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Kurgan

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29-Jan-2006
Last activity
29-Aug-2015
Posts
616

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Post
#196833
Topic
STAR WARS - Enhanced HD & O-OT HD Packs... some suggestions...
Link
https://originaltrilogy.com/post/id/196833/action/topic#196833
Time
Well the beauty of fan edits is that you can make the movie any way you won't. You don't to make any money off of it and nobody has to "buy" your vision of what the movie ought to be.

The only problem with Lucas doing it is that he does indeed want others to buy only his vision of the story, or nothing. That's why he's letting the originals go to rot (supposedly, though I'm sure he has the full movies digitally preserved in his vaults just in case, via hints from Lowry Digital interviews where they made a "complete digital master" of the classic trilogy) and saying "they no longer exist for me."

At least the fan guys are preserving the originals, and also making their own edits. It's sort of like having a colorized movie. You don't have to accept it as the real deal, so long as you can still get yourself a copy of the black and white that's going to last.
Post
#196832
Topic
I actually prefer the DVDs and can't wait for more edits, seriously.
Link
https://originaltrilogy.com/post/id/196832/action/topic#196832
Time
Well, I just got done watching a MovieFone "unscripted" video interview where George and Hayden answer viewers' questions (take THAT SuperShadow! ha!). Lucas spells out that he meant to show that when you come back in the Force, you get to retain your physical appearance of how you were before you turned to the Dark Side, and that Anakin's "inner self" is of him as a young man like that. So that's how he wants it to be now. Of course in the same interview he says he "always intended" for the entire Star Wars saga to be about Anakin (cough, revisionism!). He admits that the fans didn't like him starting the trilogy with TPM having Anakin as a 9 year old, but it was what he wanted to do and that's that. He portrays his films as being "completed" and truly owned by him on DVD (the original trilogy) because that's how he wanted the films done. He explains he had to let others direct and work on ESB and ROTJ because he had to spend time building up the companies (of LucasFilm, etc) in order to build his independant company, and when he put the films on DVD he could "make them the way I wanted." Even with a few bits of Lucas revisionism in there, this was a pretty good interview, as it clears up some things in Lucas's thinking and finally gets him to admit certain details.

I still don't like what he did with Anakin, but at least he tells it to us straight. So if Obi-Wan or Yoda had turned to the Dark Side when they were young, and then turned back before death, they'd have gotten to appear young too as ghosts!

PS: The interview apparently was aired before the movie came out, since Hayden announces that the movie is coming out May 19th in theaters. It's about 15 minutes long in Quicktime format (at least the version I saw).
Post
#196830
Topic
What scene in the (O-)OT do you hate/dislike the most?
Link
https://originaltrilogy.com/post/id/196830/action/topic#196830
Time
To add to what others have said, the main problem with the Executor crash is the huge obvious garbage matte box visible (especially in the 2004 editions). Worse even than how they ruined the Death Star explosion by sucking all the color out of it and making the blue-screen artifacting obvious (of course you've also got the Big Dumb Rings going as well).

Dumbest things: redubbing Boba Fett, making Greedo fire, poorly done CG Jabba (I actually ike Jabba and wanted to see him, I admit the scene is marred by the "stepping on tail" cheap comedy and tossing in more pointless Boba Fett for the fanboys, plus the recycled dialouge, though the annoyance in Han's voice makes the repetition a little more tolerable), and last but not least, Hayden the ghost. Also, removing Vader's eyebrows seemed kind of pointless, as they gave him some character, plus the bald cap is even more obvious as his face doesn't feel weighted properly without his brows. And the various color screw ups on the official dvd's...

Stuff I disliked in the original originals are the garbage mattes, I hate those, and the badly blue screened stuff like the Rancor in ROTJ (love the Rancor, hate the effect that ruins the illusion). The inconsistencies in the TIE/X-Wing performance between "radar" and "window view" shots and the main shots was a little bit odd, and I think the SE improves upon that, but I guess I didn't really "hate" it before, only that it looks better now, one of the few non-purely cosmetic changes I approve of in the SE's. Or and replacing the cardboard extras with real people is fine by me.

