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If George had only changed Special effects for the SE and DVD, would people have complained as much?

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I have a feeling that if the only changes that had been made to the original trilogy were special effects there wouldn't have been as much complaining. The number one reason GL made the special edition in the first place was to update some of the special effects that couldn't be created back in the 70's and 80's.

What if George only changed the special effects, but still had Han shoot first, Vader say "bring my shuttle", Shaw at the end of Jedi, Lapti Nek and Yub Yub in Jedi, no Jabba scene in SW, no new voice for Boba Fett, the original Emperor in Empire, no extra Biggs scene before the Battle of Yavin, etc etc. These seem like the biggest complaints from fans including myself.

I really don't think fans would have complained as much if the only changes had been the updated special effects in spots. As long as the cgi didn't change any of the storyline or pacing of the films, I don't think fans would be so annoyed. I also think it was ridiculous for George to change more than the special effects, because all of that goes against his original vision garbage. If his original vision was to have Greedo shoot first or to have a different song in Jabba's palace and in the celebration, those things would never have made the films to begin with!

Agree? Disagree?
George Lucas was seduced by the dark side. The OOT ceased to exist in his mind and became the Special Editions...." "They're more maching now than movies. Twisted and evil."
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Agree (me personally)

I dont really like the SE, and dont watch them now(only under very rare certain circumstances), because of

1.SW.Jabba,Biggs, ESB StarDestroyer scenes mess up the pace of the movies(always liked "Bring my Shuttle")
2.Hayden Christensen(the final straw for me, poor performance of the scene love Shaw performance, if executed better who knows might have won me over?? but as said can accept Lucas reason{whether right or wrong]
3.Han not firing first (the execution of the change looks fake, no sane reason for the change)
4 Jawa,Ronto and Robot Slapstick flying video/surveillance cameras or something???? in Mos Eisley(look crap)
5.Boba voice(always liked the old voice and delivery)


Dont mind Jedi Rocks (its a not an important plot thing) could live with it, but prefer Lapti Nek which is better though
Prefer the SE ending to Yub Yub(except having crappy Gungans)
I like Monkey Woman but maybe would rather have Mcdiarmid for continuty for Jedi (maybe not his greatest performance ever but could live with it)(prefer the old dialouge alot more but could live with new dialouge maybe...)
Really like the X-wings taking off from Yavin(was/is my favourite change)
I dont mind the opening up of Cloud City in ESB.
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I detest:
- Han Shot First (and I have the PvP T-Shirt to prove it)
- Replacing Sebastian Shaw
- 97 Jabba scene
- Redone ROTJ ending
- Changing Boba Fett's voice (why doesn't George just change the credits to say Morrison instead of Bulloch...Half the time it was Bulloch anyways, so what difference does it make.)

I do not like, but tolerate:
- 03 Jabba scene (at least Jabba looks better)
- Jedi Rocks

Indifferent:
- Approach into Mos Eisley
- New Emperor in ESB (BUT I do NOT like the changed lines. Return the lines to how they were and it would be alright)

Approve:
- CGI upgrades to most of the Special Effects (I don't think I could handle the original Jabba's palace song with the new CGI Sy Snootles).
- Biggs scene (ever since I was a little kid it bothered me. Luke just arrives on Yavin 4, he's thrust into a combat situation fairly quickly, but he's comfortable with this other pilot that he "just met", calling him by his first name and everything. Adding the Biggs scene gives us a tiny intro so we know why. Beyond that, I wouldn't mind it if Lucas reintegrated the scenes with Biggs at the beginning of the movie.)
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When the special editions first came out, I liked them. I liked them as an alternate version of Star Wars. I could watch my original tapes if I wanted, or I could watch the special edition if I wanted. It was only when I found out that the special editions were being treated as the only Star Wars that I got upset. Therefore, I don't like any of the changes simply because they're changes, and what came before them are now gone for all official purposes.

There is no lingerie in space…

C3PX said: Gaffer is like that hot girl in high school that you think you have a chance with even though she is way out of your league because she is sweet and not a stuck up bitch who pretends you don’t exist… then one day you spot her making out with some skinny twerp, only on second glance you realize it is the goth girl who always sits in the back of class; at that moment it dawns on you why she is never seen hanging off the arm of any of the jocks… and you realize, damn, she really is unobtainable after all. Not that that is going to stop you from dreaming… Only in this case, Gaffer is actually a guy.

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The best thing about the 97 special editions was the chance to see them in the movie theatres again. I didn't mind some things, such as the special effects updates, but the Greedo fires first was bad. The Jabba scene looks awful, and the dialoge made Jabba look like a stupid pushover and a cheap small-time hood instead of the sinister villian he was supposed to be. 04 DVD didn't help things out any. But basically, I could live with some of the changes, such as cloud city, mos eisley, etc. But when the changes started messing with plot, and looks poorly done, I have to draw the line personally.
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Depends on whatever affect they have on the story, (which includes the level of distraction from said story), to me. Some are completely ridiculous mistakes made by one of the world's best fx companies. Other's really help make the movies perfect. So I agree.

