The People vs. George Lucas

When it comes to George Lucas, there is a love/hate relationship between him and his fans. This documentary explores that relationship from a number of different angles, including Lucas's constant tinkering with the original films & the prequels that (to many fans) just didn't quite seem right.

The strength of this documentary is that the fans "against" Mr. Lucas make some compelling cases as to why the Star Wars creator has come under such scrutiny as of late. For example, they bring up the point that Lucas vehemently opposed the Ted Turner notion of colorizing old black-and-white films, yet then himself will NOT release his original Star Wars movies (IV-VI) in their original theatrical versions on DVD. The fans here bring up some good points that paint Lucas as a sort of "creative obsessive", bent on changing little facets of each of his Star Wars films each time they are re-released (whether for profit or for creative reasons is also a large part of the debate.

The only problem with this doc? There is practically no perspective given to the "other side" of the issue, or those who actually enjoyed the prequels and don't mind a bit of tinkering. By viewing this documentary, one would think that there is no "other side" to the issue whatsoever, because the fans doing 99% of the talking are those who viewed the original Star Wars in 1977. Those who took the opposite approach-growing up with the prequels & discovering the older films later--are given no shrift whatsoever in this discussion, a forum in which I believe they should firmly have a place.

Either way, "The People vs. George Lucas" is an interesting documentary that will make you think a little bit about Lucas's antics regarding certain aspects of the Star Wars saga both on and off the screen. As long as you can recognize the group of fans for what they are (essentially die- hard "New Hope" loyalists whose seminal moment in life was at the theater in 1977), there is no harm in this fun little romp.

I had put off watching this movie for a while. I assumed it was going to be an hour and a half of George Lucas bashing. Was I wrong? Not entirely... but I wasn't right either.

I will never deny that I am a fan of all 6 of the Star Wars movies. I never understood the hatred towards the prequels. In fact, people who had turned on Lucas and his recent work, REALLY bothered me. I was tired of fans flipping Lucas the bird and all that he created.

In "The People vs. George Lucas" you certainly hear from many disgruntled fans, but at the same time you feel their love for Star Wars. You can see how they are frustrated, but at the same time respect the man who shaped their childhoods. It is an entertaining and well put together film featuring hilarious Star Wars fan film clips and energy-charged interview clips. It is a ball of hatred and sweet at the same time. By the end you remember why you love Star Wars, even if there are things that bother you about them... you still love them and you have to give Mr. Lucas respect for creating it all.

Whether or not you'll appreciate this documentary has a lot to do with what you think about George Lucas and his tinkering with his original Star Wars franchise. If you really couldn't care less or if you dislike Star Wars, then you shouldn't bother with the film. Or, if you are such a devoted fan that any criticism seems wrong, then you shouldn't bother with the film. But, if you think that Lucas fundamentally violated his contract with his fans, then this is your film!! That's because although some of the folks interviewed defended Lucas, most folks interviewed were mad, VERY MAD, at the man who created the franchise--making it a serious love-hate relationship.

Let me explain some of the complaints in the film. First, George Lucas has chosen to re-edit and change his original three films--adding scenes, changing scenes and putting in all new special effects. Second, the final three films in the series (oddly, episodes 1, 2 and 3) weren't up to the quality standards of the first films. And third, Jar Jar Binks is a character who so annoys fans (mostly adults) that people wonder why he insisted not only in putting him in these three most recent films (mentioned in the film) but adding him to the DVDs of the original films (oddly, never mentioned in the documentary). It all boils down to who owns the films--are they Lucas' or does he owe more to his devoted (and sometimes rabid) fans?

A few interesting parts of the film include: the fascinatingly hypocritical fact that Lucas led fight AGAINST colorization--

Testifying before Congress that films should be kept as they originally were made and changing them was wrong! A discussion of the Star Wars Christmas Special--a show considered by many to be among the WORST TV shows ever made.

The use of the word 'rape' which was used quite inappropriately towards the end of the film. Sure, I am one who definitely think it's terrible Lucas has changed his original films and WON'T allow the original films to be sold, but to use the R-word?! This belittles rape and is a bit disturbing.

Overall, a film that will appeal to some--and they will love it. Others might just wonder what all the fuss is about anyway!

