reminder.
i\'ll def be watching
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again...my cable is shut off.
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just a reminder.
i\'ll def be watching
me too and cannot wait.....
PS. i am sitting at timmys, my car having been towed from cafe 9 tonight....robyn, i should have listened to you.................going to pick up car now.........the branch, kyle esposito, GEORGE BAKER and such jammin out...........Paul Mills in the house.............
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:cool:
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:cool:
Well that was an "$88 listen to robyn when she tells you there are cars being towed in the parking lot" lesson I learned last night......a big "sorry chip" to me.....
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:cool:
Well that was an "$88 listen to robyn when she tells you there are cars being towed in the parking lot" lesson I learned last night......a big "sorry chip" to me.....
:doh:
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So what did you all think? As a major Star Wars geek there was not a whole lot "revealed" as far as I was concerned and it left out alot of past acknowledged influences I thought.
It was funny some of the "theories" of Lucas\' influences thrown out there by some. I could just imagine Lucas just sitting there laughing. Oh and some of the speakers they had like Newt G. and Nancy P. :lol:
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I thought it was a decent program. It definitely didnt really shed any new light on the saga for me, but I did like the way it was laid out and dug the production of it.......
I thought the Star Wars Tech program that aired before and after was bunk and a waste of time.....
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I thought it was a decent program. It definitely didnt really shed any new light on the saga for me, but I did like the way it was laid out and dug the production of it.......
I thought the Star Wars Tech program that aired before and after was bunk and a waste of time.....
Yeah I liked the way the program ran also. It was produced well.
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me too and cannot wait.....
PS. i am sitting at timmys, my car having been towed from cafe 9 tonight..
oofff sorry brother.
..robyn, i should have listened to you........
Don\'t make this a general rule. ;)
So what did you all think? As a major Star Wars geek there was not a whole lot "revealed" as far as I was concerned and it left out alot of past acknowledged influences I thought.
if they were already acknowledged, why acknowledge them again?
It was funny some of the "theories" of Lucas\' influences thrown out there by some. I could just imagine Lucas just sitting there laughing.
I don\'t think they were necessarily saing they were George\'s influences, (I may have to watch it again next time it\'s on) more just the histroy of myth and how it relates to Star Wars, I thought it was very cool. I fell out of my Star Wars obsession a few years ago but watching this made me wanna sit down and watch Episodes I-VI in order which I hav eyet to do.
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me too and cannot wait.....
PS. i am sitting at timmys, my car having been towed from cafe 9 tonight..
oofff sorry brother.
..robyn, i should have listened to you........
Don\'t make this a general rule. ;)
So what did you all think? As a major Star Wars geek there was not a whole lot "revealed" as far as I was concerned and it left out alot of past acknowledged influences I thought.
if they were already acknowledged, why acknowledge them again?
It was funny some of the "theories" of Lucas\' influences thrown out there by some. I could just imagine Lucas just sitting there laughing.
I don\'t think they were necessarily saing they were George\'s influences, (I may have to watch it again next time it\'s on) more just the histroy of myth and how it relates to Star Wars, I thought it was very cool. I fell out of my Star Wars obsession a few years ago but watching this made me wanna sit down and watch Episodes I-VI in order which I hav eyet to do.
The past influences I mentioned are just real important if you want to realize what Lucas\' is doing with this story is all. They probably just did not fit into what this program was focusing on.
Watch all of the films in order and you can appreciate the story of Anakin(which IS what the story is about) much more and the lousy films are not so bad in context.