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How I learned to stop worrying and love the 2004 dvd's

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Since I got my copies of the 2004 SW dvd's in jan. 2006, I was at first awed by the very impressive job done but also peeved by some very annoying mistakes.

1) faulty lightsabre colors. (Luke has a green sabre on the Milennium Falcon in SW - ; Vader a pink one in ESB. )
2) picture is too dark (This ruined the trash compactor scene for me - way too dark)
3) colors are way brighter than they ever were. (At first this kinda wowed me - I must admit.)

When the sept. 12 release of the GOUT was announced I was interested because this would mean a chance to experience Star Wars without the above glaring errors. Maybe I would be able to be fully immersed in the films again and really enjoying them.

That said, given a choice between the 2004-SE with perfect colors, brightness and lightsabre colors and the non-anamorphic laserdisc-sourced GOUT, I'd choose the former. Your mileage may vary but the only scene I still don't like in the 2004-SE is the one where Han is chasing stormtroopers in the Death Star and all of a sudden instead of running into a small company of troopers he runs into a full TIE-fighter hangar crawling with stormtroopers. (The first two or three times this scene is funny, then it becomes stale.)

Now on how to love those cursed 2004 dvd's.
1) Raise the brightness a tad. (Make sure the black bars on top and below the image remain black and don't turn grey.)
2) Select the scene with Luke's green sabre. Freeze the frame. Decrease the color on your tv-set till the sabre starts to look white and only sports but the faintest trace of green. (On my Philips-set this meant a decrease in color from 44/100 to 20/100.) Quite a substantial decrease in color - but worth it.
3) Select chapter one and enjoy the show.

Now the 2004 dvd looks (almost) exactly like I remember SW to look in the theatre (color-wise that is.). (A color palette that's also very reminiscent of that of the 2006-GOUT and other laserdics-transfers.)

I've also looked at ESB using the same settings. (Vader's sabre looks normal again (white core - red sides - NOT PINK !!!!!!!!!!!)

After discovering the 2004 dvd's aren't all that bad I decided not to get the 2006-GOUT-edition since my primary motivation for wanting it were the above mentioned color & brightness issues. (If I want to watch the unaltered trilogy I can still watch my 4:3 pan&scan vhs copies I taped from television in 1989.)

Andrew.





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I'm glad you found a way to enjoy them. I found three significant reasons I cannot particularly enjoy them:

1) Greedo Shoots
2) "Alert my Star Destroyer to alert the Death Star to alert the Emperor to alert Admiral Piett..."
3) Mannequin Skywalker standing together with a Yoda puppet and Alec Guiness

No matter how much I play with the color, those scenes are still there.

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Originally posted by: vote_for_palpatine
I'm glad you found a way to enjoy them. I found three significant reasons I cannot particularly enjoy them:

1) Greedo Shoots
2) "Alert my Star Destroyer to alert the Death Star to alert the Emperor to alert Admiral Piett..."
3) Mannequin Skywalker standing together with a Yoda puppet and Alec Guiness

No matter how much I play with the color, those scenes are still there.


4) Boba fett's new voice
5) "Jedi Rocks"
6) Jabba looks terrible in ANH

...anymore anyone...?

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7. Hayden in ROTJ

And to the OP, that's cool that you're able to enjoy them and found the right brightness setting, but i'll have to say I just wouldn't want to go through all that hassle to get the DVD's looking right. That why i'll always prefer the OOT.
Watch DarthEvil's Who Framed Darth Vader? video on YouTube!

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Change it to:

#6: Jabba is seen at all in Star Wars.

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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When the '97 SEs came out, I tried to convince myself to like them, but I just couldn't accept them no matter how hard I tried. I finally decided to stop trying. I consider the SEs to be experiments, curiosities, oddities, whatever- but they're not the real OT as far as I'm concerned, and they never will be.

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Originally posted by: Mielr
When the '97 SEs came out, I tried to convince myself to like them, but I just couldn't accept them no matter how hard I tried. I finally decided to stop trying. I consider the SEs to be experiments, curiosities, oddities, whatever- but they're not the real OT as far as I'm concerned, and they never will be.



That's your uncle talking. Learn about the force Mielr.
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I've found that no matter how much I adjust the tv, the 2004 dvd's never look that good. The best they can look is like an indoor photo which came out too dark but has been brightened.

8. Darth Vader goes to the second Death Star at the end of Empire, ruining the pacing and confusing me the first time around.

9. The once mysterious Sarlacc has a cartoonish beak that screams CGI.

Take back the trilogy. Execute Order '77

http://www.youtube.com/user/Knightmessenger

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Yes! The Sarlacc beak is horrendous!