Really all that needs to be done is release the originals for a decent price on dvd or show them on tv uncut in HD so someone can record it and... er...uh. breed it, make it grow... heh heh. Where I work, we're selling new ET dvds and I noticed that preview pictures on the back were from the special edition version. Now I haven't watched it, but I'll stilll assume the dvd isn't the original theatrical release, and that's cool. Since I own the theatrical version on dvd already, I can choose which one to watch, shotguns, or walkie-talkie guns. I have a c h o i c e. And that's a good feeling...
He big in nothing important in good elephant.

"Miss you, I will, Original Trilogy..."

"Your midichlorians are weak, Old man." -Darth Vader 2007 super deluxe extra special dipped in chocolate sauce edition.

http://prequelsstink.ytmnd.com/
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I can live and (maybe more than probably) like updated scenery, ships etc and most cosmetic changes(not including erasing actors performances unless ABSOLUTELY necessary to the story which isnt/wasnt the case with Shaw) and that have NO effect on the pacing of the movie and changes the STORY of the movie, as long as these cosmetic changes are done properly and sensibily,

I even put up with all the 97 stuff which I listed, to watch the SE along side the originals, but Hayden appearing(the performance and (maybe) him) was finally the straw that broke the camels back, so along with other things I abandoned the SEs(I have ever watched the 2004 films twice with my friends and will only do so again with them if they dont want to watch the orignals.... or only to listen to the audio commentries)
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"It's worse."

What gets priority in lucas' mind.

Remember the little sorta commentary interview part of the SE boxed set? just before the movies start, lucas, burtt and some guy are jabbering on about some fascinating things like removing matte lines, cleaning up the old print, but OH! Wait! there's a preiview of a shot from Return of the jedi. It's the rancor fight. And they point out exactly what a matte line is with big bright arrows! They must have fixed that shot. I can't wait to see how it came out.

No they didn't. It's exactly the same, matte lines and all. Yet we get new jabba the hutts every other release and a scream or two for luke, right?

Of course they've fixed the shots now so the black matte (I hope that's what they're called ) lines are gone once and for all. However, Vader still gestures out of sync in ANH. Stormtrooper head-bonk, lightsaber off-sync (esb), Jumpy cuts between frames, ALL are still there, and I'm so happy to discover (thanks to darth editous) that they could have been fixed with a little digital manipulation. What's worserer is the damage done to the fx that didn't need any upgrade in quality (the pink-saber, and blades with no-core.)

And absolutely, Bungle. Hayden, (serously ask me and I'll tell you Jake Lloyd is the superior actor), Christensen's Annie Skywalker cameo can't be topped as the worst addition to the classic trilogy. Not only does this completely remove original elements, but also radically changes the story so it makes no sense. Anakin did not die as a remarkably dumb 20-something guy with only one hand and a silly papercut next to his right eye. He died a noble, wise, and mature old man who finally broke his pact with the devil for his son's love. Now the brief but powerful emotional connection we make to the old anakin inside the vader suit and the completely cleansed soul standing next to his former masters is Poof, gone, replaced by some sinister-looking fellow Luke has never seen before. Which brings up the idea that Anakin's age is perserved when he traveled from dark to light therefore trapping his good soul AWAY from all temporal effects, but still this 'goodself' was able to triumph over the bad self despite being COMPLETELY dormant for however many years it was. I don't understand how that could work.
He big in nothing important in good elephant.

"Miss you, I will, Original Trilogy..."

"Your midichlorians are weak, Old man." -Darth Vader 2007 super deluxe extra special dipped in chocolate sauce edition.

http://prequelsstink.ytmnd.com/
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I agree that the special effects changes that didn't really affect the pacing or plot of the movie are the only decent changes. Some, however really did disrupt the flow. Here's how I divide them up...

Good Special effects changes
-the moving Dewbacks.
-the enhanced shots of the Jawas transport moving
-The fighters taking off for the battle of Yavin
-intro to Mos Eisley (except for the begining with those annoying whinny robots, that part did change the pace)
-The cgi Wampa
-enhanced Cloud city
-herd of Banthas on Tatooine
-enhanced Sarlaac pit
-enhanced explosions

BAD BAD BAD special effects changes
-CGI Jabba. The scene sucks and Han's "you're a wonderful human being" line just sounds silly. Talk about disrupting the flow
-Greedo shooting first (well, duh)
-the extended clips of Vader's shuttle flying towards the Executer. George- that was not your movie and you should NOT have changed the pacing of Kershner's movie!!!! I just HATE this change.
-cgi Sy Snootles. What was the point of doing that when the most of the other creatures in the palace remained in their original puppet/dude in costume form? It's just pointless and it clashes with the whole scene
-Hayden in Jedi
George Lucas was seduced by the dark side. The OOT ceased to exist in his mind and became the Special Editions...." "They're more maching now than movies. Twisted and evil."
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I still don't think that any of it really needed a makeover. It was nice to see, but when it was all said and done, the movies were and still are strong enough to stand on their own. I think Lucas suffers from confidence issues. Or money-making issues.

