Author Topic: Original Star Wars Trilogy coming to DVD! (Read 9788 times)

Arbok · « **on:** May 03, 2006, 07:44:07 PM »

http://www.comingsoon.net/news/movienews.php?id=14373

Oh praise the lord!

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In response to overwhelming demand, Lucasfilm Ltd. and Twentieth Century Fox Home Entertainment will release attractively priced individual two-disc releases of "Star Wars," "The Empire Strikes Back" and "Return of the Jedi." Each release includes the 2004 digitally remastered version of the movie, as well as the original theatrical edition of the film. That means you'll be able to enjoy "Star Wars" as it first appeared in 1977, "Empire" in 1980, and "Jedi" in 1983.

I will be picking these up without a second thought, although I wish that the ESB release kept the old 1997 Special Edition version, which I thought was an improvment over the 1980 one and that it got messed up on the DVD with giving Boba Fett's voice to Temuera Morrison, who read the lines like he didn't care one bit, and the whole new "Emperor sequence". Regardless, I'm very excited about this and thought that we wouldn't see the day.

Bill Aurion · « **Reply #1 on:** May 03, 2006, 08:03:53 PM »

Aw, this is annoying...Maybe I'll give my other boxset to my sister so I can get these...

wandering · « **Reply #2 on:** May 03, 2006, 08:55:45 PM »

Yes, yes, yes. Wow. Didn't think it would happen while Lucas was still alive.

Star Wars will finally be able to take a place of honor on my DVD shelf.

Ian Sane · « **Reply #3 on:** May 03, 2006, 09:52:06 PM »

I KNEW this would happen! I knew that assh0le was just trying to rip us off all along and that's why I refused to buy his bullsh!t new versions. I will naturally be buying these pronto. Honestly though I didn't think they would arrive this quickly.

Lucas is a total dick to be putting the new cuts on the DVDs as well. I figured he would just make all the fans double dip and have to buy both versions but he's being an even bigger prick by making their first purchase redundant.

I'm happy at least though I feel a little sorry about those who fell for Lucas' little scam.

"I will be picking these up without a second thought, although I wish that the ESB release kept the old 1997 Special Edition version, which I thought was an improvment over the 1980 one"

Yeah, 1997 Empire was actually pretty good (except for the Wampa scene which has no suspense or sublety whatsoever). I have those on VHS though not widescreen. I liked the Special Editions as a kid but I really don't care for them now. For completeness sake all three variations should be available but it's not nearly as big of a deal for the 1997 versions to be out of print as it was for the original cuts to be.

Kairon · « **Reply #4 on:** May 04, 2006, 01:05:47 AM »

wait wait wait, you mean..THIS IS THE ORIGINAL?!?! I get my ewok ending? I get my model spaceships? NO FRIGGIN COMPUTERS?!?!?

LUCAS I FORGIVE YOU WHATEVER I SAID BEFORE WAS IN JEST YOU KNOW I LOVE YOU!!!

~Carmine M. Red
Kairon@aol.com

King of Twitch · « **Reply #5 on:** May 04, 2006, 04:40:30 PM »

At least there won't be Special Editions for Ep. 1-3.

UncleBob · « **Reply #6 on:** May 04, 2006, 07:34:39 PM »

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Originally posted by: MJRx9000
At least there won't be Special Editions for Ep. 1-3.

Sure, sure...

Athrun Zala · « **Reply #7 on:** May 04, 2006, 08:26:20 PM »

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Originally posted by: MJRx9000
At least there won't be Special Editions for Ep. 1-3.

for now........

wandering · « **Reply #8 on:** May 04, 2006, 08:29:26 PM »

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At least there won't be Special Editions for Ep. 1-3.

Actually, I imagine ep. 1-3 can only get better...

TrueNerd · « **Reply #9 on:** May 04, 2006, 11:03:42 PM »

HAN SHOT FIRST! HAN SHOT FIRST!

Oh hoh ho, this is very joyous news. I care not that I will be buying the Trilogy a second time, it will be worth it to own the non-bastardized versions. I say this every time, but I mean it now: This will be the last time I buy Star Wars.

UltimatePartyBear · « **Reply #10 on:** May 05, 2006, 05:09:21 AM »

I just found out and rushed here to see if anyone had posted it. This has made me very happy. Funny I didn't notice it here sooner, though.

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Lucas is a total dick to be putting the new cuts on the DVDs as well. I figured he would just make all the fans double dip and have to buy both versions but he's being an even bigger prick by making their first purchase redundant.

Well, at least those of us who waited are actually less screwed, not that I ever wanted to buy the new versions at all. I, too, thought this would have to wait until after he died, but I guess even billionaires can be swayed by greed.

BiLdItUp1 · « **Reply #11 on:** May 05, 2006, 05:30:59 AM »

Haha...well, even though this is coming out, I'm not about to get rid of my Dr. Gonzo set, and they're not about to shutdown the x0 project (super-high quality LD transfer, www.x0project.org). Ha...Lucas. A smart man...as they say in Wall St., greed is good. Kinda.

