Is it just me, or do Tuesday afternoons always seem rather elongated? They have none of the settling-back-into-the-routine bustle of a Monday. They lack the over-the-hump frisson of a Wednesday, or the gathering steam of Thursday, or Friday’s downhill sprint (or leisurely stroll, depending on the pace of your particular workplace) toward the weekend. No, Tuesdays just sort of sit there, like that bad food-court burger you ate last night and can still feel, lodged somewhere in the vicinity of your duodenum and seeming like it’s in no hurry to go either up or down.
At least that’s how this Tuesday afternoon is feeling to me, just sitting there all cold and gristly and utterly lacking in nutritional value. Seems like a good time for some Star Wars-flavored netcrap, and SamuraiFrog has a most excellent serving for us:
Yeah, that’s probably exactly what Han was thinking. Not that he could criticize much, of course, not after some of the unspeakable mischief he and the Wook probably got up to back in their old spice-smuggling days. No, not Han and the Wook, you perverts. I just meant that there were probably lots of occasions when they served as each other’s wingman in whatever passed for singles’ bars out there on the Outer Rim… no, really… stop looking at me like that!
If I may be serious for a moment, this clip does illustrate a couple of points: First, it reinforces my long-held opinion that the brother-sister thing was a last-minute decision on Lucas’ part to resolve a story point he really didn’t want to deal with — namely, the Han-Luke-Leia love triangle. I don’t believe for a nanosecond that “the sibling thing” was all part of a grand plan he had from the very beginning of production on the first film, no matter what 30 years of revisionism and legend-building would have us believe.
My other, perhaps more worthwhile observation is what a tremendous impact music can have on film. This is a scene we’ve all viewed a couple hundred times, but you slap on some different music and a well-chosen flashback, and voila!, a completely different emotional meaning.
(Incidentally, I just recently learned the origin of this music, which Quentin Tarantino used so effectively in his Kill Bill duology. I knew I recognized it from somewhere when I first saw Kill Bill, but I couldn’t place it. Early ’70s, obviously, like everything else Tarantino mashed together in those flicks, but what exactly was it? Turns out it was the opening theme for an old TV series called Ironside. My thanks to Lileks for clearing that up.)
As long as I’m talking about music and tone and Star Wars, this is probably a good place to post another vid I’ve had in my files for awhile, again courtesy of SamuraiFrog (he finds all the best netcrap):
Uh, right. My Loyal Readers know I loves me some ’80s power-pop, and I think this song could even work in the right kind of movie… but this ain’t it! Thank god Star Wars was made a few years earlier, or we probably wouldn’t still be talking about it…
(Incidentally — again! — I must extend my compliments to whoever edited this clip for using the original, unrevised, true Death Star explosion, not the one with the crappy Praxis-effect plasma ring. I hate that thing almost as much as Greedo shooting first… talk about fixing things that weren’t broken, Uncle George!)
I’ve always hated that Han-Leia scene. Not only because, as you said, it couldn’t be more obvious that this plot twist was never envisioned in the original. Even if we accept this part of the story, however, the delivery of the line is so gimmicky–“well yes, he’s my brother, isn’t it obvious, how could you even ask, you dumb asshole?” Like she’s forgotten how bizarre it will sound to Han even though she herself has known for a whole 15 minutes. Geeeeez.
Maybe I’m biased because ROTJ is the suckiest movie ever to suck suckballs. There is more creative storytelling and frankly better acting in that one shot of Jar Jar stepping in poo poo than in the entire ROTJ. I remember feeling betrayed when I first saw the movie at age 11. Like a beloved pet had suddenly bitten my hand, taken a wiz on my leg, and thrown up on my bed.
Dammit, it’s only Wednesday and I’m pissed off!!
Heh – didn’t mean to piss you off, Robert, it was just supposed to be a laugh. 🙂
I wouldn’t call ROTJ “the suckiest movie ever to suck suckballs,” myself — believe me, there are many, many flicks that suck worse. The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen has been known to induce miscarriages in large farm animals, for instance. But then you don’t see nearly the range of movies that I do, and I’m probably the sort of forgiving dumb-ass bleeding-heart who would assume that my suddenly sociopathic pet was sick or something, rather than a treacherous betrayer.
Seriously, you know that I’ve run hot-and-cold on ROTJ over the years. I honestly had no problems with it when it was first released; I probably saw it a half-dozen times in the summer between middle school and high school. Later on, I became highly critical of it and spent a lot of time griping about the same things that everybody hates: how the plot is basically a retread of the first one (there’s another Death Star?), the Ewoks, and, of course, the “sibling thing.”
These days, however, I’ve come to terms with it. It’s flawed, yes, the weakest of the original trilogy and a disappointment in many respects, but it still has moments I enjoy. I find the final confrontation between Luke and his father very satisfying and moving. And I like the speeder bikes and the space battle (although it would’ve been cooler to just see the two starfleets slugging it out somewhere out in interstellar space, with no Death Star — it would’ve been something different for space-opera movies up to that point, and also it would’ve been nicely symmetrical, considering the whole saga begins with “Rebel spaceships have just won their first victory…”).
The only aspect of ROTJ I really find impossible to forgive is the sibling thing — it is truly lame, and Carrie’s line readings, in particular, both in this scene and the one where she speaks with Luke, are atrociously bad, the worst in the entire saga, IMO. (Yes, worse than anything Hayden Christensen did in the prequels; I really didn’t dislike his performance the way so many others do.) Harrison Ford’s expression in this scene looks to me like he’s thinking, “Really, George? This is how you’re going to get out of this?”
Far more interesting would’ve been Leia having to really choose between these two different men, or having Luke return from his final confrontation changed and no longer interested in her, or having to become celibate to be a true Jedi or something. (The prequels do seem to suggest that Jedi aren’t supposed to marry.) Hell, George could’ve even introduced a new woman that ended up being a better match for him — that’s what happened in the “Expanded Universe” books, where Luke ends up with a character named Mara Jade, another Force-user who’d once been a secret agent for the Emperor.
Right…Jedis are supposed to be celibate. Hugging leads to kissing … kissing leads to snuggling . . . snuggling leads to . . . suffering! Something like that. Would have introduced a nice little bit of dramatic conflict for Leia. Of course, that means Han would be getting sloppy seconds, and I don’t see him standing for that based on his character. On the other hand, he’s a guy. he doesn’t really care as long as there is hugging, which leads to kissing, etc.
P.S. For the record, my cat has bitten my hand and thrown up on my bed. He’s too low to the ground to wiz on my leg, but I’m sure he’s thought of it.
Jedi celibacy would certainly explain why the force had never been used to strategically pop open a button or unhook a clasp (aw, c’mon – tell me that wouldn’t have been the first thing you’d do with it if you were Luke Skywalker’s age…)
As for the sibling thing, I don’t mind the plot point, given that we need a strong emotion in Luke for Vader to read (and for Luke to react to with anger). I’m no screenwriter, but I’m guessing the interaction with all three characters could have been handled much better without changing the story as it stands. Example:
Leah: (shudder) Yuck…
Luke: Really? Ugh…I need to take a shower.
Han: Really? Ha! Sucks for you, Luke. Leah – wanna grab a drink?
No doubt the real-life dialog would’ve been closer to your version, Brian. 🙂
Re: the needs of the plot, I’ve got no problem with Leia being “the other” who could become a Jedi, or with Luke’s feelings for her being strong enough for Vader to read. Luke is arguably closer to her than any other living being in the galaxy by that point of the story and he would naturally want to protect her. The scene could’ve been played exactly the same except instead of Vader saying “sister,” he could’ve said “Leia.” Still would’ve worked, IMO.