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MaestroDavros

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3-Jul-2017
Last activity
14-Feb-2024
Posts
34

Post History

Post
#1335318
Topic
The Rise of Skywalker: Ascendant (Released)
Time

Hal 9000 said:

Too bad, in my version his head explodes during the victory celebration.

NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!

Alright to be fair I like Otoh Gunga and the Caretakers so I guess I’m a bastion of bad taste. 😉

As an editing suggestion one scene that kind of bothers me is the briefing room scene, specifically when Kylo show stops and asks Hux what he thinks of his mask. Like the shot of Luke throwing the lightsaber away in TLJ it really disrupts the tone of the scene, and the music cutting out in a comedic way doesn’t help. It’s like if someone was having a meeting about world domination and then right in the middle suddenly asked “oh BTW guys, my new perm. Do you like it?”.

It’s also dumb because Kylo specifically asks Hux because he senses that others have “unease” about the mask. Why would he care? The entire point of the mask, beyond beyond hiding behind it to channel Vader, is to intimidate ally and enemy alike. It’s doing its job if people feel unease about it.

Post
#1335308
Topic
The Rise of Skywalker: Ascendant (Released)
Time

Hal 9000 said:

Maybe you’re remembering Darth Editous’ version?

And the squeaky wheel scene was there, but the supplemental material contained several more shots. The film version goes from Poe and Zorri to the shot where Rey smirks at DO while greasing him up.

Actually I’m pretty sure it was a mix of watching the OOT every once in awhile on VHS and Anatomy of a Dewback on the old StarWars.com that gave me those memories haha. I don’t think I watched any fan edits until ANH:R about 7 years ago.

Ah that makes sense! It’s sad and ironic in a way that they’ve purposely excluded deleted/extended scenes from the package since there were some more than minor changes made before release, and yet bits of material cut out or just left on the cutting room floor find their way onto the set via bonus material anyway. To me DO was the surprise highlight of the film. I really felt for that little droid.

Post
#1327544
Topic
The Rise of Skywalker: Ascendant (Released)
Time

AbramPT said:

I don’t follow every TROS thread so I apologize if this has already been posted elsewhere, but I’d suggest giving this a listen. Essentially it’s Ian McDiarmid saying a line from an old version of the script that pretty much confirms Palpatine is a clone. The line is: “More than a clone; less than a man.” He does it in character too, which is tight.

The audio definitely isn’t amazing, but perhaps some wizardry could be done to make it usable?

Here’s my attempt to clean up the background noise: https://mega.nz/#!bGZy2Sgb!nNUL-Fz75kM1s0M_2rzmGqhHPdttpCpQaGQ3xtloF_M

Also a version with some emulated plate reverb and a fade in the middle to minimize the remaining background noise: https://mega.nz/#!WHB2XSxD!hHFjBD_mZZQ_ZKpgPTl62xtMKZo7YCwvYFUCt_sZHsY

Post
#1325784
Topic
Star Wars: The Skywalker Saga 4k UHD -- 27 DISC Boxed Set -- 3/31/2020
Time

digitalfreaknyc said:

crissrudd4554 said:

digitalfreaknyc said:

DominicCobb said:

Apparently the bonus features here clock in the same as the ones included in the digital collection versions. So the only thing new here are the films in 4K (though really even that isn’t new considering they’ve been on Disney+ for months).

Gonna be a no for me.

Same here. First time I’ve ever NOT bought these movies on a new format. What an incredible f*** up.

I said no in 2011 without hesitation, I will say no again in 2020 without hesitation.

The only reason I got that set is because of the deleted scenes. Now there’s no reason.

Literally the only thing I can hope for is the DVD PT deleted scenes having a higher bitrate to help with improving upscaling attempts. Even then I doubt it.

I will have to purchase ROTJ 4K at some point if I want to watch ROTJ:R when Adywan is finished with it; I’ll consider the rest when there is a serious pricing drop.

Like Ady said earlier we got a couple tasty morsels of ANH content when Rogue One came out. Logically, if everything in the Lucasfilm Archives has been scanned we should at least get an expansive set of behind the scenes footage of ANH and the rest of the OT in HD, yet ANH (you know, the landmark Oscar winning film that started it all) seems to have the least bonus content of the saga films. Such a shame.

