Star wars Originals V.S. 97 RE-Release/DVD's

I Visited starwars.com and saw some of the pictures that compare the versions.

I Have to say, that other than milking the cow, george lucas is releasing a 3-dvd long case study on color correction, grain removal and cgi.

Beyond a couple of lines and visual cues that "agrivated" (can't see why) the fans in the remakes, it's basically a less worthy transfer (technically speaking)

The site features a Before and after compare of the 20th century fox logo, the lucasfilm logo, the opening story credits... i mean this is reaching stupidity.

As far as narrative goes, IT'S THE SAME FILM WE WERE FED MORE THAN TWICE IN THE PAST!

Yes, but many fans have been waiting for the original films, not the newly added scenes versions. This new release delivers what some fans have wanted to see for years; the films the way they were in the theatres 25-years ago.

I’m not so sure about color issues but I know we have all been aware of the horrible square matting around the spaceships. It doesn’t seem apparent in all scenes but there are some that are so obvious that it takes away from the realism. Personally, and with the technology they have these days, I can’t see why this problem was not addressed in the last DVD release a couple years ago. From what I know about the software they use for CGI, they could have easily fixed this issue years ago.

Nevertheless, the old films have brought up some thoughts of mine, recently, and I’d like to share them here. They’re actually more questions than direct issues.

First, with such an advanced civilization as we are to assume in the “Star Wars” world, why does R2D2 talk in blips-and-beeps? If they are so advanced then why doesn’t the little garbage-can robot talk in a way that humans could understand? His whole process of communication makes no sense if you really think about it. Then again, why don’t the humans have some type of translator unit so they can understand him? Keep in mind, C3PO is not always around to translate for everyone.

Second, and again, if we are to assume that the civilization is so far advanced then why don’t they have a super-oober radar system that will safely guide them through an asteroid field? It seems strange that they have no problems navigating in-and-out of hyperspace at light speeds but once they enter an asteroid field they become the dumbest race of humans known to mankind. I mean, even I would assume they would have some kind of collision detection system on their ships, no. Let’s get real, car manufactures today have been working on this kind of technology for quite some time now.

Third, where did Luke’s ladder go? In Empire when Luke is leaving Yoda to go rescue his friends and Yoda warns him to stay and yada, yada, yada. Luke has a big yellow ladder that reaches clear into the cockpit of his X-wing fighter. He climbs up it and jumps in the cockpit. The next scene they show him in the cockpit but the big yellow ladder is gone. What happened to it? Is there some lightning-quick vanishing device we are all unaware of?

Well, not that I’m trying to bring up a bunch of flaws on movies we all have come to love and enjoy. I’m just giving us some food for thought.

"Before and after compare of the 20th century fox logo, the lucasfilm logo, the opening story credits..."

Oddly enough, this is the thing I'm looking forward to most. While I'm fairly positive my parents took me to see STAR WARS in 1977, I was only two and of course have no memory of the opening crawl without the episode number of subtitle. I'm a dork.

"...why does R2D2 talk in blips-and-beeps?"

For the same reason people in other countries speak different languages. Most likely humans built the Artoo units, but (at least in the films proper) we're never told that for sure. For all we know, he's from a vastly different part of the galaxy where his beeps and whistles resemble that particular species speech patterns. I'm sure there's someone out there who knows gobs about the Expanded Universe, and I'd bet there's an "official" explanation for this out there somewhere.

"..why don’t they have a super-oober radar system that will safely guide them through an asteroid field?"

Because then scenes with aseroid fields wouldn't be any fun. This falls into the category of why the ships "bank" while flying through space, to me. It's fun and cool to look at, and where's the excitement if Han Solo could've just flipped a switch to avoid all those asteroids?

"Third, where did Luke’s ladder go?"

This is a mistake, pointed out on the commentary track. Basically, they screwed up and decided not to ever fix it because they thought it was funny - just like the Stormtrooper who bonks his head in New Hope.

There are, of course, many many more flaws in each and every one of these films.

Why does Yoda use a cane? How does the beam of a lightsaber stop? Why do the engines of the space ships stay on while flying through space, when if there's no resistance, they wouldn't need to? If we're to assume Vader can't shoot lightning out of his paws because his hands have become machines... then how can he Force-choke people? Where did Padme immediatly get names for Luke and Leia, when no one knew she was carrying twins? And with all their added science, how could no one know that she WAS carrying twins? What, no sonograms? How do the humans survive on Mustafar, being that close to lava? When did "Clonetroopers" become "Stormtroopers"?

All that and more we can ask ourselves, but then the flicks wouldn't be any fun, which is the first and foremost reason to watch them.

Triumph The Insult Comic Dog talking to Darth Vader: "Which button do I press to call your parents to come pick you up?"

:D

George,

Thanks for busting out the ol' box set! And I wouldn't be surprised if the "Star Wars" text from Episode IV was indeed different from the original original original release. It seemed to me (on this DVD release) that the text was somewhat slower as it faded back into the distance than on other versions I've seen (and remembered).

I also want to applaud you for not making any sort of complaints about these. I'm a firm believer that the artist owns their art; these are George Lucas' films - he owns them, he can do whatever he wants with them. Does he "owe" anything to the fans? The majority will say "yes": the fans made the Empire (heh) that he now runs possible.

