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I felt it was time for a focused thread regarding the many different DVDr versions out of the ORIGINAL Star Wars Trilogy and the other ventures into our beloved galaxy far far away.... This is a work in progress and any contributions are WAY accepted.
I MUST STATE that ANY of these Star Wars Archive DVDr's have come from amature video producers and NO ONE has claimed to be a Pro - NOW we all have to remember that.......... So DO NOT EXPECT Retail DVD quality!!
if you want the BEST version of the Original Trilogy, you really just need to invest in the REAL Laserdiscs.
Star Wars: The Offical, The Edits and DVDr Versions
STAR WARS: Episode One - The Phantom Menace - Press Screenings Cut
- NO Known VHS or DVDr version to date
In this version - during the climactic finale where Darth Maul is killed by Obi-Wan Kenobi. In this first version, he is seen falling down the reactor shaft, dead but in one piece. In the theatrical version, he is seen falling down the shaft in two pieces, cut in half at the torso. Apparently, original press screenings presented the first version, but the second version is what most people will see to make it clear that Maul is dead.
At the very end of the final credits, after the closing music has faded out, the sound of Darth Vader breathing can be heard. Reportedly, this sound was not in the prints of the film shown during pre-release press screenings.
ADDED info -
Then I guess there are THREE versions of Maul's demise. It is well known that first day theatrical prints (I know, I saw one) had Maul falling apart much later down the shaft. It was quickly 'corrected' to show him falling apart more quickly after he falls. - appended by Obi-Wan Spicoli
- SOURCES: www.imdb.com, Obi-Wan Spicoli and edited by me
STAR WARS: Episode One - The Phantom Menace - The Japanese Laser Disc + US Widescreen Colletor Set VHS/ Theatrical Cut
- Laser Disc can be found on eBay (video quality = A)
It is reasons like these that occasionally make even sub-par movies into great home video. This is where The Phantom Menace truly shines. The special effects and action scenes make repeatability a given, and to be honest some of the movie’s flaws diminish in annoyance after a couple of viewings. Jar Jar will forever be an irritation, but I suppose we can’t have everything.
The picture has THX mastering, and is probably the last laserdisc that will ever receive such treatment. It is of top-notch quality. The image is as sharp as any laserdisc ever produced and easily holds its own against DVD resolution. The picture is fully letterboxed to the original 2.35:1 ratio. The colors are rich and vibrant, and much of the CGI animation seems better integrated with the film elements on video than it may have in the theater. The special effects really shine through in this presentation. There is a touch of noisiness evident in the red-lit interior of Amidala’s spaceship, but the noise-reduction in my laserdisc player keeps it in check. Results may vary with other players and other televisions. One noticeable artifact of the transfer is that the picture is overly dark, supposedly to match the 0 IRE black level common on Japanese televisions. Nudging the brightness setting on my television up a few notches was sufficient to compensate for the difference and it looks fine. This picture is excellent. It rates just slightly short of reference quality in my book.
written by Joshua Zyber edited for content
STAR WARS: Episode One - The Phantom Menace - The Japanese Laser Disc / Theatrical Cut LOOK DVD
- DVD and DVDr versions are readily found
This was the first bootleg DVD I ever found. The DVD was in fact a true silver PRESSED DVD that was sourced from the official Japanese laser disc and it even included a Dolby Digital 5.1 audio track and selectable subtitles. The DVD opens with the Dolby Digital 'Rain' trailer then jumps to an awesome interactive motion menu. The picture is a little bit soft and fuzzy for the fisrt 12-20 minutes but it improves i've never seen the actual laserdisc but it was a capture of it and it shows. The japanese subtitles that were burned into the LD have been removed a sad result is you lose ALL the alien subtitles! There is evident artifacting all over the place BUT it's really not that distracting the audio seems to be a 5.1 remix like most of the asian Star Wars DVD's the DD trailer is the only true 5.1 mix on the DVD and I beat they downloaded it from www.cinenow.com
. The side flips are noticable but smooth as they are very fast.This DVD features
- Interactive Motion Menus
- Dolby Digital 5.1 audio mix
- Chapter selection
- Selectable subtitles English,Malay,Chinese
- Sony DCS 'Flying cubes' trailer
Written by Rikter
STAR WARS: Episode One - The Phantom Menace - Special Edition DVD
- Official Lucasfilm DVD version readily found
The 2001 Special Edition DVD of Episode I features seven deleted but fully remastered scenes and a special documentary featuring George Lucas discussing why they were omitted:
- The Coruscant Air Taxi scene features Anakin Skywalker and Jar Jar Binks boarding a air taxi to Senator Palpatine's quarters.
- A scene of the morning of the podrace where Padme Naberrie awakens Anakin on a Tatooine sunrise.
- The entire un-cut 22 minute Podrace which includes an introduction to all the drivers.
- The Waterfall Sequence features Qui-Gon Jinn and Obi-Wan Kenobi trying to save themselves, Jar-Jar Binks and their bongo sub from going over the Theed Waterfall.
- More shots of the Pit droids.
- Anakin Skywalker fighting with Greedo after the Pod Race victory which is broken up by Qui-Gon Jinn.
The DVD reinstates footage into the feature and increases its running time by 3 minutes. Restored footage includes
- the Coruscant air taxi sequence
- extended starting grid sequence and extended lap two sequence.
There was a different ending to the brief lightsaber fight on Tatooine between Qui-Gon and Darth Maul. Qui Gon leaps onto the low-flying Queen ship's ramp, and Darth Maul leaps after him. Qui-Gon swings and knocks the Sith to the desert floor (explaining why in the theatrical release, Maul appears to be getting back on his feet as the ship flies off). This scene appears in the comic book adaptation of the movie, the screenplay, and it seems to have been at least partially filmed since there is a still photo of actors Liam Neeson ( Qui-Gon) and Ray Park (Maul) battling on the ship's ramp in the still photo section of the Episode 1 DVD. Originaly Qui Gon was to cut part of the ramp that Darth Maul was standing on off with his lightsaber.
The UK DVD version is rated 'PG' instead of 'U' because of the deleted scenes on the supplemental disc. The making-of documentary was edited (ca. 13 sec.) to remove all sexual expletives (a '15' rating was available).
In the theatrical version, right after Sebulba's name is announced in the podrace opening, there is a shot of Watto, in his booth, cheering on Sebulba with joy. On the DVD, this scene has been omitted from the actual movie on disc 1, but is still present as part of he "extended podrace sequence" on disc 2.
As an "easter egg" (in the options menu on Deleted scenes, press right while selecting the two first scenes to highlight a little button and select it), there are two bits that were even deleted from the deleted scenes. One of them is a very brief shot of Jabba´s POV of the little "toad" he eats, before he bites his head off. The other one is during the podrace, which shows a bug splatting on one of the racers face (the one with a donut-like pod) while he pokes his head out to see, which makes him lose control for a second and nearly crash Anakin (this scene is present except for the bug thing).
