mike, i think i may be the guy who was bashing the podrace sequence, which is why you started the thread. let me explain myself. good filmmaking says that anything that interferes with the flow of the movie needs to be cut. ANYTHING. Rick Mccallum and George Lucas say so themselves when talking about the deleted scenes on the DVD.
As I watch the podrace, im amazed by the special effects, it is the only time in the entire movie where anakin is in the spotlight and really gets some solo screentime. But as i watched that scene, I had to struggle to remember WHY i was watching it....
After a bit, i remembered...
-oh yeah, they're stuck on Tatooine.
-Because the hyperdrive on their ship is broken.
-Because they cant use republic credits, Anakin is racing and if they win, they get the parts the need.
-Oh, yeah, if they win, Anakin also gets to be free.
-Why is that a big deal?
-Oh, yeah, hes the chosen one. Whats that?
-Hes the one that must bring balance to the force and qui-gon wants him trained.
-But why are they on Tatooine in the first place?
-Oh yeah, Naboo is undersiege from the Trade federation and they had to escape on a mission to corouscant.
-Why is the trade federation attacking Naboo?
-Oh yeah, Palpatine is trying to rise to power.
Thats awfully convoluted, but thats exactly my point. There are important events going on and the podrace is so freaking long, that it detracts from the plot. It removes the audience from the important events that are going on and completely removes the sense of urgency there should be.
That why the pod race sequence sucks. GL knows that its bad filmmaking, but he kept it in the movie anyways? Why, because for a long time, hes wanted to do a Ben-hur type chariot race and he wants it in the movie so bad, he'll sidetract from the movie's plot, and cut away important things like the character development and humor that were in the Original Trilogy, to make more time for the podrace. IT is the centerpiece of the movie. Not the characters, not the important galactic events going on. All it shows us is that Anakin is a good pilot.
as to Ush's comment about the emotion in the lighsaber duels, i agree with that, but its also my favorite part of the duel in TPM. It shows how things are in the old republic. In the OT, there was emotion and talking during the duels because the characters knew eachother and had a relationship. The BEST thing about the two duels in TPM is that they dont even talk to eachother! They dont say one word to eachother! Obiwan and Quigon are just like, "this is a sith. hes bad. were going to kick his ass." Its just that simple. Its beautiful simplicity in my mind, and I actually think it is GL's best idea in TPM
Oh, I agree. But a lot of people prefer the emotinal feel of the OT duels, and I can at least see where they are coming rrom. Queeq is one such person.
And while your point about breaking the flow of the fi;m has a absis, bigsef, I still can't really agree. I never really found it a problem, and as I say, there IS a place for set pieces like that in a film like Star Wars.
i actually agree with youre statement wholeheartedly, ush. I think a 20 minute podrace sequence could very well have a great place in the star wars movie, if TPM had been structured differently. what i mean by t hat is this. the pod race is about anakin. the rest of the movie is not. the rest of the movie is about the appearance of the sith, and the political manuverings of palpatine. anakin is almost an insignifigant player in the movie. which makes the pod race nothing more than a side-show. i think the pod race could have been a great development in the unfolding of the TPM story, if it had been more ABOUT anakin. I dont want to hear any arguments about it being the first movie and Lucas having to set up so much to explain the later movies. The prequel trilogy is supposed to be ABOUT anakin skywalker. not political manuverings.
Lucas could have easily set up everything he needed to for TPM and introduced anakin to us much earlier in the movie. Far too much time is spent on Naboo. While those are some of the more interesting parts of the movie, they dont have to do with anakin. everything that happens before they characters meet anakin is designed to set up anakins discovery by the jedi. in ANH, luke was introduced to us far more quickly, and do you know what, it worked alot better. So if that had been done, i think the Pod Race sequence would have been far more effective and actually been a dramatic event in the story.
Pods are good
I still think the pod race was great compared to the rest of the movie which wasn't so great. Bigsef is right although the movie should have focused more on Anakin it was probably Lucas's decision to start out when he was ten that screwed up everything. Otherwise there would have been more character development with Anakin. I really didn't care to see gungans or nubians in distress, trade disputes, Jar Jar as a "comic" character.
All that stuff bored the hell out of me I wanted to see more sith, more jedi the cool stuff. I'm sure Lucas did the best he could but next time he should stop following every so called good "idea", and stick to the real story.
It'd be cool if Podracers had shields and heavy artillery; rocket launchers, laser cannons, flamethrowers, and ion cannons. That would be awesome.
Duel of the Fates is a cool section of the movie, and I prefer it over the Podrace Sequence, but the Pods and the Duel are my favorite parts out of the movie. Although the space war with the N-1 Starfighters and the Droid Control Ship could have been better. I like the OT space battles. More detail in my opinion.