4K restoration on Star Wars — Page 195

SilverWook said:
George’s own words have been used a few times before, so I was avoiding rehashing them here. And with his strained relationship with the mouse, I wasn’t sure it was a good idea to invoke it now.
How about “Even though they have become difficult to see, these original versions continue to inspire a new generation of fans.”?

Yeah that works. I just want to make sure that Disney/LFL don’t get the wrong idea that the OOT is only important for the older folks. Because as sentimental as your draft is, if we look at it from a corporation’s point of view, do they really want to focus their efforts on the past/older fans, or on ways to appeal to as many people as possible? I think it’s the latter, so if you add in a line about the newer generation as well as a line about our cultural heritage, it would frame the overall scenario as something that needs to be done for the benefit of everyone. And if the Disney execs see this as something that can make them look like absolute heroes to everyone, then I think they’ll be more inclined to do it (not because they’re actually heroes, but rather because looking like heroes would garner more goodwill, and more goodwill = more loyal customers = more $$).

I might add something like this to that second to last paragraph.

‘We respect Mr. Lucas’ decision to present these films as he intends and do not ask for the current versions to be removed but restoring the theatrical cuts that changed cinema forever would be a delight both to fans and cinema history itself.’

You guys could probably word that better but you get my point. I might also throw in something that there’s also generations who may not have seen the originals theatrically but grew up with those versions on home video and as such has just an importance to them as to those who had seen them theatrically.

Those aside I like where the letters going. Yeah maybe reword the ‘wink wink’ at the fan edits but for the most part good work. Can’t wait for your next draft!

SilverWook said:

Mocata said:

Maybe. Have they ever replied to past attempts?

I mean feedback from you guys. No idea if anyone has tried this via twitter before or got a response.

Oh yeah. I just mean do they ever give any kind of a sign they read these things.

Removing the “alternative methods” is a good change. I would include something that mentions cultural importance and cinema history, to make it clear that not only audiences (old and new) should be able to see this - but those involved in the 70s deserve to have their work preserved.

SilverWook said:

doubleofive said:

Let’s see it.

Ok! Here goes. And please keep this on the forum for now. And keep in mind this is a draft, not etched on stone tablets yet. I’ve been revising and chopping this down for a while.

---

*Dear Disney and Lucasfilm,

Today is the 40th anniversary of Star Wars, the film that started it all. Yet, where is that film? No, not the special edition, the original 1977 film. The one we grew up with. The film that changed our lives forever.

I Like this^

It’s not hyperbole to say that. Those of us who were there that incredible summer of '77 had never seen anything like it. It was a major event in our lives. Some of us came away wanting to know how it was made, some even wanted to make movies, or tell stories of our own because of it. No matter the path we chose, George Lucas lit a spark [of creativity?] that remains within us today.

See my addition?^

One thing we all share are the memories of where we saw it, who we saw it with, and even shooting down imaginary TIE fighters out the back window of the car on the way home. For others, it was a bright shining light in the middle of a turbulent childhood. If Luke and his friends could survive their trials, and eventually triumph over them, maybe we could too.

We saw the movie over and over again. Probably more than any other movie before or since. We know the lines by heart, we love the characters. Seeing our heroes again on the screen for the first time in 32 years was like reuniting with family. Star Wars is a very emotional thing to us.

I assume the 32 year line is a reference to TFA? might want to come out and say that.

All these years later, we would love to revisit the original trilogy that we remember. To recapture those memories of a long time ago, in a movie theater far far away. To those of us with families, we want to be able to show our kids what we actually saw when we were their age, and relive it with them. It should be such a simple and easy thing to do.

I like this^, but i think it could be trimmed and joined to the paragraph before it?

Only it isn’t.

We’re limited in our choices to old video formats, that become more difficult to obtain, and inch closer to extinction with each passing year. And the now out of print Bonus DVD discs from 2006, utilizing ancient video transfers done in 1993, are hardly better, if you can find them at all.

None of us ever imagined as kids that we would have to resort to “alternative methods” to keep these historic versions from fading away to memory, before nobody remembers them at all. We live in a era where even a “bad” movie is loved enough to get a meticulous restoration, and can be easily purchased.

