My observations of Starwars episode 1 and Ben Hur

Just the other day I was watching Ben Hur -- it's a classic, and my mum says "That sheik reminds me of that blue guy that flies about in Starwars". At first I though nothing of it, but I did agree their faces, manner and voices were actually quite similar. Then I considered other parallels between the two films, specifically the pod race and the events leading up to it.

It's a desert scene with a great stone arena filled with people, there's a race with all the pods/chariots lined up and presented from all parts of the known world/galaxy. Each one has the horses/engines up front. The emperor/jaba is there and he starts the race. One of the riders fails to start, and those that do are hideously maimed in one way or another as they navigate tight turns and run into each-other. Our hero, who is trying to win his families' freedom does so with the odds stacked against him and with everything to lose, despite our villain's immoral cheating.

Well, that's half of a film Lucas didn't have to write. At least it's not as blatant as Startrek 6 and Bridge over the river Kwai (sp?)
M.

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"I wouldn't say abrasive. I'd rather say you're a cool soothing groove with a hint of jazz..."

-Alpheez

I'm not recalling a blue guy...

That is a bit of interesting information though.

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Unblockable are the attacks led by the ones one used to trust.

That blue guy. Coincidentally voiced by Andy Secombe who is Harry Secombe's son.

I'll tell you, Wikipedia gets my vote for best website ever. And second is Youtube... You've got to admit this:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=j3fSh1Ow7lA&feature=related
and this:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=whYM_o3eM1s&feature=related
Are quite similar in style... You could almost call it a sci-fi remake.
M.

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"I wouldn't say abrasive. I'd rather say you're a cool soothing groove with a hint of jazz..."

-Alpheez

Bridge on the River Kwai. No misspellings, just one wrong word Razz

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"No, I don't mind being the smartest man in the world. I just wish it wasn't this one." -Ozymandias, "Watchmen"

Well, after years of perfection it's about time I got something wrong. Cool

But I'm not wrong about this, and as far as I know I'm the first person to draw comparisons between the two films. The following is a transcript from "Bridge ON the river Kwai":

If you work hard,
you will be treated well.
But if you do not work hard...you will be punished!

A word to you about escape. There is no barbed wire... no stockade... no watchtower.
They are not necessary.
We are an island in the jungle.
Escape is impossible.
You would die.

Now here is a script from Star Trek 6:

Commandant

This is the gulag Rura Penthe.

Observe: there is no stockade, no

guard tower, no electrified

fence! They are not needed here!

Only a magnetic shield prevents

beaming. Your new home awaits....

underground!

He blows a mechanical whistle. In response, two guards

emerge from below with a screaming Klingon convict.

Prisoner

No! Nooooo!

Commandant

Punishment means exile from prison

to the surface - on the surface,

nothing can survive.

The guards dump the screaming convict on the ice -

without furs. The weather immobilizes him at once -

his cries become fainter.

Commandant

Below, no one can escape. Work well,

and you will be treated well. Work

badly, and you will die.

Shameless.
M.

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"I wouldn't say abrasive. I'd rather say you're a cool soothing groove with a hint of jazz..."

-Alpheez

That's ridiculous. That's borderline copyright infringement or something. Quite odd that they gain such high acclaim when it seems like they're stealing from previous works!

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Unblockable are the attacks led by the ones one used to trust.

Well I don't know how much acclaim it received but no.6 was definitely one of the better ones. It just makes me furious to think that there could be a million star-trek fanfics floating around that never get read or receive the acclaim they deserve, YET when it comes time to pick a writer for the new movie, they hire this obvious hack.

Not that they had a choice in the matter, the unions would have walked out and the film never would have even started if they didn't hire a badge-wearing hack.

This is precisely the reason why I can't stand the unions... In all likelyhood, if the filmmakers had the chance, they would have picked a script that had already been written by a talented person that wrote it for the love of it. That would have been great for everyone. But no, they can't do that, they have to hire some lazy bastard that hates trek and likes kwai to start something from scratch... What makes it worse is the obscene amount of money these cronies get... And if you're not in the guild, you're a scab. The only difference being, you aren't being extorted by legalized organized crime.

2008 and we're still paying protection money. Evil or Very Mad

M.

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"I wouldn't say abrasive. I'd rather say you're a cool soothing groove with a hint of jazz..."

-Alpheez

That's why my favorite writer/director is Kevin Smith.

Blurb from Wikipedia:

Kevin Patrick Smith (born August 2, 1970) is an American screenwriter and director, as well as a comic book writer, author, and actor. He is also the co-founder, with Scott Mosier, of View Askew Productions and owner of Jay and Silent Bob's Secret Stash comic and novelty store in Red Bank, New Jersey. He also hosts a weekly podcast with Scott Mosier known as SModcast.

