Master Sifo-Dyas

I agree that the situation certainly does suffer from continous aggravation through the piles of insults and disdain for the preferences of the other.

To me the central argument is - as you said - not about preference, it is about completeness. At the end, every fan (even if some may not admit it openly) would love to have a boxed set of the entire saga with all the bells and whistles and every version of the films that has been in existence (Blade Runner comes to mind).

Amazingly enough, there was a thread on the forums of sw.com back in 2004, posted by fans who also wanted the theatrical versions on dvd. Sure, you had a lot of bashing and naysaying in there - and it got very rough at times.

Alas, the thread managed not to get locked back then. And it got more civil over time... when the trolls got tired and retreated under their bridges, there really was some sort of "live and let live" agreement among both sides.

I remember being really fond of that moment, seeing people finally realising we all share the love for the same thing - even if it's for different reasons - we still do. And quite a few of the hardcore Special Edition fans admitted that they would welcome the possibility to have the theatrical cuts on the same disc with the special editions. To see how it all evolved and for nostalgia.

So it is possible to have that kind of unity among the different kinds of SW-fans - once in a millenia - I guess.

TV's Frink said:

This whole "if we didn't have SW we'd have something else just as good" idea is like saying "I wish I never met my ex-wife even though she gave me two great kids I love dearly, because I could have just met another woman that would have given me two different kids that would have been just as great."

In other words, it's a really stupid idea.

Agreed. But! This whole discussion makes me want to watch Back to the Future (and that certainly isn't a bad thing). In fact it also makes me feel like picking up that Delorean and bring the original prints... well... back to the future! :D

generalfrevious said: [...] The problem is that GL has a perfectionist streak that goes against the preservation of these films. [...]

I can agree that whatever he suffers from is going against the preservation of the theatrical versions. Yet when you ask me what it is - it is most definitely not perfectionism.

Would George Lucas be a perfectionist, he would not only have put in every change he deemed necessary back in '97 (and improving them along with progress of technology with each new release), but he also wouldn't leave mistakes like broken colour timing, missing or wrongly coloured lightsaber blades, etc. in his special editions.

You may argue that he used to be a perfectionist, when he still was struggling to establish a brand (or multiple ones if you put into account the companies he's founded).

I really don't know what he's suffering from these days, a lazy streak of "delusions of grandeur (tm)", perhaps?

Mielr said:

BTW-who's Mike Verta?

The man behind the StarWars Legacy Edition project.

Yeah, and don't even get me started about Vader not reacting at all when he looses control of his Tie Fighter. Some sort of outcry or expressing his denial and anger would've made this scene so much more believable! But they had to keep him calm and in control, as if that's what the dark side was about. *sigh*

Did they actually fix the delayed reaction of Obi-Wan to Jar-Jar getting tazed by that lance-thingie in the Gungan underwater city?

Zoran Sinobad said: "While both STAR WARS (1977) and THE EMPIRE STRIKES BACK (1980) are on the National Film Registry, the Library has not yet acquired new prints of either one."

New prints? Does that imply they have old prints of SW and ESB?

Zoran Sinobad said: "When the request was made for STAR WARS, Lucasfilm offered us the Special Edition version. The offer was declined as this was obviously not the version that had been selected for the Registry. We have not yet requested a print of THE EMPIRE STRIKES BACK, added to the Registry late last year."

So the only film, they requested a new print for so far, was SW. Alas, they were only offered the Special Edition of SW, which they declined.

Zoran Sinobad said: "The Library of Congress does hold the original release versions of STAR WARS, THE EMPIRE STRIKES BACK and RETURN OF THE JEDI, but these 35mm prints were acquired as copyright deposits in March 1978, October 1980, and June 1983 respectively. All three are classified as archival masters and as such cannot be accessed for viewing/research."

So they additionally have a 35mm print of SW, ESB and ROTJ. Only problem being that those are declared archival masters, which basically means these must not be accessed for viewing/research.

Zoran Sinobad said: "The existing condition reports for STAR WARS and THE EMPIRE STRIKES BACK (there is no report for RETURN OF THE JEDI) indicate that the former has minor scratches but is in good shape overall, while the latter has extreme color fading."

I presume this refers to the state of the copyright deposits, which have status of archival masters (as mentioned just above).

Zoran Sinobad said: "We also have an additional 35mm print of the original STAR WARS (received June 1979) with English subtitles for the deaf."

Then there seems to be yet another 35mm print of SW with english subtitles for the deaf (what status does this one have? also archival master?). These probably wouldn't be very useful for a restoration, since I assume the subtitles for the deaf are on the print. On the other hand, the sound could still be used.

So, by my math this does result into:

1 old print of each SW and ESB as regular material on the national film registry. (Could they be allowed to be accessed for viewing/research?)

1 old print of each SW, ESB and ROTJ as copyright deposits, classified as archival masters (must not be accessed for viewing/research)

1 old print of SW for the hearing impaired, classification unknown.

Reading this made me feel numb inside. At this point, the only thing that comes to mind when thinking about George Lucas, is this.

I never did really pay attention to behind the scenes commentary stuff from Star Trek actors. Clicked myself through quite a bit of Shatner stuff going from the one you posted originally.

