The Killer Movie: The Phantom Menace Star Wars has written a lot of checks to date: it's a cultural phenomenon with a reach that will probably outlive a good deal of its original cast, and very probably its creator, who has just made the prudent decision to sell the property to a mouse for a planet's ransom. The impact of Star Wars is even more impressive when you consider that its creator, and the director who brought us the first one, is in fact a very meagerly talented sort, whose writing is handicapped by a lack of restraint, and who has shown far more recently that his vision should have been taken away from him a long, long time ago. A New Hope was a great film: it was the film that launched a million spaceships, and its impact can not be overstated. At its helm, Lucas was uncharacteristically understated, and managed to pull together a massive cast, complex plot strands and whole new cultures without compromising on the entertainment factor. And we loved him for it. Then he moved over and allowed two more talented directors to make the following sequels, to greater success, and gained further acclaim by proximity. But then, when it came time to relaunch the series with a prequel trilogy, Lucas stepped back into the fold and proved with the first/fourth film that he wasn't a director, and nor should he ever be allowed to try it again. For the very few high points, there were massive problems in framing, story-telling and characterisations, and Lucas was to blame for all of it. He's remarkably lucky he was the controlling power behind Star Wars, as someone else might have chosen to move him on, and let someone else tackle Episodes II and III, because otherwise his career as a director would have been over long before now. But then, Lucas doesn't care if he's ruined his artistic integrity, or urinated all over the legacy of his good earlier works, because money. And specifically, because mountains of money. Did we miss any directors who've ruined their whole career or reputation with a single film? Share your own picks below.
The Killer Movie: The Phantom Menace Star Wars has written a lot of checks to date: it's a cultural phenomenon with a reach that will probably outlive a good deal of its original cast, and very probably its creator, who has just made the prudent decision to sell the property to a mouse for a planet's ransom. The impact of Star Wars is even more impressive when you consider that its creator, and the director who brought us the first one, is in fact a very meagerly talented sort, whose writing is handicapped by a lack of restraint, and who has shown far more recently that his vision should have been taken away from him a long, long time ago. A New Hope was a great film: it was the film that launched a million spaceships, and its impact can not be overstated. At its helm, Lucas was uncharacteristically understated, and managed to pull together a massive cast, complex plot strands and whole new cultures without compromising on the entertainment factor. And we loved him for it. Then he moved over and allowed two more talented directors to make the following sequels, to greater success, and gained further acclaim by proximity. But then, when it came time to relaunch the series with a prequel trilogy, Lucas stepped back into the fold and proved with the first/fourth film that he wasn't a director, and nor should he ever be allowed to try it again. For the very few high points, there were massive problems in framing, story-telling and characterisations, and Lucas was to blame for all of it. He's remarkably lucky he was the controlling power behind Star Wars, as someone else might have chosen to move him on, and let someone else tackle Episodes II and III, because otherwise his career as a director would have been over long before now. But then, Lucas doesn't care if he's ruined his artistic integrity, or urinated all over the legacy of his good earlier works, because money. And specifically, because mountains of money. Did we miss any directors who've ruined their whole career or reputation with a single film? Share your own picks below.