Caston

Some random thought mainly on episode 5, with just a little of episode 6.

I’m a little surprised too that Filoni retconned his own epilogue of Rebels finale so he could just show Ahsoka becoming “Ahsoka The White” in this; a reprise of some fleeting scenes from events in The Clone Wars, to apparently solve a four-episode inner conflict about Ahsoka’s concerns about teaching Sabine and wanting avoid the pitfalls of her former master. Which to me already seemed resolved with Ahsoka acknowledging Sabine has Mandalorian skillsets, experience and an approach that can compliment her training, in the fourth episode. And something it appears that Ahsoka has forgotten from their time spent together before reuniting for this latest adventure.

Or is it the four-episode stoicism that Ahsoka has overcome? That she should adapt to the times, accept that things are what they are, let go of what was, and be her own person, so that her legacy won’t be that of “death and destruction” (something Baylon said to un-nerve her with in their fight just previous?). The issues Ahsoka has in Episode 5 with reconciling Anakin with the monster he became (in itself a retcon; ignoring he became a monster when he slaughtered the Tusken village before meeting Ahsoka), her inability to prevent Anakin somehow “becoming” that monster, or belief she could have somehow prevented his final turn to the dark side and serving Palpatine. It is difficult to care at this point, given the writing on offer for this four-episode stoicism.

Now Ahsoka will be like her old self again, like Ahsoka The White, as she was before this latest adventure started? (edit: episode 6 has Ahsoka back to being the stoic character of the previous five episodes; and unfortunately not the more emotive and expressive version that Ashley Eckstein played the character of so well, for so many years)
 

The reprises were well executed, Hayden and Ariana Greenblatt were accomplished in them, although the scenes did have a “theater production” style scope to them, and there was little stakes within as most of the heavy lifting was in the WBW setting. It would appear the take away highlight of the series will be these fan service reprises, and that is such a pity, and a failure, if so. As others have noted, retconning the Rebel epilogue does now also raise the question, if Ahsoka and Sabine are no longer going off to find Ezra during the Original Trilogy era, then what were they doing during that time?

New Republic laziness and ineptitude yet again? (and the writing for the New Republic too!)
 

Mon Mothma: “Do you have Morgan Elsbeth?”

Hera (instead): Nearly, we just missed them. If your Senators hadn’t delayed us last time, we’d have like caught them in time - and both Morgan Elsbeth and the Dark Jedi would likely be in our custody.

Mon Mothma: “Do you have evidence of Imperial Remnant?”

Hera (instead): Yes. The two Dark Jedi that boarded a New Republic ship, killed many of the crew and freed the prisoner Morgan Elsbeth (who previously gave up information about Thrawn to Ahsoka) have just been missed; but we know they are using a high powered Hyperspace Ring to apparently go find Thrawn. The same Hyperspace Ring whose engine parts were supplied by Imperial Remnant or those loyal to the Empire (and announce themselves as such: “For the Empire!”), whose location we found out about from the memory cell of a droids sent by those Dark Jedi. Our ships’ sensors have readouts of that Hyperspace Ring and we also have testimony of the New Republic pilots. In 5 minutes: Ahsoka is going to follow the two Dark Jedi and Morgan to the next galaxy over, using these Hyperspace traveling “StarWhales”. The same “StarWhales” we know that took Thrawn and Ezra disappeared years ago during The Battle of Lothal; a well known Rebel engagement vs the Empire, and mention of these “StarWhales” can also found in the Jedi Archives. Luke may be interested in this y’know; Thrawn, Imperial Remnant, Dark Jedi, missing Jedi, Force-attuned “StarWhales” with long history of hyperspace abilities. Why am I answering these insipid questions to you? Have you been hit on the head or taking some stupid pills since Andor? Why are you acting like this? Oh, you’re now an ancillary character in a Filoni series. Filoni… of course. Got it.

Mon Mothma: “You and Ahsoka Tano are to return to Coruscant with the Fleet. The Senate oversight Committee is going to determine whether your command should be germanely suspended. You are going to need her testimony to help you. And yes, I too wish the scenes with the New Republic were written not as an afterthought with little substance, weight, or realism, and lacking in awareness of the past events. Has anyone seen Tony Gilroy? (Just asking for a friend).”