Ian Sane · « **Reply #12 on:** May 05, 2006, 08:51:20 AM »

"At least there won't be Special Editions for Ep. 1-3."

I think they're more in need of a complete redo. But if someone with actual writing and directing skills remade the prequels using special effects that fit in with the old films and rewriting the story so that it's actually consistent with the original trilogy I would be all over it. I think the best thing to do is to get someone who has never seen any Star Wars movies, show him the original films, and have him make his own interpretation of what the prequels should be like using only the original films as his source material. This is of course a total pipedream but it would be cool. When I first heard they were making prequels I thought about what they would be like and honestly the idea I had in my head was way different then the results. At the time I didn't even think about using CG. I imagined a prequel looking like the original films.

vudu · « **Reply #13 on:** May 05, 2006, 09:16:30 AM »

When can I buy a copy of ET with guns?

Ian Sane · « **Reply #14 on:** May 05, 2006, 09:18:49 AM »

"When can I buy a copy of ET with guns?"

I think the DVD has both versions of the film on it.

King of Twitch · « **Reply #15 on:** May 05, 2006, 10:00:04 AM »

The only thing left for the prequels is a Non-Special Edition. No CG sets, no CG models, no CG armies. I bet he's pretty tired of Star Wars by now though.

wandering · « **Reply #16 on:** May 05, 2006, 09:34:16 PM »

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The only thing left for the prequels is a Non-Special Edition. No CG sets, no CG models, no CG armies. I bet he's pretty tired of Star Wars by now though.

So, nothing but actors and greenscreen? I'd buy it.

Caliban · « **Reply #17 on:** May 05, 2006, 09:46:03 PM »

Ha, they will probably release it too in either HDDVD or BD.

JonLeung · « **Reply #18 on:** May 06, 2006, 04:51:31 AM »

I was just about to say that. They're milking as much as they can out of Star Wars fans with the current DVD format, and probably could rerelease some of these versions barely changed on either Blu-Ray or HD-DVD (only now maybe on fewer discs or better quality).

It'd be nice if we could get a format that would be large enough to hold everything on ONE DISC. ALL the Star Wars movies, all versions of them, all other related Star Wars material like Clone Wars, the entire series of the upcoming Star Wars TV shows, every DVD extra ever made, all in the highest possible better-than-actual-film resolution, THX uberrerereremastered, and all the PC games on it... There couldn't possibly be a better version, until Lucas (or most likely someone else by this time) makes something else that has to do with Star Wars. >_<

UncleBob · « **Reply #19 on:** May 06, 2006, 05:04:09 AM »

Does this Super-Disc have the Holiday Special?

JonLeung · « **Reply #20 on:** May 06, 2006, 10:07:20 AM »

Ideally it ought to, even if Lucas disavows it.

UncleBob · « **Reply #21 on:** May 06, 2006, 10:50:35 AM »

The two Ewoks movies, the Ewoks cartoon and the Droids cartoons too? Whoo! I'd buy it.

TMW · « **Reply #22 on:** May 06, 2006, 07:10:31 PM »

Sweet. I have the original trilogy on some old, old video cassettes, so I was always reticent to watch them, for fear they would break or something.

This is just awesome.

UltimatePartyBear · « **Reply #23 on:** May 08, 2006, 05:59:01 AM »

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Originally posted by: JonLeung
I was just about to say that. They're milking as much as they can out of Star Wars fans with the current DVD format, and probably could rerelease some of these versions barely changed on either Blu-Ray or HD-DVD (only now maybe on fewer discs or better quality).

The quality is already too good. I watched the Special Edition DVDs with some friends on their 94" screen, and the amount of detail you can see breaks some of the magic. For example, you can see Anthony Daniels' skin between pieces of his C-3PO costume, or you can look straight through the gaps in R2-D2 to see that he's mostly empty. This is why I'm not so sure about HD being the future for movies. If you can see so much detail that you can tell the communicator prop is just an electric razor with an extra bit of plastic glued on, it's going to make supension of disbelief a lot harder. So much of movie magic is based on letting the human brain fill in the gaps automatically that I don't know if even movies made by crews aware of this problem can get around it.

Ian Sane · « **Reply #24 on:** June 07, 2006, 11:54:35 AM »

Apparently this was too good to be true.

The original DVDs are actually just going to be ripped from the Laserdiscs. Apparently George Lucas "taped over" the original versions when he made the special editions. I personally think that's total bullsh!t. Some copy of the film somewhere must still exist. My theory is that Lucas doesn't want the accidental good versions of Star Wars released so he's half-assing it to shut people up and make a quick buck. He thinks the new versions are better, no one else does, so he intentionally sabotages the old versions to try to convince people the new version is better. Sounds pretty nutty but Lucas IS pretty nutty. It's setting up something to fail to support an arguement with no weight behind it.

I don't see why George Lucas cares so much about this. All he's done is piss everyone off. What a prick.

I want the original films in widescreen and in a format that doesn't deteriorate so I'll buy this half-assed crap. But that's it. I'll never buy Star Wars ever again.

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Author Topic: Original Star Wars Trilogy coming to DVD! (Read 9788 times)