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Star Wars DVD Set Previews/Reviews
Reducer2001 writes "USA Today has an article up that has a couple more details about the upcoming Star Wars DVD release. The cantina shootout between Han Solo and the green-snouted bounty hunter Greedo is virtually identical, but now it seems their guns fire almost simultaneously." Reader Jutebox150 writes "Time magazine has an early preview of the Star Wars DVDs and gives some justification for Lucas issuing the updated versions of the trilogy and talking about his many mental and physical battles to finish filming. The article also describes a 2.5 hour documentary by Kevin Burns that traces the origins of the saga. 'The first cut of Star Wars,' Burns' narrator says, 'was an unmitigated disaster.'" Reader spoco2 writes "The Star Wars Original Trilogy is due for worldwide release on the 21st on DVD, but the first reviews are appearing already in Australia (obviously of the PAL version). Yes, they are the SEs with even more differences (Now Gredo and Han shoot at the SAME time!). I'm afraid I'll be waiting for the day when George reconsiders and releases the untouched originals."
Begun, this flame war has...
How tantric.. err..
So now we have Star Wars, Episode IV, designed by a committee edition. I may yet end up with the box set (we have a house full of furniture and need smaller things to put on our wedding "wannas" list.. yeah.. I hate the concept too, but practicality is winning on this one).
Norman Cook's Ode to Sl
as all guns are now replaced with walkie talkies.
*yawn*
Call me a purist, but I think the akward "Kiss Goodbye" between Jar Jar Binks and Chewbacca in the cantina is unappreciated at best.
Also, I heard thanks to product placement, the death star now has the AT&T Logo slightly superimposed.
Lucas, tired of people still complaining that Han shoots first, and not at the same time as Greedo, will tweak the scene so that, even though the shots look simultaneous, it will be possible to demonstrate that Han's shot fired milliseconds before Greedo's.
However, I predict this will fail to silence the critics that still complain about Han stepping over Jabba's tail.
1. Han cries "Nice one kid, that was one in a million" BEFORE luke fires
2. The wookie DOESNT win and C3P0 gets an unexpected "backdoor suprise"
3. Han is now Luke's father (See change 1)
4. The final scene in ROTJ has yoda wearing a ninja headband
*rolls up a newspaper and goes to Skywalker Ranch, finds George Lucas, and smacks him over the head four times*
NO! BAD GEORGE! GREEDO DOESN'T GET TO SHOOT *AT ALL*! BAD DIRECTOR! NO COOKIE!
"Destroy science and religion. Science would re-emerge exactly the same; but not religion." - Penn Jillette, paraphrased
I'm still holding out for the version where Han and Greedo hug eachother.
"If you think the problem is bad now, just wait until we've solved it." --- Arthur Kasspe
The article also describes a 2.5 hour documentary by Kevin Burns that traces the origins of the saga.
Did anyone else mis-read that as Ken Burns and think Only 2.5 hours? That must be one of his short films!
You people aren't being hateful enough...
In the original movie, Han Solo and Greedo are in the Cantina sitting at a table together. Greedo informs Han there is a bounty on his head, and threatens his life. Han in a casual sort of way shoots Greedo before he can get a shot off. In the re-release, Lucas changed this so that mean, evil Greedo shots first, but misses, and the more honorable Solo takes him down after that.
The reason this upsets so many people is that this scene established Han Solo as an anti-hero in the movie. He was a rogue and a pragmatist. The core appeal of this character was that he was not so damn foolish as to take his chances and let someone get the first hit in, if he knew a fight was coming. Han was street smart. He would strike first to survive.
Although many on slashdot are loathe to admitt it, this was part of the charm and good writing in the first movie that created its appeal. You had classic heroes,like skywalker. Who were good, but naive and ultimately had super powers to help them do the right thing. You also had heroes like Han who would do the right thing, but get dirty doing it. Characters like Leia were somewhere in between. She was "good" but willing to lie and sacrafice others for her cause. Reality tends to reflect this, which is why the movie spoke to so many so strongly. The changing of the Greedo scene cheapened the movie and its core complexities. Hence, the hatred on these fair forums.
my two cents,
-Iowa
"He who laughs last, didn't get the joke."-Cap
> Don't get me started on Guido shooting first [...]
