Why Episode I-III acting is worse than IV-VI

[Swift]

While this is not new news it MAY be a new perspective.

Anyway, after watching the making of star wars III, I noticed that it was almost 100% green screen, even the regular non-action scenes. Now, we all know that it's very hard to act when you're not even in the environment you're supposed to be acting in. This is why voice acting is so difficult and so well respected(the good ones that is). Looking at episode IV-VI there were many more "real" sets for the actors to act and interact in. I think this contributed to the better acting and less "line read" feel of episode I-III.

So, what do you think?

 

[555]

Or it could just be that Haden christensen is a terrible actor & Lucas is a bad director?? not sure. I dont really like Star Wars anyway. I did like Episode 1 though, i like to be different

 

[Kylehnat]

You have a point there. Also, the fact that they were so hell-bent on special effects in Episodes I-III came at the cost of good script-writing.

I'm not really a Star Wars fan, but I did enjoy Episodes IV-VI much more than I-III, which were really just showing off how much money they could spend making a movie.

 

[Sting]

I think its because everyone prefered the character in the original trilogy and an elemant of bias has cropped up. Darth Vader was a staple character, the Empire in rule and the Rebels were trying their damndest to defeat them.

They've been established over 30 years through the films, expanded universe of games, books, etc etc etc.

There is some good acting in I-III despite as you say, all the green-screening. Palpatine, a character in all episodes I think was just as good in I-III as he is in IV-VI. It's a matter of opinion.

 

[El Gigante]

Episode III was filmed entirely in a studio so i can understand what you mean, some of the acting was pretty poor.

 

[Swift]

There is some good acting in I-III despite as you say, all the green-screening. Palpatine, a character in all episodes I think was just as good in I-III as he is in IV-VI. It's a matter of opinion.

Granted, but the overall tone despite excellent actors like Ewan McGregor, Sam Jackson and the Emperor, was still "what's my line again?"

 

[Danoff]

A LOT of the acting was poor. But bad scripts make it more difficult to act well. There are a couple of reasons I can think of off of the top of my head why the new editions were so much worse in terms of acting.

Scene Length - You can't act a scene when it doesn't last 5 seconds, and episodes 1-3 had a lot of very short scenes. When you have no reaction shots, no contextual dialogue, no character development within a given scene - which you can't have when the scene doesn't last long enough - acting is going to suffer.

Script - Bad lines are difficult to act well, and there were a LOT of bad lines in these movies. Episodes 4-6 have clever diaglogue, even today the banter comes off well.

Green Screen - Overemphasis on CGI characters forced good actors like Liam Neeson to come off stiff. Acting is a tough job, but when you can't even see the guy you're talking to it becomes that much harder.

All that being said, episdoes 4-6 also had their share of bad acting. Luke possibly being the worst. But luckily for us there were solid lines and good supporting actors to get him through it.

 

[Swift]

All that being said, episdoes 4-6 also had their share of bad acting. Luke possibly being the worst. But luckily for us there were solid lines and good supporting actors to get him through it.

Exactly!

Mark Hamil was pretty weak. But good old Sir Alec Guneiss and Harrison Ford could hold it together. That and C-3P0's dumb lines

 

[Sting]

Personally the savior for Star Wars was R2-D2. He carried all 6 of those films! lol

 

[Carl.]

...just wait after the mahhood bit.

 

[Speedy Samurai]

George can't direct people. The lines in Episode IV are given just as cornily as in eps I-III, (Alec Guiness and Harrison Ford aside ), if you look at Empire, which probably has the better acting, it was directed by Irvin Kirschner, who could actually get something out of the actors.

 

[Danoff]

George can't direct people. The lines in Episode IV are given just as cornily as in eps I-III, (Alec Guiness and Harrison Ford aside )

The lines in Episode IV are far superior to the ones in I-III. The plot is a hell of a lot better too, I don't mean the global picture of what's happening, I mean the details from scene to scene.

