A Director's Arrogance: The Star Wars Saga

When I was six years old, I was treated to a movie whose impact on my life and my imagination I don't think has an equal: Star Wars. I'm pretty sure that I went for my birthday, like I did for the next two films, since they were all released at the end of May and my birthday is at the beginning of June. I remember being in love with this movie: I got all the action figures, including two Jawas and one of the Imperial lackeys, an X-wing and tie fighter, a land speeder, and the special comic book with some scenes not in the movie. I didn't play with dolls. I played Star Wars.

By the time the movie had left theaters, I had seen it seven (7) times. (Do you hear that Lucas? Seven times in the theater. And that means at least one other adult ticket. Seven times.) After my brother was born and discovered it, I can safely say that I've watched the original film over 50 times. (Do you hear that Lucas? My brother watched it every day for probably six months. Daily, at least once.)

As a kid, I salivated at the idea of prequels and sequels; there were supposed to be both, for a total of 9 films, and I couldn't wait. I had all three soundtracks on record; the Death Star, complete with the monster that almost strangled Luke; the 12" Leia and Han; the collectors case; Wicket, the girl, and a baby Ewok; and the glass set. I pretended I was Han and Leia's daughter, who was gifted with the Force. My friends and I reacted with disbelief when Vader told Luke he was his father and swore that it was a lie to try to corrupt Luke. We talked about it while waiting in the lunch line. We wondered what Yoda meant when he said 'there is another' and how Han was going to be saved from carbonite. It was something that stuck in our consciousness.

In 1997, I was one of millions who traveled to the theater to watch the so-called "Special Editions" of Star Wars, Empire Strikes Back, and Return of the Jedi. They didn't seem so special to me. In fact, some of the stuff that Lucas added was pretty lame. Some of it was irritating. And some of it was darn-right insulting.

I could take that he added 'Episode IV: A New Hope' to Star Wars since it was supposed to follow the prequels that he was finally making. I didn't notice when they got rid of the blur under the land speeder and replaced it with a shadow. I didn't mind the addition of the scene with Biggs, since it was in the comic book. But the rest? I sat there asking myself 'why?' So there's more soldiers looking for the droids. It wasn't necessary. There's more strange creatures and people in Mos Eisley. How did that add anything?

And then there were the big changes: Greedo fires first. What??!! That's part of what made Han cool, that he knew it was coming and beat Greedo to it. And it's what made his 'redemption' all the better - because he found his 'heart' and finally decided to do something for someone besides himself. Now, he's not such a bad guy, just someone who fell in with the wrong crowd. The scene with the CGI Jabba - that was stupid. It broke up the continuity of the film. So what if it 'explained' a little more of Han's situation with Jabba? It's not necessary. And it looked really fake. There's repeated dialogue. Just compare for yourself:

Conversation between Han & Greedo in the Cantina.
GREEDO: Going somewhere, Solo?
HAN: Yes, Greedo. As a matter of fact, I was just going to see your boss. Tell Jabba that I've got his money.
GREEDO: It's too late. You should have paid him when you had the chance. Jabba's put a price on your head so large that every bounty hunter in the galaxy will be looking for you.I'm lucky I found you first.
HAN: Yeah, but this time I got the money.
GREEDO: If you give it to me, I might forget I found you.
HAN: I don't have it with me. Tell Jabba...
GREEDO: Jabba's through with you. He has no time for smugglers who drop their shipments at the first sign of an Imperial cruiser.
HAN: Even I get boarded sometimes. Do you think I had a choice?
GREEDO: You can tell that to Jabba. He may only take your ship.
HAN: Over my dead body.
GREEDO: That's the idea. I've been looking forward to killing you for a long time.
HAN: Yes, I'll bet you have.
[Fires weapon, killing Greedo.]
HAN: Sorry about the mess.

