Star Wars Blu-Rays... Again
- Thread starter ghostryder
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Solo4114
Master Member
I haven't paid for a Star Wars home media release since the '06 release with the LD rips, and those I got -- on sale at 60% off, I might add -- because I wanted legit versions of the stuff I already had from Ebay. Prior to that, my last purchase was the Widescreen THX VHS tapes from '95.
I'm not buying anything else until I get the version I want. I get why they're doing this, but you've gotta figure that most fans who would buy this stuff have already done so. I can't imagine there's a huge market for these things.
I'm not buying anything else until I get the version I want. I get why they're doing this, but you've gotta figure that most fans who would buy this stuff have already done so. I can't imagine there's a huge market for these things.
Axlotl
Master Member
I haven't bought a Star Wars movie since that first gold box set of VHS special editions.
I went through a phase after the special editions and prequels where I was so upset with Star Wars and George Lucas that I gave away, threw away, or sold everything I had that was remotely related to Star Wars.
Unfortunately, that also meant my original VHS tapes from the '80s. I really wish I had kept those.
I'll probably go see the new film this winter, but other than that Lucasfilm isn't getting another penny from me until they release the unaltered originals on DVD.
I may buy a BluRay player if I have to, but if the box art is as half-assed as this, I'll probably pass.
I went through a phase after the special editions and prequels where I was so upset with Star Wars and George Lucas that I gave away, threw away, or sold everything I had that was remotely related to Star Wars.
Unfortunately, that also meant my original VHS tapes from the '80s. I really wish I had kept those.
I'll probably go see the new film this winter, but other than that Lucasfilm isn't getting another penny from me until they release the unaltered originals on DVD.
I may buy a BluRay player if I have to, but if the box art is as half-assed as this, I'll probably pass.
Solo4114
Master Member
Honestly, I have the "bonus discs" that came with the OT DVDs in the '06 set. Those are at higher resolution than VHS, and are in letterbox format...and they suck. A VHS player simply doesn't work with modern displays. Displays back then were all 4:3. There were no widescreen TVs. This meant that all images had to fit the 4:3 display. So, any widescreen or letterbox VHS set was basically the widescreen IMAGE stuck in a 4:3 box.
When you try to play that on a modern widescreen display, you get black bars on the side (where there is no image) PLUS the "letterbox/widescreen" black bars at the top and bottom of the original image. In other words, the actual film itself is even smaller. There's basically nothing you can do to fix this, either, because the technology back then didn't automatically adapt images the way DVDs/BRs do now. The VHS/LD image is a static feed. You'll ALWAYS have those black bars at the top and bottom, and it will ALWAYS be in 4:3. You can zoom in on the image or stretch, but then you just have a blurry, low-res image, and typically one that's warped because you're stretching a native 4:3 feed onto a 16:9 display.
Bottom line: there is no legal way to watch the OOT on a modern display that doesn't suck. VHS, LD, or the LD rips that were included with the '06 DVDs...they all suck. So, don't feel too bad about getting rid of the VHS copies. At this point, they're nothing special.
Yup. I have the mid-'90s widescreen VHS box set and ILM Definitive (HAH!) Edition LD set, plus the silver box (widescreen) set of the Special Editions on VHS -- before George tampered with them further for the '04 DVD release. I have the Prequels on DVD, as well. No BluRay/4k for me until the question of 3D gets settled once and for all. Personally, I think it adds to the experience, the way it was done for TPM, and I want to see the other two Prequels in 3D (if not the OT). Beyond that, I doubt we'll see an unedited version of the OT -- LFL have made it pretty clear that that trilogy as George last touched it is the way things are. So far, I think AdyWan's the closest I can get to Star Wars the way I feel it ought to be, and even then... *sigh* This is why I tackled rewriting the Prequels and ROTJ. I want them to be worthy of the first two films. Beyond that I don't really care about image size or resolution. 
--Jonah
--Jonah
That was the last ones I bought too. I have no interest in buying anything until the unaltered originals come out.
Clutch
Master Member
Riceball
Master Member
I was considering getting the last Blu-Ray release but when I heard that there were even more changes made I decided against it, and since this release will probably the same altered BR release from last time I'm not too sure that I want to get this one. Maybe if it goes on deep clearance or something I might pick it up.
Brent M
Sr Member
Why, for pointing out the truth? Care to elaborate on why you feel that way or would you rather just throw bombs?
DakGibralter
Member
To be fair, Harmy's Despevialized Editions aren't exactly illegal, and they're far and away better than any official HD release.
That man is a true hero.
JD
Master Member
I agree that guy is an absolute idiot.
#1. He's advocating piracy. Illegal and immoral.
#2. Suggesting it's somehow a "duty" to pirate bootleg material.
#3. He's suggesting a pirated version produced by an amateur without original source material and without consent of the owner and artist is somehow superior.
#4. Again, more fanboy whining that somehow we're owed something. They're releasing what's available, something that the work has been done on and already been paid for. They're releasing what the creator (and original owner) wanted released.
