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12-Jun-2005
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13-Jan-2026
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Post
#230899
Topic
I got a response from Leonard Maltin.....
Link
https://originaltrilogy.com/post/id/230899/action/topic#230899
Time
Originally posted by: Gaffer Tape
If you keep releasing new versions that have some good things and some mistakes, then the next one having different good things and different mistakes, then the idiots will keep coming back. Ah. Don't you just love big business?

That's it exactly.
I know people that will literally buy every single iteration of something there is, whether it is movies, music, whatever. They want everything there is so they can say they have "the complete set" or "all there is" of something. Don't think for a second that Lucas isn't business savvy enough to tap into those people. He’s the master where marketing is concerned. People often mention (rightly so) that he altered the science fiction genre by showing people a "used universe" where things are old, dirty, occasionally troublesome, etc. Well, he also revolutionized the marketing of a film. Tie-ins with fast food restaurants, snack companies, soft drinks, special editions, special packaging of the same editions, and on and on.

Even going as far as creating characters solely because of the marketing tie-in potential, Ewoks and Darth Maul for example. He’s created a situation where the film is just part of the marketing campaign, a two hour advertisement for the toys. It doesn’t have to be great, it only has to be good enough. In his world, it appears that merchandising is first and foremost in importance, the film technology is second, and the actual story seems to be a very distant third. Acting ability doesn't even show up on the radar - that can be altered accordingly, post-production.

My point with all of this is that maybe he really is testing the water like he says he is. Maybe he really is trying to see if there's money to be made with the original films. Better yet, he may have already decided there is and this is just the first of the official releases. The "Original unaltered film for a limited time only - better hurry and buy it". Soon to be followed by "The original unaltered film in all it's glory, getting the respect it deserves, restored and anamorphic, from a long lost copy of the original release". Finally, a few years from now - "The original unaltered film in all it's glory, getting the respect it deserves, restored and anamorphic, now with the original theatrical trailer and screen tests of the stars. Included in the special box set is an actual piece of the original crawl in a special presentation holder and with a certificate of authenticity"

Like I’ve said before, I already get to watch Star Wars the way I want to see it, so I’m not loosing sleep over any of his ridiculous comments or lies. However, if a better version were to be released, I’d get it.

But only once.


Post
#230590
Topic
OOT DVDs - interlaced or progressive?
Link
https://originaltrilogy.com/post/id/230590/action/topic#230590
Time
Originally posted by: vbangle
I hope it is that bad....If the offical OUT is so bad that no one can defend it then it puts pressure on Lucas to do something....

If the OUT is a "exceptable but not great" kind of release then the debate rages on and nothing gets settled.

Several months ago, when the Enron trial was taking place that would decide the fate of Skilling and Lay, several of us were discussing it at work. Most of us wanted to see the two guys put away forever. After all, they had destroyed the livelihoods as well as the financial futures of thousands of people solely for their own personal gain, and seemed not the least bit remorseful about it.

Strangely though, there were two or three people that wanted to see them get away with it completely - to see the verdict read as not guilty and they become free men - to see the system and it's loopholes fail. Strange, that is, until they explained why they wanted a not guilty verdict.

Their reasoning was simple and it made a lot of sense. If these guys received a somewhat harsh sentence or some severe financial penalties, people would be content that they at least had to admit guilt and pay some of the money back. However, if they walked away as free men, people would be so outraged at how the judicial system had failed completely and allowed a couple of arrogant thieves to make millions at other people's expense - there would be a public outcry for the government to change the system. It would take millions of people - influential people - being outraged for the government to make a change. Just having a bunch of people mad or disappointed wasn't going to be enough to effect change.

What vbangle is hoping for is no different. If the release is really bad - picture, sound, type of DVD, etc - it just may make enough people, the right people, so outraged that they start to put pressure on Lucas to do it right. The response from Lucas would be public image and respect-driven as opposed to law change-driven, but the end result would be the same - public outrage at a level so high that something has to be done.

