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Does GL ever explain why...

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I have never watched the 2004 DVD of the OT nor do I intend to but I am curious about the audio commentary tracks. For those who have listened to them, does GL go into any details about WHY he added certain scenes or does he just focis on the technical details of the new or re-done scenes? I would be very curious to hear if there's ever been any logical explanations to why certain inserts or re-dos exist other than 'because my vision changed' or 'becasue I wanted to- nanny-nanny-boo-boo'.
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He has never said that his vision changed. Never has his vision ever changed. Everything that does change was because he didn't either have the a) time, b) money, c) technology, or d) he just blames the media for the lies they spew forth.
"I am altering the movies. Pray I don't alter them any further." -Darth Lucas
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Sometimes he did. Its usually "this is what i wanted it to be like but couldnt afford to do it", which is pretty much true the majority of the time. I dont remember him saying anything about Greedo, though the above statement could apply since i have heard him justify it thusly. Also the new Prequel tie-ins such as the Emperor and Hayden he says that he wanted to redo them to accomodate the prequel changes so the saga seems more consistent.
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Has *anyone* actually listened to his OT commentaries though or is the thought too painful? That's the only source I was asking about here.
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I love the OT commentaries, you should give them a listen some time. Much more interesting than the CGItech-heavy PT commentaries.
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I own the 2004 DVD editions, because their quality is so good, that with my HD TV and surround sound system, bootlegs of the O-OT don't even compare to the picture and sound. So I put up with Hayden as a force ghost for superior sound & picture quality, am I traitor to you guys?

I have listened to all 3 commentaries, and I have to say nothing new comes out about the changes. The ESB is the only good commentary cause you hear Kershners take on the movie, and there is no prequel spin, or this is the way I envisoned it. Kershner is pretty honest and straightforward, and does a go indepth on alot of subjects, especially the cave sequence. Carrie Fisher adds some funny moments when Harrison Ford talks to her after Luke tells her he is her sister, and her and Han Solo have a tender moment, she says, "Ugh, I liked it better when we were arguing with each other in ESB!"

I used to love Lucas interviews pre-SE, because he was much more honest then. He actually was very insightful when he'd talk, and it was always interesting on his take on the OT movies. But now, he has to give the spin that the story was always about Anakin, or there were never 9 episodes, or Darth Vader is just this pathetic #2 guy, or I had to wait for the technology is why I never did the PT back in the 80's. It is all a big lie now, and sadly, I don't really care what he says, or I just think he is spinning his views so everyone sees the saga 1-6 now. But check out his interviews pre-97 interviews, they were always very interesting, and to me I think he was alot more humbler back then too.
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Originally posted by: CO
I own the 2004 DVD editions... So I put up with Hayden as a force ghost for superior sound & picture quality, am I traitor to you guys?


Yes. Yes, you are.


Harrison Ford is on the commentary?
"I am altering the movies. Pray I don't alter them any further." -Darth Lucas
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I have the 2004 Edition it was a birthday present. no Harrison Ford isnt on the commentry and I thought it was an interesting commentry and the only change mentioned was Hayden,I believe,I only bothered to watch the 2004 films twice and listen to the commentry once, before finding this place where I got the O.O.T and the fan-editted SEs to watch instead...
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Originally posted by: Invader Jenny
Originally posted by: CO
I own the 2004 DVD editions... So I put up with Hayden as a force ghost for superior sound & picture quality, am I traitor to you guys?


Yes. Yes, you are.


Harrison Ford is on the commentary?


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No, only Carrie Fisher. Harrison Ford & Mark Hammill did not participate.

I know I am a traitor, but the movies sound so damn good in Dolby 5.1, and look great in anamorphic widescreen, I can't resist..........
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Originally posted by: CO
So I put up with Hayden as a force ghost for superior sound & picture quality, am I traitor to you guys?


by buying these dvds you approve what Lucas is doing to the movies, so yes, you're a traitor...

(by the way i haven't bought the 2004 dvds nor episode 3 and i have resold I and II)

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Originally posted by: grifter
Originally posted by: CO
So I put up with Hayden as a force ghost for superior sound & picture quality, am I traitor to you guys?


by buying these dvds you approve what Lucas is doing to the movies, so yes, you're a traitor...

(by the way i haven't bought the 2004 dvds nor episode 3 and i have resold I and II)



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Unfortunately he has a monopoly on us, and that is the way it goes. As much as I bitch and complain about the SE, I still can enjoy the movies cause he didn't change that much of the movie. I think that Lucas is full of shit when he said that we fell in love with a 25% finished movie, cause he changed maybe 10% of it. Would I kill for the O-OT on DVD, of course I would, but I have watched the DVDs over 10 times each cause of the love I have for these movies, and I have a bootleg of the O-OT, and the quality just isn't there that it is worth it to watch it.

I mean, the problem with DVD's and CD's, is once you experience better quality of something, you never want to go back. Who the hell would still want their favorite bands on cassette tape, when CD's are superior quality? It is the same with DVD, and widesceen too. 10 years ago I didn't know why the hell on SciFi they would show these movies with these black bars, to me they were annoying. Now that I came to understand widescreen, and how the movies all these years on VHS were getting cropped, I can never watch a pan-scan movie ever again.

