The Wookie Has No Pants

i am not a pale, geeky 30 year old guy who has a room in his house devoted to jedi memorabilia. i didn't wait in line to see the first midnight showing of the Phantom Menace. i do not reference (or even know the difference between) boba fett, jango fett, and any other fetts there are.

i DO believe that in one way, Star Wars has been the defining movie of my young life, if not the greatest movie i've seen. it's the movie i watch when i'm bored/alone/exhausted/lazy/done with homework/avoiding homework/etc. i've probably watched it more times than any other movie in my life, and i use it as a rubric for all other movies i see, whether conciously or subconciously. does it have a way cool story? check. character development? check. a way cute major character? check (harrison ford, not mark hamill. though when i was eight, it was all about Luke). were the actors cast to fit the movie, instead of the movie being cast for the actors? check.

all the movies that i like fit those criteria that were set in my mind be repeated viewings of Star Wars from the time i first watching movies. Breaking Away, A Room With a View, Much Ado About Nothing, The Princess Bride, and disney's Robing Hood (mmm mmm gotta love that sexy fox! really. i do.) all have each of those elements. ooh! i just thought of two more elements that stem from Star Wars: great soundtrack, and comedy! and each of those movies have those as well.

so of course when i was flipping around the channels tonight and ran across a documentary, i stopped there and didn't get off the couch for two hours. it was interesting, going through the story of production, etc. i particularly enjoyed seeing shots of stuff like yoda disappearing into the ground as the puppeteer lowered his arm, or artoo rolling down an incline that ends up being too inclined so he just falls on his face (funny to see, but prolly wasn't too fun for the guy in the suit). and it was great fun to hear about the stuff the argued about; whether it should be Return of the Jedi or Revenge of the Jedi, whether or not it was obscene that Chewbacca was completely naked, etc.

the thing that REALLY made me scream (i literally yelled out loud when i saw this) was a commercial. for the original trilogy. on dvd.

let me repeat: ON DVD.

i don't know if this is just newly announced, or if everybody already knows about it. but it was the first i'd heard it advertised, and i'm just ecstatic. i've been waiting for this ever since dvd's came into fashion, and especially since we got one. i went out shopping one day about a year ago, thinking, it'd be nice to have star wars on dvd, cause our tapes aren't quite cutting it anymore. and i was dumbfounded, shocked, and deeply disturbed that there was no such thing. i had just taken it for granted that they would be sitting there on the shelf, waiting to be purchased. i mean, they have some of the crappiest, not-even-worth-watching-on-tv movies totally stocked up in dvd form at walmart. i just bought Labyrinth on dvd a few weeks ago (i know, either you're thinking "she BOUGHT that piece of crap movie?!" or you're thinking "how DARE she call that movie not even worth watching on tv?!" for me, it's neither, and it's both. it draws me.).

so yes. i will totally purchase the dvd's. probably not on the 21st, when they come out, but perhaps within a week or two. because i watch the trilogy several times each year, and why watch vhs when you can watch dvd? with bonus features!