ROTTEN TOMATOES: George Lucas - A Super-Producer's History Comments

George Lucas - A Super-Producer's History

by Jen Yamato | May 14, 2008

Summary

Take a closer look at the blockbuster-laden career of Indiana Jones producer George Lucas in our retrospective here. Back to Article

(1-48 of 48 posts) | Reply

jokerboy1991 writes:
on May 14 2008 06:15 PM

Lucas is ausome!!! He made my childhood with Indiana Jones and Star Wars. Sure the new Star Wars werent very good (except III), but still that cant weigh down how incredible the originals were. The only thing I dont like about Lucas is how he double dips dvds! Like how they just released another Indy Series box set, with more special features. It is already rumored and confirmed by many internet sources another Indy box set will be released with all 4 films in October, including on Blu Ray (which I will definately buy). He is still a legend, I cant wait til Indy next week it is going to be amazing, I already got my mid-night show tickets! I also hope they release all 6 STAR WARS movies soon on Blu-Ray to.

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jokerboy1991 writes:
on May 14 2008 06:19 PM

I never knew what was Coppola's and Lucas's dispute over Apocalypse Now? What was it?

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vaodsi writes:
on May 14 2008 06:41 PM

Uhm......Frank Oz voiced Yoda..... not Jim Henson....... but Jim Henson did voice Kermit the Frog... and since both characters are small and green.... I'll cut you slack ;)

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Jen Yamato writes:
on May 14 2008 06:45 PM

In reply to this comment (#1735606)
My bad. I knew it in my head. I meant to point out Henson's part in creating Yoda. 10 points to vaodsi!

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vaodsi writes:
on May 14 2008 06:50 PM

I've got ten points!!!!!! YAY!!!
yeah... i figured it was just a typo.... i didn't know lucas did land before time... it almost is enough to make me realllllly hate him for all the torture he has put me through.... i have four younger siblings who like to watch those movies over and over andover and over and over and over........ :0

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arendr writes:
on May 14 2008 06:51 PM

In reply to this comment (#1735565)
I've never heard of a "dispute" over Apocalypse Now. My understanding of the story is that Lucas was originally slated to direct the film. He intended to shoot it in a documentary style, a la The Battle of Algiers. It never happened, and Lucas started developing the story for Star Wars.

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Lesser Known Saint writes:
on May 14 2008 07:06 PM

Oh Lucas, how I adore your blockbusters and no so blockbustery movies. Willow and Labyrinth still make me feel like a little kid again.

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Lesser Known Saint writes:
on May 14 2008 07:07 PM

Oh Lucas, how I adore your blockbusters and no so blockbustery movies. Willow and Labyrinth still make me feel like a little kid again.

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Floor Man writes:
on May 14 2008 08:06 PM

The only reason I would ever dislike Annie Hall is because it, not Star Wars, won Best Picture in 1977.

:)

Kudos to Lucas! Love him or hate him, he's helped in the creation of too many good movies to spurn him in regards to his skills at producing.

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SciFiGuy213 writes:
on May 14 2008 08:37 PM

Lucas should next take on making a series of movies of the Lensman Series written by E. E. "Doc" Smith. Since he has shown such an awesome ability to do space opera he should be the one to make movies of the best ever space opera series ever written.

Please Please Please George.

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Shadowflare writes:
on May 14 2008 09:00 PM

Blah. Howard the Duck. :s

Factor Indy into this list though, and it's a great career overall.

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jeffcooper writes:
on May 14 2008 10:05 PM

Thank you George for making this world a better place through lengendary entertainment! A world without Star Wars is unthinkable!

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sunsaz writes:
on May 14 2008 10:30 PM

While Lucas may not be an actor's director nor have the relationships with the Hollywood powers-that-be, he knows how to create a fantastic story and successfully translate it into a film. If not for Star Wars, there wouldn't have been Alien, Raiders, The Abyss, Lord of the Rings, and who knows how many other memorable films since then. And this is all before taking into account the contributions made from ILM, THX, and all the other specialty companies started by Lucas. God only knows what the business would've been like these past 30 years had it not been for his contributions.

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smi1ey writes:
on May 14 2008 10:30 PM

this was very cool! a couple surprises for me.

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Coyote22 writes:
on May 14 2008 11:04 PM

Thanks George for having the guts to make Star Wars when, in the beginning, no one really believed in it... you really revolutionized cinema. May the Force well, you know the rest.

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barnaby Jones writes:
on May 15 2008 02:14 AM

Good to see people acknowledging Lucas's finer moments. The way people B***H about him, is like every other producer/director/writer have flawless resume's. The fact is he's made alot of great films and some damn good ones too, i have enjoyed Labyrinth, Willow, Episode's I & II, hell i even have a soft spot for Howard The Duck.
I can't wait to see Indy's next adventure either.

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xenogears writes:
on May 15 2008 04:55 AM

Lucas for prestident 2016!!!!!!!!!!!

