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COLUMN: Finding Lucas’ lack of faith disturbing

By Connor Sheridan on September 14, 2011 2:42 pm in Columns / 8 comments

 

Art is a tough thing to define.

It’s even tougher to delineate what is good art and what is bad art, but one pretty decent measure is how much people take it into themselves.

George Lucas should feel like a massively successful artist after millions of people accepted “Star Wars” into their lives, celebrating it, interpreting it and sharing it with others.

It is disturbing, then, that he reportedly responded to a fan concerned by his efforts to remove the original versions of the first trilogy from circulation by saying, “Grow up. They’re my movies.”

Those reports are unverified, but even if that was not a direct statement, it certainly matches his actions.

The original versions of the films, without any of the computer graphic modifications and extra scenes added in the theatrical re-releases of the 1990s or DVDs of the 2000s, have not been printed since a limited-edition production in 2006.

But George Lucas is wrong. His films belong not only to him, but to the people who love them.

“Star Wars” would be nothing more than an Akira Kurosawa-loving “Flash Gordon” knock-off without the people who have loved and elevated it over its decades of existence.

Lucas is perfectly within his rights to update the movies to conform to his new continuity, make the ewoks blink, give Greedo a dastardly mustache and Jabba the Hutt digital liposuction or whatever other questionable modifications he desires. They are his products.

But he is not within his rights to rob the world of the original vision that inspired so many to embrace and expand the world of science fiction.

We can’t make Lucas put out a product of which he no longer approves, but why should he not? What’s the harm in allowing classic “Star Wars” to exist alongside the revised edition?

It’s not the first time he has tried to squash a part of the series’ history with some success, although his efforts to sweep the goofy “Star Wars Holiday Special” under the rug are a bit more understandable.

I fear Lucas has turned the same critical eye to the original trilogy and found it sophomoric.

It is not. Even its hokey effects and telegraphed fight choreography remain an essential part of cinematic history.

Search your feelings, Lucas. You know it to be true.

 

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  • Guest

    “But George Lucas is wrong. His films belong not only to him, but to the people who love them.”

    This is 100% false.  When you buy a ticket to a movie, you’re paying for the privilege of viewing it, not a stock or share in how its future releases will be handled.  The films are George Lucas’ life’s work, and buying action figures and lunch boxes doesn’t (and shouldn’t) give someone an equal say in how the franchise is handled. 

    “But he is not within his rights to rob the world of the original vision
    that inspired so many to embrace and expand the world of science
    fiction.”

    Yes he is.  Plus, nothing was robbed of anyone.  Preserving the cultural history of the films sounds noble, but the originals will exist forever preserved in the National Film Archive and anyone who wants to own them likely already does so on multiple formats.  The only format they are not available on is Blu-Ray (so far).

    It’s this entitled kind of thinking that gets people so upset in the first place.  The fans have no say in this, nor should they.  The minute the man gives into a fanboy’s complaint, he ceases to become an artist and becomes a servant instead.  The one thing fans DO have a say in, is whether or not they choose to buy the new versions.  And, as most of those people tend to forget, nobody is holding a gun to their head and making them buy them. 

  • guest

    That the films are in an archive is meaningless since that archive is not available for viewing. A film locked away in a vault might as well not exist.

    Films belong to the public, because all art does. Copyright is designed to give the originators limited-time compensation, but copyright law has been so distorted over the last 60 years that it no longer works the way it was designed to (e.g., ensuring the public has access to its own culture).

    Lucas’ company owns the copyright, but they have no moral right to withhold and destroy a classic work of art. The problem is that US law has no enforcement agency to stop this, even though US law states a moral value on preserving film and STAR WARS SPECIFICALLY for the public (through agencies like the congressional NFR).

    Rather, it is Lucasfilm–or more specifically Lucas, the man who controls the companies policies–that has a false sense of entitlement. Star Wars is the cultural heritage of generations, and it hasn’t been maintained since 1993 (the 2006 DVD–which is now out of print–contained only a 1993 laserdisc transfer, not anything made with DVD in mind). As the copyright owners of a major modern cultural artifact they have a moral obligation to ensure the public has quality access to it. But, like I said, even though US law policy upholds such values, compliance with it is so far strictly voluntary. Really the only entity so narcissistic and selfish about not maintaining or making available such major/popular/demanded films is Lucas /Lucasfilm.

  • guest

    That the films are in an archive is meaningless since that archive is not available for viewing. A film locked away in a vault might as well not exist.

    Films belong to the public, because all art does. Copyright is designed to give the originators limited-time compensation, but copyright law has been so distorted over the last 60 years that it no longer works the way it was designed to (e.g., ensuring the public has access to its own culture).

    Lucas’ company owns the copyright, but they have no moral right to withhold and destroy a classic work of art. The problem is that US law has no enforcement agency to stop this, even though US law states a moral value on preserving film and STAR WARS SPECIFICALLY for the public (through agencies like the congressional NFR).

    Rather, it is Lucasfilm–or more specifically Lucas, the man who controls the companies policies–that has a false sense of entitlement. Star Wars is the cultural heritage of generations, and it hasn’t been maintained since 1993 (the 2006 DVD–which is now out of print–contained only a 1993 laserdisc transfer, not anything made with DVD in mind). As the copyright owners of a major modern cultural artifact they have a moral obligation to ensure the public has quality access to it. But, like I said, even though US law policy upholds such values, compliance with it is so far strictly voluntary. Really the only entity so narcissistic and selfish about not maintaining or making available such major/popular/demanded films is Lucas /Lucasfilm.

