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Fang Zei

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14-Oct-2006
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12-Aug-2025
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Post
#285254
Topic
Anyone else nostalgic to the PT?
Link
https://originaltrilogy.com/post/id/285254/action/topic#285254
Time
Having been born in '85, retroactively just in time for the original versions to officially never be hitting the big screen ever again, my answer would have to be yes, of course I'm nostalgic towards the PT. It was more Star Wars movies.

Speaking of plastic sabers, I'll never forget being at the Tysons Corner Galleria FAO Schwartz a couple weeks before TPM was released and swinging around the Darth Maul saber while a tv monitor there played both trailers on a loop. That's also where I spoiled the ending for myself by flipping through the comic book adaptation but I think I'd already heard about it/figured it out for myself by that point anyway. The spoilers were something I'd follow for the other prequels as well.

Then there was opening day, and I went to go see TPM by myself sometime in the late afternoon passing a friend who'd just seen it as I arrived. The aud wasn't even filled to capacity, but as I left afterwards I remember passing a pretty huge line and seeing yet another friend who was about to see it. It is funny looking back on it now how TPM got hyped only because it was the first Star Wars movie in 16 years and ROTS got hyped because it would be the last ever, leaving nothing to hype AOTC over.

Speaking of which, I remember being at my uncle's house outside of San Francisco in August of '01 when I first read online what the official title of Episode II would be, a very cool moment since I wasn't far from where Star Wars was pretty much born. My uncle had a toy car and he mentioned it was of one of the cars in American Graffiti. Months later I saw Spider-Man on opening night and a kid turned on his green toy lightsaber and waved it in the air at the exact moment that Mary Jane kisses Peter Parker and I yelled "only 2 weeks to go!" amidst the other yells of the crowd. The morning of the 16th there was a story on the radio about how people were planning on skipping work to go see AOTC, and indeed I cut class with a bunch of friends to see it at the union station amc theater. I must've been pretty bored that summer because I went back to see it multiple times, unfortunately not once in digital projection no thanks to scooby-doo.

That last year before ROTS was pretty good. The lack of an OOT dvd didn't bother me to anywhere near the extent that it bothers me now, and besides I remember a lot of people picking up that boxset anyway. A friend and I watched Star Wars on his 60 inch widescreen in component video and 5.1 surround (I'd already read about the soundtrack screwup and yea, it was definitely noticeable. The Lars Homestead scenes come to mind). We were blown away by the picture resolution right from that opening scuffle aboard the Tantive IV. We just weren't used to it looking that clear! It was cool to once again hear Luke mention the Clone Wars now that we'd seen it for ourselves. The next month was the ROTS teaser, timely in its use of that very same digitally restored footage. The trailer in March blew me away.

I could go on and on and on about this, but I'll just close by saying that it was a blast seeing ROTS at midnight with another group of friends. Before the show started, I noticed someone in the audience watching the original version of Empire in widescreen on his laptop! I'd already known that fan preservations existed, but that was another thing that eventually led me to this very site.
Post
#285249
Topic
Star Wars screening with Q&A with Lucas tonight
Link
https://originaltrilogy.com/post/id/285249/action/topic#285249
Time
Since I don't feel like starting a new thread just to ask a question, I'll ask it here.

I need some clearing up on a certain subject. I keep reading here and there about how Lucas apparently did some fx cleanup work to the OT for one of the early 90's home video releases, totally prior to the special edition. Is this true? Are people possible confusing this with the THX remastering that was done for the '93 LD?

I already know about the various sound remixes thanks to davisdvd's home video timeline, but I keep reading this story about pre-SE changes to the actual picture on message boards and the like.
Post
#281930
Topic
What 30th Anniversary?
Link
https://originaltrilogy.com/post/id/281930/action/topic#281930
Time
Over the weekend I watched my TPM dvd on a 4:3 tv with s-video and was suprised by how good I thought it looked. Then I reminded myself it was an anamorphic disc and therefore being downscaled in order to fit the screen. On my computer at full rez, no, the transfer doesn't hold up very well and its flaws become very obvious, but even the worst anamorphic transfers look pretty good on the tv and this is why I've been spoiled by them. A few months back I picked up Conan: The Complete Quest even though I noticed Conan the Destroyer was 4:3 letterbox. Let's face it, there's not exactly an outcry for that one like there is for Star Wars. Anyway, while taking it for a spin I was almost transported back to '97 and the days of watching the widescreen SE vhs. The only other letterbox discs I've seen off the top of my head are the old releases of Guys and Dolls, Oklahoma! and South Pacific, Artisan's first release of Frank Herbert's Dune, Universal's first release of the Dune movie, Fox's first release of Planet of the Apes and Michael Collins.

