Rewatchables Reference

Cast

Directed by: George Lucas

Written by: George Lucas

Cinematography by: Gilbert Taylor

Music by: John Williams

Notes

• Part 1 of the 'Star Wars' two-parter. All backstory, legacy, and influence discussion – no categories (those are in Part 2). The intro ran 95 minutes before they realized they hadn't done a single category.
• Bill saw it in the theater in 1977 (the only host who did) but was never a huge 'Star Wars' person – Empire is what hooked him. Rewatched it twice for this pod and the second time he was like 'this movie is kind of awesome.' CR has seen it the most of any movie in his life. Van saw it at 7 with his father and called it 'one of the single most important moments in my life.'
• Harrison Ford discussion: Van said 'completely fucking confident, every scene crushing it.' Sean: 'He's the only person in the movie who's allowed to talk like a modern person' – no British accent, sarcastic jokes, 'boring conversation anyway.' Bill asked if this is Ford's greatest role; consensus: Indiana Jones is his most enduring/iconic role, but Han Solo may be who he actually is.
• Bill: 'Who else in the last 50 years could have been as good as Han Solo?' CR: 'If Brad Pitt and George Clooney were the same guy.' Van: Kurt Russell is the most realistic alternative. The character needs to be 'dashing but not too pretty, a little rough around the edges, an asshole but lovable.'
• John Williams: Sean called him 'the greatest film composer of all time' – grabbed the belt in '77 and never relinquished it. Bill thinks 'Jaws' is Williams's #1 identifiable piece. Van argued you can't pick – Superman, ET, 'Jurassic Park', 'Star Wars' are all contenders.
• The impact on movies discussion: Sean's hot take is 'Star Wars' is 'arguably the most perfect movie ever made and the worst thing that ever happened to movies.' It encouraged repeat viewing, broad-audience blockbusters, and franchising that squeezed out adult dramas. But Lucas's counterargument: 'popcorn pictures have always ruled. Why is the public so stupid? That's not my fault.'
• Sour grapes quotes from contemporaries: Siskel hoped Hollywood would 'continue to cater to audiences who care about serious pictures.' Scorsese: 'Star Wars was in, Spielberg was in. We were finished.' John Milius: 'No one had any idea you can get as rich as this, like ancient Rome.' Friedkin: 'What happened with 'Star Wars' was like when McDonald's got a foothold. The taste for good food just disappeared.'
• The bet on yourself story: Lucas got $150K to write what became 'Star Wars'. After American Graffiti crushed, Fox offered $500K. Lucas said keep the $150K but give me all merchandising and sequel rights. Fox agreed because 'nobody did sequels, nobody had merchandising.' Van: 'Either he's so blissfully ignorant or somewhere in the recesses of his brain he goes, I know something about this lore that everybody else doesn't get.'
• Lucas/Spielberg traded 2.5% of each other's movies (Close Encounters vs. 'Star Wars'). Spielberg ended up with 2.5% of 'Star Wars'. Bill: 'Fucking Spielberg, he's like a psychopath.'
• Lucas was so sure the movie would flop he went on vacation with Spielberg while it was taking off. On that vacation in Hawaii, they came up with 'Raiders of the Lost Ark'.
• Sean's hot take: there's a direct correlation between the decrease in engagement in organized religion and the rise of 'Star Wars'. Van countered with a personal story about his grandmother's religion that wouldn't let her watch 'Star Wars' because 'George Lucas believes in the Force for real' and it's 'giving religious dogma to people.'
• The movie steals from everything: Dune (Frank Herbert was pissed), Flash Gordon (what Lucas originally wanted to make), Wizard of Oz, Kurosawa, 2001, westerns. CR: 'I was born into a world after 'Star Wars' – everything that happened in my life is a world reacting to what George Lucas did.'
• Five Oscars (score, sound, visual effects, special achievement, scientific engineering) but lost Best Picture to Annie Hall. $11M budget, $410M worldwide initial gross, surpassed 'Jaws' as highest-grossing ever.
• Craig's producer commentary: he's closer to Bill's relationship with 'Star Wars' – saw it maybe once or twice, liked it but it didn't capture him. 'The only troubling thing about 'Star Wars' is it's so complex that sometimes it feels like you can't be a casual fan because everybody will exclude you.'