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It's Official -- Star Wars on DVD
savagexp writes "There's yet to be an actual press release, but according to DVDFile.com, 20th Century Fox and LucasFilm have confirmed that The Original Trilogy will arrive on September 21st in a four-disc set. More info can be had here."
Bah! I knew it wouldn't happen, but I was still hoping against hope that he'd allow the original versions to be released, rather than the special editions. Ho hum. I'll probably still buy them anyway. At least I still have the real versions on VHS. Maybe I'll see if I can rip them myself...
"The invisible and the non-existent look very much alike." -- Delos B. McKown
OMG! The Force and my Mastercard will be with me!!!!
Now to just wipe the memory of the two new films completely from memory...
[SIG] It's like putting a moose in the blender -- a recipe for disaster!
Lucas was going to wait longer, but realized if he did it would have to be released on HDDVD and he'd lose the opportunity to sell it to you twice.
Non gratis rodentus anus
From the article:
So what are the faithful to do if they don't want to watch the altered 1997 editions of the trilogy? Either give in, or don't buy. "We realize there's a lot of debate out there," says Ward. "But this is not a democracy. We love our fans, but this is about art and filmmaking. [George] has decided that the sole version he wants available is this one."
So you say it's not a democracy? That George "Artist" Lucas can do what he damn well pleases?
Perhaps Lucas has forgotten that he's in the marketplace -- where democracy indeed rules, and the cash register is the ballot box.
My vote will be for the version where Han shoots first. For me, it *is* about "art and filmmaking". Both of which were evident in the original, absent from the remake, and forgotten in the prequels.
Stressed? Me? Of course not. Stress is what a rubber band feels before it breaks, silly.
Please bear with my rant..
When I read of the Star Wars DVD release I immediately thought of the speech Gordon Gekko give the board of Teldon Papers in the movie Wall Street (1987) Years after the DVD has become ubiquitous they decide to release the original 3 on that medium. It was only a few years ago that they released the VHS set to the consumers. Wow! Thanks, George! The story makes it sound like they're doing us a favour! Yeah right. The only favour is to their bank accounts. The tide of cash flowing in from the "Official VHS set" has slowed to a crawl. They want the consumers to re-purchase the same stuff on a new format. George didn't "[find] some time", the market studies indicated that this is the right time to release the DVDs.
Thanks but no thanks George. After the embarassment of Episodes I & II and your blatant milking of the franchise you've lost a big fan in me. I'd only buy the set if I could guarantee that my money buys the exact slice of pizza you choke on.
Trolling is a art,
http://www.starwars.com/episode-iv/news/2004/02/ne ws20040210.html
It's not the original Star Wars trilogy. It's the version that Lucas ham-handedly put together in 1997. It definitely won't be on my list of must-have DVDs, regardless of how much I would love to own the original trilogy on DVD.
Greedo did not shoot first.
-Todd
"The details of my life are quite inconsequential..."
these are not the dvds you are looking for...
tim
Someone needs to invent a new SF franchise.
--- Ban humanity.
I really would like to own all the star wars movies ever in one giant dvd box set of super awesome. I don't even like eps 1-3, but the geek in me must own them. However, there is one problem.
GREEDO SHOOTS FIRST!
FUCK THAT.
I know it's super nerdy to complain about it, but I'm not willing to pay for a copy of the movie if that's the way it's going to be. Solo is supposed to kill him in cold blood.
Lucas, if you want my cash you're going to have to release the real deal. Spielberg, you too. I didn't buy none of your walkie talkie E.T. shit. Good thing I still have the real deals on VHS. But still, DVD would be nice.
Man, I am such a freakin' fanboy sometimes.
The GeekNights podcast is going strong. Listen!
Actually the secret is this: Lucas has "artistically" re-edited the scene yet again. Now Han and Greedo hug each other and Greedo keels over from a heart attack after being overcome with emotion that they're no longer enemies.....
Han shoots first dammit!
It probably has to do with the amount of money Lucas is spending on Episode III. He must have a significant burn rate. It also could be an attempt to generate interest after the abysmal response to Episode II.
In God we trust, all others require data.
Mostly added scenes and unnecessary special effects.
"Hey, we can do computer generated graphics... let's add some big creatures in the background"
There is one scene with a computer generated Jabba the Hutt that is just awful.
but not strong enough to resist buying dvd versions of movies I already have on vhs.
