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nohandluke

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17-Aug-2004
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13-May-2013
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Post
#289282
Topic
STAR WARS: EP IV 2004 <strong>REVISITED</strong> ADYWAN *<em>1080p HD VERSION NOW IN PRODUCTION</em>
Link
https://originaltrilogy.com/post/id/289282/action/topic#289282
Time
Adywan,

Longtime member, infrequent poster, and a "vintage era" Star Wars fan, but I have to comment on this. I have read all 60+ pages of this thread with rapt fascination. For the last 10 years, until seeing this thread, I used to be a Special Edition hater - a HATER. I grew up in the early 1980s and can't shake the dislike for Lucas' revised vision, but I realized after watching your trailer - your freaking AMAZING trailer - I realized like a lightning bolt hitting my brain WHY I hated Lucas' Special Editions. Lucas DIDN'T COMMIT to the facelift. What I realize I loathe about the Special Editions are their patchwork feel and misplaced excesses and restraints. Where Lucas should have used moderation, he goes too far and changes story. Where he holds back he should have pushed the technology and polished the rough aesthetic edges. It is clear to me now that for him the Special Edition was about being a test bed for the Prequels, not a committed effort to facelift the original films.

I absolutely LOVE the work you are doing on this, and I am a tough critic. I don't watch the prequels and could not stomach the special editions, but I am genuinely excited by what you are producing here and I hope those at Lucasfilm feel shame at what they could have accomplished that you beat them to the punch with. While I still hope and pray the original unaltered trilogy makes its way to an anamorphic hi-def format sometime in the future, I would like to say to you with all conviction that THIS WAS THE SPECIAL EDITION I WAS HOPING FOR IN 1997 - A complete cleanup and polish job from scene-to-scene creating aesthetic uniformity and not a "fix this, leave that broken, but fix this" kind of game. I hope I have the honour and privilege of one day playing this version of Star Wars in my home theatre.

Thank you, Adywan. Your work has forced a pleasant and mind-settling epiphany upon me and I am forever grateful. Although I zealously see the original ESB as a perfect film and its existing SE as a travesty, I hope you will visit ESB with one of your ideas of a special edition because now I am truly excited to see Star Wars Special Editions.

Highest regards,
nohandluke
Post
#220199
Topic
Watched ROTS on HBO, UGGGH!
Link
https://originaltrilogy.com/post/id/220199/action/topic#220199
Time
I feel your pain man,

I only saw AOTC and ROTS in the theater once a piece and both were just horrible. I walked away debating which was worse and to this day it changes, but they're both gosh-awful. Tying the OT to them is like knotting an anchor around the OT's ankle and yelling, "Swim!" That's why, when it's all said and done, all SE stuff just has to go, period. All of it is in the vein of abstract silliness and EpIII is just patching together all the stuff he wasted his time not setting up in I and II. It's negligent filmmaking.

A lot of people still say Phantom Menace is the worst, and I see their perspective, but I disagree. The whole PT is bad, but the films suffer from the law of diminishing returns. At least with TPM, you had 16 years of anticipation without it coming in the wake of anything horrible (e.g., my guard was up for AOTC based on TPM, and when I saw ROTS I had no hope whatsoever) - you also had the most physical prequel in TPM, the most real sets and locations, and it was actually shot on film, which gives it a better look. Also, at least in TPM you actually had a Jedi-duo that was cool and worked well together - Neeson and McGregor (even though they didn't have enough to do and Neeson's character screwed continuity) - Yes, TPM had far too much childish crap, but I guess I forgive it more than the others because I wasn't yet wounded by previous prequels, everyone on opening night was positive and filled with hope before the film began unlike with the later movies and it was truly exciting to see some new Star Wars on the big screen...until it was over and my mouth was agape with shock and uncertainty.