Is George Lucas's ego really such that he can't even swallow his pride for one split-second and just remaster the things? It's the 30th anniversary and yet LFL is determined to sell everything except that which we want the most from them.
Post
#281086
Topic
should I get the GOUT?
Link
https://originaltrilogy.com/post/id/281086/action/topic#281086
Time
Originally posted by: Puggo - Jar Jar's "Yoda"
But seriously, how would anyone who's a crazy enough SW fan to be on this forum, have the willpower NOT to buy it?


Somehow, I've found a way to control myself. It's saving 60 dollars versus having some of the greatest movies ever made finally on dvd but only technically as they are from laserdisc masters and not dvd masters as the vast majority of movies on D-V-D are. If I buy it today and then in a few weeks find out they are getting, you know, the actual expected level of treatment later this year, I'll be kicking myself. Seriously, unless I keep them sealed in their plastic and somehow retain their status as collector's items, I will pretty much have thrown away 60 dollars. I don't need people at TF.N reminding me that no one is holding a gun to my head in order to realize it for myself, but to echo words of wisdom from another message board, Lucas really seems to be going out of his way to make things difficult for the fans.

This crazy theory came to me yesterday. What if the '04 release really was nothing but a hype up for ROTS? Think about it, especially considering the prequelizing changes that weren't made to the movies until that first dvd release (Hayden, Ian, Temuera's voice, etc). I mean, it's bad enough that LFL had to pull the mother of all poser moves and basically release an official bootleg, but maybe they'll continue this trend and some good will come of it if and when a remaster is released.
Post
#280929
Topic
should I get the GOUT?
Link
https://originaltrilogy.com/post/id/280929/action/topic#280929
Time
I'm facing the same dilemna myself. I realize that if Lucas really did release this in intentionally bad quality with serious plans to just roll out the expected treatment for them the very next year, that it would be some kind of a record in the dvd industry for how quickly a bad release was followed by a much better one, but I just can't shake the feeling. My logic is, all LFL would have to say is that the next dvd release officially isn't happenning, at least not this year. However, they haven't said anything. It's so simple that something has to be amiss. That and, well, I just can't justify spending 60 dollars on laserdisc transfers .... even if it is Star Wars.
Post
#280845
Topic
To those who own the OOT Sept Release & an HDTV
Link
https://originaltrilogy.com/post/id/280845/action/topic#280845
Time
Originally posted by: Blackjack
plus, I recently watched the undestroyed version on a 51 inch HDTV and at times I actually feared I had put the destroyed edition in instead because it looked so good.


While it's heartening to hear this, I almost don't want to hear it. The only GOUT disc I've actually seen is ROTJ. It looked and sounded pretty bad but this was on a ps2 and small tv.

Every time I walk into the local indie shop, those IV, V and VI are still there, still wrapped in plastic. Yes, even this far into the year. That voice in my head keeps saying things like "it's not that bad of a quality and what if it really is the only time they'll ever be on the format???" Still, that same voice would proabably call me a sucker and remind me of how I'd just blown 60 bucks on laserdisc-to-dvd ports.
Post
#280835
Topic
the original episode I
Link
https://originaltrilogy.com/post/id/280835/action/topic#280835
Time
This makes it easier to at least accept the prequels for what they are, as GL's backstory and nothing more. Even on wookiepeedia the OT is described as the core of the star wars saga, not simply the second half. This is all yet another reason why I don't mind the prequels' existence just so long as the originals are rightfully preserved. Sadly, they haven't been.
Post
#278984
Topic
The Secret History of Star Wars
Link
https://originaltrilogy.com/post/id/278984/action/topic#278984
Time
Zombie,

I had to do some more skimming as I couldn't quite take the constant talk about the original film's script revisions (don't worry, I'll come back to it when I can), but I noticed you pointed out the Rosie O'Donnell interview. I remember watching that! She thought Darth Maul was actually Mace Windu in disguise and then actually asked George if she was right. His reply was a simple "no." She also asked him if he ever watched Star Trek and he said something like "I caught a few episodes but I wasn't a Trekkie or anything." I think he was also asked how long until Episode II would be released and it was "3 years, although I wish it was 4."

I've skimmed over huge sections now, including the one about George and Marcia's divorce. I didn't see anything addressing the rumors that Marcia got %15 of sales of the OT and that maybe that's why George changed them into different movies, aka the Special Editions. On the other hand, I guess there wouldn't be much documentable evidence to treat that as anything more than it is, rumor.

