Art Notes

Pathetic indeed. Poor little fellow.

Goodness me. Artoo sheds a tear! And this from the child who 3 or 4 years earlier gave us the horrors of the shredded Rebel soldier? You see: slasher films and comics do not - necessarily - a psycho make.

I'm quite impressed with his pathetic aloneness and desertion, as depicted in the bottom panel. I'm also impressed nowadays at the shot in the film in which Artoo wheels away into the desert vastness - chirping mournfully...

Film Notes

How much more human can you get?

It's a lovely and touching scene in the movie. There's a great depth of mixed emotions conveyed by the characters. And this, even though neither of them can change facial expressions. More amazing still, one of these metallic, non-living characters has no face at all!

Years later, George would try to tug at our heart strings - the ones that are susceptible to cuteness - with more wee characters like the dreaded and much-maligned Ewoks. They have faces and humanoid form, and are teddy-bear-like. Surely they should be more loveable still? Didn't most of us have teddy-bears as little children? But no, R2 is still cuter, more loveable and has more depth of personality than those irritatingly muppet-like flea bags.

Which would you prefer to have in Star Wars? Or, put it another way: If you had to pull the trigger... A or B?

Somehow we projected all sorts of good inbuilt feelings into that little tin-can. But he's not just a blank canvas awaiting the spark of our own imaginations - the overall effect is also the product of a man who - back then - seemed to have a certain movie-making X-Factor. Old school.

Incidentally, how on earth did R2 move around on that sand? Doesn't matter, keep suspending that disbelief!

On Friday: Threepio gets it.

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