I thought for a second that this might be a good movie to enjoy with my son, but then I realized that he has probably never seen a glass coke bottle either. Sort of ruins the joke.
Greedo still shoots first.
I'm not interested in revisionist work. Give me back my memories.
I'll just have to get some genetic work done and outlive ol' George by 75 years or so. Then I'll get hold of the REAL original trilogy. Unless the copyright extensions keep pace with Mickey(tm)(r) Mouse(tm)(r) indefinitely, the films will be public domain.BR>
Hal Spacejock: Science Fiction with Nuts
Let's not forget about who you're talking about. Remember when the first trilogy was released on VHS? And then the widescreen edition. And then the digitally remastered edition. I'm sure they'll just release this, wait a year or two and then release the "classic" edition for people clamoring for it and they'll make loads of money yet again.
"He uses statistics as a drunken man uses lampposts...for support rather than illumination." - Andrew Lang
It may not be too late to visit the Original Trilogy website and sign the petition to get the original un-updated version put on DVD. 50,000 have signed up already!
Well it may be too late, but the fans must be heard!
http://www.kubuntu.org/
This should answer all the questions below. Forget it. I want the original unaltered versions on DVD. Didn't anyone learn anything from New Coke?
Hell of a product placement, that was.
By the way, my local deli now has coke in glass bottles again. (Western Australia).
Hal Spacejock: Science Fiction with Nuts
Not to mention all the guns were replaced with flashlights...
If you've seen the movie, you may recall the truck up the tree? I aye I aye I aye I
The humor in "the Gods" movies is for all ages, really. It was so popular in Kansas City when the first movie came out that it ran continuously in a small private theater for over a full year. This is some of the best independent filmmaking ever. Ever.
http://tinyurl.com/4ny52
Any chance of us getting the first three movies with those odious "extra" scenes removed or not added?
The heat from below can burn your eyes out
....looks like I'm going to have to take a sick day on Wednesday the 22nd, boss.... *cough, cough*
Chris Knight is my hero.
What are you smoking? The Matrix was alright, but VASTLY overrated. Any of the original SW trilogy (yes, even the third one) beats it.
Some superflous new scenes added, like computer generated spaceships flying around. More computer generated aliens in the background.
In the first film, they took some cutting-room floor footage of Han talking to Jabba as he's preparing to take off in the Millenium Falcon. (I thought I read somewhere that Marlon Brando was actually playing Jabba in that scene). Anyways, they put in a computer generated Jabba walking alongside Han, and it looks pretty cheesy to me.
I hate overused computer animation. I think it looks out of place and fake, and the world of Star Wars was much more believable made out of foam rubber costumes and cheesy props.
The big one that gets all the geeks riled up is they changed the Cantina scene, so that Jabba's bounty hunter shoots at Han, and he kills him in 'self defense'. In the original, Han just shoots him under the table and gets up and leaves.
It effectively changes Han's character from an outlaw who cares only about himself, to some sort of good guy who found himself in trouble.
I haven't seen the special edition versions of the other two movies.
I don't need no instructions to know how to rock!!!!
"There's yet to be a press release..."
So unofficially, it's official?
Chris
OK. I need your geek license. Hand it over now!
You should use AdiumX on your Mac.
And, of course, anybody who will actually bother looking at the E.T. 20th Anniversary DVD will note that both the original, unaltered 1983 and the "enhanced" 2003 vesions are sold in the very same package.
I think the alteration in question (guns -> flashlights) is absurd as well, but talk about making a mountain out of a molehill.
The big one that gets all the geeks riled up is they changed the Cantina scene, so that Jabba's bounty hunter shoots at Han, and he kills him in 'self defense'. In the original, Han just shoots him under the table and gets up and leaves.
It effectively changes Han's character from an outlaw who cares only about himself, to some sort of good guy who found himself in trouble.
Add to that the fact that the added effects shot was so poorly done that I still cringe just thinking of it. Greedo is sitting two feet away from Han with his blaster aimed squarely at him, yet somehow misses by a mile?
The rest of the Special Editions are not too bad though.
I'll still be getting it on DVD - I have the original Original Trilogy on VHS, as well as the Special Editions of the Original Trilogy, so like a true fan-boy I'll fork out for the DVDs...
I don't get why people say that. In the dialogue, Greedo had just said the he was going to enjoy killing Solo in a moment, so Han shot first and killed Greedo in self-defense. It's not like Solo sneaked into the cantina, spied Greedo, and shot him in the back.