If you guys want to call me a traitor for enjoying the SE 2004 DVD's, so be it, but again, there are so many minor changes to ESB that it is practically the same movie. I mean with the new wampa, the new Emperor dialogue, and the enhanced Cloud City visuals, and Vader going to his ship, it is the same movie from the O-OT. Now the original SW I get annoyed with Han shooting first, and really get annoyed with Hayden in ROTJ, and that stupid song in Jabbas palace, but I still enjoy the movies, and sorry if that bothers you guys.

Would I kill for the O-OT on DVD, I wouldn't be here if I didn't, but I gonna be honest with you guys that the changes suck, but it doesn't ruin the movies for me, it just isn't as good as the O-OT.

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Don't sweat it, CO. It's just that most people here, myself included, don't care for these. We wouldn't touch them, and now -you- ( ), with a 10-foot-pole.

Oh, and as far as I know, Lucas totally glosses over the Han/Greedo scene, talking about something completely unrelated. Figures.

<span class=“Italics”>MeBeJedi: Sadly, I believe the prequels are beyond repair.
<span class=“Bold”>JediRandy: They’re certainly beyond any repair you’re capable of making.</span></span>

<span class=“Italics”>MeBeJedi: You aren’t one of us.
<span class=“Bold”>Go-Mer-Tonic: I can’t say I find that very disappointing.</span></span>

<span class=“Italics”>JediRandy: I won’t suck as much as a fan edit.</span>

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Originally posted by: CO

I mean, the problem with DVD's and CD's, is once you experience better quality of something, you never want to go back. Who the hell would still want their favorite bands on cassette tape, when CD's are superior quality? It is the same with DVD, and widesceen too. 10 years ago I didn't know why the hell on SciFi they would show these movies with these black bars, to me they were annoying. Now that I came to understand widescreen, and how the movies all these years on VHS were getting cropped, I can never watch a pan-scan movie ever again.


That's pretty much why I prefer the 2004 DVDs, because of picture and sound quality. And the story is still there, so I have few complaints.

BTW, Lucas actually did explain the Hayden force ghost. He explained that, as he became one with the force, he was able to reatin his original identity that he died with; that which was his true identity. Lucas explains that when he does become one with the force, it is Obi-Wan and Yoda who teach him how to return as a force ghost.

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That's not so much an explanation as a string of Star Wars words that is syntactically valid but worthless as communication. Also in my first post I pretty much demonstrated the conceptual 180 that Lucas forced onto RotJ in order to accomodate his darling Hayden.
"It's the stoned movie you don't have to be stoned for." -- Tom Shales on Star Wars
Scruffy's gonna die the way he lived.
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Originally posted by: MeBeJedi

Oh, and as far as I know, Lucas totally glosses over the Han/Greedo scene, talking about something completely unrelated. Figures.


Yeah, when the Greedo scene comes on, he starts talking about the controversy around having subtitles when he originally shot the scene.
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The weird thing in those 2004 DVD commentaries is that it has no mentions to the new stuff and changes that have been done for this edition. It seems that they have recorded the commentaries BEFORE doing the DVD changes. I think it was too bad, just cause I was waiting for some explanations about that.
The only mention is from Ben Burtt, concerning the Naboo shot in the ROTJ celebration, but it's all...

Concerning the commentaries themselves, I must say that I love ESB one, especially for Kershner. He's very interesting, verry funny, and give us some good anecdotes on the filming of the movie.
Lucas talk only about the story, but it's really interesting too.

So, just for the commentaries, you MUST borrow them to a friend. The best "special feature" for the OT at this time, IMO.

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I wasn't too fond of the comentaries, except from Kershner, since he was so into it. But they are better than the ones on the prequels. I don't think they were necessarily recorded before the new changes. These changes weren't highly publicized like the ones in '97. The box tries to pass them off as the original trilogy, and I don't believe there was ever an official statement saying there were any changes. I think this whole operation was very covert, so it makes sense to me that they wouldn't address it on the commentary, just to make the uninformed to blindly follow him, and to piss off people like me.

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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Originally posted by: Gaffer Tape
I wasn't too fond of the comentaries, except from Kershner, since he was so into it. But they are better than the ones on the prequels. I don't think they were necessarily recorded before the new changes. These changes weren't highly publicized like the ones in '97. The box tries to pass them off as the original trilogy, and I don't believe there was ever an official statement saying there were any changes. I think this whole operation was very covert, so it makes sense to me that they wouldn't address it on the commentary, just to make the uninformed to blindly follow him, and to piss off people like me.


Ok, but the ESB Emperor scene! Everyone has noticed that, even the non hard fans. Watching this scene with the commentary without any allusion to it is a pretty weird feeling, I find...

And I'm not even talking about the "Hayden ghost" scene...

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I'm not saying that people didn't notice, just that, on those DVDs, he pretty much refused to admit anything was changed. The ROTS DVD does actually admit it, though, even though it tries to slip by the digital Yoda in TPM.

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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Aye! *raises hand and waves around violently*

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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Good. Then you are being true to your cause. A true preservationist would never support such an alteration. You have proven your devotion Gaff, and I complement you for that.
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Heh, thanks. I wasn't quite expecting that from you. But although I do think the Yoda from TPM was a bit odd-looking, I have no problem with it. The movie's done. It's over. No need to tweak it, even though it already has been.

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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Well, I know that there are a lot of people (*coough* TF.N *cough*) who will say things like "Luca$ should release the original cuts of the OT on DVD. But dude, that new CG Yoda in TPM looks awesome!", or "The PT sucks. It needs _____ and ______ edited, and then it will be perfect!"
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Yeah, I'm not too fond of that line of thinking...

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.