Star Wars blu ray in September
- Thread starter jcoffman99
- Start date
cboath
Master Member
Has anyone ever doen a BR for 4:3?
I mean, the whole point of BR is HD and HD is 16:9....I realize that if the master is 4:3 you get 4:3, but for the movies themselves, they are in 2.35:1, so still black bars top and bottom, but not sides. They do that and make the movies portrait style and that set should bomb big time.
I mean, the whole point of BR is HD and HD is 16:9....I realize that if the master is 4:3 you get 4:3, but for the movies themselves, they are in 2.35:1, so still black bars top and bottom, but not sides. They do that and make the movies portrait style and that set should bomb big time.
CTF
Sr Member
"I can assure you that the BD will NOT be pan and scan."
From a friend at Lucasfilm, after he heard that folks actually thought it'd be pan and scan.
rodneyfaile
Sr Member
I am a Star Wars fan. Yes I will be buying the Blu-Ray versions.
But let's be honest. Lucas keeps tinkering with these movies to make money off of them. If it was all about getting his original vision completed, then why dont we have a WILLOW:SPECIAL EDITION right now? Because only 26 people would buy it.
Yes I am one of those people, lol.
But let's be honest. Lucas keeps tinkering with these movies to make money off of them. If it was all about getting his original vision completed, then why dont we have a WILLOW:SPECIAL EDITION right now? Because only 26 people would buy it.
Yes I am one of those people, lol.
darthgordon
Sr Member
Yes! And where's my Howard the Duck: Special Edition? I want it loaded with CGI! I want the Wilhelm Scream added to every scene! I want a scene where Howard meets a newly CGI'ed Dark Overlord and steps on his tail as he walks around him.
I pretty much agree with what Weequay said...
Too many yes-men at LFL and very few people with good artistic sense, PR skills, or plain common sense!!
Common sense says you don't stab loyal customers in the eye when they ask for something.
I call B.S. on the notion that the original theatrical films don't exist anymore... The original effects reels were used to make the SE editions and I'm fairly certain they were at least transferred to HD for future compositing use. Of course, the 'lazy' way to do HD's of the original versions is to scan in and restore existing 35mm prints from private collections. Those still exist, and at least a few are in more than decent condition from what I've heard.
The only reason these things don't see the light of day aside from the LD releases, bootlegged DVD editions of the LD's and worn-down VHS copies is Darth Lucas.
To people who say Lucas doesn't owe fans a thing... That's idiotic. The fans put him on the map and he ought to listen to his customer base a bit more instead of giving them the finger every couple of years.
Lucas is also one of the original sponsors for the National Film Registry and was against altering and colorizing older films in the 1980s. Apparently, his logic applies to other people's films but not his (or his buddies). Hypocritical fat cat, much???
Most directors and producers of classic films of even higher-quality than OT Star Wars understand. Again, if Lucas is going to **** with Star Wars on the new Blu rays once more, he should at least include the original theatrical edits, OR release them separately with contemporary documentaries so that we get closer to the truth of the OT film production instead of the revised history from LFL that many people have bought hook, line, and sinker for close to 20 years now. Steven Spielberg understood this with E.T. and Close Encounters on DVD/Blu ray, and Coppola understood that with the last DVD and BD releases of Apocalypse Now, too.
Too many yes-men at LFL and very few people with good artistic sense, PR skills, or plain common sense!!
Common sense says you don't stab loyal customers in the eye when they ask for something.
I call B.S. on the notion that the original theatrical films don't exist anymore... The original effects reels were used to make the SE editions and I'm fairly certain they were at least transferred to HD for future compositing use. Of course, the 'lazy' way to do HD's of the original versions is to scan in and restore existing 35mm prints from private collections. Those still exist, and at least a few are in more than decent condition from what I've heard.
The only reason these things don't see the light of day aside from the LD releases, bootlegged DVD editions of the LD's and worn-down VHS copies is Darth Lucas.
To people who say Lucas doesn't owe fans a thing... That's idiotic. The fans put him on the map and he ought to listen to his customer base a bit more instead of giving them the finger every couple of years.
