Changes to Star Wars trilogy on DVD?

[Rogue_Leader 2]

= Rolling On The Floor Laughing My Ass Off.

BTW doesn'[t Mace Windu have a pink saber?

[Luke Skywalker 1,805]

Thanks. How rude

Its Purple.

The thing is it is always purple (excetp in EPI which was supposed to be blue and watever :roll: )

Vader is pink just in some shots, that makes the DVD as unfinished

[King Mark 3,631]

The screenshots look fantastic.

K.M.

[Luke Skywalker 1,805]

Definately. The video looked good, but compared to it wow. Unless they are comparing DVD with fan-used video

I read that ROJ has video and Sound like if it were a nowadays movie

[Henry B 50]

Well, uh...yay for this...review. I noticed that the saber cross in RotJ is still a little messed up, but not as much as in earlier screencaps, so it's probably just a brightness/contrast/compression/etc. issue.

[John Crichton 4]

Of all the comments I've read (and said myself) concerning the changes to the original trilogy, this paragraph from the Digital Bits review makes so much sense and is so on the money it's scary:

Ultimately, I've accepted that Lucas is entitled to change these films until he's happy with them. The fact is, he's been changing them since 1977 (for example, right after the first film was released and became a hit, Lucas quickly went back in and added the Episode IV - A New Hope tag). These new CG alterations are simply the logical continuation of his desire to overcome the technical challenges he faced when he originally made the films. I have to tell you, I'm as surprised as anyone to find myself actually appreciating most of these changes. With the sole exception of the Han/Greedo scene (which still bothers me, although less now than as it was in 1997), I think all of the changes are either genuine improvements or simply make sense given the ties to the prequel films. I still think Lucas has a responsibility to save the original versions of these films out of respect for the fans who have supported them all these years, the artists who creatively invested themselves in the original work, and as a way to remind us all just how far the films have come since they were first released. And I still have hope that we'll see those original versions released on disc... eventually... in a more elaborate box set of the entire saga.

Perfectly said.

[Luke Skywalker 1,805]

I a gree with you

[A24 4,362]

Uh, guys, there's one problem. Up till now Lucas has NO plans of releasing the originals. Not now, not in the future. The quote or article sounds very forgiving towards Lucas and his butcher techniques and that's where it's wrong. If Charlie Chaplin, if still alive, would replace the background in all his films with new CGI sets, it would make every historian furious, especially if the originals were to be denied to the public.

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Alex Cremers

[Luke Skywalker 1,805]

Dont compare Chaplin to SW, sorry. NO COMPARISON POSSIBLE. (im not saying SW is better than chaplin, just two different things)

How can you believe at the same time he is in just for the money and that he will not ever release the original versions?

[A24 4,362]

Thinking that one day he'll release the originals, despite his official declaration that no original will ever see the light of day, is no reason to judge him mildly. In his head it's called restoration. He thinks he's restoring the films, the way the jaded picture quality of Lawrence of Arabia has been restored. To Lucas, the dinos walking around in the streets of Mos Eisley is "restoration". If Lucas was an inspired director he would be out there making new films, instead of wasting his energy in constantly "improving" his old ones. Think about it, if Lucas was a singer he would be singing the same song for almost 30 years now! Since Star Wars Lucas is only repeating himself.

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Alex Cremers

[HPFAN_2 0]

He shouldn't release the original version, everyone has seen it already. Let him screw with his movies, after all it is his.

[Lurker 5]

He shouldn't release the original version, everyone has seen it already.

That is the most asinine comment I've ever read here, and I've read posts by Morn!

Neil

[HPFAN_2 0]

This coming from the person who said that the fans own SW and they should dictate what George Lucas does.

[A24 4,362]

He shouldn't release the original version, everyone has seen it already.

I don't believe someone can even come up with this sorta stuff! 8O The word "dumb" isn't strong enough to cover this BS.

[#SnowyVernalSpringsEternal 10,265]

I am forced to agree with Mr. Cremers, what is the world coming too?

[John Crichton 4]

I'm forced to agree with Neil, Alex, and Steef. I think I just stepped into Bizzaro World.