The term 'documentary' is a difficult label to affix to 'PvGL' but sadly, for lack of a better word, is one that must suffice. I say this because the film does not shed new light or impart new information so much as it distills and summarises what we already know. Director Alexandre O. Philippe condenses and intercuts massive amounts of amateur videos, conversations, and first person tirades with pseudo-authoritative interviews in an effort to douse the acclaimed titular director with a bucket of icy water and wake Lucas from his delusional God-complex so that he will own up to the serious missteps he's made with the 'Star Wars' franchise (as well as 'Indiana Jones'). Make no mistake – this is a film made by disillusioned fans, for disillusioned fans, and the issues that irk the most are well-covered: the erasure of the 1977, 1980, & 1983 originals by the CGI-altered 1990s reissues; the character change in Han Solo by firing AFTER Greedo; the inherent ramifications of quantitatively defining the Force with a microbiological organism; the erasure of the Star Wars Christmas TV special; Jar-Jar Binks; and so on.

The film nicely establishes the original trilogy's place in history and in culture, and sets the tone for why we love George Lucas. But from there, it just gets ugly. As one interviewee put it, 'I love-hate George Lucas. I love-hate him a lot.' The anger and vulgarity that erupts from the wounded fans is unsettling but even more disturbing is the fact that I often found myself nodding in agreement with their arguments. Two-thirds into it, though, I just get the sense that 'PvGL' is acting like a neglected child throwing a tantrum at a parent, begging for attention and respect. Yet Lucas' betrayal of his fans through touting his authorial and divine right to tamper is not without merit. Attributing the disrespect to his secession to the dark-side (that is, entrepreneurship and big business), rather than remain the rebel filmmaker of his youth, 'PvGL' ultimately finds itself in an un-winnable spot, wedged between arguments of public (social and cultural) domain and artistic control. Does 'Star Wars' belong to the general public, or can those that originally penned it rewrite history?

Bearing this in mind, does anyone know where can I get one of those Tauntaun sleeping bags?

I just watched PvGL, a film that I had been eagerly anticipating for the last several months. I'm a huge Star Wars fan, and like most fans, feel a deep loathing towards the prequels and the changes that Lucas has made to the original trilogy.

Now, if you're reading this, chances are you already know the basic premise of this film (detailing the complex and dysfunctional relationship between Lucas and his fans), so I'm not going to reiterate the various intricacies, emotions, and reasoning that go along with that story. Sufficed to say, if you're a fan, you know what I mean.

And to that end, the film does a decent enough job painting a picture of who the Star Wars fans are and what the film has meant to western culture as a whole. There are some good insights from a wide range of people, from hardcore Star Wars nerds to film critics to other producers and directors. Most of what they say is easily relatable, as Star Wars really has become a cultural touchstone that almost everyone has some kind of feelings towards. It is cathartic to hear so many other people verbalize the frustrations almost every fan has surely felt towards Lucas, the prequels and the special editions.

With that having been said, there are a few flaws. The first being that the film is a bit too long. They could have easily cut about ten minutes out of the first act of the movie, which consisted almost entirely of fan parody and tribute films of varying quality. Yes, Star Wars inspires epic creativity on the part of it's fans, but that is a relatively easy point to make and didn't require quite so much screen time time to illustrate.

The other flaw is the end of the film, which completely goes soft on Lucas and abdicates its responsibility to take a firm position on the subject matter that was detailed in the entire rest of the film. After watching a whole documentary which carefully explained all the ways Lucas was ruining his work, thumbing his nose at film history as a cultural artifact (in direct opposition to positions he himself took years earlier) and acting in deliberate contempt of his fans, the conclusion it reached amounted to little more than a shrug and a soft-pedaled declaration of loyalty to Lucas anyway. Disappointing.

Any catharsis I felt very quickly melted away and once again turned to frustration. Why did the director feel the need to ultimately kiss up to Lucas? Wasn't that the fatal flaw which led to the prequels in the first place? That nobody challenged him? Let me be clear; I was not looking for a hit-piece here either; two hours of Lucas-bashing wouldn't have made for an interesting or informative film (which PvGL certainly is), but the entire premise of this documentary would have been far more credible had the last few minutes not completely undermined everything that was asserted throughout the entire rest of it.

I would still recommend it to fans as there are very interesting points to be heard in this film, but for true geek catharsis (and brilliantly insightful critique), you still can't beat the Red Letter Media long-form reviews of the prequels. People vs. George Lucas is entertaining to be sure, but it still doesn't come close to those reviews.