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Stoatie’s comments are, I think, important. And by the way I never said dialogue WAS NOT important IN Star Wars, but rather that it is not AS important as imagery and music. Though I would be inclined to say that music and dialogue are in the service of the imagery in a great deal of, but not all,(American) film, but then again, I would be wrong according to the dictates being adopted here for film evaluation. Unlike others on this list I guess I have not found, or have been granted, THE universal standard by which to judge all films. Film should be more like theatre damn it!
Furthermore, come to think of it, I don’t see how we can take Lucas at his word when he says he views dialogue in these films as a sound effect, what with central supporting characters like Chewbacca and R2-D2, and mostly silent characters like Maul and Fett. Sequences such as the resolution of III when the twins are dispersed, Vader’s noooooo!!!!, should be clearly dialogue driven scenes as the imagery and music just doesn’t cut it. And obviously Vader’s disembodied voice is primarily a device for dialogue and has nothing to do with the furthering the imagery of the character itself. Lucas is just plain lying and full of himself, giving excuses for backing out of the categorical dictate that dialogue must be central to film narrative, thus his films suck.
Some people only like silent (or menacing) bad guys and fast talking protagonists, while others I guess mistakenly, like those sorts of characters in addition to dramatic and grand mystical knights and over the top rhetorical villains (among others). Some go for the this OR that (with grand transcendental insight), others go for the this AND this AND, etc, granting the text a bit of the benefit of doubt looking for ways to expand the text, or to use the text for something else (rather than just fuel for proving the divine dictate of film). For example I enjoy Star Wars AND Lord of the Rings and do not find it necessary to compare them, their directors, or the aims of the films. I think that both film franchises stand on their own technical and narrative merits and don’t need to stand in comparison against one another. But according to the Film Imperative of Dialogue I am horribly wrong.
BTW, I would say that Anakin’s dialogue is bad in the same way that Luke’s is bad. (both are incredibly whinny, at times arrogant, and naive). There is actually, a great deal of dialogue that is incredibly similar as that in the original trilogy.
Personally I find being able to enjoy films for their own merits, well, enjoyable, and I try not to bring to much of my own bias (or universal dictate) to the table when experiencing film, I am not looking for reasons to not enjoy something, especially when I do enjoy it (and spend 8$ to see it). I don’t think that because I enjoy this film it somehow makes me less intelligent or incabalbe of saying anything meaningful about film, or that if I were to attack it that I would somehow prove my intellect and thus my status as a true critic and acolyte of the dictate of dialogue. And I certainly do not hold that in order to be critical one must be scathing, or that criticism is essential a negative procedure (in fact I see criticism as productive). But then again, I am sure there is a cynic (or dog) in the field who is quick to bite with their own NOOOOOOO!!!!!. |
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