Conversation in the Hangar Bay with Jabba.
HAN: I've been waiting for you, Jabba.
JABBA: I expected you would be.
HAN: I'm not the type to run.
JABBA: (fatherly-smooth) Han, my boy, there are times when you disappoint me...why haven't you paid me? And why did you have to fry poor Greedo like that...after all we've been through together.
HAN: You sent Greedo to blast me.
JABBA: (mock surprise) Han, why you're the best smuggler in the business. You're too valuable to fry. He was only relaying my concern at your delays. He wasn't going to blast you.
HAN: I think he thought he was. Next time don't send one of those twerps. If you've got something to say to me, come see me yourself.
JABBA: Han, Han! If only you hadn't had to dump that shipment of spice...you understand I just can't make an exception. Where would I be if every pilot who smuggled for me dumped their shipment at the first sign of an Imperial starship? It's not good business.
HAN: You know, even I get boarded sometimes, Jabba. I had no choice, but I've got a charter now and I can pay you back, plus a little extra. I just need some more time.
JABBA: (to his men) Put your blasters away. Han, my boy, I'm only doing this because you're the best and I need you. So, for an extra, say twenty percent I'll give you a little more time...but this is it. If you disappoint me again, I'll put a price on your head so large you won't be able to go near a civilized system for the rest of your short life.
HAN: Jabba, I'll pay you because it's my pleasure.

Does this scene add *anything* (besides putting Boba Fett -- a minor character -- in the first movie)? No. That Jabba has lots of henchmen? We know that from ROTJ. That Jabba has money for bounty hunters? We know that from the two following movies, plus how Han *had* to leave to pay off Jabba at the end of this movie (right before he shows up and saves Luke from Vader blasting his X-Wing from behind). That Han is the 'best in the business'? Who cares. It doesn't make Han more cool. We already knew he was cool WHEN HE SHOT GREEDO FIRST. It's just BAD SCRIPT WRITING to leave it in. You already revealed this information elsewhere.

Plus, Jabba was a little worm compared to the big disgusting blob he was in Return of the Jedi. How was he imposing? Why would anyone follow him? And why would he balloon in size in just a few years?

Also, why did you need that extra Praxis shockwave when Alderaan and later the Death Star were destroyed? Why change the dead end that Han and Chewie chase the stormtroopers into to a hangar bay? How was that better? (In my mind, it makes it worse, because part of what made the whole thing great was the monolithic nature of the Death Star and not everyone, even after they were discovered, knew they were there.) And one of the worst? The new music in the Cantina was STUPID. I still am flabbergasted at that one.

The stuff in Empire I still ask myself why. Why redesign the tan-tan? Did we need to see it eating to know that it was a animal mount of some sort or to create the idea of what life was like on Hoth? Or redesign the wampa? Did we really need to *see* it eating to be scared for Luke? Do we need the additional shots of Cloud City? How did adding Cloud City evacuation scenes add to the story? How does the intersplicing of Vader scenes during Leia, Lando, and Chewie's rescue of Luke add to anything? I argue it takes away from the tension. Why do we need to *see* Vader leave? We *know* he's leaving. And why change Vader's line 'Bring my shuttle?!' to 'Alert my Star Destroyer to prepare for my arrival'? The first shows how negative emotion is part of the Dark Side, and that Vader gives into his emotions instead of controlling them. The second is Vader being in control of his emotions, something that he isn't in the original version (it's subtle, but it's there).

I still cringe when I think of how he changed the music, singing, and appearance of the singer at Jabba's court. Did we need to see a herd of wild banthas? And what's with the ending? New celebration scenes on Bespin, Tatooine, and Coruscant - how does that even make sense? Did everyone in the entire universe suddenly become Jedis with the Force so they knew when the Death Star was destroyed? I mean, it's a secret rebel base on a moon. News isn't going to travel that quickly. New Ewok celebrations and music? *All 3 times* Lucas changed the music, the stuff he replaced it with was suckier. Even if the new "Victory Celebration" *was* composed by John Williams, where's the Ewok singing? Why did Luke need to hug Wedge?

And the most insulting of all changes? Replacing Sebastian Shaw with Hayden Christensen. The only time (besides when he looks nasty and we see half his face) that we see the guy and Lucas erases him. It's bad enough that it wasn't David Prowse, the guy that emoted but never spoke, who lugged around the Vader suit all that time, but to first manipulate Shaw's face so that it looks more like Hayden Christensen, and then to replace him... Interestingly enough, Lucas *doesn't* replace Sir Alec Guinness with the younger Ewan MacGregor. Why not? That's the equivalent of the Christensen substitution. And if, after death, we revert to our younger selves, why don't we see a younger Yoda? Because, George, you have no idea what Yoda looks like younger, could that be it? How the heck would Luke even *know* who it is, because he's never *seen* a picture of Anakin young? Is this supposed to represent Anakin's redemption? Because the younger guy never got what being a Jedi was and let his emotions rule him. He's never going to be redeemed. Ever. It was the old Vader who finally overcame his demons and moved out of the Dark Side.

