Honestly the answer to everything that is wrong with AOTC can be found here:
https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PL56E3EB1DFD4B64A2
There’s really no need for anything else. That video remains to this day the single best use of YouTube I’ve ever seen.
let’s face it, Blu-ray is almost certainly the last ever physical home video format.
Might as well throw it on 4K Blu-ray discs for good measure and future proofing
So, uh, which is it?
How is this a contradiction? I mean that there will likely never be another physical home video format, but that doesn’t mean we won’t have 4K downloads and streaming. So might as well put the final physical release in the highest resolution currently practical. (That will likely stay that way for a long time.)
Wait wait wait… We’re a couple months away from 3.0? Or ESB 2.5?
yotsuya said:
That is kind of arrogant for releases in non-English speaking countries. That isn’t typical of Disney or previous Star Wars releases.
I think this might take the cake for most hypersensitive pointless bitching I’ve ever seen on the internet. Congratulations, sir. You overcame a lot of very steep competition to take that prize.
Lord Starfish said:
Mind you, with all the different editions of Star Wars that are available now, I feel that the only way to truly satisfy everyone would be to remaster and release all of them with the same amount of care. I mean, I’m still pining for a high quality version of the 97 Jedi ending scene…
I think the original trilogy deserves one more final truly ultimate edition Blu-ray box that includes every cut that has been released, in addition to maybe a new “semi-specialized” edit that includes only the subtle technical fixes and clean up rather than major content changes like Greedo shooting or bullshit like Jedi Rocks. Even better would be some kind of branching option where you could pick and choose parts from each cut you want to watch. I’m not sure how technically feasible that is, but you might be able to squeeze it all on a Blu-ray disc if you have each title share all scenes except those which are changed. The way I would do it is just put the original cuts (with selectable crawl for ANH) on disc 1, maybe along with some special features like vintage documentaries to fill out the disc, and then put a branching special edition on disc 2 where you could toggle the major alterations from each subsequent version on and off or just choose from the 97, 2004, and 2011 cuts. A 6 disc box with that would be amazing and the perfect send-off to the original trilogy on physical media. Because, let’s face it, Blu-ray is almost certainly the last ever physical home video format. Might as well throw it on 4K Blu-ray discs for good measure and future proofing (assuming they’re working from a fresh 4K scan - which they should). If they did all that, they would satisfy everybody and frankly I think that is the only way they could at this point.
Of course it’s more important. The best official release is (arguably) the GOUT. In spite of twenty years of fruitless rumors to the contrary, this is unlikely to change within our lifetimes.
Unless you have terminal cancer and are going to be dead within the next year or two, I’d take that bet.
And BTW I think the Japanese laserdiscs from the 80s look better than the GOUT. They’re noisier, but the colors are better and the detail wasn’t scrubbed out, nor are there any motion smearing artifacts. Because the GOUT is digital, slightly higher resolution, and cleaner, it makes for a better source for something like Despecialized. But if I could only choose an official release of the OUT to watch, I’d go with the Japanese laserdiscs instead. Sad how literally the first ever widescreen home video release of the trilogy remains the best official release to this day.
They are not all shit, only about 95% of them.
Actually, I would say that the majority of them are not shit. The majority really are subtle little things like removal of matte lines, cleaned up effects, subtle enhancements like the Cloud City Windows, continuity fixes, etc. If that was all the Special Editions were I would be all for them, but the minority of changes that are big and noticeable are unfortunately so bad that they simply can’t be ignored.
Well, no. Not at all. I don’t remember any removed matte line in the whole trilogy. If you mean garbage mattes, only a few of them were removed, some of them were actually made MORE visible. Removing walls of Cloud City corridors and replacing them with CG environment is not my definition of “subtle”. Continuity fixes? Where? I only know about new continuity errors which were created for each new version.
Watch the rancor scene, for one. It’s night and day. Some major fixes in the Battle of Hoth scene too. I’m sure there’s a full list somewhere and it is long. And that’s great, you don’t agree with the actual definition of subtle (it is not obviously CGI and blends in nicely). No one cares. Good thing is it’s true whether you believe it or not. Continuity fixes as in at least now the Emperor is the same guy who plays the Emperor in all the other movies, not some old woman with chimp eyes.
I love the originals, I grew up with them, I will always prefer them, and I agree that all the most infamous changes are awful. But I’m also objective enough to admit when something is legitimately an improvement. I don’t care; I’d rather see the movies as they originally were warts and all. But that doesn’t mean that every change is terrible just because it is a change.
The quality of the prequels is neccessary to understand the story decisions of…the Force Awakens.
No, just no.
No, I think he’s right. They deliberately chose to make TFA more like the originals because of the backlash to the prequels.
