And yet the 1997 prints had very good color, despite the awful new inserts and cgi. Why didn’t they just put those on Blu-Ray/4K. With the originals of course.
I’d probably be more accepting of the Special Editions if it weren’t for the fact that all the modern home video transfers of the OT have been so poorly done.
I’m not even a hundred percent convinced that the 2019 transfers will end up as the final, finished masters of the Special Editions.
They were already several years old by that point, and were originally meant to serve as a basis for the 3D conversions that never happened. The most expert take I’ve read on how the actual transfers look on disc is that ANH looks relatively good in 4k but still not quite like film, roughly half of ESB has been overly filtered, and RotJ falls somewhere between the two. It’s also worth noting that no new DCP’s (the digital “prints” that get sent to theaters on hard drives now) have been created from the new masters to the best of anyone’s knowledge. Even the 2020 screenings of ESB here and there were apparently still the old 2k (but still from the old master which is only really 1.9k).
Disney probably figured it was just better to get those 4k transfers out there on streaming / disc and make money off of them even if they didn’t look quite as good as they could. They might just start over from scratch when the time comes to finally convert them to 3D and present them theatrically in Dolby Cinema and Imax, the latter of which might not really hold up with all the DNR on the existing masters.
Worley is a very spiteful and egotistical person, and a lot of things he says don’t make sense.
Saying that it doesn’t matter that Greedo shoots first because in both versions Han is shooting in self-defense doesn’t work, the change makes Han less sleazy and sly of a character.
Vader saying Noooo in ROTJ being a parallel to ROTS does not excuse it. First, the entire problem with how Anakin/Vader was depicted in the Prequels is that he’s too whiny when Vader was a very stoic character in the OT. Second, creating a parallel should not be an excuse for making the scene itself worse.
He says both Noooos are brilliant because they call attention to the similarities between the scenes, but the issue (and also how he excuses the prequel dialogue) is that it’s too on-the-nose. Good filmmakers know the audience will get this parallel without it. The scene was way more powerful when Vader was quiet.
He says that Jedi Rocks isn’t any more cheesy then Lapti Nek, which is a riot.
Even though both Drew and Worley seem to agree that Obi-Wan’s new call from 2011 sounds like a Boga from ROTS, I still, for the life of me, cannot hear the similarity. The Boga sounds like a bird, while Obi-Wan’s call sounds like a monkey.
Worley seems to miss when Drew points out that there are some shots in Cloud City where the new CG backdrop isn’t in continuity, which is correct. This is especially noticeable in the scene when Vader captures Han, Leia, and Chewie.
Worley trying to excuse Luke’s scream as “It’s just editing the sound mix guys!” is also hilarious. Something like that changes the meaning of a scene.
Yes, the added Vader shots in Cloud City do ruin the pacing of the sequence. It literally cuts from the Millennium Falcon being pursued to a boring shot of Vader boarding a Star Destroyer.
The thing about Anakin’s force ghost is that Vader turned back into Anakin when he redeemed himself by killing the Emperor, so him in ROTS was not when Anakin died. He died as Anakin in ROTJ.
Worley sometimes make good points. Like when he points out that it doesn’t make sense for them to have built the ship models for the Prequels. And also when he talks about how George was way more involved in ESB and ROTJ then most people think. But the base argument and most of his points don’t make sense.
Star Wars, Paleontology, Superhero, Godzilla fan. Darth Vader stan. 22. ADHD. College Student majoring in English Education.
My Star Wars Fan-Edits
Rick Worley represents a certain weird faction of Star Wars fandom that promotes the idea that pretty much any criticism of George Lucas’ creative choices is inherently invalid because “it’s Lucas’ vision, not yours.”
Somehow, people like Worley don’t seem to notice that this blanket criticism could be applied to any movie or director, rendering any criticism of any movie invalid. You think Plan 9 From Outerspace is a bad movie? Well just shut up, it’s Ed Wood’s vision, not yours.
It’s this general philosophy that a director’s vision is always sacred. But I suspect people that argue this don’t apply it consistently when it comes to stuff they don’t like. Worley will justify criticism of the Sequel Trilogy because JJ Abrams et al. weren’t the original creators of the IP. But I wonder if we’re allowed to criticize any of Ridley Scott’s crappy choices in films like Prometheus? He’s the original creator of the IP in that case, yet his latter films suck. Whatever, I guess Alien: Covenant is actually amazing because Ridley Scott created the IP and his creative choices are just too mind-blowing for my feeble brain to appreciate.