When the Phantom Menace came out, I defended it. It was visually stunning, the worlds he created. I loved actually seeing the Jedi in action. And Ray Park kicks butt as Darth Maul. But part of the tension that Lucas tries to create is completely ruined by anyone who was paying any sort of attention to ROTJ. Senator *Palpatine* becomes the ruler of the Empire after the Republic falls. It's the same actor! Merchandising refers to him as Emperor *Palpatine.* No cliff-hanger there. I was even willing to take some 'coincidences':

• R2-D2 saves the day by fixing something on the ship.
• Anakin knew/was friends with Greedo. Come on. Really?
• Vader built C-3PO, who even though he's an android that can speak in over 6 million languages, doesn't seem to remember Vader/Anakin when he encounters him again. Wouldn't, with everything that happens in the prequels, wouldn't he *know* what happened to him, since Vader is such a big head honcho in the Empire? Don't give me the mind wipe thing, Bail Organa! Why would he still be a protocol droid then, when he could be anything after he was wiped?
• An apprentice Jedi screams, "No!" as he helplessly watches his beloved master be slain by a Sith Lord and it's an apprentice of Darth Sidious that kills off the noble older Jedi.

• The ceremony at the end of TPM which is practically exactly a remake of the end of ANH
• Obi-Wan is offered the opportunity to join the bad guy, like Luke was by Vader.
• Amidala's outfit in AoTC when she's chained and left to be eaten, looks like Leia's, or would that be the other way around, since these are supposed to have taken place first?
• Padme wears Leia hair buns.
• After getting his hand cut off, Mace Windu is fried by Palpatine's lightning as Anakin watches. "Father, help me!"

As time has rolled on, I have become disillusioned. By the time my brother showed me this 'review' posted on YouTube, I had to concede that he was right. I mean, I purchased the Phantom Menace and saw all three prequels opening weekend, but none of them hold a candle to what Lucas originally created. And maybe part of the reason that Lucas went off the rails (and continues to do so as he tweaks and tweaks the original trilogy) is that someone else, besides him, had a hand in both writing the screenplay and directing Empire and ROTJ, so they could say 'where's the continuity' and 'George, that's really stupid' and 'George, that's insulting to your fans' and 'George, that's a really bad idea.'

I think I could even take the over reliance on CGI (only one scene in Episode One didn't wasn't altered CGI: the shot of the poison gas coming out of the air vents on the Trade Federation ship). I could take the plot holes like:

