Star Wars on Blu-Ray

Sorry if the topic got anyone's heart to skip a beat, but I thought it should be in it's own thread.

I wouldn't hold my breath for Star Wars on blu-ray anytime soon. Lucas IS notorious for EXTREMELY late releases of Star Wars - on any format, really. Do you remember when "The Phantom Menace" came out on video - VHS only (and Laserdisc in Japan)?! It was almost forever before it was released on DVD (and DVD's had been out for several years). WHY???

Well it took an eternity for the original trilogy to be released on DVD, and what a sight it was to see, when it finally was. Each film was completely restored! Some people only grew-up watching the original release on VHS from that faded-green film-transfer. I saw Star Wars in 1977, and the film did NOT look that way! The DVD version of Star Wars (with the exception of the CGI changes) looks just like it did 31 years ago.

If ANYONE is waiting for some ultimate boxed-set - whether it be on standard DVD, blu-ray or any other format... stop waiting and go out and buy it RIGHT NOW!!! You will NOT be disappointed! The best version to buy is the 4-disc boxed-set of the original trilogy (silver box - widescreen, not the gold one - full frame). The boxed-set includes a supplemental disc. You can buy the individual ones - and those DO come with the original version of Star Wars (the non-CGI versions from the Laserdisc master - these are NOT enhanced, nor are they remastered). It's nice to have, if only to see the originals before Lucas got CGI happy - AND made Greedo shoot first!

The Special Editions of the original Star Wars movies looks fantastic on DVD. If you aren't a true fan of the Star Wars movies (the originals, at least)... why would you even care if it came out in a hi-def format? If you ARE a true fan, you would already have Star Wars on DVD. When it does come out on blu-ray - if you aren't dead before that time... you can buy it on that format, too!

Well, I know watching SW on my HD player looks AWESOME upconverted. I did a slide show conparison between my regular DVD player and my HD DVD player (I'm a big SW fan as you can tell by my ID). Wish I could post it on here some how.

Lucas is busy with the 3D animated series coming to theaters then to TV (hopefully they will be in HD on TV) as well as the live action TV series and also Indy 4...it will be a LONG time (if ever) before we see any Star Wars on any HD format.

Well said, Jedi.

Actually... ALL of the Star Wars films have a high-definition master (higher than blu-ray or HD DVD). It's just a matter of Lucas giving the studio a go-ahead to release it on HD. Although he may still want to supervise the down-conversion to an HD disc format and verify it looks good enough for him, he could just authorize someone to do it. There is also the matter of him wanting to add anything else to the boxed set. He could be waiting until he gets his Star Wars TV project underway... because he may want to add promos to the boxed set to advertise the upcoming SW TV show(s)!

Like I said... anyone waiting for an ultimate release in a boxed-set or in HD is foolish - and a clear sign of who isn't a true fan! I've owned Star Wars on video tape, CED, Laserdisc and now DVD. I gladly await it on blu-ray (or HD DVD - if one of the foreign countries will release it in English)!

Your right he could let someone else do it but knowing how anal he gets with his movies, you know he will have to oversee the WHOLE project...I wonder if I'll still be alive if they ever do come out on any HD format...hehehehe

"So . . . you are some kind of oober-doober nerd?"

There have been 720p versions showing up on bittorrent sites. No one knows where they came from but I have a friend who got them and did a comparision with his upconverted SD copy. He said there was no comparision. The 720p versions looked much better.

Tim...hehehehe...not that bad. I still live in the real world...hehehe...but that whole thing was freakin hilarious...

"That will be the last time he sees any female genitalia."

Quote:
Like I said... anyone waiting for an ultimate release in a boxed-set or in HD is foolish - and a clear sign of who isn't a true fan! I've owned Star Wars on video tape, CED, Laserdisc and now DVD.

There is another thread where a bunch of us were arguing about this just the other day.
I'm a Star Wars fan, but I refuse to buy a box set from Lucas until it is in HD. I'm surprised he even has a DVD version out and still isn't selling you guys VHS.

All the studios are greedy, but I think Lucas takes the cake. He will release an HD boxset probably 10 years from now when Blu Ray is being replaced by some other future format.

I never had an opinion before about Tim Raynor - one way or the other... but it's quite obvious he is a child. He may be old enough to know how to type (although he mostly posts pictures, because he doesn't have much to say)... but that was only enough for him to log-on here 6 years ago. Maturity hasn't occurred, apparently! It must be great, being young and ignorant.

Quote:
"That will be the last time he sees any female genitalia."

My favorite is when Triumph asks Darth Vader, "So, which button is the one that calls your parents to come pick you up?" LOL

LOL...what about the dude that came by dressed like a wizard!! Now that dude is a few eggs short of a full dozen!

Quote:
never had an opinion before about Tim Raynor - one way or the other... but it's quite obvious he is a child.

Veteran-viewer you should ignore the pics, Tim is just giving you a hard time. Why do all of your posts turn into flame wars? Next thing you'll be calling me a Mexican again...

"Badges? We don't need no stinking badges!"

Quote:
anyone waiting for an ultimate release in a boxed-set or in HD is foolish - and a clear sign of who isn't a true fan!

So the film was "filmed" on 'film'...4k, right? why are we not a true fan if we wait for a 1080p blu-ray release???

Plus, have you realized that the Star Wars releases have been one of the best releases ever? They got it right the first time, and the double dips were to apeace most of you who needed the 'unaltered' versions of the film...

Phantom Menace is one of the best discs ever, it has a GREAT (one of the best) DVD documentaries, and a great audio quality the only thing that is not as good as we might expect, is the video (but that's for a later post)...SW Ep.II better, SW Ep.III even better...the original trilogy release, just great.