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Xspades3434 writes:
on May 15 2008 05:36 AM

What about American Graffiti ?

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3263827 writes:
on May 15 2008 05:39 AM

In reply to this comment (#1735562)
I always thought Lucas produced the Dark Crystal for Jim Henson too. No?

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Shatter24 writes:
on May 15 2008 06:39 AM

Good to see Lucas getting the respect he deserves. He is a visionary and the world would be a bland-er place without his creations.

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Merlin235 writes:
on May 15 2008 07:18 AM

Lucas is a lesson to all of us: stick to what you're really good at. He is an amazing producer with a fantastic imagination. A brilliant film vissionary...who possesses the writing and directing skills of a 10 year old. His best work was producing and creating, while leaving the directing to others (Star Wars Ep: V, VI, Willow, Indiana Jones, etc). Thanks for creating some awesome characters.

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arendr writes:
on May 15 2008 07:36 AM

Lucas may be a poor writer of dialogue, but he isn't a "bad" director. Please watch THX 1138 and American Graffiti before you say that. The acting problems in the new trilogy were caused more by the script than the direction.

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TombstoneLawDog writes:
on May 15 2008 08:52 AM

In reply to this comment (#1736001)
Dude- Lucas wrote the scripts for all three new movies. He was joined by Jonathan Hales on writing the second one, but that's HIS dialogue.

He is a gifted visionary and we owe him a large part of our collective imagination's childhood. ..and this doesn't remotely change the fact that he has not been a good director for at least twenty-five years.

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arendr writes:
on May 15 2008 09:54 AM

In reply to this comment (#1736035)
Did you misinterpret what I said Tombstone? I know he wrote the scripts, and they were terrible.

I'm merely saying that he's a very talented director. You can't say that someone is a bad director because the script is terrible. A bad script will make any movie hard to sit through, no matter how good the direction is.

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tgibfo writes:
on May 15 2008 10:13 AM

One has to weigh the brilliance and gratitude one has for Lucas for effectively creating some of their best childhood memories with the revulsion and anger one has for Lucas for effectively skewering their childhood memories with "upgrades" and awful prequels.

As a friend pointed out, quite correctly, the man has been responsible for six of my favorite movies of all time, so really, I'll just try to ignore SW 1-3 as best as I can.

I want to be a Wookiee in the TV show.....

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tgibfo writes:
on May 15 2008 10:20 AM

I would argue, by the way, that a really good director is one who can not only move the camera well, but who can pull good performances out of his/her actors - a director is responsible for the whole visual package, including knowing when the source material is weak and needs an upgrade. Lucas isn't that.

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TombstoneLawDog writes:
on May 15 2008 11:35 AM

In reply to this comment (#1736078)
Arendr, I'm rejecting the idea that there is a substantial difference, where one person is responsible for both script AND direction (AND casting, AND production design...)- Lucas *KNEW* what he wanted the scenes to look like when he wrote the script. He CHOSE to direct exactly what was written. Choosing to direct a sh#tty script when you have as much ABSOLUTE control over a project as Lucas did means Lucas, as director of this project, was not very good.

NEVERTHELESS, his direction was pretty mediocre, even from a standpoint of direction alone. All three of the films focused on how things LOOKED- beautiful space ships. Lush alien worlds. Exotic aliens, pain-stakingly rendered with the latest in CGI. Almost NONE of it necessary, and almost ALL of it distracting. Where's my proof? Compare any of these three movies with the original, both in content and effects. Ask yourself: 'which was better?' Then ask: 'Which had bigger spectacle?'

My final argument; when Lucas went back and re-released the 'real' trilogy in the 90's, what did he do? Added more effects. What did this add to the films? NOTHING, and nothing we wanted for, the first time around.
Or, for example, did you WANT Greedo to shoot first? Or did you NEED that scene with Han talking to Jabba? Style over substance.

Great visionary and gifted man. Bad director.

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arendr writes:
on May 15 2008 11:53 AM

In reply to this comment (#1736165)
Thanks for elaborating, and I do agree with you to a certain extent. I think there was some fantastic direction in the new prequels at points though. The scene where Padme and Anakin are staring out the windows right before he kills Windu is a much more powerful scene than any time they were in the same room.

Perhaps the technological limitations of the 70s are what made him such a fantastic director at that time. He wasn't able to overpopulate his films with his effects, so it made them much more seamless, and less cartoony. Look at how Nolan or Aronofsky have used effects in their recent films. It ends up looking much more organic, and I believe, more powerful.

I think Lucas' sandbox is too big. He needs to be confined and limited to really produce strong work.

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AudioNinja writes:
on May 15 2008 11:53 AM

um, no love for American Graffitti?

==TJ==

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arendr writes:
on May 15 2008 12:35 PM

In reply to this comment (#1736183)
The article is about films he produced.

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Jen Yamato writes:
on May 15 2008 03:03 PM

Word, arendr. I like your observation about constraint; "necessity is the mother of invention."