We have nothing against the Special Editions. They simply aren’t the versions we grew up with and loved. The Original Original Trilogy, or OOT for short, deserves to be seen again, in the best possible quality afforded by modern cinema and home video formats in the 21st century, and loved again by all.

There is room for both(all?) versions of Star Wars, The Empire Stikes Back, and Return of The Jedi to happily coexist. And we want to give you our money for them, we really do! Please give us that opportunity. At least give us hope that we will be able to do so soon? Some of us aren’t getting any younger! That is all we ask for.

Sincerely yours,
The Staff and Members of Originaltrilogy.com*

Just my thoughts. I think you have something pretty good. i agree it needs to be cut even more, and i have tried to cut anything that seemed overly ‘old person looking back’, but kept the part about sharing with our families. i like that. I also worry that it is getting a little to nerdy when getting into the 2006 bonus disk being bad transfer, maybe just say its not HD.

Here’s my spin. 😉

*Dear Disney and Lucasfilm,
Today is the 40th anniversary of Star Wars, the film that started it all. Yet, where is that film? No, not the special edition, the original 1977 film. The one we grew up with. The film that changed our lives forever.

Saying this isn’t hyperbole. Those of us who were there that incredible summer of '77 had never seen anything like it. It was a major event in our lives. It prompted a desire in some of us to make movies or tell stories of our own. No matter the path we chose, George Lucas lit a spark that remains within us today.

Many of us still share the memories of where and with whom we saw Star Wars and the lasting effect it had on us. We saw the movie over and over again, whether it was in the theater or on video, probably more than any movie before or since. We know the lines by heart; we love the characters. Seeing our heroes again on the screen in The Force Awakens was like reuniting with family.

All these years later, we would love to revisit that Original Trilogy, to recapture those memories of a long time ago, in a movie theater far far away. Those of us with families want to be able to show our kids and relive with them exactly what we saw at their age.

We’re limited in our choices to outdated video formats that are becoming difficult to obtain and inch closer to extinction each year. This includes the out of print bonus DVDs from 2006, which utilize ancient video transfers from 1993, so they are barely acceptable. None of us ever imagined that these historic versions would someday be at risk from fading to memory and, ultimately, disappearing from the collective consciousness altogether.

We don’t bemoan the Special Edition’s existence and respect Mr. Lucas’ decision in having those be the finalized cuts. It simply isn’t the version of the trilogy that many fell in love with. The Original Original Trilogy deserves to be seen in the absolute best quality afforded by modern cinema and 21st-century home video formats for not only nostalgic but historical purposes as well.

There is room for both versions of Star Wars, The Empire Strikes Back, and Return of The Jedi to coexist. As devoted fans we want to give you our money for these pieces of cinematic history; we really do! Please give us that opportunity or at least hope that we will be able to do so soon. That is all we ask.

Sincerely yours,
The Staff and Members of Originaltrilogy.com*

You created false IDs for illegal immigrants, didn’t you? 😉

as for the bootlegs. what about.

None of us as kids imagined what links we would need to go to inorder to obtain them.

A few quick thoughts before I go to sleep:

We should avoid saying things like “the version we grew up with.” It starts everything off on the wrong foot when we make it about nostalgia. The OOT should be preserved because of its cultural importance, not because us older fans happen to have fond memories of it. Younger fans, after all, most likely grew up with some form of the SE and don’t have the same attachment to the unaltereds as we do.

Some of that stuff is great (the “shooting imaginary TIE fighters” part really got me, so bravo!), but it’s stuff like the '77 film becoming a phenomenon that we need to focus on. The fact that Star Wars and The Empire Strikes Back have been in the National Film Registry since 1989 (the registry’s inaugural year) and 2010 respectively yet still can’t be viewed in modern quality might be worth mentioning as well.

I would also simply change “both versions” to “all versions.” If they can include five versions of Blade Runner, they can do the same for each of the OT films. I turn 32 next month and first saw the movies when I was 6 or 7, so I’ve got a very clear memory of a time before even the 1995 vhs release. Not only was the version I grew up with never released in anything better than 1993 quality, the version I actually did see on the big screen was never properly preserved on later formats either!