Alderaan

TV’s Frink said:

Alderaan said:

Hey OP is this you?

http://www.cbsnews.com/news/east-liverpool-ohio-heroin-photo-police-department-releases-disturbing-photos-of-suspects-in-car-with-child/

Why are you even in this thread?

To be the only adult in the room, obviously.

Besides the irrelevant fact that OP is either a troll or has a serious problem, and is being encouraged by several other people to further ruin his life and the life of people around him, I’m here to point out the fact that a thread promoting illegal drug use is probably not a good idea for any forum, let alone one that is visited by underage kids, unless you and the OP are trying to get this place shut down, of course.

Hey OP is this you?

http://www.cbsnews.com/news/east-liverpool-ohio-heroin-photo-police-department-releases-disturbing-photos-of-suspects-in-car-with-child/

Jeebus said:

Damn, you gotta shit this thread up too?

The guy with the religious epithet as his user name is outraged that someone would criticize illegal drug use. I’m shocked, shocked I tell you!

If I were Fink, I’d much rather end up like anyone else too. 😉

OP you’re going to be the person they use to teach kids about why drugs are bad for you and you shouldn’t do them, or you’ll end up like that guy.

At least we know OP’s brain is fried.

That Jyn/TIE fighter shot looks terrible and ridiculous. I agree with Edwards and the others who decided to cut it from the movie. Good choice.

DrDre, thanks for your post. It’s nice to -discuss- Star Wars with Star Wars fans, even if we have differing opinions.

DrDre said:

Really? ROTJ has a pretty weak story structure, primeraly preoccupied with tying up plot points of it’s superior predecessors.

I think it does that quite well. I know you were comparing it with TFA, but look at R1 for an example of what NOT to do during the first act of a movie. Side characters there were given very little depth, and the camera keeps moving from planet to planet at breakneck speed. Even though none of those places were important, they all got undeserved superimposed titles, like we were watching the travel channel or something.

Return of the Jedi’s first act (like TFA’s I might add), was competently conceived. They have to assemble the cast, rescue Han, and go on to bigger and better things. Tight. Smartly done. And it all takes place in one setting. That’s unity of composition.

DrDre said:

The resolution of the final conflict to a significant degree rests on one of the weakest reveals (both in terms of story and execution) in the the saga, that of Leia being Luke’s sister.

I can’t really comment on this because I think it has to do with expectations. I don’t remember watching ROTJ without knowing the story–my first hundred viewings coming by the age of five. But I know some people who watched it in suspense and were fine with this plot point, and some who hate it, like you do. My guess is that people’s perception depended on what their expectation was, and it’s just not something I feel I can comment on any further.

DrDre said:

Aside from a few impressive set peaces, it’s also visually rather uninspiring (not unlike TFA).

I have to disagree with you here. Before I get into some shots that I love, I just want to comment on the visual flow of the film. Small things like transitions are so important to making a film flow this good. Right after the sail barge explodes, skiff is flying across the desert, and then there is a wipe to another shot of the Falcon and Luke’s X-wing flying into outer space. That’s flow, but then there’s more. The two ships are in the same shot, one goes one way, and the other veers off in another direction, and that’s just a great shot. Then after some dialogue, Luke’s ship is flying across the screen…more flow…and we finally end up on a spectacular shot of the TIE fighters falling into formation in front of The Emperor’s grand arrival. These few minutes are basically forgettable as far as the storyline is concerned, but wow, are they wonderfully conceived and executed, and they significantly enhance the flow of the film.

Anyway, onto some shots: how about the wide shots between Luke and Yoda in the hut? Such good filmmaking to have them side by side with no cuts back and forth, for so long. What about the camera angle on Vader when Luke passes by on his way to Endor? Even after the scene is basically finished, there is that one last shot of Vader staring out the window. Not a word is said, no action is taken, and yet the inclusion of that brief shot demonstrates Vader’s longing for a reunion and reconciliation (or reckoning) with his son. Again, the same idea is repeated after Luke’s surrender on Endor. After the confrontation, and after Luke is escorted away, and the scene is over, there is again that last lingering pan on Vader, as he wanders over to the window and stares out into his own thoughts.

So from those two examples, and the way Vader’s part was written and directed in the movie, and the way JEJ voice-acted him, I would very much disagree with you that Vader’s climactic action came out of nowhere. He spent the whole second movie looking for his son, carrying an entire armada into an asteroid field in pursuit of his friends. As I demonstrated, his thoughts were on Luke at every turn in ROTJ, and his glances back and forth between Luke and the Emperor during the lightning attack scene, tells the audience everything they need to know.

DrDre said:

The entire Darth Vader redemption angle, while well executed, also is just pulled out of thin air, as there’s literally nothing to indicate in any of the previous films, that Vader is anything but an evil monster.