But the conclusion I always come to in my head is that these films, and I'll include the prequels, have brought joy, entertainment, escape, wonder, and laughter (be it intentional or the simple fact that Jar Jar is, well, Jar Jar) to millions of people. A lot of our childhoods have memories of Star Wars in them somewhere. A lot of people chose a career because of those movies. And the movies themselves have changed the industry as we know it. So does he "owe" us? Nah, he's given us a ton already. Are these releases a joke? I dunno - I'm not naive enough to know it's an obvious money run, but I'm realistic enough to know that if I didn't like them - hey, I shouldn't buy them, then.

But I did. Like I said, my LDs are long gone, and I haven't seen these versions for years. The purchase was more of a curiosity than anything; revisiting ANH before there was any talk or even an idea of nine or six movies, let alone a sequel. Watching EMPIRE again and remembering "Oh, yeah, originally this was called 'Star Wars II'."

It's late. Time for me to curl up in my Return of the Jedi Ewok bedsheets and sing "Lapti Nek" to myself until I drift off....

>>It's stated somewhere that these are from the LD masters. My LDs are long gone, yet I seem to recall that Episode IV did, indeed say "Episode IV: A New Hope," and the DVD does not. Am I totally nuts? <<

Nope, you're not totally nuts at all. After I read your post, I dug out my boxed set (the last version to be released on LD), and it does contain the Episode IV: A NEW HOPE title in the opening scroll. This is a bit interesting, since the rest of the transfer seems to come from that same master (I could hear the enhanced bass and minor sound effects throughout the film that Lucas added to the mix).

Since we're nitpicking, I remember the original opening (back in 1977) to be somewhat different than what's presented on video. If I recall, the STAR WARS logo appeared on screen, traveled back AND THEN MOVED UPWARDS as the Prologue began. The versions presented on video has the STAR WARS title traveling back, then FADING OUT as the Prologue begins. The version I'm remembering would be the original 70mm/6-track Mag Stereo release, which only appeared in a handful of cities (such as San Francisco, The Coronet theater). Anybody else remember that?

As for these being the "original versions," they are... to an extent. I've owned the first release (P&S) from Fox Video, followed by the Japanese Import (WS) versions, and eventually the boxed set on LD. However, each version was somewhat "unique" from each other. For instance, the first release was time compressed, the Japanese release added a line of dialogue that was missing from the US release (the scene where Luke, Han and company enter the control room on the Death Star where C-3PO explains how to deactivate the tractor beam), and finally, an enhanced soundmix for the final LD release. The liner notes states that there were 4 different audio mixes released just for Star Wars!

George

We didn't ask Lucas to release untouched original versions. No one would have minded a digitally restored ANAMORPHIC version of the original, with enhanced color, or digitally removed black squares around ships, or a 5.1 soundtrack.

We asked Lucas to release a version of the originals that had NO ADDED SCENES OR ANIMATED CHARACTERS. We wanted the ORIGINAL stories, as they were released. Clean and restored copies of the original Star Wars movies without the crap that was added in the Special Editions is what we wanted.

I, for one, think the newly released versions are a joke.

And something that I've been wondering, and this is just as good a place (if not better) to bring these issues up:

It's stated somewhere that these are from the LD masters. My LDs are long gone, yet I seem to recall that Episode IV did, indeed say "Episode IV: A New Hope," and the DVD does not. Am I totally nuts?

But the main thing I wanted to bring up is more something I've noticed. I've read almost nothing but hate-ridden posts against Lucas for these transfers. It seems no fan wants them, and has seemed to have brought up the kind of anger that I always thought was unbecomming of an SW geek. F-Lucas this, F-Lucas that... everyone hates Lucas now, no one ever wants to give him another penny for these movies.

So why were they all in the top ten on Amazon the week they came out?

I for one was glad that he did this,it may be the same ole rehash of Star Wars we have seen before but dont forget that we asked him to do this,he said he never wanted to release the on dvd.

" Triumph The Insult Comic Dog talking to Darth Vader: "Which button do I press to call your parents to come pick you up?" "

I love that one. :) (of course)

:D W-o-W! Check out the following recent news from 9/22... it seems George Lucas is giving away a nice chunk of his personal wealth to the USC film school's related endeavours!

- EXTERNAL LINK -

~ GEORGE LUCAS SPREADS MONEY, ROSES ~ Sept. 22, 2006
- $175 million donation is USC's largest ever -

"Star Wars" mastermind George Lucas is already having a big week, with a major donation and a minor honor.

Lucas has donated a whopping $175 million to the University of Southern California's School of Cinema-Television. The LucasFilm Foundation gift is the largest single donation in USC's history, including a $100 million endowment for the cinema school, as well as $75 million for construction and renovation on educational buildings.

"I discovered my passion for film and making movies when I was a student at USC in the 1960s, and my experiences there shaped the rest of my career," Lucas says. "I'm also an ardent advocate for education at all levels, and encouraging young people to pursue their ambitions by learning. I'm very fortunate to be in a position to combine my two passions and to be able to help USC continue molding the futures of the moviemakers of tomorrow."

No word on whether Lucas' donation came with the condition that future generations of USC students be taught that Greedo shot first.

In addition, USC also announced that the cinema school's official name will shift from the School of Cinema-Television to the USC School for Cinematic Arts as of October.

That excitement aside, Jar-Jar Binks' creative daddy can also begin to get pumped up for New Year's Day. Lucas was announced on Tuesday as the grand marshal of the 2007 Tournament of Roses parade. LucasFilm had already announced back in July that the company would have two floats in the annual flower-heavy parade.

---[END]---

-Love Hendrix!