That is simply not true.
How far has George sold out???
- Thread starter Allfate
- Start date
That is simply not true.
Well, it´s possible that they look the way they do because they were never meant to be seen in HD? Remove "digital" from your sentence and voilá, you are at the core of several special effects shot elements.
Uh, what? Really?! First I read about that! Quick, where´s a shot by shot comparison list of the various releases?! Now its getting interesting. A little.
Solo4114
Master Member
Well, even if they do, I know that they'll always be refuted by endless snotty retorts from you, sunshine. And the cycle of life shall continue.
Oh, Mike. You're my favorite plucky contrarian. But come on, now. You and I both know that "95% of the originals if you just squint and cover one eye" isn't the same as "The originals." I suppose I could also get a copy of the old Star Wars storybook record and a record player, and listen to that while turning the pages in the picture book every time R2D2 bleeps. That'd be even better because then I'd be imagining most of it, and it'd be exactly what I want! Or better still, I could just sit around and think about it! Now I've got 200% of the originals because I can imagine it however I want!
Don't be intentionally obtuse. You're better than that. The Special Editions (in whatever form) are not the same experience as the originals. All I want at this point is the originals. And yes, I'm well aware of the fact that "original" has a rather variable meaning, depending on audio mixes and opening crawls, but in general I'm talking about the originals in a visual sense. Which, I suspect, you know already.
Tell you what. When George or Rick or whoever finally releases those (and they will, I expect, in due time), let's both watch the other guy's version. I'll blink at the parts I don't like, and you can pause, close your eyes, and imagine at the parts you do like. Doesn't that sound like a fun way to watch a movie? :cool
The "squinting" or "blinking" is a good idea, actually. That technique could also be effectively applied to threads about how much SW and GL have sold out, I´d wager. Double whammy, eliminating both reason for and actual whining about a lot of things.
phez
Sr Member
I think this is the answer right here. It would cost money to fix the original effects (that have already been fixed how GL wants them with the digital footage). GL would have to spend money to make something that would look like like crap compared to the current version to 99% of the viewers. It just would not be a good business move despite what we think (of course I like the Original Version, that is why I bough the laser disk set, so that I could watch it that way).
Before we see an HD release of the unedited editions (to most people they would not be as good as the reissues) there would have to be proof that they could recover the costs and make money off of the project. Who would it be marketed for? Us 40+ people who are not only nostalgic but would actually know the difference and think the old version was better.
This says it all, the current BluRay of Star Wars is about $100.00, so we are not dedicated enough to stick another hundred bucks into seeing the version of the movie we want but we expect Lucas to spend millions polishing what he considers a turd? I just can't see it (although I too would love to have that origenal version on BluRay).
lol:lol
Colin Droidmilk
Sr Member
Uh, what? Really?! First I read about that! Quick, where´s a shot by shot comparison list of the various releases?! Now its getting interesting. A little.
Well, a whole ton of great shots are gone from the TIE v Xs engagements over the DS before the trench runs (the sequence I meant by 'dogfight')....I was over-egging it to say not one shot remains. Most are gone, though.
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Colin Droidmilk
Sr Member
Well, most moco shots are gone from the pre-trench run dogfight ( the sequence I was referring to). There are only two model shots of a TIE and an X together in the same shot left. Out of a total of about 11 shots. I consider the motion control guts of the sequence to be ripped out. All those original model shots are now inaccessible to fans in a decent format, not to mention a load of other great shots from the approach to the DS, the initial strafing of the DS, and the return to Yavin. That's the gist of my beef.
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Solo4114
Master Member
Wait, you're saying it would cost money to, essentially, "recrappify" the shots? I don't think so, actually. I think it would cost money to take one of the existing versions of the original films and restore them, yes, but you wouldn't have to "dumb down" the existing HD transfers back to the older effects. Frankly, I wouldn't want them to take the existing transfers and play with those. I'd want a new transfer altogether that actually, you know, maintains the same color palette as the originals, doesn't improperly swap rear audio channels, etc.