Anyway - I took your advice! I have a 'User' setting on my TV. I turned on the 'warm hue' setting, halved the saturation and mucked about with the contrast and brightness a bit and lo and behold you are right! The corridor in the Tantive IV is white again!!!! Yay! And yes, even the green lightsaber is less offensive now - so thank you. Still doesnt stop Hoth being blue sometimes though - they must have REALLY overdone it on that
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8. Darth Vader goes to the second Death Star at the end of Empire, ruining the pacing and confusing me the first time around.


I think he just goes the his Star Destroyer. The problem is they used Jedi Death Star footage for the docking bay and it is such a cheap and lazy way to insert that scene.
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Yeah, I think he knew that. It was probably just tongue-in-cheek.

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: iamstillhiro1112
Originally posted by: Mielr
When the '97 SEs came out, I tried to convince myself to like them, but I just couldn't accept them no matter how hard I tried. I finally decided to stop trying. I consider the SEs to be experiments, curiosities, oddities, whatever- but they're not the real OT as far as I'm concerned, and they never will be.



That's your uncle talking. Learn about the force Mielr.

No, that's my inner Jedi talking. The force is with the OOT.

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I have to agree that certain changes make watching the 2004 DVD version cringeworthy. Everytime Greedo shoots first, Boba Fett has a new voice, Luke's BEspin rescue is messed up, Lapti Nek isn't there, etc, I just go ugh!!
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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and on top of that, we are given a choice- to forsake starwars forever, or accept Lucas's version. I guess I have no choice but to forsake SW, unless I want a legal bootleg...
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Originally posted by: JennyS1138
I have to agree that certain changes make watching the 2004 DVD version cringeworthy.

I'll purchase future OT releases from Lucasfilm only if they make it possible for me to edit them together into the movies I'd actually like to see, without spending months struggling to do so. I just want to see the movies with proper colors and picture, good sound, updated effects, but none of the atrocious changes, such as having child molester Skywalker appear in the OOT:
http://i110.photobucket.com/albums/n83/lord3vil/ChildMolesterSkywalker.jpg
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Andrew-Kenneth - it's great (for you) that you have found a way to enjoy the '04 discs. As you can see, most people here can't overlook the destructive effect of the SE changes. For me personally, even if they were the OUT, I couldn't overlook the color/contrast issues. It is not simply a case of more blue, more color - the palette has been changed considerably. And no amount of brightness can restore detail lost in shadow areas. However, if you're happy, I'm happy for you.
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Fuser wrote:

"Anyway - I took your advice! I have a 'User' setting on my TV. I turned on the 'warm hue' setting, halved the saturation and mucked about with the contrast and brightness a bit and lo and behold you are right! The corridor in the Tantive IV is white again!!!! Yay! And yes, even the green lightsaber is less offensive now - so thank you. Still doesnt stop Hoth being blue sometimes though - they must have REALLY overdone it on that ."
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I'm glad I helped you enjoy your 2004 dvd's more. And thank you for the "warm hue"-tip. I've changed the hue setting on my tv-set from "normal" to "warm" and it's a huge improvement watching these dvd's.

Before the settings on my tv were set according to the THX-optimizer found on my Ep I-dvd. All my dvd's (+- 200 titles) played just fine with these settings. (except the 2004 original trilogy dvd's - too dark - way too bright colors, etc...)

The THX-settings on my set (Philips 32" - pixel plus 2) are :
contrast: 44/100
brightness : 44/100
color : 44/100
hue : normal

The settings with which I find the 2004 dvd's to look their best are:
contrast : 59/100
brightness : 46/100
color : 20/100
hue : warm

Now I can truly claim these dvd's have never looked better (So good in fact that if Lucas would re-release the 2004 dvd's with the color-brightness issues solved I would not easily be tempted to pick them up.)

Darth Evil wrote :

"And to the OP, that's cool that you're able to enjoy them and found the right brightness setting, but i'll have to say I just wouldn't want to go through all that hassle to get the DVD's looking right."
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I agree that the dvd's ought to have looked right straight out of the box. However by twiddling a bit with the settings of my tv I saved myself 50 euro. ( by not getting Lucas sept. 12 release and probably even more come 2007.)

THX wrote :

"Andrew-Kenneth - it's great (for you) that you have found a way to enjoy the '04 discs. As you can see, most people here can't overlook the destructive effect of the SE changes. For me personally, even if they were the OUT, I couldn't overlook the color/contrast issues. It is not simply a case of more blue, more color - the palette has been changed considerably. And no amount of brightness can restore detail lost in shadow areas. However, if you're happy, I'm happy for you. "
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Last friday I advised to raise the brightness a tad, and to decrease the color dramatically.