All employees must wash hands before seeking equitable relief.
1. Making of the movie 2. Making of the special effects 3. Making of the money with footage of George Lucas hauling bags of cash to bank.
slashdot, news for crazed liberal socialist zealots
Ehh wheres is the Torrrent??
> It's very similar to the strategy followed by LOTR.
Except for the inconvenient fact Peter Jackson told the truth up front about there being two releases.
If they ever release hyper-super-extended editions, then you can make that comparison. In any case, there might be legitimate reasons for another release of many movies, if HD-DVD becomes the norm.
Of course, if you think regular DVDs are already good enough, no one is forcing anyone ot upgrade.
Lord Pixel - The cat who walks through walls
A little bigger on the inside than out
I will buy the DVD's
There is nothing inherently safe about liberty. That's why so many people died protecting it.
Original?
Does this mean the theatrical version, the digital version or the fubar version with new scenes and a Han Solo that doesn't fire first?
If this isn't the theatrical version I (and probably everyone else) will pass for obvious reasons.
Perhaps Lucas has forgotten that he's in the marketplace -- where democracy indeed rules
Yeah, right.
Listen, I know there are many people out there who think that the marketplace and democracy are the same thing. They're wrong, and so are you.
Democracy; various flavors, but the intention is that what the majority of people want, they get. This means that if the country votes for a government-controlled socialist utopia, it's democratic, and when another country invades and forces a market-based economy upon them, it's not (or vice versa).
Marketplace; people have money and goods. Money and goods are exchanged at the highest perceived benefit to both parties. Those with more money have more buying power. Those with goods/rights can do what they like with them. Those with no money or goods/rights have no power.
Do you understand? Two separate concepts. Until the people in such-and-such a country vote for a law that says George Lucas must release the original Star Wars trilogy on DVD, there's nothing "undemocratic" about his decision (in the sense that we are discussing here) like it or not. The democratic USA (*) (and most other countries) has passed laws which allow whoever holds the rights to do pretty much what the hell they like with the Star Wars movies.
And while I'm here, I'll point out that liberty is also different to capitalism *and* democracy, regardless of bluster to the contrary.
(*) You can argue the toss about the effectiveness of US democracy, but that's another topic altogether.
"Slashdot - News and Chat Sites Deviant". (Click "homepage" link above for details).
I could do without Luke screaming as he's falling from the platform in "Empire", though. It's completely pointless and out of character. Except for the two Han scenes in the original, that's the third most irksome thing about Lucas' "adjustments".
Ita erat quando hic adveni.
I will buy them when Lucas has finished all three trilogies, and all nine movies are bundled together in the Ultimate Death Star Box, including both the classic and the extended editions, at least three special feature DVDs, and with and without Jar Jar replaced by a pink furry rabbit.
Find the article on USAToday HERE.
1. 5 minutes of yet unseen footage of Princess Lea in chains and bikini
2. 15 minutes of extended (grusome) Ewok death scenes during the final battle.
3. 10 minute conversation of luke and Darth reminicing and coming to terms over their 'broken family' .
4. cut scene of Luke working on the farm....tilling perhaps...or milking the cows. - you know, to add context
5. an indepth and real explanation of the implications of the kiss between luke and his sister....ewwww.
6.ummmmm, more cut scenes of lea belly dancing in the casino ship.
that would add atleast another 40min easy! :).
There are 3 versions of the film on the disc. Firstly, the original theatrical edition that means that if you want to watch what was first released at the cinema/on VHS, you can. Secondly, a 'work in progress' edition that was shown at the NY film festival - lots of non-coloured images/coffee stains etc. Thirdly, the Special Edition which includes "Human Again" which was a song added for the stage show and added in later (which as an add-on is quite entertaining and works with the rest of the film).
I imagine these versions were done by setting the film to just use different chapters, so parts could be added at different points.
Why can't Lucas do that? Give us the improved sounds and visual effects of the Sp. Editions, but give people a choice of Original or Pointlessly Remixed versions of the film.
PS If you've never seen the Platinum Edition of B&TB, do so. It's a great example of how to make a great DVD set.
Plus, in the starport Jabba's moving around, and has all these expressions, just like a lame-ass cartoon. It contrasts terribly with the stationary, smug, heartless Jabba we know and love from his palace and on his yacht in the Sarlacc Pit scene.
