MissSimonetta From the title, you'd expect The People vs. George Lucas (2010) to be a total hate-fest, but this documentary is actually more balanced than one would expect. It is a film which is honest in admitting its disdain for Lucas' choice to suppress the original theatrical versions of the original Star Wars trilogy in favor of the (mostly wretched) special editions which showcase his "true vision," but it also remembers that none of the Star Wars franchise would have existed without Lucas, even if he is not 100% responsible for the greatness of the older films.The director interviewed all sorts of folks, from those who were impacted by Star Wars in 1977, to hardcore fans who show their love via cosplay and fan films, to film industry experts, to young kids who were acquainted with the franchise through the prequel trilogy. The interviews are fascinating. My favorite sequence covered the anticipation and following disappointment attached to the release of The Phantom Menace (1999) as recollected by fans who waited hours in line to see it on opening night.However, the film's central flaw is that the final five minutes essentially say, "Yeah, George screwed up, but we can't hate him too much, right? We can't really blame him for anything!" This spits on all the points the director and the majority of his subjects made.Like I said before, this film was not a hate-fest and did admit gratitude for the good Lucas has done as a filmmaker; but as a film history buff and as a Star Wars fan, it is hard for me to just hand wave those special editions and Lucas' blatant contempt for his fan base in telling them they're wrong to enjoy or want the original cuts back. If we can live in a world where five versions of Blade Runner (1982) can coexist in the same set, then what's the big deal with wanting two versions of Star Wars? I can forgive the prequels and Crystal Skull (Lucas is not the first person to make a bad movie, let's face it), but it's hard to let go of what he has done to those earlier movies, which are among the most important in cinematic history.I think both Star Wars nerds and film buffs will enjoy this documentary. It's not terribly long and the interviews are fantastic.

Dalbert Pringle I can honestly say that I am one who has never really given a sweet-damn about either George Lucas or his precious Star Wars movies (neither the prequels nor the sequels).But, as I quickly found out through this truly "grate-on-your-nerves" documentary, the blind devotion of Lucas's many, many fans (as of 2010) is as rabid & deranged as you could ever believe possible.For 90 solid minutes these disillusioned ones (from all walks of life) bitched & beefed, ad nauseum, about the betrayal they believed Lucas served them (even though they still adore him) when (20 years later) he offered up Star Wars: Episodes 1 & 2, a pair of supremely inferior prequels to the original, 1977 movie.From where I was sitting, I certainly found all of the reverence, all of the loyalty, and all of the gushing of these fans over George-dearest to be downright irritating.I'd say that this ding-dong documentary was strictly "bottom-of-the-barrel" entertainment.*Note* - For anyone who's interested - As of 2013, George Lucas's net worth was estimated at being $5 billion. (Oh? Yeah? And, may the farts be with you, George!... Ha!)

Michael_Elliott People vs. George Lucas, The (2010) **** (out of 4) I must admit right up front that I'm not a fan of the STAR WARS series. I thought the first three films were very good to excellent but I'm not part of the fandom. As for the most recent trilogy, I will admit that I stopped after the second film but I do eventually plan on hitting the third. When I heard about this documentary the first thing that came to my mind was that a bunch of angry fans had made a movie where they were going to sit around and talk about how evil George Lucas is. Boy, was I wrong and in fact this documentary is one of the most entertaining and well-made that I've seen in a very long time. Whenever I discuss this series with fans, I'm always confused as to what the big deal is about the series, the alternate versions or the hated shown for Lucas. After viewing this film I can say that all of my questions were answered and as a casual viewer I must say that this film did wonders in regards to explaining everything. There are several moments where fans scream and curse Lucas but thankfully the film isn't just a bunch of angry people letting loose. Instead we get a pretty smart documentary that covers a wide range of topics including a very heated one about who these films actually belong to. Many people say the artist should make the film that he wants to and the "work" is "his" but that opinion certainly isn't a very popular one when it comes to this series. That topic is debated as is how big the "Special Edition" versions really are and if anyone should be upset with them. Of course, the person who hurts Lucas the most is Lucas himself. Back in 1988 he testified about how B&W films shouldn't be colorized and that the "original versions" should always be on display. Then, it goes without saying, he has pretty much taken away the original versions of these films. THE PEOPLE VS. GEORGE LUCAS not only debates the SW series but we even see the fan hatred due to the fourth Indiana Jones film. Throughout the film we get all sorts of clips from fan movies, which I found pretty cool and it was really interesting seeing how Lucas never used legal action against people using his characters (ask a Prince fan about his various lawsuits over fans using what he "owns"). I'm sure the debate could go both fans but as a casual fan I think this documentary is a must see for fans, people like myself and even those who hate the series.

Mr-Fusion "The People vs. George Lucas" is a film that sets out to examine the animosity shared by a great number of Star Wars fans over the changes made to the Original Trilogy (among other grievances). Included here are interviewers with every known type of Star Wars fan: the casual goer, the passionate geek, and the bitter extremist who took his/her passion too far. The film does raise some interesting questions at the heart of the matter:1. What, exactly, does Lucas owe his fans? 2. Are the more bitter of the fanbase blinded by passion (and therefore cannot evaluate the new movies on their own merits)? 3. Perhaps most importantly, *Who Owns Star Wars?*With a title like "The People vs. George Lucas", it's expected to see the man put on trial, so to speak. And to an extent, that's what we get here. But objectivity suffers when the film is anchored by fan interviews, and the only soundbites we get from Lucas himself are taken from talk show interviews and documentaries done years ago. And it's the preoccupation with the angry hordes that tends to bog down the film; a 90-minute movie tends to run long when things devolve into a fun and playful look at just how far these people take these movies. So nothing is really answered here, aside from the obvious "Wow, these people are crazy!" sentiment, which we already knew before going in. It's no different than watching "Trekkies" just to laugh at the nerds. You end up asking yourself, "What's the point?"5/10