Originally Posted By Jim in Merced CA They've once again released the original 3 Star Wars movies -- this time one can buy them separately [this is a big deal I guess]. They're also touting that the 'original' version in on this disk. Does anyone know if it's truly the original -- with the old special effects et al [Han Solo doesn't shoot first etc.]. I remember reading that the 'original' is interpreted by Lucas to mean 'the ones that were re-edited and additional footage added.' Anyone know?
Originally Posted By Shooba The original theatrical versions (Han shoots first, no Jabba in Episode 4, no CG special effects) etc. are included as a "bonus feature" on these new releases. They're just ports from the old laserdiscs though. They're not even remastered in anamorphic widescreen (for use on widescreen TVs). It's a cash grab, and I for one am not buying them.
Originally Posted By vbdad55 <They're just ports from the old laserdiscs though. They're not even remastered in anamorphic widescreen (for use on widescreen TVs). It's a cash grab, and I for one am not buying them> for the first time, I am joining you in this....I am done with copies of the same movies....have way too many already
Originally Posted By DAR And let us not forget that another dvd set of each of the Lord of the Rings films came out. I agree about not buying anymore of these sets.
Originally Posted By DAR Hit submit too soon. I also subscribe to a Star Wars podcast(NERD ALERT NERD ALERT NERD ALERT) through theforce.net. Next year is the 30th anniversary of A New Hope. So they said you can expect the movie to be re-released again(which I will attend) with even a 3-d release too. And then you guessed a special super duper 30th anniversary edition with a life size R2-D2 figure(okay that I made up.) But in a way I don't blame Lucas or Peter Jackson for sending out multiple versions of their films. As long as the fans are out there, this stuff will keep selling.
Originally Posted By Jim in Merced CA I agree DAR. To a point. If Lucas is so concerned about his fans, why not release the original versions of the first three Star Wars? He doesn't. The original first three Star Wars are dead to him.
Originally Posted By iceknyght Honestly, I think this is more of a 'you want these? Fine, here you go, but I am not going to clean them up, you just get what I happen to have lying around' scenario... Like Jim said, the originals are dead to Lucas, so why should he care about spending millions of dollars to clean up the prints to films in his eyes don't exist anymore? For his fans? Ha! The fans will like what he tells them to like... At this point, we're probably lucky to get these versions and wouldn't be surprised if they don't resurface on another format for a long time (probably still in letterbox format)... It sucks for us fans to be sure, but I did go ahead and re-buy these movies for the *bonus disc* and while they aren't as clean as the new versions, they are very watchable... They are better than the Laserdisc versions (basically due to the DVD format, not that they really did anything to them) and it is nice to own the originals... Luckily, I have a player that corrects the non-animorphic films on my widescreen TV... It's not a perfect fix, but it's better than zooming in on the picture. Overall, I felt they were worth the $15 each I paid for them... Of course, I now have a complete shelf dedicated to Star Wars DVD's... Maybe that super, uber set will be in a space saving format like the Ultimate Matrix Trilogy set... I guess I better start saving for that now...
Originally Posted By Shooba I do want the upcoming version of Episode 1 that will replace the awful Yoda puppet with the CGI Yoda seen in Episodes 2 & 3.
Originally Posted By mawnck >>The original first three Star Wars are dead to him.<< And according to Something I Read on the Internet (tm), they're dead to everybody else as well. The original negatives were cannibalized to make the "special edition" versions, which leaves only fading 70s-era prints (and the laserdisc letterbox video masters) for new releases of the original versions. Incidentally, it is the *remastered* laserdisc masters that were used for the DVDs--original cut, original effects, but with splices, scratches, dust and such cleaned up. I have the *original* first-issue letterbox laserdisc of A New Hope, and it looks a WHOLE lot worse. You'd be amazed at how much worse. Please note that if you don't have a widescreen TV, it literally won't make any difference to you.
Originally Posted By iceknyght >>And according to Something I Read on the Internet (tm), they're dead to everybody else as well. The original negatives were cannibalized to make the "special edition" versions, which leaves only fading 70s-era prints (and the laserdisc letterbox video masters) for new releases of the original versions.<< There are still original versions around, but they may not be part of the Lucas library... I would venture to guess he's got to still have *a* version of the originals still around somewhere... I know some of the original negatives are in private collections and such, so it *could* be done if it came down to that, but again, he'd be spending millions to do something he doesn't want to do in the first place...
Originally Posted By mawnck >>I know some of the original negatives are in private collections and such<< Prints, not negatives. On 70s-era film stock. Very unstable dyes. I agree, it could be done. But it wouldn't be easy or cheap. And it's getting more difficult and expensive with every passing minute.
Originally Posted By Jim in Merced CA <I do want the upcoming version of Episode 1 that will replace the awful Yoda puppet with the CGI Yoda seen in Episodes 2 & 3.> I always liked the Muppet Yoda from 'Empire Strikes Back' and 'Return of the Jedi' better than the CGI version of Yoda. Just a personal preference I guess...
Originally Posted By Shooba Muppet Yoda in 'Empire' and 'Jedi' looks good. Muppet Yoda in 'The Phantom Menace' looks terrible.
Originally Posted By Jim in Merced CA I'll have to take another look at that. What made the difference in 'Phantom Menace'? Why does Muppet Yoda look so bad in that movie?
Originally Posted By Autopia Deb I admit, I fell for purchasing the origional Star Wars (it is NOT A New Hope, at least not to me) just so I can have a version where Han shoots first. As for the other films, there wasn't anything in them heinous enough in the re-master for me to want a theatrical version of them. Now I have the theatrical release of SW, I don't think I'll EVER watch the Greedo shoots first version again (ok, I may watch the commentary, but that's it).
Originally Posted By Shooba >>Why does Muppet Yoda look so bad in that movie?<< He just doesn't look like he does in the other films. I guess he was supposed to look younger, but he just looks...bad. Very little articulation as well.
Originally Posted By Jim in Merced CA <I admit, I fell for purchasing the original Star Wars (it is NOT A New Hope, at least not to me) just so I can have a version where Han shoots first.> Okay, I'm confused again. Is this latest version of 'Star Wars: A New Hope' the original version or not?
Originally Posted By Autopia Deb I have purchased Star Wars IV A New Hope Limited Edition. It has one disk with Lucas's 1997 cleaned up, Greedo shoots first, and Han steps on a miniature Jaba version. There is a feature commentary of this version by Lucas, Ben Burtt, Dennis Muren and Carie Fisher. It looks to be exactly the same thing in the previous DVD box set release. Disk 2 (the reason for my purchase) is the origional 1977 theatrical release and a demo and trailer for the X-Box Lego Star Wars II game. Does that clerify? Or am I just making things more confusing again?
Originally Posted By JeffG >> "Okay, I'm confused again. Is this latest version of 'Star Wars: A New Hope' the original version or not?" << The new sets each include 2 discs, one with the updated "Special Edition" and one with the unaltered original theatrical version. The original version of "Star Wars" even has the original crawl without the "Episode IV A New Hope" subtitle. There is controversy over the quality of the video transfers, but these discs are the only legal way to currently get the original cuts of the films on DVD. -Jeff