- SOURCES: www.mindspring.com/~laserdiscforever/phantommenace.htm, www.imdb.com and edited by me
STAR WARS: Episode Two - Attack of the Clones - The Theatrical Version
- DVDr, VCD and SVCD versions are known to exist but are now very hard to find
In the original theatrical version, when C-3PO is firing on the Jedi, he said "Die Jedi Scum." The word "scum" was removed from all subsequent versions. In fact, if you listen closely to the current DVD version, you can still hear 3PO begin to make the "s" sound before his voice cuts out. However, in the Australian DVD release (at least) the word 'Scum' has been replaced with 'Guards'
- SOURCES: www.imdb.com and edited by me
STAR WARS: Episode Two - Attack of the Clones - The IMAX version
- VCD SVCD versions are known to exist but are now very hard to find
The film was released on IMAX theaters on 1 November 2002. The reformatted IMAX version was approx. 20 minutes shorter than the theatrical release.
In the digital video (DLP) presentation, there is a shot of Anakin's golden robotic hand holding Padme's hand during the wedding sequence. This scene was only shown on the IMAX version but was added to the DVD realese
These are some of the scenes that has been cut from the IMAX version:
- A long scene in Palpatine's office involving Yoda and Amidala. Palpatine suggests Kenobi and Anikin as bodyguards.
- Jar Jar greeting the Jedi pair as they enter Amidala's quarters.
- Kenobi talking to the Jedi head librarian.
- The hilltop scene on Naboo where Anakin rides a grazing animal and Amidala and Anakin talk about political science.
- Mace Windu and Yoda discuss whether they should reveal that the Force is no longer as easy to use.
- The scene in which one of the Jedi Council members says that while Anakin is somewhat arrogant, that is an increasingly common failing among Jedi.
- Owen Lars greeting Anakin and Amidala at the farm.
- The confrontation between Count Dooku and Kenobi is shorter.
- Jar Jar being set up by Palpatine to get the Senate hand more power to him.
- Part of the scene where Padme sees Anakin for the first time in 10 years. The cut goes directly from the elevator to ObiWan discussing security.
- Part of the scene where Anakin and Padme leave Coruscant has been trimmed
- The scene where Anakin and Padme meet with the Queen has been eliminated
- Scenes with Anakin and Padme on Naboo have been trimmed, with the picnic scene eliminated completely.
- When Obi Wan was captured and met with Dooku, after the line "I'll never join you" it cuts directly to the Senate floor without Dooku responding "It may be difficult to secure your release".
- SOURCES: www.imdb.com and edited by me
STAR WARS: Episode Two - Attack of the Clones - Special Edition DVD
- Official Lucasfilm DVD version readily found
This DVD edition of "Attack of the Clones" features several small additions to the theatrical version of the film:
- In the Lars Homestead, after Anakin has confessed his slaughter of the Tuskens and slumped to the floor, Padmé states, "To be angry is to be human," and Anakin responds, "I'm a Jedi! I know I'm better than this!"
- Before Jango Fett is killed by Mace Windu, the sparks coming out of his damaged jetpack are much more visible.
- After falling from the gunship and eventually awakening, Padmé replies to the Clonetrooper's question of concern with a painfilled "Uh-huh" instead of "Yes."
- During the wedding scene, the Digital cut's moment of Padmé taking Anakin's hand has been inserted instead of a shot of Anakin's false arm and a pan up.
Eight deleted scenes are included on the DVD:
- Padmé addresses the Senate after the first attempt on her life, and speaks out against the creation of an army for the Republic.
- Obi-Wan brings the toxic dart to the Jedi Temple analysis room for examination.
- Before he departs for Kamino, Obi-Wan has a conversation with Mace, leading to his Jedi Starfighter on a landing platform. Some of the dialogue was used in the scene in the Jedi Temple with Obi-Wan, Mace and Yoda.
- An extended version of Anakin and Padmé's arrival on Naboo.
- Padmé brings Anakin to her house and introduces him to her family. Padmé's family senses that she is attracted to Anakin, but she denies it.
- A scene in Padmé's bedroom in which she and Anakin look at pictures of her past acheivements.
- After Anakin and Padmé are captured in the droid factory, Count Dooku interrogates Padmé.
- After the interrogation scene, Anakin and Padmé are put on trial by the Geonosians, and are sentenced to death.
Scenes featured in the trailers but not in the theatrical release:
- A scene of Senator Bail Organa (Jimmy Smits) telling the Jedi Council "We must stop them before they're ready." This scene may be in reference to the Separatist movement amassing a Droid army against the Republic.
- Senator Amidala appears briefly in a blue dress with matching blue hair band. She appears ghostly and the scene is filmed very romanticly as she gazes out a window.
A scene where Anakin and Padme pay a visit to her family's home was filmed, but ultimately cut from the film. The scene featured Padme's father (played by Graeme Blundell), mother (played by Trisha Noble), and sister (played by Claudia Karvan).
UK version was cut by the distributor to secure a PG rating. About 1 second of footage was excised, removing a head butt in the fight scene between Obi-Wan and Jango Fett.
In the digital video (DLP) presentation, there is a shot of Anakin's robotic hand holding Padme's hand during the wedding sequence. In the 35mm version, we see Anakin's hand, but it's not holding Padme's hand.
- SOURCES: www.imdb.com and edited by me
STAR WARS: The True Theatrical Version
- NO Known DVDr version to date, some VHS have surfaced but the quailty is suspect
Pre- A New Hope - From "Star Wars" to "A New Hope":
The reissue of "Star Wars" that ran for three weeks starting on Wednesday, August 15, 1979, DID NOT contain the "Episode IV: A NEW HOPE" subtitle. A trailer for "Empire" was shown, however, and a Kenner toys discount booklet was given out (both of which are announced on the poster for the reissue).
The first appearance of "Episode IV: A NEW HOPE" was on the new prints struck for the two-week reissue of "Star Wars" on April 10,1981, nearly one year after the premiere of "Empire." By the way, when the subtitle was added, the roll-up itself was changed. Lines of text were condensed differently so the length of the roll-up remained the same despite the addition of two lines at the top. The capitalized words DEATH STAR appear on one line in the first version and are broken on the revised version.
For the record, "Empire" was reissued later that year, on July 31, 1981. In 1982, "Star Wars" returned on April 10 and "Empire" on November 19.Both of these reissues featured identical "Revenge of the Jedi" trailers.
Floating around the black market limbo of sci-fi conventions and fanboy heaven is a forgotten bootleg of "Star Wars," a film transfer of the original 1977 theatrical release. It's interesting mainly as a curiosity, because the transfer is awful, the image is cropped poorly, and I'm sure that we all have much better, legal copies lying around. Nevertheless, as an account of the minor changes made to "Star Wars" over the years, it's priceless.
