logo Sign In

When/Why did you become an OT purist? — Page 3

Author
Time

I wasn't.

Until I found this site back in '07. I was looking for the Thief and the Cobbler restoration, and just stuck around, lurking.

I view them as two sagas. The originals, which is the OUT, and the extended, which is the current six.

Author
Time

I don't think of myself as just an OT purist.  I support any effort to preserve important books and films, and have been involved in two other groups doing essentially what I am doing here.

With regards to SW, as soon as the SE came out, I saw the handwriting on the wall and bought the faces VHS set, then a crappy bootleg DVD set from somewhere in Asia.  I discovered Jay before this group existed.  Although I didn't actually become a member of this group until several years later, when Boba Feta made his super8 transfer, and I realized I had the equipment to do better and be a part of the effort.

"Close the blast doors!"
Puggo’s website | Rescuing Star Wars

Author
Time
 (Edited)

CatBus said:

Father Skywalker said:

What's is the main problme/issue here, exactly???

For 20 years, the original films were available for average people to see in better than Blu-ray quality.  All you had to do was go to a theatre showing them, buy a ticket, and watch.  Today, if a theatre is caught showing the original films, they are quickly confiscated.

Back in '97, most didn't immediately see the impact of this policy change.  Like you said, the public still had VHS tapes and Laserdiscs, which, while certainly not as good as 35mm film, were good enough for most people's televisions at the time.  And since going to the theatre was falling out of fashion even then, people might not have considered exactly how much better the films looked before they were reduced to VHS and Laserdisc.

Now, not only are those obsolete formats becoming increasingly difficult to play, but two new formats (DVD and Blu-ray) have come along to remind audiences about that quality gap between 35mm film and VHS tape.

The GOUT release (the out-of-print bonus disc DVD release) was a Laserdisc-quality release on the DVD format (not to mention that Star Wars got the wrong soundtrack in this release), so it didn't really do much for fans other than provide a really distorted view of what the originals looked like to the uninitiated.  Even today, you'll hear people say that the originals looked all low-res and dirty like the GOUT, that the Special Editions fixed all of that, and that the originals simply aren't worth an HD release!

In summary, the purists remember the period from 1977-1997 when it was possible to watch the OT in super-high-definition, compare it against today when your best officially sanctioned option is a crappy Laserdisc transfer from the early nineties with the wrong soundtrack, and we feel shafted.  Especially those of us with children.

Or, to put it even more succinctly, when Beverly Hills Chihuahua 3 beats the hell out of Star Wars in the visuals department, there's a problem.

i went to a movie theather that showed the stars wars originals movies/films

they aren't a crime to have/to watch

what the hell/heck R U even talking about????

 

Author
Time

Leonardo said:

Father Skywalker said:

ok. I apologize for the oh-so terrible-and tragic news that the entire world/country and president barack obama should know......

You'd better apologize to me, boy, else I knock the black off ya.

stop trying to pull the race card

i was just trying to be sarcastic, not racist

 

Author
Time

Wexter said:

I first started to have problems with LucasFilm's "creative decisions" once it was announced that Hayden will be put into ROTJ. Not only did I hate his performance in AOTC (ROTS didn't come out yet), but it just seemed flat out disrespectful to Sebastian Shaw, who was always a part of this movie.

Some time later I stumbled across the X0 project website which interested me greatly and so I kept watching their progress there. Sadly, none arrived. By that time I did have rips of GOUT on my computer and acknowledged them as the versions that felt "more right" in respect to the original movies.

In 2008 I found out about the Phantom Edit and it raised my interest to the point that I wanted to check it out. That led me to this website of which I have been a member ever since, although I have been only lurking for quite some time. I like it here, the community is great and there is so much interesting stuff going on :)

hayden christensen has a very beautiful and super godlilke handsome face

so thats part of the reason that i enjoy watching the star wars movies/films prequels trilogy

Author
Time

*sigh*

I wish that I could just wish my feelings away...but I can't.  Wishful wishing can only lead to wishes wished for in futile wishfulness, which is not what I wish to wish for. 