Post
#230393
Topic
Ok, straight up... is this the last time we will ever see the OOT?
Link
https://originaltrilogy.com/post/id/230393/action/topic#230393
Time
Originally posted by: Mike O
..you must admit, that people who want proper versions of Empire and Jedi should be able to get them.
Absolutely. I'm against all the tampering he's done. Mostly because the tampering he's done is major - story-changing as well as character-changing. Put out 10 different versions, I don't give a shit. I'm not going to bother with them. At least make sure one of them is the same version that millions of people around the world turned you into a billionaire with. That doesn't seem like it's asking too much.


I too happen to think that the Ewoks are cute. So sue me.

http://blogs.ipswitch.com/archives/gavel.jpg

We the jury find the defendant, Mike O, guilty of thinking ewoks (small animals that, even though they're covered in fur, find it necessary to wear poorly made, ill-fitting clothing) are cute.
Post
#230216
Topic
Ok, straight up... is this the last time we will ever see the OOT?
Link
https://originaltrilogy.com/post/id/230216/action/topic#230216
Time
Originally posted by: Mike O

I thought that you said that you thought that this was the last OOT release we would ever see.
When I said ever, I was referring to the foreseeable future - known releases, announced releases, anniversary box sets, etc - the distance into the future that I'm willing to concern myself with. None of knows what's going to happen decades from now. For the record, I was in the middle of typing out an explanation for you in another thread, the first time you asked me about it, and my internet connection took a shit on me. I just never got back to doing it.


You don't like Empire and Jedi, huh? Ah, well. To each his own.

I don't dislike Empire. I watch it every few years, but it's not something I'm going to worry about getting a proper version of.

Return is ridiculous. Lucas had already started to ruin Star Wars by then and I sure as hell don't need an anamorphic version of this trash....


http://www.starwars.com/databank/character/wicketwwarrick/img/movie_bg.jpg
Post
#229905
Topic
Ok, straight up... is this the last time we will ever see the OOT?
Link
https://originaltrilogy.com/post/id/229905/action/topic#229905
Time
Originally posted by: zombie84
The OOT will be available in a proper form some day--this I have absolute and complete confidence in.

I agree fully. I just don't think it will happen any time soon - 10 or 15 years maybe. I also think it will be done after Lucas no longer has control of the franchise.

Remember one thing through all of this - Lucas does not like anyone else to have input into any decision he makes. He's been that way since he first made the film. The more people demand something - the more he stomps his feet and says no.

Also, just for the record Mike O - I'm only interested in one film - Star Wars. Not Empire, not Return, not the SEs (haven't seen them)and certainly not any of the prequel trash(only saw one). I have the movie I want, and it's watchable and enjoyable. If a much better transfer of it ever comes out, I'll watch that one and enjoy it.

Until then, a couple of times a year I put in my non-anamorphic copy with less-than-perfect sound and color, adjust the volume, open a Snapple, get comfortable, and visit a galaxy far far away - and I enjoy every damn minute of it.

Post
#229666
Topic
I got a response from Leonard Maltin.....
Link
https://originaltrilogy.com/post/id/229666/action/topic#229666
Time
Originally posted by: Mike O
What makes you so pessimistic?

I'm not pessimistic at all, nor am I depressed - far from it. I'm apathetic. Honestly, I don't care what version Lucas releases, what his motives are, or what he's said about it before now.

Lucas doesn't control how I see Star Wars. When I want to see Star Wars, I put in a bootleg copy(or the XO version when it is available), I push play and I go on an adventure. I don't care about features, menu screens, commentary, documentaries, behind the scenes pieces, interviews, or anything else. I skip that stuff on nearly every DVD I own.

The story is the only thing I'm interested in. The bootlegs are very watchable and future versions will be as well. I can already watch Star Wars the way I want to - I don't care what Lucas does or says. When he gives interviews, or talks about how things were in the 70s and starts with his lying and revisionist history crap - he might as well be burping the alphabet. His words are that meaningless.



Post
#229619
Topic
I got a response from Leonard Maltin.....
Link
https://originaltrilogy.com/post/id/229619/action/topic#229619
Time
Originally posted by: Mielr
His stubbornness has become the stuff of legend.

