Cuchulainn

rouged said:

Maybe Lucas is troubled because Star Wars saga is not so extremely popular nowadays as it used to be in the past. And that's why he tries to push the prequels forward, maybe with the idea they are more suitable for today's generation. Anyway, he has almost completely lost his touch with the (Star Wars) reality.

It is, though. It's still massive. I agree he has utterly lost touch with what Star Wars was originally. And, whether Lucas would agree or not, I believe had he made Episodes VII, VIII and IX instead of I, II and III, he'd have made even more money, regardless of how 'old' the cast members were.

The whole shift in his outlook to where he claims that 'the whole saga is about Darth Vader and his redemption' is a load of old shit.

It's immaterial how successful the prequels were. Anything with the name 'Star Wars' attached to it would have made a fortune in 1999. I firmly believe that had the series continued, it would have been even more successful (had Lucas re-employed Kasdan or someone who could actually write a coherent script).

But he didn't. He made the damn things and there they are. He knows they're rubbish but can't allow himself to admit to it so he constantly refers to them as being so 'important'.

I haven't bought the BD set but I have seen the 'artwork' and it's truly dreadful and certainly relegates many of the OT characters to a seemingly 'less important' status than a lot of the insignificant characters from the prequels. It's yet another feeble attempt by Lucas to foist the prequels on everybody and to exagerrate their importance.

It's mind-boggling that a film series that started out with such beautiful and iconic artwork (McQuarrie's production paintings and the classic Hildebrandt poster art) has degenerated to images that (as someone said elsewhere on the boards) look like they were painted by the same guy who illustrates those religious pamphlets.

Relegating the OT characters to a remote corner of the rather shitty 'collage' is yet another example of Lucas' apparent resentment of the OOT. The guy has lost it.

I pity the people who go along with (and in some cases even approve of) this cavalier and vindictive attitude to the original films.

I will never buy the BD set in its current incarnation.

You can add me to the list of 'haters'. They are ineptly directed, hamfistedly-written cartoons that completely undermine the integrity of the OT.

There isn't one character that one can relate to or empathise with in the whole damn trilogy. They're simply not likeable. And all these 'mirrors' and 'rhyming schemes' Lucas blathers on about just show how deluded he is in his own belief that he can either write or direct.

I'm not even going to suggest they're a wasted opportunity. I couldn't care less about Vader's backstory or if he (shudders) built C3PO or not. Or bloody midichlorians.

If anything, I would have liked to have seen sequels...

I certainly wouldn't wish any ill on GL or any member of his family. Of course it's frustrating and baffling to see him steer the OT in the cartoonish direction of the prequels but to equate the ruination of these films to personal tragedies such as cancer, rape etc. is unnecessarily hyperbolic and unconstructive. I used to frequent a popular UK film magazine forum in the past but the whole 'GL raped my childhood' shit just distanced me from these idiots and as a result (not the only reason but it didn't help) I stopped posting on there. If you don't like the prequels, guess what? You don't have to watch them. I own the bloody things and I can't foresee myself watching them any time soon.

It's sad to see Lucas incrementally destroy the OT as the years tick by. It's even sadder that I have subsequently viewed almost everything GL has said regarding the 'non-existence' of unaltered prints as utter lies, but that's the way I feel.

We can talk and talk until we're blue in the face about our theories about why Lucas feels the need to constantly piss about with the OT, but I honestly doubt we'll ever see the unaltered films in any HD format. As countless posters have said before me, is it so much to ask?

Having not seen any of the fan preservations yet (my pathetic PC set-up prevents me from downloading anything worthwhile) it would seem these efforts will be the closest anyone can hope for in replicating our beloved memories of first seeing these movies.

Anyway, I'm not expecting a massive cave-in from Lucas anytime soon. While I admire the steadfast refusal of so many to line his pockets yet again by not purchasing the BD set, there are a great many Star Wars 'fans' who, perplexingly, seem to resent the general opinion on here and will immediately rush out and buy the damn thing just so they have 'Star Wars on Blu Ray', regardless of the many oversights and crass additions and revisions the films have suffered at the incompetent hands of both Lucas and his army of jobsworths at Lucasfilm.

It truly is a dark time for the rebellion...

The 'fatal flaw' of the prequels in my opinion is that they suffer from GLs lazy, revisionist historianism. 'The stories were always about Darth Vader'...Bullshit. The OT was about Luke Skywalker. The prequels have, at least to me, diluted and lessened the power of the OT. I have no problem with anyone liking or loving the prequels and the EU but in my mind Star Wars will always begin with 'Star Wars' and end with 'Return Of The Jedi'. All the prequels did was completely destroy the whole mystique about Vader and The Force and all that other cool shit.

The Radio adaptations were brilliant. I bought the CDs of those. and the Alan Dean Foster Splinter Of the Mind's Eye novel (which we all thought was Star Wars II at the time)

Well, balls... : )

OK, I'm new here and despite my best efforts, I haven't seen a thread on this topic (feel free to delete if there is).

Personally, I have no interest in this stuff. I bought the 'Heir To the Empire' novels when they came out and the 'Dark Empire' comics but I never liked them much. Same with the prequels. I hated the fact that 'The Force' was reduced to some stupid physiological phenomenon. I didn't want to see Darth Vader as a kid. Sometimes less is more. Thoughts?

canofhumdingers said:

I'd like to see lucasfilm let Criterion Collection do for Star Wars what they did for Seven Samurai (or any other film they've done such an incredible job restoring).