In the first film, they took some cutting-room floor footage of Han talking to Jabba as he's preparing to take off in the Millenium Falcon.
Want to hate that scene even more?
Notice the part where Han circles Jabba while proposing a deal. Originally, that was fine since Jabba was a fat guy who looked like the rancor handler. But now that they were pasting a big slug with a long tail over the guy, Han couldn't really walk around hom anymore. Unadjusted, Han would be walking right through the animation.
Their solution? Make it look like Han is stepping on Jabba's tail by cutting him from the background and moving him up a bit then down a bit as he circles Jabba. They even make Jabba comically cringe when Han "steps" on his tail. This looks about as real as when a kid bounces a doll along the ground to make it "walk".
$8.95/mo web hosting
The trilogy, featuring the classic franchise films "Star Wars," "The Empire Strikes Back" and "Return of the Jedi," will be released on three DVD discs, with a fourth disc likely to hold a newly made documentary about the "Star Wars" franchise and never-before-seen footage, among several other bonus materials, said Jim Ward, Lucasfilm's VP of marketing and distribution and the DVD trilogy's executive producer.
Oh please let the bonus materials be a digitally restored copy of the Star Wars Holiday Special!
Imagine the marketing possibilities! You could promote the touching "Life Day" celebration! Multicultural wookie Goodness!
If you haven't seen it, go here. You really need to.
Have a Very Wookie Christmas! I know if I get this I will!
Dragging people kicking and screaming into reality since 1996.
So, anyone got a source for a nice, MPEG-2, digital audio rip of the original-version widescreen laserdiscs?
That was humor you twit.
My other Slashdot ID is much lower.
Nitpicky, I know, but it was one of my favorite lines in Empire. Right after Luke jumps/falls off the platform, Vader turns around and as he passes one of the Empire's goons, he snaps "Prepare my ship.". I always liked that line because he sounds so angry when he says it. And in the Special Editions, they changed the line. I don't know why, but they did. Pisses me off every time I see it. I don't care nearly as much about the other scenes, but I always liked that line.
The line was "Bring my shuttle." He says it in such a way that you can really feel his frustration. The new lines show no emotion, and give no insight into his character. They were just a way to introduce a new scene.
There they were, sitting in the van with all those dials, and the cat was dead. -V. Marchetti, CIA
> why do you think that Han was by far the most popular character in the films?
It's because he's the only person in any of the (first three - not familiar with the newer ones) films who can act. Alec Guinness looked awkward, and absolutely hated the films. I don't remember seeing any of the other actors in anything else since.
Wait - didn't the actor who played Luke Skywalker appear in some of the FMV in the PC version of Wing Commander 4?
The music, by John Williams, is a cheap copy of Stravinsky too, btw.
It's a shame, but there really aren't very many intelligent science fiction films. Bladerunner, and...um....er....
IMDb's "alternate versions" section is your friend: Star Wars, The Empire Strikes Back, Return of the Jedi.
Carl: Attack of the Clones sucked more!!!
All the while fighting with plutonium rods.
Simpsons and Star Wars
Yeah, but we'll complain about it in top Comic Book Guy form!
Worst. Special Editions. Ever.
I only bought four copies.
Feh.
Education is the silver bullet.
a) Cut back and forth between the actors
b) Pan back and forth
c) Use a crop to show both actors on screen.
Now, the first two suck. They are just not the same as the original version, and sometimes clumsily done. I can name many movies with obvious Pan & Scan artifacts (e.g. Ghostbusters media coverage montage scene, Austin Powers Vegas scene and so on). Pretty annoying.
On the other hand, using a matte allows the director to use footage from the top and bottom of the screen to flesh out the bars that would normally be in a 4:3 presentation of a 2.35:1 movie. Often this causes feck-ups, especially boom mike goofs. The IMDB goofs pages has many entries that only apply to certain aspect ratio versions.
Back to the point. Cinema is all about the big screen. That's where directors want their movies watched. Maybe because of the artistic merit, maybe for the per-person revenue. Whatever. The point is that the original theatrical version is the one to watch.
Not all movies are WS, some directors didn't take to it. Kubrik for example didn't use it, except maybe for "eyes wide shut" (never seen it, too much BS hype). Jeez, most of his films only had monoural sound.
By the way, in case anyone is wondering, I checked the press release. The SW DVDs in this thread will aparently be released in separate anamorphic WS (yippie) and 4:3 (if that takes your fancy).
