May 3, 2010: The People vs. George Lucas
I want to do this documentary justice in my review, but I’ll warn you now that I don’t think it’s going to happen. Just see the movie for yourself.
The People vs. George Lucas looks at the push and pull relationship that rabid Star Wars fans of different eras have had with the creator of that universe, writer/director/producer George Lucas. The fans exist in such a twisted state of artistic and business respect and awe, mixed with severe disappointment bordering on disbelief, that even when they are passionately deriding Lucas for what he has done to “destroy” Star Wars, in a way they understand the reasoning, and respect his right to do what feels right for him.
The director of the film, I learned in the Q&A, felt that this story should be told in documentary form and he was surprised that nobody had done it yet. Included are testimonials from the public, the fans, and media celebrities about how they loved the first Star Wars films (1977-1983), and how they have struggled with the implications of the mass merchandising, the revisionist approaches to re-releases of the original films (primarily since 1997), and the inevitable let-down of the three prequel films (1999-2005). At issue are the philosophical question of whether Lucas has the moral right to withhold the original versions of the films in preference for the later versions (there’s no question that he has the legal right), the artistic question of whether the prequels are just as awe-inspiring as the originals were (but for children and not thiry-somethings), and the personal question of why Lucas continues to explore the Star Wars universe and finds him unable to escape it despite his billions of dollars and obvious freedom to do whatever he wants.
It is clear that several long and passionate interviews have been conducted. The structure of the film tends to assemble sound bites from a number of these interviews to speak to a specific point, and then move on to another topic. For me, absolutely the most powerful interview was with Francis Ford Coppola, director of the Godfather films (1972, 1974, 1990) and Apocalypse Now (1979), and friend, mentor, and financial backer of Lucas when he was first starting out in the late 1960s. Coppola speaks from close observation of that young and brilliant filmmaker who brought the world THX-1138 (1971) and American Graffiti (1973), and who so hated his experience with the Hollywood studios that he vowed never again to relinquish control over his artistic output. Coppola clearly admires the artistic craftsmanship and the business acumen which led to the blockbuster performance and merchandising dominance of the original Star Wars trilogy, and comes right out and says that he wonders what other great stories Lucas could have brought to the world if he had been able to escape Star Wars. Coming from any other filmmaker, those words might have been less poignant, but as a man who was nearly broken by his own opus and has never regained his original height of excellence, it’s clear that while Coppola wishes his friend’s career had turned out differently for his friend’s sake, Coppola understands that it’s not that simple.
For anyone who is even a casual fan of Star Wars or the pop-culture phenomenon which surrounds it, this is an entertaining but mostly unchallenging presentation of a story with which we are all familiar. Coppola’s comments, and the acknowledgement that despite his iron grip over copyright Lucas is supportive of amateur fan films, elevate The People vs. George Lucas and help to humanize a man who all too often is reduced to a caricature as the supremely wealthy out-of-touch guy who thought Jar-Jar Binks was a good idea.
Humanizes one of the great filmmakers.
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