To be honest I always prejudiced William Shatner to be a douche. After seeing what a great sense of humor he displays and how he is able to not take himself all too serious, I stand corrected. Actually got to like the guy quite a bit.

Especially after seeing this. ^_^

Just found this on YouTube: Star Wars Blu-Ray Changes - New Scenes! More Porkins! :D

I stumbled across this Simon Pegg Interview in the StarWars Insider. I found it quite ironic to spot a reference to his twitter account, where he expressed his love for StarWars in a much more... controversial manner, when the blu-ray changes got revealed.

Just a few quotes that I thought reflect what most of us may have gone through, since we learned of the additional changes:

simonpegg on twitter between august 31st and september 4th 2011:

 

"I'm hearing some rumblings about supposed audio additions to the original trilogy on the Star Wars Blu-Rays. Is this a hoax? Suspect it is."

 

"Always loved Vader's wordless self sacrifice. Another shitty, clueless, revision like Greedo and young Anakin's ghost. What a fucking shame."

 

"Wasn't going to buy them anyway. Not even going to watch borrowed copies now. The only thing I'd buy is the original, original three on blu."

 

"I wonder if George Lucas will ever replace himself with CGI. He should do. He's a muppet." 

 

"Now having extra breakfast. I just didn't want it to end. My final word on the SW Blu-Rays. When they hit the shelves, just say NOOOOOOOOOO!"

 

"The Star Wars rage, that's all true mydogatela.com/starwars.gif"

Not having someone who actually doesn't look (and act) goofy in that costume was an even bigger ripoff.

I second Bingowings' emotions about the missed opportunities the prequels represent.

The only fond memory I have of these movies is the (gradually degrading) air of anticipation before each of the movies was released.

Today, watching them feels like walking through an abandoned overmechanized themepark, where nothing really works.

So... I'm part of that "meh"-crowd, I s'pose.

I think Puggo's right. Bill Hunt from the Digital Bits expressed this point from yet another perspective in his review of the Blu-Rays:

Bill Hunt said:

 A number of fans have complained about the fact that the original theatrical versions of the classic films are not included in this Blu-ray set. While it's true and is certainly a legitimate complaint, no fan in their right mind could seriously have expected them to be included, given Lucas' attitude in the past. Still, I have a sneaking suspicion that Lucas is going to have to release the original versions of the films at some point in the future. The reason I've started to believe that is because of the deleted scenes that WERE included on these Blu-rays. This is material that Lucas has been reluctant to make available in the past, but they were needed for this Blu-ray set simply to give fans a compelling reason to buy the films again. After this Blu-ray release, I just don't see ANYONE buying these films again for any reason (certainly not for 3D!) unless those original versions are part of the package. Regardless, even if there's never an authorized release, rest assured that so many prints of those original films exist in the hands of film archives (and even private collectors) around the world that, sooner or later, someone is going to throw them up on an HD scanner, make high-quality HD masters and release them as bootlegs - either for free online, or on BD-R or other digital media sold at conventions. How do I know that? Well, I've actually had bootleg HD copies of the "special edition" Star Wars films for a couple years now, mastered from European HD satellite broadcasts, made available online and burned to BD-R media. Trust me, the original versions WILL be available eventually in HD, legally or not. Frankly, the sooner Lucas realizes this and takes proactive steps to release them himself the better.

Your argument about eBay makes sense to me. Alas, buying 2nd hand (from your neighbour, who doesn't want them anymore, for example), is a different thing.

Lucasfilm still keeps the money he gave them, but they don't get your's - your neighbour get's it. So they sold one copy less.

Hmm... that just makes me wonder if the Ugnaughts actually blink.

Hmm... so we at least know Lucas had the technology to make creatures blink back then. (Not that your average aplogist still wouldn't fall for such a cheap excuse). D;

At this point, no change seems impossible. He changed Luke's line on Dagobah "You're lucky you don't taste very good", so removing/changing "You could use a good kiss" doesn't seem unrealistic.

He made the Ewoks blink, so why not do the same to TaunTauns? *shrugs*

Actually, I'm not even convinced the '2nd NO' is actually voiced by James Earl Jones. It almost sounds like that 'Qui-Gon Jin NO', they used in AotC. Anonye else got that impression after hearing it a few times? (And no, I don't like it).

Here are my humble theories on why he does what he does.

a) Ruining the character of Darth Vader to further piss off David Prowse (and replacing every Prowse/Vader photograph with Christensen/Vader material, so Prowse gets as few royalties out of that stuff as possible).

b) He seriously believes the world is gonna end in 2012 and wants to help us to be glad it's finally over... D;

c) He is actually not George Lucas, but his evil twin.

adywan said:
 It's not true. It's still the puppet

*sighs in relief* Thanks for debunking that one.

Quote (Wikipedia): "In the scene on Dagobah where Luke is doing a handstand, Yoda (who has his back to the camera) has been replaced with a digital model."

Can anyone who has the blu-ray set confirm that? (I hope not).

Star Wars Blu-ray: New Darth Maul Death Scene ;)

Leia: "How do you take down an empire like that?"

Real Lucas: "You shoot first."

Absolutely made my day. xD