• Qui Gon being Obi Wan's mentor/teacher, when Ben told Luke in ESB that *Yoda* was the one who trained him.
• If Anakin originally grew up on Tatooine, why doesn't it stand out more to him when he arrives there 40 years later? Why would we see no reaction on his part to the planet, especially if it's where his mother died and one of the major reasons that he was pushed to the dark side... What? *No* reaction?
• Speaking of Anakin's mother, Shmi, why did Amidala and Obi-Wan just leave her in slavery instead of going back and saving her? Wouldn't the queen of a planet or the Jedi Council have enough money to buy her?
• Naboo was such a big deal in TPM, but becomes a pointless in AoTC and RoTS, save for Padme being a senator from it that they're trying to kill for some reason. And what about those Gungans?
• Anakin's more powerful than even Yoda? And how would Obi-Wan or Qui Gon *know* what Yoda's midi-chlorian count is? Why would they? Does that even make sense that they would discuss it in hushed tones around the Jedi Council building?
• Yoda isn't more powerful than the Emperor? When yielding the Force is about a state of mind rather than brute force?
• The prophesy about the One Who Will Bring Balance to the Force. Jedis believe in prophesy now? And wouldn't having more evil Sith around be balancing out the good of the Jedi, who are everywhere?
• Trade Federation droids that use binoculars. They couldn't just design the binoculars into their electronic eyes? Since they're *robots*?
• All those droids on Naboo were powered by a ship hovering above the planet. What kind of magic power source is that? Oh, wait. They're like the Borg and were put into a sleep cycle...
• Even though Luke, who is still a padawan (Jedi-in-training), can sense Vader's presence across the vastness of space and Han's suffering across the galaxy, the Jedi who has the most midi-chlorians of anyone (save Anakin), Yoda, can't seem to sense that Palpatine is Darth Sidious when sitting in the same room with him (or even the same building).
• C-3PO works at Owen and Beru's farm. And they all meet R2-D2. So how is it that neither of them seems to remember either droid when they purchase them years later? And wouldn't they want Luke to stay far away from the droids, if they knew where both were from?
• Shmi seems to really love her son in TPM, but doesn't try to contact him once she's been freed and is married to a moisture farmer, not even to send him a forwarding address. It's not like Jedi are few and far between or contacting them is difficult.
• R2-D2 can fly. When we're in the battle droid factory, he flies. When he couldn't fly in the swamp on Degoba or when he gets blocked by things in Cloud City or when he falls off of Jabba's barge because *he can't fly*. But in AoTC, he can fly.
• If Darth Sidious was grooming Anakin to be his apprentice, what was going to happen to Darth Dooku? Since there's always just one master and one apprentice. And does that mean that the apprentice eventually kills his master to become a full-fledged Sith?
• It's hard for Yoda to hold up a boulder (in AoTC) which weighs less than Luke's X-Wing fighter. Did he somehow master this in 20 years of hanging out on Degoba, where there isn't anything that heavy that he could practice lifting with?
• No one realizes Padme is pregnant, even though she looks at least 7 months along.
• Anakin is tasked with guarding Palpatine, even though he continually shows himself to be vulnerable to the Dark Side and not acting like a Jedi should. How does that make sense? Even if they had no idea that Palpatine was the bad guy, how is putting him in a stressful, high pressure situation going to help him conquer his emotions?
• Chewie knows Yoda. You'd think that fact would have come up at some point when Luke was talking to Han and Chewie. 'I'm leaving for some far off place called Degoba.' 'Degoba! What the heck is there?' 'Ben told me I need to find a surviving Jedi Master named Yoda so he can train me.' 'Well, okay then. Say hi when you see him.' Does anything like this conversation happen when Luke is saying goodbye to Han and Chewie when he's leaving Hoth? Does it come up at some point while they're planning on rescuing Han from Jabba? Apparently not. Or maybe it's because this is something stupid that Lucas came up with so that characters from the first trilogy will bring some emotional connection to this trilogy's effects-driven 'saga.'
• Ben made it sound like Vader spent time hunting down every last Jedi, that it took work, which is what made his betrayal that much more malevolent. Instead we're treated to executions carried out by clones and Anakin killing some 'younglings' in the temple. And all the Jedi dying within a few hours of each other, because of Palpatine's surgical executions.
  
• Obi-Wan's the one who hides the twins. That would mean that he knew there were two of them. Two children born of someone so strong in the Force. So why did he think that Luke was their "last hope" when he knew about Leia? He knew other female Jedi. Why wouldn't Leia become one? Why would Yoda say "there may be another?"

Like I said, I could take those. But when Lucas started screwing with his own mythology, that's what really made me hate the prequels. It's bad enough that Lucas made Greedo shoot first, but his inclusion of Boba Fett's backstory is just moronic. One of the prequel trilogy's producers, Rick McCallum, had this to say:

"You get to understand the relentlessness that Boba has," McCallum says. "Here, and especially in 'Episode III,' you’ll understand why he’s so obsessed with destroying any part of the Skywalker family."

What movie trilogy was he watching? Boba Fett was a bounty hunter who barely gave any Skywalker a passing thought. Relentless? He was just after his money. If this was really true, he would have shot Luke the minute he arrived on Cloud City, rather than stand around and watch Han become carbonite-encased, since Vader said more than once that Skywalker was arriving. Or he would have stayed to try to kill Luke *when they exchanged fire*. Or he would have left carbonite-encased Han in the hull of his ship and hunted Luke down to shoot him when Luke was focused on defending himself from Vader. But instead, he leaves with his bounty, without a care or second thought about Luke. So you argue that he was afraid of Darth Vader and that's why he didn't do anything *then.* But what about when he was 50 feet away from him in Jabba's lair or when Luke was down in the pit trying not to be eaten by the Rancor?