How Star Wars Brought Force Ghosts To Life In The Time Before CGI

www.slashfilm.com/1384686/star-wars-pre-cgi-force-ghost-special-effects
 

 
'In John Phillip Peecher’s “Star Wars – The Making of ‘Return of the Jedi,’” Howard Kazanjian, who produced all three Original Trilogy installments (as well as "Raiders of the Lost Ark), spilled the beans on the Force ghost process, and how it changed from “The Empire Strikes Back” to “Return of the Jedi.”

For “Empire,” Sir Alec was placed in front of a black velvet background, where he delivered his lines without another actor present. “The aura was then added to his image, and this film was composited together with the film of Mark,” said Kazanjian. Alec wasn’t a fan of this approach. As Kazanjian observed, “[I]t’s awfully hard to get into the scene and deliver your lines to another actor who isn’t even there.” This is, of course, commonplace now in the age of CG-laden blockbusters, where characters and whole environments are added in post-production, but at the time, for the classically trained Sir Alec, this held zero appeal.

When it came time to shoot Sir Alex’s scenes for “Return of the Jedi,” the filmmakers made sure the legendary British actor would be able to perform on an actual set with actual people (namely Mark Hamill). This meant they had to tweak the Force ghost filming process a tad. According to Kazanjian, they did so thusly:
 

“In order to have Sir Alec and Mark in the same scene and still be able to add the shimmer to Ben Kenobi’s image — remember, he isn’t actually ‘alive’ in these scenes — we had to do certain shots with the VistaVision camera. The VistaVision film will give us a rock-steady image to work with later. Shooting this scene as one normally does also meant that Sir Alec couldn’t touch Mark or cross in front of him, because we don’t want the shimmer, when it’s added, to overlap onto Mark. It’s more difficult to add the shimmer in the lab, but we think that the performances will more than make up for the extra trouble.”

 
‘Yes, VistaVision! The widescreen 35mm format invented by Paramount in 1954, shown off to dizzyingly gorgeous effect in Alfred Hitchcock’s “Vertigo,” proved incredibly helpful to the “Star Wars” FX wizards throughout the shooting of the original trilogy. Though Paramount abandoned the format in 1961, the VistaVision camera proved integral to the shooting of the series’ groundbreaking optical effects. Not to be all fogeyish (but yes, to be all fogeyish), it was so much fun to get under the hood of these pre-CG movies. It might’ve been a pain in the tuchus to make them (George Lucas would certainly agree), but this handmade quality beats ones-and-zeroes every time.’

SparkySywer said:

HarrisHolt said:

Like when they knocked down some walls in the Cloud City.

I feel very strongly about this.

Irvin Kershner chose to make it so the sets got more and more constricted and claustrophobic as the Empire closes in on the Rebels, to give the audience that same feeling of claustrophobia. Then George Lucas comes in and adds these CGI windows that don’t even look right, and mucks it all up.

For someone who moans about original visions so much, it’s pretty ironic that he disrespects Kershner’s original vision.

The discourse around this change can get so weird, too. It’s as if people think the lack of windows was an accident or something. Someone even told me once that there wasn’t any windows because of a technological limitation making ESB. They do realize there have been windows in movies since 1895, right? Hell, the unaltered cut of ESB had windows, just less of them.

For budget or time constraints, especially VFX shots, I can see why they went with significantly fewer windows on set over the original concept designs for Cloud City. Yet I do think there is the claustrophobic element to it as well, this was meant to be a prison for life for Leia and Chewbacca to spend out their days, so I understand wanting that limited small window or windowless feeling to it.

I think Kershner briefly talked about this in one of the commentaries, maybe the laserdisc commentary for Empire? I’d have to check to be certain.

They are also meant to be ill at ease at Cloud City, something is meant to “feel off” about the place, unsettling even, which is obviously revealed later.
 

Edit. I had a listen to the Empire laserdisc commentary but couldn’t find Kershner talking about it. So I’ve probably mixed it up with something else, or it is a false memory.

I didn’t know there was already a thread on Dave Filoni! I’d have posted about him using other creatives’ original work and using it in his own content, all whilst making many needless retcons and alterations to them in here, if I had.

I should read the Indexes on here more! 😃

Dave Filoni retcons in Star Wars; in The 2008 Clone Wars messes up continuity or how Lucas is still destroying star wars thread

^ includes the EU, Legends, Canon, the Prequel Trilogy, 2003 Clone Wars, 2008 The Clone Wars, Rebels, Bad Batch, Mandalorian, Book of Boba Fett, Tales of the Jedi, an “in general” section, and also Ahsoka.