The other Worley-type argument I often hear is defending some commonly criticized aspect of the Prequels (e.g. cringey acting, bad love dialogue, etc.) by saying “George Lucas did that intentionally, because he’s a genius beyond your comprehension.” So the romance scenes in Attack of the Clones are actually brilliant - because Lucas was going for this 1930s stylized performance. If you find it painful to watch, it just means you’re too stupid to appreciate Lucas’ unfathomable creative genius. (This argument can be paraphrased as: “Lucas made it suck on purpose, therefore it doesn’t suck”.)
As for the Special Editions, honestly, I don’t necessarily care that much about the original theatrical releases. There’s a lot of stuff in the Special Editions that really sucks, but also some good stuff. But I can completely understand the sentiment that the original theatrical releases should be preserved in 4K for posterity, because (A) some fans would appreciate it and (B) it has immense value as historical media. I mean this isn’t that hard to understand.
I clicked on this out of morbid curiosity and soon switched off. Just the first few points he’s trying to make are kind of wild. We shouldn’t have the theatrical versions that the original artists won awards for because test screenings happened? What? The length of the video is also an immediate red flag. It’s just like that ‘Star Wars wasn’t really saved in the edit’ guy or the ‘Twin Peaks is Finally explained for real’ guy. They want to be right so much that they’ve lost sight of simple brevity. If the argument was so self evidently correct then it would be easier to explain and more satisfying to watch.
I watched the video for the first time recently and hated it and the points he was trying to make. The original, unaltered release of any media, not just Star Wars, should always be available. And we have the right to criticize the actions of someone’s work if we find it mediocre.
Project creator and film enthusiast.
I watched the video for the first time recently and hated it and the points he was trying to make. The original, unaltered release of any media, not just Star Wars, should always be available. And we have the right to criticize the actions of someone’s work if we find it mediocre.
100%
I do not post this to promote Rick Worley’s "How to Watch Star Wars, Part Two: The Special Editions Are the Movies, Get Over It" video, or any of his other Star Wars YouTube efforts, but to give an indication of the bias to expect in these videos.
The message throughout appears to be that we should all also simply accept anything that George says and does; without question, or critique, because it is more “than you deserve”. It really does sound like some kind of cultish idol worship:
“How to Watch Star Wars, Part One: The Prequels Are Better Movies Than You Deserve”
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vqnjzVX8EKA - a 2 hour and 20 minute YouTube video, from Rick Worley, in 2019.
Yes, “better movies than you deserve”.
Both Ugh & LMAO. At the same time.
“Don’t tell anyone… but when ‘Star Wars’ first came out, I didn’t know where it was going either. The trick is to pretend you’ve planned the whole thing out in advance. Throw in some father issues and references to other stories - let’s call them homages - and you’ve got a series.” - George Lucas
Something funny about the video is when he’s going over how the special editions are “nothing new” (the comparisons are always false equivalencies) he brings up the Lord of the Rings 4K and criticizes the color grades (rightfully) for being worse.
But Rick, by your logic, you’re not allowed to do that! It’s Peter Jackson’s vision, he can do whatever he wants with it! They’re his movies, you’re not allowed to criticize him! You’re stuck with it and if you ask for the theatrical version you’re just an entitled child!
Also he says the changes to LOTR were done “thoughtlessly” and then spends so much of the video defending far more thoughtless changes to the OT.
Star Wars, Paleontology, Superhero, Godzilla fan. Darth Vader stan. 22. ADHD. College Student majoring in English Education.
My Star Wars Fan-Edits
I haven’t seen this video but I definitely have no intentions to. It looks like a bad-faith diatribe. Just looking at the comments section, many of the people seem genuinely angry, and with some bad demonization/strawmanning of OT fans.
The weird thing about Worley (and his supporters) is that they’re STILL angry about all this. Like, it’s been almost 27 years since the Special Editions came out. By this point, the majority of the fandom is mostly indifferent to the SE issue and there are now few people who have genuine vitriol for Lucas.
I did actually watch this video (in a sort of political way, to see what "the other side΅ is saying) and it made me sad more than anything else. It was kind of depressing that there are people who really think like this, and it’s even worse that he presents himself as someone who cares about movies and the history of film.
You’ll laugh! You’ll cry! You’ll kiss three bucks goodbye!