Wait a minute…so one of the comments by the execs was that it didnt feel like Star Wars; that it felt like…a war movie.
Everyone in the galaxy knew this was the plan except this one guy.
What a disaster. Next you’ll be telling me that the wars will be in the stars!
Even if you don’t, I still think the good or neutral outweighs the bad in terms of sheer numbers. But the problem isn’t the numbers, it’s that when it’s bad, it’s bad.
They are not all shit, only about 95% of them.
Actually, I would say that the majority of them are not shit. The majority really are subtle little things like removal of matte lines, cleaned up effects, subtle enhancements like the Cloud City Windows, continuity fixes, etc. If that was all the Special Editions were I would be all for them, but the minority of changes that are big and noticeable are unfortunately so bad that they simply can’t be ignored.
DominicCobb said:
Also when can we all agree to stop judging a score based on how memorable it is (whatever that even means anyway)?
Never. Because the entire point of a score to movies like Star Wars is to make memorable music that you inseparably associate with the characters and events on screen. Its power therefore can be in some respects measured by how successful it is at that.
ROTJ is actually my favorite soundtrack. The music during Luke and Vader’s duel is hands down the best thing Williams has ever done IMO. The Emperor’s theme is awesome, and that melancholy reprise of the Imperial March during Vader’s death scene sends shivers down my spine to this day. ROTJ wouldn’t be half the film it is if it wasn’t for those throne room scenes, and those throne room scenes wouldn’t be half as good as they are if it wasn’t for the brilliant music.
And all the score for everything with Jabba’s palace, Endor, and the final space battle is just as exciting as the previous two scores and used the best elements of them. Plus you even got “Lapti Nek” and “Yub Nub” as bonuses. Opinion may be mixed on those two but I for one love 'em and think they fit their respective scenes perfectly.
ESB comes next for introducing us to the Imperial March and some truly awesome music for the Hoth and Cloud City scenes in particular. Nothing beats that moment when Vader storms into the Hoth base to a thundering Imperial March or later in the film when the music abruptly changes pace as he demands his shuttle. (Ruined in the SE by the way.) Both are pure badass moments that define the character.
The original Star Wars is the one that started it all of course and is nearly tied with ESB overall, would probably best it if the Imperial March was written earlier. Every theme is iconic. And you can’t beat the binary sunset and the Cantina Band songs are ridiculously catchy.
Then TPM brought us Duel of the Fates which was awesome so it gets major points for that.
The rest are kind of tied IMO, not quite as memorable. AotC had a great love theme and it’s a shame it wasn’t used in equally great love scenes, and TFA has Rey’s Theme and the last bit of music when she finds Luke is awesome, so it gets points for that despite being a little more repetitive than is par for Williams. RotS is probably the weakest score, most all of it is recycled and I can’t even hum for you anything that wasn’t, but it’s still pretty good.
I’ve read the first 4 pages of this thread and one thing that I don’t think was mentioned yet is that the plots of all 3 prequels films are very similar. They always have the main characters together for the first act. In the second act, they split up, and in the 3rd act they come back together. If you you think about it the plots of TPM, AOTC, & ROTS are all very similar. I think this is a common trait of directors, but especially in the case of George Lucas. I think George avoided keeping main characters together for too long because it is easier to write dialogue with strangers than people who know each other. This is why it is good that Disney is having the sequel trilogy written & directed by different people. If the same person makes the films for a film franchise for too long, they get and stale and repetitive as seen with the prequels vs. the OT.
In fairness, ESB was the Star Wars movie with the least input from George and even it split the characters up in the middle.
Imagine if Spielberg had directed. Sitting here wondering what if.
Honestly, of the three I think his would have been the least different from what we got. He and George were so close at the time, and Star Wars was George’s whole thing, so I just don’t see him standing in his way much. He didn’t even with Crystal Skull apparently. He might have challenged George on a few things and brought a few keys elements to the table, but ultimately I still think we get Ewoks and the movie isn’t unrecognizable from the one we have today by any means.
Based on everything I’ve read and seen about how ROTJ was made, Lucas was for all intents and purposes the de facto director and Marquand basically did nothing of any note at all. I don’t get why Lucas just didn’t officially direct again if he was going to be on set all the time calling all the shots anyway. I know he was originally going to go with Spielberg but couldn’t for legal reasons with the DGA. I know Kershner turned it down after being burned out by ESB. And I know he even offered it to David Lynch, which would have been something different altogether to say the least. But then when all of those options fell through, why did Lucas even bother to hire some no name foreign yes man to basically just put his name on the movie? OK, so that gets around the union part but it doesn’t really do much in the actual directing department if you’re going to basically direct it yourself anyway. You’d think it would have saved Lucas some money to just make himself the official director. Unless Marquand really did bring something significant to the table I am unaware of?
