Adium

FUCK

I will never un-hear this

Empire is #1 and Star Wars is #2. Jedi is probably somewhere in my top 20.

Mr. Bungle said:

Harmy said:

Wow, guys, I'm surprised at this uproar about the sales. Did you seriously expect anything else? I mean, it's STAR WARS on Blu-Ray ;-)

But seriously, the average Joe doesn't care or even know, because they don't go the the internet to read about SW. They see the adverts in the shop and think: Hey! Great, SW on BD, that's something I've gotta have in my collection!

And then they watch the films 1-6 and hear Vader say "Nooooo" and think "hey, has that always been there?... Ah, whatever..."

And of course, 99% of the issues that we said would be there, are there and the people who said that those issues won't be there and the LFL will fix them (thus totally acknowledging the existence of such issues and as they expected that they must be fixed their gravity) and yet still, even when these issues were confirmed, they went and bought the set and wrote shamelessly gushing reviews on it. So how can we win by reasoning and using logical arguments, when the other side is so clearly determined to close their eyes?

But what we're doing here is still important. We still did some good in the world, because maybe there was ten thousand people, or even just a few hundred, who were able to make an actually informed decision about the Blus thanks to our efforts. Of course it won't hurt the sales, if they go into millions, but it's still worth it! And we have to keep it up!

 

Well stated, Harmy.

And I have to say, your Despecialized Edition has given me some kind of temporary solace during these "dark times", and they'll certainly tide me over.  I'll keep up my end of not buying this bedazzled crap set, and I'll continue to hold out hope that this madness will end someday and that someone (be it Lucas or someone else) will do a nice 4k or 8K remaster of the original films. And won't that be a great day.

Lastly, yeah, it sold well. But look at this from 2004. $84M in a week? How about $100M in A DAY.

http://money.cnn.com/2004/09/23/news/midcaps/starwars/index.htm

While the new set has sold well, it's significantly lower than seven years ago. I do believe there is a significant backlash, and certainly more people holding out (or at least off). I would imagine this set would've sold a lot more if it was done properly.

 

WE WIN

That drop off is from all the people who hate the changes and boycotted the release! =P

http://www.amazon.ca/gp/product/B0057GSLCQ/ref=s9_simh_gw_p74_d0_g74_i1?pf_rd_m=A3DWYIK6Y9EEQB&pf_rd_s=center-2&pf_rd_r=1Q7ACMHFDN5M7NXCH9VK&pf_rd_t=101&pf_rd_p=463383511&pf_rd_i=915398

Has the DVD already been released in Canada?

Looks like that boycott called by hardcore fans didn’t amount to much. Nor were buyers perturbed by some very controversial changes in the 9-disc Blu-ray release of Star Wars: The Complete Saga with 40 hours of extras. Instead, the Complete Saga on Blu-ray release broke global sales records with 1 million units sold and $84 million filling cash registers. It quickly becomes the #1 pre-order and #1 catalog title since the launch of the high-definition format. Needless to say, Lucasfilm Ltd and Twentieth Century Fox Home Entertainment are high-fiving today’s announcement that Star Wars is the bestselling catalog Blu-ray Disc of all time, including 515,000 units sold in North America in its first week alone. This worldwide consumer spend included $38 million in North America – unprecedented for a 9-disc Blu-ray collection at a premium price:

http://www.deadline.com/2011/09/star-wars-complete-saga-on-blu-ray-breaks-global-sales-records/

I, for one, am SHOCKED.

Harmy said:

Thanks for posting that for me Adium :-)

No problem.

Harmy said:

Adium said:

Harmy said:

Yeah, I already read that forum 

http://www.neogaf.com/forum/showthread.php?t=443921&page=4

it was one of the first to come up on Google. But there was a lot good said as well :-) Is anyone a member there? I've been trying to log in but so far no dice.

I'm actually the one who made that thread over at neogaf.

 

There was a lot of talk going on in the Star Wars blu ray thread over there, and people started bringing your Despecialized editions up. So I decided to start a thread, and I'm happy to see all the postive feedback over there.

 

I've even started seeing posts like "I'll stick with Harmy's despecialized editions until George decides to release a non tainted version of the films" and "Harmy's editions are my definitive versions" being posted in the blu ray thread.

I registered there like 5 days ago but I'm still getting this message whenever I try to post:

 

Harmy, you do not have permission to access this page. This could be due to one of several reasons:

1. Your user account may not have sufficient privileges to access this page. Are you trying to edit someone else's post, access administrative features or some other privileged system?

 

If you are trying to post, the administrator may have disabled your account, or it may be awaiting activation.

  Could you maybe post a reply for me there?

