Originally posted by Jedi Priestess
well what ya do is......take a classic movie and then f*ck around with it and then release it on DVD in a form OTHER that the theatrical release and piss off your fans.
Sorry, JP, but in my opinion, only irritating purists think like this. I saw the originals first and I have no cloud of nostalgia making me think they are better. GL has done the right thing.
And I am sorry... but all of you are proudly displaying these ridiculously juvenile pics and still not seeing, as mephisto so clearly described earlier, that the colour of the sabre in that scene is NOT green! In case you missed what he said:
"The saber probably looked white/faint blue like the other shots, but when uping the color levels (i.e. cyan--photoshop users, I KNOW you know what I'm talkn' bout, cmyk?) the print had cyan added to it to bring up the picture quality and put a slight tint on the whitish/blue blade, hence the slightly more green appearance. It is blue, with the cyan tint from them increasing the cmyk levels in the shot. Ush is right.
The menu screen of luke training had an animated blade done by the DVD production crew. It is NOT the same as the film version. That's why they look different."
And the thing about the purple sabres is simple. Given a shot from AOTC bfore its realse, people swore blind that there were at least three or four other purple sabres in the arena. No amount of of screenshots would dissuade them from this thinking, no matter how much the same colour-shift point we are making here was pointed out.
Well, they were wrong, and they never saw it. The sabres were blue, but in those particular frames they looked purple. The same here- Luke's bright cyan sabre is cyan all the way, but for a few moments you can easily confuse it for light green, or white. But it is NOT. It is cyan, and everyone who thinks different has a simple problem with observing colour- and anyone who thinks that by re-colouring a SINGLE frame they have proven anything, is an idiot.
And SS... no you couldn't, don't be silly.
Originally posted by Cinemaddiction
In the figurative sense, Anakin is dead, which gave birth to Darth Vader. That's what I was implying........
Kind of odd to hear Temuera Morrison doing the voice of Jango Fett, and it still has Clive Revell credited as the voice of the Emporer? Did Ian McDiarmid not do both the voice and new Emporer hologram? If so, Lucas forgot to amend the credits for the 1997 SE of ESB.
..........
Well, if Anakin was "dead", you could also say he was "reborn" when he helped Luke kill the emperor. We could go on and on with the stupid reasoning, so I still say it's CRAAAAPPP!!!! It's simply stupid. I can't help think that Luke is looking at a child, who's supposed to be his "father".
And yes, I believe they changed Boba Fett's voice specially the "..he's worth a lot to me" part. I've watched these movies (in the unmolested versions) a lot of times to notice it.
I think the only way to stop fickle-minded Lucas from making continuous changes to his films is to kill him.
Or not buy the damn film, if you don't want changes. This moaning is ridiculous. He hasn't gone around and mangled all your old copies; if you preferred them, you still HAVE them. That being the case, you shouldn't give a damn what changes he makes subsequently; if you don't like, don't get; all this 'we must stop Lucas making changes' crud is simply juvenile.
OOooh... temper temper.... THis is still a free forum, people can have their opinion.
On the bright side... I have it to. It's still in plastic and hope to check out the rancor scene and ANH tonight. IMHO ANH was the only one (apart from the Rancor Scene in ROTJ) that was in dire need of some touch ups. The old ANH was already dependent on special effects in an age where they still had to be invented. Now that technology allows those effects to look they way they should have, is fine with me. Also, Mos Eisley looks a tad daft in comparisons to all otyher films. I loved what GL did to it in the SE and am looking forward to what he did here. Taking out matte lines, make snow and sand look pretty: great changes. I saw what they did to classics like Lawrence of Arabia and Dr. Zhivago and who can be mad with anyone making the films look prettier and more pristine, as if you're looking at the first copy off the negative.
However, I find little things disturbing like the Emperor dialogue in ESB... that is more like Gl clearing his tracks for changes he makes in the PT. Now if he changed it with some good lines and good dialogue, well, ya know... maybe. But this is no improvement and all to make it fit with ROTS. I'd say: be creative and make ROTS fits ESB. THat change has nothing to do with "this is the movie I always wanted to make". Just be honest and say: the PT's are changing my perspective on the OT, so I'm making changes so the OT fits the PT I want it to be. (But be a sport and give us the originals as well ;-) )
Originally posted by Ushgarak
The colour blind people are the ones who think that is green, and are also dumb enough to think that they put a green sabre in there.People should learn to observe properly rather than jumping to conclusions in this odd urge to make hasty criticisms that people seem to have these days.
i´m not thinking its ment to be green for a reason i just say its a ****up in the cgi in which it appears in a more greenish color than during the whole rest of the movie
Last I heard, Lucas still owns the rights to everything Star Wars. He should be allowed to make changes as he sees fit. If anybody really can't stand the newer versions, the choice is simple; don't spend your money. As for adding the originals on DVD, Lucas has stated numerous times that the original prints are too far gone to convert to a new medium. I recommend searching ebay for the original VHS tapes and watching those. No offense, but all the nitpicking really comes off as juvenile whining. Just an observation.