His works:

Clerks
Mallrats
Chasing Amy
Dogma
Jay and Silent Bob Strike Back
The Concert For New York City
The Flying Car
Jersey Girl
Clerks 2
Zach And Miri Make A Porno

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Unblockable are the attacks led by the ones one used to trust.

Exactly... Independent films are the future; however until the unions dissolve or filmmakers somehow find a way around them, big budget productions are simply out of the question (without attracting vultures). If you want to make a film these days, you've got two options. You can do it with a handicam with friends in your backyard or you can invite the unions in and they'll tell you how you should make your movie. Who to hire and fire, which script to use and pad out your shoot with a shower of bastards that would likely turn a 10 million dollar film into a 100 million dollar film.

Give me a handicam any day.
M.

P.S.
His earlier films were much better, after he got a taste of formula inspired success he sold out to big cinema. I find Uwe Boll more inspiring -- that doesn't say much for Kevin Smith.

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"I wouldn't say abrasive. I'd rather say you're a cool soothing groove with a hint of jazz..."

-Alpheez

While that being a funny bot post...

I'm not sure he exactly sold out, he has certainly gained more acclaim, and rightfully so. So having more money and being able to produce bigger films isn't a surprise. I wouldn't call that selling out...

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Unblockable are the attacks led by the ones one used to trust.

Yeah, it's selling out; but if I were in the same position, I might just do the same thing... In the end it all comes down to dollars, cents and how you measure your successes. If you measure it monetarily, his earlier films were an amazing monetary success making many times the original investment. Big cinema will make more money but only slightly more than the original investment. In addition, the union boys might throw a bit of kudos and maybe an academy award your way for being a good boy and playing by their rules.

Of course in the latter option, you've got little influence in every aspect of your film, rather they run on previous successes by manufacturing yet another formulaic cookie cutter film... and Silent Bob speaks! I guess he's just plain old "Bob" now.

It's a sell out.
M.

P.S.
The bot posts are the same type of thing, just putting a smiley face on a digital parasite... You can thank Google for that.

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"I wouldn't say abrasive. I'd rather say you're a cool soothing groove with a hint of jazz..."

-Alpheez

Ah, See but that's where he didn't sell out. He's very much a man who makes what he wants. All his movies are done with the same people as he started out with. Silent Bob speaks about once in every movie he's in. Jersey Girl was a huge flop and after which he was very apprehensive as to make another movie. Even his long time friend and producer Scott Mosier was just about dried up of the movie biz. Then Kevin Smith was going to write and direct the movie The Green Hornet but decided against it because he didn't think he would be allowed to put his own creative spin on a movie like that without catching flak for it. He then went on to make Clerks 2 which was a huge success. He caught a lot of flak for wanting to make a sequel to the first Clerks and even Jeff Anderson (Randall) didn't want to do the movie and didn't think it should have been made at all. But He wrote the script and was able to get Jeff on board.

So once again, I disagree. I suggest renting the 2-Disc edition of Clerks 2 and watching the 2 hour documentary on it. It gives a lot of background info on him and his crew.

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Unblockable are the attacks led by the ones one used to trust.

you're probably right there, I must admit I haven't seen either of those films apart from a snip here and there, it's just not my bag. You obviously know a lot more about it than I do so I'll take your word for it.

Salute to the independent artists and the dedication to create.
M.

P.S.
Salute to the sell-outs too, may we all be given the option! Very Happy

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"I wouldn't say abrasive. I'd rather say you're a cool soothing groove with a hint of jazz..."

-Alpheez

Wow, I didn't think I was gonna win. Very Happy

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Unblockable are the attacks led by the ones one used to trust.

Win? No, I just don't know that much about Kevin Smith. My views are still firm in regards to independent film and big cinema.

Sure, you win. Smile

M.

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"I wouldn't say abrasive. I'd rather say you're a cool soothing groove with a hint of jazz..."

-Alpheez

Do I get a prize?

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Unblockable are the attacks led by the ones one used to trust.

Only the best.

M.

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"I wouldn't say abrasive. I'd rather say you're a cool soothing groove with a hint of jazz..."

-Alpheez

Not that I can see the picture at the moment.

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Unblockable are the attacks led by the ones one used to trust.

Why not? You're really missing out... Everyone knows FP only gives out the best stuff Smile

M.

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"I wouldn't say abrasive. I'd rather say you're a cool soothing groove with a hint of jazz..."

-Alpheez

You gave me a bad linkage picture doo hickey!

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Unblockable are the attacks led by the ones one used to trust.

Oh, well now it's gone altogether... Yet another thing I'll have to have for the new site, a forum that actually keeps the pictures that are linked to it. I'm certain it can be done, it's just a knowing how.

How about this one:

Makes a great present for that special someone.
M.

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"I wouldn't say abrasive. I'd rather say you're a cool soothing groove with a hint of jazz..."

-Alpheez