Original Star Wars Trilogy on DVD

[Chilly Down]

I already voted when someone posted this on a Firefly discussion board. Thanks for spreading the word, Greedo.

I don't mind all the little background stuff. What I miss are the original songs from "Jedi" (infinitely superior to the later ones). Greedo firing first is stupid, doesn't make sense, and makes Han Solo a less interesting character. Jabba looks ridiculous, and Han bullys him around!

In fact, the ONLY thing I felt that needed changing -- the Tauntaun effect, which always looked cheesy -- didn't get changed at all!

We're not talking about little details (i.e. "Episode IV: A New Hope" was added after the original release. No one is asking for that to be deleted). But there are memorable scenes that people grew up with. It's part of our nostalgia, it's part of our film history. And I don't want to shell out a bunch of money to have a pristine copy of "Jedi Rocks."

If Lucas wants to release the Special Edition, that's fine, but why not both? There's a marvelous feature rarely used on DVDs called "branching," which allow you to select which versions of scenes you see. People could pick and choose between ALL the versions of the movie. That would be awesome! You could watch your own customized version of the film. But even if Lucas is greedy and MUST sell them as seperate discs to make more money, I'd go for that. But his stubborn arrogance to release only the version fans don't want, even though it will make him LESS money, makes no sense at all. C'mon, George, buddy. Reconsider. Give us our classic trilogy back.

Oh...and free Hat.

Chilly Down
(who's not a South Park fan, but I happened to see that episode and it was quite funny)

 

[Gonzo]

Originally posted by scarecroe
[*]Luke screams like a girl when he falls in the famous "I am your father" scene

This is the most offensive one to me--although it seems so minor, to me that was Luke's turning point. His ultimate accptance of the truth about himself, both that he was the son of Vader and that he would NEVER allow himself to become the monster his father had...and he made that choice with the dignity and stoicism of the best of the Jedi. And then he chooses to throw himself into the abyss.

Not anymore. Now it's more like a bungee jump or something, and he screams. And SURE, I'd probably scream if I jumped, but it had much more power the original way. A lot of things had more power the original way--the CGI just isn't to the point yet where it's fully integrated and believeable, and it pulls me out of the movies. At the VERY least, the OT should be an alternate track on the discs.

I already signed it (and e-mailed it to a bunch of friends) myself...

And I know there are more important things in the world than Star Wars, but when something that was THAT MUCH of your childhood is changed like that, it's disturbing. I'd compare it to them going back and looping Steve Whitmire's voice over all of Kermit's dialogue and songs in the Muppet Movies...

I'm done.

Quinnnnnnnnnnnn

 

[frogboy4]

Originally posted by Gonzo
...the CGI just isn't to the point yet where it's fully integrated and believeable, and it pulls me out of the movies...

I smell another enhanced Star Wars version. Maybe they'll remake the films every 5 years.

I'd compare it to them going back and looping Steve Whitmire's voice over all of Kermit's dialogue and songs in the Muppet Movies...

Eeeeek! That's something I've thought about. Hope it never happens.

 

[Chilly Down]

Good call, Quinn. I think the Steve Whitmire dubbing idea is the best way to illustrate the problem here.

Interestingly enough, the scream was in the comic-book adaptation. So I didn't even realize it hadn't been there, or that it had been added, till someone pointed it out to me.

Jamie: I think the spirit in which the Muppet films are done gives the impression of a lot more adlibbing than actually happens. A lot of the dialogue moves the plot forward and so can't just be off-the-cuff, and even the jokes are usually directly tied into what's happening. I could be wrong, though. Mainly, I'd love to see the two early drafts of "Muppets in Space" (as it was called at the time) that Jerry Juhl describes in the Interviews section of this site.

 

[anathema]

Lucas' artistic decisions aside, there's one technical reason why they're very unlikely to use seamless branching to present both versions of the films: far too many cheap players simply don't support it (either properly, or at all). There are very few discs on the market using the feature for precisely this reason.

 

[sidcrowe]

Blechhh. Luke shouldn't scream when he falls.

Even the Coyote never screamed when he fell

 

[sidcrowe]

scarecroe:

I signed it. What happens when you get your email confirmation? Why can't we add comments? Oh well, I signed it

 

[Chilly Down]

Originally posted by anathema
Lucas' artistic decisions aside, there's one technical reason why they're very unlikely to use seamless branching to present both versions of the films: far too many cheap players simply don't support it (either properly, or at all). There are very few discs on the market using the feature for precisely this reason.

Good point, Alex. I wasn't aware of this. Of course, they OUGHT to make the players like this...but again, I suppose that would cut into them selling multiple copies of the discs.

 

[frogboy4]

I still don't see why they don't make a boxed set for the enthusiast. Makes sense to me and it's money in the bank.

 

[anathema]

Originally posted by Chilly Down
Good point, Alex. I wasn't aware of this. Of course, they OUGHT to make the players like this...but again, I suppose that would cut into them selling multiple copies of the discs.

Oh, it's nothing to do with the disc producers - this is a decision on the part of the hardware manufacturers to keep costs down by skimping on rarely-used features. The full DVD spec is long, complex and self-contradicting, and thus pretty expensive to get right I know - I'm wrestling with it at the moment...

As with anything, you gets what you pays for. If you buy a $50 machine from your local supermarket, that's your choice, but don't expect it to work too well. OTOH, if you buy a $300 machine from a tech store, you should be fine. I make a point of buying a decent machine from a reputable manufacturer - my first was a top-of-the-line Panasonic (basically a reference machine), and the only issue I have with it is that it's too old to support DVD-Rs. I now have a similarly-specced Pioneer, which I'm hoping will see me for the next five years or so