I've tears in my eyes right now ... no, not from watching the TV for five hours. My husband (not a terribly big Star Wars fan) is laughing at me for it ... but I can't tell you how wonderful it is to see these films in this form again. Since he's the man with the online funds, he ordered the DVDs for me (though I wish he'd grabbed the Holiday Special, dammit ... he didn't think we'd need it since we have an old video). He doesn't mind the Special Editions, but he understood why I refused to buy the new DVD release (which I have seen .... I just won't buy it).
I never owned a LaserDisc player. My videos are from the 80's and they're full-screen. So this is actually the first time I've seen the untainted Star Wars films widescreen since I saw them in the theatre back in the day. And because my original videos are in such a sorry state, I haven't watched these movies in their original form since right before the Special Edition was released (which I also have on video).
After two lackluster prequels and the horrible CGI tampering of the original films, I can finally resume loving these films again. This set has completely reminded me why I fell in love with these films ... it's been so hard to enjoy what Lucas has done to Star Wars in the past seven years. So thank you, TR47.
The quality of the DVD transfers is excellent. If I never obtained another Star Wars DVD set, I'd be completely satisfied with this presentation. And the extras are superb ... they really take me back.
Yes, my ESB has a slight black pause before the welding scene ... I couldn't care less. The DVDs play fine on both of my DVD players ... my crappy player didn't even hesitate to play these (and it's about 50/50 in playing VCDs and DVDRs). The set is perfect ... it's everything I'd hoped for and then some. You've treated these films with a respect that Lucas is incapable of.
And let me also say that, as someone who's worked for low-budget "foreign" video/DVD distributors, the effort you've put into this presentation is commendable. The TLC makes it something special. I wish some of my previous collaborators put half the effort into their final products that you've devoted to these Star Wars DVDs.
Again, thank you so much TR47 ... you've made a grown woman cry. Thank you for making these available.