Really, I'd like all six films' original theatrical releases restored & preserved by someone who will really do a proper job (Robert A. Harris or someone like him) & then released on bluray with all the original theatrical audio tracks as options.  Plus the '97 SE's (also restored) & whatever George wants to call his "final" version (but really let it be final this time!).

^ This.

Mavimao said:

I've been to some crappy forums and I've been to some good forums. And I've been to some awesome forums. This one is definitely the latter.

I've been here since about 2004/2005, when I caught wind of Laserdisc bootlegs of the Original Trilogy being available somewhere. I signed the petition, learned about the X0 project, donated money to the project (and not upset in the least about "losing" my money - these things happen and I understand) and throughout the years I've seen this site grow to something extremely important.

What started as a gathering of concerned fans of the OOT, has become a major epicenter of discussion and preservation of many things not only Star Wars, but other important projects as well.

We've gone from debating which laserdisc rip has less dotcrawl, to documenting the differences in various sound mixes throughout the years, to cleaning up and restoring the Mono mix, to figuring out how to clean up the GOUT with AVISYNTH as much as possible, to now recreating HD shots from the OOT with bits of footage and custom mattes.

But the site doesn't just stop at Star Wars! We've preserved LD documentaries and commentary tracks that have not seen the light of day since. We've helped people replace wonky surround sound mixes of various films with more authentic ones.

We've come a long way, and yes, we're seeing a lot more activity with the new Blu Rays, but I don't think a few bad apples are going to spoil what make this site great.

Brilliant. I doff my hat to you, sir...

I think it's irrelevant. Prequel people and SE lovers can find voice wherever online and we can't?

My friend met him in Disneyworld in Florida and apparently he was vey nice.

I think logic has long distanced itself from both GL and his current acolytes. Regardless of the success of the prequels or the SE DVDs etc, there has been an insufferable tyrrany at work which has yielded nothing but the progressive and determined attrition to destroy a series of films once lauded worldwide over generations, now reduced to the cartoonish foibles of a megalomaniac who should never have been allowed such 'control' over his 'work'...

My 2 cents...I firmly believe George Lucas is suffering a form of neurosis. Suffer the facts...

Is seemingly a prolific, if unusual student at USC.

Wins favour and is applauded by both his peers and industry alike (THX 1138)

Destroys his and his friends' aspirations with the failure of THX and the death of Zoetrope (v.1)...

Returns to glory with the huge success of American Graffiti and the formation of Lucasfilm.

Makes Star Wars. After much studio bullshit, creates the most popular film of all time.

Yadda yadda yadda...

It's troughs and highs, isn't it? Regardless of his marriage (which, let's face it, can happen to anyone) Lucas has been up and down like a bride's nightie...it's no wonder the enormous pressure took it's toll somewhere on the man. The sudden, overwhelming wealth and power (within a certain field) must have been an extraordinary set of circumstances to find oneself in...Yet, therein lies the rub...He can do virtually what he likes, and what does he do? Tinkers and fiddles with his masterpiece , oblivious and uncaring to the rest of the world, trying to perfect the unperfectable. Destroying with every seemingly ingenious stroke.

The man needs to be distanced from these films. I will paraphrase the director William Friedkin regarding the French painter Pierre Bonnard...

'The security guy is in the Louvre and suddenly notices some old guy fooling around with one of the paintings...He accosts the old guy and notices he has a brush and paint in hand and is tampering with the work of art on display...'C'mon, buddy', says the guard, and drags the guy away from the exhibit. 'but...but, I'm Bonnard!!' cries the guy... ''It's in the fucking Louvre, pal!!' says the guard.

Hi everybody! I'm new to the forums and I thought this would be as good a thread in which to make my first post as anywhere else. As a long time SW fan (I was taken to see Star Wars in 1977 by my mum, I was 9 at the time), I have become increasingly perturbed at the way the original films have been gradually turned into cartoons by GL and his legion of jobsworths and after reviewing the latest batch of pointless and insulting 'revisions' to the OT, I have decided to not purchase the Blu-Ray set. I have just calculated the many 'editions' of the OT I have accumulated over the years and it runs something like this :

Star Wars/The Empire Strikes Back/Return Of The Jedi :

Originally taped on VHS from TV.

Ex-rental full-screen VHS purchased.

Widescreen VHS purchased.

Special Edition VHS Box Set Purchased.

Special Edition DVD Set Purchased. (subsequently left to my son after separation from ex-wife)

Star Wars Original Trilogy DVD Set purchased (the one with the LD port 'original' versions)

Now, that's a lot of purchasing...Not to mention buying the (imo) utterly rubbish prequels on DVD twice!!

I have only recently become aware of the whole 'fan edit'/preservation subculture and as a result have become rather fascinated with the whole thing. It's incredible to me to see the dedication, talent and ingenuity that people have displayed in creating their own 'true' versions of these classics. If only Lucasfilm cared as much about these beloved films as you do.

Anyway, thanks for listening. A bit 'heard it all before' but I just felt I should introduce myself. Look forward to getting to know you guys.