Oh, great...Lucas has gone and turned the cantina scene into something from The Godfather.
"That's a nice Wookiee you've got there, Mr. Solo...it'd be a real shame if something happened to him..."
I am so disappointed in you geeks - with a picture like Leia and her stunt double sunbathing in *the* outfit (at the Time magazine link), you guys are worried about who shot who first. Shouldn't we all be talking about whether or not that footage is included in the special edition?
*I hang my head in shame.*
I for one welcome our new [insert main topic] overlords.
Why is everyone trying to act like it's not a big deal that R2-D2 and C-3P0 are being replaced with Crow and Tom Servo?
Get your Unix fortune now!
From theforce.net (http://boards.theforce.net/Classic_Trilogy/b10002 /16704309/?596)
---LIST OF DVD CHANGES---
A NEW HOPE
Confirmed :
- The opening crawl has been re-done to match the colour/quality of the PT opening crawl.
- Lightsaber effects have been fixed. The colours now appear more vibrant and the blades better defined.
- The lettering on various Death Star panels will be written in Aurebesh rather than English.
- An improved version of Jabba inserted into his scenes.
- Greedo still shoots first...however, Han's reaction is 'much more realistic'.
- R2's panels will be consistantly blue in all of the space shots, instead of just a few of them.
- The Dianoga now appears more lifelike and not so obviously Stop-Motion.
- The matte-painted hall in the detention block has been fixed rather than just having a bright white light at one end.
Rumoured :
- Stormtrooper voices redubbed by Temura Morrison (Jango Fett).
- The Emperor may possibly make an appearence to address the Senate in a new scene.
- The Imperial March may be inserted into the score in certain parts to maintain continuity with the other films.
- The 'Binary Sunset' shot outside the Homestead could have clouds to match Luke's later POV shot.
- Rumours of work on Obi-Wan's death scene with CGI.
- Door closings/openings could be smoothed out without the frame jumps.
- Rumour that the aliens and other creatures blink now to make them look non-mask like.
- Vader and Obi-Wan's fight scene may be upgraded with CGI work.
- Battle of Yavin shots cleaned up and recomped.
Denied rumours:
- Bail Organa will not be in ANH, for when Alderaan blows up.
THE EMPIRE STRIKES BACK
Confirmed :
- The opening crawl has been re-done to match the colour/quality of the PT opening crawl.
- Lightsaber effects have been fixed. The colours now appear more vibrant and the blades better defined.
- Ian McDiarmid is now in place for Emperor Palpatine's scene, rather than the monkey-eyed old woman. There are also a couple of new lines in this scene.
Rumoured :
- The Tauntauns could be re-done with CGI. .
- Rumour that the missing Wampa Attack sequence may be back into the beginning of the film
- 'Grander escape sequence' between Lando, Leia, Chewie, C3PO and R2 in Cloud City.
- Possible additional deleted scene(s) with Yoda on Dagobah.
- Boba Fett's voice redubbed by Temura Morrison (Jango Fett).
RETURN OF THE JEDI
Confirmed :
- The opening crawl has been re-done to match the colour/quality of the PT opening crawl.
- Lightsaber effects have been fixed. The colours now appear more vibrant and the blades better defined.
- Hayden Christensen appears at the end of the film in place of Sebastian Shaw as 'Ghost Anakin'.
- The Rancor's matte-lines have been removed.
- Naboo now appears in the end celebration sequence.
- In Vader's death scene, Shaw's eyes have been recoloured (to match Hayden's) and his eyebrows removed (as they would never have survived).
Rumoured :
- Palpatine's Force Lightning may have been re-done.
- Rumour that the Jedi Temple now appears in the background of Coruscant during the end celebration sequence.
- Work done on background matte-paintings.
- Rumour that the Ewoks have had CGI work done to animate their facial features.
- Rumour that Watto appears during the Tatooine celebration sequence at the end.
Denied rumours:
- Padme does not appear at the end alongside the ghosts of Anakin, Ben, and Yoda.