I'll be going for the WS ones. I don't buy a painting to cut pieces out to fit an old frame I happen to have lying around. The same with film.
It effectively changes Han's character from an outlaw who cares only about himself, to some sort of good guy who found himself in trouble.]
Add to that the fact that the added effects shot was so poorly done that I still cringe just thinking of it. Greedo is sitting two feet away from Han with his blaster aimed squarely at him, yet somehow misses by a mile?
Assuming the new scene is the same length as the old scene, it would be pretty easy to splice the old scene back in.
I don't mind the new Jabba scene, having already seen the film. But I think it takes away from Jabba's evilness in part VI. Which is one of the few decent parts of that film...
Sure, I agree with all of you, Han should be shooting first, it's more "in character" with him, and makes him coming in to save the day at the end that much more important (If he's always a good guy, why is it such a shock - sometimes there are shades of grey George!)
OTOH, we should be pointing out what a tremendous slap in the face to all those that worked so hard on the original movies (that made George into what he is today) it is to refuse to release the original versions on DVD. By refusing to release the original, unedited editons on a format that preserves them for generations instead of decades because they (paraphrased quote)"aren't the movies the way I wanted to make them, but wasn't able to because the technology didn't exist," George is saying that the incredible achievements of ILM on those orginal versions is worthless. He forgets the fact that those movies changed the way all movies were made from that point on. He dismisses the hard work of his cast, crew, and effects workers on the original cuts as weak, and unfinished products - nevermind the fact that those unfinished, weak versions made him a millionaire many times over, defined a genre, created groudbreaking visuals, and broke box office records that stood for years to come. Think about it, when "A New Hope" came out it cost roughly $2.00 a ticket, and it wasn't until Tim Burton's "Batman" came out at an average ticket price of more than twice that for the box office returns record "A New Hope" held was broken.
George's attitude shows through in more than his words, his actions speak louder than he ever could, he hates the fan base. He ignores our request to be able to relive a cherished moment in our upbringing in order to feed his own ego. Why do we put up with him anymore. Listen to your fans George, they put you in that ranch, and while we won't be taking you out of it, I miss being able to look up to you. Stop ignoring our requests, and quit stoking your own ego. Stop spitting on those that made you who you are.
Save the Original Trilogy - Sign the petition
Clothes make the man. Naked people have little or no influence in society - M. Twain
Several years ago I saw an IMAX film on special effects. The opening scene for Star Wars was recreated in IMAX. No digitial enhancing bull. They cleaned up the models and shot them in IMAX.
The effect was amazing. I saw it in one of those semispherical IMAX screens and the footage and sound completely enveloped you. Very impressive.
FireFly is the answer. You have a kick-ass writer/director who is more than willing and able and actors who have already put in some amazing acting. You have a plotline that grabs you by the gut and pulls you along for a ride.
I warn everyone who has not seen Firefly yet -- if you get the DVDs and start watching them, you will go one half of the best ride of your life. It will be like getting on the world's greatest rollercoaster (with 10 loops!), making through the first 3 loops and having the rollercoaster stop in the middle of the ride. You will love what you get and be disgusted that there is not more.
Still, if people continue to buy the DVDs and word of mouth continues to spread, there is still the movie in the works and hope for SciFi or someone else to pick it up. Fox should be smart enough to put it into production again as long as they are getting paid.
Its more effective than harsh language
(I thought I read somewhere that Marlon Brando was actually playing Jabba in that scene
Common misconception. Marlon Brando was actually Jabba in Return of the Jedi. A lot of people think it's a big puppet, but it's just Brando naked.
Williams has made a career out of copying Stravinsky, but the piece I'm referring to, which he copied in Star Wars, and again in Jaws, is The Rite of Spring (Le Sacre du Printemps). Listen to the music in Star Wars IV when the droids have crash landed on that desert planet, and the camera is panning around, with the eerie music in the background....then listen to "part 2 - introduction` of Le Sacre. I just tried to find a site online where you can listen to parts of this excellent piece of music, but unfortunately the first 10 or so disks I found on Amazon break the piece up into 20 or so tracks (and rightly so), not just two, and Amazon only let you listen to the first 6 or so tracks, but if you look long enough you'll probably find a copy online with just the two tracks, and it'll be the start of track 2.
I can't recommend Stravinsky's music enough.