Author
Time

Farter Skywanker said:

hayden christensen has a very beautiful and super godlilke handsome face but can't act for shit, but i don't care because i love him and my 3 room shrine proves that.

so thats part of the reason that i enjoy watching the star wars movies/films prequels trilogy. Masturbation material!!!!!!!!

**Fixed**

 

I really wish i had a Death Star right now, because i know exactly where i would aim it. How many times is he going to post the same crap?

ANH:REVISITED
ESB:REVISITED

DONATIONS TOWARDS MATERIALS FOR THE REVISITED SAGA

Author
Time

I don't think I am as such.

I think I could tolerate any alteration to the SE of the hour as long as the OT was still available as a baseline.

Heavens, I would really love to enjoy ROTJ and the PT and that's only going to happen for me with alterations but I want the theatrical versions of everything around for comparison more than anything.

My two favorite films in the series (the first two) have been ruined by successive scribbles but if I could return to the original versions with no fuss an no need of recourse to the legally wobbly downloading of fan restorations I would treat those versions as interesting curios.

Author
Time

I consider myself a purist only because the SE rubs it in my face that I can't watch the OOT (beyond the efforts of this place, of course).

Author
Time
 (Edited)

I guess I could add that between my "lite" purist phase (I like the originals better, but no big deal, and I even tolerated the pre-97 crawl/flyover/audio revisions, even though I didn't much like them) and my "hardcore" purist phase (made subtitles in 24 languages and made some of my own audio tracks to make sure the originals lived forever, even made a commentary track over the 77 mix so I could pretend the 93 revisions never happened), I went through a period from say 2001 to 2011 where I was willing to just let Star Wars die.  I didn't watch the trilogy for around a decade, and didn't see much point in disappointing myself by trying (I know several fans still in this phase).

Then my first kid started approaching the age where I'd want to show him Star Wars, and there simply wasn't anything commercially available worth showing him (and still isn't).  So I came here looking for nothing more than a simple cleaned-up anamorphic GOUT transfer, found a hell of a lot more, and the rest is history.  I'm now pretty sure I'll do private theatrical showings for friends on a regular basis to do my part in keeping Star Wars alive.

Project Threepio (Star Wars OOT subtitles)

Author
Time

Yeah, I like the idea of an SE, and I do like some of the changes, but an SE should only be that: a special edition. It should not be the only edition.

Author
Time
 (Edited)

While technically being a part of the generation that grew up on the prequels (I was born in 1992), I've come to see them as the lackluster works that they are in comparison to the originals. The OT just resonates better in terms of characterization, screenwriting, art direction and smart use of special effects. I'm not so much a purist as I am a guy who likes the originals better than the prequels.

Author
Time

I don't get what the whole/entire issue is here. Nobody such as George Lucas is criminalizing the original unlatered star wars original trilogy films/movies......

Author
Time

Father Skywalker said:

I don't get what the whole/entire issue is here. Nobody such as George Lucas is criminalizing the original unlatered star wars original trilogy films/movies......

well in a way he is doing just that, because the only means of having the unaltered original trilogy in any quality higher than a laserdisc transfer is through illegal methods i.e. through fan preservations/ bootlegs

ANH:REVISITED
ESB:REVISITED

DONATIONS TOWARDS MATERIALS FOR THE REVISITED SAGA

Author
Time

I became a Star Wars fan after seeing the OT on VHS from 95', back in 2007.

I never Known about the S.E. But I did see Ep. II and III before that on Spike.

So in 2008 I got a 97' VHS at Goodwill, thinking that it was the same as the one I seen before. I was wrong, but I still liked the movies. SO I start looking for the changes and finding the originals. So in 2010 I got the 2008 box set of Both Trilogy's at Wal-Mart. I found out about this site by finding Adywan's star wars revisited. But I like the prequels  as well. SO I have almost the same story as DominicCobb. I just need the Blu-ray so I can get some fan edits. 

One day we will have properly restored versions of the Original Unaltered Trilogy (OUT); or 1977, 1980, 1983 Theatrical released versions (Like 4K77,4K80 and 4K83); including Prequels. So that future generations can enjoy these historic films that changed cinema forever.