[Luke Skywalker 1,805]

Thinking that one day he'll release the originals, despite his official declaration that no original will ever see the light of day, is no reason to judge him mildly. In his head it's called restoration. He thinks he's restoring the films, the way the jaded picture quality of Lawrence of Arabia has been restored. To Lucas, the dinos walking around in the streets of Mos Eisley is "restoration". If Lucas was an inspired director he would be out there making new films, instead of wasting his energy in constantly "improving" his old ones. Think about it, if Lucas was a singer he would be singing the same song for almost 30 years now! Since Star Wars Lucas is only repeating himself.  

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Alex Cremers

And succeding $$$ for it. Are you bored dont give more money to him.

THey are not dinos! They are dewbacks and Rontos!

As long as he finally releases the originals versions, he can change his own work and make new versions as he wants. And i will be happy with it. You could always then choose the version that suit yourself more

[Lurker 5]

I fear that the original version is so far gone, that even if it does find its way to a legitimate format in the future, mistakes will still creep in from all of this tinkering. If key music can be inadvertently dialled out then I can't believe Lucasfilm is capable of doing anything right anymore.

Neil

[Danielle 0]

Neil, I'm sort of beginning to see it that way too. I've been a Star Wars fan for as long as I remember, but now when I think of it, it just isn't the same thing any more. Overall I'm just growing tired of the whole circus surrounding it, tired of the hype, the disappointment etc, and I've cancelled my pre-order of the box set. I remain convinced that the original films will be released in due time, but I think that when that time comes I'll probably be past the point of caring about it anymore. There are lots of other great films out there.

[Lurker 5]

I've cancelled my pre-order of the box set.

I'd like to go out and buy you a drink sometime.

Neil

[#SnowyVernalSpringsEternal 10,265]

Well there a better reason then any to visit England again.

[Eplicon 53]

Whatever Lucas said recently about preserving films and wanting to keep the films he loved as a child preserved, it's more or less a double-edged sword that he's dealing with. To quote Michael Corleone from The Godfather Part II: "We're all part of the same hypocrisy..."

I'm still getting the set. A few minutes of changes here and there does not take away anything from the core elements of the film. The story is still there. (Most of) the characters are still there. The plot of good vs. evil, Luke's quest to follow in his father's footsteps are still there. The special effects might be a little different, but they were not the main points of the film. In the original trilogy at least, Lucas knew they were supposed to supplement the movie, not take over it (which unfortunately, the opposite has been true for the prequels). I'm eager to hear the new 5.1 sound mix when the X-Wings attack the Death Star, when the Falcon is pursued through the asteroid field, when Luke races through the Endor forest, among other things -- Lucas's tin ear towards Williams' music notwithstanding.

[pixie_twinkle 48]

Uh, guys, there's one problem. Up till now Lucas has NO plans of releasing the originals. Not now, not in the future. The quote or article sounds very forgiving towards Lucas and his butcher techniques and that's where it's wrong. If Charlie Chaplin, if still alive, would replace the background in all his films with new CGI sets, it would make every historian furious, especially if the originals were to be denied to the public.  

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Alex Cremers

Actually.....

In 1942 Chaplin butchered his silent 1925 classic The Gold Rush by cutting out 15 minutes and by adding irritating and pointless narration which completely ruined the feeling and pacing of the original. He refused to allow the original to be released, insisting that the butchered "sound" version was now the official version. After he died in 1977 the Chaplin estate continued to refuse permission for the original to be released. Finally in 2003 it WAS released as a special feature on the fantastic mk2 DVD release of The Gold Rush (1942 sound version). Nearly 80 years after the film was made we finally get the original on DVD. Shame everyone who remembers the original is dead by now... If Lucas is anything like Chaplin we will get the original Star Wars on DVD in 2055. I only hope I'm still around.

[pixie_twinkle 48]

If Lucas was an inspired director he would be out there making new films, instead of wasting his energy in constantly "improving" his old ones. Think about it, if Lucas was a singer he would be singing the same song for almost 30 years now! Since Star Wars Lucas is only repeating himself.  

----------------

Alex Cremers

Exactly! An excellent point!!!

[A24 4,362]

Uh, guys, there's one problem. Up till now Lucas has NO plans of releasing the originals. Not now, not in the future. The quote or article sounds very forgiving towards Lucas and his butcher techniques and that's where it's wrong. If Charlie Chaplin, if still alive, would replace the background in all his films with new CGI sets, it would make every historian furious, especially if the originals were to be denied to the public.  

