Did he like your pancakes?
I don’t know, suddenly the kitchen was in chaos and I had to deal with other things, so I didn’t see his reaction.
Ceci n’est pas une signature.
Two nights ago, I dreamed of making pancakes for George Lucas…
Pancakes, or panakacakes?
“Panakacakes” should have been an actual thing. A pre-packaged breakfast food shaped like Hugh Quarshie’s face would have definitely parted this fool from his money.
I miss the NNRRPPB! now.
Article on the Library of Congress now having a 2K scan of original 1977 35mm reels.
http://mashable.com/2015/12/17/star-wars-original-cut/#ex7yxtMg4iq5
Need to get Empire and Jedi saved fast!
That article gets some things wrong. I visited the LOC several years ago as part of a research project that, sadly, ultimately fell apart and never amounted to anything. But, what I was researching was what elements they actually had and what condition they were in. They do NOT have negatives for any of the films. What they do have is 35mm prints of each film submitted as copyright deposits (basically, to copyright something you have to give them a copy for their records that can then be used as a reference if any claims go to court). These prints exist for both the original theatrical cuts, as well as the 1997 Special Editions.
I went to the Packard Campus, in Culpeper, VA which is where the massive cold storage vaults are located where they actually store their film archives. I got to get very hands on with the original copyright deposit prints. We looked at several reels of Star Wars (77) on their telecine (this is the print, and the telecine machine that were used to eventually make the 2k scan that the author of the above article got to watch). The film was very pink-shifted but otherwise still in rather good shape. And the telecine operator was able to do color correction on the fly as we watched the reel on his monitor. So the 2k transfer in the article is NOT exactly what the print looks like, as it HAS been color corrected from the faded reels, though no other work would have been done (at least, that was the plan they had while I was there).
I also got to look at reels from Empire and Jedi on a light table. Empire was much like Star Wars: rather pink, but otherwise in good shape. Jedi looked brand new, as if the print had been struck yesterday. The librarian could read all the gobbledygook info on the edges of the film and told me that Jedi was printed on a different film stock that was more stable than what Star Wars and Empire were on.
We also took a quick peak at the SEs and they al looked brand new as well, no surprise there.
I was an amateur researcher and the staff there was incredibly kind, helpful, and enthusiastic about the whole project. It was not long after my visit, though, that the films (definately Star Wars, but I think the entire OT) was elevated to preservation status and effectively made off limits to pretty much anyone except the actual preservation staff of the library.
It was an awesome experience, even if the project I was working on never came to fruition. I’ll never forget the thrill of holding actual prints of Star Wars, Empire, and Jedi that were really struck in 1977, 1980, and 1983!
I’ve got to say, changes aside, I’ve got a newfound respect for the official SW blu ray after seeing the disc for Dune last week. That is truly an abysmal transfer.
Did Universal screw up again? I’ve only watched the HD DVD and that looked all right to me.
Where were you in '77?
Quite often, when a movie came out on HD DVD first, it had a crap transfer made for DVD, which however didn’t have much if any digital manipulation and for later Blu-Ray release they would add DNR and EE to that same transfer to “improve” it. Like T2 or the first release of Spartacus (Spartacus got a beautiful new restoration recently and it looks fantastic on BD).
I know of Universal’s tendency to pour DNR all over an innocent film. Just hadn’t heard anything bad about the Dune Blu Ray.
I was recently made aware of a two disc Blu Ray containing the theatrical and tv cut released in Europe. No idea if it’s a better or different transfer though. There’s even a 3D conversion over there!
Where were you in '77?
Interesting, Blu-ray.com gave it 4/5 for picture. Sidenote: I never really paid this film much attention, but it has Max Von Sydow, Patrick Stewart, Kyle Machlachlan and Brad Dourif?!? I need to see this!
I never really paid this film much attention, but it has Max Von Sydow, Patrick Stewart, Kyle Machlachlan and Brad Dourif?!? I need to see this!