Originally posted by Oswald Kenobi
As for adding the originals on DVD, Lucas has stated numerous times that the original prints are too far gone to convert to a new medium.
What utter BS. You don't need the original prints, as long as you have the original negatives and he sure has those or he could never have made neither the SE's or the current DVD's. If they completely restore films like Lawrenceof Arabia, Gne with the Wind etc. etc.... they sure can fix up the original ANH.
He just doesn't WANT to release them because he feels the current DVD versions are as close as they get to his vision (at this time). The older ones are, in his opinion, unfinished versions. However, in a decade or three the VHS tapes become rather useless because the magnetic quality of the tape material itself deteriorates, and film historians will never be able to show the world what movie exactly conquered the world...
SW is history, why not keep some good copies around?
Originally posted by queeq
the VHS tapes become rather useless because the magnetic quality of the tape material itself deteriorates, and film historians will never be able to show the world what movie exactly conquered the world...
SW is history, why not keep some good copies around?
Its on laserdisk and has been transfered from there to DVD in numerous places around the world.
And you people saying "give us the original" are dreaming. it costs MILLIONS of dollars to restore a movie from the old prints to DVD quality. Just a simple transfer, if not done properly, can destroy the original. So why is Lucas going to spend money on something only a fraction of the buying populace would invest in?
The amount of rabid fanboys who would actually pay money for a restored version of the Originals would not cover the enourmous cost of cleaning them and transfering them. Most people would just whine that Lucas is trying to make even more money by doing so, and wouldn't understand that maybe 3% of the buying public is foaming at the mouth.
Here's an idea. One of you invest several millions to convert an "obsolete" version of the film to dvd and see how much money you recoup. Lucas ain't interested in lossing money on something he doesn't consider to be a finnished product anyway.
It's like asking Warhol to take one of his unfisnished sketches, spend $30k to clean it up and make it presentable, and then hope that he can sell it for may a half of what he just invested.
Not gonna happen, so buy your bootlegs and shut up.
P.S. Luke's sabre is blue, it's his eyes that they made green in that shot.
Originally posted by zutalurs
And you people saying "give us the original" are dreaming. it costs MILLIONS of dollars to restore a movie from the old prints to DVD quality.
Ever heard of negatives?
Plus GL is gonna MAKE millions if he releases it on DVD. Lots would buy it. In the end that is NOT the argument. GL doesn't want it out, because in his opinion the do not count anymore. History begs to differ.
Laserdiscs... yes, good point. But where does one get a player?
Originally posted by queeq
Laserdiscs... yes, good point. But where does one get a player?
Seriously - you dont need one - they released a gleaming clean version of the ' 77 OT on laserdisk and it's been produced from that to DVD in various places around the world.
Im not an advocate of piracy, but if you want it - check ebay (wait for the star wars fuss to die down as its inflated the OT price) and you can pick it up easy.
Love the DVD's and the changes. Worth every penny.
Here's an article you guys might like to read.
http://story.news.yahoo.com/news?tm..._a_george_lucas
SAN RAFAEL, Calif. - George Lucas never figured on a 30-year career as a space pilot. Once "Star Wars" shot into hyperspace, though, he found it hard to come back down to Earth.
Making its DVD debut Tuesday, Lucas' original sci-fi trilogy — "Star Wars," "The Empire Strikes Back" and "Return of the Jedi" — began as an experimental foray into old-time studio moviemaking for Lucas, whose first two films had been far removed from usual Hollywood sensibilities.
Lucas' sci-fi satire "THX 1138" had been a commercial dud, but the energetic "American Graffiti" with its driving soundtrack and multi-character point of view scored with audiences, giving the director clout to try something bigger that had been on his mind.
"I'd already started this other idea, which was to do a kind of a classic action adventure film using sets," Lucas said over lunch at his 2,600-acre Skywalker Ranch. "I'd never worked on a set, I'd never worked at a studio. Never made a traditional movie. So I said, `I'm going to do this once, just to see what it's like, what it's like to actually design everything, work on a soundstage, do an old-fashioned 1930s movie.
