Star Wars: The Force Awakens (Pre-release)

[jme3]

Re: Star Wars Episode VII

Star Wars was not this god-awful gaudy in terms of color palette when each film was originally released. They had much more muted, natural looking color palettes to each film. Now, every color is so over-saturated and jumping off the screen that I find it difficult to look at it.

I agree with you about the colors being cranked. I still very much like the Bluray (which inevitably is s.e.) for the level of resolution (very helpful with determining things for prop purposes, for example), but you are right that the originals are more muted. Han did not have purple hair in the original!

To be clear I was speaking of the NON-SE OT

Ah, okay then. I've had those out of their cases once I think and found the playback not all that good. I love the OT and would love to have it in an unaltered, hi-def transferred form. But honestly, the resolution is such a letdown that I'd prefer the special editions rather than have the non-s.e. versions give my eyes whiplash with the bad quality of their transfer.

Maybe this is beyond the capability of Bluray but why can they have an option to add and omit scenes from the movie so you essentially can customize the movie to your liking?

I figured as interactive as Bluray was supposed to be you could do something like this. You can select the audio

How could would it be to have a disk with EVERY version and variation to the movie and pick "Han shoots first" or "Ewok song during the final celebration montage" or get rid of the Jabba's barge dance/song sequence?

I've thought the very same thing! As there are a few parts of the s.e. versions that I really like, it would be nice to dial those in to whatever suits you.

 

[Sluis Van Shipyards]

Re: Star Wars Episode VII

Fringe's John Noble pushing for role in Abrams' Star Wars VII | Blastr

I'm a huge fan of Fringe, and a huge fan of John Noble. I'd love to see him cast in Episode VII.

I think he's a great actor and hope they do find him a part. I just hope they don't bow to the pressure of every big actor asking for a part. I don't want to see someone like Tom Cruise (for example) in the movie because it takes you out of the movie. You're watching SW and all of the sudden "Hey there's Tom Cruise!".

 

[Jedi-72]

Re: Star Wars Episode VII

Spielberg did this to some extent with CE3K. You cannot pick and choose which scenes you want included or excised, but the menu offers all three versions for selection at the outset. I don't know that all three versions are on the disc in their entirety, or if the various elements that differentiate the three from one another are simply branched into or out of the common, main body of the film. Every time I watch that film, which is fairly often, I always lament that Lucas never thought to offer the OT in the same format. He gets his awful SE out there and the fans of the true films get what they want. I have hope that Disney will redress this wrong at some point. It might make a great lead-in to the release of Episode VII.

 

[jme3]

Re: Star Wars Episode VII

^I believe the technology is there to offer enhanced capabilities with the bluray format; it's whether or not the studio in charge wants to go the route to make it available. I'd just be satisfied with the unedited, restored original trilogy if they'd just offer it; barring that, at least give us an option to cut-and-paste our way back into what we as individuals consider "acceptable" Star Wars with the special editions...

 

[The Terminator]

Re: Star Wars Episode VII

Maybe this is beyond the capability of Bluray but why can they have an option to add and omit scenes from the movie so you essentially can customize the movie to your liking?

It's not beyond and for example the T2 bluray have 3 versions on 1 disc, meaning you can customize your viewing...

 

[cavx]

Re: Star Wars Episode VII

:thumbsup High Def Star Wars is stellar cinema, special editions or not.

I would not call the transfers "stellar", but they are certainly the BEST we have ever seen them on video. Way too much edge enhancement for my tastes. And what is with that "floating grain"?

Out of all the changes made, the only cringe moment for me is that noise Kenbobi makes to scare off the tuskens. WTF is that? I much prefer the orinal sound effect which make sense because they would have had a look out during a raid anyway.

 

[Father]

Re: Star Wars Episode VII

It's not beyond and for example the T2 bluray have 3 versions on 1 disc, meaning you can customize your viewing...

I might be thinking DVD but I always thought it was dumb to have deleted scenes as a special feature but not an option to watch them as part on the film. Pretty sure that Bluray doesn't even offer this as an option.