Lucas is also one of the original sponsors for the National Film Registry and was against altering and colorizing older films in the 1980s. Apparently, his logic applies to other people's films but not his (or his buddies). Hypocritical fat cat, much???
Most directors and producers of classic films of even higher-quality than OT Star Wars understand. Again, if Lucas is going to **** with Star Wars on the new Blu rays once more, he should at least include the original theatrical edits, OR release them separately with contemporary documentaries so that we get closer to the truth of the OT film production instead of the revised history from LFL that many people have bought hook, line, and sinker for close to 20 years now. Steven Spielberg understood this with E.T. and Close Encounters on DVD/Blu ray, and Coppola understood that with the last DVD and BD releases of Apocalypse Now, too.
niennumb1
Master Member
GeorgeC-
I was just talking about this with my cousin a couple days ago! I really admire Spielberg that despite his looking back and deciding that the shotguns in ET were a bit too violent of an approach to stop the kids and replaced it with radios (etc), he still was courteous enough to respect the purists out there who loved the original cut as-is and provide a just as high-quality transfer of that along with the Special Edition 20th Anniversary version in the boxed set.
That tells me that he's happy with the new changes he wanted to make now that he was able to do it, but being gracious to the loyal fans that love the original cut and not excusing it.
I think it would be an incredible business advantage to Lucas if he were to offer both versions! There'd be so many old fans won over by that it'd be crazy!
I always had this idea of a BluRay release where it's like a create-your-own edition where you decide what special edition scenes you liked and what scenes you wish to retain from the original cut and save those settings to memory and you can always watch the U-Cut (your cut). THAT would be sweet.
Riceball
Master Member
I agree, the unotuched but cleaned up original has to exist somewhere, I don't believe that they did all of the new/altered scenes and new FX to the original master, that would mean everything would have to made to match the old, dark, grainy, dirty footage which would be then be cleaned up and made all bright and shiny again. That seems ass backwards to me, it would make much more sense for them clean up and remaster the old footage first and then go in and insert new scenes and FX.
I also agree in that Lucas does owe the fans since it was us fans that made him what he is today. Unfortunately, he's probably too big now a days for any sort of fan boycott to have any effect on him but he should still be respectful of the fans and give us what we've been asking for all of these years.
Solo4114
Master Member
I think it's simply that he's cheap. No joke.
He spent the money ONLY on redoing the 2004 SEs, and didn't bother spending a dime more than that. Frankly, the cleanup job isn't that great anyway. They EMBRIGHTENED the scenes and made them HIGHLY COLORFUL but they didn't do it with literally every frame, the transitions are off here and there, and the color for some stuff is just WRONG. Then there's the whole ANH sound issue, which they still defend as being "working as intended," and so on and so forth. I'll be curious to see if THAT little artifact survives to the BR edition....Same with the sabre color in ANH, the jarring color transitions in ESB, etc. We'll see just how "intentional" they remain.
Regardless, I definitely don't buy that there aren't any more copies. Has he actually said that, though, or is that a misquote or inaccurate paraphrasing? I thought the story eventually changed to "It'd be too expensive to do." Which ties into my "he's cheap" theory.
He spent the money ONLY on redoing the 2004 SEs, and didn't bother spending a dime more than that. Frankly, the cleanup job isn't that great anyway. They EMBRIGHTENED the scenes and made them HIGHLY COLORFUL but they didn't do it with literally every frame, the transitions are off here and there, and the color for some stuff is just WRONG. Then there's the whole ANH sound issue, which they still defend as being "working as intended," and so on and so forth. I'll be curious to see if THAT little artifact survives to the BR edition....Same with the sabre color in ANH, the jarring color transitions in ESB, etc. We'll see just how "intentional" they remain.
Regardless, I definitely don't buy that there aren't any more copies. Has he actually said that, though, or is that a misquote or inaccurate paraphrasing? I thought the story eventually changed to "It'd be too expensive to do." Which ties into my "he's cheap" theory.
parabellum
Member
Star Wars: The Complete Saga || May The 4th Be With You
I just receive email saying May 4th 2011?
is Blu ray disk set released on May 4th? or just detailed information on Blu ray set is being released?
I just receive email saying May 4th 2011?
is Blu ray disk set released on May 4th? or just detailed information on Blu ray set is being released?