Following is a list of differences -
*Video differences:
First, the tape isn't really panned and scanned. It's panned all right, but not scanned--the picture just sits on the center of the widescreen frame. The only video difference I could find was in the opening scroll. Not only was the "Episode IV: A New Hope" tag missing,
but the lines were formatted differently.
Laserdisc reads:
Episode IV
A NEW HOPE
It is a period of civil war.
Rebel spaceships, striking
from a hidden base, have won
their first victory against
the evil Galactic Empire.
During the battle, Rebel
spies managed to steal secret
plans to the Empire's
ultimate weapon, the DEATH
STAR, an armored space
station with enough power to
destroy an entire planet.
Pursued by the Empire's
sinister agents, Princess
Leia races home aboard her
starship, custodian of the
stolen plans that can save
her people and restore
freedom to the galaxy . . . .
Pre-ANH reads:
It is a period of civil war.
Rebel spaceships, striking
from a hidden base, have
won their first victory
against the evil Galactic
Empire.
During the battle, Rebel
spies managed to steal
secret plans to the Empire's
ultimate weapon, the
DEATH STAR, an armored
space station with enough
power to destroy an entire
planet.
Pursued by the Empire's
sinister agents, Princess
Leia races home aboard her
starship, custodian of the
stolen plans that can save
her people and restore
freedom to the galaxy . . .
The KNOWN *Audio differences:
The nine 70mm prints contained a 6-track Dolby mix that was considered unfinished. When the properly cut prints were made, both 70mm and 35mm, they went into wide release accompanied by finished soundtracks. BUT, Dolby Stereo prints of the time were not mono-compatible as they are now, so sound designer Ben Burtt created a totally different monaural sound mix for 35mm, knowing that there were not many stereo theaters at the time. In my experience, this mix got its widest exposure during the "extended first run," which is erroneously (though widely) referred to as the "1978 reissue." The "Story of Star Wars" narration record was made using this different sound mix (with stereo sound effects laid over it); in it one can hear some of these differences. The echo at the chasm is only on the stereo mix, by the way, and it must be played back in stereo in order for it to be heard. It cannot even be heard on a Dolby print played in a mono theater or on a laserdisc played over a mono television monitor.
Threepio's lines ("The tractor beam is coupled...") were added back into the home video sound master in 1986. For the recent boxed set laserdisc, a new soundtrack was created for ANH, incorporating all of the above. Oddly enough, Threepio's lines were left out once again!
1) Alarms and klaxons are different.
2) Added panel sound effects aboard the Falcon, including a descending whine as they come out of hyperspace.
3) The communications to Tarkin via comlink are completely different.
4) When Threepio and Artoo are hiding from the Imperials on Tatooine, the stormtroopers dubbed voice is different, and so is the line:
Laserdisc:
"All right, check this side of the street. The doors locked. Move on to the next one."
Pre-ANH video:
"All right, check that side of the street. It's secure. Move on to the next one."
5) A different actress dubs for Aunt Beru. Neither version features the real voice of actress Shelagh Fraser, who has a thick British accent.
6) Some Threepio dialogue uses different takes. The additional lines ("The tractor beam is coupled to the main reactor in seven locations. A power loss at one of the terminals will allow the ship to leave....") are missing from the laserdisc version.
7) The echo in the core shaft ("I think we took a wrong turn...") is present in both versions. However, the echo is more pronounced in the laserdisc version--probably because the video is missing the surround channels.
8) The laserdisc is missing the now-famous "Close the blast doors!" line.
9) Intership voices during the final battle are not synthesized.
10) During the final battle, "countdown" voices on the Death Star and at the Massassi base on Yavin IV are completely different.
11) Luke's line on the laserdisc, "Blast it, Biggs. Where are you?" is different on the pre-ANH video: "Blast it, Wedge. Where are you?" (from the collection of Peter Poulakakos).
- SOURCE: Ryan Silva - He has also compiled the Star Wars Compendium of Lost Footage in 1995.
UPDATE - Magnolia Fan is doing a DVD restoration/remastering of this true 'O.G.' version of the film!
Star Wars: The Original Trilogy - The 'LOOK' Bootleg Version
- DVD versions are getting very hard to find
These discs are supposedly produced by a company called "LOOK." Each disc starts by playing a Dolby Digital demo, accompanied by the logo for LOOK. These are the 1997 Special Edition version of the movies, apparently taken from the SE Laserdiscs released at the time. The time display on A New Hope and Return of the Jedi does not work, and no chapter stops are present. Also, the menus on A New Hope and Return of the Jedi are not accessible from my Panasonic DVD-A310 or my Toshiba SD-1600, but they are accessible from a computer DVD-ROM drive. On all three, subtitles are "burned in" and cannot be turned off, and in many cases they overlap the English "alien" subtitles. The bit rate appears to hover around 4.0 to 4.5 Mbps on all three discs. Side changes on the Laserdiscs appear from time to time, although less so than for the Phantom Menace bootleg reviewed above - in a few cases, brief bits of movie are lost. This is most noticeable at the end of the forest battle in Jedi, after Chewie brings his stolen AT-ST to the bunker door. Han's line "I've got an idea" and the first 10 seconds or so of Luke and Vader's saber duel are missing.
Video quality was fair (probably better than VHS) when using my Panasonic A310 connected to a Mitsubishi 27" direct view using S-video cables, but deteriorated significantly when using my Toshiba SD-1600 connected to a Toshiba 20" direct view using component video cables. When using the component video connection, the image developed significant artifacts and became very blocky.
The liner notes for all three of these discs are similar, and similarly entertaining. Much of the writing on the covers is in Chinese or some other language (I'm not sure which), but all the relevant information is available in English as well. Typos abound, including the note repeated on all three discs that the "Panavision prints by Deluxe Techinicol or" (extra "i" and space in "Technicolor"). Also repeated on all three discs is the note "THIS FILM HAS BEEN MODIFIED FROM ITS ORIGINAL VERSION. IT HAS BEEN FORMATTED TO FIT YOUR TO HT YOUR SCREEN." Ignoring the "TO HT" that appears there for some reason, the discs are not modified. They are widescreen, and are actually identified as such at the very bottom of the back cover. There is also a "Region 6" logo near the bottom, even though the disc has no region code assigned
- Basic menus
- Chapter Selection
- Dolby Digital 5.1 mix
- Burned in Chinese Subtitles on black bars
- NO audio delays
- SOURCE: www.prillaman.net, corrections by Obi-Wan Spicoli and edited by Blaksvn
Star Wars: The Original Trilogy - The Second LOOK Bootleg Version - NUKED*
- DVD and DVDr versions are readily found
This was the most common version on eBay auctions in the summer and fall of 2001. These are the original versions of the movies (not the 1997 Special Edition). At one time, I heard reports that these were taken from Asian Video-CD's. In fact, they were taken from the 1995 LaserDisc releases; the Video-CD's were presented in pan-and-scan only and in even poorer video quality than found on these bootlegs. They include decent static menus, with a choice of audio track (several languages), the ability to turn off subtitles, access to chapters, and a featurette of some sort on each disc. As with some of the other bootlegs, the time display on all three discs does not work. Chapter stops are present, but skipping forward during the movie jumps to title 2 (the featurette) rather than the next chapter. This occurred on both my Panasonic A310 and my Toshiba SD-1600. The bit rate appears to stay around 2.0 to 2.5 Mbps in most areas, although it did increase to closer to 5 Mbps near the end of Jedi.