An Index & Help Thread for _The Expanded Universe:
 

• Lucasfilm clarifies the future of the EU (a 2014 thread; re the 25th April Lucasfilm announcement about the EU; Legends & Canon)

• The Star Wars Expanded Universe: Past, Present, & Future (2014 official Star Wars ‘Legends/Canon’ announcement video)

^ “We now have a story department that so that there truly can be one consistent narrative - and that’s always been the dream. I think the idea of aligning the content is really fantastic and exciting opportunity that no other fictional universe could even support. We’re going to be able to bring fans a unified vision in a way that we’ve never done before. And I think it’s a also sacred trust to be invited to be telling stories inside this universe because it’s so precious to people, and I understand because it’s precious to me.” - Lucasfilm VIPs.

and:

^ “It feels real when everything is in line. And I think that is the challenge for all of us going forward with Star Wars. How are we responsible with what was? And how do we still move forward even if things become very different? I think the EU will be a legacy that is mined forever.” - Dave Filoni.

Yet Dave Filoni not only tore through Legends with unnecessary retcons and changes, but also to this new 2014+ Canon, despite the proclaimed “one consistent narrative” and “a unified vision” that Lucasfilm claimed they were introducing in 2014.

“The thing about Star Wars is that there’s one universe" - Leland Chee in 2008 (Keeper of the Holocron / continuity administrator)

^ More quotes from various high-ups at Lucasfilm stating the EU is considered canon at the SW Force 4 Continuity site.

I do like Filoni more than not, though for me the homages and fan service is throughout his work is getting old. The need for him to refer to and revere certain past events and characters is something he seems unable to move on from. Stories and characters do not seem to be able to live in the moment, or for the future; almost relying on the audience reaction for love of those memberberries to illicit some emotion, because the current story being told does not. And of course, his noted reluctance to kill off certain characters, no matter the situation.

For me Filoni’s strengths in animation are also revealing some shortcomings in live action. Stilted dialogue, with occasional profound and “learning moment” statements, long pauses and looking into the distance, a lack of emotion on many characters (in a bid to be more stoic or noble?), 2D characterisation of the mass ranks (both villains and heroes below the main protagonist and antagonists), a “stage direction” feeling to some scenes. With more a “flat look and experience” to some action sequences filmed on The Volume. Not just on Ahsoka (at the half-way point), but also seasons 2 and 3 The Mandalorian and Book of Boba Fett.

But for fans of his animated work, Ahsoka (aka Rebels season 5), or for fans who love memberberries and fan service, it is probably an enjoyable and positive experience. And for the causal fan, there are some good moments peppered in amongst a fairly mediocre and run of the mill modern Star Wars show so far, with Sabine and the two villain standing out.

Edit:

One thing I don’t understand is why the likes of Henry Gilroy, Steven Melching, Simon Kinberg, Drew Z. Greenberg, Scott Murphy, and others don’t seem too get much of a mention or credit by fans of the series. Or by Dave Filoni himself when he talks about The Clone Wars, Rebels or animated content.

Although I guess this is not much different when Filoni uses EU characters or events, and doesn’t talk about or credit the original creatives from there, either.

Some of the main creative roll credits for those series:

TCW: https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0458290/fullcredits
Rebels: https://www.imdb.com/title/tt2930604/fullcredits
Resistance: https://www.imdb.com/title/tt8336340/fullcredits
Bad Batch: https://www.imdb.com/title/tt12708542/fullcredits

Sideburns of BoShek said:

I’ve had some recent changes to my circumstances, and thought I’d miss having Disney+. I was wrong, I haven’t missed it at all and doubt I’d subscribe again until Andor’s 2nd season is out.

Other subscriptions too, I just haven’t missed any of them.

I’m lucky enough to be in a group of friends that live reasonably close together so we can share and spread the cost of these streaming services. Visiting each other to watch content we like, and also hang out together. Yet still able to subscribe just for a month or two to watch anything we do like.

It obviously saves some money for everyone, and gets us out and about seeing each other, instead of sitting in the same chair at home each night. Not just for TV, but for film, specials, and sports as well.
 

“Online Piracy” is also on the rise once again. This is not surprising to with spiralling costs, limited incomes, and the contempt shown towards streaming customers.