Over the weekend I learned that using the "warm hue" setting (thanks Fuser) also improves the picture as does a considerable increase of contrast. (These two changes are also significant.)
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I've said earlier that the SW 2004 dvd's now look (almost) exactly LIKE I REMEMBER SW to look in the theatre (color-wise that is.). ( I did not claim this IS SW EXACTLY as it looked in the theater.) But now - at least it looks close enough for me to enjoy the discs without frustration about their color/brightness.
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I have, like you, also noticed that a lot of SW fans are really opposed to SE-changes. As we have recently learned from the Lucas-website about 100 changes were made in each film. Yet only about six or seven objectionable changes were mentioned in this thread.
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So we must conclude there are changes people like (or don't even notice), changes people kinda like (or are indifferent about) and changes people really dislike (or even hate).
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I mentioned a change I didn't like in my original post and if hard pressed I'll admit that in an ideal galaxy Greedo would not have shot at all and the Sarlacc would not have had a beak. (There are some more changes that could be improved upon- better done hologram scene in ESB, etc...) But I don't hate these changes enough to start hating the 2004- versions.
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Also, don't forget that the original trilogy also had it's share of cringeworthy moments. (Chewbacca's Tarzan yell in Ep. VI for instance...)
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Right now, because of all the changes, I think there are as many "ideal"-versions as there are fans.
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In film history - Lucas must be one of the few directors that keep changing their movies.
I know of the SE's of Ridley Scott (Bladerunner), Spielberg (Close encounters, E.T.), Coppola (Apocalyse Now), (amongst others) but the changes they made were never so bitterly opposed as Lucas's.
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The only other artwork, I know of, that has a "Special Edition-history" comparable to SW is Wagner's opera "Tannhäuser". This opera was premiered in Dresden in 1845. (making it middle-period Wagner). It's a pretty straightforward opera and did relatively well. In 1861 Wagner had the chance to get this opera staged in Paris. In those days all operas performed at the Paris opera had to have a ballet somewhere in the second act. So Wagner was kindly asked to recompose part of his opera - include a ballet etc. Eventually the ballet was added in the first act and some scenes were reworked. Because the new scenes were composed in Wagner's mature style they are musically far more evolved than the surrounding (older) material. Because of this the "Paris-version" of Tannhäuser is the version that is performed and recorded mostly. Only in very recent times the original version is starting to get it's due. Classical audiences are starting to see past the opulent ear-candy of the "Paris-version" and getting interested in the original. (better paced drama - no jarring between middle-period and mature styles.)



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Originally posted by: Andrew-Kenneth
How I learned to stop worrying and love the 2004 dvd's

By buying the 2006 DVDs and watching the Bonus Discs?
I am fluent in over six million forms of procrastination.
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A Digital Man wrote :

"By buying the 2006 DVDs and watching the Bonus Discs? "

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Lego fan? Are you? ;-)
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No offense - but I'm not changing my color settings on my TV just to watch a movie - especially if it is because the butchers at LFL don't know what the heck they are doing. That 04 DVD is a steaming pile of crap - and any halfway respectable photographer, film maker, connoisseur, graphic designer or human (whom isn't color-blind) should be able to see that disaster a mile away.

No thanks. Bonus disc. All the way. Hell, I'll take my 97 VHS tapes over those things.
Fuck the Jedi Council.
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Oh no, not the 2004 DVD again. Hayden looks so much more creepy than Sebastian Shaw!
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Yeah, you know what? Sebastian Shaw was the only man who played the virtuous version of Anakin. The Anakin in the prequels, played by Hayden, is so obviously evil at so many points. Why show the clearly evil man as the one who was redeemed? Does George Lucas believe that external appearances determine our worth? A bloated and scarred man has no value in his view of the world? We have to go back to Anakin's youth when he was a pretty boy?

Edit: Also, they didn't actually change Boba Fette's voice int he 2004 edition of Empire did they? Oh good Lord. I guess that's just another reason for me to not to watch the discs I purchased. Boba Fette always had such an awesome voice.

"Now all Lucas has to do is make a cgi version of himself.  It will be better than the original and fit his original vision." - skyjedi2005

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The Anakin in the prequels, played by Hayden, is so obviously evil at so many points.


I think that that was the general idea. I just think that that's what makes like the two trilogies together so difficult.

“What Orwell feared were those who would ban books. What Huxley feared was that there would be no reason to ban a book, for there would be no one who wanted to read one.”

Neil Postman, Amusing Ourselves to Death