GromitFan
New Member
Man! Some folks here LOVE to pontificate before getting all the facts.
I am reading here and in the original eFX DV ANH helmet thread folks
throwing around film terminology incorrectly, particularly as it relates to Blu-ray,
and even some ghastly comments that would suggest pre1950s Academy Ratio
flilms like Citizen Kane would not be better in HD, even at 1.37:1.
HD is not "all about 16x9" which is an aspect ratio of 1.78:1.
It is about HIGH DEFINITION, which is not aspect ratio specific.
I thought RPFers would be defacto film spec nerds, but I see that is
not always the case, at least when it comes to different types of aspect
ratios, film, and what Blu-ray can do for films like Star Wars as well
as a black and whilte Academy Ratio film like Casablanca.
Blu-ray is not aspect ratio specific...Blu-ray is not all about widescreen.
It is about having up to 6x the resolution of DVD and uncompressed audio.
Blu-ray serves films like The Wizard of Oz, and Gone With
the Wind just as well at it does Star Wars and Avatar
so long as those films are properly restored and transfered to HD.
As it relates to this topic, know that Lucas abhors pan and scan versions
of his films even more than he dislikes the original theatrical versions of
EP IV, V and VI.
Lucas has been a long time advocate of OAR (original aspect ratio) for
all films, along with his friends Francis Ford Coppola, Martin Scorsese, and
Steven Speilberg.
Remember that the original three Star Wars films were some of the very few
films on VHS that were readily available in their OAR widescreen iterations.
Thanks to televisions going 16x9 or even wider, it has meant
less pressure to put out the films on pan and scan, even moving from 2.35:1 to
1.78:1, which Lucas will not do. He will not go MAR (Modified Aspect Ratio)
even just to a 1.78:1 MAR from 2.35:1 OAR unless he is simultaneously
releasing a 2.35:1 OAR version.
There were issues with audio on the first DVD released,
including one instance where the Foley is programmed oppostite of how it should be
for a scene with laser fire in EPIV, and frankly, it would also appear that
Ben Burtt has now tinkered with the audio in EPIV so John Williams'
score is quieter than it was before so more of Burtt's special effects audio
is apparent as the X-wings head to their confrontation with the Death Star.
grumble grumbe....
For EP 1: The Phantom Menace, which I know many do not care much about,
the video suffered from some haloing on the DVD release that we should expect to be
resolved for the Blu-rays.
Another interesting thing to consider is that Lucas shot on HD for a few scenes in EP1
(were Anakin gets his blood drawn...note that Anakin is much taller in that scene
and his hair is darker as it was shot much later) and EP II and EP III were shot on HD, which is where we will see limitations with
HD being transferred to HD rather than the original trilogy, which shot on 35mm will still have
more resoltuion than can be represented on Blu-ray.
Lucas was an early adopter of HD film, so I am sure the films will look great, but
I am really curious to see how EPII looks compared to EPIV in terms of image quality.
As for Academy Ratio films like The Wizard of Oz, Bambi,
and The Day the Earth Stood Still,
they all look great on Blu-ray, phenomenal actually, thanks to what we now have,
the opposite of letter-boxing for 4x3 televisions, but "pillarboxing" for Academy Ratio films
in widescreen televisions. Disney has taken it so far to add optional, scene specific,
painted side panels that tie to the in what they have called "DisneyView." Check out
Pinocchio on Blu-ray for an excellent example of this.
If you actually want to understand the different widescreen formats, there are
two great sites for that, which actually include shots of Star Wars in some of their
examples:
This website is a great place to start widescreen.org - The Letterbox and Widescreen Advocacy Page
along with this one American WideScreen Museum - provided as a public service by Martin Hart
Peace out.
I am reading here and in the original eFX DV ANH helmet thread folks
throwing around film terminology incorrectly, particularly as it relates to Blu-ray,
and even some ghastly comments that would suggest pre1950s Academy Ratio
flilms like Citizen Kane would not be better in HD, even at 1.37:1.
HD is not "all about 16x9" which is an aspect ratio of 1.78:1.
It is about HIGH DEFINITION, which is not aspect ratio specific.