Acbagel said:

I hope it’s more than nods and references to the Legends Dawn of the Jedi. It should be an adaptation of that storyline. I’m not saying you need a 1:1 translation of every page, but I would love to see Disney try a faithful adaptation of a Legends storyline for once. Bring it into Disney canon and modernize the presentation for sure, but don’t completely rewrite things and then toss in a few minor easter eggs to the comics and novels. Let us see the Rakata and the Force Hounds as the villains, show the Tho Yor and all the old lore that made the era so rich.

This is where I am at with the project. I hope and want it to be a like-for-like adaptation, though if it isn’t, or is yet another low-level entry into modern Star Wars, then at least we’ll still have the original engaging and revered comic books.

Mangold does tend to do “epic” well, so I hope he is left alone and undisturbed by Disney to complete this.

This too!

Star Wars: Dark Forces Remaster - Reveal Trailer

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4b9TTurkH4c - 90 second video at the Nightdive Studios YouTube channel
 

"Created in collaboration with Lucasfilm Games and fully remastered through our KEX engine, Star Wars: Dark Forces Remaster supports up to 4K at 120FPS and features advanced 3D rendering, modern gamepad support, trophies and achievements, and more!

Star Wars: Dark Forces Remaster is coming soon to PS4, PS5, Xbox One, Series X|S, Nintendo Switch, and PC (Steam). Stay tuned for a release date announcement later this year!"
 

https://www.gamingbible.com/news/platform/star-wars-fps-remaster-for-modern-consoles-001805-20230823

This looks great. Although I’ll have to start dropping hints now for this as a welcome Christmas present 😃

These are coming thick and fast:

Chapter 25 airs later tonight: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BYRrTH-2fSM

Chapter 26 airs on September 7: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=w-DMPs0Z-5M

Chapter 27 airs on September 14: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ae4xlNQlkGY
 

Darth Angelus YouTube channel: www.youtube.com/@DarthAngelus/videos

Spartacus01 said:

I perfer the PT lightsaber duels over the OT lightsaber duels.

Is that an unpopular opinion among Prequel Trilogy fans?
 

I think the lightsaber battles in the ST are nearly up there with those in the OT, with PT saber fights coming in last among the 3 trilogies. The Obi-Wan and Anakin fight seemed to go on so long it took the emotion and impact out of the fight.

Some good recent conversation on PT lightsaber battles and a fun video:

https://originaltrilogy.com/topic/What-do-you-think-of-The-Prequel-Trilogy-A-general-discussion/id/92975/page/14

Mocata said:

But he said there is no Episode VII 😉

When do we get Episodes I-III? 😃

From the 10th anniversary of the Original Trilogy thread:
 

‘1987 George Lucas on PREQUELS/SEQUELS of Star Wars at “Celebration 0” - at the 10th Anniversary Convention’:-

www.youtube.com/shorts/YK_r1FmCRC8 - a 1 minute video at the Skywalking Through Neverland YouTube channel.

Fan to George: “Will you do the first Trilogy, first, then the last one?”

George Lucas: “Yeah, I’ll do the first Trilogy, first. There are 9 floating around there somewhere… but I’ll guarantee that 3 are pretty much organized in my head, and there are a lot of notes on them. The other 3 are kind of out there somewhere.”

I agree with much of what has already been said. Some of my early random and rambling thoughts on the two episodes.

There is a lack of tone or atmosphere to the show. Filming on a stage set or on the volume, as opposed to the outdoors on location, does take away from that immersion of believability for the viewer when not executed well, and more importantly appears to zap the actors of emotion or urgency to their scenes. Wexter put it well: like a stage play, but only more dry.

Rasario’s muted performance, barely a flicker of emotion at times so far, has in my mind also somehow affected other actors sharing scenes with her. They are a little one note, without pace, tension or emotion. As rocknroll41 posted, a little wooden. Dramatic pauses and talking slowly don’t make for engaging scenes that have little or no tension in them (see Andor for how that is achieved, especially for building tension). There is quite a notable difference between Ashley’s performance of Ahsoka for Rebels and Rosario’s for this. So I am hoping for that performance to kick into life, now we have moved past these set-up episodes. We know Rosario is a good and talented actress, but she is not showing much of this, as yet.

The staid dialogue isn’t helping and is quite clunky in places. I wish as much effort had gone into the pacing, emotion, and dialogue as there obviously was with the call-backs, fan service and mirroring or homages from previous Star Wars content.