Mike
Post
#219918
Topic
Luke's rope-throwing talents in EP4
Link
https://originaltrilogy.com/post/id/219918/action/topic#219918
Time
Just for the record on two points:

The ROTJ urban legend of ships crashing into the Death Star shield can be explained not only by the novelization, but by a much more likely source for us then-young-kids: The Read-A-Long Cassette of 1983. The narrator specifically tells the listener that Lando and the Rebels pulled away from the space station, but some of the ships exploded because they hit the invisible shield.

The first time I read the names Coruscant and Palpatine was not in any EU material in 1991. For me, these names first appeared in the rulebook for Star Wars: The Roleplaying Game published by West End Games in 1987. In fact, both of these names are on the first page of the book in a simulated opening crawl. I believe one or both of these names may have also appeared in the original preface to the Star Wars novelization in the beginning in that "From the Journal of the Whills" page...



Post
#219367
Topic
Today, I thanked George Lucas...
Link
https://originaltrilogy.com/post/id/219367/action/topic#219367
Time
I didn't expect to. I didn't expect to walk away from today with my disdain for the Prequel Trilogy draining away without hesitation. Yes, I'm still upset with the changes to the Original Trilogy, and yes I don't think the Prequel Trilogy has a story of any kind of any worth, but I witnessed something today that redeemed those films for me for all time, and at the same time made me cry later - Yeah, a 27-year-old guy crying, but I'm OK admitting it. I encountered a very special little boy named Quinn.

I don't know the name of it, but Quinn is suffering from a rare, degenerative disease. He's only five years old but today is his birthday so he's six now. He's confined to a motorized wheelchair and he has a canine assistant companion, but though frail he still has the use of his upper body for now. If you look at his wheelchair, it isn't hard to spot the Star Wars stickers all over it. Quinn's favorite characters are Darth Maul, General Grievous, Darth Vader and Jango Fett. I guess he likes masks. In fact, that's what he lives and breathes is Star Wars - he's seen every film except Ep. III. What I didn't know was that children with Quinn's condition never live past the age of 8. But you'd never know this little boy has any fear. He is aware of his condition and he knows he is sick, but all he wants to do is play with Star Wars legos and talk about Jango Fett.

I admit, I have done my fair share of ragging on Lucas for the prequels and I do still stand firm on my position with the Original Trilogy, but I'll never ever write off the prequels again as completely meaningless - I can't anymore. The movie trilogy that spawned Jango Fett brings genuine daily joy to the face of a boy who is literally not long for this world. I don't know Quinn at all, and I probably won't see him again, but I connected with him enough, even if very briefly, to share in a mutual love of Star Wars, even if there is a generation gap and a Trilogy Gap between us. When I turned 6, I got the Millennium Falcon for my birthday. I've had 21 other birthdays since then. If Quinn is lucky, he'll have two more. Today, I found myself shoulder-deep in Star Wars figures and toys in my stored collection looking for that still-boxed Shadows of the Empire Slave I and mint Boba Fett figure I never opened, just collected. Along the way, I fould four other figures also. All of those toys are Quinn's now. I realized I didn't buy them for myself ten years ago - I bought them for the little boy I didn't know I'd meet today.

I can safely say that it was Irvin Kershner and Gary Kurtz with The Empire Strikes Back that made my childhood special. I admit that George Lucas had a hand in that too with Star Wars and Return of the Jedi. I know for a fact that today George Lucas is the man responsible for making Quinn's life a wondrous one every day. I've spent the past seven years angry at Lucas, but today it all went away in a moment as Quinn got his own toy ship for his 6th birthday, Slave I.

Thank you George Lucas for making Quinn's life a little less painful and a lot more magical.

Thanks for reading this - I'm not trying to pontificate or anything, but this just really affected me today and I thought if anyone would understand it would be all of you. Well, back to our regularly scheduled OT analysis...