Now that we bought HDTVs (whether 720p or 1080p), and that we are able to buy receivers that can decode the new audio streams, why not HD? I know that Lucas is busy and whatnot, but asking and hoping and waiting for a SW HD release DOES make us fans...

Mexican here!
(no Obama endorsement here, HILLARY)

mvckalel,

Quote:
So the film was "filmed" on 'film'...4k, right?

I am not positive on this but I think EPI, II, III were all filmed digitally and then transfered to 'film'.

I can't remember where I read it but when they were being filmed he said that if he had a chose and there were more digital theaters around he would have only released it in digital. Don't quote me though because I don't remember where i read it so I don't have a source.




JS--
"The true measure of a man is how he treats someone who can do him absolutely no good."
- Samuel Johnson (1709-1784)

---

[Post edited by Jedi_Soljah on Mar 6, 2008]

Soljah, I believe you are correct. Lucas filmed the prequels digitally which from my understanding means that they were filmed at 2K. It's still hidef but not as good as film which is 4k.

I believe he filmed it digitally because it made the editing process MUCH easier, especially when adding CGI and such. I watched a couple of documentaries on starwars.com showing the process and it was interesting to say the least.

Falcon,
I remember when the films came to theaters and I was reading some fan reviews, there were people who had a digital theater when they saw it and they got to go between the regular film version and the digital version while they were both playing and they said the digital difference was pretty incredible.




JS--
"The true measure of a man is how he treats someone who can do him absolutely no good."
- Samuel Johnson (1709-1784)

mvckalel... I just read that 4k HD for consumers is just around the corner (that could mean 10 years or more, though). Why don't you wait for THAT format to materialize before buying the Star Wars HD boxed set? Star Wars (the original trilogy) has been on DVD well before we ever had the choice of HD DVD or blu-ray - even though we knew it was coming... and yet, there are plenty of idiots who have stated they would only buy a complete boxed-set of all 6 movies on DVD, or more stupidly... wait until it was released on a hi-def format. I wonder how many of these people who made that claim have since died?!

George Lucas spent a LONG TIME remastering the original trilogy (Special Edition) for release on DVD. This is not a second-rate quality transfer on DVD - it is the best! With a good upconverting DVD player and a really good HDTV... I would rate it as good as some of the half-assed blu-ray or HD DVD transfers I've seen! Ask ANYONE here who has a really good setup (and the original SW trilogy), if what I'm saying is true or not!!!

VV VV

I have the boxset and I'm not planning on upgrading to blu-ray anytime soon (when and if they come out)...still the argument is, asking for HD versions make us still fans...

Quote:
George Lucas spent a LONG TIME remastering the original trilogy (Special Edition) for release on DVD.

Too darn bad the new part I, and to a lessor extant the other two movies that followed weren't held up to the same standard!

Wow... you really didn't get what I was saying! A Star Wars fan would not wait for some ultimate version, when a really good version is available RIGHT NOW! I want an HD version of Star Wars, too... but I didn't skip the DVD version until an HD version is released.

A true fan would embrace any copy of Star Wars he (or she) could get their hands on (and some low-lifes would pirate it, too - NOT something I condone). I still have my laserdisc copies of the original trilogy. I haven't decided if they are worth [to someone else] for me to sell, or if I should make some cool-looking clocks out of them! I've owned almost every version released. It's the arrogant ones that expect a specific style or release before they will buy it. There's ALWAYS someone out there who is hard to please!

The prequels suffered - badly - from the get go, due to Lucas's kids influencing him! The prequels were designed for kids, so the story suffered tremendously! Just look at all the Oscars that the prequels won! Oh, wait... that was the original trilogies - the prequels BLEW!

There isn't a whole lot that could be done to improve the prequels - unless of course, they were completely remade - and with a better script!

Okay I have owned the the VHS set, the Laser Disk, the Dvd set, I even have the the Clone Wars on dvd...
Do I really want to see a Blu set now?
Actualy at the moment I would say NO.
I don't see what can be added to these movies that would make me give George anymore
of my money. George's arrogance for this once awesome franchise has led me to not really care at all about when if ever he deems us worthy of a Blu set.

Veteran-Viewer, agreed... but I was talking from the standpoint of picture quality too. Especially the first one was so bad, the EE halos could be measured in many, many inches on screens. When it first came out to DVD, everyone on Usenet became frenzied over this. There were no arguments between people there, only the unanimous disappointment of these transfers on DVD. I'm not sure what involvement Lucas had with these titles, but these transfers were crap compared to the remastered original trilogy. Perhaps the last one wasn't that bad... the the first two... OMG! Someone high up needs to get fired - quickly, before these go to HD.

Actually... I wish I could get a quality-copy of "The Phantom EDIT" on DVD! That's the one where a fan took the movie (from the VHS tape, I believe) and edited-out most of the Jar-Jar and little Anakin scenes from the movie (and a few other boring parts - which, unfortunately, was a lot of the movie).

Actually... the "Duel of the Fates" music video is better than the whole movie!

O-kay...

Lucas should make things happen already.

This movie legacy ain't his, it's ours! We've paid for them dozens of times:
In movie theaters, buying toys, vhs- and dvd-formats and so on.

We want the blu-ray boxset out now!!!

GEORGE, PUSH IT OUT!!!

I guess he just wants to make more money, money and money with those already existing DVD's. That's not right anyways. He should move on. But I'm not gonna pay a zillion dollars for those Blu-rays either. He's greedy. That's all. Thanks.

---

[Post edited by subseeker on Jun 12, 2008]

Subseeker there are better ways to get your point across without having to resort to foul language. I see that you are a new member so please review the message board rules here...

http://www.dvdtown.com/messageboard/

Scroll to the bottom under RULES OF THE BOARD:.

Let's keep it peaceful and mature.