Footage From Star Wars: Episode III

An anonymous reader writes "Leaked footage of Star Wars: Episode III is now online! Included in the 2-minute and 37-second clip are shots of the Australian set, George Lucas behind the camera, Chewbacca looking cooler than ever, and even a quick peek at Hayden Christensen (in Vader get-up!) and Ewan McGregor duking it out, all being played to AC/DC's 'Back in Black.' I've downloaded it, but am undecided as if I should watch it or not, lest it spoil something (here's hoping that it's good)."

Not Worth It

[DoctorGrim]

Any bets that this'll be worse than the others?

PTS vs. PTR...

[danielrm26]

Remember, it's only a spoiler if the movie is actually *good*. This one has a huge PTS (potential to suck) rating, with only a moderate PTR (potential to rock). Given those facts, I can afford a peek at what amounts to some backstage stuff usually included on the DVD.

Use the force, George

[corebreech]

Given the rumors of Episodes VII, VIII & IX [slashdot.org], I think there's a good chance that Lucas has been slapped out of whatever doldrums that produced I & II and that he understands that III has to be put out of the park.

In other words, if Episode III is the Star Wars equivalent of Star Trek: Nemesis, then he loses the franchise.

Re:Use the force, George

[Anonymous Coward]

You're an idiot.

It's nothing like the Star Trek situation. Rick Berman doesn't personally finance the movies. He has to answer to someone when things go sour.

Lucas answers to nobody. If a movie flops, he has nobody to answer to, nobody to blame but himself. Should he wish to make another, he can pump out as many Star Wars movies as he wants as long as he has money. Lucas has buckets of money, end of story.

Re:Use the force, George

[shaitand]

Yes but a Star Wars Movie COSTS buckets of money to make. It hurts MORE not less when it's your own pocket, even if your pockets are deep.

You think dealing with a boss if tough, try being one.

Skeptical

[DarkHelmet]

I admit...

The lightsaber fights do end up looking good, even in these green screen clips.

Then I remember Star Wars: Episode 1. The lightsaber fight with Darth Maul / Obiwan was very very good, but the movie overall wasn't. I realize that from these scenes, that what's shown amounts to roughly 5-10 minutes of the movie that *might* actually be good.

Call me what you will, but there was nothing in Episode 1 that was truly memorable. There were no lines that are worthy of geeks repeating. There was nothing that truly captured me when I watched it, and made me want to see it again. Just because it's Star Wars, doesn't make it automatically fantastic.

I hope to god Episode 3 makes up for the other two. But I'm not holding my breath.

Re:Why does anyone give Lucas any more chances?

[Wil63]

I'm just guessing, but it's probably because he owns the script rights - or something similar.

Re:Why does anyone give Lucas any more chances?

[geekoid]

ROTK?

You may hate the movies, but they make money.

Plus Lucas owns them, and backs them himself, so he can keep making movies as long as he can bank roll them.

Any film that makes money is a good business venture. Hollywood is there to make money, not please you.

I was displeased with TPM.
I was more pleased with AOTC. If the Jedi had not been so angry when they fight, and if yoda was calm and collective, and not a freaking superball, it would have been a pretty good credit to the series. Clearly Lucas listened.

Now, the 2 bits I din't like could be OK if they turn out to be part of the plot(why is the force weakening?), which I suspect.
I have more hope for this movie then the last two.

always remeber, Lucas could do it in sock puppets, and still make 100Million.

Re:what?

[edwdig]

Everyone knows what happens in Episode 3, but what we don't know is how it happens.

How does Anakin become Vader?
Where does the name Darth Vader come from?
How come he doesn't know about that Padme has twins?
How does Palpatine gain total control?
How do all the Jedi die?
What Jedi survive other than Yoda and Obiwan?
Will there be an answer to why Obiwan and Yoda fade away when they die, but the Jedi we've seen die in Episodes 1 & 2 don't?

The biggest question I have is in Episode 3, will we see Anakin become Darth Vader, or will we see Anakin "die" and then Darth Vader first appear soon after?

Re:Use the force, George

[meta-monkey]

Have you not been paying attention? There is no correlation between the quality of the film and the profits made. Episodes I & II may have cost buckets of cash, but they also MADE buckets of cash. Not counting all the merchandising, the toys and t-shirts and video games and jar-jar toothbrushes. Lucas has no incentive to make a good movie, because no matter how bad the movie is, you know 92% of geeks will still go see it, just so they can bitch about it on /.

Hayden

[Coneasfast]

anyone else find Hayden Christensen was not right for the role of Anakin? it was kind of irritating, i found his acting to be quite poor in star wars and would have preferred someone else in his place; not sure who though.

just my C$0.02

Re:Use the force, George

[patternjuggler]

I think a year ago people were trumpeting LOTR and the Matrix films as the new genre movies of choice, and not thinking of Ep III at all. Then the Matrix sequels came out and were underwhelming, so maybe there's a chance fans will look to Star Wars again for that inspirational spark or whatever the first trilogy had in spades.