I won't buy the DVDs, because I personally think Star Wars sucks now. Partly because of the Special Edition, and partly just because now that I'm older I realize that they just weren't good movies to begin with. When I was a kid, I didn't know anything about acting or cinematography or anything, and I liked them. The only thing those movies had going for them was the nostalgia from childhood, and George ruined that.
If George had fixed minor flaws in the movie, that doesn't ruin the effect. But all this CG stuff looks so out of place in these old 70s/80s films. It definitely changes the feel of the movie.
The sad thing is that everyone will go out there and buy the DVDs, even though it seems like everyone hates the Special Edition. Bitching about how they suck is obviously not a clear message to Lucas. The only way to get the message through to them is to not buy the movies.
I couldn't care less if Lucas finally releases Star Wars on DVD.
What I want to see is THX-1138 on DVD. His one great movie.
GCHQ Quantum Insert installed. If only our tongues were made of glass, how much more careful we would be when we speak
". . .the original version technically don't exist."
You can't blame him. I mean how many times have you clicked on "Save" in the File Menu instead of "Save As"?
I didn't actually compare the movies at all. You are welcome to choose your poison. This isn't about the content - it's about the business model.
/that/ star wars. We are talking about the one that came out in the 90's. You can't buy the '77 one anymore even if you wanted to. So I guess the star wars that defined the genre is dead. Now all we can see is the one that fell victim to the cliches of the genre it helped spawn.
Peter Jackson and New Line, regardless of the movie's content, are treating those who choose to purchase the films with respect. George Lucas is not.
Since you brought up the content and the genre defining aspects of films, I have to make a side comment:
Star Wars may have come out in 1977, but we aren't talking about
As someone hinted at elsewhere in the posts, Lucas may be pulling an intentional version of the "New Coke" fiasco. According to Wikipedia:
The public were unhappy with the new taste, and even more unhappy that they were no longer able to obtain the original product, and so the company had to backtrack and return to the older formula. However, when they went back to the original formula - now renamed Classic Coke/Coca Cola Classic - demand for the classic taste grew to a greater extent than before New Coke...
Sounds like something an evil marketer might want to try... Who knows, maybe we'll see Classic Star Wars in 2006, when all of the marketing from the newer Star Wars' is finished and Lucas is scrounging around for something to sell before making Episode 7. G'ah.
Who cares? I've owned these DVDs for years...in fact, I have the original trilogy and SE trilogy with a total of 37 different covers!!! All with Chinese, Malay, and Thai subtitles too! Beat that Lucas...you fool!!!
Face it; at the end of RoTJ, NOBODY IN THE GALAXY was supposed to know what was going on.
The Second Death Star had been destroyed. Whee. The Imperial Fleet was defeated. Whee.
The Rebels were victorious. Oh joy.
We forget two very important things:
#1 - People fear change almost as much as they hate oppression (look at Iraq / Islam in general; a bunch of seventh-century savages they remain, even while claiming to overthrow governments in the name of their "freedom").
#2 - The Rebels were a minority in the galaxy, whose population mostly just wanted to be left alone.
It's been explored in the novels and elsewhere; during the time of the Empire, there were a few planets in rebellion, but mostly it was just business as usual. Unless you got the attention of the Imperial government, you did business the same way you'd done it under the Republic.
If you joined the Imperial Forces, chances are you did it because of a slick recruiting plan and promises of good wages / adventure -- hey, Luke was about to join up before Obi-Wan came along, wasn't he? For that matter, the officers of the Imperial Navy might have feared Vader, but the grunts were happy enough as they were, obviously.
Therefore, having a LOCALIZED celebration on Endor made sense. There were a bunch of Rebels present, because they'd won the battle, and there were a bunch of Ewoks around because they were indigenous.
Showing celebrations elsewhere? Yeesh, people. THERE WOULD HAVE BEEN NO CELEBRATIONS ELSEWHERE.
You think the entire galaxy would have just cheered and shouted and gone "Whee, the Emperor's gone! Yay!"???
Fuck that. They'd have been hand-wringing, worried about who was restoring/keeping order with the StormTroopers now out of a job. Planetary governors would alternately have been quelling civil distress and working on plans either to take over territory or work their way into positions of power in the new government. Smugglers wouldn't have given a flying fuck, except that the unrest made it easier for them to slip stuff into ports undetected.
