TPM 25th Anniversary Re-Release!

Ah, Idaho. I lived in Haley in '79 and then in '90-91 I lived in Jerome. Yeehaw

Btw, I'll be seeing it Saturday.

Update: I'll go, it will be available where I live.

TPM is objectively good but, as my father likes to say, "Who reads Einstein?"

That said, my screening's in just over an hour, boyos! 

EDIT: It never wears on me. Some post-screening thoughts coming soon...

As years go by, the minds of hateboys become ever more incomprehensible for me. I am 34 now and just imagining what a lousy loser I would have to be hating on whatever movies I could think of. It's unthinkable. Their immaturity baffled me when I was 10 or 15 years younger, but reaching an age some of them had back then makes it even more absurd and surreal. The world is so fucked-up, hate on movies and making others feel miserable for liking those movies is such an abominable waste of resources.

Happy May the 4th, fellow NF'ers!

As promised.

I've probably seen TPM 15-20 times since its release. Most of these viewings were as a young teen watching my letterboxed VHS copy I picked up on the first day of its sale in April 2000 (pre-ordered well in advance). Yet, this film has never worn on me!

My original plan for the re-release was to attend with a good friend on Saturday afternoon but I folded and decided to fly solo when my friend's weekend availability buckled. So, I secured a seat at the first Friday morning show (10:05am) at my go-to cineplex and ensuingly settled into a mostly empty auditorium; expected given the early hour circumstances.

I sat fairly close to the screen, put my feet up on the seat in front of me and enjoyed yet another sojourn in the GFFA....

At the close of the presentation, my thoughts centered on Soviet montage theory and how much of an editor's film TPM truly is. It offers a constant flurry of shots that feel deliberately orchestrated to not only clearly convey a narrative but also accent interactions, moments and visual ideas with uncommon efficiency and exactitude. Lucas has always claimed he was fundamentally an editor-at-heart and the proof is squarely in the pudding with this first PT film.

Some of the members here have classified TPM as a mixed media film. It's a true distinction because of the impressive cascade of different techniques, both digital and practical, throughout the filling of the film's cinematic canvas. With an eye far more trained than it was 25 years ago, I can see the seams between the various implemented methods of achieving various shots; the vast many edited together. But it makes not an iota of difference when you factor in Lucas' stated irreverence toward verisimilitude-based considerations regarding continuity and reality. It's all an illusion and that's the key to all of this (along with Jar Jar, of course)!

To throw a bone to the usual regard for story and characters (my interest as an artist myself tends toward more formally and philosophically geared concerns at this stage of my life), I found a few lines revolving around young Anakin deeply affecting and poignant; particularly in view of their relationship with the other films in the Lucas sextet - an extremely familiar notion on our beloved board here. I'm not saying anything new here but a wise man once said, "One man's cliche is another man's archetype."

"I'm a person and my name is Anakin." -Anakin Skywalker

Jake Lloyd's indignation in his delivery is perfect. So much pathos related to his sense of identity which finds rich irony in relation to his dark side persona's conflict in the closing chapter of this incredible Gesamtkunstwerk.

"No one can kill a Jedi." -Anakin Skywalker

Another Anakin moment. More irony and capturing his precocious idea of the godly indomitability of this esteemed warrior class. So tragic, so poetic.

"He knows nothing of greed." -Shmi Skywalker

A definite pattern here. I guess I'm just particularly compelled by the foundational narrative idea which motivated this entire cinematic enterprise: the tragedy of Darth Vader. A downfall engendered by an excess of emotion, possessiveness, ambition and arrogance to name some of his fatal flaws. But greed is certainly the central hub.

In sum, the film hasn't aged a day in terms of my enjoyment and appreciation of the massive effort from the Maker himself and all of the other artists and craftspeople involved. I knew this film was special when I first saw it in 1999 at age 13 and I have managed to preserve this truth despite so much unenlightened criticism from philistines and the old-at-heart.

I'm so riding the wave of this whole 25th anniversary occasion, I'm actually in the middle of sharing the film (we created an artificial intermission after the podrace) with my elderly (and highly uninitiated) father; pausing for behind-the-scenes insight from me and his commentary. We're having a great time bonding over it! About fathers and sons, indeed!

I've probably seen this movie more than any other in my life- yet it still makes me feel like I'm 5, and grips me to the core of my being. It reaches my very soul, as some would say.

Shed a manly tear when Ani says goodbye to Shmi and got goosebumps when Darth Maul ignites his double bladed sword to Duel of the Fates

STAR WARS NUMBER 1!!!!