What in your opinion are the best Star Wars editions and why?

I have promised my sons and nieces that one day this spring break or summer we will sit down and do a full day Star Wars marathon, watching all 6 movies.

We have all of them, but we have a variety of editions and some of our CD's skip... so, I'm considering just going out and buying a whole new set that will be our 'mint' set to watch on special occasions.

I'm tapping my fellow RPF members to help me decide which DVD's to invest in.

So, what do you think? Is the bonus disk that much of a difference to make it worth going with one set over another?

Guri said:

I have promised my sons and nieces that one day this spring break or summer we will sit down and do a full day Star Wars marathon, watching all 6 movies.

We have all of them, but we have a variety of editions and some of our CD's skip... so, I'm considering just going out and buying a whole new set that will be our 'mint' set to watch on special occasions.

I'm tapping my fellow RPF members to help me decide which DVD's to invest in.

So, what do you think? Is the bonus disk that much of a difference to make it worth going with one set over another?

Click to expand...

the lastest version of the OT on DVD has the original movies, and the special editions

they are the ones you want

as for the PT, you'll have to ask someone else...

i just bought the set that came with the original trilogy "bonus disks"

and threw out the special edition versions.....the original OT is all i need.

I liked the updated FX in ANH SE, but hated the Greedo shoots first/Greedo-Han shooting simultaneously crap. Jabba's appearance was nice, but I prefer the updated Jabba in the DVD release rather than the younger looking Jabba in the SE.

The changes introduced in the ESB SE were minimal so I tolerated them. That monkey lady always gave me the creeps anyway.

The biggest offender of course is ROTJ SE. How dare Lucas replace Lapti Nek with that monstrosity??? And don't get me started with the new ending. I prefer to Ewok ending to the "Wesa free!" ending any time, but replacing Sebastian Shaw with Hayden? Original ROTJ for me.

There are only 3 Star Wars movies...

- "Star Wars"
- "The Empire Strikes Back"
- "Return of the Jedi"








.

Actually, there's only one.

Gotta have the yub yub song! :thumbsup

-Sarge

The source masters are identical for all of the SE versions...it's just new packaging/extras. Same with the PT releases. Bonus stuff aside, one is the the same as another.

Hasn't been released yet. I don't need the tweaks, I don't need the SE additions... I want the originals in their original form getting an overhaul for DVD like EVERY OTHER MOVIE gets... so why not these? Spielberg gave us both the original and the SE, so the viewer could choose what he wanted.

But if you are going for what is already available... I guess you could go for the double feature version.

I think they are best when you watch all 6 of them in order and just the regular most common "Special Editions" are great.:thumbsup

my opinion is Don't let the old-bitter-afraid-of-change folks keep any of these movies, in any form away from kids.:rolleyes

KnightAsylum said:

I think they are best when you watch all 6 of them in order and just the regular most common "Special Editions" are great.:thumbsup

my opinion is Don't let the old-bitter-afraid-of-change folks keep any of these movies, in any form away from kids.:rolleyes

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QFT. The vast majority of us are here because we saw these movies as kids. Whatever is at the heart of them is still the same as it was back in the day.

Treadwell said:

The source masters are identical for all of the SE versions...it's just new packaging/extras. Same with the PT releases. Bonus stuff aside, one is the the same as another.

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How's that work when there was a version of ANH SE with young wormlike Jabba and another with essentially the same one seen on ROTJ?

To each his own. If some people want only unedited original versions, fine. If others like the SE, fine. If other's like parts of each, that's fine, too.

I do get tired of people having to trash all the changes ad nasuem, though. It's impossible for anyone to start a thread on and of the movies at all without someone chiming in that the SE's are trash and trashing Lucas for not giving them updated/cleanedup versions of the originals.

My opinion:

- Official versions of the Prequels. It'll be less confusing if they ever see them again. Don't go with the various "fan edits" because they'll add in scenes, delete scenes, etc.

- Original OT that comes on the 2-disc editions (the 2006 releases). In a general sense, I think it's important for kids to see how the films originally looked. I mean, what's the point of watching the 1930s King Kong with modern CGI slapped in? Give 'em a sense of how movies used to be made and what they looked like so they have an understanding of history (something SORELY lacking in today's youth). As a separate matter, the "fixed" versions of the OT just aren't that great from an objective quality standpoint. They're oversaturated with color, and that saturation isn't even consistent (IE: sabre is blue in this scene, aqua in another, and almost green in a third scene, all within the same film). I'll also explain why below on a movie-by-movie basis.