That's the reality. On Endor, and maybe a few other Rebel bases, there might have been a party. Mon Calamari perhaps, given what the Emperor did to them.
Coruscant? The seat of the Emperor's power? FUCK NO. Coruscant wouldn't have been cheering. The other planets shown? Likewise.
"Yub Yub" and the original party scene make sense. The Special Edition bullshit is just that, BULLSHIT, and completely ignores the realities of the universe Lucas constructed in the first place.
Not to mention all the guns were replaced with flashlights...
And Leia's suddenly wearing an iPod.
Oh, say does that Star-Spangled Banner entwine / The myrtle of Venus with Bacchus's vine?
the added scenes also messed up the flow of the movie, because certain scenes were edited so things happen on specific musical cues, but with new footage added, the synchronization is all off. It's not just the visuals that were messed with.
Hate to burst your bubble here, but not everybody hates the SE. I liked most of the extras. The only thing I didn't like was the cantina shot. But that's not going to ruin my nostalgia trip.
BTW, I lived in Marin County when the SW movies were originally released and I remember seeing all of them and liking all of them, so I do have something to compare the SE to.
Acting? Cinematography? Sorry, but who the heck cares? The difference between us is that I go to a movie to be entertained for 2 hours, not to find a new philosophy in life. Is the SE perfect? No, but it's not the end of the world and I'm certainly not going to throw a temper tantrum because of the addition of a few scenes that in no way affect the story (except the cantina scene).
Er. Pardon my fanboyism.. but during starwars:a new hope, jabba wasnt NEARLY as big of a gangster he was in the later movies.. he was still getting his whole big shebang together. He was still mobile.. eventually, hes too chubb to even move. Plus, he wasnt on such bad terms with Han at the time.
I also agree that this scene just didnt work.
(all of this negated by starwars ep1)
no
Of course, I'm sure Panavision or a film professional like my dad could explain it better than I can.
First off, for still cameras, there ARE ones that rival or exceed 35mm film. Take a look at the Cannon E01 as an example.
Now as for movies, generally all-digital is going to give higher quality. Why? Well mainly because when you go from analogue film to a digital format, there's always problems with the consistency of the exposure. It's easiest to see with stuff shot on lower res flm like 16mm. Watch Resivour Dogs and notice the sort of "snow" effect in solid colour areas. It's less pronounced on good 35mm film, but still happens.
Now, this is no big deal when the presentation is analogue, you'll probably never see it, even on the big screen, and certianly not on a TV. However that's not true when it goes compressed digital. The MPEG-2 encoder will try to encode all this, or rather an approximation thereof. Now this causes two problems:
1) Uses data that could be used for other information. There's only so many bits per second it's allowed to use, and when they get used encoding something unnecessary like this, there's less for other detail. It's also not real efficient at encoding that kind of noise which leads us to...
2) Because it's not good at encoding it, it tends to generate artifacts that make it much more noticable.
Now when it comes from a digital source, and is digital the whole way, this is not a problem. Thus, on a compressed digital distribution medium, like DVD, you get a better end result.
It will also probably result in a better theatre experience. In the theatre analogue film suffers from some major problems that digital does not:
1) Generation loss. You never see the orignal film, you see, at best, a copy and usually a copy of a copy. Each time, detail is lost. Digital is the orignal every time.
2) Film damage. I've never seen a movie that the film didn't have at least a few flects of dust or the like on it that were visible. Again, never happens with digital.
3) Projector rumble. At all the theatres around here, the projector shakes ever so slightly. This is understandable due to the mechanics of it. Thing is, that slight shake becomes not so slight when transmitted to the large screen. The jitter is certianly visible. DLP projectors (and related technologies) don't do this either.
Combine that with the high resolution that digital films are ususally shot at (3840x2400), and I think the experience will be superior.
He was on bad enough terms to have sent Greedo (and possibly other underlings/bounty hunters) after him. ANY crime boss would have reacted violently after being stepped on by a (now, thanks to Lucas' horrid remix of the movie) "nice guy" like Han who dropped a load of contraband and owed him money.
The truth doesn't care what I think.
Lets not forget about the changes to the end of Jedi. Personally, I liked the original tribal song, not the latin symphony that apparently replaced it.
All, in all the new scenes were a waste of time. Its sad that Lucas is such an arrogant that he refuses to put the originals out on DVD. I was actually hoping he'd do something similar that my T2 DVD does, watch the original, or watch the expanded version...
