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Davis

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24-Apr-2005
Last activity
18-Dec-2012
Posts
214

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Post
#210949
Topic
Info & Help Wanted: for a 9/11 News Footage Preservation Project...
Link
https://originaltrilogy.com/post/id/210949/action/topic#210949
Time
Originally posted by: zombie84
I have some VHS footage from CNN from about 3:30PM-6:30PM of that day. I came home from school, saw it on the news...and strangely was compelled to record it as it was happening. I have no idea why, i know it sounds kind of weird, i guess i just felt that i should make some kind of record of it.


Weird- that's exactly what I did (with audio cassettes). I got home, heard about the news, turned on the radio, and for some reason felt compelled to fill up several audio cassettes with the NPR broadcasts. I still have them.
Post
#209819
Topic
What are you going to do with your SE discs?
Link
https://originaltrilogy.com/post/id/209819/action/topic#209819
Time

I think it would be best to somehow do it in person. If George was at any sort of event/convention, have everyone mail them to one person, who would present them in a box to George.

That would be awesome! But mailing them back would be great too. It's not showing contempt at all; it's giving him accurate results for his little survey he's decided to create. Since he made a couple tactical errors setting it up, I think it'd be great to just make it absolutely clear that we didn't buy the pack for the SE's.

What a great statement that would make, though. I can see the headlines: "Hundreds of Star Wars fans flood George Lucas' mailbox with Special Edition DVD's". That note would be great to accompany it. "Thank you for the original versions of the Star Wars trilogy. It's a shame I was forced to buy the Special Editions as well. Since they are of no use to me, I am returning them to you.

What a statement! But you guys are right; if we do this, we can't go half-way. ALL 72,000 people or however many it was who signed the petiition should mail their SE discs back. Then, it would probably work!
Post
#209564
Topic
Lucas talks about the Sept 12th Release of the O-OT
Link
https://originaltrilogy.com/post/id/209564/action/topic#209564
Time
That's so stupid of him. As if releasing the special editions on DVD twice in a row by themselves and advertising them heavily (one of them with a bonus disc) and then releasing the OOT on the 2nd disc as "Bonus Material", NOT restored, individually packaged (along with the 2004 DVD's, which most people own) and available for only four months is a measure of "whether they really wanted the original".

Yeah, that's fair. Personally, I think with comments like "We didn't do anything to it at all. But we're not sure how many people want that." Lucas can't possibly be that STUPID. I just think he wants us to prove him wrong and buy LOTS of discs so that he can get LOTS of $$$$ from this like he has from everything else. Just a clever marketing tactic.
Post
#209268
Topic
Palpatine
Link
https://originaltrilogy.com/post/id/209268/action/topic#209268
Time
Originally posted by: Shimraa
man i have jsut been reading the PT books in the last few months, and man i have to say that pali is starting to become my favorite sw character. he is jsut SO god damn smart, the way he took down the jedi order, and the way he rose to the top of the republic was just masterful. i noticed it int he PT as well. yeah the movies werent well made, and the acting wasnt the best, but the story, and the sith plan overall was just incredible.


Yeah! Too bad he blew it in ROTJ.
Post
#208087
Topic
Why the first two are better
Link
https://originaltrilogy.com/post/id/208087/action/topic#208087
Time
Another link

I got a kick out of this guy's comments...


Not so, apparently, for Star Wars: Revenge of the Sith. Man, I thought it was terrible. And you know what? Part of the reason I thought it was so terrible was because of what I'd learned from Mr. Roth! The opening shot of the battle on Kashyyyk I thought to myself "Now there's a crowded CGI action shot, I don't even know what to focus on. As JD might say, when everything's important enough to be on fire and exploding, nothing's important." Really, I thought both of those sentences.

Much worse, of course, for me was the acting. Perhaps the most important thing the new trilogy has done for me is to reveal that good (or even great) film actors are entirely at the mercy of their directors. Lucas has a deep and mysterious power to make any actor suck. In this installment, only McDiarmid seems able to resist the influence and deliver an interesting performance. I would also concede that McGregor's last speech on the Terrifying Hillside of Lava was pretty good.

How does Lucas do it? How does he suck the life out of these otherwise incandescent performers? I'm not sure of all of his techniques, but a very simple one he uses repeatedly is the Reaction Pause. It goes like this:
Actor 1: (pause, look troubled) My people are suspicious of you.
Actor 2: (pause, smile slightly, then look troubled) Well of course they tell you that. That's what they want you to think.
Actor 1: (pause, look away briefly, look troubled, look back and then look defiant) Oh, do they?