----------------

Alex Cremers

Actually.....

In 1942 Chaplin butchered his silent 1925 classic The Gold Rush by cutting out 15 minutes and by adding irritating and pointless narration which completely ruined the feeling and pacing of the original. He refused to allow the original to be released, insisting that the butchered "sound" version was now the official version. After he died in 1977 the Chaplin estate continued to refuse permission for the original to be released. Finally in 2003 it WAS released as a special feature on the fantastic mk2 DVD release of The Gold Rush (1942 sound version). Nearly 80 years after the film was made we finally get the original on DVD. Shame everyone who remembers the original is dead by now... If Lucas is anything like Chaplin we will get the original Star Wars on DVD in 2055. I only hope I'm still around.

Sorry, I didn't know Charlie did that. Hey, he died in 1977, the birth year of Star Wars!!! So there's a link between them after all!

----------------

Alex Cremers

[A24 4,362]

If Lucas was an inspired director he would be out there making new films, instead of wasting his energy in constantly "improving" his old ones. Think about it, if Lucas was a singer he would be singing the same song for almost 30 years now! Since Star Wars Lucas is only repeating himself.  

----------------

Alex Cremers

Exactly! An excellent point!!!

Thanks! I had one of my clear moments.

----------------

Alex Cremers

[Lurker 5]

This is from the very first post of this thread...

Star Wars: Episode IV - A New Hope:  

1.The Imperial March has been added to Darth Vader's first  

appearance on Princess Leia's ship. 2.The lightsaber effects have been redone and the frame jumps of lightsabers being turned on has been removed. 3. There's a new scene which has been shot during the filming of Episode III in which the Emperor dissolves the Senate. 4. The bleeding arm on the floor in the Cantina has been replaced with a non-bleeding arm because it's now canon that lightsabers cauterize wounds. 5. The original shooting scene between Han and Greedo has been restored. 6. When the Death Star destroys Alderaan there's a new scene of Yoda's reaction to the disturbence in the Force that is created by all those deaths and then it cuts to Obi-Wan reacting to it as  

well. 7. Temuera Morrison's voice is being recorded for  

use with all the stormtroopers and Boba Fett in all the movies. 8. The Obi-Wan/Vader duel has been remade. A modified version of Duel of the Fates is being considered for the scene. 9.The Death Star battle is more epic 10. There's a new scene with Vader goes to Coruscant in the same building at the end of Attack of the Clones and inform the Emperor of a new potential who is strong in the Force. 11. Chewbacca now gets a medal.

None of this is in the new edition.

Neil

[Rogue_Leader 2]

I've cancelled my pre-order of the box set.

I'd like to go out and buy you a drink sometime.

Neil

Hey I am also skipping this and getting a DVD of the laserdisk. You and me need to start the movement to get people to boycott this deal.

We will be like the leaders of the Alliance.

[diskobolus 3]

I've cancelled my pre-order of the box set.

I'd like to go out and buy you a drink sometime.

Neil

Hey I am also skipping this and getting a DVD of the laserdisk. You and me need to start the movement to get people to boycott this deal.

We will be like the leaders of the Alliance.

I'm out of it for a little while and everyone gets delusions of grandeur.

[HPFAN_2 0]

Well i'll be getting the dvd, i've only seen the original movies once so this will be my second time seeing them.

[Mr. Breathmask 555]

What I find frustrating is that there are no deleted scenes on the extras disc. None.

Reportedly, there are some outtakes and goofs in the 150-minute documentary, but there isn't a single deleted sequence to be found anywhere else. No Anchorhead, no extended Cantina sequence, no Wampa attack, no sandstorm. Nothing.

Very disappointing, since the TPM DVD was (in my knowledge) the first ever DVD to have scenes completed just for the DVD, giving them something special, and setting a high standard for the following SW releases. These sequences probably needed next to nothing in terms of VFX work.

When asked about this at the DVD-screening, the folks from Lucasfilm said this release was aimed at the current DVD platform, and that right now deleted scenes were not a priority. In other words: we're holding back on this until HD-DVD or BluRay breaks through, so we can make another release with all new extras to further empty your wallets.

As for the originals...