Video quality was somewhat poor when using my Panasonic DVD-A310 to the Mitsubishi TV. In some cases, parts of the image would appear to "twitch" (digital artifacts and "noise"). One case was near the end of Jedi, when the Super Star Destroyer rolled to port and crashed into the Death Star. The smooth outer areas of the upper hull seemed to crawl during that sequence. As with Version A, there was a noticeable deterioration when using component video (SD-1600 to Toshiba 20"); similar blockiness and severe artifacting, although perhaps not as severe as with Version A. Some sections (oddly, those with higher bit rates, which may be a coincidence) avoided the artifacting but displayed severe display problems of other sorts, such as horizontal bars of color scrolling across the screen. I also took a look at one of the discs on a computer DVD drive, and found that the video in that case suffered severe problems with artifacts and some sort of interlacing.
The liner notes for Empire and Jedi are fairly reasonable. A New Hope is a bit more interesting. The front cover includes E-Wing fighters at the bottom (these may not look familiar, because they never appear in the movies; they were introduced as new fighters in the Dark Horse comic book series "Dark Empire", set about four years after the end of Return of the Jedi). The back cover describes the disc as the "complete revised Star Wars trilogy comprising the Special Edition of Star Wars" even though it is not the SE version. The back also includes pictures of Han in carbonite, AT-AT walkers on Hoth, Jabba, and a group of Naboo troopers, even though none of these appear in the movie. The copyright is also listed as 1997 (the year the Special Edition was released) rather than 1977; Empire and Jedi use the years the movies were released, which is more accurate. A New Hope also tosses in the note that the disc is "Sony Playstation 2 compatible," which has also been done on some "real" DVD releases. Lastly, the disc itself for A New Hope says "Special Edition."
DVD Features
- Interactive menus
- Chapter Selection
- Dolby Digital 5.1 mix
- Selectable subtitles
- empire and jedi suffer minor audio delays
- SOURCE: www.prillaman.net and edited by me
Star Wars: The Original Trilogy - The TR47 Version
VERY VERY VERY VERY MINOR ERRORS - some pixulation, a little artifacting and a black screen (none lasting more than 4 seconds)
- DVDr versions can be easily found.
In picture quality the TR47 set comes out just a bit on top. Colors look a little better and the entire picture is a bit crisper when compared to the anamorphic set. Both sets seemed a bit soft to me. At any rate the laserdiscs may have been just as soft in focus.
As far as sound the TR47 set blows away the anamorphic set. It's a no contest here. The TR47 had a better sound stage presence with clean sweeps and pan from channel to channel. With a Prologic II receiver the TR47 set sound really close to a 5.1 mix (or as close as you will get in a bootleg)
WITH EVERYTHING SAID AND DONE...
The TR47 set was superior in both Video and Audio quality. However the video is only a slight step up from the anamorphic set.
This DVD features
- NO motion menus
- PCM audio mix
- Chapter selection
- Reviewed by Mackey256 edited for content
TR47 set NUKED info
TR47 Errors info -
This set has now been watched by MANY veiwers that have gotten the set form MANY various sources - most sets have been found to have some VERY VERY VERY MINOR errors on it -
Well Known VERY MINOR errors -
ESB - 50m31s - the picture does go black for around 4 seconds before the welding scene appears (never noticed it before either).
In one of the shots in ROTJ immediatly after Lando orders all craft to "Pull up", picture becomes pixulated for a few seconds
Originally posted by: TR47
- I have watched my originals more than once and the only errors present are the 3 second gap and one very brief part in ROTJ in which a speeder bike explodes, the bitrate jumps over 10 MBPS (which may cause a stutter in some players)
- I was having some problems with bad burns for a while, so I do apologize for sending out bad copies.
- I have watched my originals more than once and the only errors present are the 3 second gap and one very brief part in ROTJ in which a speeder bike explodes, the bitrate jumps over 10 MBPS (which may cause a stutter in some players)
- I was having some problems with bad burns for a while, so I do apologize for sending out bad copies.
- These MINOR ERRORS have been verified by the source (Thanks for the update on your set TR47)
Errors reported by - TR47, Christoffer, Hal 9000 and others now edited for content
Star Wars: The Original Trilogy - The Dr. Gonzo Version AKA "The Anamorphic Version"
- DVDr versions can be easily found.
This is a four-disc set mastered from The Definitive Collection laserdiscs. They are single layered DVD-Rs that feature:
-NTSC Anamorphic widescreen (movies only)
-Dolby 2.0 Surround Sound OR intermittent audio commentary by George Lucas, Frank Oz, Ralph McQuarrie, Dennis Muren, and Ken Ralston. It seems the audio was taken from various interviews and then spliced in at appropriate moments during the films. Not truly scene-specific, but very close.
-Alien language subtitled in English over the bottom of the film image
-Menus with chapter and audio selections (the 72 original LD markers)
-Production notes
-Easter eggs
-SW and TESB contain a Death Star trench-like THX trailer
The fourth DVD features ALL of the supplementary material from The Definitive Collection laserdisc set.
- War Stories" an interview with the saga creator, George Lucas
- "Sound Advice" an interview with sound designer, Ben Burtt
- "The ABC's of Jedi Effects" an interview with effects supervisor, Dennis Muren
- A guided tour through the lucasfilm Archives
- "How the Walkers Walk" time-lapse presentation narrated by Dennis Muren
- "A Flight through the Asteroids" story boards to final shot comparison
- Return of the Jedi Videomatics, narrated by Ken Ralston
- The Max Rebo Band's "Lapti Nek" music video
- Three theatrical teasers and trailers for each film
- Concept art slideshow narrated by artist Ralph McQuarrie
- Hundreds of behind the scenes and special effects production stills from all three films
The video and audio quality of SW and TESB is awesome. Compared to TR47’s discs, they look almost exactly the same except that these discs are anamorphic and have a slightly higher color level. ROTJ looks a little softer in places compared to TR47’s. This might be due to the video compression as this film sports the longest running time of the trilogy. But it still looked great on a 48 + inch widescreen TV.