#5. He's taking a quote by George Lucas and twisting it out of context and trying to use it as a slam against him. A juvenile attempt to take a jab at George. I think it's more barbarian to suggest an artist can't do what he'd like with their own art.
The author fails to mention while that the Blu Ray version of Star Wars might not be his preferred version - most folks might not even realize or care about the changes... he also fails to mention that there have been releases of the original version - including a DVD release - just because it might not meet his standards of release doesn't give one entitlement or a right to pirate (or incite illegal activity). Let's also not forget that a 35 MM print of the original release is in the Library of Congress.
For lack of a better term this is yellow journalism... well, I hate to use the term "journalism" with this kind of ass-hattery nonsense.
Solo4114
Master Member
Without commenting on Harmy's worth as a person, his version is, indeed, illegal at least insofar as someone else downloading it (and him uploading it) are. I'd argue that it's fair use under the Copyright Act for him to make it in the first place, but distributing it -- and someone else downloading and/or otherwise distributing it -- is pretty clearly copyright infringement.
Now, whether you think that's an immoral issue is a different matter entirely. People can debate the morality of downloading the despecialized edition all they like, but there's really no good argument that it somehow isn't copyright infringement.
So, I stand by my statement that there's no legally available version of the OOT that doesn't suck.
DakGibralter
Member
Agreed. To my understanding, the despecialized editions, when made for free by and for people who already own the films, is at worst a grey area in terms of fair use.
niennumb1
Master Member
I don't feel bad for having the early Harmy editions, For the record I have stated time and again that I WOULD BUY THESE if they were made an official release. The fact is they are not.
I have owned the VHS trilogy set from the 80's, the THX Widescreen VHS Boxed Set Trilogy (when it was "One Last Time"), I've bought the Special Edition VHS Widescreen Box Set, the 2006 DVD 4-disc Widescreen Boxed Set, and the current "Blew-Ray" Edition Boxed Set. As a consumer I have more than financially contributed my support for these films and have never hesitated to buy them again when something different was going to be offered. However, the Blu-Rays of the OT, while they look the sharpest they've ever been, are a real let down with some of the last-straw "enhancements" made to the films. I absolutely cannot stand the "NOOO!" in ROTJ. I can tolerate some of the additions made, but in all I am not happy with what I purchased.
I do not feel bad for one second about having a faithful upscale to HD of the original movies from Harmy. I will keep watching them and when Disney/Lucasfilm decides they finally give the people what they've been asking for then I will be absolutely happy to shell out the money once more.
This new Blu-Ray cover set though... They aren't getting a dime of mine. And I certainly am not buying the digital collection either, as much as I have adopted the streaming movie ownership thing and love it on VUDU.
I have owned the VHS trilogy set from the 80's, the THX Widescreen VHS Boxed Set Trilogy (when it was "One Last Time"), I've bought the Special Edition VHS Widescreen Box Set, the 2006 DVD 4-disc Widescreen Boxed Set, and the current "Blew-Ray" Edition Boxed Set. As a consumer I have more than financially contributed my support for these films and have never hesitated to buy them again when something different was going to be offered. However, the Blu-Rays of the OT, while they look the sharpest they've ever been, are a real let down with some of the last-straw "enhancements" made to the films. I absolutely cannot stand the "NOOO!" in ROTJ. I can tolerate some of the additions made, but in all I am not happy with what I purchased.
I do not feel bad for one second about having a faithful upscale to HD of the original movies from Harmy. I will keep watching them and when Disney/Lucasfilm decides they finally give the people what they've been asking for then I will be absolutely happy to shell out the money once more.
This new Blu-Ray cover set though... They aren't getting a dime of mine. And I certainly am not buying the digital collection either, as much as I have adopted the streaming movie ownership thing and love it on VUDU.
Solo4114
Master Member
This is a common misconception among people who know only a little bit about copyright law. The short answer is, yes, it's really truly copyright infringement. I'm not saying this to be snarky. Fair Use is actually a fairly complex concept in copyright law. But yeah, it can still be infringement, even if you don't make a buck off of it yourself. And requiring someone to "prove" that they own the material already, is a pretty thin defense, too.
I'll put it this way. Assuming Harmy was able to afford actually mounting a legal defense against a claim of infringement, I would expect most lawyers to just settle the case because they'd know he was screwed. The fair use defense doesn't work here.
Like I said, if people want to argue that what he's doing isn't immoral, that's up for debate. I'm not suggesting people should or shouldn't feel bad for downloading his stuff. But it is most definitely illegal, the same way it would be if I made hundreds of thousands of photocopies of Watchmen and distributed it to people on the street for free, because I thought it should be viewed only in black-and-white print, rather than in color.
Brent M
Sr Member
Amen, brother. I know there are some people on here(like a certain user with initials who is on my Ignore List) that try to paint having something like the Despecialized Editions as a moral or ethical issue which I find completely laughable. I've bought countless copies of Star Wars on VHS, DVD and Blu-Ray so I have absolutely ZERO guilt about watching Harmy's versions and I will continue to feel that way until films are presented in the way that they were originally shown in theaters. Period.
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