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Lucas is Giving up a Great $$$ Maker Here, No?

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Wouldn't it be nice if both the original trilogy and the special edition were on DVD? Fans of the new could buy that, fans of the original could buy that, and die-hards could buy both; I mean, look at what happened with Lord of the Rings: Fellowship of the Ring: first they put out the theatrical release, then the expanded. I know several people who own both because the special features were different.

I mean, imagine if they were to put different special features on the different sets, like original trailers and teasers and old archived interviews with cast and crew on the original, and "making of" the special edition and Lucas' ideas on why he changed the trilogy on the second. Some fans would want it all and buy it all.

Not only is Lucas ripping away fans of the original's dreams, but he's giving up a great money-making idea for the studio and Lucasfilm. Perhaps a new petition flashing dollar signs in front of board members' faces, sent to Lucasfilm directors or to any other copyright holders, would be a good idea. If we can't make them please us by showing that we're true fans, perhaps we should try tempting them with money.
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Yeah it would be cool. Though you wouldn't have to do that now days. DVDs are so cool. You could put both versions on one DVD. Then when you load the DVD you can choose to watch the original or the special edition. You wouldn't have to have two complete versions, just have both on one DVD. Just like I think it's the Terminator 2 DVD, you can choose to watch it in it's original version or with the added scenes.

This is the ideal way to do it and preferred way to do it. Of course I would like to see the original, but sometimes I might want to watch the special edition.

Just my 2 cents.

Shay
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What you're talking about is seamless branching, and when you have a few scenes that are cleanly inserted without music changes, as is the case with T2, seamless branching is an excellent approach. Unfortunately, there are so many small edits in the SEs that it makes seamless branching a big undertaking.

My ultimate box set would be separate 3-disc versions of each film, with one disc containing the original cut, one disc containing the final Special Edition cut, and the final disc containing all the special features. This would allow maximum bitrate for the best A/V quality and keep the presentation very clean. It would also allow them to break up the set into indivdual 2-disc releases very easily, like a 2-disc original cut and a 2-disc Special Edition.
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MTFBWY…A

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Amen, Jay. Couldn't agree more. I will have to show you the DVD's I have of the OT, taken from the Definitive Collection LD set. While they blow every other attempt I've seen away, even the horrible ones on ePAY, this option to buy would be the best. Although these I have are outstanding, & I paid $250 for that DC back in the day (LD's were expensive to produce, & each film was 3 discs plus "The Creative Impulse" book inside), I'd still want an official release. That's why we're here, right? I'll e-mail a couple shots to you. That's all I'm gonna say, I got enough people begging for copies from, of all places, the starwars.com forums! George Lucas MUST at SOME point see that there is enough interest & the DVD's will not become shelf warmers. Please, as per Jay's guidelines, nobody contact me about selling copies. Let's stay focused on getting an official release realized. MTFBWOT.com!

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My ultimate box set would be separate 3-disc versions of each film, with one disc containing the original cut, one disc containing the final Special Edition cut, and the final disc containing all the special features. This would allow maximum bitrate for the best A/V quality and keep the presentation very clean. It would also allow them to break up the set into indivdual 2-disc releases very easily, like a 2-disc original cut and a 2-disc Special Edition.


Most definitely. I would be perfectly happy to go out and buy a 9 disc trilogy Ultimate Edition. However, I don't think seamless branching should be entirely ruled out. It would mostly be a matter of having a higher number of chapter stops than usual, and the length of the OT and SE trilogy is such that bit rate would not be severely compromised. Anyone who doubts this should take a look @ the Beauty & the Beast Platinum Edition, which crammed 3 different versions of a 90 minute animated film onto one dual layer disc, and it looks very nice indeed. Just a thought.

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

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On one hand I see it as a better money making scheme if they sell the OE seperate of the SE, not only is it twice as many dvds that we have to buy, but for ht eaverage cosnumer who doesn't really distinguish it means the price of the SE can be cheaper.

On the other hand, selling the OE and SE has an inherent problem, at least for Lucas. In my opinion his biggest concern with releasing the OE is that it will outsell the the SE, thus sending a strong message that nobody is buying into this SE malarky

Its just as likely that the SE will outsell the OE, especially if it has all the extra features and better transfer, but I think its not a chance GL is willing to take. I mean imagine the OT OE outsells the SE OT and the PT disks? What would that say? It would basically be cutomers thumbing their nose to GLs whole digital revolution, or at least I think thats how it would be percieved. He talks a good talk, but i think when the chips are down, he knows people aren't buying into digital FX/characters/cameras/projection/SE the way he thought they would, and I think its too much to risk for him to call everyones bluff.

Tough to say, but thats my take on it. Though I do beleive the SE will sell very very well, and if its the one with a disk full of extras, and the OE has no extras the SE will out sell it in all likelyhood

Thats what I like about Peter Jackson's attitude. I'm not one of thsoe PT dissenters who believe GL should just hand the keys to the SW kingdom over to Jackson, but I admire his attitude.


He says that he doesn't consider either the theatrical version or the EE to be the "REAL" version, peopelc an decide for themselves which one they prefer, he said he prefers the shorter version, which I can understand, as movies go its alot tighter and quicker paced, however the EE is a lot more reflective of the book. I own both, and generally with people I recommend the EE over the TV only if they have read the books, otherwise I recommend the other TC.

But iether way its nice to be give the option to chose.
And I dance. And I sing.
And I'm a monkey, in a long line of kings.
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the originals are king. its the classic. not the new greedo shoots first crud.
"You don't want me to leave because of the way you feel about me. Com'on...ah!" "You're imagining things." "Am I? Then why are you following me. Afraid I was going to leave without giving you a goodbye kiss?" "I'd just as soon kiss a wookiee." "I can arrange that! You could use a good kiss!" -Han and Leia-

Amber's Adventure Movie Site
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agreed
And I dance. And I sing.
And I'm a monkey, in a long line of kings.
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On the other hand, selling the OE and SE has an inherent problem, at least for Lucas. In my opinion his biggest concern with releasing the OE is that it will outsell the the SE, thus sending a strong message that nobody is buying into this SE malarky

Only if they're sold separately. Spielberg had the right idea with the DVD release of E.T., and the Ultimate Edition of Legend follows the same logic. As it stands right now, I've watched both versions of Legend more than once, while I have yet to watch the 1982 version of E.T. on the DVD, but that's more of a time issue. While both the regular and extended versions of LOTR:TFOTR have sold well, I doubt the same would hold true if Lucas released separate versions of the OT. The lapse of time between the two versions has a lot to do with it, because those were 20 years in which people formed a lot of memories about the OT. Jackson didn't have that problem with LOTR.

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