 

[The Terminator]

Re: Star Wars Episode VII

I might be thinking DVD but I always thought it was dumb to have deleted scenes as a special feature but not an option to watch them as part on the film. Pretty sure that Bluray doesn't even offer this as an option.

99% of the time they don't, and that sux. Some blurays offer them to be inserted into the film, in T2's case probably thanks to Van Ling(thank you!).

 

[Solo]

Re: Star Wars Episode VII

I like what they did with the remastered Star Trek TOS blurays a few years ago. As you're watching, you can switch from the remastered version to the original version on the fly. Not sure if the original footage has been enhanced for HD, though. Which is what I would want them to do with the original Star Wars trilogy.

I thought I read somewhere that Disney was on top of re-releasing the OT in it's original form in the near future. Did I dream that?

 

[Solo4114]

Re: Star Wars Episode VII

"Enhanced for HD" is kind of a misnomer, really. Star Wars was shot on 35mm film, no? As such, it's already way more defined than a digital image. You could display the film on a 4K set and still have detail to show in a later release at higher resolution.

although this is one of the real problems with the prequels -- they were shot on 1080p digital cameras and....that's it. That's as detailed as they'll ever be. You can't squeeze more resolution out of them without resorting to some upscaling algorithm, and even that's going to be artificial. What's more, the SEs are in this same situation. The masters for the SEs are, I believe, 1080p. And that includes all the re-done shots like the Jabba scene in ANH, the sail barge band in ROTJ, Hayden in ROTJ, etc. All those elements were done as kind of a test run for the prequels, I think, which would mean they were shot digitally or at least had digital effects added at 1080p.

The significance of this, as it's been explained to me, is that as we hit 2K and 4K TV sets and media, the PT and SEs are going to need some kind of re-treatment. Whether that'll come from digitally "guessing" at detail to insert, or a rescan of the negatives by a studio like Lowry (which, FYI DOES do good work in spite of the crap job that was done on the SEs for DVD) could be warranted. The hope is that Disney will have to rescan the OT to get 4K copies, and will figure "Well, as long as we're doing this, we might as well release the original versions alongside any SEs we put out."

As far as I know, though, Disney has not announced officially that they WILL do this. It just seems to make sense to folks.

 

[Michael Bergeron]

Re: Star Wars Episode VII

I thought I read somewhere that Disney was on top of re-releasing the OT in it's original form in the near future. Did I dream that?

Probably. If you didn't then I certainly missed it!

I think it probably will happen though, just not as soon as many of us would like.

 

[jlee562]

Re: Star Wars Episode VII

As far as I know, though, Disney has not announced officially that they WILL do this. It just seems to make sense to folks.

...makes sense to folks here. As I have said previously, I honestly would not be surprised if it was not at all on Disney's radar. There's much larger profits to be had by exploiting the upcoming 4+ films (ep 7-9, plus at least one standalone character film).

 

[jme3]

Re: Star Wars Episode VII

I would not call the transfers "stellar", but they are certainly the BEST we have ever seen them on video. Way too much edge enhancement for my tastes. And what is with that "floating grain"?

Out of all the changes made, the only cringe moment for me is that noise Kenbobi makes to scare off the tuskens. WTF is that? I much prefer the orinal sound effect which make sense because they would have had a look out during a raid anyway.

Compared to the unaltered OT on DVD, the bluray versions are indeed stellar. The laserdisc transfer is awful.

"Enhanced for HD" is kind of a misnomer, really. Star Wars was shot on 35mm film, no? As such, it's already way more defined than a digital image. You could display the film on a 4K set and still have detail to show in a later release at higher resolution.

