September 21, 2004
First of all, if you're a hardcore Kubrick fan, and you have 100 grand to spend on eBay that you decided not spend on Vincent Gallo's camera package when he put it up for sale a few months back, then you should get this.
So today, of course, is September 21st. If you're one of the people who doesn't know the importance of this date, you may also be one of the people who should skip the rest of this entry.
I was sitting at home this afternoon, biding my time with who knows what useless activity, when the UPS truck pulled up outside. The Star Wars trilogy had arrived, and I immediately freaked out. I ordered it months ago, along with THX-1138, and have been growing more and more anxious as this day grew closer.
So far, I've watched most of the special features on the second disc of THX; I'm saving the Zoetrope doc and the commentary tracks for later (probably later tonight, since I'm a model of impatience). Lucas' award winning student film THX-1138: Electronic Labyrinth, upon which the feature was based, was a bit of a revalation; it was far more experimental than the feature film, almost impenetrably dense, and incredibly affecting on a purely sensory level. The editing was fantastic. And it had music from The Yardbirds (my mind instantly started making Antonioni/Blowup connections -- purely speculative, but hey, the chronology works and I'll bet Lucas was a fan). Also, the period featurette with the rather mystical barber was hilariously bizarre.
I then put in the special features disc of the Star Wars trilogy and immediately watched, with the inevitable chills, the Birth Of Darth Vader featurette (reminding me that it's only two months until the first Episode III trailer hits with The Incredibles). I watched a few of the vintage trailers, and then got down to what I really wanted to see: the 2.5 hour doc Empire Of Dreams, which was absolutely revelatory in its archival detail: so much incredible footage, so much history; seeing the tail slate pop up in front of Darth Vader or Carrie Fisher ducking under a C-stand and flag or Chewbacca talking in a british accent are things I never imagined seeing. As familiar as I am with most aspects of the filmmaking process, it's still very hard for me to apply that knowledge to the Star Wars films; they've always defied my technical eye. Watching this documentary reminded me of the day, when I was seven years old, when I was talking about the films with a grade school friend on the swingset in his backyard and asked him "Are you ever going to make a movie?" He responded with a shrug, but it was in the asking of that question, at that precise moment -- and it's one of those memories that I remember every detail of -- that I set myself on this path I'm on right now.
I'm saving the movies themselves for next Monday, when James and I are planning on having a marathon viewing of the whole set. I had an initial pang of conflict when I realized that there was a screening of Sideways that same day that I had planned on going to, with Alexander Payne in attendance -- but it wasn't hard to figure out which would probably be the better experience. If it was I Heart Huckabees, it might have been harder to choose, but it's not, and I can't wait until Monday and I wish we had a widescreen TV.
Posted by David Lowery at September 21, 2004 11:32 PM