Get ready to shell out more for Star Wars

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The interesting part of the article is that they haven't been updated with any new remastering since 1993, and that's the source for the DVD's.

In other words, it won't look nearly as good as the others.
 
eh, am I the only one who kind of likes the new cuts?

except for the shit they did for the 04 DVD release.

Hayden Christensen at the end of ROTJ is a travesty.
 
LemonMacPhisto said:

Hayden Christensen at the end of ROTJ is a travesty.

Don't really see it that way. It's the same thing as when they replaced the Ewok celebration song with the montage of all the worlds celebrating for the Special Edition. You really have to look at the big picture--when considered in the context of a 6-film saga, the changes make sense. The story is about the fall and eventual redemption of Anakin Skywalker. Putting Hayden there with the other spirits gives the arc a lot more closure than having some old dude who was in the saga for 2 minutes. I also thought reshooting the Empire Strikes Back scenes with Ian McDiarmid as the Emperor was totally necessary, and redubbing Boba Fett's voice with the actor who played Jango in the prequels was a nice touch.

Ultimately, the Special Editions (and DVD editions) are vast improvements; the quality of the effects match a little better between the trilogies, and despite a few quibbles like Greedo shooting first and the extension of an already-idiotic dance number in Jedi, they make for a better viewing experience, especially for those people watching the whole thing many years from now. Again, the big picture. Star Wars is going to be around as long as people are still watching movies.
 
lazarus said:


Don't really see it that way. It's the same thing as when they replaced the Ewok celebration song with the montage of all the worlds celebrating for the Special Edition. You really have to look at the big picture--when considered in the context of a 6-film saga, the changes make sense. The story is about the fall and eventual redemption of Anakin Skywalker. Putting Hayden there with the other spirits gives the arc a lot more closure than having some old dude who was in the saga for 2 minutes. I also thought reshooting the Empire Strikes Back scenes with Ian McDiarmid as the Emperor was totally necessary, and redubbing Boba Fett's voice with the actor who played Jango in the prequels was a nice touch.

Ultimately, the Special Editions (and DVD editions) are vast improvements; the quality of the effects match a little better between the trilogies, and despite a few quibbles like Greedo shooting first and the extension of an already-idiotic dance number in Jedi, they make for a better viewing experience, especially for those people watching the whole thing many years from now. Again, the big picture. Star Wars is going to be around as long as people are still watching movies.

The Ian McDiarmid scene was a bit iffy for me, it already alludes to Luke being Vader's son, and while that isn't shocking to most of this generation, it might kind of spoil it for future viewers.

I agree on the Temuera Morrison dubbing Boba Fett thing, that was cool.

but why not show Ewan McGregor at the end of ROTJ? Or add Sam Jackson or Liam Neeson? I don't like Lucas changing the Old Trilogy to fit the mold of the New Trilogy, I think it should be the other way around.
 
I'd love to have the OT on DVD...

...but I'll be damned if I'm going to spend another $50 to get it this fall. Instead, I'll find the OT DVDs at a video store and rent them this fall(if they're available to be rented), and duplicate them in my home, and return the originals. The rental would cost me about $5, max.

Here's the deal: I am a huge Star Wars fan. I saw the SE OT in theaters in 1997. I purchased the SE OT VHS tapes in 1997. I paid to see all three prequels in theaters shortly after the release of each in 1999, 2002, and 2005. I paid to purchase all three prequels on DVD PLUS the Episode I VHS before its DVD was available. In 2004, I paid for the SE OT 4-Disc DVD set. Over the years, I've paid for multiple Star Wars video games as well. I(and my parents, for the ones that were birthday gifts), have given George Lucas's company a LOT of money.

And when the 2004 DVD set was released, he did the equivilant of looking his legions of fans in the face, including myself, and lying to their(our) faces. He said the OT didn't exist anymore, that the master tapes were destroyed, and that the OT would NEVER see the light of day again. Sure, say the lot of us should have seen that it was a lie from a mile away. That may be true. But that doesn't make it ok for Lucas to lie to the fans that made him rich like that.

To me, when George Lucas tells a BIG, BOLD-FACED LIE, to the legions of fans that made him filthy rich(including myself), about the thing that those fans hold dearest to their(our) hearts SW-wise(the OT), that is essentially him saying 'fuck you' to those legions of fans. And it seems to me that it is only poetic justice if I simply make duplicates of rented copies of the OOT DVDs. That's me saying 'Fuck YOU' right back to him.
 
