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Originally posted by: WhiteKnight
Fox and/or Lucas would be sued (via class action) if they ever re-released the O-OT on VHS, LD or DVD. That does not mean the class action would win. There is a history of this type of suit. In 1976 (maybe 75) Cadillac promoted the DeVille Convertible as the “last American convertible” at autoshows. When Chrysler (and later GM) came out with a convertible in the early 80s, Cadillac was sued. The class action ultimately failed for several reasons. The claim was an autoshow billing and Cadillac could not be held liable for the actions of another automaker.
The case with Star Wars is a little different. Fox really played up the “last chance” aspect of the Faces release. It was in just about every advertisement, on the back of the each box, and Lucas himself has been relatively steadfast in his assertions. Also, Fox and Lucas have complete control on whether or not the O-OT is ever re-released.
you sound pretty certain that there would be a suit. First, its more likely that the people that would even notice that they went back on their 'last chance' word would be those that want the OOT released on dvd, basically people like us, so the chances that someone sues (the suit has to be started by someone, it just doesnt magically happen because the possibility of the suit exists) is significantly reduced. Second what does the obvious fact that Fox and Lucas have complete control over whether its released or not have anything to do with the price of tea in China. If they have complete control and they decide they want to release it, gues what...it will be released. Third, based on whats actually written on the box, and according to you there should have been a lawsuit already because its what they touted as the "final video release of Star Wars in its original version" is not its original version.
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Who would sue? Any owner of a previous release of the O-OT could join the class action. The lawyers would go after Fox and Lucas for false advertising and damages. The value of these previous releases, especially the LDs, would fall. There is no way Star Wars LD Trilogy would fetch $400 if you could buy them on DVD. I would guess these versions would be worth less than $50 for the set.
ok, they could be involved in a class action suit if it was filed, but just because a suit of this kind could be brought forth, doesnt mean it definatly will. plus by what your saying it would only be people who bought the faces release that was touted as the "last chance" because otherwise the false advertising and damages you speak of wouldnt apply. 'The Lawyers would go after...' you say this stuff like there are lawyers with suits all filled out waiting for the release so they can file them with the courts.
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With respect to Obi-Wan Spicoli, DVD stands for Digital “Video” Disc. Semantics aside, Fox and Lucas do have some options to give us a DVD version, hence the recent release of the special special edition (or whatever you want to call it) on DVD and the special edition release in the late 90s on LD and VHS, after the Faces release. We just can never have it just as it was in the theaters. Lucas could do a Directors Cut, or Special edition with the digital upgrades less the story line changes. This should satisfy the purists and avoid costly litigation.
First off they can easily use those semantics to release the OOT on dvd or maybe Blu-Ray. How about a reissue of the LD's, they dont use the word 'Video' in their title. Lucas' and Fox's lawyers could easily get around this video aspect if they decided to release it. Plus, they never really did released it as the Theatrical version, plus there were so many different sound mixes they could just use a slightly different one and its no longer the 'Original Version'. or it could be as simple as fixing all the uncolored lightsabers and its no longer the original version. so many loop-holes so little time.
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Lucas is a shrewd business man. He has milked the Star Wars saga for billions and he shows no signs of stopping – capitalism at its best! Over 69K fans have signed the petition on this website – clearly there is purist demand for the O-OT. Laserdiscs, arguably an obsolete technology, of the O-OT are commanding huge premiums on the market. Special Editions of the entire trilogy on LD go for less than $40, yet the O-OT (Definition and Faces Edition) range from $100 to $400. The very idea that Lucas would not capitalize on this demand is shocking; that is, unless he can not. Do you really believe he is not releasing the O-OT on DVD on a whim? No, there must be more to it than that. My contention is that the reason he and Fox are not re-releasing the O-OT is the legal perils they would face if they did. It would not take Lucas long to do an O-OT on DVD. The digital mastering was done for the Definitive and Faces LD editions. All you would need is someone to do the menus and marketing.
Agreed Lucas is a 'shrewd business man' and also very good at marketing. If he has no intentin of stopping the 'milking of the SW saga for billions' do you really think he would have put himself in a position to eliminate the possibilty of future releases.
Also, what law states that if someone releases a product that they own all the rights to, people that are profiting off of it can sue for damages. I could almost argue that this is copyright infringment, im sure the Law teams of Lucas and Fox could come up with much better. and if thats what you were getting at, why would lucas care if someone who bought 5 copies of the Faces LD looses the ability to sell it for $100 (it may even make them more rare, at least more rare to find them in good working order)
point being I seriously dont think the reason they havent released the OOT on dvd is because they are afraid of getting sued for it. Plus, you really think an OOT on dvd would just be the faces edition with no additional restoration? While that would probably actually satisfy many, i dont think that Lucas would take that route. Its more likely that the reason he isnt releasing the OOT on DVD is because he doesnt want to, because he doesnt acknowledge that version anymore or less likely that he/his marketing team feels that holding out longer will increase the money they can make off of it (you do know that disney pulls their movies every so many years only to re-release them after demand has built up over the time in order to keep them profitable)
69K people signed the petition. I hate to sound pessimistic and imply the petition means nothing, but based on numbers from a quick search the altered trilogy did $115 million in sales. at MSRP ($70) thats 1,642,857 dvds sold vs the 69,000 that signed the petition. look at the numbers, 69k is not reason enough for lucas to release the OOT on dvd for the sole reason of profit, even if you double the number its not much. I hate to say it but most people probably didnt even notice there were changes. The best bet for Lucas releasing the OOT on dvd at this point is if he releases it as a special feature/alternate version as part of a huge box set.
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Personally, I hope we do see something close the theatrical releases on DVD in the future.
so do i
However, I am not under any delusions that it will be modification free, less they risk litigation.
no, you just seem to be under the delusion that this is some big legal problem for Fox/LFL when its really not. let me ask you this. Would you sue Lucas/Fox if he released the OOT on the grounds that you've stated above?
-Darth Simon