Mike - nohandluke
Post
#218766
Topic
Judging by ESB &amp; ROTJ original box office gross, here is why Lucas started to change
Link
https://originaltrilogy.com/post/id/218766/action/topic#218766
Time
Thanks,

I still have more information to add to this, but I didn't want to miss the discussion in this thread. The truth about Empire is something that really gets to me because so many people just believe without question that Lucas was responsible for it all, when in actuality he was an absentee landlord on ESB through and through. It is my personal feeling that Empire is the film he resents the most. I remember interviews with him about the 1997 Special Editions where he said there wasn't much he could do with ESB as far as changes. He spoke as if it were a positive thing, but behind his voice I remember some hesitation.

On top of that, ESB remains the only film to have a "Special Edition" decision reversed - Luke's scream (which just happened to be The Emperor's scream in ROTJ) I expect Lucas is rather resentful about that too - He had to eat crow and change something back the way it originally was...
Post
#218691
Topic
Judging by ESB &amp; ROTJ original box office gross, here is why Lucas started to change
Link
https://originaltrilogy.com/post/id/218691/action/topic#218691
Time
I'm glad this topic came up - I have compiled an exhaustive analysis of the creative conflicts throughout ESB through interviews with Kershner and Kurtz and Lucas at this website: www.geocities.com/mfbespinluke

There are photos and the text is color coded to differentiate between quotes and analysis. Hope you enjoy it because these quotes are from the mouths of the horses, so to speak.

Mike
Post
#214405
Topic
The level of acceptability for an &quot;O-OT&quot;
Link
https://originaltrilogy.com/post/id/214405/action/topic#214405
Time
I was watching my DVD of "Superman: The Movie" today to gear up for "Superman Returns," enjoying the restored print and vintage special effects and it occured to me that even if the original negatives of the Star Wars Trilogy are permanently altered with Special Edition scenes, using the interpositives and separation masters Robert Harris was talking about, in conjunction with the usable scenes from the original negative, would make a full restoration possible. What I was thinking about at the time was the fact that while Superman:The Movie's special effects have been restored and color corrected, they are still the original elements - that's to me what counts the most - so to have the original elements from say, the Hoth Battle, just re-composited without matte lines, is to me anyway, part of the acceptable restoration process. Any thoughts on this one?
Post
#214260
Topic
Amazon.com ratings crucial to LFL reversal!
Link
https://originaltrilogy.com/post/id/214260/action/topic#214260
Time
Hey all,

I just tacked up my own scathing "1 star" review for the O-OT DVDs on Amazon. So far there are only 35 reviews for these, yet our petition has tens of thousands of signatures. This could send a visible message not only to LFL but to MILLIONS of potential buyers waiting for this release. We have a chance here to make a serious positive impact in conjunction with the letters and e-mails to LFL. Oh, and if anyone has the time, HARD COPY LETTERS to LFL will really send a message where e-mails fail.

I implore all of you to post an opinion at Amazon.com. It could make a big difference before September.

Mike
Post
#213386
Topic
What sends the better message to LFL?
Link
https://originaltrilogy.com/post/id/213386/action/topic#213386
Time
After reading all of the discussion, I see two camps of thought. One, a boycott of the upcoming DVDs, which is what in an ideal world I would PREFER to do - BUT the fact is as so many have smartly said, a boycott would only work if EVERYONE in America didn't buy a single copy. So the other option is to buy them as an investment, as some have described it, for Lucas to see the light through his pocketbook. I think this tactic kind of sucks, but I see the logic in the argument. I just wish there was a way to finally convince these carpetbaggers without lining their pockets in a major way AGAIN.

To that end, I have Ebayed my entire Star Wars DVD collection as of yesterday - If the consensus on this site before September is to buy the official O-OT release to hopefully spur a better one down the road, then I'll be damned if I'm going to fork over all new cash for it and add yet another trilogy to my sickening collection of Star Wars Trilogies. I'd rather recycle what I have, and hell, when the dust settles, I'll still have copies of the damnable 2004 SE DVDs anyway, just repackaged with the crappily transferred O-OT - so why keep the boxset - and don't sit there and tell me you're keeping it for the fourth bonus disc. I'm sure that documentary is on a torrent somewhere right now.