Which set to choose? In that regard, I’m still up in the air. I think TR47’s discs show the truest overall audio and video quality of the films only from The Definitive Collection. They contain the original PCM audio and are non-anamorphic widescreen that is representative of those laserdiscs.
On the other hand, I think this new set best depicts the overall content of The Definitive Collection because of the production notes and the selectable audio commentary. The names of the commentators even appear on the screen when the commentary audio is selected - just like on the original laserdiscs. The bonus THX trailer and musical easter eggs were nice touches, too.
So if you want the best representation of the audio and video quality from The Definitive Collection films, pick TR47’s. If you want anamorphic widescreen and all of the bells and whistles of The Definitive Collection set with only a slight difference in video quality, then these other DVDs are the way to go. Personally, I’ll be keeping both sets as each are top-notch efforts in preserving the original theatrical versions of the trilogy on DVD.
- Reviewed by RowMan edited for content
Star Wars: Special Edition - 5-Star Version DVD9
- DVD versions can be found on eBay
[this version has not yet been truly reviewed by a diehard fan......YET!]
Star Wars: Special Edition - LOOK DVD5 DTS Version
- DVD versions can be found on eBay
[this version has not yet been truly reviewed by a diehard fan......YET!]
Star Wars: Special Edition - 3-IN-1 DVD-9
- DVD versions can be found - appear on eBay every now and then
A few weeks ago, when visiting a local electronics flea market, I peeked at the stands with the, ahem, "unofficial" DVDs, etc., and, to my surprise, saw the SW trilogy on a single, DVD-9 (pressed), with a hologram on cover (!)... as it turned out, most pirates had them. I got them from the first one who had them, and he assured me these were the original versions, not the SEs. The disc cost the same as all pressed pirate DVDs with new films cost there, which is about the equivalent of 5 USD, but in case anyone comes across it anywhere, even for 1 cent or the equivalent in any currency... STAY AWAY. Not only are these *not* the original versions, but - even though they're anamorphic widescreen, in Dolby Digital 5.1, all text in the films - including the crawls and even the titles - is in, of all things - ugh! - German. Yuk! Horrible. I wanted to throw the thing away, but ended up giving the disc to my nephew.
Here's what it looks like, so that you know what to avoid - the cover says "3 in 1 - Star Wars Trilogy" - and has Vader's mask on a golden background, with a hologram in the corner. The disc itself says "Star Wars" and has Luke, Han and Leia, with Vader and others in the background. Amusingly enough, it bears the standard "unauthorised copying prohibited" line around the edge. It's R0, PAL, and it's crap.
- Reviewed by SammyTheBull edited for content
Star Wars: The Phantom edits
Star Wars: The Phantom Edit 1.1 - The West Coast Version
- VHS and DVDr versions can be easily found. (The Angrysun DVDr Version features an unaltered VHS rip of this original edit)
I just wanted to clear up any confusion about the Phantom Edit 1.1 that I have -
Star Wars: The Phantom Edit 1.1 - Angrysun Re-mastered
The West Coast Version - The Original Edit
- 1 DVDr
- Source - Original convention VHS
- Interactive Menus
- Bonus Videos
- Custom Cover Art available
This is the ORIGINAL Phantom Edit 1.1 with the intro scroll by the Phantom Editor -
The Angrysun Re-master is kinda like a THX Re-mastering of old films - SANS adding any new footage
NO EDITS or any other changes were made to this version -
I took the original 'Convention' VHS that was mailed to me and captured the video applied a few filters to clean up the image and sound - I then slapped it together with a few Star Wars fan films.
The full beauty of this Edit is still there - THE quality is veiwable at best so it's NOT a DVD quality presentation of this work of art but I did do my best to make a beat down 2nd generation VHS a little easier to copy and share.
This version is also known as the Los Angeles version, the one with the altered introduction crawl that runs approximately one hour and fifty four minutes (give or take a few seconds). The quality was decent, the audio was poor in a few places, and the video skipped a bit, but other than that the presentation was fine. The only major changes to the film were the subtraction of several scenes which were deemed unworthy by the editor. Some parts of the movie moved quicker, some parts were still slow, but it was still Star Wars. However, some of the edited scenes, or deleted scenes, did make an impact on the film. Here's a breakdown of changes in chronological order:
- New opening scroll to explain the reasons behind the edit and to apologize to George Lucas.
- Jar Jar's leap into the water and the Jedi getting into the water is cut. We do see them walking towards the water, however instead of showing them enter it, it fades into them swimming and arriving at Otoh Gunga.
- The Bongo leaves Otoh Gunga, travels for a bit (roughly 6 seconds in screen time) then surfaces in Theed - The run in with the Opee See Killer and Sando Aqua Monster are cut - so is the power outage and all in transit dialogue.
- The lines between Qui-Gon and the Battle Droid Officer in the Naboo hanger are shorted. The 'Coruscant - that does not compute' bits have been taken out and Qui-Gon quickly slices through the droid.
- We do not see Padme clean R2-D2..
- Padme does not meet Jar Jar Binks on the Naboo Royal Starship (see previous)
- Jar Jar's stepping in poodoo while walking into Mos Espa is cut
- Jar Jar does not stick his tongue out at Qui-Gon in Watto's shop.
- Jar Jar's pit droid scene is cut from the Watto's shop segment
- When Jar Jar exits Watto's shop it does not show him turn the wrong way and freak out.
- Jar Jar's tongue antics during dinner at the Skywalker residence have been deleted.
- The scene where Jar Jar's tongue hits the pod's energy beam has been shorted to about two seconds.
- The scene where Jar Jar gets his hand caught in the engine has been deleted.
- Jar Jar's reactions to Sebulba in the pod hanger are muted.
- The 'peeyousa' line from Jar Jar during Boonta Eve preperations is deleted. Some of you might recognize this scene as the Eopie 'fart' scene.
- Jar Jar does not go in search of the Naboo when they return from Coruscant. Instead it cuts directly to them walking in to the Gungan Sacred Place.
- The part with the Gungan Scout and Anakin spotting the returning Gian speeder has been deleted
- OOM-9 No longer says "open fire" at the start of the Federation attack on Gungan ground forces
- Portions of the droid deployment from the ATTs have been deleted
- Jar Jar's big boomer ball scene (with the slingshot) has been deleted.
-Dialogue between Anakin and R2-D2 in the Naboo fighter has been deleted and the scene cut so that it makes him seem more knowledgeable - the scene moves faster - and he doesn't whine as much. His dialogue in the ship is limited to "try to override it."
- Anakin's dialogue in the space battle sequences has been cut to make him seem more mature as well.
- Jar Jar's antics with the destroyed Battle Droid's blaster have been deleted.