What possessed Lucas to come up with this explanation of something that *no one* wondered about:

YODA: Failed to stop the Sith Lord, I have. Still much to learn, there is ...
QUI-GON: (V.O.) Patience. You will have time. I did not. When I became one with the Force I made a great discovery. With my training, you will be able to merge with the Force at will. Your physical self will fade away, but you will still retain your consciousness. You will become more powerful than any Sith.
YODA: Eternal consciousness.
QUI-GON: (V.O.) The ability to defy oblivion can be achieved, but only for oneself. It was accomplished by a Shaman of the Whills. It is a state acquired through compassion, not greed.
YODA: . . . to become one with the Force, and influence still have . . . A power greater than all, it is.
QUI-GON: (V.O.) You will learn to let go of everything. No attachment, no thought of self. No physical self.
YODA: A great Jedi Master, you have become, Qui-Gon Jinn. Your apprentice I gratefully become.

Beyond the idea that Yoda would crave power, to be more powerful than any Sith, is inane to say the least and completely against anything we saw about his or any Jedi's character. Or that they would want immortality. That's a Sith thing. His fundamental explanation is really stupid. Why wouldn't the rest of the Jedi know about this "Ancient Order of the Whills"? And apparently Obi-Wan is also going to magically study with the dead Qui-Gon:
YODA: (continuing) Master Kenobi, wait a moment. In your solitude on Tatooine, training I have for you.
OBI-WAN: Training??
YODA: An old friend has learned the path to immortality.
OBI-WAN: Who?
YODA: One who has returned from the netherworld of the Force to train me . . . your old Master, Qui-Gon Jinn.
OBI-WAN: Qui-Gon? But, how could he accomplish this?
YODA: The secret of the Ancient Order of the Whills, he studied. How to commune with him. I will teach you.
OBI-WAN: I will be able to talk with him?
YODA: How to join the Force, he will train you. Your consciousness you will retain, when one with the Force. Even your physical self, perhaps.

It doesn't even make sense! Qui-Gon said he discovered it *after* he died, but here Yoda says that he *studied* it. Oh, what a magically logical explanation of why Luke could see them after they were dead. So did Vader also studied under Master Qui-Gon, then? Within an hour or two of his death? Or will he 'make a great discovery' after he becomes one with the Force? As as if this isn't bad enough...

Midi-chlorians as an explanation of what fuels the Force? Why then would Watto be immune? Does his species just not have any? And who told George that it was a great idea? It changes the Force from being something spiritual that anyone can master (through training) to something that only people *born* that way can utilize. It totally makes what Ben taught us about the Force bogus:

BEN: Well, the Force is what gives a Jedi his power. It's an energy field created by all living things. It surrounds us and penetrates us. It binds the galaxy together.

And makes Ben knowing that Alderaan had been destroyed suspect:

BEN: I felt a great disturbance in the Force...as if millions of voices suddenly cried out in terror and were suddenly silenced. I fear something terrible has happened.

So was it the Midi-chlorians that screamed in terror then? Since they're the reason for the Force rather than something that ebbs and flows through every living thing? And how the heck did they magically make Anakin's mother get pregnant?

And what about the greatest Jedi of all, Yoda? This stuff doesn't jive with what he said either...

YODA: [to Luke] Run! Yes. A Jedi's strength flows from the Force. But beware of the dark side. Anger...fear...aggression. The dark side of the Force are they. Easily they flow, quick to join you in a fight. If once you start down the dark path, forever will it dominate your destiny, consume you it will, as it did Obi-Wan's apprentice.
LUKE: Vader. Is the dark side stronger?
YODA: No...no...no. Quicker, easier, more seductive.