- ANH -- If you watch with surround sound DON'T watch the SE. They flipped the rear audio channels for the orchestra. So, if the horns are on your left in the front channels, they'll be on your right in the back. Plus, ANH has the most of the visual inconsistencies. In addition, there's the whole Greedo scene, and a bunch of the other sequences in the film that were added back in are just...unnecessary. IE: the Jabba scene is almost word-for-word the same thing as the Han/Greedo scene. It does nothing for the film except stick Jabba in. Likewise, the scene in the hangar when Luke and Biggs talk to each other. Does this scene need to be there? Nah, not really. It BARELY establishes who Biggs is, but even as a 5-year-old kid watching ANH the first time, I knew he and Luke were old friends. I mean, why else would Biggs understand that the trench run will "Be just like Beggar's Canyon back home"?

- ESB has the least objectionable changes, but even it suffers from oversaturated color and weird transitions. The stuff it adds in does basically nothing for or against the film. It's just change for change's sake. I mean, yeah, you get to see the whole Wampa, but so what? and yes, the Emperor looks consistent, but again, so what? I still got who was who later on. I suppose having Boba's voice and the Emperor's face be consistent is somewhat helpful, but only somewhat. Still, I think it'd be visually jarring to show the kids the original version of ANH and then show them the SUPER BRIGHT COLORS!! YAY!! version of ESB.

- ROTJ -- original version. Lapti Nek doesn't call attention to itself in quite the same way as the HEY LOOK AT US SE's "Jedi rocks." As for seeing Anakin as Hayden at the end...um....why? Forget the "in-universe" explanations, it doesn't make a ton of sense, except as kind of a callback to the prequels. But that won't really matter because.....



I recommend you watch the films in the order of release, not in "chronological" order. My goal in showing these films to kids is to show them the story in the way it was originally told. I think it works better, makes more sense, and less visually jarring when they understand which movies came first. Plus, I think it leaves them BETTER able to appreciate the OT, which I expect will be more difficult over time as technology progresses.


See, here's the thing. It's all about creating expectations in the viewer. If you show them the prequels and then go into the OT, they'll be like "WTF? Why do the later movies look so freakin' old and lame? What's with this dumb stop-motion thing on the chessboard, for example? And why is Yoda a puppet?" Yes, you can explain to kids AFTER the fact taht "Well, these are older movies," but the expectation for how the films will look, sound, and feel is already established by the PT. The PT is a VERY different set of films from the OT, no matter how much time they spend re-animating the lightsabres to look more like the PT versions, and no matter how many matte boxes they remove from the OT.

On the other hand, if a kid goes into the films watching them in release order, they'll be able to appreciate the story of the OT while they recognize it doesn't look as "modern", and then potentially appreciate the PT for its visual flair (no idea if they'll like the story).

In essence, the goal is to emphasize the strength of the OT's story in spite of it's outdated visuals, which I think you'll have a MUCH harder time doing if the kids see the PT versions first and then say "Man, these later movies look so OLD!"

Basically, if you want the kids to really be able to dig the OT -- maybe even almost as much as you do -- show it to them first. Even if they like the look of the PT better after they see it, they'll be a lot more able to see the merits of the OT (the ORIGINAL OT) if they see that first. The risk you run when you show them the PT first is that they can't get past the older visuals. And even with the SEs, they might still say "Why does it look modern in this one scene and then old in the next?" Try as the might, the SEs just can't re-film the entire original trilogy, so there'll always be that "older" feel to them. Rather than try to paper over that, I say embrace it and show them the REAL older version.

cboath said:

How's that work when there was a version of ANH SE with young wormlike Jabba and another with essentially the same one seen on ROTJ?

To each his own. If some people want only unedited original versions, fine. If others like the SE, fine. If other's like parts of each, that's fine, too.

I do get tired of people having to trash all the changes ad nasuem, though. It's impossible for anyone to start a thread on and of the movies at all without someone chiming in that the SE's are trash and trashing Lucas for not giving them updated/cleanedup versions of the originals.

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Just to be clear, I don't have a problem with Lucas playing with the various versions. I just want three things:

1.) That when he plays with them, he provides us with an "archive" copy of the originals. There is something to be said for preserving film history, and frankly, I think it's important to show what he accomplished with the technology he had back then. Star Wars was an f/x landmark and it's important to preserve that.

2.) That he provide a "cleaned up" version of the otherwise unchanged originals. Don't pump the color artificially (or if you do, do so consistently), just remove some of the smears, stains, grit, etc. If Blade Runner can look as good as it does, you can do the same with the OT and have it look AMAZING.

