Director: Alexandre O. Philippe
I think there was something creatively inspiring in the Star Wars universe that children of the '70s wanted to not just watch it and enjoy it but actually make it.
–Joe Nussbaum
That guy in his words unlocked a generation’s imagination. –Richie Mehta
You can't overestimate just how important that first Star Wars was. The whole world was blown away. –Todd Hanson
With all due respect to Mr. Lucas, it's not just your dream; it's not just your fantasy: It's a universe that we all live in now.
–Joe Leydon
People will continue to want to put their fingerprints on the things that they love, and to fix the things about the thing they love that they hate. –Uncredited
Lucas has been, I think, far more gracious to his fans than his fans perhaps have been tolerant of Lucas. –Matthew J. Smith
Netflix.com says this of The People Vs. George Lucas:
Building a balanced but spirited case without taking sides, filmmaker Alexandre O. Philippe sets up the decades-old conflict between Star Wars creator George Lucas and his legions of passionate fans in this "participatory documentary."I saw the Star Wars movies as a child, sure (on VHS, as they were in the theater before I was born). Everyone with parents alive during the late '70s did. And then I saw the remakes – the enhanced versions – in the theater when they came out in the late '90s. And I liked them more; I enjoyed the better quality, liked the additions and didn't really notice many changes. Apparently, that last line, and the feelings and observations behind them prove that I know nothing about these movies and never really appreciated the originals.
Fans in this movie compared the Star Wars films to the painting of the Sistine Chapel ceiling, the scripts to the Holy Bible, and the creator – Mr. Lucas himself – to a demi-god. To most Star Wars enthusiasts – oh who are we kidding? They're Star Wars geeks, not enthusiasts – the original trilogy was more than just three movies they kind of enjoyed. It was, is, and, despite the bastardization they feel has fallen upon to their beloved series via "remastering," always will be a part of their souls, a part of what keeps them young at heart and gives them hope for the future.
And that is why so many of them – fans and critics alike – were outraged at the changes Lucas introduced in the re-mastered versions – the versions which he said show his true vision. They felt he had violated the movie's purity, along with the sanctity of their memories and emotional attachments to the original movies.
The fans were further outraged when the long-awaited and over-hyped Episode I didn't fulfill all their fanboy wet dreams. Fan after fan sat in front of Alexandre Philippe's cameras and criticized Episode I's script, characters and plot. Once again, they felt as if George Lucas had given them something in direct contrast to what they craved. They felt let down, as if he had created the atrocity as a personal affront to each of them.
This documentary brings up some great points that go beyond the Star Wars universe. To whom does a film belong once it has been created? When it becomes something bigger than a couple hours on the screen, when it is more about a personal experience, a personal lifestyle, a personal obsession, who owns the rights to change it? Who owns the rights to continue it, to build upon it? Does it belong to the people or to the original creator?
It can be argued both ways, and indeed, it is argued both ways in this film. Lucas doesn't object when fans manipulate his works – imitation, flattery, that whole bit. And the fans, as much as they claim to dislike the new additions to the Star Wars collection, find that it is from this anger that their creativity stems. Perhaps Lucas's genius was in creating a film in The Phantom Menace and a character in Jar Jar Binks that inspired original fanboys to create alternate versions that satisfy their Star Wars itch and welcomed the new generation of fanboys-to-be into the Lucasfilm family.
One thing this film showed in tenfold was passion. There was passion in each person who spoke about the films' merits and in each person who spoke about the films' failures. The self-proclaimed experts, geeks, fanboys, critics and filmmakers all agreed on one thing: the words Star Wars elicit genuine reactions, deep-rooted and strong.
My takeaway: The debates over the virtues of the digital remasters and the prequel trilogy will always be heated, will always be passionate and will never end, securing the films a place in fanboy film history. And one should never mention midi-chlorians to a Star Wars geek… er, enthusiast.
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