"And I'll do it in that mode from the 1930s Saturday matinee serials, using kind of 1930s and '40s sensibilities, and I'll base it on sort of mythological motifs and icons. I'll just put it together in a modern form, and I'll have fun. That's how I got into that. I did it because it was an interesting move into an area that I thought I'd never go into."
Three decades later, Lucas is preparing to launch the last of his six "Star Wars" films. Next summer brings "Star Wars: Episode III — Revenge of the Sith," completing the prequel trilogy that tells the story of young Anakin Skywalker's metamorphosis into the villainous Darth Vader of the original three films.
Fans have eagerly awaited the first three "Star Wars" films on DVD, a release Lucas initially intended to delay until he finished "Episode III."
Some will be miffed that the original theatrical versions are not included in the "Star Wars" boxed set, which features only the special-edition versions Lucas issued in the late 1990s, with added effects and footage, including a scene between Harrison Ford (news)'s Han Solo and crime lord Jabba the Hutt in the first "Star Wars."
AP: Why did you change your mind and decide to put the original three movies out on DVD now?
Lucas: Just because the market has shifted so dramatically. A lot of people are getting very worried about piracy. That has really eaten dramatically into the sales. It really just came down to, there may not be a market when I wanted to bring it out, which was like, three years from now. So rather than just sit by and watch the whole thing fall apart, better to bring it out early and get it over with.
AP: Why did you rework the original trilogy into the special-edition versions in the late 1990s?
Lucas: To me, the special edition ones are the films I wanted to make. Anybody that makes films knows the film is never finished. It's abandoned or it's ripped out of your hands, and it's thrown into the marketplace, never finished. It's a very rare experience where you find a filmmaker who says, "That's exactly what I wanted. I got everything I needed. I made it just perfect. I'm going to put it out there." And even most artists, most painters, even composers would want to come back and redo their work now. They've got a new perspective on it, they've got more resources, they have better technology, and they can fix or finish the things that were never done. ... I wanted to actually finish the film the way it was meant to be when I was originally doing it. At the beginning, people went, "Don't you like it?" I said, "Well, the film only came out to be 25 or 30 percent of what I wanted it to be." They said, "What are you talking about?" So finally, I stopped saying that, but if you read any interviews for about an eight- or nine-year period there, it was all about how disappointed I was and how unhappy I was and what a dismal experience it was. You know, it's too bad you need to get kind of half a job done and never get to finish it. So this was my chance to finish it.
AP: Why not release both the originals and special editions on DVD?
Lucas: The special edition, that's the one I wanted out there. The other movie, it's on VHS, if anybody wants it. ... I'm not going to spend the, we're talking millions of dollars here, the money and the time to refurbish that, because to me, it doesn't really exist anymore. It's like this is the movie I wanted it to be, and I'm sorry you saw half a completed film and fell in love with it. But I want it to be the way I want it to be. I'm the one who has to take responsibility for it. I'm the one who has to have everybody throw rocks at me all the time, so at least if they're going to throw rocks at me, they're going to throw rocks at me for something I love rather than something I think is not very good, or at least something I think is not finished.
AP: Do you pay much attention to fan reactions to your choices?
Lucas: Not really. The movies are what the movies are. ... The thing about science-fiction fans and "Star Wars" fans is they're very independent-thinking people. They all think outside the box, but they all have very strong ideas about what should happen, and they think it should be their way. Which is fine, except I'm making the movies, so I should have it my way.
AP: After "Episode III," will you ever revisit "Star Wars"?
Lucas: Ultimately, I'm going to probably move it into television and let other people take it. I'm sort of preserving the feature film part for what has happened and never go there again, but I can go off into various offshoots and things. You know, I've got offshoot novels, I've got offshoot comics. So it's very easy to say, "Well, OK, that's that genre, and I'll find a really talented person to take it and create it." Just like the comic books and the novels are somebody else's way of doing it. I don't mind that. Some of it might turn out to be pretty good. If I get the right people involved, it could be interesting.
I loved the new Emperor scene in ESB. Ian McDirmid (however that's spelled) is a great actor who's voice added a lot to that scene. I loved how he says Lord Vader in that scene, it sounded like in the PT when he says "Lord Maul" or "Lord Tyranus", thus keeping up the continuity and making it sound more like a title.
The new Boba Fett recordings didn't bother me, I do kinda miss the old voice that sounded pretty mean, but I can get used to the new one. I liked Boba first, I liked Jango just as much, so it doesn't really matter. And again, this does add to continuity. I'm glad he didn't change the stormtrooper dialogue for one reason-the clones get that genetic manipulation, and don't grow up around Jango and his accent (as Boba did) so they shouldn't have his accent.
