I'd have rather they'd used a better puppet in the PT (With subtle CGI enhancements) but the full CGI Yoda was the next best thing. I'm just responding to comments that seem to be putting it on a par with Boss Nass for unbelievability.

I was dreading CGI Yoda going into the theatre, but when we all saw the first shot of him (This one of him giving Palpatine a silent quizzical look)...

... I remember thinking, wow that's Yoda, that's really Yoda! welcome back old friend. Of course the movie went downhill from there with Yoda's duel with Dooku being the low point.

It is true that if he had been a puppet, perhaps they couldn't have done that ridiculous duel but inability to perform stunts never stopped Lucas from having pensioners like Ian McDiarmid and Christopher Lee backflipping all over the screen.

I'm guessing the main problem with the TPM Puppet was that Lucas told the sculpters to make him 30 years younger. Forgetting that 30 is actually 3 in Yoda years, so they could've used the exact same puppet from ESB.

thekremlin said:

The worst thing about that video is everyone nodding along and laughing while they grin and bear it. I really do wonder if anyone on those three films had the balls to say, "You know, George, that's not really a very good idea." at any point. I would assume not.

If you ever listen to the Director's Commentary on Attack of the Phantom (the Phantom Editor's edit of Episode II), there's a great part where he relays a LucasFilm anecdote he heard.

IIRC, apparently in one of Lucas's visits to the workers, one individual actually questioned something George said. George just kind of silently listened, and then things moved on. The next day, when the worker got to work, he noticed his parking space was now gone.

Yes, I remember that story from The Phantom Editor's commentary.

My feelings towards Rick McCallum softened when I heard the commentary to ROTS. He's talking about how he insisted all the stupid R2 flying about in the hanger bay footage was removed and that he didn't want the Yoda arriving on Dagobah scene cut (For some reason it wasn't cut from UK prints). But in both cases George got his way. Must have been very difficult being a Producer but with no real power to control the producion.

Dagobah was cut from the UK prints. I remember not seeing it.

Bingowings said:

Dagobah was cut from the UK prints. I remember not seeing it.

Yeh, it was definitely cut from the UK release

Really? It's difficult to remember, I couldn't swear either way as I only saw the film once in the cinema.  This is from Wookieepedia...

Despite Lucasfilm's official statement that there were absolutely no changes made to the theatrical version of the film, the November 1, 2005 DVD release of Revenge of the Sith had a few slight changes from the theatrical cut.

• In the scene where a shot transitions to Vader crawling up the lava bank, a wipe from the shot of Obi-Wan and Threepio in the cockpit of Padmé's ship leaving Mustafar to Vader's mechanical hand grasping at the volcanic soil has been replaced with a straight cut to this shot from the cockpit of Padmé's ship on the DVD.

• There is a different wipe and slightly shorter "Noooo!!" from Darth Vader.

• The scene of Yoda arriving on Dagobah, which was in the U.K theatrical release, was removed from the film and is now viewable as a deleted scene.

I've seen that written elsewhere but it didn't happen (not in my universe anyway).

I actively remember never seeing it before the DVD and reading about the scene existing.

But then I saw Bob Peck turn into a tree.

Fang Zei said:

There were a bunch of endings: Artoo and Threepio being given to Captain Antilles, Padme's funeral, Vader and Palps on the SD bridge, Bail Organa bringing Leia to Alderaan and Obi-Wan bringing Luke to Tatooine.

If it's been eight years since your one viewing of the movie, I can see how it'd be hard to remember if Yoda's arrival on Dagobah was actually in the movie.

I didn't say I'd only seen ROTS once, just in the cinema. I watched it plenty as it's the least offensive of the 3 PTs..

...oh and I've fanedited it to. Yes Yoda on Dagobah is in my cut.

I can't understand that 12 second scene ever being cut since as you say the film has a billion endings anyway, it's very short and Yoda plays such a big part in the PT that it seems like short change to not give him one of them. Plus it spoils virtually nothing of ESB that wasn't spoiled by simply knowing Yoda existed.

Wolfman said:

^ Some of the comments under your clips are unbelievable. Makes you just want to weep at the lack of knowlege and understanding some people have. Well done for putting these guys right.

SilverWook said:

I wonder if Jar Jar would have been less annoying had they stuck with the full costume Ahmed Best was going to wear? Which they allegedly blew a couple million on developing to George's dismay...

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zmancN58_CI

^ 3.30 in this clip

Fang Zei said:

At this point, an OOT release isn't so much a matter of "if" but "when" and "how" and "what." How will they go about restoring it? Will they include the '97 version for completionism's sake? What about the prequels? Will they now be stuck in their revised form on blu-ray while the OOT remains available?? What about the "official" version of the OT? Will it be re-scanned or will the lowry master linger on even longer?

"When?" At the earliest, probably 2020 when Fox loses the rights to ESB and ROTJ, but I still think it's an "if." And even if they do, last time we got the GOUT, there isn't any reason to believe it'll be a proper restoration. Probably not any time soon, if at all.

Ryan McAvoy said:

Does anybody actually care about getting untouched versions of the PT?

Not being sarcastic, genuinely interested.

Personally I'd be quite happy for all prints of TPM puppet yoda being burned and erased from existence. I care much more about getting ALL the PT deletedmaterial released in HD. Alternate line deliveries, deleted scenes and crucially the half of each movie before it was reshot/f*cked up at the pickup stage. Then faneditors can use it to make even better cuts.

Plus as far as I know all changes have been to add little bits here and there (Taxi, Podrace etc) so at least the material is out there in HD. Unlike the OT where it doesn't exist. Feel free to correct me on this if I'm mistaken.

Well nominally no, but if we are going to take a stand about film preservation and Lucas' historical revisionism, we can't just say it doesn't apply to the PT because we don't like it or we'd be hypocrites. To say nothing of THX1138, which is never, ever, ever getting a proper release.

Mielr said:"The OOT was already released on DVD- so why don't you losers just quit complaining and watch them?!" comments.

Ah, yes the GOUT is now a catch-22. How joyous.

SilverWook said:

Given the changes made to the Blu Ray versions, I wonder what's on the DVD's?

The stuff made of nightmares!