I thought RPFers would be defacto film spec nerds, but I see that is
not always the case, at least when it comes to different types of aspect
ratios, film, and what Blu-ray can do for films like Star Wars as well
as a black and whilte Academy Ratio film like Casablanca.
Blu-ray is not aspect ratio specific...Blu-ray is not all about widescreen.
It is about having up to 6x the resolution of DVD and uncompressed audio.
Blu-ray serves films like The Wizard of Oz, and Gone With
the Wind just as well at it does Star Wars and Avatar
so long as those films are properly restored and transfered to HD.
As it relates to this topic, know that Lucas abhors pan and scan versions
of his films even more than he dislikes the original theatrical versions of
EP IV, V and VI.
Lucas has been a long time advocate of OAR (original aspect ratio) for
all films, along with his friends Francis Ford Coppola, Martin Scorsese, and
Steven Speilberg.
Remember that the original three Star Wars films were some of the very few
films on VHS that were readily available in their OAR widescreen iterations.
Thanks to televisions going 16x9 or even wider, it has meant
less pressure to put out the films on pan and scan, even moving from 2.35:1 to
1.78:1, which Lucas will not do. He will not go MAR (Modified Aspect Ratio)
even just to a 1.78:1 MAR from 2.35:1 OAR unless he is simultaneously
releasing a 2.35:1 OAR version.
There were issues with audio on the first DVD released,
including one instance where the Foley is programmed oppostite of how it should be
for a scene with laser fire in EPIV, and frankly, it would also appear that
Ben Burtt has now tinkered with the audio in EPIV so John Williams'
score is quieter than it was before so more of Burtt's special effects audio
is apparent as the X-wings head to their confrontation with the Death Star.
grumble grumbe....
For EP 1: The Phantom Menace, which I know many do not care much about,
the video suffered from some haloing on the DVD release that we should expect to be
resolved for the Blu-rays.
Another interesting thing to consider is that Lucas shot on HD for a few scenes in EP1
(were Anakin gets his blood drawn...note that Anakin is much taller in that scene
and his hair is darker as it was shot much later) and EP II and EP III were shot on HD, which is where we will see limitations with
HD being transferred to HD rather than the original trilogy, which shot on 35mm will still have
more resoltuion than can be represented on Blu-ray.
Lucas was an early adopter of HD film, so I am sure the films will look great, but
I am really curious to see how EPII looks compared to EPIV in terms of image quality.
As for Academy Ratio films like The Wizard of Oz, Bambi,
and The Day the Earth Stood Still,
they all look great on Blu-ray, phenomenal actually, thanks to what we now have,
the opposite of letter-boxing for 4x3 televisions, but "pillarboxing" for Academy Ratio films
in widescreen televisions. Disney has taken it so far to add optional, scene specific,
painted side panels that tie to the in what they have called "DisneyView." Check out
Pinocchio on Blu-ray for an excellent example of this.
If you actually want to understand the different widescreen formats, there are
two great sites for that, which actually include shots of Star Wars in some of their
examples:
This website is a great place to start widescreen.org - The Letterbox and Widescreen Advocacy Page
along with this one American WideScreen Museum - provided as a public service by Martin Hart
Peace out.
Last edited:
cayman shen
Master Member
GromitFan
New Member
This is the RPF. There is a lecture every day. Guess I was reading
the eFX DV ANH helmet thread too long too many days...
Lucasfilm tends to do things (like this 5/4/2011 thing) that cannot
live up to the hype surrounding them. I think it will be more of a "well, duh" moment
rather than a "oh, cool!" moment.
Here is my prediction for 5/4/2011 announcement:
Release details will include the following:
-All films available in the "complete saga" set
and the 3 film original and 3 film prequel trilogy sets.
-Only the complete saga set will include a special bonus disc not otherwise available.
-All will be available in their original aspect ratios and not
modified to fit a 1.78:1, or 16x9 widescreen television.
-Never before officially released deleted scenes will be available
for the three original trilogy films
-commentary tracks
-all bonus features and documentaries ported over from the SE DVD versions.