Yes, the originals were shot on film, therefore having a much higher resolution potential than just 1080p. That the prequels don't have this same advantage is hardly a letdown as I'd not consider them candidates for archival preservation, in my collection anyway. If we only ever get the OT in 4k and/or beyond, we've done pretty well for ourselves as SW fans I'd say. :thumbsup

 

[The Terminator]

Re: Star Wars Episode VII

Funny when some uninformed people start yelling stuff like "yeah but the prequels were shot in HD and those older movies weren't" :lol
Film > 1080p digital :thumbsup

All those elements were done as kind of a test run for the prequels

An even earlier test run for the PT is the young adventures of Indiana Jones

 

[Solo4114]

Re: Star Wars Episode VII

...makes sense to folks here. As I have said previously, I honestly would not be surprised if it was not at all on Disney's radar. There's much larger profits to be had by exploiting the upcoming 4+ films (ep 7-9, plus at least one standalone character film).

Right, but I don't see it as an either/or proposition. I mean, yes, of course they'll exploit 7-9-etc., but they'll eventually remaster the OT at the very least. It'll take a while, I'd figure, before some new format is adopted, but once it is, the old masters won't cut it. The same way DVDs -- even upscaled -- look not as good as blu-rays, presumably blu-rays -- even upscaled -- won't look as good as 2K/4K transfers. Many other films have been scanned in at 4K already, so it'll be easier for them to be reproduced in the new formats, and I want to say I've seen talk of scans at 8K, too. I think Lowry is said to have done a 4K transfer for, for example, North by Northwest. The blu-ray of that looks great, but obviously isn't 4K. But they'll be able to more easily put one out if they so choose when the next format hits. I can't imagine that films like the OT WON'T be preserved in this same way.

Compared to the unaltered OT on DVD, the bluray versions are indeed stellar. The laserdisc transfer is awful.

God is it ever...although the DVD versions of the SE are pretty amateurish, too. I would hope they fixed a lot of the more obvious crap work (e.g. hard shifts on color palettes, flipped audio channels, etc.), but I heard some stuff still snuck through this time.

Yes, the originals were shot on film, therefore having a much higher resolution potential than just 1080p. That the prequels don't have this same advantage is hardly a letdown as I'd not consider them candidates for archival preservation, in my collection anyway. If we only ever get the OT in 4k and/or beyond, we've done pretty well for ourselves as SW fans I'd say. :thumbsup

Can't say I disagree! If I can get an OOT in 4K, I'll be one happy geek.

Funny when some uninformed people start yelling stuff like "yeah but the prequels were shot in HD and those older movies weren't" :lol
Film > 1080p digital :thumbsup

Ha, yeah, well, they know marketing, not technology. Reminds me of that scene in Boogie Nights where Don Cheadle's character is trying to sell stereos, tells a customer it's a hi-fidelity system, and the customer asks him what that means. He explains that the fidelity is even higher in that system than in another system. :lol

An even earlier test run for the PT is the young adventures of Indiana Jones

I know I'm in the minority here, but I actually like the YIJC, if only because I dig history. I don't treat it as "Indy," really, but I enjoy it all the same. It's like a separate thing for me.

 

[Michael Bergeron]

Re: Star Wars Episode VII

...makes sense to folks here. As I have said previously, I honestly would not be surprised if it was not at all on Disney's radar. There's much larger profits to be had by exploiting the upcoming 4+ films (ep 7-9, plus at least one standalone character film).

While there is much larger profits to be had with new films I would argue that the profit margin on a special OT release (fully remastered set to 4K or whatever the next "new thing" is) would still be significant. If they are doing that then they will have to go from the source material anyway so doing a release of the unaltered films as a bonus would be little extra work and a great selling feature. I'm sure they're aware of that.

I seriously doubt it'll happen before the next video format though. We've got years to wait.

- - - Updated - - -

I know I'm in the minority here, but I actually like the YIJC, if only because I dig history. I don't treat it as "Indy," really, but I enjoy it all the same. It's like a separate thing for me.