 

[Swift]

The lines in Episode IV are far superior to the ones in I-III. The plot is a hell of a lot better too, I don't mean the global picture of what's happening, I mean the details from scene to scene.

And the scenes lasted more then 5 seconds. Not to mention there was certainly a feel of continuity. Episode I was especially disjoined.

 

[Patrik]

Anyway, after watching the making of star wars III, I noticed that it was almost 100% green screen

I suspected correctly then! I just watched the episodes I-III, and I think there is way too much computer animated ****. Big dissapointment IMO. Hell, even the storm troopers were computer animated (and Darth freakin Vader!!!), why!?!?!?!?. And almost every scene was on green screen as you said. 👎

The special editions of IV-VI had a perfect balance between special effects and real deal IMO!

Creativity died with the new millenium.

Personally the savior for Star Wars was R2-D2. He carried all 6 of those films! lol

Damn right!

 

[niky]

You mean Lucas's creativity? There are some great movies coming out this millenium... just not from Lucas or Spielberg (I liked AI, but I really can't gel with any of his other recent movies).

(Wow, a 2.5 year gravedig! Just a few months too late for Episode 2.5: The Clone Wars!)

 

[YSSMAN]

I'd certainly agree that Episodes I-III were less-than-stellar, but I have to admit, the Clone Wars TV series has redeemed a lot of my faith in the franchise, along with The Force Unleashed videogame. The Clone Wars has done a great job of telling the story of the Clone Troopers, and how "desperate" the Republic's situation really was between II and III. Despite the childish overtones (after all, it is on before Adult Swim on a kid's network), it is fairly serious exercise in Star Wars folklore. However, the crowning achievement at least in my opinion is TFU. The story is absolutely, mindblowingly epic, and its unfortunate that the gameplay worked only at 75%. It helps to explain a lot of what goes on between III and IV, but leaves enough hanging where you want more...

My hope is that the live action TV show will follow more in the footsteps of TFU, really sticking to the folklore, and making sure that it fills in all of the plot holes. There is still a lot of depth to the franchise that is outside of the Skywalker groups, and it makes me very excited that they'll be going into it... Well, presumably.

 

[Patrik]

You mean Lucas's creativity? There are some great movies coming out this millenium... just not from Lucas or Spielberg (I liked AI, but I really can't gel with any of his other recent movies).

(Wow, a 2.5 year gravedig! Just a few months too late for Episode 2.5: The Clone Wars!)

Yeah, I meant Lucas's.. I forgot how many great movies that are made lately. Kill Bill, Once Upon A Time In Mexico, Snatch, Planet Terror and Death Proof are some of my favorites..

 

[prisonermonkeys]

There is some good acting in I-III despite as you say, all the green-screening. Palpatine, a character in all episodes I think was just as good in I-III as he is in IV-VI. It's a matter of opinion.

Ewan McGregor was easily the best actor in the three films, because you could actually believe his Obi-Wan Kenobi would grow into Alec Guiness.

 

[TheCracker]

Ewan McGregor was easily the best actor in the three films, because you could actually believe his Obi-Wan Kenobi would grow into Alec Guiness.

I watched Episode 1 again on TV yesterday. I was quite shocked at how stilted the delivery was, even by Samual L Jackson and Liam Neeson. I do like Ewan McGregor, although to me he always seems as if he's 'acting' - if that doesn't sound obvious. I think the trouble is not only George Lucas's inability to direct his actors (or write a decent screenplay), but also because he funds his films rather than using other studios money, he cuts corners to keep it on budget. This is why we see so much green-screen work, and also why we get stilted acting because he does so few takes before wrapping up a scene.

 

[Leonidae]

No no no.. Harrison Ford>Ewan McGregor>nimrod>automated trashcan ( R2D2 )>Yoda..

