I'm sure I'm not the first one to do this. I'm probably not even the first person to do it on blogspot.
But Star Wars Episode IV: A New Hope is on, and I find myself wondering if George Lucas paid any damn attention at all to his own movie when he was farting out the prequels that are supposedly tied to this series.
This is kinda low-res, but it has the part of the movie I want to look at. It's also one of the very few parts of the original trilogy that tells us the backstory. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YZ_mjtTCdcg
This is from the shooting script, lovingly stolen from http://www.imsdb.com/scripts/Star-Wars-A-New-Hope.html. I'll offset my comments in red...
BEN
Well of course, of course I know
him. He's me! I haven't gone by the
name Obi-Wan since oh, before you
were born. Or, ya know, soon thereafter actually. (Mind you, there's no particular reason for Obi-Wan to lie about this, and certainly wouldn't be mistaken.)
LUKE
Then the droid does belong to you.
BEN
Don't seem to remember ever owning a
droid. Very interesting...Well, okay actually I spent many years not only with a droid but this very same one.
He suddenly looks up at the overhanging cliffs.
<<<>>>
INT. KENOBI'S DWELLING
The small, spartan hovel is cluttered with desert junk but
still manages to radiate an air of time-worn comfort and
security. Luke is in one corner repairing Threepio's arm, as
old Ben sits thinking.
LUKE
No, my father didn't fight in the
wars. He was a navigator on a spice
freighter.
BEN
That's what your uncle told you. He
didn't hold with your father's ideals.
Anakin's ideals were --- autocratic dictatorial rule would make things run a lot more smoothly. Oh, and his uncle's last experience with Anakin was his slaughtering an entire village singlehandedly and one-by-one.
Thought he should have stayed here
and not gotten involved. He didn't leave because of his ideals, he was taken from Tattooine as a tiny kid (by Obi-Wan).
LUKE
You fought in the Clone Wars?
BEN
Yes, I was once a Jedi Knight the
same as your father.
LUKE
I wish I'd known him.
BEN
He was the best star-pilot in the
galaxy, and a cunning warrior. I
understand you've become quite a
good pilot yourself. And he was a
good friend. This may be true, but really we just see the scenes of Anakin being douchey and bitching to Obi-Wan.
Which reminds me...
Ben gets up and goes to a chest where he rummages around.
As Luke finishes repairing Threepio and starts to fit the
restraining bolt back on, Threepio looks at him nervously.
Luke thinks about the bolt for a moment then puts it on the
table. Ben shuffles up and presents Luke with a short handle
with several electronic gadgets attached to it.
BEN
I have something here for you. Your
father wanted you to have this when
you were old enough, but your uncle
wouldn't allow it. Or, ya know, he had no idea he even had a son and never said anything of the sort. Let's look at this one for a minute. If Obi Wan is NOT honoring Anakin's wishes here, there's only one other reason he could be handing Luke a lightsaber. It's to get him started on the path to being a Jedi, under the false pretense of it having been what his father wanted. And if this was Obi-Wan's agenda he wouldn't have been hiding OR waited until Luke was so much older than Jedis begin training... and must unlearn what he has learned.
He feared you
might follow old Obi-Wan on some
damned-fool idealistic crusade like
your father did.
Again, Anakin didn't follow Obi-Wan crusading
THREEPIO
Sir, if you'll not be needing me,
I'll close down for awhile.
LUKE
Sure, go ahead.
Ben hands Luke the saber.
LUKE
What is it?
BEN
Your fathers lightsaber. This is the
weapon of a Jedi Knight. Also of jedis that aren't masters, and of Sith. I really should explain those too. But I'm sure I'll get to them later... or, ya know, not.
Not as clumsy
or as random as a blaster.
Luke pushes a button on the handle. A long beam shoots out
about four feet and flickers there. The light plays across
the ceiling.
BEN
An elegant weapon for a more civilized
time. For over a thousand generations
the Jedi Knights were the guardians
of peace and justice in the Old
Republic. Before the dark times,
before the Empire.
Luke hasn't really been listening.
LUKE
How did my father die?
BEN
A young Jedi named Darth Vader, who
was a pupil of mine until he turned
to evil, helped the Empire hunt down
and destroy the Jedi Knights. He
betrayed and murdered your father.
Now the Jedi are all but extinct.
Vader was seduced by the dark side
of the Force.
LUKE
The Force?
BEN
Well, the Force is what gives a Jedi
his power. It's an energy field
created by all living things. MIDIfreakingCHLORIANS. It
surrounds us and penetrates us. It
binds the galaxy together.
Artoo makes beeping sounds.
BEN
Now, let's see if we can't figure
out what you are, my little friend.
And where you come from.
LUKE
I saw part of the message he was...
Luke is cut short as the recorded image of the beautiful
young Rebel princess is projected from Artoo's face.
BEN
I seem to have found it.
Luke stops his work as the lovely girl's image flickers before
his eyes.
LEIA
General Kenobi, years ago you served
my father in the Clone Wars.
Or, ya know, what you were doing during the Clone Wars had nothing to do with her father.
Now he
begs you to help him in his struggle
against the Empire. I regret that I
am unable to present my father's
request to you in person, but my
ship has fallen under attack and I'm
afraid my mission to bring you to
Alderaan has failed. I have placed
information vital to the survival of
the Rebellion into the memory systems
of this R2 unit. My father will know
how to retrieve it. You must see
this droid safely delivered to him
on Alderaan. This is our most
desperate hour. Help me, Obi-Wan
Kenobi, you're my only hope.
Is this overly dissecting one scene? Probably. But this is basically the only thing the prequels had to jive with --- this and a bit of Yoda's explanation in Empire. So why have basically everything Obi-Wan explain be contradicted?
Later on after Jedi they even make the point that Obi-Wan's misleading information about Vader killing Luke's father is true from a certain point of view... and ignore the fact that apparently everything else he said at the time was also off.
Thoughts?