I know it’s just a movie, but is it believable to think that Anakin could survive those burns even with the suit?
You’re seriously asking this question in a movie universe with faster than light space travel, prosthetic limbs that are indistinguishable from real limbs, laser blasters and swords, and literal midi-chlorians?
FTFY
I’ve found George Lucas’s account, turns out it’s not Negative1 after all
Definitely gonna need to see a source on the Aunt May movie cause that is as ridiculous as Aunt Beru and about as plausible to actually happen, especially since Sony has given Spidey up to Marvel now. Also since there have been literally countless movies centered around male characters, I really don’t care if they start making more centered around female characters. They will never be able to catch up. If you don’t like it, don’t have to watch it. The reaction to the new Ghostbusters has been childish and pathetic. I can’t stand Melissa McCarthy’s humor so I have no interest in seeing it, but I sure as hell am not gonna cry about how my childhood is being ruined because they put vagina wielders in the new Ghostbusters movie.
Is this project dead? I grabbed the first Blu-ray a year ago, but I haven’t heard a single update since then.
I assume everyone is all about the Harmy releases now, but I can’t seem to get excited about them. The constant updates and variations are too confusing to follow.
It’s not constant really. The only one that’s been changed a significant number of times is the original due to some coloring issues. The others have only had 2 or 3 versions.
Just because something is released doesn’t mean you have to download it.
True, but the title of this very thread mentions 1977. Time spent on subsequent revisions (whether it’s a years-later crawl with an altered star field, or the SE butchered versions, or whatever) is time not spent on the OT.
Yeah, good thing these people aren’t devoting their time to satisfying you specifically. Not that it takes long to splice in a crawl. Hell, it was there in the Blu-ray that Despecialized was made from to begin with, you just have to put it back!
And yeah, it is the OT. In fact, it’s as much the OT as Return of the Jedi is considering it predates ROTJ by 2 years.
Face it, you’ve lost. You’re just embarrassing yourself at this point by continuing to talk. Know when to give up.
…I learned many things about the Bible to fuel my hatred of it…
You actively hate the Bible?
Of course he does. He’s enlightened by his own intelligence…
OK, so I tried avidemux, but it has the same issue as before where everything works perfectly until you get to the exact moment the clips are joined, and then it freezes on the last frame of the last shot before the switch and the image gets all pixelated and just screwed up. But if you drag your cursor past this point before you get there it’s fine. (Tested with both QuickTime and VLC.) It only happens if you watch at the exact point of the splice. This issue was even there when I tried manually concatenating the clips with ffmpeg, so it must be something about the clips not matching up right or something. Perhaps because they were encoded differently? Don’t know.
Density said:
Are there still any plans to release 2.7 with the ANH crawl?I sure as shit hope not.
I never got this attitude. No one bitches about the sequels having a subtitle, it’s been there since 1981 before the original trilogy was even completed–let alone the special edition–and Lucas actually did always intend it to be there, unlike other BS changes like a digital rock or Vader screaming “Nooooooo.” It’s not even a bad title; it’s frankly a better title than “The Empire Strikes Back.” And it adds uniformity to the films. If you’re watching SW as a standalone film, great, then you don’t need or want it. But as part of the series, it makes sense for it to be there. That’s why options are good. No one would force you to download it, so it’s frankly just a dick move to say you hope no one else can ever see it just because you personally don’t like it.
I still think the idea that Anakin turned to the dark side to save his child and then turned back for the same reason was the best idea Lucas had in the prequels and it’s what makes machete order work.
But he didn’t. He did it to “save [his] wife from certain death.”
I guess his unborn child had no bearing on that then? Come on.
ROTS is literally the only one that adds anything to the OT story at all. It’s the only one that actually could really even be called a prequel in that it is the only one that has events that actually lead into the events of the original directly and tie into the main story of the original. It’s the only one that fleshes out the characters of the original (Vader particularly) in a significant way and the only one that changes how you see some of the events in the originals for the better (mostly). I’ve said it before, but I still think the idea that Anakin turned to the dark side to save his child and then turned back for the same reason was the best idea Lucas had in the prequels and it’s what makes machete order work. It adds a strong link between 3 and 6 that holds up well when viewed back to back.
And yeah that’s great, Episode 1 had a few more miniatures and was shot on film. Episode 3 still even looks better because at least the CGI, more of it though there may be, hasn’t dated quite as much as Episode 1’s CGI has. And the score? The score is great in all three, that’s not an advantage to TPM specifically. And Qui-Gon is a memorable character? Really? Qui-Gon never needed to exist. It should have just been Obi-Wan from the start. I love Liam Neeson but the character is pointless. Watto is memorable for all the wrong reasons as yet another racist cartoon alien with a dumb accent.