Living in the real world as most of us do, it's not always economical for someone to buy an LD player and spend $100 on the THX "Faces" laserdiscs. Nor is it easy to find a copy of the widescreen VHS tapes in good condition.
If Mr. Lucas claims the original cuts no longer exist, the VHS and laserdisc editions are no longer in production, and there are no plans to release the original cuts in the future, I see nothing wrong with an underground effort to preserve the existing home video transfers and squeeze the most out of them as we can.
At the request of certain members, I've decided it's a good idea to have a separate section dedicated to preserving the trilogy. The purpose of this forum is to share your thoughts on existing alternative transfers and offer up your own experience in transferring these classic films to modern formats.
I've moved a large number of posts from the other forums to this one to try and get everything in one spot. Let me know if there are any stragglers that belong here and I'll move them over.
This forum is not here for you to sell any products.
Let me say that again: DO NOT POST BOOTLEGS FOR SALE HERE
The official rules as of 1-31-2006:
Preservation Forum Rules
- Do not offer bootlegs for sale.
- Do not advertise sites that offer bootlegs for sale. Do not link to such sites or direct users to them.
- Do not post direct links to downloads.
- Do not discuss bootlegs of products currently available in general release, such as the 2004 DVD release. If you can obtain an official release through retail channels, do so. This includes official releases outside your local DVD region. NTSC/PAL conversions of currently available retail materials are not permitted. Buy a multi-region player. They're cheap. Members offering such material for download or distribution will be banned--permanently. (Updated 1-31-2006)
- The 1997 Special Editions are not to be discussed as possible backup material. I've decided the SEs are too close to the 2004 DVDs, and are more likely to cause problems with LFL and Fox than the O-OT. (Added 10-1-2004)
Some of these rules may not jibe with posts currently on the boards. That's fine. Please observe the rules from now on though.
These rules are subject to change. If you notice this topic has been updated, click on it and read the rules again.
What we end up with may not be as polished as the official DVD release, but as anyone who believes in this site and its cause should know, it's the story that matters. And the story of Star Wars is told best by the original cuts.
Good luck in your efforts.