I feel like we should give that link its own new thread. The more votes the better.
Whoops, I was reading it without clicking the article first. Post corrected.
Yeah, it's depressing to read that the writer didn't know about the alterations to the binary sunset, but let's not forget there was a screening of a pristine Technicolor print just this past summer in Baltimore.
Optimism!
Where's that from, xhonzi?
Oh, the box set will do gangbusters this September, there's no denying that. Still, I can't help but think there's a good amount of people out there who won't be buying it because it doesn't have the originals.
These are people who Lucasfilm would, y'know, stand to make a good deal of money off of if they'd release the originals.
The major selling points (so far) of the box are the SE and PT in high-def and deleted scenes. Yes, there's a legion of TF.Ners who will eat this up, but for everyone else I just can't see it being worth the money when there's plenty of other blu-rays competing for their hard-earned dollar.
Here's something to remember, though:
That set probably wouldn't have had as high an msrp as it did if they hadn't included that third blu-ray disc in the package (the workprint disc).
I think that's the logic LFL hasn't grasped yet. If LFL is that unsure of a restored/remastered OOT being worth their investment, they should charge a little more money to make it worth their while. I mean, isn't that basic business sense? If you need to spend more money to make your product, you tell people what's so great about the product and why you're charging a little higher of a price point.
All of that is beside the point anyway. Star Wars leaves every other film behind when it comes to popular demand of its original version. You remember that scene in Pulp Fiction when Vince and Mia are at the diner? Mia says she knows a funny joke and Vince wants to hear it, but Mia keeps refusing? Finally, after he asks for the third or fourth time she just says "No! It's been built up too much, I can't say it now!"
LFL is Mia and we are Vince.
We just keep building it up and building it up, asking again and again "Will the originals be remastered???" It just seems like the more we ask, the more LFL digs their heels into the ground, the "no comment" incident being the most recent example.
When the Well finally dries up, and hopefully it will some day, then we will see the originals nicely restored and remastered.
It will be the last thing LFL has left to make any money off of.
The cruel irony is that we got a 5-disc release of Blade Runner because WB actually needed to put some effort into it in order to have all these selling points to get people to go out and buy it.
What does LFL need as a selling point? "It's Star Wars, now give us your money!"
TheBoost said:
see you auntie said:
I think Lucas may have forgotten where he came from. He wouldn't be anything if it wasn't for Francis Ford Coppola mentoring him in his formative years but I hardly see George taking on such a role.
I doubt Lucas wouldn't have been anything without Coppola. He'd already made "THX 1138" which was seen as visionary, and earned his internship at Warner.
To clarify, Lucas had made his student short-film Electronic Labyrinth: THX-1138 4EB, which got the attention of Coppola who wanted to produce it as a feature.
Just wanted to clarify that you were referring to the short film Electronic Labyrinth and not the feature length THX-1138.
Back on topic:
I'm curious how Lucas is going to re-package the movies further down the line. TPM in 3D should be hitting theaters this time next year. Will he release a bd3d of it later on in 2012? Meanwhile, will the PT, OT and Saga boxes still be the only way of getting those movies or will he do individual releases sooner rather than later? It would be great if they made the bd3d of TPM an all-out multi-disc ultimate edition, complete with the theatrical cut.
Here's the big picture to consider: LFL can only re-package these movies so many times before they run out of new shit to sell us. This initial blu-ray release will give us the deleted scenes, plus the novelty of watching the PT and the messed-up version of the OT in hi-def video and audio (....woohoo). Then, as the movies are converted into 3D, we'll get those on video as well. Just what the hell do they have left to sell us after that besides the holy grail that is the OOT?
Ghostbusters said:
I don't understand why LFL wants such a hefty price for these blu-rays when they don't even include the OT, something millions of fans want, but they include a crappy version we already have in higher resolution. Maybe if LFL would give us want we want, they wouldn't have such a problem with tracking down bootlegs/illegal file sharing.
Yeah, but then they wouldn't be able to quadruple-dip the spending masses. "OMG, Star Wars on blu-ray! What? It's not the original versions? Oh well, it'll do." Why give everyone what they want when you can bait and switch?
That said, I really will be surprised if LFL doesn't eventually do a proper restoration of the original versions at some point, even if it's not until 2017. I dunno, it just seems like it keeps getting built up and built up and after this recent "no comment" from LFL after they got asked for the umpteenmillionth time about the original versions, you'd think they would, I dunno, TAKE A FUCKING HINT.
