Lucas also couldn’t let his films be, but edited, tweaked, altered, and semi-mutilated them over time to the point that every time the film went back to the theater and virtually every time it was released on some form of media Lucas had to tweak it. “De-Lucas” is just an amusing way to describe to undoing most of the things Lucas compulsively did to a film he couldn’t stop altering.
1 Like
The first few times they went back to the theater he didn’t change anything but the sub-title of the first film. But again, this is the original 1977 version, so in transferring it they didn’t have to undo anything. It’s not like each time someone releases a new version it replaces the previously released one; they all continue to exist concurrently.
Even early on Lucas was tinkering with the audio and even changing some lines between theatrical releases, though it was only later that he got really heavy-handed with adding scenes, adding CGI elements, and changing effects. But the point is the term is a joke, a funny way to refer to the earlier versions. It’s not Orwellian revisionism, but an entertaining way to refer to attempts to get access to an earlier edition/version that Lucas/Disney haven’t released.
1 Like
I always took that phrase to mean “Greedo would have shot Han, but Han shot him first.”
3 Likes
Look, I already explained that my issue was not to defend the changes made by Lucas in the special edition. Heck, I’ve got a “Han Shot First” t-shirt. But I also like the addition of spaceships taking off, the added Biggs scene, the windows in Cloud City and the cleaning up of some of the more obvious matte lines, things that I think help many scenes flow more smoothly.
But my point is the hatred I see in the way people use Lucas’ name. People say they love the movies, and yet their creator’s name is only uttered in contempt, in the context of the “destroyed” revisions. If I didn’t know otherwise, I’d have thought from the discussion that Lucas’ only association with Star Wars had been the revisions. And taking a name, and rather than just having it refer to the person, using it as a word to associate with things you disapprove of, is of course things that Stalin and other dictators are known for. Someone has fallen out of favor? Call him a Trotskyist.
So Cory is far from the first to do it, and my issue is not just with him, but with the general attitude. But he did take it one step further. The prefix “de” means to remove something. Restored original versions of the movies have already been called “de-specialized,” “de-revised” or “de-changed.” But Cory didn’t use those, and decided to make it about the person, rather than just the changes he did. Restoring the originals is to “de-Lucas.” Remove Lucas. So the Special Editions were Lucas, and the originals, according to Cory, were not. This is not just revising a piece of fiction. It is altering what happened in real life.
I hope I’ve made my point clear. By all means, debate the merits of the Special Editions, or the fact that he didn’t preserve high quality masters of the originals. But it must be possible to do it without using the name Lucas with such vitriol all the time, particularly when you consider how much he has given us.
3 Likes
I’d say that much of the animus is the fact that Lucas doesn’t really recognize the investment fans have in the original, nor how that original film became part of their culture. He devalued their experience in a tone deaf way, and continues to do so. Lucas made the film, but the audience’s love of the film made it a hit. Taking multiple dumps on that attachment is bound to cause some justly deserved negativity from fans.
3 Likes
Lucas took a cheesy-but-fun children’s movie and turned it into an interminable collection of mindless profit-scrounging extruded SF IKEA.
Lucas deserves the vitriol he attracts.
See I wouldn’t mind the special editions if it was either confined to small things like background detail, effects cleanup, and so on. That or releasing the original versions alongside the special edition. Instead it’s almost like with each re-release Lucas kept trying to sweep things under the rug here, nothing to see, move along.
That I think is why most people are upset.
Case in point. I have the final cut to blade runner. I love the changes made. However what i love more is that they included, at least in the edition I got, the theatrical release, the international release, workprint, deleted scenes… all nicely cleaned up with only the final cut receiving the changes beyond cleanup. Thanks to this goldmine fans have managed to make different cuts of their own of blade runner.
With Star Wars we didn’t have that. We had 'THIS IS THE DEFINITIVE EDITIONS ALL OTHERS ARE NEVER TO BE SEEN AGAIN. That, I believe, is the source of anger.
3 Likes
Well, that and the fact that the director’s cut of Bladerunner was a matter of correcting the damage that the producers had done to the film, while the Lucas cut of Star Wars was a demonstration of why editors are not always a bad thing.
As in everything, context matters,
2 Likes
Agreed. I’m the kind of writer, at least when I write, where someone to help me cull ideas and keep focus, is important.
That’s well said. I was trying to be funny, and I’m sorry for not listening more carefully. I was happy he put the Biggs scene in too … any extra scenes. Thank you for explaining what you meant so conscientiously and clearly.
1 Like
I just want a link to a torrent file.
2 Likes
This! I just read 71 comments about how Lucas/Hans is/isn’t Stalin/Greedo…I can’t fucking remember, in a vain quest for a friggin’ .torrent and all I got was a headache.
1 Like
Absolutely agreed, especially the Cloud City windows. There’s bits of the Special Eds that I think were genuine improvements. But then you’ve got your extra burping and farting aliens, too. So given the choice, I’ll go for the original and deal with claustrophobic Cloud City hallways.
Not sure if it’s kosher to post this, but a quick Google search gave me this page.
3 Likes
This topic was automatically closed after 5 days. New replies are no longer allowed.