These Reaction pauses suck the energy from a scene like a giant space leech imbued with Dark Force Suckage Power. It's such a simple acting no-no. They teach it in every acting class I've ever taken, every director I've ever worked for will, at some point during rehearsal, say "Pick up your cues, people." Which means very simply that you say your line as soon as the other actor is finished and you react while you're saying your line!
Post
#207989
Topic
ORIGINAL STAR WARS TRILOGY OUT 09/2006 BY LUCASFILM
Link
https://originaltrilogy.com/post/id/207989/action/topic#207989
Time
Then Grinder showed me a clip of his LD cap of the 1982? fullscreen LD of A New Hope. That clip was JUST as I remembered Star Wars.

See that's my thing. Also, if they release it in fullscreen, wouldn't that mean that the part of the picture that you ARE seeing be in the highest-res the OOT has EVER been released in? Maybe I'm misunderstanding.

My other two questions were....

1. If this is REALLY pressed from the original prints from 77-83, then we should be seeing the original subtitles BURNED IN, in their original font, right? That means we get Return on the Jedi with no misspelled subtitles, and no player-generated stuff that looks like garbage.

2. Didn't they screw up the transfer for ROTJ for the '93 and '95 editions, during their "remastering"? I read somewhere that they lopped off about 10 scan lines from the top of ROTJ's frame, changing the aspect ratio. My question is this- are we finally going to get this in its original ratio, or are they going to copy the mistake from 93-95? Is this anamorphic?
Post
#207710
Topic
ORIGINAL STAR WARS TRILOGY OUT 09/2006 BY LUCASFILM
Link
https://originaltrilogy.com/post/id/207710/action/topic#207710
Time
I think actually that the E.T. DVD is his inspiration for his set. There were countless complaints I'm sure Lucasfilm saw, saying, "Look- Steven Spielberg did a Special Edition, but he included the original with it in a 2-disc set available for a limited time only." And that's exactly what he's doing. Rather than releasing the OOT seperately and risk people accidentally buying that instead of the "corrected" versions, he's going to make sure that this is a limited thing that includes the '04 versions.

A couple questions i have, though.

-Is this release going to be fullscreen as well?
-What's the sound mix like? The original stereo, or what?
-What about the foreign releases? Is it possible they're bringing back the OLD foreign language dubs, rather than the new ones they did for the 2004 DVD's? That would be awesome.
- Isn't it true that for the first time on video, we'll actually be able to see the OOT with all of the original "punched" and really realistic starfields intact? I seem to remember reading something on the X0 site like the stars "slipped out of the transfer" due to the low resolution?

Anyway, if what they're saying is true (a transfer from the original film elements), then I'm looking forward to this so much it isn't funny. I can't wait to see the detail of the X-wings, the Death Star trench, the surfaces of the asteroids, the original laser blasts, sound effects, voice actors, lightsabers NOT screwed up.... this is like a dream come true. Thank you so much, George.

I still can't believe that for the first time in over a decade, he's actually going BACK to what he considers to be an inferior version, and releasing it on a digital format. It just blows my mind.

THANK YOU!!!!
Post
#207434
Topic
In defense of George Lucas!
Link
https://originaltrilogy.com/post/id/207434/action/topic#207434
Time
You said it.

It's not like George Lucas didn't have problems in his life, either. It was really a wonderful move on his part to finally release the original versions of the trilogy in 2006. It's obvious that he didn't want to. Heck, at the AFI tribute, he didn't allow the original releases to be shown in the theatre. This wasn't just about making more money for him; I believe that he really felt like he wanted his versions with the "mistakes" corrected out there. If I were him, it would hurt to put all this money into making changes like fixing the landspeeder, changing the explosion, and redoing the model work- improving all of these "mistakes" that have bugged him for so long, and then turn around and put the version with all the "mistakes" on DVD right away.