What will probably be included:
-insertion of CGI version of Yoda for EPI over the puppet that was
in all scenes except the one where Obi-Wan insists he will train Anakin in Qui-Gon's absence.
As much as I would like the following, they will not be included:
-inclusion of "From Star Wars to Jedi: The Making of a Saga" documentary
-inclusion of "The Star Wars Holiday Special"
-inclusion of the original theatrical versions of the original trilogy
Lucas and Speilberg may be buddies, but they have their differences in opinion on
bonus materials and alternate versions.
Speilberg has no problem with including several iterations of his films on DVD or Blu-ray.
This happened both for E.T. and Close Encounters of the Third Kind.
Unlike Lucas, Speilberg will NOT do commentary tracks, nor allow others to put them on
his films as he feels like they undermine the magic of film.
Lucas never wants to see the original versions of
the original trilogy, particularly EPIV, again, as since Lucasfilm is a privately
owned company that will not suffer a loss in sales in any signficant way for omitting
the original theatrical versions, he has no motivation to include them.
The original theatrical version of EP IV has been stored and preserved by
either the AFI or Library of Congress (I forget which at the moment),
so many many years from now, I suspect we'll get a chance to see it again
in a version better than the ported-over-from-LD-non-anamorphic copies
we got with the "limited" version of the original trilogy DVDs which did not
sell particularly well for a Star Wars product.
the eFX DV ANH helmet thread too long too many days...
Lucasfilm tends to do things (like this 5/4/2011 thing) that cannot
live up to the hype surrounding them. I think it will be more of a "well, duh" moment
rather than a "oh, cool!" moment.
Here is my prediction for 5/4/2011 announcement:
Release details will include the following:
-All films available in the "complete saga" set
and the 3 film original and 3 film prequel trilogy sets.
-Only the complete saga set will include a special bonus disc not otherwise available.
-All will be available in their original aspect ratios and not
modified to fit a 1.78:1, or 16x9 widescreen television.
-Never before officially released deleted scenes will be available
for the three original trilogy films
-commentary tracks
-all bonus features and documentaries ported over from the SE DVD versions.
What will probably be included:
-insertion of CGI version of Yoda for EPI over the puppet that was
in all scenes except the one where Obi-Wan insists he will train Anakin in Qui-Gon's absence.
As much as I would like the following, they will not be included:
-inclusion of "From Star Wars to Jedi: The Making of a Saga" documentary
-inclusion of "The Star Wars Holiday Special"
-inclusion of the original theatrical versions of the original trilogy
Lucas and Speilberg may be buddies, but they have their differences in opinion on
bonus materials and alternate versions.
Speilberg has no problem with including several iterations of his films on DVD or Blu-ray.
This happened both for E.T. and Close Encounters of the Third Kind.
Unlike Lucas, Speilberg will NOT do commentary tracks, nor allow others to put them on
his films as he feels like they undermine the magic of film.
Lucas never wants to see the original versions of
the original trilogy, particularly EPIV, again, as since Lucasfilm is a privately
owned company that will not suffer a loss in sales in any signficant way for omitting
the original theatrical versions, he has no motivation to include them.
The original theatrical version of EP IV has been stored and preserved by
either the AFI or Library of Congress (I forget which at the moment),
so many many years from now, I suspect we'll get a chance to see it again
in a version better than the ported-over-from-LD-non-anamorphic copies
we got with the "limited" version of the original trilogy DVDs which did not
sell particularly well for a Star Wars product.
Last edited:
Does he not realize that commentaries are totally optional and aren't the default audio when you start the movie? Undermine the magic of film? If you don't want to undermine it, don't talk about it at all. If he doesn't do commentaries because he doesn't like them, than say that. I love commentary tracks.
GromitFan
New Member
Commentary tracks are usually my favorite bonus feature.
I don't agree with Speilberg's POV on commentary tracks, but at least
he likes bonus content in general. Woody Allen won't allow any extras at
all since he wants the film to "speak for itself."
I don't agree with Speilberg's POV on commentary tracks, but at least
he likes bonus content in general. Woody Allen won't allow any extras at
all since he wants the film to "speak for itself."
Jannix Quinn
Sr Member
Happy Star Wars Day
May the 4th be with you.
May the 4th be with you.