Neogaf is unlike your every day message board. You don't get instant admission when you register. New members gain access in waves. It might be a few months before you could post... but it's worth it, especially if you're into video games. Probably the most professional, clean and well modded forum on the internets.

Until you get in there, I'll definitely post that reply for you =)

Harmy said:

Yeah, I already read that forum 

http://www.neogaf.com/forum/showthread.php?t=443921&page=4

it was one of the first to come up on Google. But there was a lot good said as well :-) Is anyone a member there? I've been trying to log in but so far no dice.

I'm actually the one who made that thread over at neogaf.

There was a lot of talk going on in the Star Wars blu ray thread over there, and people started bringing your Despecialized editions up. So I decided to start a thread, and I'm happy to see all the postive feedback over there.

I've even started seeing posts like "I'll stick with Harmy's despecialized editions until George decides to release a non tainted version of the films" and "Harmy's editions are my definitive versions" being posted in the blu ray thread.

"Bought the BDs today (4-6). Gonna see how bad it is."

"I did watch the new Han/Greedo scene. Although I'd prefer the original it is MUCH better now and pretty acceptable."

"I hate the changes but I'm going to buy it today. I'm part of the problem. :("

ahahahahwhwahawhwahabaawhahawh

ouch my heart

So sad to see so many people breaking down and buying this garbage.

"I'm such a hypocrite. Just bought the set"

"I couldn't take it any longer. IT'S STAR WARS ON BLU RAY."

Yeah everyone seems to hate us. All we want is the original versions of three films. Remastered. But the billionaire who owns them says "fuck you guys". Meh.

But I made a thread on NeoGAF regarding Harmy's Despecialized editions, and it's gotten a surprisingly positive reception. Even ANH Revisited is pretty much universally praised over there, and Adywan usually gets torn apart over that thing =/

In conclusion, NeoGAF is awesome =)

Anyone read the bluray.com review?

AHAHAAHHAAHAHAA

20th Century Mark said:

bkev said:

 

Lucas’s response? An eyeroll and a huffy, “Grow up. These are my movies, not yours.”

Jeez, this guy's about as rude as Uwe Boll! If he were any other celebrity he would have gotten SO much crap for that.

 

 What do the Lucas lovers over TFN think about this story I wonder?

It's fake, of course.

Mondess122 said:

X-men: First class has now surpassed Star Wars: The complete saga boxset as the best selling blu-ray in America at Amazon.

Proof: http://tinyurl.com/3ebyl2v

I don't think Lucasfilm was expecting this. Seems the negative attention the blu-rays have been getting had some influence. (:

Look at all them comic book movies.

Hopefully this set continues to plunge lower and lower. Then again, the target audience probably doesn't even know what an Internet is or what "Han shoots first" even means.

www.redlettermedia.com

pretty much.

Puggo - Jar Jar's Yoda said:

Yeah, but who's gonna SCAN it kid, you?

Seriously, that's the rub.  No decent 35mm scanning outfit would touch it with a 10 foot pole. Although at least buying it would keep it from falling into enemy hands.

You BET I could, I'm not such a bad scanner myself...

Okay not really. But I'm sure if I bribed some scanning outfit the job would get done... $2000 now, and $15,000 after I see it scanned.

Okay not really. But I would definitely protect it with my life =P

skyjedi2005 said:

captainsolo said:

Sky, do you remember that asking price? I'm curious as to what people would ask for SW. I've seen some IB prints on collector listings sell for usually several thousand or so.

I think it was like 2 grand or something.   Too much for me .

I would buy that for 2 grand in a second. For the good of the community!

I'm guessing it's value now is much, much higher.

NO DADDY NO!!!!!

wooooooooooooooot

theprequelsrule said:Buying the blu-ray used to make your own versions is acceptable, so I implore guys like Adawyn, Harmy, and others to go this route.

Yeah, this is so true. I'm not gonna tell them what to do with their money, but there no rush... I'm sure the fan edit community will forgive you guys if you wait a week and pick up the blu rays used =P

It's a real shame people are still buying these JUST for the deleted scenes. I mean, they'll be on youtube the next day. And aren't they bad quality?

I know boycotting this release with achieve nothing, but come on. I want the deleted scenes as much as the next guy, but I'd never buy this crap.

I support fan editors picking this up... but it feels bad man =(

rpvee said:

A technicolor print meaning just an original film print that was originally distributed to theaters in '77?