- Jar Jar's diving underneath the boomer cart is deleted and we just see him jump on it.
- We also miss the part about Tarpals handing Binks the boomer and him hitting the tank driver with it.
- Jar Jar's "Mesa give up" and Tarpals' "No giving up" speeches are deleted from the end of the ground battle
- Small bits of Anakin dialogue deleted from when he fires into the Federation Droid Control Ship.
That's pretty much the Phantom Edit in a nutshell folks.
NEW INFO ADDED
"The Phantom Edit" (113 minutes) - Created by Mike J. Nichols, a.k.a. the Phantom Editor. This re-edit contains an introductory scroll that is different than Lucas' theatrical version. It cuts out a lot of the dialogue involving Jar Jar Binks and Anakin Skywalker and completely removes the five-minute underwater chase sequence involving the big fish and the submarine. Watch a clip of the re-edited opening credits.
- SOURCES: I lost the link and edited by me, Zap2it.com
Star Wars: The Phantom Edit 1.2 - The EAST COAST version
The East Coast Version
- There are NO Known DVDr versions and the VHS are very hard to find.
"The Phantom Re-Edit" (112 minutes) - The three creators of this fan edit are still at large. What is known is that two of them are from New York and one is from Los Angeles. This re-edit used a computer to garble the dialogue of Jar Jar Binks and some of the other aliens. New subtitles were added and the overall meaning of many scenes was changed. In this version, Jar Jar comes across as much more wise and Jedi-like. Watch part of a conversation where Jar Jar's dialogue has been changed and subtitles have been added.
- SOURCES: Zap2it.com and edited by me
Star Wars: The Phantom Edit - The 2001 Version
- VHS and DVDr versions can be easily found.
The edit is almost the same as the original 1.1 Edit but this version has the original crawl and has added the deleted scenes from the DVD release
[this version has not yet been truly reviewed by a diehard fan......YET!]
- SOURCES: Zap2it.com and edited by me
Star Wars: The Phantom Edit - "The Phantom’s New Hope"
AKA - The Pagana Version
- VHS and DVDr versions can be easily found.
"The Phantom's New Hope" (113 minutes) - Created by Andy Pagana. One of the most noticeable things in this re-edit is the sound editing regarding the trade federation's robots. The robots originally said things like "Roger, Roger" in their mechanical voices when responding to orders, but now just nod their heads in silence. A lot of the dialogue between Anakin and his mother has been trimmed as well, resulting in what seems like a lot of pregnant pauses in various conversations. Although it may be one of the best fan edits, this version has been distributed to very few people and is not widely available. Watch the re-edited dinner table scene where Anakin pleads with his mother to allow him to enter the pod race.
[this version has not yet been truly reviewed by a diehard fan......YET!]
Star Wars: Episode I - Balance of the Force - MagnoliaFan Edition
- VHS and DVDr versions WERE very hard to find.
‘It was once said that many of the truths we cling to depend greatly on our own point of view. - This is merely another.’
Is the first thing you see when you hit the play button – A hint at what’s to come?
This is hands down the most complete and TRUE version of the film PERIOD -
I popped it the DVD player just to take a look at it – now two hours later…..
I need to share this review!
Through the subs, a vast amount of character and plot have been drastically changed. The once vague reason for the ‘Blockade’ of Naboo is now brutally clear. Believe me this version does not hold back. The story now has a much darker feel as the Trade Federation is now depicted as slave traders/owners and there is also talk of ‘death-camps’ and mass exterminations during the invasion. These atrocities were only slightly hinted at in the Phantom Menace but are thrown at you with a frightening casual approach. (You really learn to despise the Trade Federation)
There is a dark secret that is unveiled with the introduction of Jar Jar Binks a history of near genocidal war between the Gungan and the Naboo. This film also shows Jar Jar and all the Gungan beings in a NEW light. (I found a new love and respect for Jar Jar)
Jar Jar’s character through the use of new and un-child like dialogue is now someone else altogether. Witty, funny and a foul mouthed smart-ass; this new Jar Jar is the true comic relief that he was to have been in The Phantom Menace.
It is truly amazing how the dialogue changes can alter the overall feel of a story!
In my opinion this is the version of the film that best fits with the original Trilogy - as the real ‘evil’ of the Empire (okay the Trade Federation but you can see the similarities) is now shown (again in the new subtitled dialogue).
THIS is the version you need to see. I now consider this the DEFINITIVE version of STAR WARS: Episode One.
This may be the strongest and most prolific fan-edited film in a string of seemingly never-ending unauthorized fan re-edits of George Lucas’ STAR WARS films.
- RiKter Blaksvn
SPECS:
There have are also been a lot of dialogue trims to enhance performance, and extra cuts applied to the film for pacing and plot. NO Midi-hoobie-doobies or talk of virgin births either! There have also been some changes to the SPFX of the film itself such as Lord Sidious' face has been darkened under his cloak so that you cannot tell as easily that he is Ian McDiarmid. There is an alternate title and crawl, and the Federation is much much more sinister in this version.
Re-Edit runs 1:57.06 and features 23 chapters is encoded in MPEG2 VBR and has an average bit rate of 4.75 MBps - the audio is re-mastered Dolby Digital 5.1 (448Kbps) , contains most of the deleted scenes, some alternate music, a completely different edit on the pod race, Anakin is quieter and darker, aliens speak in foreign languages and are subtitled – all the subtitles can be turned of as well (but you lose the new story line)
And from Magnoliafan (he added this stuff for me)
A few changes that most people don't ever notice:
The first scene between TC-14 and the Viceroy has been extended with additional dialogue.
Original - Darth Sidious: I don't want this stunted slime in my sight again!
Balance - Dath Sidious: I don't want this slime in my sight again!
The Jedi mind trick now has its own sound effect.
When Qui-Gon and co enter Mos Espa, a large ship flew by at a very low altitude against line of sight. It had been digitally painted out of the shot in Balance. The wipe is trimmed to help hide it.
Beisdes the cantina song (if you've seen it, you know), Watto has several new lines of dialogue.
Original - Anakin: Since I was very little... Three, I think.
Balance - Anakin: Since I was three, I think.
Original - Anakin: Sandstorms are very... very dangerous. Come on, I'll take you to my place.
Balance - Anakin: Sandstorms are very dangerous. Come on, I'll take you to my place.
Dozens of "Phantom laserblasts" have been given sound effects, and lots of additional sound has been added in other places, such as additional chatter on the streets of Mos Espa.
Any scene where music has been replaced or aliens are dubbed has had the entire sound mix reproduced from scratch.
In the balcony scene with Maul, Sidious has an alternate line of dialogue. Digitally altered footage of Sidious had to be painted over the original scene and looped in such a way that it created the illusion of a lip synch. The footage of Maul had to be altered also to match the new length of the scene.
