Posted By
Marshal Rosenthal
January 31, 2012 at 8:53am
Those who first saw Star Wars in the theater aren’t the only ones who complain about the series: in fact, it seems like there’s a cottage industry to gripe about George Lucas and Star Wars. The impetus of the complaint comes from the director being willing (and able) to make changes to the film “after the fact,” as it were. The classic example is Hans Solo being shot at first in the Cantina, versus the original where he blew away his adversary before the guy could clear his gun from its holster.
The moans and groans continued when Lucas made physical changes to now episode 6 by filming new scenes to replace existing ones, and using new technologies like CGI to replace existing effects. The grumbling followed.
So the advent of Star Wars in 3D elicits further trepidation from some -- but not me. To put 3D into live action is always more complex than an animated film, even though both are now digitized. We’ve all heard -- and seen -- the digital effects that can turn a 2D film into “3D” -- heck, anyone can use a 2D to 3D converter in their 3D TV or 3D-capable Blu-ray player (most of then anyway) to do the same thing. But while there might be a 3D effect, it’s certainly not what the director intended, and who’s to say it even looks good?
This is why Lucas and 3D can jibe successfully. Lucas is a director who revels in the fact that he owns the Star Wars franchise and can do whatever he wants to it. Getting past the boldness (or ego, if you want) of the statement is the fact that 1) it’s true and 2) it means that the film isn’t set in stone as far as 3D goes if it is to be added. I deliberately am not looking into what Lucas is doing/has done for the 3D effect -- because I’m all for new scenes being filmed to enhance 3D effects, rather than just some digital manipulation. This is where a director can truly be the driving force of a film, and Lucas has shown in the past that he’s not afraid to make changes to improve or enhance Star Wars. Luke swinging over the gap or zooming across the desert in his car, or the gang fighting off the garbage or the flying laser blasts and spaceships cruising through the galaxy -- okay, the Death Star firing or blowing up.... in 3D? Cool!
The upshot of all this is that there could be -- hell, there better be -- some really good, really fine 3D effects in the Star Wars film! This will not only make it more palatable to 3D movie goers (don’t forget you pay an additional premium for 3D), but also introduce 3D to Star Wars as an integral and exciting part of what is now a cultural icon.
The end result could be that this Star Wars film becomes the “killer app” when it becomes available for home viewing. Having exciting 3D content is more important than just having lots of it -- or to be more succinct, you need 3D content that’s like Miss Universe to the viewing crowd, not just Miss America. George Lucas and the 3D version of Star Wars could be just the ticket.