  • Guest

    Again, the original films ARE available for viewing, and on every format except blu-ray so far.  There is no destruction occurring as you say, and the whole point of the National Film Registry (not a vault) was that the films ARE preserved forever despite what so many seem to think. 

    The idea that I am entitled to a release the way I want it because of some imaginary moral contract formed when I buy a movie ticket is not realistic. 

    Really all this debate does is show how strong Star Wars still is.  In this format or the last, original cuts of Metropolis and Lawrence of Arabia are not available at all, yet nobody makes a fuss about them. 

  • guest

     The quote is not out of context. Lucas wasn’t talking about artists altering their own work–although he did defend that as well–but of the need to preserve history. It’s an issue that doesn’t hinge on whether it’s an artist or company, history is history. If Picasso wanted to repaint some of his works he would not be legally allowed to because they are protected by law from being damaged or altered.

    Secondly, the DVD of the originals is not available anymore as it is out of print. But as I mentioned, this was just a 1993 Laserdisc. Films need to be seen in as good quality as their custodians can provide. The films have not been updated for DVD or high definition, they are as they were in the early 1990s, which is before some consumers buying the BD were even born.

    Secondly, the archive at Congress is meaningless. It can’t be viewed. Who cares if they have a print if they can’t show it? The way copyright law is going right now it might be 100 years before they can even begin making a restoration based off that.

    Again, all art works belong to the public, and the US government has also identified Star Wars as the nations cultural heritage. The problem is that corporate lobbyists like Lucasfilm have distorted the law to meet their own business and ideological means. Copyright no longer works the way it is supposed to and films aren’t included under cultural heritage law. Otherwise, Lucasfilm wouldn’t be able to do what they are doing. It’s also pretty narcissistic for Lucas to claim artistic ownership when you not only consider how many people worked on the films, but when you consider that he didn’t edit any of them, didn’t direct Empire or Jedi and was not the primary screenwriter on either. It’s a pretty flimsy stance.

  • Guest

    The quotation IS out of context for the exact reasons I said before so I won’t repeat them.  Again you refer to preserving history as if something is being taken from the people where it isn’t.  I’ve already gone over the ways the films are preserved and how easy they are to access so there is no need to go over this once more. 

    The real reason the 2006 DVDs were made from the laserdisc masters was because of the small black market that arose using those same prints.  This market was small, because the requests for the original prints is largely overblown by vocal minorities, but still, money was changing hands illegally and Lucas put an end to that by releasing the originals in the format that he did.  Believing that he should have his arm twisted to remaster the films in the highest definition and most current format possible every few years when that isn’t what he wants to do is just plain silly. 

    It seems we just have a fundamental disagreement on the “all art works belong to the public” side of things, because I could not disagree more.  When I don’t have the rights to my own intellectual property, I have a huge problem with that.  And I don’t’ think there is any real case to say that anyone other than Lucas could have anywhere near the same ownership in the films.  True, he had help penning and didn’t direct Empire (or most of Jedi), but none of the other people involved could honestly say they had anywhere near as much input. 

    Plus, Lucas was the producer of all the films, and backed them all out of his own pocket after the initial film completely independent of Hollywood (except for the distribution).  That is not a feat an editor or a screenwriter can make claim of.  There really isn’t a leg to stand on for anyone who believes they are not Lucas’ films. 

  • guest

     You can disagree but it’s a fact–art works do belong to the public. This is how United States law works.

    And it’s also a fact–that quote is not out of context. He was referring to protecting the public heritage by preserving classic films as they originally were. This was a separate but not unrelated issue to the “moral rights” claim he advocated so that directors couldn’t have their films colourized by Ted Turner. I know because I am reading the government document that has a transcription of that speech. His reconciliation of the two battles he is arguing–preserving classic films as US heritage, and allowing artists to control their work–is not spelt out by him, but the only solution, and the one that was voluntarily adopted by most rights owners including Ted Turner, was to make both original and altered versions simultaneously available. This was slightly prophetic as this practice has become the norm today with DVD and Blu-ray (although you are correct–there are a few exceptions. I miss the original LOA and hope it gets restored too. Unfortunately, few people seem to demand it, and so the studio probably thinks that it isn’t regarded as important, as critics treat the extended/restored cut as the ‘true’ version.).

  • Guest

    If you’re implying that Lucas is breaking the law (art belonging to the public and not him), you’re wrong.  If not, more power to you.  But since you bring up law, you can’t just pick and choose what parts are relevant to your argument or what parts you like.  Lucas owns the copyrights to the films, and neither the appropriate amount of time has passed nor his death has happened yet, so legally he owns them.  Debates about whether the copyright system is just or fair is a separate debate. 

    And we’ve already been over when he testified about preserving classic films.  Pay attention to his wording, he speaks of protecting works of people (who are mostly dead if I recall correctly) by being colorized by corporations.  He almost seems to go out of his way to make sure that does not include what an artist does to their own work. 

    The bottom line is that he doesn’t currently wish to release the original cuts on blu-ray, and I don’t understand why he should be forced to against his wishes.  If someone wants to see them on blu-ray, tough, it’ll probably be a while if it happens at all.  Until then, enjoy the unaltered originals available from the original releases (80s), 1993, 1995, and 2006