Much has been said on this already, but I would like to add this:

What bothers me is that when they did the clean-up for these DVDs, they used the negatives from the Special Editions. And they looked like shit. Really, they were in a terrible state.

But then imagine what the unaltered versions of these films must now look like. I fear the originals might have already deteriorated beyond restoration. And if nothing else, that's just sad.

- Marc

[Luke Skywalker 1,805]

They could still make an offical transfer from the Laserdisc with good software?

Neil, i have always said i will never buy this release and you never offered me even water!

[#SnowyVernalSpringsEternal 10,265]

You are not a women.

You know that when any man is offering a women a drink he's also offering something else?

[Luke Skywalker 1,805]

AW, IM EMBARRASED NOW!. Why didnt you quoted Rogue?

I thought dani was a he.

Luke, afraid of Obi wan's tastes o_0

[QMM 4]

What I find frustrating is that there are no deleted scenes on the extras disc. None.

Reportedly, there are some outtakes and goofs in the 150-minute documentary, but there isn't a single deleted sequence to be found anywhere else. No Anchorhead, no extended Cantina sequence, no Wampa attack, no sandstorm. Nothing.

There are pictures of deleted scenes in the production photos section of the disc. They include the Biggs/Luke scene on tatooine

[Mr. Breathmask 555]

Oh joy.

I don't want pictures. I want the scenes, dammit.

[#SnowyVernalSpringsEternal 10,265]

I thought dani was a he.

You thought this was a he?

[Luke Skywalker 1,805]

I never seen a photo of she.

Mr Breathmask, if you can find 'Behind the Magic' from Lucas arts, It does have that scene, plus one from the beggining of the movie where luke sees the space battle with bins and continued with another when he arrives to toshee station. Plus an early cantina shooting.

[Mr. Breathmask 555]

Yes, those were the scenes I meant. I have seen them, but in a shitty quality on the internet. These scenes should have been on the DVD. The mere fact that I have to go look for this other product is all wrong.

[Luke Skywalker 1,805]

Yeah...

I want the darned sandstorm for years and im sure they got it too .

The game has 640x480 (but widescreen) quality (just in case maybe you saw them at that quality (crappy nowadays) and then you would not be buying it for the same thing you saw)

[Mr. Breathmask 555]

I saw them in a lower quality. And the prints didn't look good. I had really hoped LucasFilm gave Lowry some of those deleted scenes as well for a clean up.

[Luke Skywalker 1,805]

yep, the early luke scene didnt have sound and all were unclean. It may not be possible to restore them?

[Mr. Breathmask 555]

All the more reason to do it now, before it's too late.

[pixie_twinkle 48]

i have the early luke scene and the scene with luke's friends in anchorhead. it was on a CDrom from about 7 years ago

[pixie_twinkle 48]

Behind the Magic I think it was called.

[diskobolus 3]

Behind the Magic I think it was called.

I have one from 1997 called "Mystery and Magic" or something. I have to find it.

[pixie_twinkle 48]

Yeah something like that. The scene of Luke standing by the vaporator with his hat on (the one we have an action figure for, even though he hardly ever wears it in the final cut!) is silent and black and white. Quality is quite good, but there are vertical scratch marks all over it. The Toshie Station stuff is pretty good as i recall.

What bothers me is that when they did the clean-up for these DVDs, they used the negatives from the Special Editions. And they looked like shit. Really, they were in a terrible state.  

But then imagine what the unaltered versions of these films must now look like. I fear the originals might have already deteriorated beyond restoration. And if nothing else, that's just sad.  

- Marc

So how come the DVD of The Gold Rush (1925) looks so clean? Or Citizen Kane (41)? Or Lawrence (62)? I sometimes think they choose to show a particularly dodgy bit of the original film when comparing how good the restoration looks. It wouldn't surprise me if they digitally make the original look worse in the "before and after" segments so we all think "Gosh, they're clever!"

[Mr. Breathmask 555]

According to Lowry, the print looked worse than some 40-year-old films when they started working with it. Sometimes film deteriorates faster than in other cases.

[A24 4,362]

Film already starts rotting after 10 years.

[Mr. Breathmask 555]

What the hell?!? What's that I can see through Hayden? Is it the old image of Shaw? Damn, this effect has really been placed badly in this old film.