ChainsawAsh

May 17, 2006
Jim Ward
Senior Vice President, Lucasfilm
P.O. Box 29901
San Francisco, CA 94129

Dear Mr. Ward:
I’m writing on behalf of any fan of Star Wars who has been waiting nearly ten years for the original versions of the trilogy to be released on DVD. All we’ve been asking for are the best possible preservations on the most modern format, currently DVD. A new 2.35:1 anamorphic widescreen transfer, no digital enhancements, one of the original sound mixes, all done with care to preserve film history. I’m writing this because, even though Lucasfilm has announced the release of the unaltered trilogy on DVD, we do not believe we’re getting the best possible preservation.

I am an immense fan of Star Wars – I have been since 1995, when I first saw the pan-and-scan VHS tapes from the eighties. I fell in love with the characters, the story, the music – everything. Then, in 1997, I was excited that the films were being released in theaters again. So, I went to see Star Wars, The Empire Strikes Back and Return of the Jedi in the theater for the first time. I was eight. Even then, every time something different than I remember came on the screen – the “improved” Mos Eisley, Cloud City, or Jabba’s palace; Jabba in Star Wars, the new ice monster in Empire, or the bird-beaked Sarlacc in Jedi – I thought, “Why? Why did that need to be changed?”

Seven years later, after its conspicuous absence from the most modern format, the Star Wars trilogy was finally released on DVD. Needless to say, I was as excited as when the excellent original versions of the Indiana Jones films were released. As I watched the films, however, I discovered to my horror that they were the 1997 Special Editions. But, worse than that, they had further alterations, to the point of replacing the original actors!

Don’t get me wrong – George Lucas has every right to do whatever he wants to his films. They’re his property, not mine or anyone else’s. However, he has no right to suppress the original versions – they should be preserved in the best form possible. Currently, that best form is DVD. Needless to say, I was excited when Lucasfilm recently announced the release of the original, unaltered trilogy on DVD. I’ve been following the news of this release closely.

Many complain of the lack of 5.1 sound, which doesn’t bother me in the slightest – 2.0 surround is perfectly acceptable. I’d prefer the original mono mix for Star Wars, along with the original stereo and six-track (4.1 on DVD) mixes for all three, but the 1985 or 1993 stereo remixes are just fine. Others complain that you have to buy the 2004 editions again to get the originals. Again, I don’t mind. But one recent rumor brought forth by a respected DVD news site has me and many other fans extremely upset: the apparent lack of an anamorphic transfer.

I, and many other Star Wars fans, own a widescreen TV. I own many DVDs, the vast majority of which are anamorphic, or 16x9 enhanced, or any other name you wish to describe it by. A few, however, are not. Watching these non-anamorphic DVDs on a widescreen TV is near torture – the quality is horrible. Even on a 4x3 “fullscreen” TV, the difference is startling. If these releases are truly non-anamorphic, it will be a stab in the back to all the Star Wars fans you’re trying to appease.

It seems to me that this may be Lucasfilm’s – or, more specifically, Lucas’ – attempt to show the “high-quality” Special Edition transfers (though those are plagued with problems that I won’t get into here) against poorly-done laserdisc-master transfers of the originals, to prove that “his” versions are better. If this is so, I urge you to persuade Lucas to reconsider. He can release his saga sets with the prequels and his versions of the originals as many times as he wants, as long as the unaltered originals are available in the highest possible quality alongside them.

I strongly urge Lucasfilm to take the same care with these releases as Universal did with E. T. That release should be Lucasfilm’s model for the new Star Wars DVDs – a good-quality, anamorphic transfer, with no alterations to the original print. If such care is taken and the quality of this release is to today’s standards, bootlegging will stop and fans will no longer complain. But if the release is a sub-par, non-anamorphic former laserdisc master, the bootlegging will continue and fans will be just as adamant as they have been since 1997 about getting the original versions in the highest possible quality.

Sincerely,

[NAME REDACTED]

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