According to Yoda, it's not these magical 'symbiotic organisms' that brings power, but the connection that your emotions bring.
LUKE: [After his ship sinks into the swamp] Oh, no. We'll never get it out now.
YODA: [stamps his foot with irritation] So certain are you. Always with you it cannot be done. Hear you nothing that I say?
LUKE: Master, moving stones around is one thing. This is totally different.
YODA: No! No different! Only different in your mind. You must unlearn what you have learned.
LUKE: (focusing, quietly) All right, I'll give it a try.
YODA: No! Try not. Do. Or do not. There is no try.
Luke 'tries.'
LUKE: (panting heavily) I can't. It's too big.
YODA: Size matters not. Look at me. Judge me by my size, do you? Hm? Mmmm. And well you should not. For my ally is the Force. And a powerful ally it is. Life creates it, makes it grow. Its energy surrounds us and binds us. Luminous beings are we... [pinches Luke's shoulder] not this crude matter. You must feel the Force around you. Here, between you...me...the tree...the rock...everywhere! Yes, even between this land and that ship!
LUKE: You want the impossible.
Quietly Yoda turns toward the X-wing fighter. With his eyes closed and his head bowed, he raises his arm and points at the ship. Soon, the fighter rises above the water and moves forward as Artoo beeps in terror and scoots away. The entire X-wing moves majestically, surely, toward the shore. Yoda stands on a tree root and guides the fighter carefully down toward the beach. Luke stares in astonishment as the fighter settles down onto the shore. He walks toward Yoda.
LUKE: I don't...I don't believe it.
YODA: That is why you fail.

How can a rock have a smaller-than-the-naked-eye midi-chlorians running around inside its cells? Since it's inanimate. Not alive. Which is what things need to be to be hosts for micro-organisms internally. It sounds like Yoda sees the Force as an energy. Wait, he just said that the Force's "energy surrounds us and binds us." And everyone knows that rocks can emit energy and radiation.

The biggest crime of all is when Amidala dies right after having given birth to the twins. This goes against everything that was established about her (and Anakin Skywalker) in the original trilogy. What do I mean? Let's look and see in the scene where Ben and Luke discuss his newly-discovered sister:



BEN: To protect you both from the Emperor, you were hidden from your father when you were born. The Emperor knew, as I did, if Anakin were to have any offspring, they would be a threat to him. That is the reason why your sister remains safely anonymous.
LUKE: Leia! Leia's my sister.
BEN: Your insight serves you well. Bury your feelings deep down, Luke. They do you credit. But they could be made to serve the Emperor. When your father left, he didn't know your mother was pregnant. Your mother and I knew he would find out eventually, but we wanted to keep you both as safe as possible, for as long as possible. So I took you to live with my brother Owen on Tatooine... and your mother took Leia to live as the daughter of Senator Organa, on Alderaan. The Organa household was high-born and politically quite powerful in that system. Leia became a princess by virtue of lineage... no one knew she'd been adopted, of course. But it was a title without real power, since Alderaan had long been a democracy. Even so, the family continued to be politically powerful, and Leia, following in her foster father's path, became a senator as well. That's not all she became, of course... she became the leader of her cell in the Alliance against the corrupt Empire. And because she had diplomatic immunity, she was a vital link for getting information to the Rebel cause. That's what she was doing when her path crossed yours... for her foster parents had always told her to contact me on Tatooine, if her troubles became desperate.

This establishes that Anakin didn't have any idea that Padme was pregnant. And yet...

PADME stands in the balcony brushing her hair. ANAKIN leans against the wall, watching her lovingly.
ANAKIN: . . . every second I was thinking of you. Protecting the endless, nameless Outer Rim settlements became a torture . . . the battles were easy, the longing became unbearable . . . I've never been so happy as I am at this moment.
PADME: Anni, I want to have our baby back home on Naboo. We could go to the lake country where no one would know . . . where we would be safe. I could go early-and fix up the baby's room. I know the perfect spot, right by the gardens.

Sure seems like Anakin knows that she's pregnant.

PADME: Anakin, this baby will change our lives. I doubt the Queen will continue to allow me to serve in the Senate, and if the Council discovers you are the father, you will be expelled from the Jedi Order.
ANAKIN: I know.

Also, Ben's speech establishes that *Amidala* took Leia to live as the daughter of Senator Organa. And no one knew she was adopted (even though Leia is in no way Latino like Bail Organa or his wife was). (It also, strangely enough, fails to say that Leia became a Senator like her mother but instead says that she became one like her foster father.)

But what happens in RoTS?

MEDICAL DROID: Medically, she is completely healthy. For reasons we can't explain, we are losing her.
OBI-WAN: She's dying?
MEDICAL DROID: We don't know why. She has lost the will to live. We need to operate quickly if we are to save the babies.
BAIL ORGANA: Babies??!!
MEDICAL DROID: She's carrying twins.
YODA: Save them, we must. They are our last hope.

And later...