When I was watching Star Wars earlier this week (the original version, duh!) I thought about the part where the ships take off. You know, that first shot when they leave the planet, and the lookout's in the tower. In the special edition, the CG ships turning around right next to him looked pretty cool, but I noticed they just didn't have the urgency those little bright dots in the distance had.

There is no lingerie in space…

C3PX said: Gaffer is like that hot girl in high school that you think you have a chance with even though she is way out of your league because she is sweet and not a stuck up bitch who pretends you don’t exist… then one day you spot her making out with some skinny twerp, only on second glance you realize it is the goth girl who always sits in the back of class; at that moment it dawns on you why she is never seen hanging off the arm of any of the jocks… and you realize, damn, she really is unobtainable after all. Not that that is going to stop you from dreaming… Only in this case, Gaffer is actually a guy.

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^Hadn't thought of it that way. I've always thought that shot could have been better, but the SE is too much. It should have been more like the fix of the Falcon landing on Yavin. It wasn't over the top, but you could still see it.
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I watched the original version of A new hope on saturday. No cahnges were needed, but I could live with some minor CGI fixes, better explosions, better lightsabers, fixing of garbage mattes, etc. I don't want or need anything more though.

War does not make one great.

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Kinda agree with everyone, if it was just effects, I don't have a problem with it. But when it comes to additional scenes, or change/editing a scene, it is insulting, and makes me want O-OT even more. Lucas could have just really updated the effects in the original Star Wars, and slightly touched ESB & ROTJ and we all would have 'lived' with these SE Editions. But again, Lucas has miscalculated his original fanbase.
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Originally posted by: Wesyeed
Now the brief but powerful emotional connection we make to the old anakin inside the vader suit and the completely cleansed soul standing next to his former masters is Poof, gone, replaced by some sinister-looking fellow Luke has never seen before.


Great point-- now Luke is thinking, "Who's *that* dude?"

I wonder if any of these ever even crossed Lucas' mind? Or if anyone said, "Uh, George, this is just wrong."?
We don't have enough road to get up to 88.
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Never watch the special editions. They make me want to cry. *sob*

If all that was done was to create a preservation negative/and digital copy, plus a re-release with SFX/CGI cleaned up in a way that retained the film graininess of the original, then there would have no complaint from anyone.
I'm altering the bargain. Pray I don't alter it any further...
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Aside from effects cleanup, the only changes that needed to be made were adding back in Biggs' and Luke's scene (why was this ever taken out?), and giving Chewbacca a medal.

Everything else was unnecessary.
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personally i think they should leave the films alone, period. cleaning it up is fine but everything else, bad mattes, and so forth are part of film history and need to be left alone. by the way if you wanted the original no ep4 title crawl than they should offer it, along with the numerous sound changes as seperate audio tracks
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Amen, battlewars. That's the only thing they should do is make sure the film doesn't rot!

There is no lingerie in space…

C3PX said: Gaffer is like that hot girl in high school that you think you have a chance with even though she is way out of your league because she is sweet and not a stuck up bitch who pretends you don’t exist… then one day you spot her making out with some skinny twerp, only on second glance you realize it is the goth girl who always sits in the back of class; at that moment it dawns on you why she is never seen hanging off the arm of any of the jocks… and you realize, damn, she really is unobtainable after all. Not that that is going to stop you from dreaming… Only in this case, Gaffer is actually a guy.

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the only changes that should have been made was the emperor in ESB be Ian and update specail effects
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i really wish they would just put the movies out the way were originally released. whats with all these films from the late 70's and early 80's needing makeovers? leave the films alone already!
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I think it's ok from a novelty point of view, as long as the originals aren't forgotten. I rememebr I was pretty excited when the '97 SEs came out. It was only when they replaced the true movies that I started getting annoyed/upset.

War does not make one great.

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i would like the original versions of superman, star trek tmp, and of course the o-ot released as they were, thank you
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I dont see the problem with Directors Cut and Special Editions as long as the original movie is available on decent format which sadly is become less common, I just do not see why(this isnt just applying just the O.O.T ) the FANS cant be allowed to have the choice on the same disc especially with the format available and the formats available in the future, It seems rather selfish and disregarding a sizeable amount of FANS wishes(who in the end are most important people who the films success was dependent on) by the Director and the Companies distributing it (I am not just applying this to George)
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its really getting on my nerves, since everyone seems to want to get on the revisionism bandwagon
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It's very simple-if GL/LFL had only done what Paramount/Spielberg did with the Indy series (only fixing errors and cleaning up the prints), this site would not be here and we would not be forced into alternate methods of saving the films. People would have no reason to complain. The problem with this is that LFL wouldn't be able to milk its main cash cow endlessly, so economically it is not viable for them.