MF42 0 #1 June 13, 2006 So I'm sitting around the house doing not much at all while my back heals. Working my way through a stack of DVDs, I have to stop and wonder: Why do all the Star Wars movies have such terrible dialogue? I love the whole saga for the fantasy escapism, the action, the visuals, the innovations that paved the way for Hollywood to follow. But the scripts themselves are amateurish at best. The acting is frequently criticized, but I say look at the material these actors were working with. Why is it so bad? Matt Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
SpeedRacer 1 #2 June 13, 2006 because they don't expect you to be such a smartypants. now if you'll excuse me, I'm getting pretty hungry. I'm off to nuke some tribbles. Speed Racer -------------------------------------------------- Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
quade 4 #3 June 13, 2006 Hmmm . . . is it Shakespeare? Well, no, you certainly got old George on that account. However, is there a method and art to the dialog? Yeah, actually there is. One of the first things you have to recognise is that as far as Lucas is concerned, the actual words themselves aren't anywhere nearly as important as the visuals. He recognises the fact that it's an international franchise and dialog has to be kept at a minimum and generic. He has said himself that the words are more like musical phrases and filled with repeating themes. The most obvious one is "I've got a bad feeling about this", but there are dozens and dozens of others. I get the distinct impression that his dialog has more to do with the sounds and feeling of the words than the actual words and meanings. Kind of like how the Beatles wrote quite a bit of their lyrics (while under heavy medication). The other intentional thing that I know he was trying to achieve was a "timelessness" of dialog so that at no point in our real life history would the dialog of his movies be dated to say, the mid-70s to 2000s. By him -consciously- using awkward dialog, he's actually achieved this. Ok, maybe not so much in Episode 4 . . . true . . . but at that time he had not fully developed the "style" of his Star Wars dialog. By Episode 1, 2 and 3 . . . that "timelessness" quality is fully entrenched. Awkward as they are to listen to, those movies will live on and be understood for a much longer time.quade - The World's Most Boring Skydiver Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
GogglesnTeeth 6 #4 June 14, 2006 Well, while I must agree that some of the dialog is a bit weak..... when the first 3 movies came out in theatres, I was a little kid, and I loved every minute of it. 5 yrs old in 1977 and I got to see Star Wars!!! I was king of kindergarten, at least for the day!!! I'm still a huge fan of the Star Wars movies (not so much for episode 1 & 2) and the "Star Wars Universe" around it. I just can't wait till the original, theatrical releases are out on DVD this fall. So what if they are being mastered from the old laser disc copies. We all know Han shot first!!! Chewie PUNCH IT!!!Goggles and Teeth "You fall like a greased safe!!!" Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
racer42 0 #5 June 14, 2006 I really didn't realize how bad the writing was until the last three prequels came out. I mean seriously some of the lines in those movies are just stinkers. Did ya see the look on Liam Neeson's face? On the other hand, for 5 or 6 million $$$$$ I say that shit too.L.A.S.T. #24 Co-Founder Biscuit Brothers Freefly Team Electric Toaster #3 Co-Founder Team Non Sequitor Co-Founder Team Happy Sock Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
MF42 0 #6 June 14, 2006 QuoteWell, while I must agree that some of the dialog is a bit weak..... when the first 3 movies came out in theatres, I was a little kid, and I loved every minute of it. 5 yrs old in 1977 and I got to see Star Wars!!! I was king of kindergarten, at least for the day!!! I'm still a huge fan of the Star Wars movies (not so much for episode 1 & 2) and the "Star Wars Universe" around it. I just can't wait till the original, theatrical releases are out on DVD this fall. So what if they are being mastered from the old laser disc copies. We all know Han shot first!!! Chewie PUNCH IT!!! Abso-freakin-lutely Han shot first! And Luke didn't scream like a little girl when he fell into the depths of Cloud City! And no more of that idiotic music video breaking out in Jabba's palace! I'm going to go calm down now. Matt Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