Actually, the original prints for the original movies have been destroyed. Lucas wasn't lying about that at all.

But he is lying if he thinks the best quality out there is from the same source as the laserdisc from 1993. High quality interpositive prints still exist, and a decent transfer can still be made from those.

To add insult to injury, the original cuts won't even be in anamorphic widescreen, and that is quite pathetic. Anyone willing to buy these things is not only wasting money, but essentially telling Lucas that it doesn't matter what quality they are in.

I do like your idea of making copies for yourself just to have the originals around until correct, updated versions are released. Lucas doesn't deserve the extra sales at this point.

And you just know some sort of big 30th anniversary thing will come out next year, anyway...
 
Hmm, I wonder how much my Widescreen VHS collection is worth now?:hmm:

George Lucas is overrated scum. He has only directed a handful of films, ripped off every single other culture around the world to create his space western trilogy. Granted the first three were classics (although the Ewoks get on everyone's nerves) but the last three were CGI porn.

I laugh everytime I read or hear Lucas talk about how he had the whole thing worked out beforehand. For a guy who wasn't too keen on the DVD format initially, he certainly likes to gouge the people who have made him a billionaire. What an a***ole!!!!
 
A lot of people early on in the thread overlooked the good news about them re-releasing the original versions of the trilogy.

There are so many people out there (myself included) who would like to own the original trilogy in its original, theatrical, un-spiffed-up, non-spliced format. They were such a great cinamatic achievement in special effects for the time they were released, and I'm glad I waited until now to buy the originals on DVD.
 
Canadiens1160 said:
A lot of people early on in the thread overlooked the good news about them re-releasing the original versions of the trilogy.

There are so many people out there (myself included) who would like to own the original trilogy in its original, theatrical, un-spiffed-up, non-spliced format. They were such a great cinamatic achievement in special effects for the time they were released, and I'm glad I waited until now to buy the originals on DVD.

Why do you want the originals uncut, and unspiffed up? And how old were you when you saw them? Just testing a theory..
 
trevster2k said:


Why do you want the originals uncut, and unspiffed up? And how old were you when you saw them? Just testing a theory..
I was around 6 when I first saw them in the early 90s over a year or two.

And I'd like the originals for the same reason that I would keep the original Jaws over a re-release adding a CGI shark, additional scenes, and special features. For the same reason I'd keep the original Bladerunner director's cut over a re-release. I can overlook an obviously blue-screened Messerschmitt in Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade because it's a great film on its own.

The original Star Wars films were fine, and were previously avaliable in good quality only on Laserdisc. Now I can own them on DVD - specifically one side of the disc will be the Special Edition, and the other the Original Theatrical version.

You're getting the best of both worlds anyway.
 
Ok, a lot of older fans like myself want it for sentimental reasons. I saw those movies when I was 11 and 13. And like you said, it was before the CGI and showed the ingenuity of early special effects people.

Lucas doesn't understand that films, like music, are time capsules which put people in a time of their life or he doesn't care. Plus what about those people who worked to create those primitive effects on film who won accolades at the time for their revolutionary work. Apparently, Lucas feels their contribution to filmmaking should be ignored and only his vision of the film should be allowed for future generations. I got my widescreen originals already so Lucas can suck eggs.

Oh, and then everyone has to wait for the blu-ray or HD-dvd versions too.
 
Good God, don't even get me thinking about HD/Blueray BS. They've fucked both formats over with the inadequate first-gen players, manditory digital rights management in 2010, and other stumbles.

I'll definetly be under the 'late-adopter' crowd for next-gen DVD, and will probably only buy ROTJ HD for obvious Princess Boobular reasons.
 
I'm all for the originals being released without any altering whatsoever. But to use the same source that was used for the laserdisc back in 1993, and to not even have them in anamorphic widescreen, is an absolute tragedy. I want him to release them, but I want him to release them in the best possibe way.

This is not it.
 
I heard these are actually going to mimic the theatrical releases........so they won't match up with the "original" VHS tapes either (pretty much everything from the 80's through the mid-90's THX release)......shouldn't be too many differences, although the most noticeable is that "A New Hope" doesn't have an "Episode ___" title......
 
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