If you're implying that "The originals don't exist," well, that's just not true. They do exist, certainly in private collections. Most likely, Lucas has one too, and I'd bet the Library of Congress has a copy as well.
Anyway, the real problem is that technology has moved beyond what the older formats did. You can plug in your Laserdisc player to your HDTV, but it's still gonna look blocky and crappy because the LD player can't upconvert (probably). I don't know if receivers can take a signal from an LD player and do that, either, but I'd bet not.
I have both legal and bootleg versions of the LD rips on DVD.
Actually, I'm not so sure. I mean, I have no idea what percentage of people would go for this or that version, but the notion that it's not worth it to do any of that can, at least, be challenged by the recent Blade Runner release. To me, that'd be the ultimate Star Wars set, and I'd absolutely buy it -- a version with the various SEs throughout the years, along with a restored, archival version of the originals. I'd shell out for that. Moreover, the fact that the studio thought it could make money with a cult film like Blade Runner to do this suggests that they'd almost certainly make money with a similar treatment towards Star Wars. I mean, hell, you could probably count on the exact same guys who bought the Blade Runner discs to buy the Star Wars discs! :lol
This says it all, the current BluRay of Star Wars is about $100.00, so we are not dedicated enough to stick another hundred bucks into seeing the version of the movie we want but we expect Lucas to spend millions polishing what he considers a turd? I just can't see it (although I too would love to have that origenal version on BluRay).
Honestly? Yeah. I expect -- or rather, would like -- him to spend money to make the version I want. Why? Because I want it. I don't want the stuff he's making, at least not as my ONLY option. I, as a consumer, am uninterested in spending on the versions he's offering UNLESS he does so alongside a restored version of the OT. It's my nickel, and I ain't spending it on anything else. If he doesn't want to spend the money to make my version, fine, but (A) I'm gonna voice my discontent, and (B) I'm NOT gonna buy what he offers. Not to "spite" him or "stick it to him" or to "boycott" anything. I'm not making a statement with my decision not to buy. I'm making a consumer decision that my money is better sent on other stuff than versions of films in which I'm really not that interested.
He may not owe me anything as a consumer, but neither do I owe him any allegiance for films he made 30 years ago.
Also, 30 years?! Holy CRAP I'm getting old....
I have the original trilogy ripped from a laserdisc and transfered to DVD. That's the only version I ever watch.
The same person who made that for me also made a side-by-side exact match, on the left, the laserdisc version. On the right, the DVD version. Very interesting to see how very different the two are. If you think "just blink every now and again at just the right moments" is all it takes to see the original, you are sadly, sadly mistaken. :rolleyes
The same person who made that for me also made a side-by-side exact match, on the left, the laserdisc version. On the right, the DVD version. Very interesting to see how very different the two are. If you think "just blink every now and again at just the right moments" is all it takes to see the original, you are sadly, sadly mistaken. :rolleyes
CB2001
Master Member
My Dad got the entire trilogy on DVD, including what appears to be "the original theatrical version" of the original trilogy from a Goodwill. I suspect that the "original theatrical version" may have been imported, but its really hard to tell by the cover (I haven't watched it, so I don't know if it is or not).
Colin Droidmilk
Sr Member
I doubt this. Over-done digital touching-up seems far more likely. Nothing else could make a filmed real world object like the full-size exterior Falcon set and its background suddenly look sort of 'painted'...That set has never looked that way before, not in period production photos, nor any previous release of the film.
Besides, we know Lucas has tinkered digitally with his real world sets. Look at the clone stamp mess that is now the door of Jabba's temple. I really think this is the more likely explanation. If Lucas is embarrassed by 80% of ILM's original dogfight shots, it's not hard to imagine him feeling the same way about that Falcon set and going in there for some digital tweaking. Everything about these revisions speaks of an increased 'sickly painterliness' (the dreadful, digitally painted shot of Ben's house), which is of course a departure from the documentary feel so desired by the heroic Lucas of '75 (the original shot of Ben's house).
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