And I disagree, CG Jabba circ 1997 looks nothing like ROTJ Jabba. He looks like a bug-eyed anime frog character. Some have pointed out that he's better animated than the 2004 version, but at least the 2004 version looks more like Jabba physically and less like a cartoon character. Closer, but still not quite there. They did a much better job making a CG Yoda, but he doesn't look quite like himself either. I thought TPM Yoda had a character all his own, even if he differed greatly from OT Yoda. Anyway, Jabba, they never got the eyes right, and that does a lot to define the character.
Post
#196818
Topic
Idea: Captain Power & the Soldiers of the Future - a preservation of?
Link
https://originaltrilogy.com/post/id/196818/action/topic#196818
Time
Right, and don't forget JMS was the mastermind of this series, who would later go on to do Babylon 5.

Jessica Steen hasn't done much since this except bombs and low budget movies (Armaggedon, Judgement, Left Behind: World at War, etc).

Body builder Sven-Ole Thorsen (Hunt for Red October, The Running Man) of course is in this too. And the actor who played "the cigarrette smoking man" on the X-Files is in one episode.

Lord Dredd went on to play "George" on La Femme Nikita the tv show (which I really didn't watch, only caught bits of it, but I saw the movie, which of course was totally different).


IMDB.com lists a "Captain Power: the Beginning" (aka "Against the New Order") which I never saw. Apparently it's a feature length thing that's some episodes stiched together. I wonder if there's any way somebody can release that? A bootleg was also released by someone on VHS that I never saw (but saw advertised on ebay once) called "The Return of Captain Power" or something like that. Apparently it was some kind of fan edit to bring back Pilot.
Post
#196109
Topic
Help Wanted: Star Wars films with audio description. Can anyone help out??
Link
https://originaltrilogy.com/post/id/196109/action/topic#196109
Time
I saw the ANH DVS VHS tape at my local library and rented it for fun.

It was just the full frame version of the 1992 or 1995 tape edition with the audio description playing. I guess you could just record it and just have it play over any version of the movie. In fact you don't even need the picture, just the audio, but I guess the visuals are there for any sighted person who's watching it with them.
Post
#195874
Topic
Idea: Captain Power & the Soldiers of the Future - a preservation of?
Link
https://originaltrilogy.com/post/id/195874/action/topic#195874
Time
The normal episodes combined live action with (at the time) cutting edge CGI and were interactive games as well as entertaining and often surprisingly mature-themed for a "kid's show." The interactive action meant each episode had lots of action, but always a plot (a bit rushed in the short time frame though, except for the multi-parters).

The real trick is if somebody can encode the tapes into a quality so high that you can actually use the DVD's to play the interactive stuff on a TV.

I tried to do this on my family's hardware DVD recorder with my "training videos" but I ran out of time (and accidentally put them on the "low quality" setting. They're animated, so they need high quality.

Thankfully the TV episodes are only 20 minutes long, and I believe each Training tape is like 10 minutes long. So you could max out the quality on some single layer DVD's I would think. The mpeg encodes out already are too low quality, the flashing lights drop frames and turn into solid colors, and don't work with the game.

Might want to put an epilepsy warning on these, they flash as much as a lightgun game in places, and the colors in those targets are BRIGHT!

Family Video chains still often rent the episode tapes (which are also interactive). The training videos are usually sold as a 3 tape set or with a powerjet (originally I think the powerjet came with one tape, the phantom striker.. that is the "bad guy" version came with another tape, or you could purchase them seperately). I think only half or 1/3rd of the 22 official episodes (there was also a commercially released "gag tape" which I believe was censored since there is a low quality alternate version that's shorter and has some swearing and a gay joke or two in it) were released, so any other tapes you get would have been fan dubs. But the TV show when aired like on SkyOne (?) or canadian space channel would be interactive as the day it was first aired. The 15 year old tapes I bought worked for me!

I wish they would show these on Sci-Fi, or even some HD channel, that would be totally awesome!
Post
#195873
Topic
Info: Moonwalker
Link
https://originaltrilogy.com/post/id/195873/action/topic#195873
Time
Thanks for the info guys (and to Boomstick, I didn't intend to insult anyone, it's just that any mention of MJJ anywhere else on the 'net immediately causes cascades of pedophilia jokes and crap, so I figured I'd air that out right at the start just in case, nothing personal, reputation aside, I liked his old stuff just like everybody else). So the UK version IS official after all... wow, I stand corrected then.

So I'd need a PAL TV and a region-free player...

Guess I came up with "jack" and "squat."
Post
#195617
Topic
<em><strong>The &quot;Darth Editous / ADigitalMan Hybrid Edition&quot; Info and Feedback Thread</strong></em> (Released)
Link
https://originaltrilogy.com/post/id/195617/action/topic#195617
Time
Okay, forgive me if this has been asked before, but is a SL version of this hybrid coming? I hate to waste the money on the expensive DL media (which they don't sell in stores here) just for the extra audio tracks (good as they may be!), plus it sounds like people are having trouble burning it anyhow. Sounds like an amazing release, and that's all that's stopping me from grabbing it, it sounds like the best yet!