Yeah, that's just who we're stuck with - who we have to deal with to get an anamorphic unaltered version, it looks like.

Truthfully, I'm not terribly concerned with it anymore because I honestly don't think it will ever be released. I don't think Lucas is testing the waters, or will have a change of heart, or is waiting for the mega-box set, or will come to his senses, or any of the other theories floating around. This is the only original version he's going to release. Christ, he doesn't really want to release this sub-standard version. Something else is driving this. My guess is that it has something to do with leaning on bootleggers or something as simple as just having a different "released version" of the SE movies to sell.

Man, there's millions of fans, of all sorts of films, that collect every shred of something that's released - different boxes, cover styles, collector tins, extras on the accompanying discs, versions of THX, with commentary or without, etc. There's no conspiracy here, no grand plan, no surprise awaiting everyone next year. This is either a legal or business-driven decision.

Just because Lucas made a film we all really really like - that doesn't automatically make him a good guy or a caring guy. History is replete with artists, geniuses, and visionaries that all had a nut loose.

Even Mark Hamill mentioned it in the interview someone posted here. When anyone gives Lucas even the slightest bit of constructive criticism or advice - he sees it as some sort of threat or challenge that must be defeated and he digs his heels in and prepares for battle.

That's just who he is, man.

I'm holding out for the XO version myself.


Post
#224600
Topic
John Williams' Music
Link
https://originaltrilogy.com/post/id/224600/action/topic#224600
Time
Certainly a body of work that's legendary and some of my favorite music to listen to. I think these four John Williams pieces are some of the greatest music ever written;

Jaws - Man Against Beast
Star Wars - Hologram/Binary Sunset
Raiders of the Lost Ark - The Map Room
Memoirs of a Geisha - The Journey to the Hanamachi

However, in my world Jerry Goldsmith is the master. His ability to create atmosphere and tension is unmatched. You can feel it. You become part of the film. Also, his work is typically darker than Williams - which I prefer. Williams is really more of a reoccurring theme \ fanfare guy with an occasional atmospheric piece with some tension or suspense. Goldsmith, on the other hand, seems to inhabit that world. These are examples of what I'm talking about;

Alien - Main Title
Logan's Run - The Monument
Patton - The Battleground
Post
#223799
Topic
Ages of Luke & Leia
Link
https://originaltrilogy.com/post/id/223799/action/topic#223799
Time
Originally posted by: auraloffalwaffle
I think that what has disappointed me most is that I thought of Lucas as being like Tolkein.

The only similarity Lucas has to Tolkein is from ripping off the basic structure of Lord Of The Rings for Star Wars. Previously uninvolved person follows strange old wizard to go off and fight the evil lord in a battle of good vs evil.

Post
#223476
Topic
Remember when everyone hated Return of the Jedi?
Link
https://originaltrilogy.com/post/id/223476/action/topic#223476
Time
Originally posted by: JediFlyer06
I never believed that a band of teddy bears with sticks and stones would defeat a legion of the Emperor's best troops ...

They would have been killed immediately in a battle that lasted about 5 minutes, after which, the troops would have gone back to the business of finding the main characters. The ewoks were just more mass marketing, movie tie-in stupidness. Lucas has long since admitted that.

The scene where 3PO is reading stories to them may be the lowest point in all of the entity that is Star Wars.
Post
#223452
Topic
Ages of Luke & Leia
Link
https://originaltrilogy.com/post/id/223452/action/topic#223452
Time
Originally posted by: auraloffalwaffle
...it is difficult to grasp a clear picture of the worlds and mythology they are 'based' on.

That's because he keeps insisting on giving every tiny detail some sort of backstory. He isn't content to let his audience use their imagination. He's a control freak to the point of even wanting to control what you may imagine happened to the characters years before. He's just about removed any sort of wonder from the vastness of the universe in Star Wars. He's shrunk the story down to nothing. It's not grand and mysterious in it's current configuration.

That's why the 1977 version of Star Wars worked so well - it was gigantic. It was mysterious and magical.