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The Special Edition wasn't needed.

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It’s the outright truth. I look at the original clips, and then I see how the movie stood fine on its own without its “improvements”. Whether it’s the whole galaxy celebrating the destruction of the death star (which knocks the EU book Truce at Bakura out of the loop), or simple things like the space battle (where the improvemnts actually look good), they all stand out and just don’t feel… natural. I think I might prefer the OOT after all…

A Goon in a Gaggle of 'em

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Quote "The SE wasn't needed."

No truer words in Star Wars fandom were ever spoken, too bad ole Georgie can't take a frackin hint huh?

“Always loved Vader’s wordless self sacrifice. Another shitty, clueless, revision like Greedo and young Anakin’s ghost. What a fucking shame.” -Simon Pegg.

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But what about seeing more of Jabba or Biggs in ANH?

Oh, wait. A decent set of bonus dvds should have taken care of that.
They should have gone the same route as they later did for the deleted scenes of the prequels: cleaning them up and putting them on a display outside of the movie.
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There is a reason that deleted scenes are deleted... the movie is better off without them. They're fun to see as an extra, but not as part of the movie. In the case of SW, the main deleted scenes (Jabba and Biggs) were so poorly scripted and acted, it's no wonder they were deleted. That GL deleted them is testament to what a good director he was then. Putting them back in weakens the film and is proof that he has lost his eye for what's good and bad in a film.

Changing the special effects further ruins it by distancing it from itself and covering-up the original work. The film that won academy awards and changed everyone's thinking was the masterpiece... the SE is a weird and inferior mish-mash - it isn't the masterpiece and it didn't revolutionize anything. It's basically a fan-edit.

"Close the blast doors!"
Puggo’s website | Rescuing Star Wars

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Well... I do like the Biggs scene that's in the movie now at the Rebel Base; the others though ruin the pace. I despise most of the SE effects, so. Yeah. Actually, something interesting about the Rebel Base Biggs scene is that even that has been altered from its original form. The other pilot mentions Luke's father in the way the scene was originally cut, but a CG man walking in front of him when he speaks the line takes care of that "mistake".

A Goon in a Gaggle of 'em

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The exact dialogue that is uttered by the Pilot Leader is, "I met your father once when I was just a boy. He was a great pilot. You'll do alright. If you've got half of your fathers skill, you'll do better then alright."

If you watch ANH-SE, that whole line about Lukes father is deleted, and will never be uttered again even if Lucas released the OT deleted scenes. Because in the context of 1977, the Pilot Leader is talking about Lukes father, the jedi who was killed by Darth Vader.

But new fans are not suppose to know that.......
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Bah. He'll put it in, hasn't it been seen on VH1 before?

A Goon in a Gaggle of 'em

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The line can be found in The Making of Star Wars documentary from '79. At least half of the line anyway. The narrator speaks over most of it.
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I enjoy a good SE bash as much as the next guy, but I'm not sure I entirely agree that they weren't needed whatsoever. The concept of a special edition which fixes poor visual effects (really dark matte lines, translucent snowspeeders, projector-screen-rancor, miscoloured ANH lightsabres) is good, IMO, provided you don't proceed to then wipe away the original from the pages of film history.

The real problem is that GL went overboard. Rather than touching up the films, he ended up tampering with them. Claymation Jabba, Greedo shooting first, Fraggle Rock characters in Jabba's palace, and a big ol' frikkin' beak on the Sarlaac pit are all examples of change for the sake of change that just stretches credutilty to the breaking point. What's really sad is that a lot of these over-the-top changes were done while lots of a subtle things that really would've helped the films were completely ignored. (Snowspeeders are still translucent. Luke's lightsabre is still sickly green. Et cetera and so forth.)

Honestly, I don't mind the celebration scene so much (although the Kenny G music does irk me; gimme "Yub, yub!" any day.) I even rather enjoy the new sky shots in cloud city. The key is subtlety. The silly CGI antics performed by Jawas and droids as Luke & Co. enter Mos Eisely just scream, "Look at me! Look at me! I'm a new addition! Isn't this great?!?!"

Sooo, all that to say, the concept of an improved OT has potential; the egregious failure was in the execution. That's why, to me, the SEs will forever be apocryphal, and Adywan's revisited series (once it's finished) I will consider canon.