Post
#1322995
Topic
Reasoning Behind Changes from Release to Release
Time

oojason said:

The silence from Lucasfilm on the changes made to the 2019 SE releases is staggering - if not somewhat insulting…

Is it because they don’t care anymore?
That they have lost track of the sheer number of changes made to the Original Trilogy films themselves?
That they cannot come up with valid reasons for the changes made without further ridiculing past claims and statements by them / George as to why changes were previously made?
Or Lucasfilm is simply content that the fans will throw more money at them for yet another version release featuring more unknown changes every 7-8 years?

It’ll be interesting to see if any details are forthcoming from them for the physical media release of the ‘Skywalker Saga’ come March 2020…
 

I suspect that no one at Lucasfilm noticed that any additional changes had been made to the 4K masters until it was too late.

Post
#1322194
Topic
Info: Aspect Ratios of Original Trilogies
Time

surroundsound99 said:

SKYWALKER SAGA 4K BOXED SET IS COMING!! Per Blu-ray.com it might be just a Best Buy exclusive but I’m not sure:

https://www.blu-ray.com/movies/Star-Wars-The-Skywalker-Saga-4K-Blu-ray/259357/

https://www.bestbuy.com/site/star-wars-9-movie-collection-digital-copy-4k-ultra-hd-blu-ray-blu-ray-only--best-buy/6393929.p?skuId=6393929&irclickid=0XUW4s2d-xyOULX0MdV3iVCmUknRkO3ih3rKRU0&irgwc=1&ref=198&loc=0XUW4s2d-xyOULX0MdV3iVCmUknRkO3ih3rKRU0&acampID=615614&mpid=1808408

And right now it’s says it’s coming in 2.39:1, and of interest to this discussion, “Original aspect ratio: 2.39:1”. We’ll see how it actually comes. It looks like that webpage is a work in progress but supposedly we’ll find out on March 31st!

This makes sense; the tops and bottoms of the OT on Disney+ are narrower than 2004/2011 based on screencap comparisons I’ve seen. Can’t speak for the other films however.

Post
#1320251
Topic
StarWarsLegacy.com - The Official Thread
Time

a_o said:

I wonder what Mike Verta thinks of the 4k version on Disney+ and coming to UHD later this year, when compared to the product or progress of his work on Legacy.

He hated the colors of the Reliance Media restoration from which these new masters are sourced from. The raw SDR colors of the Disney+ look very similar to the RM (muted and washed out), but as DrDre pointed out on the 4K Restoration of Star Wars thread the HDR adds back a lot of color and looks far more saturated.

Post
#1307917
Topic
STAR WARS: EP IV 2004 <strong>REVISITED</strong> ADYWAN *<em>1080p HD VERSION NOW IN PRODUCTION</em>
Time

TheAlaskanSandman said:

Am i the only one that doesn’t like that ANH ends in an awards ceremony? Ever since i was young it bothered me how much Anh feels like an independent film. I’ve always thought it would/could be cool if they celebrated in the hangar. With some how Leia’s line “Its not over yet” maybe appearing. Then cutting back to Vaders ship that we last see leaving the scene of the Death star. Now arriving at the fleet of Star Destoyers and possibly his super star Destroyer from ESB. (Could even use the unused footage of Vader leaving cloud city and boarding his ship with replacing vaders fighter ship). Vader boards his destroyer. We see him enter the hologram room. Sidious’s face pops up, no words spoken. Then the fade out and credit music.

Maybe a nice way to tie it to the next 2 films?

That’s because it kinda was. It was meant to be a film that tied itself up in a neat bow and is I think a perfect conclusion to the hero’s journey as a standalone story, while the film subtly leaves open the possibility of exploring Luke’s journey and further adventures in future films.

Plus Empire takes place 3 years later anyway so there’s no need to have it tie in so closely.

Post
#1156345
Topic
The Last Jedi: Official Review and Opinions Thread ** SPOILERS **
Time

I often wonder about when an idea or story beat goes from being similar to something done decades earlier, to when it becomes directly appropriated from it. In the case of ROTJ I would argue the similarities are more superficial, since there are shared locations like Tatooine and a Death Star, but what they do with those places is entirely different.

