The Official Boycott Star Wars Bluray thread

[micdavis]

All that said, and this being teh intarwebz0rz, I don't really see much of a problem with people just grousing about it. I do find the wailing and gnashing of teeth to be a bit hyperbolic, but otherwise...whatever.

Yeah, reasonable conversation, no big.

I guess in the end THAT is why this thread set me off.

Look how it started.

Come on, can we grow up a little?

 

[Colin Droidmilk]

What we did was in support of the creator and he supported us back.

You're attempting to hold back the ocean with a broom. Impossible.

I'd love to see YOU prove me wrong but I KNOW you'll just sit on your ass and do nothing. Like 99.999999% of the people that "cry" and "whine"

That's the difference. I actually did something. You won't. No one, that actually could, would. Because it's not as important as the fanboys make it out to be. AND ITS DONE.

What they're going to do recall a million BR due to fanboy whining. Yeah...right.

National treasure, pish posh, it's just a movie, that was as much luck as skill.

Maybe that's why it doesn't bother me.

So if your rips got destroyed and there was nothing to replace them, it wouldn't be a problem for you. You're OK with all those Muren X-wing dogfight shots being just a happy memory. I could understand that from a normal guy, but not a geek. What are you doing here? Lol...

 

[micdavis]

Ah..... another ridiculous "what if".

Someday you'll quit whining about the what ifs and LIVE the what is.

 

[Larry Young]

Actually wink), I can't stand the "I was 19 and stupid." defense.

I was 19 once and stupid, but I never used that dumb ass excuse.

I've always fessed up to my screw-ups.

Yeah, I'm not saying that. Just decisions you make when you are a kid and decisions you make as an adult can't really be intellectually entwined like Cayman's trying here. HOW IS THAT DIFFERENT? HOW IS THAT DIFFERENT?

Um... I'm a more nuanced, mature adult, now? :lol

I often get this when decisions I make as a writer seemingly are in conflict with decisions I make as a publisher. Other artists I deal with will often point out when I tell them no on something that I may have asked for something similar as a writer in the past. Well, yeah, dumkopf, I always think. As a writer, I totally get what tyou're saying and want that for myself in a similar situation. As a publisher, you are SOL.

Your "I did something; whiners do not" was much more elegant, I admit.

 

[bwayne64]

:lolHey bro, I was only yanking your chain about your spelling
(PREceding as opposed to PROceeding). I knew the dialog itself was correct.

Oh my bad, I didn't even see the misspelling. I had to look up the clip, just to see if my old memory had finally gone kaput, LOL. Cheers,

Joe

 

[micdavis]

I could understand that from a normal guy, but not a geek. What are you doing here? Lol...

Well, I am neither normal or a geek, so you can scratch those misconceptions off the list.

I'm HERE to build & share props but I participate in the "community" as to not appear as one of the ones who either doesn't make props and whines in the OT or the salesman who does nothing but post links to his website where he sells stuff. Clear enough?

 

[blip]

Well its also said that we should be cautious to not misrepresent or besmirch the reputation of any individual, group, site, or company. If we can say anything about Lucas and ILM, Im sure a historical pic of Lenin is ok as its not a political discussion. If a mod ask, Ill remove the pic of course.

Oh, well that's ok then.
As long a you you wern't saying that it was simply a matter of Right wing vs Left wing politics. Because that would definalty be asking for trouble.

Questions of individual rights vs group rights have existed since the dawn of time. Before that poster you posted was even thought of.

 

[Mola Rob]

Damn this thread has circled around more times than the Indy 500. Reminds me of meetings at my previous job.

 

[blip]

Maybe say it from the point of your vested interest?

I think the digital add ons look fake and destroy the composition and flow of an organic process that occured in 1976.

When I watch the movie I'm distracted by the poor quailty of these digital alterations and it yanks me out of the story.

I would prefer to be able to enjoy the story.

I value my enjoyment of the story above George's right to alter his work.
He's rich enough alrerady. He will just have to be happy with the cash and stop fiddling with things I like.

 

[Colin Droidmilk]

Ah another one more ridiculous "what if".

Someday you'll quit whining about the what ifs and LIVE the what is.

Y'see, I just wish I could share your confidence that it's such a ridiculous what if...

 

[The Rock-a-who]

I value my enjoyment of the story above George's right to alter his work.
He's rich enough alrerady. He will just have to be happy with the cash and stop fiddling with things I like.

I'm still waiting for Howard the Duck: Special Edition :unsure

 

[jme3]

Oh my bad, I didn't even see the misspelling. I had to look up the clip, just to see if my old memory had finally gone kaput, LOL. Cheers,

Joe

...:thumbsup...

 

[blip]

Or say it from George's point of view.

I made a new version of the Star Wars DVD so that it can paly in your new players and on your new TV's.

There are some things that are bugging me about the films, I had to let them slide back in 76 because I just didn't have the money or time to get it right.

Now I have both the time and the money to get it right.
Do you know how long those shortfalls have been bugging me?
Long time.

So, here's the deal, I'll give you what you want, a Blu-Ray version, but I want somethig for me. Money I have lots of, what I really want is the pleasure to fix something that's been buggin me for ages.