 

[Touring Mars]

I watched Episode 1 again on TV yesterday. I was quite shocked at how stilted the delivery was, even by Samual L Jackson and Liam Neeson. I do like Ewan McGregor, although to me he always seems as if he's 'acting'

I tried to watch it at the weekend, too, but I couldn't resist the temptation to turn over - I forgot how truly terrible the whole film is, soup to nuts. I don't think it is too harsh or inaccurate to say that this (and maybe also Episode II) rank as Ewan McGregor's worst films by quite some margin. As you rightly point out, he isn't the only one to stink up the joint, it is more of a general phenomenon in the film than something he is doing wrong - Natalie Portman, a fine actress indeed, is poor (esp. as the Queen) and Liam Neeson is just all wrong. But no-one deserves the Golden Raspberry more than the woman who plays Anakin's mother.

 

[TheCracker]

But no-one deserves the Golden Raspberry more than the woman who plays Anakin's mother.

Which is odd because i remember her from some of the 'Young Indiana Jones Chronicles' episodes in which she wasn't bad at all. Again, i guess it's down to poor direction.

 

[Robin]

I didnt really have a problem with epsiode 1 and 2 its just at the very start of 3 the acting is TERRIBLE like for 15-20 mins, then it starts to get better but it never meets the levels of the originals.

Are they going to continue the saga? I heard rumours of it continuing on.. is that a good thing?

Robin

 

[niky]

The acting gets better in Episode III? Where?

That's the movie that single-handedly made me lose respect for Natalie Portman (Oh, I know she's not the greatest actress, but still...)

 

[Omnis]

Actually, episodes 5 and 6 were better because they weren't directed by Lucas. The best one, The Empire Strikes Back, was done by Irvin Kershner.

 

[Cap'n Jack]

Are they going to continue the saga? I heard rumours of it continuing on.. is that a good thing?

There's the Clone Wars TV series going on right now, which isn't too bad, really. I never saw the Clone Wars movie, because I thought it would just be a waste of time. In the next few years there's supposed to be a live action TV series set in-between episodes 3 and 4. It's apparently going to be filmed in Australia, so I should audition so I don't have to get a real job.

 

[YSSMAN]

The Clone Wars show is actually surprisingly good, last weekend's episode is a prime example of it. It adds a lot of depth to what happens between Episodes II and III, and better illustrates some of the politics of the universe at the time. The best part? The bad guys win sometimes.

 

[Robin]

I recon the best way the franchise could go is to do a totally new movie set after episode 6. Have new characters, new plot and make it interesting, everyone would feel that they were seeing something new and dont know how the story is going to play out (like the way they felt when 4 came out). It would be a real breath of fresh air. The only things they would have to keep is the canon and the name Star Wars.

In the next few years there's supposed to be a live action TV series set in-between episodes 3 and 4. It's apparently going to be filmed in Australia, so I should audition so I don't have to get a real job.

They should stop doing these in between things, it will be Star Wars - The Anakin Skywalker Chronicles! If your going to do a live action series why not go the whole hog and do a movie.... It would surely be much more profitable and you know that everyone will go and see it.

Robin

 

[Swift]

They should stop doing these in between things, it will be Star Wars - The Anakin Skywalker Chronicles! If your going to do a live action series why not go the whole hog and do a movie.... It would surely be much more profitable and you know that everyone will go and see it.

Robin

Actually, I read a while back where Lucas said that he likes TV better because it is more profitable with less risk.

As far as everyone going to see it? Well, I think that lucas really has worn down a lot of casual Star Wars fans. So that may no longer be the case.

But I do agree about the in between movies and series. You KNOW who's going to die. And when, so all the battles are almost inconsequential. It would be nice to see an Old Republic or New Republic series.

 

[YSSMAN]

From what I understand, the live action show is going to have some parts of The Force Unleashed in it, but that may all be rumors or lies. My guess is that it will take on quite a few of the side characters and their context in the world (origin story of Han Solo anyone?)... But its anyone's guess.