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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."
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.
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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
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.
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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!
You will buy the DVD's
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/
Not to mention all the guns were replaced with flashlights...
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
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.
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Ehh wheres is the Torrrent??
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.
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New Line Cinema and Peter Jackson have been very upfront about their release plans for the Lord of the Rings movies. Saying they are doing the same thing as Lucas is inaccurate... at least so far. Plenty of people thinking they will put out some form of mega-collector's set after the final (extended) movie comes out. But, up to now, they have been very fan-friendly in terms of their openness regarding the release plan.
If all you have are silver bullets, everything looks like a werewolf.
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".
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IMDb's "alternate versions" section is your friend: Star Wars, The Empire Strikes Back, Return of the Jedi.
""What George did in 1997," Ward explains, "was [to] make the movie he originally wanted to make.""
Which is an interesting comment. While the 'special editions' suck less than the prequels, they do suck almost as bad as the original 'Star Wars' scripts before Lucas read Joseph Campbell's books, so we can conclude from this that if Lucas hadn't been kept in check by the studio he'd have released a 'Star Wars' movie that sucked in 1977 and would have vanished without a trace.
Of course, having seen the prequels, the fact that Lucas' "artistic vision" sucks shouldn't really be a surprise.
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.
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.