 

[Egon Spengler]

Sometimes it's better for an artist to walk away from his work and let it be finished.

 

[nightrider]

There comes a point when one more brush stroke will ruin or take away from the painting. It's the real artist that knows when that point has been reached. I'm not hysterical about what GL has done to these films, but I'm not happy about it either. :thumbsdown

 

[Jeyl]

So, here's the deal, I'll give you what you want, a Blu-Ray version, but I want somethig for me. Money I have lots of, what I really want is the pleasure to fix something that's been buggin me for ages.

You know, it's like we're not even allowed to enjoy the things we spend money on unless it meets your forever changing "vision". How can we take crap you give us seriously if there is no guarantee that what we're seeing is the final cut? Is that really the magic of film making? You make something, release to the world and let us enjoy it. What you think of it shouldn't really matter since that's how most of the films released during your time were like. What matters to me is what I get out of it, and what I got out of it till the SEs in 97 is gone now.

 

[Solo4114]

Yeah, I'm not saying that. Just decisions you make when you are a kid and decisions you make as an adult can't really be intellectually entwined like Cayman's trying here. HOW IS THAT DIFFERENT? HOW IS THAT DIFFERENT?

Um... I'm a more nuanced, mature adult, now? :lol

I often get this when decisions I make as a writer seemingly are in conflict with decisions I make as a publisher. Other artists I deal with will often point out when I tell them no on something that I may have asked for something similar as a writer in the past. Well, yeah, dumkopf, I always think. As a writer, I totally get what tyou're saying and want that for myself in a similar situation. As a publisher, you are SOL.

Your "I did something; whiners do not" was much more elegant, I admit.

A very fair point, actually. I daresay....worthy of a lawyer. No, no, not meant as an insult.

Seriously, though, the ability to see both sides of the issue, see that they are in contrast, and recognize that circumstances -- different circumstances -- dictate different results is not something I find that often, and especially not on teh intarwobblez.

I do, however, think that's different from some situations where you really are talking apples to apples and the real answer is simply "I changed my mind."

That said, I could see the situation you describe as akin to a kid saying to their parent "But how come I can't do this thing now? You TOLD me you did it YEARS ago!" without recognizing that "Yes, it's BECAUSE I did it that I know what the hell I'm talking about. And no, you still are not allowed to do it."

 

[Colin Droidmilk]

No he couldn't, because people were ripping LDs and using those and selling them on ebay. There was a demonstrated pirate market for them, so he probably figured "Hell, I can do THAT," and put out a licensed version of EXACTLY what was on ebay already. It took next to no effort, and it probably let him capture at least some revenue from fans who didn't want to pirate, but would've settled for the LD-rips anyway. Thing is, the LD source material was basically the highest resolution "original" OT version out there for consumers. There was no DVD-resolution equivalent, (or at least not one being widely distributed, if one exists).

In essence, if you bough those LD-rip DVDs, you were only one technological generation behind the then-current version, and many people at the time still had low-def CRT TVs. So, the actual difference was there, yeah, but it was tolerable and anyway, it was better than VHS which was your only other option.

Now we're two technological generations behind, and the difference is magnified by people having higher-end entertainment systems. The net effect is twofold: (1) people are probably less inclined to keep ripping the LDs (or already have the official version thereof) so there's less of a market for further LD rips, and (2) he's managed to skip a generation of technology for the "OOT" films. There is, in essence, no DVD-resolution version of them. Meaning if you want a clear, HD picture, or even a DVD-resolution picture, it's George's way or the highway. You can't even opt for a previous-generation version because there isn't one. Your closest bet is two generations behind (I guess, unless there are fan edits out there that somehow manage to restore the original material without further mucking about with it...IE: Not Adywan-type stuff).

Anything further at this point probably involves SOME kind of effort on his part, and he's pretty clearly shown he has no interest in expending such effort on that project.

Right. Thanks for outlining all that again for me. An 'OOT'-less world doesn't look so impossible, then, say, a decade or two down the line. It seems that if the LD had not been made and become available to pirates, we might already be in that world ( apart from old VHS tapes). And let's not forget that in the 90s he withdrew the VHS long before the advent of DVD, announcing that it was our last chance to acquire the originals. Then, the only DVD release that came was about a decade later and, as you say, not even DVD quality, and even then it was only prompted by pirates. Which seems to indicate he really meant it when he pulled the VHS and asked us all to bid farewell to the originals. Hmmm. No, it doesn't look good, does it.

 

[Psab keel]

The recent news of even more unnecessary changes, including the giant middle finger that was audibly inserted to one of the best scenes in Return of the Jedi, just proves to me that Lucas has lost all credibility as a film-maker. While he can do whatever he wants with his films, he clearly doesn't give a damn about the place that his original films hold in history and the history of cinema. Somewhere along the way, Lucas decided to become a business man, and said to hell with being an artist. He already has enough money. What could he possibly get out of all of this? Control. Plain and simple.

"It's good to show contempt for your audience." -RedLetterMedia

 

[niennumb1]

Someone who works for Lucasfilm will have a plan and have the masters for the original OT they had to get before adding additional effects to them and decide that after his/her retirement, will bring them into the consumer world on HD for free and made available through tons of websites.

It could happen... probably won't, but I can dream.