I have to agree with Emre that the background characters, and the background “bad guys” being moustache twirling and lazily written for does not help and appear to become a staple for Filoni shows. The point about the droids announcing the “self destruct” announcement giving Ahsoka just enough time to narrowly get away is spot on. That scene was eye-rolling. The map MacGuffin yet again? Really?

Impaled by a lightsaber yet everything is okay, soon after, yet again? Do lightsabers have a “stun setting” now?

As Z6PO said, why make that impalement a cliff-hanger for the end of the episode? We know from the promo material Sabine has a lot of appearances and footage to fulfil. What would have been surprising, shocking, and a welcome change of pace and tone would have been for Shin to have killed Sabine. It may have even been reason to kickstart Rasario’s performance as Ahsoka, and out of the subdued somewhat aloof-ish characterisation this far. To shake things up, put the viewer on edge, give the story some oomph, feeling, some emotion. Instead, Emre’s “barely an inconvenience” line from the Pitch Meeting videos made me laugh out loud, thank you for that.

No mention at all of Luke, Leia, or Han yet. Even mention of Lando, Chewy, Ackbar? For the whispers and rumours of Thrawn returning to galvanise the Empire and throw the New Republic into turmoil, we just get Ahsoka and some casual interest from Hera? Well so far, anyway.

I did like the speed racer scene, a neat introduction for those not aware of Sabine or her character. However, it did feel like a car TV advert with their being no other traffic on the road out of a major city! Just a minor gripe.

A shout out for the sound design and score, ship design too. End credits are tidy too. The main villains, notably Shin & Baylan have stood out for me. Followed by the droids, and LothCat! Like Humby says, there was a lot of work to do get audiences up to speed with all of the characters and plot lines, it has now done that, so let’s hope it does things more elegantly from now on in.

Like others, I hope the series improves as we go on. Ahsoka is better than Kenobi, BoBF, and recent Mandalorian for sure. Yet nowhere near quality and execution of Andor. I eagerly await The Mandalorian to turn up for two episodes about him, and maybe another episode focused on Dr Pershing and the Imperial sidekick. Just kidding, just kidding! I hope we get more of “show, don’t tell” mantra for the rest of the story, especially for viewers who haven’t experienced those events from The Clone Wars and Rebels. The exposition was little clunky, like the other dialogue in places, and so flashback scenes would be more preferable.

I can see why critics are saying fans of Rebels will love the show as it does appear to be Rebels season 5. And I’m happy that it has scored so well on the review sites. I don’t usually give too much credence to them, but given the history of toxic aspects of fandom since 2015, the politicisation of fandom, review bombing, and hate-for-$$$ online, it is pleasing to see a show receive a high number of positive comments and reviews. And that other fans are obviously enjoying this so far.

That’s enough of my rambling on, and saying nothing that nobody doesn’t already know.

Some mainstream (non-toxic/non-FDM) reviews and explainer videos:

www.rollingstone.com/tv-movies/tv-movie-recaps/ahsoka-premiere-recap-star-wars-dave-filoni-rosario-dawson-disney-1234809424
www.esquire.com/entertainment/tv/a44889043/ahsoka-star-wars-disney-review
www.hollywoodreporter.com/tv/tv-reviews/ahsoka-review-rosario-dawson-disney-1235570414
www.indiewire.com/criticism/shows/ahsoka-review-star-wars-series-disney-plus-1234897711
https://edition.cnn.com/2023/08/22/entertainment/ahsoka-review/index.html

www.youtube.com/watch?v=R_Th-of7_zI - HelloGreedo Ep 1 Review, 5 minute video
www.youtube.com/watch?v=UL3sPxcNgA4 - HelloGreedo Ep 2 Review, 5 minute video
www.youtube.com/watch?v=eKyPkuxdG7o - IGN 5 minute review for both episodes
www.youtube.com/watch?v=DTnPVN6jLs0 - Star Wars Explained, 20 minute review for both episodes
www.youtube.com/watch?v=nZeoo8rQO3s - EckhartsLadder 5 minute spoiler-free review

www.youtube.com/watch?v=LN3IoG7Glgs - ScreenCrush, 35 minute Breakdown video.
www.youtube.com/watch?v=-dveuEHoFGs - Heavy Spoilers, 30 minute Breakdown video

Emre16O1 said:

Less Star Wars = less Disney+ subscriptions.

