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Ole Georgie Boy does it again.............

Botch said:
Perhaps one day he'll digitally remove Jar Jar Binks from "The Phantom Menace." Would anyone complain about that? Anyone?
:laughing: :laughing: :laughing:



Yeah, I sure wouldn't complain. He's the sole reason why the Phantom Menace is my least favorite Star Wars film.
 
Between his screwing around with the films and the god-awful prequel trilogy, I'm SO tired of Star Wars...of course I'll get the BDs but I'm in no hurry at all to watch them.
 
I thought about the BDs, but if he's making more changes, I won't even bother.


I still got my LD player. God Bless the laserdisc LOL!
 
I'm with you Yesfan the only way to watch the original trilogy is Laserdiscs I own the DVDs but always grab my laserdiscs versions when I want to watch these. They are in the true super widescreen aspect ratio and they are non cgi computer enhanced fucked it all to hell versions. The scratches and pops actually take me back to 1977 and seeing it that way at the local cinema.
 
MatthewB said:
I'm with you Yesfan the only way to watch the original trilogy is Laserdiscs I own the DVDs but always grab my laserdiscs versions when I want to watch these. They are in the true super widescreen aspect ratio and they are non cgi computer enhanced fucked it all to hell versions. The scratches and pops actually take me back to 1977 and seeing it that way at the local cinema.


I have:

THX laserdisc remasters. I think those came out in the early to mid 90s. I was still a member of Columbia House's laserdisc club when I got them, so that should give you an idea of how old they are. I also have the Special Editions that were released on laserdisc shortly before the Phantom Menace's theatrical release.

I do have episodes I and II on DVD that I got when they first came out but that's it (2005 I think). The classic trilogy had yet to be released on DVD when I got them and when I read about the changes Lucas done in Jedi, I didn't even bother. I think back then he had the classic trilogy available only in VHS or only in fullscreen and the prequels were DVD and/or widescreen only. I do remember something like that as one version was a gold boxset and the other was silver.

I know they are his films and he can do as he likes, but as a fan I thought they were great as they were. The changes are clearly made to make more money off them. I really doubt it's to make the storyline more of how he envisioned it. Look at how much money he has made from all the controversy. Rabid fans bitch and complain about the changes, yet they will still buy the most recent release. Bluray's been out for how long now and SW is now finally making it's Bluray debut?
 
The worst change I thought was when he created all the digital characters in Mos Eisley to look more crowded (the town where Obi Wan says to the stormtroopers, "These aren't the droids your looking for" in the original the characters were very sparse reminding you that Tattoine was a sparse desert planet that was hardly inhabited, yet whn Lucas went back and added tons of new characters making the city look bustling, it lost alot for me. That and the added Jabba scene with han Solo man did Lucas fuck that scene all up.
 
I'm still trying to decide if it is worth it to get the extended versions of LOTR on BD.
 
This brings up an interesting philosophical question:
It may yet happen in our lifetimes that we no longer buy any digital entertainment on physical media (disks, etc) but will only buy/rent "rights" to it, sitting out on some cloud.
What's to prevent the originator from screwing with something we liked in the older version? Will we have access to a Saved file of the older version, a la SharePoint?
Hmmm...
 
If you have the rights to that file, can't you just download it from the cloud and save it to your PC?


That's the part of the cloud that worries me. It's it's going to be just a streaming only world, I don't think I'll like that. Whether it's physical or something in cyberspace, having "collections" of something is important to some people.
 
I'm in no hrry to buy the Blu Ray versions and I think my wife has for bidden me to buy it. I have the special edition laserdiscs that came out in the 1990s as well as the original Definitive Collection - the box set that includes a hardback book about Lucas and his films. i also have the DVDs as well. I wish George would release the original theatrical release on Blu Ray.
 
Well finally bought the Blurays (9 disc book) and watched "A New Hope" last night considering this movie was the oldest and wanted to see the changes made. I will say first off that I am like a kid again while watching this Bluray. I have owned the Laserdisc, VHS, DVD and now Bluray version and have to say that finally George has given this movie the much needed updated to sound and picture that has been lacking for almost 35 years now. I had just watched the Laserdisc version last week after ordering this so I could have a good frame of reference to how I recall seeing this in the theater as a nine year old. When I was nine this movie was my life, I lived all things Star Wars, had the toys and movie cards (still do btw) and my local theater had the movie playing for 58 straight weeks and I saw it 57 of those weeks in the theater, It was my usual Saturday afternoon ritual because I was such a fan. So feel I have a pretty good reference on giving this review.

I will first say that the Audio update that George has done is finally first rate. I mean this audio blew away the DVD THX version I own by leaps and bounds. This movie has tons of explosions and they were always kind of dull thumps and no real bass, but the Bluray changed all of that. Just deep loud and rump shaking bass with some big explosions (destruction of Alderan and Death Star) almost every blast point from laser guns had great quick thump to it and the surround sound was finally first rate. After the destruction of the Death Star (sorry no spoiler alert you all should now this by now) the shock wave that follows after the destruction is loud and present in the rear back channels. This bluray has 6.1 DTS-HD Master Audio (why not 7.1 don't know but that sixth channel gets alot of use in this 35 year old movie) This movie will really show what can be done (properly) to audio when time and care are taken to get everything right. I was really really impressed with the audio, so much so that I kept mentioning to it my GF who could really see the smile on my face everytime she looked at me. I give the audio 4.5/5

Picture quality, Finally Lord have mercy has the all the video problems with all the versions of this movie been tackled, especially the imperfections with the matte screening of all the spaceships when they flew on screen and you could obviously see light gray "boxing" that would occur against the blackness of space, speaking of which all the stars are finally razer sharp and not that dull bulb effect, detail in very precise and you get alot more depth and immersive while watching this. There is still some grain in the film during the Tattoine scenes but overall everything is fantastic. I don't approve of all the changes made to Star Wars with the digital add ons, But I do approve of about 80% of them and did like the brief but few new scenes that were put in to give the movie a more in depth storyline. Overall I am a kid again watching this movie for the first time and can't give kudos to George enough for finally getting this version right. PQ 4/5

If your hesistant about buying this movie again. Don't be this is by far the best version ever that this expert on this particular movie that I have seen. A must buy for any Star Wars fan. Next up "The Empire Strikes Back"
 
Great write-up, thanks. I got my copies from Amazon earlier this week and can't wait to see them on a big projection screen. I haven't watched any of the original movies all the way through in about a decade.
 
Thanks Matt. I was hesitating but will now order.

But if they suck I'm making a trip to AZ.
 
Thanks guys, few more observations. With the jawas I always thought they had black gloves on but now I see that they have black hairy hands and the hairs are very easy to see. There is also a great scene with the jawa transport vehicle where in previos versions all you saw was the vehicle against a night sky. Now you see it is sunset and the sky is that dark blue as sunlight is finally fading and the twinkle of the first stars are just starting to show. That five second scene really impressed me and created a nice mood and you finally get an idea of just how large the jawa transport vehicle is.

The chess scene on the falcon was also very detailed and you can easily see how much effort went into making the scene. Before you could easily tell the stop motion photography that was used, now it is much more fluid kroon and all the creatures in the game all have unique movements.

They did change the scream that Obi wan uses to scare off the sand people after they attack Luke and they also hid R2-D2 behind some rocks when Obi Wan meets Luke for the first time. On the net there is debate on this fix but I actually liked the scene considering the change. ILM also fixed the skin coloring issues on previous versions where some people looked pasty.

Just overall great fix ups.
 
If you get the chance, can you posts some screen shots comparing the Bluray to the DVD (or your best version) to get an idea of what the changes are?

When you say digital scenes, are you meaning new scenes added besides the ones they added to the Special Edition laserdiscs? I always thought there was still a hole between Revenge of the Sith and A New Hope.
 
Thanks, Matt, that's convinced me, too. The last version I had (of eps 4-6) was on VHS, so I guess I'm about due for an upgrade. :laughing:
 
Yesfan I'll try to get some screenshots for you. The digital add ons are the new scenes. They placed rocks in front of R2 when he hides from sand people. The attack on the death star has more fighters but this was done on the DVDs but I approved of this because in the original they had like 10 fighters shown and that was it. There are only three new scenes added that I never saw before and had no effect on the story at all but like the new jawa transport scene it does show just how massive it is. Gimme a day or two to get the screenshots up.
 
Edit - post previously reported as "simulated 1080p" corrected to "simulated 720p" - thanks Randy

Okay guys, here are some comparison pics between DVD and Bluray. The DVD was played using my HD-DVD player with upconverting DVD to simulated 720p via HDMI to my 720p Samsung Plasma. The version is the best DVD that was produced and is the THX certified DVD version. Bluray is played using my PS3 via HDMI to 720p plasma. I tried to get the image almost exact but you may notice slight movement in image as I was not exactly precise using my pause. BTW this is using my crappy digital camera so no critiques. Also no post picture processing was done at all.

DVD

StarWarsbeforeandafter003.jpg


Bluray Notice you can see more stars and they are more pinpoint, also more detail in the starship.

StarWarsbeforeandafter004.jpg


DVD

StarWarsbeforeandafter005.jpg


Bluray again more stars visable and more pinpointing.

StarWarsbeforeandafter006.jpg
 
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