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Akwat Kbrana said:

I enjoy a good SE bash as much as the next guy, but I'm not sure I entirely agree that they weren't needed whatsoever. The concept of a special edition which fixes poor visual effects (really dark matte lines, translucent snowspeeders, projector-screen-rancor, miscoloured ANH lightsabres) is good, IMO, provided you don't proceed to then wipe away the original from the pages of film history.

The real problem is that GL went overboard. Rather than touching up the films, he ended up tampering with them. Claymation Jabba, Greedo shooting first, Fraggle Rock characters in Jabba's palace, and a big ol' frikkin' beak on the Sarlaac pit are all examples of change for the sake of change that just stretches credutilty to the breaking point. What's really sad is that a lot of these over-the-top changes were done while lots of a subtle things that really would've helped the films were completely ignored. (Snowspeeders are still translucent. Luke's lightsabre is still sickly green. Et cetera and so forth.)

Honestly, I don't mind the celebration scene so much (although the Kenny G music does irk me; gimme "Yub, yub!" any day.) I even rather enjoy the new sky shots in cloud city. The key is subtlety. The silly CGI antics performed by Jawas and droids as Luke & Co. enter Mos Eisely just scream, "Look at me! Look at me! I'm a new addition! Isn't this great?!?!"

Sooo, all that to say, the concept of an improved OT has potential; the egregious failure was in the execution. That's why, to me, the SEs will forever be apocryphal, and Adywan's revisited series (once it's finished) I will consider canon.

 

Amen and amen.

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i disagree,

 

i liked the SE versions, and saw them in the theaters,

 

i only have seen the original star wars<20 times , empire<10 ,

and also for jedi<10. i've seen the SE a few times each also.

 

i didn't sit there, and watch them countless times afterwards either..

 

i do have them all on laserdisc (original trilogy), 1997 special editions, 2004 remastered etc.

and also on dvd (new special versions), etc...

 

i don't mind most of the changes, and i like the use of cg (i'm into computer graphics)....of course

i do prefer the original new hope (aka star wars)...out of sentimentality....

 

i don't care too much for the fan edits (including adywans) no matter what, since they correct/change

too many things that jumped out to me as looking unnatural as compared to what lucas did......fan

edits are fun to watch to see what people think they can do with the material, but the will never

replace the  originals........george lucas made them, and of course has the free reign to change them

however he wants.....but of course we don't have to support or watch them...

 

to each their own..

later

-1

 

 

 

[no GOUT in CED?-> GOUT CED]

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Visually "terriable", huh?  Well, twenty years of fans seemed to have been able to get by on it without complaining, so there must have been something good about the original version of Star Wars.  I guess we'll never know, though, since the visually "terriable" version didn't do so hot at the box office and drifted into obscurity until the special edition came along and made it what it is today, right?

There is no lingerie in space…

C3PX said: Gaffer is like that hot girl in high school that you think you have a chance with even though she is way out of your league because she is sweet and not a stuck up bitch who pretends you don’t exist… then one day you spot her making out with some skinny twerp, only on second glance you realize it is the goth girl who always sits in the back of class; at that moment it dawns on you why she is never seen hanging off the arm of any of the jocks… and you realize, damn, she really is unobtainable after all. Not that that is going to stop you from dreaming… Only in this case, Gaffer is actually a guy.

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LOL! Gotta luv the young'uns. :-D

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Heres my take on the Special Editons i never really saw "Star Wars" in the theaters as a kid but i use to watch them on VHS because i got them as a christmas present one year, and fell in love with the story the special effects back then wear amazing to me and i thought nothing could be better so i was use to the original cut. But once i heard that Lucas was releasing  the special editions in the theater i waited in line to see each one including the prequels but the overall film quality is really bad so i do prefer the special editions over the originals because they tie it in with the pequels and sure some of the stuff was poorly edited like Lukes green light saber which makes me cringe every time i see it and i do even like Yub Yub over Yub Nub it has nice mood to the film but the most change that stands out the most is the new Emperor in Empire Strikes Back we now get to see Ian McDirmid so i do like both cuts but i prefer the special editions over the orignals. People need appreciate the special editons more and the prequel trilogy more. 

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TheDoctor1987 said:

 some of the stuff was poorly edited like Lukes green light saber which makes me cringe every time i see it

 

the shot where the lightsabers cross in front of the emporer's face in the destroyed 2004 RotJ makes me Just as angry as seeing hayden in the ending does.

 

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TheDoctor1987 said:

People need appreciate the special editons more and the prequel trilogy more. 

