Message-ID: <1953@sri-arpa.UUCP>
Date: Wed, 15-Jun-83 02:22:30 EDT
Article-I.D.: sri-arpa.1953
Posted: Wed Jun 15 02:22:30 1983
Date-Received: Tue, 14-Jun-83 05:09:44 EDT
Lines: 27

From:     Jim Meehan 

1.  "Mark Terribile, Duke of deNet" was unhappy with the emperor's
    getting physical in the final scene.  "It would have been far better
    if he sat with his eye [sic] closed as the sparks engulfed Luke..."
    I think he misses the chief effect of the emperor.  As illogical
    as it may seem, it's scarier to see this shriveled, old wight coming
    at you, hands all gnarled in spell-casting mode, etc.  As a friend
    of mine pointed out, it's the Wicked Witch of the West all over
    again, and that's why it's so powerful:  there's no terror like
    a old terror, and no one forgets the Wicked Witch of the West.
    For me, the emperor is by far the most memorable character in RotJ;
    DV is next; the utterly and wonderfully repulsive Jabba comes third.
    It is for creating (and resurrecting) images like this that Lucas
    deserves a great deal of credit.

2.  The next time you see it, listen carefully when Chewie and the
    Ewoks swing onto the top of the walker.  Yep, a Tarzan yell.

3.  If you get a chance to see it when there are lots of little kids
    in the sudience, pass it up.  Go to the midnight show if you have
    to, but the second time I saw it, some nearby tots made me wish
    I had the powers of the Dark Side.  The first time I saw it (at
    the first local performance), the crowd went wild, and the tension
    in the scene where Vader is deciding whether to grab the emperor
    ran high -- chants of "Do it!  Do it!"  Great.
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