That's just a few of the lesser known ones...
Alternate Title and Crawl, giving more history on the Jedi, Republic and Trade Federation
The plot is also altered from revolving around taxation to slave labor.
Opening crawl music replaced with music from EP IV UE soundtrack (a little longer and it just sounded better to me)
Cockpit scene en route to the Federation cruiser was ommitted
New music cue landing in Fed docking bay
Neimoidians are dubbed and subtitled as is TC-14 when talking to Neimoidians. Most of their dialogue has been totally rewritten.
First scene with TC-14 and the Neimoidians is expanded considerably with additional dialogue.
New music cue leading into Darth Sidious' appearance.
Sidious' face is digitally shadowed under the hood hiding his face.
Sidious' line "I don't want this stunted slime in my sight again!" has been altered to "I don't want this slime in my sight again!"
New sound effect added as gun turrret swings around.
The reaction scene in the cockpit has been omitted.
The sound effects for the explosion of the cruiser has been enhanced.
New sound effect added for the battle droid turning off the hologram of Nute Gunray.
Battle Droids dubbed and subtitled when speaking to each other or Neimoidians.
Some Obi-Wan and Qui-Gon dialogue is trimmed from the battle onboard the Federation ship.
Dialogue trimmed in "It's an invasion army!" scene.
Additional little plot twist added in the Viceroy's viewscreen scene with Queen Amidala.
Dialogue trimmed in Naboo council"Senator Palpatine?" scene.
Hologram scene between Nute and Droid commander is cut.
Jar Jar is dubbed and subtitled.
Jar Jar is a pompous ass who believes he saved Qui-Gon's life by dragging him down and thinks Qui-Gon owes him the life debt.
It is also revealed that the Gungans desise humans with a passion... except for Jar Jar, who doesn't mind humans so much, seeing as the Gungans hate him even more than they do humans.
Otoh Gungah referred to by name.
"The Invasion is on schedule, my Lord" scene has been moved to follow Jar Jar's debut, breaking up the Gungan antics.
Boss Nass is now Governor Nass.
Lots of alternate exposition in Otoh Gunga. Jar Jar is revealed to have been thrown out several times. The Gungans hate the Naboo people because humans stole a Gungan relic, the Kyber crystal from them, explaining the big glwoing globe at the end of the film.
Nass is leaning toward supporting the Federation against the Naboo, pre Jedi mind trick.
A sound effect is added to the Jedi mind trick.
There is a little trim to the end of the scene.
In the sub scene it is revealed that Jar Jar was the Gungan charged with guarding the Kyber crystal. He was sleeping on the job and allowed the crystal to be stolen.
The second underwater sequence has been cut and replaced with a recut version of the waterfall scene.
The Viceroy, having captured Amidala plans to force her to offer the people of Naboo as an alternative uncompensated workforce in retaliation to her lobbying to outlaw their slave labor forces.
Instead of telling the droid commander "Process them", he nonchalantly orders the droid to to "Shoot her companions."
When Qui-Gon and co rescue the Queen, Jar Jar claims credit for it, after lying face down on the ground for the whole fight.
Some dialogue is trimmed outside of the hangar.
The battle droid's "joke" toward Qui-Gon has been cut.
The "You stay here" scene between Jar Jar and Obi-Wan has been cut.
The entire Naboo escape has been resquenced so that they lose shields right away, but don't regain them until the last minute.
Some additional dialogue is trimmed during the escape.
Some dialogue is trimmed in the "Here Master, Tatooine" scene.
The line "Not for a Sith" has been trimmed out of the Darth Maul introduction scene.
As an homage, the Viceroy's aide says, "This deal is getting worse all the time!" in said scene.
Some dialogue trimmed in the Artoo intro scene.
The Padme and Jar Jar scene, cleaning artoo has been cut.
Upon arrival to Tatooine, it is revealed that Qui-Gon is taking Jar Jar with him to Mos Espa because the Queen ordered him to, as she felt he was stinking up the ship.
When Padme is ordered along, Jar Jar wonders if Padme was stinking up the ship as well.
A ship has been digitally painted out of Mos Espa's skyline.
New noises and chatter have been added to the streets in all Mos Espa scenes.
The poop stepping scene has been cut.
When we first come upon Watto, he hums the Cantina song from EP IV for a few seconds before Qui-Gon and co enter.
Watto is considerably harsher toward Anakin in the subtitles.
Jar Jar no longer has slapsticky antics inside the store and the "Are you an angel" scene has been trimmed considerably.
When Qui-Gon tries the mind trick on Watto, he becomes much angrier and throws Qui-Gon out shouting, "Get lost! Come back when you gotta some money!"
As Qui-Gon embarassedly exits the shop, Jar Jar knocks over a bunch of stuff and Watto shouts, "Hey! You break it, you buy it! Eh?!"
Jar Jar's "No again!" speech has been cut.
The scene of Jar Jar stealing the frog has been trimmed.
After Anakin saves Jar Jar from Sebulba, Jar Jar brags that he was about to give Sebulba a beating until that kid got in the way.
The Jira scene has been trimmed to make her less creepy.
Anakin's "very, very dangerous" line has been trimmed to "very dangerous".
Instead of "Hello", Jar Jar remarks "Oh, what a dump." upon seeing Anakin's home.
Anakin's acting is trimmed throughout Threepio's introduction.
Music is replaced throughout the Coruscant balcony scene, using the Imperial march seguewaying into the Emperor's theme. Every piece of sound had to be rebuilt from scratch for the sequence.
Sidious has an alternate line to end the scene, "The Republic will soon be under my countrol."
I'm sure I've skimmed over dozens of noticable changes and hundreds of really minor changes by now, but that should give you a gist on the first part of the film.
To be continued later on...
- MagnoliaFan
You can contact the editor at - magnoliafan78@hotmail.com
- This was allegedly edited by Kevin Smith
(regardless who did this film I'm sure whoever they are I bet their very busy with new creations!
Star Wars: Episode II - The Clone War - MagnoliaFan Edition
- VHS and DVDr versions are were hard to find.
- REVIEW COMING SOON!
Re-Edit runs 2 hours 14 min. Once again, a lot of changes for performance and pacing have been done - similar but not as drastic as the IMAX cut. Jango's first scene with Zam is cut to add more mystery to her appearance. Several of the love scenes have been trimmed or cut. In their place are several deleted scenes. Anakin is again trimmed to be quieter, darker and less whiny. The Mace/Obi-Wan hanger scene is in the film and the Obi-Wan/Yoda/Mace Temple scene is out. There is implication that the Separatists are the rebel alliance from the original trilogy, from a certain point of view. Also, it is not implied that Dooku is a Sith in this version. He appears to be a tragic character, the only one who knows the truth, but no one will listen to him. He has a yellow lightsaber blade as well.