3.) That whatever changes, fixes, cleanups, etc. he does, HE DOES THEM RIGHT AND WITH CONSISTENT ATTENTION TO QUALITY. Honestly, there is NO excuse for the flipped audio channels, or for the crappy color work in the DVD versions of the SE.


I don't have a problem with this or that version of Jabba, either. In fact, I think it's kind of cool if they at least keep a deleted scene on the disc of the '97 version of Jabba, just to show how far CGI came in only 7 years with the '04 version of Jabba in ANH. Again, it's about preserving film history, and, at this point, I think it's also important into understanding how the films evolved from one form to another. Don't just sweep it under the rug. Especially with Blu-Ray technology, we now have the ability to present ultimate archive editions that give the viewer a range of options.

Again, look at the Blade Runner 5-disc release. You have the "Ultimate Cut", the original theatrical cut, the european cut, a rough cut, etc., etc. You get to see the evolution of the film, the different versions, etc. It's FANTASTIC if you want to see how different markets get different versions, how subtle changes can strongly influence a story, etc.



Ultimately, I think the stuff that pisses off the "original OT" fans the most is George's desire to wave his hand and have us by the "These aren't the droids you're looking for" approach to pretending the older versions don't exist. I don't care if he mucks around with the films. Go ahead! Actually it's kind of interesting at this point to see how each new edition will handle it. BUT, I want the older versions too, so I can see the evolution. And I want a lovingly restored (RESTORED, not changed) version of the originals. That's it.

I think you've done the rarity in analyzing the changes for what they were without bashing, well done

I don't disagree with any of what you waid really, either. I get why people want unabashed copies of the original. I do to, but i'm not prepared to through a fit over it either. Honestly, I don't get george's motivation for not doing it. All refusing to do it does is **** off a lot of people who built you your fortune. Even if he thinks there's not a market for it, does he honestly expect it won't make a profit? Storywise, it's not like he really changes anything other than greedo/han. It doesn't hurt the SE's in any way. So like I said, while I don't understand it, i'm not going to sweat it much either.

All the SE's have failed to include something i've wanted to see. That being, if you're going to blow up an entire planet, i think it's fair the planet get some air-time prior to the big-bang. Show us there's life and civilization on it. But that's just me and i'm sure that's an obscure opinion.

When I get the chance to show them to my nephews, it's going to be in order of release. Chronological order takes out some big blows of the OT - vader as dad, leia the sister, etc.

Of course, i'm sure we'll see the Ultra Editions or whatever in the next year or two where everything's in 3D. In this one, Han will get to shoot first, but since everyones' on big screen TV's, we'll see that Greedo flipped him off under the table first, so he really started it anyhow

tgreco said:

the lastest version of the OT on DVD has the original movies, and the special editions

they are the ones you want

as for the PT, you'll have to ask someone else...

Click to expand...

Treadwell said:

The source masters are identical for all of the SE versions...it's just new packaging/extras. Same with the PT releases. Bonus stuff aside, one is the the same as another.

Click to expand...

Thanks! I think based on the info here, this does make most sense for us.

KnightAsylum said:

I think they are best when you watch all 6 of them in order and just the regular most common "Special Editions" are great.:thumbsup

my opinion is Don't let the old-bitter-afraid-of-change folks keep any of these movies, in any form away from kids.:rolleyes

Click to expand...

:lol I won't.

My kids have seen all the movies and watch them a lot. They even have the OT memorized (you should see my 8 year old do all three parts of the Luke, Vader and the Emperor final scene. :lol)

This promise I made was just for me to sit down with them and watch it straight through and I don't want to be watching our old versions with the bad tacking VHS tapes and skipping DVD's.

Thanks everyone for the input!

personal opinion, best version is the one with lightsabers!

Solo4114 said:

sabre is blue in this scene, aqua in another, and almost green in a third scene, all within the same film

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That was the case all along.

KnightAsylum said:

I think they are best when you watch all 6 of them in order and just the regular most common "Special Editions" are great.:thumbsup

my opinion is Don't let the old-bitter-afraid-of-change folks keep any of these movies, in any form away from kids.:rolleyes

Click to expand...

A question asked (Guri's) will be answered, especially here.

I am not afraid of change. I love how movies are evolving. Especially animation. I disagree with changing films once they are released. You can issue a different cut if you tag it with "different cut", but the original theatrical release should be preserved.

:angel

-DM