I'm going to keep my expectations low, but see it in the theaters anyhow.

I'd rather someone would come out with a new science fiction franchise to take the reins from Star Wars- something fresh, with mind-blowing imagery in every frame. Maybe a live-action Ghost in the Shell?

Re:Skeptical

[nacturation]

The lightsaber fights do end up looking good, even in these green screen clips.

Then I remember Star Wars: Episode 1. The lightsaber fight with Darth Maul / Obiwan was very very good...

Sure, if your definition of "good" is having the fighters flip around maniacally in all sorts of improbable positions, doing spins and twirls which would make it easy for any capable swordsman to kill them. What I'd really like to see is for the lightsabre fights to employ traditional swordsmanship techniques. After all, what's the point of doing any kind of spin or wind-up movement... to build up more momentum which doesn't even affect an energy beam?

I know, people probably expect to see lots of crazy acrobatics so that they can get their action fix rather than having a lightsabre duel be an actual plot device, used in the context of telling a great story.

Spoil it?

[east coast]

If anything 'spoils' episode III it will be Lucas' complete witlessness in episodes I and II. IMHO.

So call me a troll! :)

Re:Use the force, George

[Coryoth]

I think a year ago people were trumpeting LOTR and the Matrix films as the new genre movies of choice, and not thinking of Ep III at all. Then the Matrix sequels came out and were underwhelming, so maybe there's a chance fans will look to Star Wars again for that inspirational spark or whatever the first trilogy had in spades.

Yes, but unfortunately for George LoTR rather spectacular, and epic, and very successful. Star Wars is going to lose the Genre Film crown - but a large part of that is due to the ill feeling generated by the most recent two films. I doubt the third will offer too many saving graces at the late stage.

Jedidiah.

Re:Why does anyone give Lucas any more chances?

[BoneFlower]

I think the Jedi showing anger was likely a show of the rise of the Dark Side and its subtle influences, and along with the calm, contemplative Yoda thowing down and fighting on the front lines, showing just how desperate things are becoming.

When Yoda is commanding troops in battle, making split second decisions, and drawing his saber, you know that things are coming quickly to a head.

Re:Use the force, George

[Mulletproof]

Whoa, slow down there Quick-draw. What do you think another flop is going to do to his consumer base? I don't care if he produces the movies himself or not, like the man said-- If this a repeat performace of one and two, quite a few people are going to assume the magic is gone and simply won't have faith in his future projects. Oh sure, he'll have the die-hard fans who'll die loyally at his feet, but like Star Trek, you can only screw with the franchise so much before your fans start taking a negative outlook on your movie before it's released (ie, half the threads in this topic).

Feel free to put down the idiot gun, because Corebreech is absolutely right... If he keeps screwing up, he's lost the franchise. Maybe not the rights, just his loyal following, which is nearly, if not more important than a license you can't do shit with because you've lost touch with reality.

Impending sense of doom

[use_compress]

I know I'm getting for a head of myself but I think that the main reason that we'll all be disappointed in this movie is that we're no longer five to eight years old-- the age range Lucas says he's targeting. What looked exciting and heroic when you were five looks cheesy and predictable when you're 25.

What I'm really trying to say is that even if this next Star Wars is as good as the first three, no one posting on Slashdot will be able to connect with this movie the same way we did with the first three. I think that we still view them though the eyes of an eight year old and will never be able to recreate that outlook towards another movie of this genre again.

The Footage Looks Like It Was Leaked From Lucas

[SPYDER Web]

With every game and movie being leaked now adays and getting tons of press, I bet Lucas leaked this footage (especially since Entertainment Tonight gets more indepth than that) just to start getting more hype... I mean I could give a rat's butt about star wars now a days but I downloaded it because I saw the words leaked footage. Just something to think about.

Re:Use the force, George

[YomikoReadman]

I'm going to have to side with the AC on this one. As long as Lucas does nothing more than pump out more shitty Star Wars movies, people will continue to go see them, regardless of how much they suck. Once you count in the licensing deals, he's made back the cost, plus a bit. What's really sad, is that people didn't boycott the second after the first one sucked, and I sincerely doubt that anyone will ditch on Ep III just because the last one was way subpar. As for what happnes with the Tales of the New Republic, should they be made, Only time will tell on that.

Re:hate it.

[ClosedSource]

The problem is that Lucas wrote himself into a corner by deciding to make Luke's father Darth Vader (it's painfully obvious that this decision was made after episode 4 was filmed). This created a lot of inconsistencies that Episodes 1 and 2 only made worse. I don't see how episode 3 can possibly duct-tape the plot back together (unless dreaming or time-travel is involved).It also means that the finale of the current trilogy has to end on a downer. Who wants to see that?