- This was allegedly edited by Kevin Smith
Star Wars: The Phantom Re-Edit 1.2 - MagnoliaFan REMASTERED Edition
- DVDr versions WERE very hard to find.
DVD Features
- Interactive menus
- "Changes" feature
- Dolby Digital 5.1 mix
This is a Magnoliafan REMASTER of the The original 'Phantom Re-Edit' was always known as either "The Phantom Re-Edit", "The Phantom Edit 1.2", or "The Phantom Edit New York Version".
This is a statement from Magnoliafan -
"I took no real creative liberties in the edit. The only changes that were made involved two shots that were removed from the dvd version and were thusly not available in dvd quality, and a before/after feature was provided to show how minimal those changes were."
AGAIN I want to state MAGNOLIAFAN - Made NO creative changes to this film!
IF the REAL Editor wants to claim credit for the ORIGINAL EDIT 1.2 - Please email me and I will create a new cover that reflects YOUR film - IF ANYONE here has a copy of the original 'Phantom Re-Edit' on VHS or a DVD transfer - PLEASE let me know!!
It looks and feels like Star Wars, from the very beginning...
No longer are the Neimoidians bumbling idiots unknowingly aiding the evil Lord Sidious, they are now more apart of the Phantom Menace than before. The editors[s] have scrambled up their seemingly Chinese moniker with a new garbled alien language that must be subtitled. The effort (which improves as the film goes along) is both believable and convincing.
Jar Jar now speaks in a garbled version of Ahmed Best's voice, with very different subtitles below the widescreen bars. Instead of being his usual stuff you are familiar with, he now takes an active role in the solutions of the movie. Instead of being a casual bystander to the action and direction of the plot, the character now instigates solutions including the alliance between the Naboo people and the Gungans, and mentions how upset the Gungans will be if they disturb their aquatic domain.
This is a far more extensive edit of the original movie, making Jar Jar into a Jedi-like Sage, maturing up all of the Gungans and tons of minor cuts, edits and changes to pacing throughout. Speaking of cuts, the film runs at a fast-paced 118 minutes, so there's been plenty of new deleted scenes though all of the action. Wipe transitions and music has been melted back together so it is hard to tell the difference from how it originally went. There are no new added scenes in the movie, just new cuts, transitions and edits to move the story along a bit faster.
"The Phantom Re-Edit: Episode 1.2" this is actually a FAN REMASTERING of a FAN EDIT! The Original “The Phantom Edit 1.2” has been around subtly since April of 2000 and making the rounds in fan circles on VHS and VCD that were mastered from the original VHS release of The Phantom Menace the quality of these Edits was dubious at best, Enter MagnoliaFan…
MagnoliaFan who has stunned us before with his brilliant re-edits “STAR WARS Episode I: Balance of the Force and Episode II: The Clone War” has now brought us a diligently DVD restored version of “The Phantom Edit 1.2” - the title has been change to “The Phantom Re-Edit 1.2” as not to confuse fans or collectors of these rare Star Wars re-edits. There are still VHS versions of the original still out there, if the opportunity to get one passes your way... Snatch it up.
- Review was Remixed/Edit for fact Errors by RiKter Blaksvn - with parts originally written by Joshua Griffin
Star Wars: The other films
Star Wars: The Holiday Special - The Angrysun Edition
- many VHS and DVDr versions can be easily found.
The SPECS for this DVDr version -
The ONLY Known copies of the STAR WARS: holiday Special were all sourced from an Original television studio original broadcast tape. (WGBN TV channel 2 Boston is the station)
Most versions were edited to remove the color bars and station ID that is at the begining of some of the real old VHS's and appear to be 'home-recordings' BUT way back in 1978 a VHS VCR cost around $1000 and a blank VHS tape cost between $20 - $50.
the quality is gonna be poopy NO MATTER what anyone claims - I had a 15 years old VHS of the holiday special that I tried to capture to VCD about 5 years ago.... The VHS tape was so old and nasty that it destroyed my Sony S-VHS deck (the tape looked like it melted around the heads).
I have transfered a VHS of this to DVDr and I restored the picture as best as I could...
- It was captured from a 15 years old vacuum sealed VHS tape that was bought at a SCIFI con about 12 years ago (the tape came from a SW fanatic here in town - the tape survived and was resealed)
- I did not capture the tape but I do know that a JVC D-VHS w/ S-video out was used with Adobe Premier Pro
- The actual DV file was broken down onto 3 DVDr's with winrar
- I took the DV file and did a MPEG2 conversion and filtered for blocks, I also did some color/gamma correction and authored the disc with bonus videos
It's not the best quality and a little blurry but you can watch it without snow or pixulation driving you insane!
Star Wars: The Holiday Special - The Angrysun Edition
- Newly Re-mastered Audio and Video
- Interactive Menus
- Includes: the Muppets Episode
- Includes: Vintage Star Wars Television Trailers
- Includes: The eBay Kenner Toy Commercial Collection
- Includes: DVD-Rom features
Written by Rikter
THE STAR WARS HOLIDAY SPECIAL Review: The DVD has selectable menus presenting the Special, the Star Wars episode of the Muppets Show and vintage Kenner toy commercials.
For a 1978 broadcast taped off television, it looks pretty good. Obviously I mean 'good' by 5th generation VHS standards. The picture is blurry, and colours are washed out and smeared, but the video is very smooth with only some distortion, and drop out is at a minimum. The sound is kinda harsh and hollow, but quite 'listenable' and you can jump ahead with chapter stops. Really, I still have tapes from the 80s that don't hold up as well. As for the show itself, anyone familiar with that era's sketch variety shows will be familiar with the structure. The special opens with a live action plot about Chewie's family on Kyshykk waiting for him to arrive so they can celebrate Life Day together. Eventually, Chewie and Han do show up, but not before the imperials and a roster of comedy players including (Golden Girl's) Bea Arthur, Art Karney, (Mel Brook's alum) Harvey Korman, and others get mixed up in their 'wacky' shenanigan's. Needless to say, their antics are embarrassingly bad. I actually like most of the performers, but it’s all very slow and boring, especially the first 15 minutes when nothing happens. Interspersed throughout are bizarre 70's sci-fi dance and musical sequences, with trippy lava-lamp visuals. Aside from an appearance by one of my fav bands, Jefferson Starship the best part by far is the Nelvana cartoon sequence that introduces Boba Fett. Fans of Droids will especially love this. I've never seen this before and was surprised as Boba is already a cool badass character. This is well worth watching, too bad it’s so short. The Leia sing-a-long is a hoot too.
Included on the disc is the Muppet Show episode with Luke and the droids. I'm a huge Muppets fan and I love this episode. There is a sharp visual and audio buzz near the middle, but otherwise it looks and sounds pretty good!!
“My skill are no longer as Mad as the once were” RiK
