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What HASN'T been changed to reflect GL's "original intent"

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[Yes, another blu-ray (stupid name for a format, now that I type it out for the first time) inspired thread.]

George Lucas has argued that he changes Star Wars to make it as he originally intended but wasn't able to because of technological and budgetary restraints. While stuff like the "Noooo!" makes a bald-faced liar out of him, I'm curious about what elements were not originally intended but have not been changed. The green lightsaber in ROTJ comes to mind.

The blue elephant in the room.

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 (Edited)

Well, for me, this goes deeper than the visible physical manifestation of all of this stuff - and includes the general sentiment.

For example, From Peecher's book...

Luke has come back to the Death Star from Endor to force a confrontation with his father. This is the big scene. Richard Marquand describes a George Lucas insight into this scene: "There was a feeling I had that I would like the fight to be bigger than the fight in Empire. And then George said that it doesn't have to be bigger, because basically it can't be.
George is very blunt. He said: 'It's just a couple of guys banging sticks against each other. Don't worry about that. It is bigger because of what is going on in their heads. That is what makes it bigger.' That was nice, because then I saw exactly what he meant and I think up to that point I had missed a trick."

 

Regardless of what you think of ROTJ as a movie, it is obvious Lucas still grasped the value of 'less is more' even then, wheres now, it would seem, does not trust the audience enough to 'fill the blanks' and be informed by what is happening inside characters' heads - so he adds an ugly big "Noooooooo!" into this key scene.

 

But really, how could we ever be in a position to second-guess Lucas' "original vision" after this?

I mean, the Ewok designs by Rodis-Jamero, Johnston and McQuarrie that were approved by Lucas (and in my opinion, the most aestheitcally pleasing designs, despite some of the other designs by those same artists having irisis and pupils) looked like the versions that ended up in the film. Surely the old Fabulouso stamp can't have been  brandished accidentally?

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Something that I believe is driving many changes is the evolution of the prequel storyline. 

It vaguely focused on Ben's story when the the OT was made, but as the PT was developed, Anakin became more and more the main character til eventually the six-film saga became "The Tragedy of Darth Vader."  The addition of Hayden and the "NOOO"s to Jedi are, I think, efforts to emphasize Anakin's place as the (now) main character.  A more fatherly Anakin ghost makes sense for Luke's journey, but now it's all about Anakin.  Adding a line that reminds us of ROTS obviously makes us conflate ROTS Anakin with ROTJ Vader. 

There are remnants of the original thoughts in the films.  "When I left you, I was but a learner," Ben calling Vader "Darth," Vader not being a real viewpoint character in ANH... etc.

"Star Wars films are basically silent movies. And they're designed as silent movies, therefore the music carries a -- has a very large role in carrying the story, more than it would in a normal movie."  -GL

"NOO! NOOOOOO!!" - Darth Vader

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Because Vader and Skywalker were separate characters when star wars was made Kenobi had two students, Vader the more powerful of the two killed Skywalker, who was Luke's Father.

“Always loved Vader’s wordless self sacrifice. Another shitty, clueless, revision like Greedo and young Anakin’s ghost. What a fucking shame.” -Simon Pegg.

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skyjedi2005 said:

Because Vader and Skywalker were separate characters when star wars was made Kenobi had two students, Vader the more powerful of the two killed Skywalker, who was Luke's Father.

Very good point. Maybe making the prequel with an actual Darth Vader does make sense...

Having read that epic article about the creation of Chewbacca and Lucas's other inconsistent statements over the years (as well as midstream revisions), it seems that he truly has an awful memory or just doesn't care to keep things straight in his own mind. I don't think he intends to lie. I do wish he would at least care enough about cinematic history to preserve his original and culturally significant creation.

The blue elephant in the room.

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American Hominid said:

Something that I believe is driving many changes is the evolution of the prequel storyline. 

It vaguely focused on Ben's story when the the OT was made, but as the PT was developed, Anakin became more and more the main character til eventually the six-film saga became "The Tragedy of Darth Vader."  The addition of Hayden and the "NOOO"s to Jedi are, I think, efforts to emphasize Anakin's place as the (now) main character.  A more fatherly Anakin ghost makes sense for Luke's journey, but now it's all about Anakin.  Adding a line that reminds us of ROTS obviously makes us conflate ROTS Anakin with ROTJ Vader. 

There are remnants of the original thoughts in the films.  "When I left you, I was but a learner," Ben calling Vader "Darth," Vader not being a real viewpoint character in ANH... etc.

This is a good thing to keep in mind.

It's why we have stuff like Hayden ghost, Ian McDiarmid emperor, NOOooo, and even things like Naboo in ROTJ, Temura Morrison as Fett, and a lot of the expanded vistas/CG in the films are done in order to tie them to the PT better. A lot of the new shots were even done for the sole purpose of training for the PT. So, had there been no PT, the Special Editions would be comparably tamer and probably decently tasteful--although you'd probably still have Greedo shooting first.

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Bothan's Pies said:

Well, for me, this goes deeper than the visible physical manifestation of all of this stuff - and includes the general sentiment.

For example, From Peecher's book...

Luke has come back to the Death Star from Endor to force a confrontation with his father. This is the big scene. Richard Marquand describes a George Lucas insight into this scene: "There was a feeling I had that I would like the fight to be bigger than the fight in Empire. And then George said that it doesn't have to be bigger, because basically it can't be.
George is very blunt. He said: 'It's just a couple of guys banging sticks against each other. Don't worry about that. It is bigger because of what is going on in their heads. That is what makes it bigger.' That was nice, because then I saw exactly what he meant and I think up to that point I had missed a trick."

 

Regardless of what you think of ROTJ as a movie, it is obvious Lucas still grasped the value of 'less is more' even then, wheres now, it would seem, does not trust the audience enough to 'fill the blanks' and be informed by what is happening inside characters' heads - so he adds an ugly big "Noooooooo!" into this key scene.

 

But really, how could we ever be in a position to second-guess Lucas' "original vision" after this?

I mean, the Ewok designs by Rodis-Jamero, Johnston and McQuarrie that were approved by Lucas (and in my opinion, the most aestheitcally pleasing designs, despite some of the other designs by those same artists having irisis and pupils) looked like the versions that ended up in the film. Surely the old Fabulouso stamp can't have been  brandished accidentally?

*sigh* Time erodes talent.

“It is only through interaction, through decision and choice, through confrontation, physical or mental, that the Force can grow within you.”
-Kreia, Jedi Master and Sith Lord

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skyjedi2005 said:


Because Vader and Skywalker were separate characters when star wars was made Kenobi had two students, Vader the more powerful of the two killed Skywalker, who was Luke's Father.


I don't think it's implied that Ben and Luke's dad had a master-apprentice relationship in the original film; they were just friends and fellow Jedi.

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Vader was definitely a pupil of Ob-wan.  I think Anakin was merely a cunning warrior and a good friend.

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That's why I find the special editions interesting. It's almost changing the whole story arc to fit the prequels, which obviously is a bit silly as he should've just made the prequels fit with the OT better. They're almost like fanedits made to tie everything together, except they are legit.

I personally wish I could have both versions, the OOT and Special Editions, for this reason. Which I actually feel like I already have, thanks to Harmy's HD versions, but I digest.

 

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TV's Frink said:

The Almighty Sarlaac said:


but I digest for a thousand years.

Fixed?

Fixed.