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Star Wars DVD Box Set Released
dealsites writes "CNN reports that George Lucas is releasing the Star Wars DVD box set early on September 21, 2004 due to piracy concerns. Lucas had intended to release the box set of the original 3 movies after Episode III: Revenge of the Sith was released. However, he mentions that due to piracy concerns the profits are being eaten up and there might not be a market for the films at that time. The box set contains the changes that Lucas has made from the original releases. CNN also reports on the top 5 major changes. Lucas is quoted as saying that he never intends to re-release the original 3 movies in the first CNN link."
Looks really good in terms of picture quality, but Han/Greedo obsessives will not be placated; they now shoot at almost exactly the same time. And Sebastian "Anakin Skywalker" Shaw (at least in his non-disfigured state) has been CGI'd out of history and replaced with a mulleted Hayden Christensen.
When I am king, you will be first against the wall.
Take a look at these pages for alleged quality differences between recent home releases of the films, including the 2004 DVD release.
- Episode IV
- Episode V
- Episode VI
Now I am going to go watch my copy of the trilogy...on DVD!
Me too! I'm going to watch the original movie I watched as a child on DVD, without any changes! No rose-colored glasses, with things changed to how they "should've been".
Real artists don't go into a museum, take their painting off the wall and change it whenever they have a whim. It's one thing to touch up the special effects... it's another to insert/replace characters in the movie, changing the meaning of entire scenes by changing character's actions.
I think if Lucas had any respect for the work he had done in the past, he would want to preserve it. In the meantime, I'll be doing my best to make sure that the movie how I saw it still exists for me to enjoy with my children someday.
George Lucas would be a good candidate for residence in Mos Eisley. He isn't quite the scum of the universe, but he is a known liar regarding the future and fate of Star Wars. He's claimed, at various times, that he intended Star Wars to be 1, 3, 6 and 9 films - from the start! No matter what the current plan, he's always had it in mind. It took him several decades to even admit that Star Wars was not only not originally planned to be 3, 6 or 9 films, but that it didn't even have an original plot or characters, and was a reconstitution of The Hidden Fortress in a space setting. He steadfastly denied that negative fan reaction to elements of The Phantom Menace (idiot Jar Jar, whiny Hayden) caused changes in Attack of the Clones - nope, he'd planned it that way from the start. He's even on record lying to Steven Spielberg about having 3 Indiana Jones films ready - from the start. It could be a pathological condition. Perhaps Lucas is a megalomaniac and always needs to perceive himself as the sole architect. The point of all this is, don't expect that Lucasfilm/Fox won't be hawking the original versions sometime, for some extreme premium, just because Lucas currently says that isn't going to happen. For all we know, he planned for the originals to be released on DVD when he first conceived of all 15 movies of Star Wars... we just haven't been informed yet.
In all likelihood he's probably trying to drive up fan demand. He's been constantly commenting on the release of "the originals" in the press for about 2 years now.
And piracy doesn't affect squat - what people really want to pirate doesn't exist because Lucas hasn't authorized it yet. You can pirate HDTV rips if you just want the movies, but the originals on DVD, with brand-new new bells and whistles and the attractive packaging we all enjoy, will sell like hotcakes when released even if they're pirated non-stop from now until then.
If Lucas actually isn't lying for once, consider that he's 60 years old and could retire, cede control to someone else, or pass away at pretty much any time now. Even if his mind's made up now, it might not be his choice to make for much longer.
Film has nowhere near 4000 lines of resolution - you are in the territory of grain at that point. More like 1000 - 2000, depending on the quality of the film stock and the lenses used. VHS sits at around 300 lines of resolution. DVDs potentially carry up to 780 lines of resolution (this is the maximum provided for in its digital image format) but chances are, your TV set, unless its HDTV or top of the line NTSC, is showing you 500-600 lines of resolution.
All of these mediums have exactly the same number of raster lines - 525, of which you can see approximately 480 - again depending on the overscan properties of your viewing device.
planet texture maps and more