Saving Star Wars by Catherine Lee
One of the things that is most charming about Saving Star Wars is how simpatico I felt about so many of the opinions he expresses regarding the meaning and significance of Star Wars. As someone who will never give up the experience of going to the movie theater to be part of a crowd in the dark, no matter how sophisticated home theaters get, I particularly admired one sentiment: in the world of Saving Star Wars, what matters most about Star Wars or any great film are the happy memories of sharing movies with people we love. I remember the when, where and with whom of many, many movies. Even a bad movie can be great when shared with the right friends.
Saving Star Wars is not a big-budget movie, but it is a movie with a lot of heart. The affection of the filmmakers for their project is infectious. There aren't elaborate sets, just found locations around the Indianapolis area. And Saving Star Wars uses the huge fan conventions that happen in Indianapolis as a background for the story.
David Prowse, the actor who played Darth Vader (the man in the suit, not the voice) makes an important cameo appearance in Saving Star Wars. He plays himself. In the movie, he's in Indianapolis for the Star Wars celebration. As Prowse says in Saving Star Wars, "Star Wars is like pizza. When its good, its really, really good. And even when its bad, its still pizza."
Full review: http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0387563/usercomments-enter
Another review:
Some Others Also Perceive the Emperor as Naked by Kevin P. Murphy
The final Star Wars trilogy (Episodes I, II, and III) wasn't a complete waste of time, because it/they stimulated an independent, Indianapolis, Indiana, produced film, "Saving Star Wars," that does, in a low-budget sort of way, recapture the essential magic of the original trilogy.
The movie is concerned with the conflict between reality and extreme fanout with respect to the "Star Wars" series of movies. A "Woodworks" film, "SSW" was written and directed by Gary L. Wood (who also wound up performing in the movie when a key actor failed to show up on "shooting day").
After an accidental meeting with George Lucas that innocently turns into an impromptu kidnapping, chaos becomes the star performer at "Star Wars Celebration II." Will Woody and Hank save the day, release Lucas, preserve the secrecy surrounding Episode III, avoid prison and fulfill a father's promise to his seriously ill son? One has to see the movie to answer those questions, of course, but I can tell you that seeing the movie isn't a bad plan.
While the movie has need of polishing, in that regard it is in good company with a lot of high-budget Hollywood releases that come nowhere near "Saving Star Wars" in terms of having a credible, interesting story and heart. And it is refreshingly free of gratuitous profanity, which again separates it from the mass of big-budget releases.
It is interesting to note, too, that the cast consisted of unpaid actors who did it for the exposure, or for love of "Star Wars," and for the thrill of making a "real" movie. This is not meant to suggest that professional actors should work for peanuts...suffice it to say that, while "Saving Star Wars" (http://www.savingstarwars.com ) is clearly (and correctly, I believe) critical of the parts of the second trilogy that were then (2003) known, it is a lovingly critical work.
Copyright 2005 Kevin P. Murphy
Posted: Sun - October 2, 2005 at 08:58 PM Kevin Murphy's Web Archives New Reviews-2005
One of the things that is most charming about Saving Star Wars is how simpatico I felt about so many of the opinions he expresses regarding the meaning and significance of Star Wars. As someone who will never give up the experience of going to the movie theater to be part of a crowd in the dark, no matter how sophisticated home theaters get, I particularly admired one sentiment: in the world of Saving Star Wars, what matters most about Star Wars or any great film are the happy memories of sharing movies with people we love. I remember the when, where and with whom of many, many movies. Even a bad movie can be great when shared with the right friends.
Saving Star Wars is not a big-budget movie, but it is a movie with a lot of heart. The affection of the filmmakers for their project is infectious. There aren't elaborate sets, just found locations around the Indianapolis area. And Saving Star Wars uses the huge fan conventions that happen in Indianapolis as a background for the story.
David Prowse, the actor who played Darth Vader (the man in the suit, not the voice) makes an important cameo appearance in Saving Star Wars. He plays himself. In the movie, he's in Indianapolis for the Star Wars celebration. As Prowse says in Saving Star Wars, "Star Wars is like pizza. When its good, its really, really good. And even when its bad, its still pizza."
Full review: http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0387563/usercomments-enter
Another review:
Some Others Also Perceive the Emperor as Naked by Kevin P. Murphy
The final Star Wars trilogy (Episodes I, II, and III) wasn't a complete waste of time, because it/they stimulated an independent, Indianapolis, Indiana, produced film, "Saving Star Wars," that does, in a low-budget sort of way, recapture the essential magic of the original trilogy.
The movie is concerned with the conflict between reality and extreme fanout with respect to the "Star Wars" series of movies. A "Woodworks" film, "SSW" was written and directed by Gary L. Wood (who also wound up performing in the movie when a key actor failed to show up on "shooting day").
After an accidental meeting with George Lucas that innocently turns into an impromptu kidnapping, chaos becomes the star performer at "Star Wars Celebration II." Will Woody and Hank save the day, release Lucas, preserve the secrecy surrounding Episode III, avoid prison and fulfill a father's promise to his seriously ill son? One has to see the movie to answer those questions, of course, but I can tell you that seeing the movie isn't a bad plan.
While the movie has need of polishing, in that regard it is in good company with a lot of high-budget Hollywood releases that come nowhere near "Saving Star Wars" in terms of having a credible, interesting story and heart. And it is refreshingly free of gratuitous profanity, which again separates it from the mass of big-budget releases.
It is interesting to note, too, that the cast consisted of unpaid actors who did it for the exposure, or for love of "Star Wars," and for the thrill of making a "real" movie. This is not meant to suggest that professional actors should work for peanuts...suffice it to say that, while "Saving Star Wars" (http://www.savingstarwars.com ) is clearly (and correctly, I believe) critical of the parts of the second trilogy that were then (2003) known, it is a lovingly critical work.
Copyright 2005 Kevin P. Murphy
Posted: Sun - October 2, 2005 at 08:58 PM Kevin Murphy's Web Archives New Reviews-2005