Same here. not so much the little kid stuff but when he's older and in WW1 it's some pretty good TV. :thumbsup

 

[Solo4114]

Re: Star Wars Episode VII

While there is much larger profits to be had with new films I would argue that the profit margin on a special OT release (fully remastered set to 4K or whatever the next "new thing" is) would still be significant. If they are doing that then they will have to go from the source material anyway so doing a release of the unaltered films as a bonus would be little extra work and a great selling feature. I'm sure they're aware of that.

I seriously doubt it'll happen before the next video format though. We've got years to wait.

Yeah, that's where I come out. I think it's unlikely they'd undertake the scanning process now while we already have serviceable blu-rays. There's a SLIGHT possibility that they'd re-release them prior to Ep. VII, remastered, as a 9-pack or something (or a 6-pack with the OOT/SEs), but that'd just be to gin up excitement for the films. LucasFilm did that with the DVDs after 2004. There was the 2004 "silver" DVD set, the 2005 repackaging with only 3 discs (I think), and then the 2006 re-repackaging/individual films with the "bonus discs" designed to combat the ebay trade. But outside of that, I'd say only a new format will spur them to change things.

Same here. not so much the little kid stuff but when he's older and in WW1 it's some pretty good TV. :thumbsup

Yeah, the stuff when he's older is really interesting. The stuff with him as a kid is mildly interesting, but purely as a trip through history. As little as Sean Patrick Flannery was like Harrison Ford, the kid was even more removed from all that.

 

[rodneyfaile]

Re: Star Wars Episode VII

"Enhanced for HD" is kind of a misnomer, really. Star Wars was shot on 35mm film, no? As such, it's already way more defined than a digital image. You could display the film on a 4K set and still have detail to show in a later release at higher resolution.

although this is one of the real problems with the prequels -- they were shot on 1080p digital cameras and....that's it. That's as detailed as they'll ever be. You can't squeeze more resolution out of them without resorting to some upscaling algorithm, and even that's going to be artificial. What's more, the SEs are in this same situation. The masters for the SEs are, I believe, 1080p. And that includes all the re-done shots like the Jabba scene in ANH, the sail barge band in ROTJ, Hayden in ROTJ, etc. All those elements were done as kind of a test run for the prequels, I think, which would mean they were shot digitally or at least had digital effects added at 1080p.

The significance of this, as it's been explained to me, is that as we hit 2K and 4K TV sets and media, the PT and SEs are going to need some kind of re-treatment. Whether that'll come from digitally "guessing" at detail to insert, or a rescan of the negatives by a studio like Lowry (which, FYI DOES do good work in spite of the crap job that was done on the SEs for DVD) could be warranted. The hope is that Disney will have to rescan the OT to get 4K copies, and will figure "Well, as long as we're doing this, we might as well release the original versions alongside any SEs we put out."

As far as I know, though, Disney has not announced officially that they WILL do this. It just seems to make sense to folks.

So people may have better results asking for the release of The Original Trilogy in 4K instead of just asking for unaltered versions?

 

[jlee562]

Re: Star Wars Episode VII

The other thing to consider is whether or not 4k really takes off. The fact of the matter is, most people don't need a 4k TV, and for most folks (i.e., the vast majority who bought a TV 60" or smaller) buying a 4k TV is a complete waste of money. At that size, jamming more pixels into the display actually doesn't make a difference.

to wit: Why Ultra HD 4K TVs are still stupid | TV and Home Theater - CNET Reviews

More to the point though, I haven't seen one iota of evidence that Disney is even considering this. There's not one statement that I've seen that could even be inferred to be discussing the possibility. All it is, is fan speculation.

 

[Michael Bergeron]

Re: Star Wars Episode VII

The other thing to consider is whether or not 4k really takes off. The fact of the matter is, most people don't need a 4k TV, and for most folks (i.e., the vast majority who bought a TV 60" or smaller) buying a 4k TV is a complete waste of money. At that size, jamming more pixels into the display actually doesn't make a difference.

to wit: Why Ultra HD 4K TVs are still stupid | TV and Home Theater - CNET Reviews

True, which is why I said "the next thing". There WILL be a next thing eventually and it'll be within the next 10 years I'm sure.