Unwanted Commentary

I heard a piece on NPR today giving voice to a couple of Star Wars loyalist who were touting the virtues of the original Star Wars trilogy over the newly popular Lord of the Rings trilogy. Their new found vigor and vocalism seemed to stem from Peter Jackson and his coveted celluloid adaptation of Mr. Tolkien's classic fantasy trilogy garnering some nods from Hollywood and the Academy. I couldn't help but feeling a little put out over this, this sort of thing always seems to get my dander up and not because I feel one set of films is any better than the other.

First off, these films were made in completely different eras. Star Wars was ground breaking in so many ways, not only is the story majestic and moving, it was also a pioneer in the art of special effects. Now LotR is a modern film and as such it benefits from wonderful advances of technology and it's obvious that its special effects far out distance those of the original Star Wars films. That having been said I find it amazing how well Star Wars holds up even without Mr. Lucas' touch ups and re-release. However, give credit where credit is due, Mr. Jackson successfully adapted a very difficult and mammoth work into three wonderful films and all at one go. LotR is ground breaking in its own right and deserves the accolades that it gets.

The story behind Star Wars is simply amazing. I believe Mr. Lucas melded together so many different aspects of life and philosophy into a wonderful sci-fi setting that he should have been recognized by his peers at the time…It's a shame he didn't. I mean we have the tenants of Eastern philosophy together with the teenage yearning for a better world, the irrepressible urge to make the world a better place no matter the cost, the urge to escape from your guardians and make a life of your own all wrapped up in a very convincing universe of interstellar empire and rebellion. Wow, it's simply great stuff no two ways about it. LotR on the other hand, and this part is simple, is based on the masterful works of J.R.R Tolkien. For those of us who are fans of Mr. Tolkien further comment isn't really needed, for those of you aren't I enthusiastically recommend the books!

The characters of both trilogies are loveable or loathsome, but they are all memorable. You can make acting arguments in a lot of directions here, but I can't believe that if you watch these films without bias you can see that all of the acting comes away as at least well intentioned and nothing short of passionate. The universes in comparison bare no resemblance to each other, at least outside of conjecture they don't. The mindsets of the characters are very different and I think it's an injustice to compare them to one another. Mr. Lucas was at liberty to create and control his characters any way he wanted, Mr. Jackson had very little wiggle room in this category as he had to remain as faithful as he could to Mr. Tolkien's original story.

I would pose the question, why compare the two films at all? Why not enjoy them for the wonder of story on film that they are. I guess it just peeves me to have people make the argument at all when in the end they both hold up so well. I even wonder why some go to such length's to compare LotR to Star Wars at all. I can only assume that the Potter fans have moved on. In the end I just have to pity those people who can't look each trilogy and thrill at what it has to offer, because they both offer so. The special effects, the story, the characters and the experience all measure up in my opinion and both of these films will continue to hold very high ratings on my personal film list.