Also, I didn't know that the official fan club actually shut down at one point. I know people always refer to the late 80's as the dark times but I didn't know it was that dark.
Post
#278446
Topic
The Secret History of Star Wars
Link
https://originaltrilogy.com/post/id/278446/action/topic#278446
Time
Zombie,

First off, many thanks for putting this thing together. I skimmed over it before actually sitting down and reading it. I wanted to stand up and applaud when I noticed the comparison of Anakin and the Clones' march on the Jedi Temple to the similar scene from Dune. Reason being, that section of the movie when Anakin becomes Darth Vader and Yoda senses it from the other side of the galaxy has always reminded me of the scene from the Dune movie when Paul takes the water of life and the reverend mother senses it from the other side of the galaxy. Anyway, I'm about 40 pages or so in and it's insanely interesting. I can already see you bring up Dune a number of times actually! For a little six degrees of seperation story, Rudy Wurlitzer, one of the guys who wrote Two Lane Blacktop, would later write a Dune screenplay with Ridley Scott before that folded and David Lynch became the director, true story.
Post
#278293
Topic
What were your original expectations for the PT?
Link
https://originaltrilogy.com/post/id/278293/action/topic#278293
Time
Yea, the multiple Darths throughout the PT did get kinda lame and it's almost as if it was there just so Lucas could conveniently work his way From Darth Maul and Darth Sidious (and the backstory of Darth Bane) in TPM to Darth Tyrannus in AOTC to the backstory of Darth Plaguis to Anakin being dubbed Darth Vader by the emperor in ROTS. Correct me if I'm wrong, but whether or not it was implied that Vader wasn't the only Darth, he was the only Darth we knew about until TPM was made. I didn't like finding out that the Emperor was also a Darth. There was one Darth too many in TPM.
Post
#277631
Topic
Six-Movie Star Wars Marathon at Celebration IV
Link
https://originaltrilogy.com/post/id/277631/action/topic#277631
Time
Originally posted by: CO
It is so ironic that they are celebrating the 30th Anniversary of SW by showing all 6 films, and the version that is 30 years old doesn't exist anymore! It should be a marathon of all 6 movies to commerorate the 10th Anniversary.

Yea, except the SE's 10th anniversary has already passed!

Originally posted by: CO
I wonder what exactly they will be screening, and how? Will there be new prints made or high res digital projection from the digital masters, or will they simply be projecting the dvds, as is sometimes done? If they are from digital masters, i wonder if they will be any of the updated versions of the films, if such things are indeed coming. That would be quite the way to reveal them. Anyone who attends these screenings should be on the lookout for pink and green lightsabers in Star Wars--if theres not then these are brand new masters which will assumingly be made for an impending release. And if there are still pink and green lightsabers in Star Wars during a marathon screening organized by Lucasfilm for the 30th anniversary...then thats just dumb. But i guess it will go well with Greedo shooting first and Hayden Christenson in Return of the Jedi.


The posters shown on the website are from the '97 SE. The AFI in Silver Spring, MD has shown those prints as recently as the past couple years so those will probably be screened at this thing. This assumes of course that it isn't some sort of grand unveiling as you're suggesting.
Post
#277341
Topic
What were your original expectations for the PT?
Link
https://originaltrilogy.com/post/id/277341/action/topic#277341
Time
I remember buying a copy of a magazine way back in '94 that said "Three Years until the next Star Wars Trilogy" against some photo of the Millennium Falcon on the cover. It was the first issue of the magazine, it was called Science Fiction Universe or something like that. The actual story proceeded to break three years down into even smaller units, ending in seconds. There were blow up quotes (or whatever you call those), one of which was Luke and Ben's brief conversation about the Clone Wars from ANH. They used one of those OT paintings, the crazy jackson pollock looking one with lots of grey colors and spaceships, I think it was supposed to be the battle of endor. I don't remember anything from the actual article. Hopefully it's still lying around somewhere at home but with my luck it's long gone.
Post
#277325
Topic
The Go-Mer-Tonic™ Thread - Today's Topic: Whose your favorite author and why?
Link
https://originaltrilogy.com/post/id/277325/action/topic#277325
Time
The first time I saw it at all was in June of 2000 when SciFi channel aired the original theatrical version letterboxed. I remember reading an article on how it would be the first time in ten years that the theatrical version had been shown on tv. All I can really remember is being impressed by the visuals and the music.

A couple years ago I picked up the dvd of the director's cut, mainly out of concern that they weren't going to be reissuing it in a better dvd. Less than two years later, bamn, remaster. Yes, I have that as well.
Post
#276865
Topic
Hypothetical: 30th anniversary theatrical release
Link
https://originaltrilogy.com/post/id/276865/action/topic#276865
Time
Like I've said before, LFL has made its choice in regards to the GOUT and can't take it back. All it can hope for is to salvage whatever shred of decency it's left itself by remastering the OOT from an IP and getting it over with. It'll be impossible to explain the 2006 release as anything more than an easy cash-in, but if they didn't feel like giving the bare minimum expected treatment then they could've simply not released it. Again, they've made their choice and can't take it back.