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Dachshund96 writes:
on May 15 2008 03:55 PM

Lucas can't make any mistakes at all because if he does he will just edit them into something else later.

Surely Han didnt shoot first. He would never do something like that.

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bijibadness writes:
on May 15 2008 04:27 PM

In reply to this comment (#1736437)
oh boo hoo

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arendr writes:
on May 15 2008 07:02 PM

In reply to this comment (#1736388)
Thanks Jen!

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GameDesigner writes:
on May 15 2008 11:01 PM

Lucas has always been a GREAT storyteller. But as a writer and director, he falls short. That's why Star Wars V is considered the best because Lawrence Kasdan wrote it and Kershner directed it. That's also why, after eagerly looking forward to the next trilogy, I immediately noticed how BAAAD the dialog and acting was in parts 1-3. Meessa so sorry but that's how it is.

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Lost*Highway* writes:
on May 16 2008 02:48 AM

Nothing but rubbish.

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skingus12 writes:
on May 16 2008 05:03 AM

In reply to this comment (#1736865)
Could you do better? WTF.

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High School With Money writes:
on May 16 2008 11:12 AM

Even in a celebratory news item of Lucas, the haters have come out in "drove". That's right, a singular drove as always. They STILL can't stop flappin' their toothless gums about him, which is why he pohnz them all. Be sure to kiss your autograph prequel DVDs goodnight, haters.

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Jedi Master 007 writes:
on May 16 2008 12:38 PM

Go Lucas my fav. director

Whooo

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gm1200 writes:
on May 16 2008 08:37 PM

In reply to this comment (#1735606)
It doesn't say Henson voiced Yoda...just that he helped create him. Which he did. which is how Frank Oz came to voice him since he and Henson were virtually inseperable.

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gm1200 writes:
on May 16 2008 08:48 PM

and why do the prequal haters have to chime in every time Lucas is mentioned?!?!?!

Episodes 1-3 were good movies. Period. Not up to the standard we expected, but better than 75% of the Sci-fi movies out there. We all expected more, so most of us were disappointed...but some of us have gotten over it and accepted that the movies were fine if not held up for comparison with the originals.

As for Lucas "upgrading" the originals...the guy loves tech...that was a huge part of what made the originals so amazing. The problem is, now that he can't innovate to the same degree (because thanks to him, everyone is trying to do the same thing) I think he tries too hard. I really can't blame him at all for that. The additions to episodes 4-6 were certainly not necessary, but they didn't hurt the films either. Watch whichever version you want. I really enjoyed some scenes (Han & Jabba) and cringed at other changes (the new Dewbacks looked stupid)...the man was trying to innovate...not all attempts at innovation are successful, but where would the industry be if the man had never taken a shot?

Cut him some slack, ya bunch of whiners...

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Lost*Highway* writes:
on May 16 2008 09:17 PM

In reply to this comment (#1736993)
So I have to like the crap he makes because I can't go out and make Star Wars....OK right.

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Dachshund96 writes:
on May 17 2008 03:48 PM

Its not Lucas's birthday. He wasn't satisfied with the results so he rewrote and reshot some stuff so now it is his birthday.

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JUDGE DREDD writes:
on May 18 2008 07:53 PM

Lucas has made the greatest movies in film history! Star Wars! FACT! And for those that still insist he raped your childhood! HAHAHAHAHAHA! Grow a pair!

GL tought hollywood a valuable lesson, when they laughed in the face of his idea for a Space adventure they thought he was nuts. He got rejected lots of times, he thought his own film was going to bomb and it ended up smashing world records, redefined special effects and has made him a BILLIONaire!!!

Thats gotta be the single most biggest UP-YOURS in the history of mankind!

Maximum respect George. Now whens your Biopic movie coming out? You deserve one the most. I guess you aint ready to stop giving us more star wars and Indy. I aint complaining!

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tomwaitsjr writes:
on May 19 2008 03:40 PM

Lucas,

Don't direct a film again.

Ever.

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nathanl75 writes:
on May 27 2008 02:05 PM

As someone who loved Star Wars as a child, I'll say it: Lucas SUCKS!!! The Prequals were uniformly terrible and I pity any sucker foolish enough to put down money for his latest back-the-well project with Indiana Jones (which should be titled "the search for Speilburg and Lucas' retirement funds).

It's too bad he's got the money, but he sure don't have the glory...

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nathanl75 writes:
on May 27 2008 02:08 PM

Oh-- and another thing-- how many times has Lucas repackaged the three REAL Stars Wars movies and sold them those diehard suckers? I'm noticing he hasn't done that with the newer ones----yet.

I think that's his only regret with how bad the prequals were: is that he won't get to soak a new generation of suckers with marginal re-issues until the end of time...

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killermonkey8822 writes:
on May 28 2008 07:58 PM

Star wars series changed movies, and it's cool how he always tries new things, but honestly i am not a huge fan of his movies

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