Just don’t go in expecting a great adaptation of the novel and you should be fine (provided you can stomach the truly nasty depiction of the baron).
Re: picture, it’s not so much completely terrible as uneven. There are stretches that look fine to great, but others that aren’t much better than the DVD.
what thread am I in
More than one clueless reviewer thought Dune was lifting from Star Wars at the time. I could only shake my head and laugh. And I’ve never read the book.
I am surprised Lucas got away with references to spice. Whoever had the movie rights to Dune at the time could have sued, if only to draw attention to their project.
I wonder if Max Von Sydow was having Dune flashbacks on the TFA set?
Where were you in '77?
Of all the problems that come with Return of the Jedi, there’s one line that always bothered me and yet it’s minor. During the space battle and the Ties first fly in to the surprise of the Rebels, one Rebel pilot says, “There’s too many of them!”
Every time I hear that line, I wanna scream, “NO SHIT SHERLOCK, YOU, ME, AND EVERYONE ELSE CAN SEE THAT TIE WAVE!”
Okay, I don’t foam at the mouth as my caps would imply, but damn, I always wanted that line edited out while I’m trying to enjoy a great battle.
Close second would be Lando saying the Death Star is operational, but it’s kinda saved since Ackbar says, “We saw it!”
The Rise of Failures
The ROTJ line I never understood was Vader saying ‘leave them to me, I will deal with them myself.’ Then several seconds go by… then the Falcon gets clearance.
What was Vader doing in those few seconds? Standing there and just thinking about it?
The line I hate the most in ROTJ was “Somehow, I think I’ve always known”.
The ROTJ line I never understood was Vader saying ‘leave them to me, I will deal with them myself.’ Then several seconds go by… then the Falcon gets clearance.
What was Vader doing in those few seconds? Standing there and just thinking about it?
Yes, he was deciding what he was going to do. He knew Luke was on the shuttle. I think there was genuine indecision on Vader’s part about how he should proceed.
Remember, enough time had passed since the end of Empire, and Luke refusing him and getting away would have taken an emotional toll. Vader is kind of a broken man in the last film, a shell of his former self. His plan to turn Luke and overthrow the Emperor is hopeless. Palpatine knows he’s a traitor and keeps him on a short leash. I doubt Vader really even sees a way forward, and that’s why he comes off as resigned and conflicted.
The ROTJ thread is that a way. 😉
Where were you in '77?
Edit: didn’t mean to derail
At the risk of derailing my own thread further…
The line I hate the most in ROTJ was “Somehow, I think I’ve always known”.
Mine was "burp."
So how come when Yoda and Obi Wan die there bodys disappear but when Vader and Qui-Gon die there bodys need to be burned?
So how come when Yoda and Obi Wan die there bodys disappear but when Vader and Qui-Gon die there bodys need to be burned?
Because… STARRRR WARSSSS
But really, I’m not entirely sure myself other than, it’s whatever the writers wanted to do.
Maybe Qui-Gon is the first Jedi to die on film, so they burn him. Then Vader is the last ‘Jedi’ to die in Return of the Jedi and is burned. It fulfills Lucas’s “poetry it rhymes”
Only botched up explanation I have.
The Rise of Failures
I have had friends say it has to do with the Light and Dark side of the Force but Qui-Gon wasn’t Dark or was he?
I have had friends say it has to do with the Light and Dark side of the Force but Qui-Gon wasn’t Dark or was he?
If you approach Qui-Gon from a certain point of view… maybe?
Didn’t Qui-Gon have some beef with the Jedi Council? So he thought, hey, this kid IS dangerous, and will destroy the Jedi Order for my revenge!!! HAHHA!
Okay, no, I’m kidding. With the OT, it’s implied Light side users can have a peaceful disappearing death while a tainted dark side user must be burned in order to transcend. Qui-Gon doesn’t really make sense. In fact, when I was little, for the longest time, I thought they were burning Darth Maul.
So again, I just think it’s for Lucas’s “everything must rhyme in some way with his previous films” gag.
The Rise of Failures