Boy, wouldn't that make headlines..."Ebay Flooded With More Than 100,000 Used Copies of Star Wars DVDs This Week." Had I the endless cash flow, I would mail all the DVDs back to LFL, which would make for an even better headline, "Lucasfilm Flooded As More Than 100,000 Star Wars Fans Return DVDs In Protest."

Some idle thoughts - Given that the O-OT is relegated to a bonus feature in the new collection, will the disc even have chapter stops, menus or subtitles? What's more interesting - In the off-chance that the transfer is better than the LD because it is coming from the LDs master and not the LD itself (although it still won't be anywhere close to acceptable), isn't it interesting that Lucas has essentially given us all the material we need in one set to do what OCP has done to edit original scenes into the 2004...One stop shopping for preservationists and fan editors.

Mike

Post
#213380
Topic
We start the war from right here
Link
https://originaltrilogy.com/post/id/213380/action/topic#213380
Time
But see - if we don't buy them AND send in letters and e-mails to Lucasfilm expressing our discontent, then they'll have a REASON why the crappy O-OT didn't sell - BECAUSE IT WAS CRAPPY and they knew it. If you give a mouse a cookiee, it's going to want a glass of milk. The message should be - Do it right the first time, Lucas and stop leeching us. We're not playing this game anymore.
Post
#212895
Topic
We start the war from right here
Link
https://originaltrilogy.com/post/id/212895/action/topic#212895
Time
I am a long time reader, a seldom poster, but given the magnitude of these recent events, I wanted to chime in. I won't go into my childhood experiences with Star Wars - We're all here for the same reason because we love the 1977-1980-1983 Star Wars that started it all. After reading all of the reactions to the sadly predictable announcement by Lucasfilm that once again, they care nothing for their supporters, I was reminded of a moment in history when Teddy Roosevelt's son landed with the U.S. soldiers on Utah Beach on D-Day and discovered his men were MILES from the intended landing point. His men asked him what they were going do to. He said simply, "We start the war from right here." I feel we are in the same position.

Since 1995, when I read the "One Last Time" sticker, I ran out and grabbed not only the Definitive LDs, but the Faces LDs also. To this day, I have kept the Faces Editions still sealed, because I had a sinking feeling this would not be an easy battle. All of us have been slugging it out with Lucasfilm, trying so very desperately to make it to the beach and move inland. Well, we heard the DVD announcement and, for a moment, thought we had made it to the beach. Well, in a way, we have made it onto the sand. But now we've discovered we didn't land at the right place. Do we retreat and regroup? No. We've come too far and there is no time left to waste. We press forward and move for the seawall. We will not rest until we have Lucasfilm's unconditional surrender. I know I sound dramatic, but after all of this time and all of the waiting and pleading and praying, it's time to follow through. We don't need to sit back after punching Lucasfilm in the stomach and knocking the wind out of them and pat them on the back and give them a chance to recover.

The whole excuse of the OT being a fun bonus feature is a masked way of trying to confess to retail failure. If Lucas was the auteur he has claimed to be, he would still be spitting in our faces to this day and continue to deny releasing the original versions. He's clearly not doing that, but in a hamhanded way he's trying to save face as the narcissistic egomaniac he has become by telling us these are just bonus features and they didn't put any effort into the transfers. Well, as some others have astutely pointed out here, Lucasfilm's official response defecates all over the memory of the OT, but then turns around in a shameless marketing campaign and uses the OT as the selling point. Sickening and horrible.

There is only one course - onwards and upwards. Now that the wind is dying in Lucasfilm's P.R. sails, it's time to press forward, not regroup and think. You eat an elephant one piece at a time. The letters need to flood into Lucasfilm by mail and e-mail - we need to flood the mailboxes and the Inboxes from here on out - This bait and switch BS they're pulling is unacceptable and we need to show them it has serious consequences. If anyone has a spare moment and a phone, rattle that cage too - Force them to shut their switchboard down if need be! Lemme tell you - those kinds of efforts will make headlines - and soon some of us might be sitting in front of Matt Lauer or Mike Wallace talking about this in a deliciously juxtaposed news segment on 20/20 where some crafty journalist gets Lucas in the chair and starts poking holes in all of his canned statements and reveals all of his hypocrisy about film preservation.