As for Hayden at the end of ROTJ, I actually found myself really liking it. I think its because, in my thinking, its not that he died at a certain time, or that there are such strict rules FOR NON PHYSICAL APPARITIONS. I liked it because, to me, Anakin may have been redeemed at the end, but neither we nor he would know exactly what he'd look like old now. And Vader has seen himself as this twisted version of himself. And I'm sure, now that he's redeemed at the time of death, he wants to appear the way he did before his huge f up. Sort of turn back the clock moment where he gets to be himself again, free of the last twenty odd years. He appears as he did at the end of the clone wars because thats the last time he remebers being Anakin. I know I would like to appear as if my time as Vader had never happened because it would sicken me that I had become so grotesque, both physically and figuratively. So I think it makes sense, not because of any stupid rules (oh, you can't do that because it clearly states here that you must). I mean c'mon, once he's dead, I'm sure he can appear as he chooses. And wouldn't you want to appear as you did BEFORE you became a twisted evil Sith?
Overall, I'm very impressed, almost all matte lines and resulting discolorations from using mattes and blue screen have been corrected save for the Falcon cockpit shots as it flew out of the asteroid worm. I did notice some of the tracking boxes on Tie's in ANH. Maybe they'll fix them later. I really loved Naboo added to ROTJ. It really ties it all together. And they finally fixed those black shadows in the Emperor's hood in ROTJ, where they had animated extra shadow to better shroud his face. Now its all one color. It doesn't look like they re-rotoed all the lightsabers, but I thought they did look brighter in the ESB fight. In ROTJ, the beams looked tighter and more focused (all beit at the expense of brightness, but that's minor). Someone mentioned extra shots in the ESB Hoth scenes. There weren't any. Somebody said the shot of Han grabbing parts of the "shelter" he was gonna build, I just think the storm shots were so muddy before that they had never seen it before cuz that's in my old THX versions. But yeah, picture for all 3 was just astounding. They can really hold up to the prequels. now. So now when my kids watch them they won't ask why 4,5, & 6 look so much older. They look absolutely great now. I'm really pleased with them. They adequetly dealt with all the SE changes I used to ***** about. I like the new Jabba, I can come to grips with the new Han/Greedo, and Luke's pansy-@$$ scream is gone from ESB. Now if they'd just ditch that SE music segment in Jabba's palace, I wouldn't have anything to complain about... 😉
Oh yeah, to second what Ush mentioned earlier, the lightsaber colors, other than red, have no designation whatsoever. I mean, qui-gon had green as a master. Luke had green as barely a knight, if that even. Plo-koon, a master on the council had blue, as did Ki and several others. Blue and green mean this and ONLY this: the jedi prefers the color they have chosen to the other option. Don't listen to video games like KOTOR. Color means nothing more than the asthetic preferences of the Jedi wielding it.
Originally posted by queeq
I loved what GL did to it in the SE and am looking forward to what he did here.
Yeah, Jah Yowza is golden. 🙄
Originally posted by zutalurs
It costs MILLIONS of dollars to restore a movie from the old prints to DVD quality.
It only cost $10 Million to clean up and render the 1997 S.E.'s, so get off of your soap box. Lucas, if he were to sell anywhere near the amount of OT DVD's in one day as "Finding Nemo" (8 Million copies), stands to make $320 Million gross..IN ONE DAY.
The amount of rabid fanboys who would actually pay money for a restored version of the Originals would not cover the enourmous cost of cleaning them and transfering them. Most people would just whine that Lucas is trying to make even more money by doing so, and wouldn't understand that maybe 3% of the buying public is foaming at the mouth.
Pure speculation.
Spoiler:
Not gonna happen, so buy your bootlegs and shut up.
George? Is that you? Can't be, he wouldn't urge us to buy lesser quality versions of his movies, muchless bootlegged copies, or on VHS. 😕
Originally posted by Mr Zero
Seriously - you dont need one - they released a gleaming clean version of the ' 77 OT on laserdisk and it's been produced from that to DVD in various places around the world.Im not an advocate of piracy, but if you want it - check ebay (wait for the star wars fuss to die down as its inflated the OT price) and you can pick it up easy.
But how does the sound and picture measure up to that of the 2004 version, with over 100,000 frames being cleaned up, with DD 6.1 THX sound?
Price won't be coming down for years, unless you catch a sale at Deep Discount DVD or eBay.
I'm happy with what's available now, personally, but to mock people who appreciate the nostalgia of the "original" Star Wars is wrong. It's a personal preference, and as you can see, Lucas is as callous as ever. A "perfectionist", indeed.