Contrast this to the sequel trilogy, which quite clearly contains many scenes that are similar not only on a superficial level, but directly reference earlier plot points, sometimes with similar events and even dialogue, all to elicit an emotional reaction like: “OMG DO YOU REMEMBER THAT SCENE WHERE ___ HAPPENED IN EPISODE ___?! THEY JUST REFERENCED IT OMG!! OMG!!!” Meanwhile I’m like “I’d rather watch the original version of that scene instead of someone else’s version that doesn’t do anything new”. And that’s just it: I want them to do something different that doesn’t rely on events that already happened. To do otherwise is IMO a poor attempt at fan-service, and just incredibly lazy writing in general. I get it’s hard to come up with ideas in Hollywood films that differ from something else done 40-50 years ago, but please don’t also bring attention and make a big deal of the fact that you are “borrowing” the idea in the first place.

Star Wars isn’t the only franchise with this problem BTW.

Post
#1155546
Topic
The Last Jedi: Official Review and Opinions Thread ** SPOILERS **
Time

SilverWook said:

MaestroDavros said:

Collipso said:

I definitely preferred the sound mix in TLJ than in TFA. Not even a question. Visual effects too, but the one scene where Luke is fishing (where he jumps and grabs that huge stick over the water) looked pretty fake to me. And of course the cgi horses looked very bad to me too.

Lightsabers looked too much like they were actually there - reminded me of a lightsaber toy or replica in some shots. TFA’s sabers were definitely better for me. And the screen wipes were either out of place or too fast.

Overall I really loved how the movie looked and sounded though, a lot more than TFA.

Regarding lightsabers however, TFA > TLJ.

Again, waiting for the Blu-ray to see the full film, but the lightsabers in TFA looked like they had weight to them, as well as a feeling there was actual energy being emitted. Sure, the white core could have been brighter, but if they look more like the prequels then TFA that seems like a step too far in the opposite direction.

Speaking of SFX, from what I have seen in trailers I still think the ships look kinda fake, especially after seeing how beautiful Rogue One’s enhanced recreations of the ANH ships were. Maybe when building CGI ships it helps to actually have a real world reference (meaning, something actually fully built in the real world) before the model is created but, I know, too expensive.

I wouldn’t be surprised if the OT models were laser scanned for Rogue One.

As a matter of fact they DID! Well, with the Star Destroyers they acquired all of the model kits that were kitbashed to create the original Star Destroyer model, scanned them, and painstakingly recreated the original model in the computer. From there they added more details, usually from other parts of the same kits. This process was used for all the recreations of the original models, and they look more lifelike for it, whereas the ST’s Star Destroyers look alright, but they’re too flat in terms of surface detail and lack a physical presence that the R1 CGI ships had.

Here’s a video where John Knoll discusses his work on R1, and talks about the Star Destroyer in particular starting at 12:47: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JUafi3EWBY8

Post
#1155200
Topic
The Last Jedi: Official Review and Opinions Thread ** SPOILERS **
Time

Collipso said:

I definitely preferred the sound mix in TLJ than in TFA. Not even a question. Visual effects too, but the one scene where Luke is fishing (where he jumps and grabs that huge stick over the water) looked pretty fake to me. And of course the cgi horses looked very bad to me too.

Lightsabers looked too much like they were actually there - reminded me of a lightsaber toy or replica in some shots. TFA’s sabers were definitely better for me. And the screen wipes were either out of place or too fast.

Overall I really loved how the movie looked and sounded though, a lot more than TFA.

Regarding lightsabers however, TFA > TLJ.

Again, waiting for the Blu-ray to see the full film, but the lightsabers in TFA looked like they had weight to them, as well as a feeling there was actual energy being emitted. Sure, the white core could have been brighter, but if they look more like the prequels then TFA that seems like a step too far in the opposite direction.

Speaking of SFX, from what I have seen in trailers I still think the ships look kinda fake, especially after seeing how beautiful Rogue One’s enhanced recreations of the ANH ships were. Maybe when building CGI ships it helps to actually have a real world reference (meaning, something actually fully built in the real world) before the model is created but, I know, too expensive.