The biggest issue with the image quality is the yellow leaching that appears on flesh tones and elsewhere throughout the film. The same problem exists in the commercially available DVDs, waxy faces and all, so I can only assume the 35mm film negative has serious degradation issues. Then, when it was already damaged, it was used to make the VHS and DVD copies.

Here’s a still frame of the .VOB file I’m working with on Premiere Pro. The color damage is there but not as noticeable in my editing software:

Unfortunately, this is the output I get whenever I render, and it sadly resembles the source file I received, as well as the DVDs. Notice the yellow blotches all over the man’s face:

This problem persists throughout the entire movie, so I can only surmise that the original film source used to make the DVDs and VHS tapes was already damaged. Is there any way to correct this? The first image doesn’t look nearly as bad.

This was a big TV miniseries that ran on NBC in the 1980s. All star cast, budget over $30 million ($70 million in today’s money), made by the same people that did critically acclaimed Jesus of Nazareth.

A.D. follows the important events that took place between Rome and Judea in the middle of the first century. Jewish, Christian, and Roman stories are all explored. It was a very good miniseries, if sometimes stilted and structured compared to what is normal today. I do recommend it.

The problem with this miniseries though is that…like Star Wars…it was altered from its original release and not made available in a high quality modern format. A religious group bought the rights and turned the miniseries into an instructional DVD for Bible schools. The Christian content was kept but mixed into lessons; meanwhile, nearly all of the Roman and most of the Jewish storylines were simply eliminated.

If you are looking for the original version of this miniseries, IMDB only lists the “Special” edition DVDs. Likewise, online vendors only sell the altered DVDs. There are a few collector’s edition VHS tapes of the original cut, but as best as I can tell, they’re only available for rent at a few Christian universities across the country.

Anyway, that brings everyone up to speed, and I have started working on this project. I have acquired the original version of A.D. Anno Domini, complete with all of the Roman and Jewish scenes as well, via multiple .VOB files. I was just editing them for my own collection, but then I thought why not post here and maybe work with some other people to restore this fine miniseries, so other people can watch it in the future?

The quality is good but not good. What I mean is that there is some damage and it’s obviously not HD, but with minor cropping and restoration work, I think it’s still easy to watch. The textures are good, and the people’s faces aren’t made of digital wax. On the other hand, there is a lot of noise and color damage. All-in-all, it’s not in bad shape though, all things considered.

I’ll keep posting updates in this thread, and since I have very little technical expertise, if anyone wants to help enhance the video or audio quality, or convert to .MKV files and upload them, etc. Please feel free to offer in this thread or send me a PM.

In case you’re interested, here is a trailer of the series I found on Youtube. Thankfully, my audio and video quality is already much better than this!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vqG8DEawkkc&t

DrDre said:

I just don’t understand how anyone can hate TFA and call ROTJ an extraordinary film.

If we take George Lucas out of the picture, the other people who made Return of the Jedi were more talented and crafty at the various things they did compared to the people who made TFA. I can admire the pacing, the framing or blocking, the editing, the emotional conflict, the attention to detail, all of it, which I find nowhere present or nearly nowhere present in TFA. ROTJ’s script is also not a Frankenstein’s monster, amalgamated from the disparate ideas of creator, writer, director, several producers, a couple people in marketing, some other corporate suits at The Mouse, and that smelly guy over there. ROTJ tells a story, whereas TFA attempts to be an amusement park ride that whisks you by this and whisks you by that, a few moments at a time.

Yes, ROTJ is not as good a film as Star Wars or Empire Strikes Back–that I agree with. It’s main drawback is occasional tackiness and silliness. The quality of the production at Jabba’s palace was extremely uneven, to be kind–almost like a B-movie. And while I have no problem with many of the Ewok scenes, silly nonsense like the Ewok spinning around on the bike speeder, or cute teddy bears taking out elite soldiers with rocks and sticks … yeah, those are blemishes on an otherwise well conceived and well made movie.

But if George’s occasional nonsense and bad taste is what turns you off, how about I suggest going back and looking at the scenes that are a true work of art? Can you not watch Yoda’s death scene and admire how it was filmed? The craftsmanship that went into the puppet and its acting, the use of wide shots and very few cuts? What about the appropriate humor–which is pure Star Wars humor-that makes you chuckle in a wry and fond way? And then there is the mood: something the OT always got right was mood and atmosphere. Those films were allowed to breathe!

I recently saw someone posting on here about how they can’t stand to watch the middle section of Return of the Jedi, and all I could think about was the Shuttle Tydirium scene. Just admire the beauty and dramatic mood in the cross cutting between the heroes in the shuttle and villains on the command ship. Admire the subtext in the dialogue, where so much is said by the characters from what they allude to, and not so much with their words. A glance from Leia. It’s all there to behold.