From savestarwars.com:

Floating around in the world are a few private 35mm copies of the Star Wars films. They are on Eastman Kodak film, and, although different individual prints fade at differing rates, would by now be unpresentable as is. A few weeks ago, I saw a 1975 print of Jaws, and the title card that was supposed to be white-on-black was now white-on-red, so vivid that I thought it was an alternate title card timed to look like blood. Sadly, the rest of the print was very pink. It was also scratched to hell from being played for thirty years. Most of those private prints of Star Wars floating around probably look about the same--even if never played, the photochemical emulsion of Kodak film would have turned pink by now. Except for one print. One print is special. It is a Technicolor imbibition dye-transfer print. This means: it has a finer grain and better picture, but, more importantly, it looks exactly the same as the day it was printed. Properly cared for, it will outlast all of us.

A bit of history is in order here. When color photography was first invented for motion pictures in the 1920s and 1930s, it was achieved through the use of dyes, and eventually Technicolor emerged as the technological leader in this field. They used three strips of dyed black and white film that recorded each spectrum of colour--red, blue and green. When these three strips were combined, a full-colour reproduction was possible, with famously vivid hues. Prints were made through a similar use of dyed strips. By the 1950s, however, Kodak had figured out how to do colour using photochemical emulsions, much like black and white. The earliest efforts were murky and crude, but by the 1960s filmmakers had abandoned the Technicolor three-strip process because Kodak colour film was so much cheaper, even if it wasn't as vivid. Technicolor survived a while longer, however, by offering imbibition (I.B.) dye-transfer prints of Kodak negatives as premium releases.

Regular 35mm prints are made through photochemical means and printed on Kodak Eastman stock.  The grain is much coarser than Technicolor, detail not as fine, the colours are less accurate and not as vivid, and it will start fading after a decade. Why does everyone print on photochemical film then? It's really cheap, quick and easy. While Technicolor still made dye-transfer prints in the 1960s, the films of the 1970s made the grainy, desaturated Kodak stocks a virtue through the gritty, countercultural films that were popular at the time. There was no more need for Technicolor and by the 1970s it had closed down in the United States. In Britain, however, it clung to existance for a few more years. When Star Wars opened in England, there were a couple of Technicolor prints made for special showings. George Lucas had one printed for himself--it was used as the reference for the 1997 Special Edition colour timing because it was fade-free. How many of these existed overall? Certainly not more than a handful. Which is why it is fortuitous than one was--somehow--smuggled or obtained through legitimate means (which did sometimes happen in rare circumstances--but probably it was simply stolen). Technicolor closed down in Britain not long after Star Wars opened there, and there were no prints made of the two sequels.

Cut to 2010. Pretty much no one has seen the original version of Star Wars since the 1990s. There are memories of a 70mm revival screening in 1990 in California, but even then the print was starting to go pink, and probably isn't very watchable now. Baltimore's historic Senator Theatre was getting ready to close down after financial troubles, to be transfered to new managers, and owner Tom Kiefaber wanted to send it off in style. His family had owned the theatre for 71 years, and in that time had made a few connections. On the last day of operations, July 21, 2010, amid some moderate media coverage (including ABC news), Kiefaber decided to hold free screenings of Star Wars to a packed house--and not just the original version. He knew of a privately owned Technicolor print.

For maximum effect, read this thread while listening to this music

Since this doesn't seem to be happening any time soon in real life, let's escape to the land of dreams.

After doing a bit of research, it is clear that the Technicolor print of Star Wars (1977) is the holy grail of this community. They showed it at The Senator theatre, and we all wished we were there. That print is pretty much exactly what we want on Blu Ray.

So lets say, out of the blue, the guy who lent his print to the Senator theatre was completely outraged over the 2011 changes to Star Wars, and decided that print was better off in the hands of the community. Or something.

So he starts a thread here and decides to sell it. Now, the questions:

1. How much is a Technicolor print of Star Wars worth?

2. If we got our hands on it, how much would it cost for the machinery to scan it?

2a. Does anyone know how to use this machinery/get the film into a viewable format for the masses?

Then, the final step. How do we sneak by Vader- uh, Lucas- without being detected? Of course, we'd have to hide the print in an R2 unit. And if anyone asks, deny deny deny! I don't know what you're talking about! This is a technicolor print of the Wizard of Oz!

Would they be able to actually track us down and confiscate the print if the sale goes down on a forum like this? I'm sure an interested buyer would contact the seller via email and not just start talking about it over the forum, but just how far is the reach of Lucasfilm?

I think the community is large enough that we could afford pretty much any price a collector throws at us... unless it's in the millions. UNLESS there are some hardcore millionaire Star Wars fans? =)

At this point, I think we have a better chance of convincing a collector to sell... heck, TEMPORARILY LEND his technicolor print and make that into something watchable rather than wait for Lucas to release the films on blu ray in respectable quality.