 

This is a line I've seen you use more than once, but I still see no reason anybody should.  They are highly appreciated, more than they should be, because they are Star Wars.  I admit that I watched them and used to like them, and I loved being able to see the trilogy in theatres (since I was born in 1986).  However, if George had simply done a theatrical re-release on the 20th anniversary without it being a special edition, it would have been a similar success without being so divisive.  There have been near admissions that the special editions were simply testing grounds to see what kinds of technology could be used in the prequels, and that idea just makes me sick.  So I agree with the title of this thread:  the SE's weren't needed.

There is no lingerie in space…

C3PX said: Gaffer is like that hot girl in high school that you think you have a chance with even though she is way out of your league because she is sweet and not a stuck up bitch who pretends you don’t exist… then one day you spot her making out with some skinny twerp, only on second glance you realize it is the goth girl who always sits in the back of class; at that moment it dawns on you why she is never seen hanging off the arm of any of the jocks… and you realize, damn, she really is unobtainable after all. Not that that is going to stop you from dreaming… Only in this case, Gaffer is actually a guy.

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Akwat Kbrana said:

That's why, to me, the SEs will forever be apocryphal

The SE IS apocryphal, no matter what Lucas says. The idea at the heart of canon is what's the real thing, and the SE is very obviously not the real thing.

TheDoctor1987 said:

People need appreciate the special editons more and the prequel trilogy more. 

 

 People need to flush the SE and AOTC and ROTS down the toilet where they belong.

 

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JediMasterFisher said:

omg your wrong I can't even watch the old verson of A New Hope because it's visually terriable.

So is this a joke, or are people so dumb that they actually fell for George's non-anamorphic trick?

"Close the blast doors!"
Puggo’s website | Rescuing Star Wars

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It was a smart trick by George of course. People have big screens now and a non anamorphic master intended for LD 13 years ago dont look good. Like going back to VHS again.

Oh well, those bonusdiscs were intended for the fans anyway

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i may be way behind the times, because tonight is the first I've heard of all this nonsense about the original theatric versions not being available in anamorphic, but unmolested context. 

I have the Fullscreen Version in the Gold/Copper Box, which I got right after Christmas of 2004.  I remember watching and thinking to myself "I don't recall many of those scenes, celebrations, or songs" in that part of the movie.  But I figured it had been so long since I seen the movies I just forgot or something. 

So anyhow, was watching The Empire Strikes Back tonight on my brand new PS3, as I wanted to see how the upscaling worked on the built in Blu-Ray Player.  Some of the completely digital scenes were fantastic looking, but the actualy film shots were terrible looking in upscale hd, too grainy.  anyhow about the time the Abominal Snowman scene came up, I knew they never showed him eating the Tom-Tom and getting blood on his face, and then standing up and coming after Luke the way the SE Version did. 

Now after finding all of this out, I'm livid.  This was my favorite set of movies in the whole world.  I used to have all 3 on VHS, and if I had known Lucas was gonna pull this bullshit, I'd have had my dad copy the VHS tapes to DVD with our DVD Recorder, and I'd have been satisfied with that, but now I don't even have those anymore, so I get to go out and waste $40 on this new 2008 release, just so I can have the originals, which will no doubt look like absolute crap on my HDTV and PS3 Blu-Ray.

sorry to bitch in my first post, but as I said I just found out all this crap tonight, because I was looking for the Original Release, but apparently that search is futile, because such a thing doesn't exist in a decent enough quality that keeps up with technology. 

George Lucas had no right in my opinion to tamper with The Trilogy.  he screwed a good thing up, and he broke a lot of Star Wars fans hearts by doing so.  I know some people like all the new scenes, but he should have done it both ways, to keep everyone happy.  what a sacrilege.

Guess we can only hope he makes it all right with a Blu-Ray release.  IMO He should release an Original Theatre Version that is crystal clear but where no scenes have changed...meaning he didnt alter movie lines, character movements or music.  Then he can release his stupid Special Edition versions.  But whatever happens, he needs to make it right, because the Special Edition Fullscreen Version I have...sucks major ass.

 

 

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devils_syndicate said:

i may be way behind the times, because tonight is the first I've heard of all this nonsense about the original theatric versions not being available in anamorphic, but unmolested context. 

I have the Fullscreen Version in the Gold/Copper Box, which I got right after Christmas of 2004.  I remember watching and thinking to myself "I don't recall many of those scenes, celebrations, or songs" in that part of the movie.  But I figured it had been so long since I seen the movies I just forgot or something. 