OBI WAN leans over PADME and softly speaks to her.
OBI-WAN: You have twins, Padme. They need you ... hang on.
PADME: I can't...
OBI-WAN: Save your energy.
PADME: Obi-Wan ... there ... is good in him. I know there is ... still ...
A last gasp, and she dies.

How is she supposed to take Leia to live with Bail Organa if she's dead? Better yet, how is Leia supposed to have memories of her mother? Is she prescient, preternatural like Alia or Paul and Ghanima in Dune? I roll my eyes.

Here's a pivotal scene from RoTJ, where Luke reveals to Leia that they're related, they're twins.
LUKE: Leia... do you remember your mother? Your *real* mother?
LEIA: Just a little bit. She died when I was very young.
LUKE: What do you remember?
LEIA: Just...images, really. Feelings.
LUKE: Tell me.
LEIA: She was very beautiful. Kind, but...sad. Why are you asking me all this?
[Luke looks away.]
LUKE: I have no memory of my mother. I never knew her.

Later in the scene:

LUKE: There's more. It won't be easy for you to hear it, but you must. If I don't make it back, you're the only hope for the Alliance.
LEIA: Luke, don't talk that way. You have a power I--I don't understand and could never have.
LUKE: You're wrong, Leia. You have that power too. In time you'll learn to use it as I have. The Force is strong in my family. My father has it...I have it...and...my sister has it.
[Leia begins to understand.]
LUKE: Yes. It's you, Leia.
LEIA: I know. Somehow...I've always known.

This scene establishes that they're related. And what does Leia say? She remembers her mother. Images, feelings, that she was beautiful, kind, and sad. How does a 1-day-old baby have memories of its mother? How would she know that she was kind or sad, when Leia was whisked away to live with someone else right after birth and not told who she was? And *her mother wasn't there*? Lucas completely ignores what he wrote! Even with how Lucas tried to make it work, IT DOESN'T.

What really persuaded me as to how arrogant Lucas has become was a quote that I found where he discusses why tweaking his movies again and again is perfectly legitimate:

There will only be one. And it won't be what I would call the "rough cut", it'll be the "final cut". The other one will be some sort of interesting artifact that people will look at and say, "There was an earlier draft of this." The same thing happens with plays and earlier drafts of books. In essence, films never get finished, they get abandoned. At some point, you're dragged off the picture kicking and screaming while somebody says, "Okay, it's done." That isn't really the way it should work. Occasionally, [you can] go back and get your cut of the video out there, which I did on both American Graffiti and THX 1138; that's the place where it will live forever. So what ends up being important in my mind is what the DVD version is going to look like, because that's what everybody is going to remember. The other versions will disappear. Even the 35 million tapes of Star Wars out there won't last more than 30 or 40 years. A hundred years from now, the only version of the movie that anyone will remember will be the DVD version [of the Special Edition], and you'll be able to project it on a 20' by 40' screen with perfect quality. I think it's the director's prerogative, not the studio's to go back and reinvent a movie.
--- From "An Expanded Universe", an interview with George Lucas in American Cinematographer magazine, on February 1997.

Okay, I'd just like to address a few thoughts for you, George.

1. Earlier drafts are *not* put out in movie theaters, just like earlier drafts of books are not published. They aren't released until they're the final product. I can concede to a director's desire to eternally tweak his movie, but this idea of yours is total horse patoody. And George, you *need* to have someone tell you it's done. Because what you're doing is tarnishing and destroying all the positive sentiment you ever generated from this or the Indy franchise. What movies have you *directed* that really resonated with people? Star Wars, the prequels, and American Graffiti (which apparently you tweaked, too). You've produced tons of things Star Wars and Indiana Jones related. But speaking for directors, don't. Because I really doubt if one of the directors on the films you produced wanted to do what you're doing, that you'd be singing the same tune.
2. I don't mind director cuts, but the original should stand, not as "an earlier draft" but as the original. And not because the director changed his mind and decided to revamp something... I didn't even really like it when Spielberg changed the guns to walkies in E.T.. I understand his reasoning, though; he thought the guns were too threatening for little kids. Although, they weren't traumatizing to me when I was little and saw it for the first time. You, George, you're not doing it because it's potentially traumatizing to young minds. You're doing it because you changed your mind and because you've now got a big head. You think you have the right to do these things and you don't. These changes aren't ones that were created by the studio's interference, which is why typically there's a director's cut. No, you're doing this because 'it's closer to your original vision.' Really? So your original vision was to make an effects-laden piece of tripe with bad pacing and scriptwriting? Because that's what you gave us in your prequels. Over emphasis on CGI and underemphasis on character development and story.
3. I understand that it's your idea for the story, but since when in Hollywood does the writer control the final output, unless he's the director, too? That's just how it works. Period. And where's your respect for the directors' vision for Empire and RoTJ? Because you weren't those films' directors. You helped with the screenplay and served as Executive Producer, but you did not direct these films. George, you're the studio in this example, not the director. So where do you get off changing them?

