“A New Awakening” - Star Wars Episode IV and VII Shot Comparison

The prequels did the same thing.

 

Similar in the right ways. Rey's theme is sure growing on me!

 

Great post. Great video. Thanks for posting.

 

Yeah I agree with your sentiments and I hope we get this for the next two as well .

 

Great work. Wow. Can't wait to see the movie again on Bluray.

 

The comparison shows me that ANH still holds up even if it's slow and clumsy at times.
Concerning TFA, if it brings back the classic Star Wars feeling is debatable, because everyone feels different.
For me it felt partly like ANH, in a good and a bad way at the same time, it's hard describe it.
I will give it a try: It depends on my opinion, because I think a forgery of ANH was not needed.
Counterstatement: I don't force anyone to share my opinion.

 

It was a very striking comparison. The camera was so.. static in the 1977 film. I found my eyes kept preferring the TFA footage for the movement of the camera.

 

I wanna know why do you think so. Can you make this kind of video with TPM and ANH, ATOC and ESB, or ROTS and ROTJ?

 

Technically, Lucas's approach was to copy the shots from the beginning and ending of each trilogy (the Ring Theory). So ROTJ and ANH are reversed and TPM and ROTS are reversed.

ROTJ starts with C3PO and R2D2 strolling to Jabbas - just like ANH starts with them strolling away from the escape pod - same shots.
Anakin escapes the exploding Trade Fed. hangar like the Falcon and Wedge escape from DS2 after blowing up a similarly shaped generator.
Parade at the end of ANH and TPM is matched by Padme's funeral.
There's similar shot of Vader in his hood that is matched by Maul's reveal before the Duel of the Fates.

There's tons of repetition in the OT and PT, both from within the respective trilogies and repeatedly throughout. Originality is an overrated concept. (See Avatar, Ferngully & Dances With Wolves, also see Hidden Fortress, Buck Rogers & Flash Gordon.....if you know what I mean)

 

I felt like TFA was not simply a reake of ANH, but a summary of everything we liked in the old trilogy. There were:

- A hero from a desert planet (ANH)
- A droid with secret informations (ANH)
- A battle scene with some sort of evil alien creature (ANH; TESB; ROTJ)
- A cantina scene (ANH; ROTJ)
- A superweapon (ANH; ROTJ)
- A masked villain who seems obsessed (TESB)
- A family revelation and tragedy (TESB)
- A mentor who dies (ANH; ROTJ)

And, in general, the movie is much more like TESB in terms of atmosphere. So, there is not only ANH in TFA, but every old trilogy movie.

 

AAAND THAT'S WHY it felt familiar...maybe a bit too familiar..

 

Yes. But it's legit. After the prequels, they had to set the mood.

 

Absolutely agree. This 'feeling' was intentional. Lucasfilm wanted to win the trust of everyone - young, old, and new. TFA is the strong foundation to our new generation of Star Wars films.

 

People who say "rehash" never read literature or look at art in general. Cultural and artistic dialogues happen all the time, and the greatest artistic productions were created by means of it. Leonardo Da Vinci, Rembrant and Picasso all painted "the last supper", but that doesn't mean they made the same painting. Artistic dialogue is really different from plagiarism. The Force Awakens engages in a dialogue with the story of ANH and its imagery, but it does not replicate them: it engages with them to make something different, new and exciting. The Phantom Menace did the same with ANH: the only difference is that TPM failed miserably as compared to TFA.

 

Love the cinematography in every Star Wars movie

 

TPM resoundingly failed because, in addition to various plot issues, it was intended almost exclusively for kids. JJ made a plural movie, in which old and new fans can virtually find something, and in my opinion this saved TFA from being bad. This and the extraordinary cinematography, of course

 

TFA was extremely good: it's the critics verdict. A solid four star movie. I agree with the critics. Even better: I'm the kind of guy who will tell you The Force Awakens is the best Star Wars movie to date.......together with ESB of course.

 

Yep you have Gilbert Taylor to thank for that.

 

Yes, it's in my personal top three. And don't forget that it's probably the most praised SW movie ever.

With my comment I meant that, with those premises, they could have done a bland remake or a brilliant revisiting. And thakfully it was brilliant.