Post
#1149047
Topic
The Last Jedi: Official Review and Opinions Thread ** SPOILERS **
Time

DrDre said:

I’ve been wondering about RJ’s vision for the Force. Some have argued, that anyone can be a Jedi now, that’s great! Looking at it more closely, I don’t think that’s really the case.

When Lucas created the original Star Wars, most people got the impression, that anyone can be a Jedi. You just have to study it, work hard, and there you go. Lucas himself held this view, as is evident from his 1977 definitions, that I posted earlier.

Then over the course of the OT genetics seemed to be introduced. Luke became part of a family line of powerful Jedi. The Force is strong in his family. This still doesn’t preclude anyone from becoming a Jedi. It just means some of us are more talented than others, just like in real life. Other explanations can be introduced for the Skywalker’s innate Force potential, but this one’s pretty logical, I think.

Then the PT came along, which showed the Jedi to be elitist. The PT never said, that the Force wasn’t available to everyone, it just said the Jedi only wanted the top of the class, so to speak. Many people understandably didn’t like this. I mean what about character? Wouldn’t you rather have a less talented Jedi with a good character, than a talented a*****e? Anyway, the Jedi were flawed. Doesn’t mean they were allways like this, just that they had evolved into this political elitist organisation.

So, what did RJ do? Did he go back to the 1977 concept of anyone who works hard at it, can be a Jedi? No, he didn’t. Rey just magically has these powers, and apparently so does the kid at the end of the film. No work required. It just awakes inside you. So, what if the Force doesn’t awake in Poe, or Finn, or some other random person?
Tough luck, I guess? Or can we expect the Force to be delivered to them as well? It got lost in the mail, or something. I think not. In short, he’s turned the Force into a lottery. Anyone can be a Jedi, if you’re one of the lucky few. I fail to see how that improves on Lucas’ original ideas, even the version of the PT, where despite the Jedi’s elitist views, anyone could theoretically become a Jedi.

I’ve been thinking about this and I wonder if this is what Snoke meant by “There has been an awakening”. I don’t think he was just referring to Rey. For some reason the force is becoming ultra potent in people for no known reason (likely because the force is already known to work in mysterious ways). That would have been an interesting direction to take the plot of TLJ in, but it was basically a sidenote with the kids and left half baked, vague and confusing as a result.

Post
#1142897
Topic
Disney to buy 20th (21st) Century Fox? (Disney has now bought them - 14 Dec '17)
Time

GlastoEls said:

animefan said:

Will we see the sale complete in 2018 or 2019?

Not soon enough for a Fox fanfare for ‘Solo’, but in time for one before ‘9’…

Even though there’s no guarantee it will happen, I think that since Disney has the rights to the logo and fanfare, I too hope they reinstate them with Star Wars; they’re just too iconic and synonymous with the franchise at this point. It’s just a wild guess but, knowing J.J.'s love for little details like this I believe he will likely push for its reinstatement for Episode IX, and one of two headlines will hypothetically appear:

“J.J. Abrams was responsible for bringing the Fox back to Star Wars”

or

“J.J. Abrams almost got the Fox intro for Star Wars Episode IX”

Either way I REALLY hope Disney actually let 20th Century Fox still exist as a separate brand once the transaction is complete, but I’m not holding my breath knowing their history.

Post
#1142275
Topic
Disney to buy 20th (21st) Century Fox? (Disney has now bought them - 14 Dec '17)
Time

Valheru_84 said:

I don’t think you can totally discount the fact that Star Wars as of yet hasn’t had even an inkling of a mention in any articles about the deal despite being fairly big news that Disney now holds the rights to ALL SW movies, probably one of their biggest and more profitable franchises alongside the Marvel Cinematic Universe. And the fact that news on Mike Verta’s restoration has also gone completely cold at the same time.

If Disney really are trying to keep the whole thing quiet in lieu of an official release in the near future then I highly doubt you are going to hear anything but denials via official and even most unofficial channels. They’ll have that shit locked down water tight…

Agreed and, if the way Disney has treated leaks for Star Wars since they bought the rights proves anything, it’s that things will be so tightly on lockdown that even if news does get out, there will be a lot of plausible deniability behind it since almost no one would be able to corroborate anything of substance.