Granted, he got carried away and made some very foolish changes, but with this surprising move to release the original versions (which I never thought possible), I totally forgive him. He's gotten my respect back. The prequels were bad, but still- I forgive him now and I really hope like the rest of you that these new releases will have great video quality.
Post
#205327
Topic
Beyond hope...
Link
https://originaltrilogy.com/post/id/205327/action/topic#205327
Time
Originally posted by: Gaffer Tape
I don't see how you can possibly consider Star Wars to be boring or slow. It starts out with a bang with a violent shoot out. The only time it ever slows down is with the droids. Then there's death and destruction, suspense, the lightspeed jump... I want to stop right here at that lightspeed jump and comment on how this scene is really special (and I've never thought about it before now) because it's able to maintain a "chase" suspense mentality with very few exterior ship shots or insane dogfighting prowess. It does this by keeping you focused on the volatile combination of the characters and their fear of getting out along with the suspenseful music. It's never been lacking in any way. Then you have the most intense part of the movie, the Death Star, filled with gunfights, near-death situations, legions of troops, chasm-jumping. The lightsaber fight isn't something to write home about compared to its successors, but I never thought of it as boring until I read posts on message boards. It's rough and gritty rather than acrobatic with seizure-inducing spinning blades. It doesn't warrant the criticism it's received from fans nor the rationalizing and excuses it's received from George. Then there's the escape scene with the gunning down the TIEs. Awesome scene. And then it goes straight into the awesome trench battle, which didn't need any alterations to be exciting! What's slow about Star Wars?!



Exactly. My old english teacher used to talk about the first time he saw Star Wars in '77. He says it was the most action packed film he had ever seen, the fastest two hours he had ever spent in a theatre. And to call it boring now? People's attention spans are way too short.

Part of what I loved about the original trilogy was just the language and the rankings involved, too: "Red five, standing by." "Man your stations." "Cover me". It was a lot more like the military and more realistic. And the lack of paranoid political correctness is also refreshing. I just shudder to think how Han Solo's character would have been written by Lucas in the '90's....


Leia: I really feel that you shouldn't be touching my hand right now. I didn't ask you to, and you are showing complete disregard for my personal space.

Han: Okay, m'lady. I've given up trying to argue with you. *dopey grin* My HEART is beating!- hoping that this incident did not create a rift in our relationship with one another. You are in my very soul. I can't breathe. I can't..

Leia: Shut up.

Han: Yes, m'lady.
Post
#205040
Topic
Beyond hope...
Link
https://originaltrilogy.com/post/id/205040/action/topic#205040
Time
Originally posted by: Gaffer Tape
I don't know. It's not that bad a review. He lists complaints too. He's not gushing completely. To be honest, his opinion was similar to mine when I first saw it... well, I mean, I never placed it above the originals, but I had many of the same praises and complaints four years ago.

I know, I know. At least he recognizes that the dialogue for the love story stunk. I just got the biggest kick out of his comment that Episode II had more EMOTION than any other Star Wars movie (including Empire!). I also liked his gushing about the CG Yoda:

...seeing him scratching his face, the mottled color of his skin, and the shine in his eyes when he stared out of the screen was wonderful. It made Yoda more real than ever before

The experimental Ep. II CG Yoda makes him more real than the puppet? Come on! And Padme being one of the best-portrayed characters in the movie? She and Hayden were the most wooden actors in the movie!

Originally posted by: CO
I just don't understand how anyone could be a SW fan, and not rank atleast the original SW high up on their list.


Oh, you wouldn't believe. Most of the people I talk to now tell me how "boring" the original Star Wars is. They would rather watch any other movie than it (my brother included). That just shows how shallow a lot of people have become, and maybe it's why movies stink now- they're being geared toward this type of audience.

(end of rant).
Post
#204868
Topic
Beyond hope...
Link
https://originaltrilogy.com/post/id/204868/action/topic#204868
Time
Review

I was browsing the Internet and had to post this review of "Attack of the Clones"- I couldn't quit laughing. This is just to remind you all that not everyone considers the prequels to be failures...


Yoda was everything he should be, and exactly what fans needed to see. The first time, I was stunned by his quick speed, and frenetic slashes. In fact, I was so awed that I never really saw how he moved. My second viewing allowed me to really watch his actions, and realize his small stature is what made him so deadly.

"As of two viewings, Attack of the Clones stands as my favorite Star Wars movie to date....the movie held more action, more emotion.... than any previous Star Wars movie."





Post
#202427
Topic
MSN's "Do nice guys always finish last?"
Link
https://originaltrilogy.com/post/id/202427/action/topic#202427
Time
I honestly think most women would rather date a jerk to feel good about themselves than be a with a great guy and feel bad about their own shortcomings.


i think you're right on the money. Since my little problem last April, I've developed a new mindset; don't even care what the girls think. Be confident, improve yourself, and have fun in life, and if a girl fits into your plan, but if not, fine. I'm not going to obssess about anyone because if they don't like me, it's their problem and not mine. This gets me a lot further than my old and whimpy attitude of, "Does she like me? What did that look mean? Oh, look- she walked past my table. Maybe that means that she's checking me out?".

It just hit me one day that the whole thing is too stupid to put that kind of effort into.