Star Wars

This is a B movie. Why has it grown so influential?

nerds took over

memes

Good music.

post WII good vs evil. Freedom vs Fascism (empire) with a likable scoundrel (cowboy) character. And lets not underestimate the score was very suspenseful for it's time. The music alone brought people in.

Agreed, but apart from that it aged very bad and I don't get how Star Wars became such a cash cow

>ut apart from that it aged very bad and I don't get how Star Wars became such a cash cow
and you never will *BLAM*

the music saved this movie.

First Hollywood blockbuster

Wasn't that Jaws?

>it aged very bad
The fuck? Is every movie suppose to suck the futures dick? The movie was for it's time. If you can't watch a movie in it's proper context and judge it on those standards, then you are a presentist pleb.

Never said that, but some movies age better than others. Take Blade Runner or Jurassic Park, they definitely aged better than SW.

Effects are amazing. Has a solid ending. Sparked the imagination of kids everywhere.

>a LONG time ago in a galaxy FAR away
>aged poorly

>I am oblivious to filmmaking
Good to know, op. Good to know.

>Blade Runner aged better than Star Wars
No

Star Wars is a B movie. Simplistic plot. One-sided characters. Not saying it's not a good movie, it just doesn't deserve the credit it has today.

Apollo.

>Sup Forums attempts to define ________
never works out

It certainly did.

Pop culture. That's it.

It did, because it tried special effects on a more subtle scale.

>Simplistic plot.
So what? Not every movie has to be a convoluted incoherent mess. It's simplicity is definitely one of it's strengths.

>One-sided characters
Nope. Han Solo. Fuck off.

Best damn B movie in the world.

>Simplistic plot. One-sided characters
I can't tell if you're commenting on a film or a book. Can you attempt to say something about the aspects of film that don't have to do with scriptwriting?

Because it's a boiled down meta movie composed of every b movie, fairy tale, or fantasy people have ever had. It's so popular because it's essentially the generic adventure story gotten completely right.

The music and effects are a big help as well.

>So what?
It's closer to a B movie than a more intellectual movie, which some movies can still pull while not being "2deep4u".

>Han Solo
He's the classic cowboy meme.

Agreed, a favorite
t. OP

Good commentary. Do you think Lucas did it on purpose? Even back then it mustve been hard not to notice all that.

>Han Solo
He's the classic cowboy meme.

Agreed, in fact he's one of the most unoriginal characters ever if you take away his spaceship and make his wookie compadre human.

But Blade Runner doesn't have a plot. It only has special effects. Huh. I guess you're right. Perfectly meets modern standards.

Because it was the first time pulp space battles looked actually good. If it had poor special effects no one would think that highly of it.

Yeah. I think he had the plan to make a space fairy tale from the start. I doubt he had the competence to carry it through though since it was saved in editing and the EU is trash

Not him, but yeah Jaws was the first, but Star Wars took in $377 million during its first domestic box office run.

Somebody on TV Tropes (yeah, I know) pointed out that if you pay attention, there's a shoutout to The Hidden Fortress in the dialogue. So probably.

>Excellent editing
>Excellent score
>Comparable/Identifiable to real world politics and war
>The hippie liberal movement were the Rebels and the USA was the Empire
Bravo Lucas!

>But Blade Runner doesn't have a plot.

Considering he was inspired by stuff like Buck Rogers, yeah it was intentional.

>intellectual movie
Not every movie has to be intellectual to be good, you cretin. Robocop isn't intellectual either, but it's still a fucking perfect movie. Same with Alien. And Jurassic Park. And on, and on...

>classic cowboy meme
>one-sided
Pick one. Fucking retards.

When it first came out, the big draw was the special effects, which were considered absolutely mind-blowing at the time.

Editing and score is all that's true honestly. The ewok thing, maybe comparable to real world politics. The Empire is a very gross and childlike buffoon ccaricature of the fascists or the Americans. Rebels most certainly don't stand for hippies

Robocop, Alien and Jurassic Park asked moral dilemmas and had more substance.

Maybe I should clarify. It's plot can be summarized in about two sentences. Beat cop hunts five robots that look like people over the course of three hours. Bangs another one. There, that's bladerunner.

Philosophy ramblings aside, the plot is paper thin even compared to the sequel.

Jurassic Park (1993)
Star Wars: Episode IV (1977)

16 year difference during one of the most technological changing boons in human history.

Why the fuck would you compare this? Do you even know your history user?

As for Blade Runner, it was Noir, which is why the CGI distortions could be well hidden because of all the night scenes.

Again, do you even know what the fuck you are talking about? Presentism; go look it up, and stop being a faggot.

>Editing and score is all that's true honestly
You need a history lesson then, user. The late 60s through 70s is an incredible time period to study because of the Vietnam War, embargoes, domestic unrest, the hippie movement, ect. It all shaped Lucas's mind and it's constantly seen in his writing.

