A Comparison Of The Star Wars Prequels

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The third and final prequel to George Lucas's Star Wars trilogy Revenge of the Sith is the midpoint of the Star Wars saga. It is the climax of the Star Wars prequels and leads magnificently and flawlessly into the completion of the original trilogy. The original trilogy led up to a happy ending complete with fireworks and scenes of different planets celebrating. The prequels tell a similar hero's journey, but instead of an affirming story about believing in oneself, it is a dire warning about the dangers of arrogance and greed. We are reminded of human valves fear, hatred, greed, pride and "a failure to listen" which lead to the Dark Side. Compassion, love, and non-violence are the real way to peace and justice. I believe this form of storytelling captures the audience which makes the story memorable to the fans and in my opinion this was a successful combination. The following paragraphs will approach the narrative, similarities by comparing the original trilogy with the new trilogy and analysing the key elements of mise en scene used in particular scenes in the film. By doing this, I will discover how the position, colour and framing expresses the message George Lucas wants the viewers to absorb and remember.
The original Star Wars trilogy was explicitly designed to capture and introduce the audience to a new film however the new Star Wars trilogy is clearly designed to please the fans and introduce a new generation to the Star Wars franchise. The films have been extremely popular with all cultures and ages for several decades. As well as being popular Star Wars also conveys many important elements. I believe one of the more prominent themes is the narrative which is displayed throughout the movies as the classic hero’s journey...

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... colour values, and character placement, three elements of mise-en-scene, Revenge of the Sith intensely displays its ability to express emotion and drama. The use of framing allows George Lucas to deliver the messages of freedom or hopelessness whereas the use of colour values demonstrates the ideas of good versus evil. The character placement allows the director to display the power and the meanings each one holds determined by location in the frame whether at the top of the frame, bottom, centred, or shifted. The elements are able to express the struggle of the Jedi and the greed of the Sith. The scene ends as of close-up shot of Anakin’s piercing red eyes, symbolic of fury, aggression, and violence, which are hidden beneath the dark brown hood of his robe Anakin’s path to the dark side is complete and he transforms into a Sith himself into the feared Darth Vader.

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