MOST IMPORTANTLY - Preservation projects like XO should be supported even more now than ever. If this lousy DVD release is an attempt to curb fan efforts, just like the 2004 DVDs supposedly were for the SE, let's send the signal that their pathetic and insulting leftovers just made their problems worse. I have been a Star Wars fan since I was a preschooler in the very early 1980s and I can't stand the prequels or the SE editions. For me, it truly is the OT or nothing and I don't plan to be left without a chair when the music stops. To the XO Project and the other preservationists out there - I have a PRISTINE set of Faces LDs in mint, wrapped condition - If I can directly help in this effort in any way, please do not hesitate to contact me. It used to be a despondent waiting game for me. No longer. I'm starting my war right here.

Mike
Post
#60146
Topic
Insuring the OT's Survival for the Future - READ
Link
https://originaltrilogy.com/post/id/60146/action/topic#60146
Time
TR47,

Forgive me for the implication that your DVDs were missing dialogue. I read on this forum in another thread that the Faces LDs had the 3PO line and since I have not ever opened them, I had to take it at face value.

Regardless, maybe you could tell me if these LDs are of any value to the ongoing Star Wars OT DVD project... As I understand it, a Faces LD transfer has yet to be done...

Thanks,
nohandluke
Post
#60132
Topic
Insuring the OT's Survival for the Future - READ
Link
https://originaltrilogy.com/post/id/60132/action/topic#60132
Time
Hey all,

Long time lurker, first time poster, and a big fan of the original version of the trilogy. I am 26, have a huge vintage Kenner collection, and love ESB. I was very very sore at Lucas for shelving the theatrical cuts of Star Wars. I hated the prequels, but was content to ignore it all until I heard about his refusal to preserve the classic Oscar-winning versions of the trilogy. Well, I have something I think many of you might be interested in. Rikter, TR47, and others... LISTEN UP.

I have owned a laserdisc player since the 1995. The Star Wars DC LD set was my first set, and I bought it because I heard the "One Last Time" crap. For a sixteen-year old to plunk $250.00 bucks without even owning an LD player was a big deal. I watched them over the years, basking in their widescreen, PCM glory. Then the Phantom Menace appeared and everyone went prequel-crazy - either loving it or hating it. At the time, there was a classic trilogy vacuum as all focus was on Episode I. Well, I hated it, and virtually disavowed Star Wars. BUT... one day in late '99 I am sitting at my computer at Syracuse U., looking around on Ebay for that elusive vintage Kenner AT-AT toy, and what do I find - a complete set of the Star Wars "Faces" LDs, MINT in the shrinkwrap - never touched by human hands, and for the whopping buy-it-now price of $49.99 FOR ALL THREE.

For the briefest of moments, I had no idea why I was throwing money down on them. I already had the uber-set, but opened LDs don't last forever... I guess it was paramoia that forced my hand. I bought them and stowed them alongside my DC set, and they sat in the shrinkwrap...I hand carried them back to Atlanta...then hand carried them to Los Angeles....then back to Atlanta... all the time they remained MINT in the shrinkwrap, never opened, never shipped independently. At this very moment, they are still sealed, and I would kill for someone talented to make the ultimate DVD-set of them with the anamorphic process to the video (because I have a 47" WS TV) and the uncompressed PCM audio.

These discs are PERFECT. I have been saving them for over five years in case Lucas pulled this stunt. Well, I was right - he did it. But I have these LDs to offer the fan community to make the ultimate OT set. TR47, yours are BANG UP, I love them. But there are concerns that well... one bootleg version is missing dialogue and another version is missing welding footage. This version, as Rikter said, has it all, and these specific copies have never been played, never touched. They would be the cleanest transfers possible.

Can anyone point me in the right direction?

Thanks,
nohandluke