...

It is a very polished B movie. Like Lord of the Rings and the Harry Potter movies. Thankfully once the generations that surround these movies start to die they will be quickly forgotten.

Wow, how will I ever recover? You could have at least been a bit more creative than posting a picture.

Some movies age better, better the tactical choices of the artists make it that the CGI/special effects aren't over-the-top and less noticeable. Not going to give Star Wars a break for this.

Star Wars has a simplistic plot. All of its characters and factions are childlike caricatures, none of them adequately portray IRL factions. If he had that in mind he probably didn't want to push it to far. Sure, there's a vague similarity between the Empire and nazis, and the ewok and the Viets, but that's it

>Star Wars has a simplistic plot. All of its characters and factions are childlike caricatures, none of them adequately portray IRL factions. If he had that in mind he probably didn't want to push it to far. Sure, there's a vague similarity between the Empire and nazis, and the ewok and the Viets, but that's it.
You're very naive, my good man.

No, more likely you're the one trying to legitimize this B movie by adding material that wasn't present in it in the beginning. You can't enjoy it for what it is, speaks volume

It wasn't desu
I laugh at people that say Episodew IV was a B movie. It did cost less quite than Close Encounters of the Third Kind and A Bridge too Far (AFAIK the most expensive films of 1977) but it was still a very expensive film for 1977 standards.

It would be in fact the most expensive film of the year if it was made in many of the 1970s years.

Being ignorant of the past doesn't help your case. Ignoring what shaped Lucas's mind and the plenty of biographies that study this also doesn't help.

Cost =/= style of the movie
Lucas willingly made it look like a B movie, because he clearly could have avoided that

Whatever helps you in legitimizing "muh deep movie" I guess. I look at the movie for what it is, and you're lying to yourself

All right, kiddo, whatever floats your ignorant boat.

Would it shock you that most of the big budget movies coming out these days are in fact b-movies.

>good world building and comfy af setting
>Surprisingly good sfx (srsly watch the theatrical non-bastardized version, they're really good for the time)
>Story follows very closely the hero's journey making it feel familiar and satisfying
>Charismatic actors like prime Harrison Ford, Hamill, Peter Cushing and James Earl Jones; also dat british supporting cast
>Good traditional style music
What's not to love?

Sure, that's why they won the Oscar for almost every technical categories on that year, right?

You probably have the new versions of the fil on your mind, try Harmy Edition, but put in mind that's 40 yo flick.

>says you after you spent four psts trying to make your fave movie into what it isn't

Remind me of this guy I know who was neglected by his parents and was forced to be raised by the internet. Sad. We are done here.

This. Star Wars has aged like fine wine.

That's because all of them come from Disney, I think there might be some money laundry.

The serials SW is based on were the B-grade schlock of the day. It wasn't shit people took seriously. Like comicbooks, it was for kids, weirdoes and dimwits.

Then a new generation who grew up on it and took it seriously reinvents it and a new generation of audiences are ready to watch it, and it conquers the box-office - which is what will probably happen with videogame movies.

A b-movie is low-budget by definition. A high-budget movie is called an "a-movie."

Didn't say I didn't enjoy the movie, I simply don't get the hype.

Have fun lying to yourself, user

If Star Wars aged badly, it wouldn't have survived the prequels. That's all.

>Not every movie has to be intellectual to be good
Okay this is getting too stupid. Filmmaking is fundamentally an intellectual effort. Good films are made by intelligent people, and being able to determine whether a film is good or not requires intelligence. Every film is unavoidably 'intellectual' because understanding and evaluating it requires the viewer to engage it intellectually. You have to respect the medium.

Isn't a B movie a cheap movie?

SW wasn't cheap when released, it did quite more than Jaws or ET.

It did cost quite more, I mean.

how did it age badly? (it didnt)

That was the old definition as it was assumed big budget was reserved for A-grade material. Now days A material often gets smaller budget and b stuff like Marvel gets big budget.

No matter what you think of the franchise as it is, the first movie is really something. Especially when you learn of the mess that was making the movie. George actually had to be hospitalized at one point due to extreme stress. Everyone thought it would fail. Even George was making backup plans in case it just made it at the box office.

My favorite Star Wars movie is Return of the Jedi.

To each their own, man. It's good. It has great stuff in it. Especially the Luke and Vader/Emperor scenes. But I prefer Empire.

it's very clear that you are blinded by your childhood, so I shall stop arguing. Breath is wasted so to speak.

it always was, right from the beginning

>imagine being too stupid to understand fucking STAR WARS

Why would I need to be creative when you post bait THIS obvious?