Oh well, I'm on the fence on whether I'll get these or not. I'm actually pretty sick of the whole Star Wars brand at this point which is sad, cause I was one of the die-hards originally. (guess I wasn't die-hard enough)
-- A computer without COBOL and Fortran is like a piece of chocolate cake without ketchup and mustard
You obviously are using the standard scale in your judgement of acting and not the weighted SciFi scale.
In non-scifi works, actors are expected to have emotional range and be capable of pulling the audience into the plot for the plot's sake. Their ability to project the suspension of disbelief is key into the audience feeling that they are part of an actual event instead of simply an observer.
The SciFi sliding scale, however, is broken into several sub-categories of attributes that are appealing to your typical SlashDot reader. This attributes include such qualities as bust size, scruffiness, ability to immediately represent a given stereotype, bust size, how they look sitting naked on a rock on a desert planet, how they look in a form fitting uniform, bust size, and how they look shooting a ray gun. Occasionally, if they are not female, thus making bust size irrelevant, their acting ability may come into play unless they can show documented proof of being on such hits as "The Scarecrow and Mrs. King".
It is precisely because those lines are well done, funny, clever, or have bravado that they were edited. Lucas seems to think that good dialogue is bad, because it distracts you from all the fancy effects.
I didn't start the comparison, pal. I only mentioned that if you have a beef with Lucas and his "Star Wars revision of the week" games, comparing that to Peter Jackson isn't exactly fair since Jackson has totally up front about how many releases there would be.
Finkployd
LaserDisc is not a digital technology. If you look closely at a CAV laserdisc, you can see the individual frames reflected off the light. It's basically a record player that reads frames (not to be confused with the CED.
In the later years, they kludged some digital stuff into it to do digital sound (AC-3).
But the video itself is not digital. It's an old-ass technology...as a matter of fact, it was originally called 'DiscoVision'. That should give you a hint of its age.
On the other hand, it would be the perfect uncompressed, copy-protection free source for anyone trying to make the 'original' on DVD. They could even sub in the soundtrack from the AC-3 versions of the special edition. That gives me an idea!
(-1, Raw and Uncut is the only way to read)
These aren't the torrents you're looking for. Move along. Move along.
Let's see; in the Bible, horrific things are done to the main character, who endures them and tells people to forgive those who did and treat them kindly.
Yeah. Real violent.
In the OT, it's historical accounts of wars. Ok, check. For that matter, Homer's tales, and most other historical accounts are pretty bloodthirsty. So?
The Koran/Hadith/Shari'a, on the other hand, prescribe brutal punishments and the horrific treatment of women. They include direct calls to convert "infidels" by the sword, to wage war till all are converted.
They call for the enslavement of the "peoples of the book" and the destruction -- wholesale -- of any others.
Compared to the Koran/Hadith/Shari'a, the OT and Bible are childrens' novels about a Turle named Yertle.
Nope. It was James Earl Jones.
j c2 0030410.html
http://www.starwars.com/community/askjc/ben/ask
It's sort of how the first drafts of The Matrix are hokey and suck, and the studio made the Wachowskis change a lot of things and streamline it, and the movie was deliciously paced and really good.
Then for Reloaded and Revolutions, they were given free reign. Hmm.
"...good ol' photographic film, which offers a resolution far higher than any existing digitised video format..."
Ok, i'll give you the benefit of the doubt here and assume you mean physical medium formats (e.g. DVD, etc...)
But here, you're WAY wrong.
"Same goes for digital cameras - even the best still don't match the resolution of a decent 35mm film."
First, standard DSLR's have advanced a LOT in the past few years. Although megapixels are fast becoming irrelevant (color depth, CCD sensitivity, etc... are becoming much more important) the top of the line cameras are much higher resolution than they used to be. The Kodak DCS 14n which isn't even new is 13.8Megapixels. As mentioned the Canon EOS-1Ds is 11MP.
But if you want to compare against the high end, how about a PhaseOne H25 22Megapixel 4x5 scanback?
Or how about a 140.76Megapixel Super10K-2 from BetterLight.com?
Super10K-2
10200 x 13800 pixels - Native CCD resolution
402 MB max. file 24-bit RGB (804 MB in 48-bit RGB)
Now you may argue I'm comparing apples and oranges (4x5 vs. 35MM), but your comment was that the best digital cameras don't match 35MM...which IMHO is wrong when compared to the best format digital cameras.