So anyhow, was watching The Empire Strikes Back tonight on my brand new PS3, as I wanted to see how the upscaling worked on the built in Blu-Ray Player.  Some of the completely digital scenes were fantastic looking, but the actualy film shots were terrible looking in upscale hd, too grainy.  anyhow about the time the Abominal Snowman scene came up, I knew they never showed him eating the Tom-Tom and getting blood on his face, and then standing up and coming after Luke the way the SE Version did. 

Now after finding all of this out, I'm livid.  This was my favorite set of movies in the whole world.  I used to have all 3 on VHS, and if I had known Lucas was gonna pull this bullshit, I'd have had my dad copy the VHS tapes to DVD with our DVD Recorder, and I'd have been satisfied with that, but now I don't even have those anymore, so I get to go out and waste $40 on this new 2008 release, just so I can have the originals, which will no doubt look like absolute crap on my HDTV and PS3 Blu-Ray.

sorry to bitch in my first post, but as I said I just found out all this crap tonight, because I was looking for the Original Release, but apparently that search is futile, because such a thing doesn't exist in a decent enough quality that keeps up with technology. 

George Lucas had no right in my opinion to tamper with The Trilogy.  he screwed a good thing up, and he broke a lot of Star Wars fans hearts by doing so.  I know some people like all the new scenes, but he should have done it both ways, to keep everyone happy.  what a sacrilege.

Guess we can only hope he makes it all right with a Blu-Ray release.  IMO He should release an Original Theatre Version that is crystal clear but where no scenes have changed...meaning he didnt alter movie lines, character movements or music.  Then he can release his stupid Special Edition versions.  But whatever happens, he needs to make it right, because the Special Edition Fullscreen Version I have...sucks major ass.

 

 

Feel free to bitch. Plenty people here feel your pain.

 

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CO said:The exact dialogue that is uttered by the Pilot Leader is, "I met your father once when I was just a boy. He was a great pilot. You'll do alright. If you've got half of your fathers skill, you'll do better then alright."

If you watch ANH-SE, that whole line about Lukes father is deleted, and will never be uttered again even if Lucas released the OT deleted scenes. Because in the context of 1977, the Pilot Leader is talking about Lukes father, the jedi who was killed by Darth Vader.

But new fans are not suppose to know that.......

 

Perhaps I'm not realizing something obvious but if that line were to be restored it would still work wouldn't it? It isn't contradictory. Except for the fact that the Anakin we see in the PT would never be remembered so fondly lol

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I just became a Star Wars fan several months ago. I watched them in the numbered order, that's 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, and 6.

Besides that, the 2004 SE was the first vesions of the OT I saw, so I have different view on it. But I'm sure that I'd be pretty pissed if I grew up watching a perfect movie and then in the future they completely screw it up.

Even though I've only seen the SE of the OT, after reading about all of this I see what problems the changes I saw were.

Reaction to certain scenes:

 

A New Hope:

"Your father wanted you to have this when you were old enough": Anakin didn't even know he had a son...

Jabba/Han scene: I imagined Han's boss to be a bit...different

Luke's falcon training: Isn't he supposed to have a blue lightsaber?

Obi-Wan vs Darth Vader: Wonder why Obi-Wan calls him, "Darth"...

 

Empire Strikes Back:

Luke & Leia kiss: Wait, didn't Padme name her babies Luke & Leia?

Yoda's appearance: Did...is Yoda on drugs or something? And his voice got...heavier

Cloud City entrance: I seriously doubt that this scene was in the original version...

Vader/Emperor scene: Palpatine looks exactly the same as he did in Episode III. Don't people age?

"I am your father": I already suspected this in either one of the movies since it's probably the most heard quote

 

Return Of The Jedi:

Jabba's appearance: *just realizes that Episode I had Jabba* Alright, Episode IV CG Jabba officially sucks. This is much better.

Leia says she remembers her mother: BULL. SHIT.

Palpatine's appearance: He looks like he lost weight compared to Episode III & V...

Unmasking scene: If Anakin was burned, why does he only have burn marks on the side of his cheek?

Anakin/Obi-Wan/Yoda final scene: Why is Anakin just looking around everywhere?

My dad's reaction to the final scene: Who's that guy on the left?

 

Now typing this out helps me see why the PT kinda ruined the OT.

 

 

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Versus...

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