Why didn't Lucas hire these dudes for the DVD Editions?!
Post
#195227
Topic
Info: Moonwalker
Link
https://originaltrilogy.com/post/id/195227/action/topic#195227
Time

Ok, now I realize everybody on the planet thinks that Michael Jackson is a freak and a pervert, but this was made back in 1988 when he was the coolest thing ever, before his face fell off and his music sucked. So anyway, I’m sure people have seen or at least heard of this short film (I’m not just talking about the abbreviated music video “Smooth Criminal” shown on MTV back in the day).

It was only ever released on VHS, the whole mini movie with Michael fighting Joe Pesci as “Mr. Big” and the soldiers with the machinegun flashlights and robot special effects, etc. plus all the accompanying videos with the claymation rabbit and little kids doing a parody of “Bad” etc. But I see that there people selling a bootleg DVD entitled “Moonwalker: A Movie Like No Other” with new cover artwork. One seller claimed it was an “unofficial UK DVD that is discontinued.” I’ve never seen the DVD but I am assuming it’s pure bootleg.

So because I have fond childhood memories of watching this movie (I own the VHS) and playing the video game version on my Sega Genesis, and because I’d like to see the wind taken out of the sails of the people selling the bootleg, how about it? Anybody up to releasing it on here or creating a new version?

Just thought I’d throw that one out there, or if anyone has any info on an existing release doing the rounds, let me know!

Post
#195224
Topic
Idea: Captain Power &amp; the Soldiers of the Future - a preservation of?
Link
https://originaltrilogy.com/post/id/195224/action/topic#195224
Time
Sorry I didn't have a chance to respond for awhile, what is demonoid and where do I find it?

I know people have passed around a loose bunch of avi files of this, I have them. I'm more interested in somebody constructing a fan made DVD with menus and such of them, or even, if somebody has the original VHS tapes, to create some higher quality versions for such a project. I guess it helps if more people know about the lower quality mpegs out there already. Those tapes just keep on aging, I'd like to see it preserved for the fans...

And I do own some of the toys (well the PowerJet and accompanying "Training Videos" anyway). I check Ebay now and then for stuff.
Post
#174276
Topic
Idea: Captain Power &amp; the Soldiers of the Future - a preservation of?
Link
https://originaltrilogy.com/post/id/174276/action/topic#174276
Time

Hey, this was a great show, circa 1987, though sadly short lived. I know there is one guy over at [site withheld in case somebody asks] who sells the episodes on a DVD (or multiple cd’s), but sadly the quality is not that great (it’s just a DVD-ROM with the avi files dumped on it, not a player playable disc), compared to what it could be for somebody capturing the VHS tapes.

My dream is to be able to pop a DVD (or two) into my player and be able to still PLAY the interactiveness with my ebay purchased powerjet…

Any takers? The quality needs to be virtually 1:1 for the flashing lights and stuff to still work and make the “game” playable. Excellent show just to watch, too. There’s 23 episodes (22 plus a blooper tape). There are also three “animated” tapes with some live action footage at the beginning. All are available on Ebay, though sadly I think only half the episodes were released on commercial NTSC and PAL. The rest are in private collections of those who taped them off TV. There are also apparently at least two “movies” created from linked together various episodes. One was official, the other was a bootlegged “alternate ending” to the first season and introducing the second, though I haven’t seen either one to know much more about them.

Captain Power was great though. Sure it was inspired by Star Wars, Terminator and Battlestar Galactica, but it also went on to inspire certain things like the look of Robo-Cop and the Borg from Star Trek TNG. Really ahead of its time, and decent budget for the time ($1 million per episode). Rather mature for a “kid’s show.”

Edit: To clarify, the “playable” parts were done by putting flashing “targets” on the bodies of enemy troops and ships, and when they fired towards the screen (in the many battle scenes in the show) they could register on your powerjet (which was essentially a lightgun you could purchase, and you can still find them on Ebay) and make the action figure fly out (eject) if you took too much damage. The animated “training videos” were more oriented towards pure play, but the TV show episodes all had playability that way. The quality needs to be good in order to be able to retain the playability, which is why I dream of a fine DVD release of this!