Post
#1142261
Topic
Episode VIII : The Last Jedi - Discussion * <strong><em>SPOILER THREAD</em></strong> *
Time

I haven’t seen this film yet, but from everything I’ve heard it would seem to be an incredible let down (an understatement?) that tries as hard as it can NOT to be a Star Wars film by trying to be anything but. I get the impression that more than anything this needs a fanedit, a complaint that TFA didn’t elicit from me. So I guess main trilogy wise we’re 0/2 right now.

TFA: Although a love letter to Star Wars fans, and the most like the original trilogy since ROTJ, doesn’t break any new ground and is instead a “greatest hits” of the OT.

TLJ: A film that tries so hard to not be a Star Wars film it utterly falls flat on its face. It disappoints both fans and people who love good, well constructed storytelling with huge plot holes (some filled, most not), events that happen just because, and both fan favorite woefully underdeveloped characters being killed off just because. In addition, there is a lot more “humor” in this film, but rather than the dry situational comedy of the OT it’s been “Marvelized”. And look, I like Marvel films, but I don’t want their style of storytelling getting involved with this franchise.

So far there has been almost no meaningful or interesting change to the status quo, and most importantly nobody has learned anything or grown as a character. Luke grew more within 30 minutes of screen time in ESB than some of these characters have in nearly 5 hours. And it’s a shame, especially since I think that the teaser trailer to TLJ was one of the most beautifully done I have ever seen. It would seem as though the brilliant movie people imagined existing in between those moments never existed in the first place, but instead it was betrayed for what it really was: a nice short teaser made to generate hype.

As for people’s expectations not coming true, I don’t think that is the problem here. Rather, I think it’s just an average to below average movie that is not AOTC bad, but isn’t ESB good either, and tries to do so much that it doesn’t really do anything at all.

I was slightly disappointed by TFA, but all signs point to this one being my least favorite of the two so far. It will be interesting to see what people think of this film once enough time has passed; I think rather than it starting off with a lukewarm response and then being acclaimed years later like ESB it’s going to take the opposite trajectory. But I guess we’ll have to wait and see.

Post
#1104501
Topic
STAR WARS: EP VI -RETURN OF THE JEDI &quot;REVISITED EDITION&quot;<strong>ADYWAN</strong> - ** PRODUCTION HAS NOW RESTARTED **
Time

A few more ideas I’ve been mulling over:

  1. Vader’s voice: Something that has always bothered me since I first saw the film as a child was how Vader’s voice effect is quite noticeably different from the other two, not that the Original Trilogy was consistent in this regard to begin with (cough ANH “man in a suit” cough), but Jedi seems to have an overmixed flanger or phaser effect to it. If there’s anyway it could be made to sound more like ESB that would be wonderful.

  2. In regards to Operation: Decutify Ewoks, I have found when watching similar “cute but evil” creatures in other media that a lot of the scare factor or creepiness comes from a good mix of making the creature seem all cute and cuddly, but then subverting it with some subtle elements (and some overt ones as well) as to their true nature to achieve the desired effect. As a result, my personal recommendation is to treat the Ewoks in precisely that manner.

  3. I do think the space battle could be extended by about a minute or two, namely the sequence right before the shield goes down since it seems a bit rushed IMHO (please let us see an actual ship to ship battle between the medical frigate and that Star Destroyer rather than them just sitting there).

  4. A couple additions that could be made have already been suggested, but to reiterate them: A. near the start of the battle when the rebel fleet arrives a ship hitting the shield that alerts the rebels to it still being active (Lando’s dialogue would need to be reedited since the film in its current state suggests that this doesn’t occur), and B. add some Interdictors from Star Wars Rebels (which according to the new canon DID actually participate in the battle) which could add a whole new dynamic to the battle since the rebels can’t simply escape into hyperspace while those are active, as well as the Victory-class Star Destroyers mentioned earlier.

  5. It would be awesome if “Commence primary ignition” and the bass drop could be added when the Death Star II fires after “Fire at will commander”, although I am aware that it is technically an “improved design” and those things might no longer apply.

  6. Agreed with the poster above who suggested that R2-D2’s bleeps and boops need some effects from 4 & 5 mixed in.

And that’s all for now.