Wait, Luke! (18)
Last Updated (Monday, 29 November 2010 17:17) Written by Administrator Friday, 26 November 2010 00:00
Wait, Luke! It's too dangerous.
Artwork Notes
Just the later stuff. Taking a rest from drawing - again.
Film Notes
I recall watching the 'Making of Star Wars' with great, wide-eyed excitement all those years ago - probably at Christmas in 1977. I was so impressed with the floating landspeeder effect. They said they simply placed mirrors around the wheels, and tilted them down to reflect the sand. Then - and this is the clever, difficult bit - they painted-in the shadow. In that original film the illusion was fantastic!
Above: The 1977 version, and the 2004 CGI re-jig. more >
And it still is. So why waste time and effort re-doing it? Should they take Jason and the Argonauts - ditch Ray Harryhousen's stop-motion animation and redo it all in CGI? Because it'll look perfect? Touch up Primitive Man in 2001 so that the hair on his head connects more naturally with the body suit?
Oh, leave it alone. Move on for God's sake.
Comments
As an animator, I guess I should embrace all forms and techniques, but I have to say I find CGI soulless, charmless, etc etc. There is no replacement for physical puppets, lit on a set and painstakingly manipulated. Sure, some of the effects start to look hokey, but they've got CHARM - LOL, I'm an old fart.
That said, I can't help but think that the whole arena fight in EP2 was an homage to Harryhausen, not just for the shot-for-shot images as Obi-Wan battled the Acklay, but even the animation style itself was rendered a little more roughly, lending (the Reek at least) a stop motion quality to them.
As for your offering, Bowie enters his Aladdin Sane period top left, and that's a nice landspeeder drawing at the bottom!
You make some interesting points. Re, the arena scene - yes I can see that. I wonder, if Harryhousen was in a position to cram in so many figures and so much action into each frame: would he have?
The battle against the skeletons at the end of 'Jason' never becomes muddled or confusing. There's just enough for excitement and to tell the story.
GL was aiming for spectacle at this point, hang the story, although there are oasis(es?) where things can happen (Obi vs lobster, Mace vs Jango vs Reek, Hayden vs dialogue).
I must admit, I have a soft spot for Ep2 (minus the mushy stuff on Naboo). I particularly love watching the arena battle in slow motion and spotting all the stuff going on in the background - there's some fun stuff to be had ;)
"Sometimes I wish I could just... WISH it all away."
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