It is that simple for me. I’d cancel the Disney+, and just binge it for one month, once a year. That’s if there was anything new and good on it worth watching.

Lots of film fans online saying they should release more of the different cuts of films they already have in their archives too. Product that doesn’t cost much to screen.

I can think of a certain trilogy of films that people would pay good money if made available.

In physical box set releases or through Disney+ subscriptions. For some fans, maybe both!

And less than a month later Disney+ increase their pricing:
 

In the US: Disney to raise price on ad-free Disney+ to $13.99 per month starting October 12

“Commercial-free Disney+ will cost $13.99 per month, a 27% increase, beginning Oct. 12. Disney+ with ads will remain $7.99 per month. Disney will also expand its ad-tier offering to select markets in Europe and in Canada beginning Nov. 1.”

“Last year (2022), Disney increased the cost of Disney+ by $3 per month.”

In 2019, when the Disney+ service started, it cost $6.99 a month, or $69.99 annually.
 

When Disney+ started in the UK & Europe it cost £5.99/€6.99 per month, or £59.99/€69.99 for a year (no adverts).

Now it is £7.99/€8.99 per month for “standard”, or £10.99/€11.99 per month for “premium”
 

Disney Plus in Australia and New Zealand, was originally priced at A$8.99 (US$6.09) per month or A$89.99 (US$61) per year, and NZ$9.99 (US$6.41) per month, or NZ$99.99 (US$64.1) per year, respectively.

Now it is A$13.99 in Aus, $14.99 in New Zealand per month, or A$139.99 in Aus, and $149.99 in New Zealand for the year

So less new Star Wars, no sign of unaltered theatrical cuts or any alternate versions of the Star Wars films, a minimum effort “Vintage Collection”, and generic empty formulaic “Disney+ Galleries” for some newer series, and even more price increases. Still treating the fans with contempt overall. I’m out. I’ll binge Andor season 2 when it arrives, and maybe Visions season 3, Skeleton Crew, or Acolyte in a single month next year or whenever. But that will be it for me.

I do hope we get more physical releases like the recently announced Mandalorian seasons 1 & 2 on 4K UHD and blu ray

Disney releasing Mandalorian seasons 1 and 2 on 4k UHD & blu ray is a welcome start.

They are also releasing Wandavision and Loki too.

https://deadline.com/2023/08/wandavision-the-mandalorian-loki-4k-uhd-blu-ray-release-date-1235524366
 

Wandavision and Loki are also being released:

https://deadline.com/2023/08/wandavision-the-mandalorian-loki-4k-uhd-blu-ray-release-date-1235524366/

Hopefully we will see more released, and older Star Wars content too. Something something unaltered theatrical Original Trilogy!

Also a release for Andor would be most welcome.

Emre16O1 said:

If the writers and actors strikes continue, and there is some talk of VFX workers also going on strike?, then Disney may have little option but to finally start showing the film and tv content already lying around in their archives for their Disney+ streaming service?

I hope so.

Although I do want the strikes get sorted quickly so the writers and actors get what they are asking for.

jpb19 said:

A YouTube video explains the mono and stereo tracks used different audio for some of the original trilogy. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xaeTOMvf67c . The video is pro Special Edition. I am glad the Despecialized editions of the original Star Wars trilogy exists. The mono and stereo tracks are included.

It is that awful 4 hour “How to Watch Star Wars, Part Two: The Special Editions Are the Movies, Get Over It” video from Rick Worley.

There is already a discussion about it in here, posted by a troll, back in February:

How to Watch Star Wars, Part Two: The Special Editions Are the Movies, Get Over It

Surely there are better videos, articles, or threads for the different audio used in the Original Trilogy before the Special Editions? In here, maybe?:

An Index of OT•com threads on all things the Audio of the Original Trilogy

The OOT : The changes to the OT films & general OOT (1977 - 1996) discussion thread

An Index & Help Thread for Theatrical Cuts vs. Subsequent Releases

and probably in many of the discussion threads on here?

Fang Zei said:

Seriously, a 4k UHD set, three discs per film, with the unaltereds and the “rare 1997 special edition” versions, seems like a no brainer to me.

Yep. Or even on Disney+ as well.

Include the theatrical CPY of TPM, Imax cut of AOTC, and whatever changes they made to ROTS before the blu ray too.

The Prequels are meant to be more popular now, so why not bank on that popularity. Offer the fans all the versions.

They have the content. They have the platform. They choose not to make that content available. Nor do they explain why.