I’ll give him credit for his interview with Paul Duncan that was excellent, but his video on the Special Edition and the prequel irritated me.
He does come at things from a pro George perspective, which can be off-putting to say the least.
As for the accuracy of Lucas statements in Star Wars archives or the accuracy of the research I can’t speak for that because it’s a 200-dollar book, which I don’t have.
Once again, anybody who tries to argue “Woody Allen did nothing wrong” shouldn’t be taken seriously.
My main three objections to the Special Editions are Greedo shooting first, Jabba’s scene in “A New Hope” being redundant, and the asinine “Jedi Rocks” sequence in “Return of the Jedi”. Everything else I can live with.
Worley watch! He’s doing Megalopolis apologia. I get a lot of his points (auteur theory above all else, artists should only make art for themselves, people want to tear down auteurism), but an incoherent mess is still an incoherent mess.
Technically, The Room is one of the truest examples of auteur filmmaking. But I don’t see Worley racing to Wiseau’s defense.
Worley is a creator worshipper. What determines whether a film is good or not to him is the name attached to it. Everything Lucas makes is good, everything modern Disney makes is bad. The exception is when said artist had their vision tampered with by a studio.
He ranks the Prequels over Empire Strikes Back (ew) because while he still at least knows ESB is an excellent film, Irvin Kershner’s direction isn’t exactly like Lucas, so it goes last in his ranking of Lucas’ 6 film saga. Ironic, he’s degrading ESB for reflecting the vision of the person who directed it.
There’s a difference between respecting an artist and their work and believing everything they make is perfect.
Art being made with vision does not mean that others can’t desire it be different or want to make a derivative work (he slandered despecialized, calling it “fanfiction”, as if it was ever attempting to usurp the current official version), that others can’t interpret it differently, or just generally that they can’t have an opinion.
One can make an argument that when one watches a movie, they’re making their own “artwork” by forming their own interpretation of said art.
He wants everyone to submit to this tyrannical view of art that you have to think something is good just because it represents the artist’s vision.
We’ve been analyzing The Killing Joke for like 3 weeks now in a literature college course I’m taking (yes, we’re reading Batman in college; my professor is awesome). A big part of that is different interpretations. We’re not just reciting Alan Moore quotes over and over.
Star Wars, Paleontology, Superhero, Godzilla fan. Darth Vader stan. 22. ADHD. College Student majoring in English Education.
My Star Wars Fan-Edits
He is right about Scorsese being right about Marvel but a broken clock is right twice a day. I have a deep respect for George Lucas as an artist, creator and mythologist. But he ruined his art with the prequel and forcing the special edition on people who liked the original is stupid. The prequels if dissected might have something to say in them about the downfall of a republic and the rise of fascism, they are mixed at best as films.
Also Francis does not make commercial films, or pop art the most commercial thing he ever made was the Godfather and he didn’t even want to make it and was forced do to it for financial reasons.
the Conversation and Apocalypse Now are absolutely brilliant.
The one thing I dislike about George which I won’t change my opinion on is promising final cut to Kersh on Empire and going back on his word with the Special Edition. Recutting Jedi when Marquand was dead and had no say.
He kept his word on Spielberg directed Raiders of the Lost Ark, there is no George Lucas redone cgi cut on DVD, Blu-Ray or 4K. He never took the picture away from Spielberg during production either. There is just something about Empire that makes George deeply unhappy from the way Kurtz produced it, going way over budget and schedule. To where he said in public, he thought it was the worst one and I actually believe he thinks that.
I also take him at his word when he says he doesn’t care what the fans want, and that he hated the Expanded Universe of Star Wars and let the marketing people do it because it was separate from his world. When he says we will never allow the original, I take that as gospel. That man is stubborn will never relent.
He wants everyone to submit to this tyrannical view of art that you have to think something is good just because it represents the artist’s vision.
He took this scene from The Producers and formed his whole philosophy of art from it.
Also, I’d love to see him watch Neil Breen’s filmography and give that same defense.
I questioned the original vision narrative, if the 1997 special edition was supposed to be the original vision. Why was there a 2004 cut, and 2011 cut, and 2020 UHD after the Digital release all with more changes.
I didn’t even go into all the other untruths like Vader was always Luke’s father, Leia was always the sister. It was one big script. Those and the originals being available are separate issues. But linked in that Lucas likes to spin a yarn.
The biggest whopper of all is the original looks bad because it is a laserdisc.