Special effects
seriously this movie had the best special effects at the time
and those special effects are so great that are impressive even in nowadays

without those special effects this flicks would be forgotten few days after release

Star Wars was never a B movie. George Lucas was a well known director at the time due to American Graffiti (that was one of the biggest hits of the year it was released). They also had Alec Guiness a respecful actor and star.

Yet everything in it still holds up after all these years.

but it wasn't a B movie kid, it looked cutting edge when it came out, it had a couple of very well-known actors in it and was hyped by its studio for like a year before it came out

Worldbuilding is good and more complex than in many other sci-fi movies of the time. Characters were interesting and/or relatable.
Great music.
Good sfx for the budget.
Action/humor/drama mixed really well together without the comedy making light of the drama or the drama making the comedy feel out of place.
Played straight but with a sense of fun and adventure.

It is a good movie, but I do wonder why some things become a huge cultural phenomenon (Star Wars, Harry Potter, Game of Thrones, etc) and others do not (like Avatar, which made all the money in the world but left virtually no cultural imprint)

>seriously this movie had the best special effects at the time
Though I agree I think 2001 was a fair contender, even if it was almost ten years older.

It's not that 2001 had better special effects per se, but the effects were shot on 70mm film instead of 35mm like ANH, which is why they look better.

>I do wonder why some things become a huge cultural phenomenon (Star Wars, Harry Potter, Game of Thrones, etc) and others do not (like Avatar, which made all the money in the world but left virtually no cultural imprint)

I think Star Wars becoming a cultural phenomenon was largely due to what user was saying earlier combined with excellent music, sfx and actors.

Harry Potter - Partly the escapism (all your shitty everyday problems can be instantly solved with magic), but partly because people read it as children and therefore it became a formative influence on them and nostalgic. And similar to Star Wars: great cast & great music. Also let's not forget it was huge before the movies.

Game of Thrones - I don't actually think this can be called a "cultural phenomenon", and I don't think it will leave a legacy like the other two, once the story is finished. Remember a large part of why we talk about GoT is speculation on what will happen in the story, whereas Star Wars is always there even before the new films were announced.

Avatar - No cultural imprint because it's much less "broad" than Star Wars. Whereas Star Wars was a mixture of so many different kinds of myths and fairytales, Avatar is just Dances With Wolves & Pocahontas with blue aliens. In contrast to Star Wars which has everything: coming of age, redemption, saving the princess, knights and chivalry, eastern mysticism, the old westerns, and homages to almost all the great films that came before it - all of this *in space*. Also unlike Star Wars, Avatar had a fairly mediocre cast and no memorable music. Great special effects, sure - that's enough to make you go and watch the film, not enough to be a cultural phenomenon

Because people loved the setting.

More than the story itself in my case.
Is Star Wars the Lotr of movies?

Well, Blade Runner was the first great SW challenger and it flopped (albeit film fans love it even more than SW).

Close, but it was the first successful IP.
The fact that it made so much money selling toys and random plastic crap was the game changer.
Jaws was just really a really successful movie but studio films like gone with the wind did it before.

The entire disney business model is made to replicate starwars.

Jackson made lotr to replicate starwars. You think is a coincidence that they do nothing but trilogies?. Even the freaking hobbit.

Lotr was just a really loved and highly respected book universe before the films.
Now everything is trash.

Good music and good art design

A Brief History of Star Wars

>your parents saw the movies as kids and loved them because they were and still are fun adventure flicks, cool grandparents got into them too
>SW marketing was on ponit: your parents bought the toys and other merch as kids, manchildren of the day bought the toys as collectibles
>you (over 30) grew up playing with your dad's old SW toys and watching the VHSes
>Lucas injects the market with hype by doing a 20-year anniversary Special Edition run in the theaters and teens and adults alike go apeshit
>SW merch flows once again, everyone starts buying up all those POTF figures, grandparents and savvy parents start trying to sell off their vintage shit before the bubble bursts (nobody even realizes at the time that it's a bubble)
>Over the next 8 years a series of shitty video game cut scenes is released as the next wave of SW movies
>20somethings who grew up with SW are alienated but a whole new crop of impressionable children--who have grown up watching market-tested garbage on TV more than any other generation and are the perfect rubes-claim them as their own SW trilogy and become prequel apologists later in life
>The merch bubble bursts, eventually leading to SW items largely becoming components of tchotchke boxes for fat shutins and hipster trash
>Disney buys SW and focuses all marketing on a Marvel-emulating movie universe as well as bolstering existing amusement park tie-ins
>SW movies themselves become filtered, tested, emotionless trash but that's pretty much all movies so most people don't even notice

Pretty good summary of it. Star Wars uses the whole monomyth structure to combine the best parts of every genre that Lucas grew up with (WW2 dogfights/naval battles, samurai swordfights and spirituality, seedy environments and shootouts from Westerns and crime movies etc)