MISC INFO
Audio Quality
- "I spoke with Ben Burtt recently. He mentioned the upcoming Star Wars DVDs. It seems that they were able
Check my journal for gmail invites!
If I was a typical moviegoer for the original trilogy, then he's banging his head on the wall for nothing, or actually self destructively.
I was just mentioning my reaction to Star Wars (EP:IV ANH) yesterday.
There were these inexplicable commercials on TV about some movie, but I couldn't make heads or tails of them and ignored them along with spots for Palmolive Dishwashing Liquid, Fleismann's Margarine and anything about the upcoming 6 O'clock news. Then a friend calls, with an almost frantic voice, and asks have I seen the new movie something something. No... Go see it! Drop whatever you are doing and go see it!
Well, you don't get a phone call like that every day (though it may give the MPAA some ideas) I ask and it so happens my Dad, brothers and sister are already planning to go see it, because they've been told this is something really different. Gosh, what can this bee?
So I'm sitting in the theater with my bucket of popcorn and soda and watch the titles, ready for another thrilling cinematic experience, or at the worst, ninety minutes of nursing my snacks and then immediatley forgetting about what I've seen. It wouldn't be like that. Above the broad curvature of a planet a little spacecraft is coasting along with something like short bursts of phasers hitting it. Then the star destroyer seemingly passes overhead while the sense-surround in the theater rumbles and popcorn I just put in my mouth falls back out into my lap. Wooowwww....
The rest of the movie passes with chills of excitement and oohs and ahhs, I probably would have won a staring constest as I don't think I blinked once the whole time. I'd be back a few times, others would be back every day or a few showings every day for months.
When I got home, still late afternoon, I stood in the sun on the driveway with my jaw still slack at what I had seen. Looking up, as if expecting to see a star destroyer cruise over my house. It seemed space fantasy had taken a big step forward and it clearly had a significant impact on millions of others as Star Wars was a massive merchandising success (my sister still has piles and boxes of original stuff, clearly it impacted her more than myself.)
Video games would suddenly take on certain similarities to Tie Fighters, X-Wings, R2D2 and Darth Vader was the epitome of cool.
Star Wars rocked the world and gave George Lucas the finances and clout, which have carried him these 27 years, to do a great many things other producer/directors could only dream of.
It really is pretty awful that he can't be happy with this original artifact and, like some old silver coin with a patina, feels he has to polish it with some course cloth until it's bright, shiny and utterly unattractive to those who appreciate it for what it was.
A feeling of having made the same mistake before: Deja Foobar
I am a Star Wars fan, but not hardcore in any sense of the word. I have never seen the 1997 redone versions, mostly because redoing that movie sounded like the most retarded thing I had ever heard of.
I didn't even know about the Cantina shootout thing until this post, but it might be one of the gayest moves a filmmaker has ever made. The thing is, it is NOT a "Star Wars Nerd" thing....it's a film thing. If what I have read here is true, that is a MAJOR change to a subtle but important incident in the movie. If people don't understand why that change makes a difference, then they don't understand the movie or the character of Han Solo. It's not about whether the movie agrees with all the times you've reenacted the scene with action figures in your bedroom, it's about a movie that was good because of the story it told and the characters it developed being hacked by a director who used to know what he was doing but has now fallen off into a pit of mediocrity.
I can't believe the other changes he made either. Fuck continuity...who CARES for chrissakes? Who would complain about the lack of coninuity? No one. Who would complain about fucking up a masterpiece? Apparently quite a few people. Isn't this movie being made for the audience to enjoy? Apparently not because now the artist is rehashing his work, to the displeasure of the fans, on some kind of ego trip that's supposed to make up for the fact that he will NEVER make a movie that good again.
What is it with people? You go out and make one of the better scifi movies ever made and then shit all over it when it's released to DVD to support continuity with movies that NO ONE thinks are as good as the originals. Dumb Dumb Dumb.
Sorry, this turned into something closely approximating nerd-rage, but it's about ART...and if it's one thing I hate to see it's artists who sell out and forget what they used to be about.
I still have the originals on laserdisc (widescreen) and my laserdisc player still works - so some of us can keep the dream alive.
An elegant format for a more civilized time.