Yoda: Try not, do or do not, there is no try.

Author
Time

DominicCobb said:

Yeah, I like the idea of an SE, and I do like some of the changes, but an SE should only be that: a special edition. It should not be the only edition.
I think there's an important detail here. From 1997 to 1999, the Special Edition was marketed to the public as the Special Edition. It's implicit that it's not the real edition. If memory serves, it wasn't until 2000 with that new VHS release that the SE's abandoned the SE label and were marketed simply as "the Star Wars trilogy". 2000 was the first time I remember there being an active anti-OUT policy coming from LFL. Prior to then, at least on paper, the originals were regarded as the real deal. I don't think it was until 2000 or 2001 that TV stations began showing the SE's.

Assuming I'm right, a lot of people went theaters in 1997 to see what they regarded as an alternate cut of the movies. Interesting, maybe, but they weren't supposed to eventually become the only versions anybody would be able to buy.

All I really want is each film as it was originally seen and heard in theaters; no fixes, corrections, "improvements" or modifications necessary.

Author
Time

The marketing hook for the 1995 THX releases was "Own the originals, One last time", and the Laserdisc carried a "Last chance to own the original version of Star Wars" sticker.

So, in a sense we were warned. However, this was a cynical marketing ploy Disney had already run into the ground by the mid 90's. (Snow White would only be released once on video, ever. Fantasia was marketed as "The final release".) What savvy consumer was going to believe that hogwash again?

I can't recall if the "bonus discs" had any similar hype around them.

Forum Moderator

Where were you in '77?

Author
Time

I was pro-SE until I saw the GOUT DVD's. After that, it's been OUT; no apologies, no excuses, no regrets.

It wasn't until the Blu-Rays came along with their latest round of changes to bring things more in line with George's "original vision" that I became anti-SE.

Does being pro-OUT and anti-SE make somebody a purist? Dunno. But that's where I am.

All I really want is each film as it was originally seen and heard in theaters; no fixes, corrections, "improvements" or modifications necessary.

Author
Time

Which is one reason to be a bit wary of Disney buying up the rights to more Star Wars films. How many "limited editions" are we going to be conned into buying?

I'm not sure I am a purist. I certainly admire the purists, especially those who have taken so much time to produce the "definitive" version of the original original films. Skill, time and dedication - you have to take your hat off to that. I also admire the passion and the tenacity - much more preferable to che sera sera fans like myself who only get mildly worked up about changes like "Alert my star destroyer to prepare for my arrival".

Ultimately, I think if somebody wants something that's precious to them, and having it doesn't hurt anyone or break any laws, then they should have it. There's an awful lot of people who'd be happy to have those films in their original, unaltered state.

That's some bad hat, Harry
Author
Time

The Vader line change by itself wasn't as bothersome as the undoing of a tightly edited sequence that follows, because George thought someone would be confused at to where Vader's shuttle was and where it would go.

James Earl Jones sounded like Vader had a bad cold. If it was even him recording the new line.

Count in the prequels and there must be a half hour or more of spaceships just taking off and landing again now. I'm surprised they didn't redo Captain Needa's shuttle ride to Vader's command ship. I thought he was going to the local 7-11 for some coffee! ;)

Forum Moderator

Where were you in '77?

Author
Time

I know. Lucas was joining a lot of dots best left alone, I think. It completely ruins the pacing of the chase sequence and I still don't think that's James Earl Jones despite being told it is!

That's some bad hat, Harry
Author
Time
 (Edited)

Easterhay said:

I know. Lucas was joining a lot of dots best left alone, I think. It completely ruins the pacing of the chase sequence and I still don't think that's James Earl Jones despite being told it is!

 From what I've read, it's SUPPOSEDLY a Vader out-take from SW/ANH .   Can anyone confirm or deny this? 

Author
Time

It's whatever Lucasfilm says it is, since we can't peruse the vaults.

Luke's '97 SE scream sure as heck isn't Mark. The SE stuff that gets changed or removed isn't officially discussed much.

Forum Moderator

Where were you in '77?