None of these things were present in TFA. At a conceptual level, the film was a disgrace. It had no story to tell, and it had no vision, and it lacked unity of composition. At an execution level, the craftsmanship was sometimes good, usually not good, but not really incompetent. I think perfunctory would be an apt description, which seems par for the course for something that was just a safe and derivative cash grab.

Anyone who uses the word “Palpatine” on an OT forum is already treading dangerous waters. 😉

There are things to criticize in the OT. They are not perfect films. I could list many things. However, they are exceptional and extraordinary films, so there’s not much use spending time criticizing movies that are overwhelmingly good and of historic value.

There are also things to criticize in the prequels and the Disney movies. None of them are perfect movies/films. I could list many complaints. However, they are, on the whole, not very good films at all, marred by incompetence, lack of skill, and lack of creativity. There is much value to be had in pondering and learning why things suck and did not strive to be or did not become something good and of historic value.

There is also great value to be had in pondering and learning why good things are good, and bad things are bad. But there is no value to be had in pondering over small imperfections in extraordinary things, nor is there much value to be had in pondering over mitigating aspects of spontaneous disasters. Those kinds of thoughts would just be a terrible waste of time.

SilverWook said:

Don’t know about that, but he’s been “banned” from Celebration for quite some time. This would have been a good time to bury the hatchet and welcome him back.

The news was on another SW site that his health is not good and he will not be making public appearances again.

That’s the joke. Dun dun dun…

DuracellEnergizer said:

I doubt I’ll ever understand Rogue One hate.

It’s boring. The first half hour reads like a travel channel interstellar trip planner. There’s little to no character development or world building. It’s exceptionally wordy and one might say overacted, but I think the fault was actually the directing. Characters are set up to behave one way and then do things entirely against their nature. There are tonal inconsistencies throughout the film. Pointless characters. Very few interesting shots, if any. One of the worst editing jobs I’ve ever seen in a major motion picture. There was a cut seemingly every two seconds, even in the scenes that should be slowed down.

That doesn’t account for the cliche parts, and the fake looking CGI monsters and people.

There were a number of other problems, and also several strengths of the film. All in all it was mediocre–not good, not terrible, just another forgettable movie that most people will not care about in a few years time.

DuracellEnergizer said:
Active animosity, though? That leaves me scratching my head.

No animosity here. Critical of the film, yes. But I don’t hate it like I do TFA and the prequels. Animosity for Disney? Yes.

I have to admit I was wrong. I thought the wishcasting was going to go from April to 2020. Quite obviously there will be another date in July, and another one a few months after that, and so on.

RooBee said:

Could someone here please point me to the last post about a 4k restoration? I believe I missed it in the last twenty pages…

It’s already been settled that it was a 4k scan of the SEs.

Earl said:

The Godfather (1972):
I got this as part of The Coppola Restoration box set. I believe I’ve found my favourite movie ever.

Godfather Part II is even better.

nickyd47 said:

We’ll probably have some sweet 35mm fan restorations by 2020 though. Star Wars 4K77 and works of the sort.

I hope so, I’m grateful for what we have do have. But I think the goal is still to get Disney and LFL to release an official, high quality version of the original films.

digitalfreaknyc said:

Man, another (almost) two weeks of this infighting?

It will probably be 3 more years. Because when it doesn’t happen in 2 weeks, Moviefreak will just swear it’s going to come out in 2020.

moviefreakedmind said:

Alderaan said:

moviefreakedmind said:

Are you actually under the impression that you have the authority on this site to demand IP bans?

Who said demand? It was a proposed bet. Is English not your first language?

You are making a bet based on something that you have no authority over. Presumably you’d request that the person who lost (unless it was you, of course)

No, see that’s now how bets work. The loser would voluntarily ask for and accept their own ban.

Have you ever made a bet before?

TV’s Frink said:

Thank you. 😃

moviefreakedmind said:

Are you actually under the impression that you have the authority on this site to demand IP bans?

Who said demand? It was a proposed bet. The loser would just ask to get banned. Is English not your first language?

JawsTDS said:

And I’ll make a bet with you that IF the OOT is announced at Celebration, you get a permanent IP ban. What do you say?

Yes, that’s the bet I just proposed, but it’s no freebie for you. You have to put some skin in the game yourself.

moviefreakedmind said:

Actually, most of the people on this website would at least agree with me that the pretentious stuff is obnoxious and toxic, so I think I am surrounding myself with the right people.

Let’s get back on topic and start posting about the 4K restoration of Star Wars, or how certain you’ve been that the OOT release is going to be announced in 2 weeks.

Disney just HAS to announce it, right?

I would make a bet with you that whoever is wrong between us get a permanent IP ban. What do you say?