Re:Skeptical

[nacturation]

I'm not going to get into how it's ridiculous to compare the fighting styles of saber-wielding, force-using Jedi to normal men using metal swords...

Actually, I wish you would. Regardless of any supernatural powers they're supposed to possess, it still boils down to two people with weapons, each trying to win. Then again, maybe in Jedi school they teach students to spin around and turn their backs on opponents because it looks better to someone who may be watching.

... but how in the hell would the style of the fighting change the context of the duel with regards to the plot? As long as the general flow of the fight stays the same, that is all that matters for the plot.

You're right -- I worded my post poorly. The point I tried to make here wasn't whether or not the style of fighting affects the plot but that the fighting should be realistic and fight scenes, when used, shouldn't be merely for filler. It's a side point to the fight quality, but still important I feel.

In the meantime, why not have the Jedi and Sith doing some bitchin' acrobatics and saber work to please the 99.9% of us who realize that it's not real, it's a movie.

In movies, one of the goals is to have a suspension of disbelief and, to achieve that, scenes should be reasonably believable. When things go so over the top that it's difficult to take seriously, it affects the movie experience in my opinion. Imagine they took a Bruce Lee movie and changed around the fight scenes, enhancing them with computer graphics so that Bruce can defy gravity and kick 20 people in a row with a continually spinning roundhouse. Would you say that would result in a better movie for 99.9% of people? Or is the original better, where the main focus of the fighting is an awesome exhibition of incredible raw kung fu talent, with only minimal effects to enhance it?

Re:TFN Episode III "Review from the future"!

[Udo Schmitz]

We've always wanted to see Kashyyyk - the long described planet of the Wookiees.

I've seen it in the 1978 StarWars TV Christmas Special. BTW: You should watch that if you think the prequels suck ...

Re:Skeptical

[awol]

After all, what's the point of doing any kind of spin or wind-up movement... to build up more momentum which doesn't even affect an energy beam?

Well, here's a thought. Jedi's ability to "feel" the force (remember the drone whose laser bolts LS deflects in his novice training in ANH) means that all the spinning and stuff is necessary to even attempt to defeat their ability to put the light sabre in the right place at the right time to deflect a blow. Now, I am not trying to offer a "coherent" defence of all the faffing around, but just that it is _plausible_ that such dynamism is necessary in order to create the opportunity for an attack at some point during the fight.

Re:Why does anyone give Lucas any more chances?

[TomV]

I saw it as Anakin knowing full well that the relationship was forbiddenand dangerous for a Jedi, and being afraid of the possible consequences but unable to stop himself. The romance with Padme was every bit as important in his fall from grace as his vengeance against the Tuskens.

Re:No real spoilers in the clip.

[Anonymous Coward]

No spoilers OK, but how about we view these new episodes as a whole? Now, let's speak truthfully.

New episodes are LAME! A MAJOR DISAPPOINTMENT! This is the truth. Am I the only one who has the balls to say how it really is? Starwars episodes 4-6 are all great but the reality is that they lost the fire. These new episodes have something missing really badly. It's hard to define what it is, but it's just not there.

Re:No real spoilers in the clip.

[macshit]

Um, you're a bit confused about the timeline -- Tron came quite a bit after Star-Wars, and indeed was generally thought of as having great special effects, even compared with SW. Tron's sfx lacked a sort of gritty and realistic quality compared to those in SW, but they were very cool. [Story-wise, of course, Tron was pretty damn stupid...]

Re:Use the force, George

[Rogerborg]

It's got nothing to do with whether people watch them or not. It's whether he can still keep raking in merchandising money. They'll see the films, sure, but they'll only buy the branded crap if they liked them.

Re:hate it.

[stienman]

It doesn't have to be a downer. Remember, it ends with the death of most of the Jedi -- So we've got a real big "End of the Good," then we discover that there are yet two born who can reclaim the Jedi.

I'm not sure how he's going to put this together, but to most humans, and especially to the crowd which grew up with the original series, having kids is going to be a big "upper." Just right to end the story on, and pick up later in the later movies.

-Adam

Re:Chewbacca is a spoiler

[cparisi]

If you watch Ep IV again, you might notice that Chewie and Obi-Wan seem to know each other. Maybe Ep III is where they meet...

Re:No real spoilers in the clip.

[drakaan]

I was listening up until you said "Granted, I'm only in my mid 20's...".

I was 7 years old when I saw Star Wars, and it was AWESOME (to me at the time, anyway).

In the 70's and 80's, there weren't 15 new movies a week coming to the theaters, and hand-made special effects meant that making cool high-tech stuff was really, really hard. Star Wars may be dated today, but George and crew have been improving special effects for the entire industry for 30 years.

You might want to be grateful for the flash-in-the-pan "cool thing" that you don't give a fuck about...not that you're required to be.

Goddamn 20-something AC Star Wars trolls...[grumble]