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ANH Space Battle aka The Battle of Yavin

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The SE livened up the battle, IMHO. No offense to OOT version. or those who prefer it, but, in this case, the CG made the scene closer to what is intended without messing with any storyline.
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Both were pretty good...
I want (some time soon) to make an ANH space battle, with both going on one after another (SE shot, then an altered OOT shot, etc)
It might make fun viewing...
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As Lucas noted in the "Making of the Special Editions" documentary, the CG allows ships to move more freely and fast than they did in original version, which is clearly what he intended to do in the first place, only he had limited technology.
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I like both of the battles the CGI one and the O.O.T one and not really bothered any differences if watching either IMO
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upgrades are usually better so that's how I voted. They're not that different really besides the models being made from different stuff.
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 go back and forth on both the use of CG and models.

In some SE scenes where CG replaced has replaced the X-Wing and Tie models, I felt it improved the scene dramatically (the Tie Fighters seem to benefit the most from CG), but in other scenes the artificial movement of CG models stand out more than the original model effects did...it all depends on the scene.

I still feel that some scenes in the OT look far more realistic with model effects vs CG in the PT, because they actually were using real materials and real movement vs artifical movement and design.

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The original is brilliant because it was the first really good use of models in a fast moving battle scene. before that, it had all been 2001 style static or slow moving model shots, but in Star Wars it was a whole new ball game. However, as a 21st century viewer, I find the newer version a little more captivating, so I vote for the SE in this case.

(see Adam, I'm not just a biased old anti-CGI fool)

War does not make one great.

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Originally posted by: Yoda Is Your Father
The original is brilliant because it was the first really good use of models in a fast moving battle scene. before that, it had all been 2001 style static or slow moving model shots, but in Star Wars it was a whole new ball game. However, as a 21st century viewer, I find the newer version a little more captivating, so I vote for the SE in this case.

(see Adam, I'm not just a biased old anti-CGI fool)


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I quite frankly am for the Special editions. Concerning ONLY the dogstar fights.

I mean come on, the CGI made it look better and livened it up.
One of the VERY FEW things that I think changed for the better...

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v463/Lord_Phillock/starwarssig.png

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Sorry, but I think they should have left well enough alone. The dogfights represented the cutting edge in special effects in 1977, and still look impressive. If they'd only gone in and fixed the "garbage mattes", I could have lived with that, but the wholesale revision of the scene was a bit much for me.

Princess Leia: I happen to like nice men.
Han Solo: I'm a nice man.

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I didn't mean that I'd like it replaced....

I mean that If there was a presereved THX-quality unaltered DVD pack of the films...

I'd like a CGI version DVD pack.... I'd buy both though..
because I think the old effects should be preserved....

but if they're going to alter it yet more times...
I'd really love to see all the fights rendered in CGI.

sorry for the confusion.

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v463/Lord_Phillock/starwarssig.png

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Dig up any thread about the changes and this one is at or near the top of things that I hated the most. The CG was well below ILM's capability. They were not blended well with the remaining old effects(the CG has a brown tone of is far too saturated). They used the same model for every shot. Look closely (heck, the casual viewer will catch it) and you'll see that they all have the same number of wing stripes, the same blue R2 unit, and rust in the same places. There was no need for this given the available resources. The new pan at the beginning does a very poor job of conveying motion. The ships look all but stationary, giving the impression that the Death Star has a clear shot at Yavin 4. On a more personal note, I always though of the shot of Red Leader's group starting their run as from Luke's POV. Especially since we see him look to his left in the preceeding shot. This is not possible now that an X-wing zooms by the camera. About the only shot I liked was Biggs being chased by a TIE. The old was just an arc. Still, one shot does not make a revision.

Really, the thing that gets me is that the old BoY was done by amatuers and hobbyists in their spare time, on a limited budget that was half wasted while Lucas was in Tunisia, working with new concepts. It blew the lead off of special effects, changed how they were done forever, and is still realistic to this day. Not to mention that each X-wing was unique. The new is by seasoned pros, with unlimited funds and time, working with time-tested techniques. Yet the ships look fake, they're all the same, and now they're supposedly better because they dance and fly through fireballs?

The original has character and history. It builds tension by creating a documentary like feel without dwelling on pointless shots. The new looks like every other sci-fi film since the advent of CGI. The old looks like Star Wars, the new like Independance Day.


Made for IE Forum's Episode III theme month - May 2005.

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/is with the Klingon too


The old has character. Also, CGI is extremely easy to spot when not done VERY well (Jurassic Park has still to be bettered for making the CGI be part of the "world", I think, though War of the Worlds has some really nice sets too). This ruins the suspension of disbelief for at least me instantaneously. It's nice that Rontos walk the streets of ME, but when I can tell its CGI from a mile away due to uneven movement, weird colours and that intangible "it's there"-thing, I'd rather do without. They (the Rontos. And of course Jabba) were a bloody disgrace, though weren't they? four full YEARS post-Jurassic Park and ILM burp something like that up...
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Some of the worst CGI in a theatrical film I've ever seen was in Jumanji from 1995.

But I actually like CGI. To me it is no less believable than puppets. The Phantom Menace actually was the best of the prequels in terms of combining CGI and puppets. That worked well, IMHO. It kept some of the original star wars elements, yet added something new.
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CGI looks the worst when they're trying to animate people, if you ask me. For instance, in ROTS, I remember groaning when Count Dooku does the little flip down off the catwalk, cuz it just looked like crap. Not believable at all.

http://i.imgur.com/7N84TM8.jpg

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And did you you hear what McCallum said in the ROTS DVD commentary? He said (joking) something like "We were astonished on set. Christopher Lee, 82 years old made that jump on his own."
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No, I never heard that, because I still don't own the ROTS dvd. And I'm still not sure whether I wanna buy it or not.

http://i.imgur.com/7N84TM8.jpg

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Count Dooku doing a flip over the rails rather than showing some dignity and using the stairs - THAT is what made me groan. I could live with Yoda and Luke flipping around, but just digitally inserting an occasional flip into everyone's combat style seems like they viewed that more as some sort of dumb "coolness injection".

A fight without a flip - ain't hip.
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Next step - Lucas will no doubt digitally alter Alec Guiness in ANH to make him do flips during the lightsaber battle with Vader.
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But you can do that already in the ROTS game. *rolls eyes*

http://i.imgur.com/7N84TM8.jpg

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Originally posted by: Nanner Split
But you can do that already in the ROTS game. *rolls eyes*


And the ROTS game contradicted what had already been established, and what would be common sense - Vader could never use force lightning because, as evidenced in ROTJ, force lightning would damage his suit and could be fatal to him.
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Getting back to the original topic i was wondering how many people have watched the Battle of Yavin full original vertion (as featured on OCPs Deleted Magic) and felt the whole battle was better in its original uncut form insted of the spliced up vertion from the original theatrical release that we all know of?
I mean all of the original deleted scenes are well documented from the original triology and covered in detail on the net if you know where to look. Yet i and many of the people i know had no idea that Luke had 2 runs in his X-Wing down the Death Star Trench before he destroyed the thing. Or that Darth Vaders Tie-Advanced was spinning out of the trench before Luke turns off his targeting computer to take the final shot.
I can understand why the sequence was edited as it was (to add pace and urgencey to the scene), and the full cut seems a whole lot slower paced, yet now, when i watch the battle from the official editions things dont make sence anymore and just doesn't sit right.