They treat fans, customers, and consumers with contempt.

And then wonder why they get a bad reputation, or why subscriptions are down, merchandise sales are down, general interest is down.
 

It is not difficult to treat the fans, customers or consumers with respect. Treat them with some intelligence, answer their queries, instead of ignoring them. This is the 21st century, the digital age of communications, with many different platforms to inform and converse on.

Show all the Star Wars content they have, all the different versions and cuts. Or simply explain why they choose not to.

Mocata said:

For a second I thought hey cool, OG Lando can be part of the narrative. Like a bookend or something. Then I immediately thought about crappy CGI de-age-ing and weird stuff. Which unfortunately is more likely these days.

I wouldn’t like to see them de-age Billy Dee, they’d just mess it up, or eat up whatever budget they had for this show?

But I would like to see something like this:

oojason said:

As others have said in the old Lando movie thread it’d be great to have Billy Dee narrating the “Calrissian Chronicles” style adventures… while we see the action with Donald Glover.

Each week Billy Dee does a brief onscreen introduction for “let me tell you kids about the time we…” and cut to flashback or a pan away to Danny Glover in action. Will Billy Dee providing some further off-screen some narration or voiceover when needed for each episode.

Too sweet, maybe? I guess it depends on what sort of stories the Glover brothers are going to come up with, and the style of the show?

Billy Dee Williams being cryptic just after the Donald and Stephen Glover news above: “Something exciting coming soon”

https://twitter.com/realbdw/status/1684962452528918528?
 

https://screenrant.com/star-wars-billy-dee-williams-lando-cryptic-hint

Edit: BDW was talking about his coming memoirs, and not the Lando series:

https://twitter.com/realbdw/status/1686452962371977234

"✨💫What Have We Here?

Coming in February 2024, I will be sharing my life’s story—from Harlem to Star Wars and beyond—on all that has sustained and carried me through a lifetime of dreams and adventure."

Anyone still remember how to burn discs?!
 

Seriously, it sucks to finally see what many of us have sort of been expecting to happen, actually happen. And soon other systems will likely fall in line regions will face the same fate too.

“Rent - instead of own” appears to have been a big thing in tech for a while, and recently found its way to media. Ugh.
 

The OOT ever being officially released on a physical format again?

I guess the 50th anniversary will be the last “big date” such a release would seem feasible? Easily marketable, a lot of expectation, and with fan anticipation probably doing the groundwork for free publicity for such a release?

Even then, I don’t think they will release it, but obviously I very much hope to be wrong on that!

That is sad to see, and for what seems to be still a popular game. Those posts on the forum; the lack of information and updates, and general feeling that this is the “maintenance mode” end for the game, sad to see fans still treated like that.

Thanks Emre. The Acolyte is something I am looking forward too, more so as it appears to be a real set & location series than one using the Volume. Like Andor under Gilroy, Acolyte under Headland should have some meat and substance to it, and not just “cool lines” and needless fan service from other related shows.

For anyone interested in some video reviews on The High Republic; balanced, insightful, non-toxic & yet critical when needed:
 

Star Wars Explained: www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PL1E873sPZ0PNdG_HOJ5fnRLBSmWzcpi0p (playlist)

Youtini: www.youtube.com/watch?v=7hFiYZipSNA (many THR videos o from many different readers and critics)

Starrapter: www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLzEW4LILZJTOhFNXOLghOhG1uxxvxPiBV (playlist) + Art of THR book review

Star Wars On High: www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLwQv_UID5sUoL2eIfzSaTlhqgCy8KFPNe (playlist + also does comic reviews)

Star Wars Lads: Phase I playlist (with tier reviews) : Phase II playlist (with clear explanations + also THR comics reviews)

Jonathan Koan: www.youtube.com/watch?v=6qL3yx5OsJM (+ a few other THR raking videos)

Star Wars Corner: www.youtube.com/watch?v=L7CQghG6SRE (1 review)

Weird Pigeon Productions: www.youtube.com/watch?v=UQViXj6U67A (1 review)

Sean Chandler Talks About: www.youtube.com/watch?v=WMD3_l_KygI (1 review; LOTJ)

Star Wars official THR YouTube channel playlist: www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PL148kCvXk8pDExsot7ytrDO3ZRttxFuxH
 

Many of the above video channels also review other Star Wars and sci-fi books, novels, comics, films, and TV.