And what really kicks the can is that a lot of these changes clean up mistakes that Lucas should have paid attention to in the first place. It's like going back and editing something so that you can pretend like your mistakes never happened. It's just arrogant. And you're just doing it to make money.

Luckily, there are machines that transfer tapes to DVD, so hopefully, in 30-40 years, the *real* versions, the ones that captured the imagination of a generation and beyond, those will be the ones that people remember, rather than what you're turning them into.

Or maybe the studios will smarten up and get out from under Lucas's thumb and release the originals.

Or maybe Lucas will comes to his senses and realize that biting the hand that fed him (by buying tickets and merchandise) is a really stupid idea.

Related Links:

Star Wars: The Phantom Menace Review the ultimate, seven-part, seventy-minute YouTube analysis of this mother-of-all train wrecks. Even though it sometimes borders on stupid, with its serial killer subplot, it not only nails how much the film misses the mark but it also tells us why.
78 Reasons to Hate TPM
IMDb Review by Paul-Michael Agapow which, among other things, says stuff like this: "And then we come to "The Phantom Menace", which is not a terrible film, but is terribly disappointing, banal and disjointed even by the subterranean standards of fandom. A movie only a marketer could love, its central problem is simple: it is badly made. The acting tanks, the dialogue is terrible, the script (there is no other word for it) sucks. It is disorganised and careless, a dumb film trying to be meaningful, an adult film unable to explain itself, a child's film that is pretentious."
Critique by David Brin, best-selling author who wrote "It's when a director relentlessly tries fiddling with our cultural moral compass that we should sit up and take notice. I'll trust Steven Spielberg with such power, because he's earned it. He's proved again and again that he loves this civilization -- an open society of rambunctious citizens -- that gave him so much. He's one of us, only more so. George Lucas, on the other hand, should stick to producing simple action-adventure films -- good clean fun -- and lay off preaching. It's simply not where his gifts lie."
Review by Roger Ebert who thought TPM was good because of the worlds that it created, not limited by physical limitations. (I wonder if he would still review it that way today.)
Marc Oromaner’s Explanation of Why The Phantom Menace Is Responsible For Our Current World Crisis. "The Phantom Menace is not only the biggest disappointment in movie history, it is also very likely completely responsible for screwing up our world’s history. Yes, I’m completely serious. Before I begin proving my point, let me begin with some facts that will be a little easier to swallow."
A visual representation of one person's thoughts about Lucas's tinkering with the trilogy over and over again...
A link to an infographic chronicling the Star Wars releases and the major revisions that have gone into each version.

and finally

George Lucas on why films should not be tinkered with, at least films that he hasn't made. From a speech before Congress -- March 3, 1988 -- where he was condemning the idea of colorizing B&W movies. Some highlights:

• American works of art belong to the American public; they are part of our cultural history. People who alter or destroy works of art and our cultural heritage for profit or as an exercise of power are barbarians, and if the laws of the United States continue to condone this behavior, history will surely classify us as a barbaric society.
• These current defacements are just the beginning. Today, engineers with their computers can add color to black-and-white movies, change the soundtrack, speed up the pace, and add or subtract material to the philosophical tastes of the copyright holder. Tomorrow, more advanced technology will be able to replace actors with “fresher faces,” or alter dialogue and change the movement of the actor’s lips to match. It will soon be possible to create a new “original” negative with whatever changes or alterations the copyright holder of the moment desires.
• Why are films cut up and butchered? Attention should be paid to this question of our soul, and not simply to accounting procedures. Attention should be paid to the interest of those who are yet unborn, who should be able to see this generation as it saw itself, and the past generation as it saw itself.

Ah, George, I wish your younger self could see you now. And smack some sense into you. Or at least encase you in carbonite for a while.