I just really don't see what Lucas would be accomplishing by never getting around to it. I mean, is he hoping that after he says "no" for the umpteenbillionth time we'll just give up and stop asking? Maybe then he'll convince himself that people really don't want the OOT and it's not even worth the time and effort to restore it and press out the discs because no one will buy them (okay, that sounds a little too Howard Hughes).
Waiting to release it for the sake of double-dipping and making money is annoying, but that's business, I get it. These are some of the only movies LFL owns the rights to and they happen to be the most successful movies of all time. Not to sound jaded and cynical, but if you were LFL wouldn't you be milking these movies for all they're worth?
I'd be willing to wait for a proper blu-ray of the OOT, even if they are the last three movies released on the format.
Refusing to ever release it at all, on the other hand, is just pure lunacy.
Baronlando said:
This situation with the original versions is more of a dick move.
Agreed.
SE or no SE, good prequels or bad prequels, burying the originals is Lucas' biggest sin.
Y'know what one of the most amazing examples of visual effects I've ever seen is?
Zodiac
There's this scene where Mark Ruffalo is walking around a San Francisco crime scene at night, on some Haight-Ashbury-esque street.
Just about everything surrounding him, from the moving cars to the houses, was put in via cgi. I had absolutely no idea it was all fake until someone brought it up on a message board I frequent.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TT491ctM8Kk
I've been wanting to start a thread about this for a while, but this is proof that Dave Fincher (a former ILM-er!) would've been a perfect director for one of the prequels.
Animal Kingdom
Great movie, I heartily recommend!
Wow, I would've hoped nothing from '97 or '04 would've made its way into that book. At least Kershner was still alive when those versions came out. There'd better not be a single thing from after '83 when Making of ROTJ comes out! Marquand passed away in '87.
I must echo Kurgan's thoughts on the matter.
Throw in theatrical cuts of the prequels and I'll buy those on blu-ray as well.
I don't think that Spike deal actually kicked in until 2008.
It was a confusing use of words, but I think by "the three masters" he meant the o-negs for the "three" original films (the original trilogy).
I'm pretty sure the plan is to see if TPM does well at the box office and then convert/release the others one year at a time.
That's not what I heard.
With each passing year it's not so much a question to me of "if" so much as "when" the OOT will be restored and remastered. What I would absolutely love to see is this:
Let's assume TPM-3D does well at the box office. I would love for the Blu-ray 3D release to be an all-inclusive ultimate edition, complete with the theatrical cut (yeah, getting my hopes up on that), and the same goes for AOTC in 2013 and ROTS in 2014. When ANH hits, LFL should at the very least make the blu-ray a two-disc set that includes the theatrical version, same goes for Empire in 2016 and Jedi in 2017. I think it just needs to be made clear to Lucasfilm that we'll pay a premium to see the OOT restored.
Any number of things is possible. Maybe they'll re-release the bd's of the six films individually at some point in the next couple years and include the remastered OOT then.
What's hard to imagine happening is an OOT release that doesn't force us to buy the newer version also. Even more unlikely would be the ultimate scenario of George licensing Criterion to do it (which would be awesome, don't get me wrong, but at the same time kinda inappropriate since these are some of the highest grossing films of all time and not the kinda stuff that's up Criterion's alley).
I recently heard that George made ninety-some-odd-million dollars last year. It seems a tad ridiculous to me that he can't spare a tiny fraction of that to restore a piece of film history he himself helped create.
Every time a shot from eps II or III popped up, I winced and thought how much better those movies would've looked if Lucas had just stuck to shooting in cinemascope like on the other four films. Say what you will about TPM, the cinematography is gorgeous compared to the other two prequels.
someone did a comparison in one of the threads (don't remember which) between TPM shots from the new ILM doc and one of the TPM transfers that's out there. It confirmed that the shots in the doc are from a new transfer.
EDIT: ah, you found it
I know someone already did this with shots from the recent ILM documentary, but it would be interesting to see a TPM comparison between the dvd/hbo/cinemax/spiketv version and the new trailer.
None, I thought the TPM opening day digital projection (which only played in four theatres in the U.S., two in Jersey, two in Cali) was the exact same edit as the 35mm. Are you thinking of the pre-release version where Darth Maul's body doesn't split in half?
Found this: