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MattMahdi

User Group
Members
Join date
1-Aug-2007
Last activity
24-Sep-2023
Posts
347

Post History

Post
#1551129
Topic
Rogue One -- a bonus disc?
Time

I’m coming to this party pretty late. I enjoyed Rogue One in the theaters and I did buy the 4K disc, but it wasn’t until tonight that I wondered what was on the bonus Blu-ray.

The film had such fascinating trailers, and the image of stormtroopers wading through water was a beautiful visual, but it’s obvious that much of it got rewritten and reshot.

Has anyone tried to collect what material we have or had available to us? I’ve got the trailers and a few bits of digital ephemera, and I’m wondering if there’s more.

A few years ago I created version 2.1 of a Star Wars Holiday Special bonus disc. My only regret with that project is that I didn’t test it thoroughly with VLC: two menus won’t work except on a physical disc in a physical player.

And if I can find enough material I’d love to have a go at Rogue One. I’d be interested in:

  • video (either files or links)
  • text and images
  • commentary and criticism in either of the above forms

So I’d love to hear from you, either in a reply or a PM, if you have thoughts or reactions or things to offer.

Thanks,

Post
#1545923
Topic
Info: Recommended Editions of Disney Animated (and Partially Animated) Features
Time

ZackR said:

MattMahdi said:

ZackR said:

Correction: The SitS disc does have a 2023 copyright on it so maybe it’s a new/improved version.

ZackR: Do you have any update on the contents of the Sword in the Stone BD?

Thanks,

So sorry I missed your message. Unfortunately, it’s identical to the previous version, as is Peter Pan. 😦

Thank you so much for saving others the pain of finding out.

UGH.

Post
#1517160
Topic
Preserving the...<em>cringe</em>...Star Wars Holiday Special (Released)
Time

SKot said:

I never picked that up. I think I was disappointed by the skimming over of the SWHS in that, but I can’t remember…what was actually in it?

It’s an oversize book, which you probably know, and it has one page devoted to the SWHS.

Most of it is photos: Ralph McQuarrie’s painting; Itchy and Lumpy (SMALL); Boba Fett (small); Ackmena; Leia and Threepio (large); and the cover of the original press kit (large).

The text is only one paragraph:

November 17: The Star Wars Holiday Special airs on CBS television. Directed by Steve Binder (and an uncredited David Acomba), and based in part on a story attributed to an uncredited Lucas, the show is described by Fox’s production notes as a “two-hour visual and audio delight” starring “the cast from the hit motion picture, Star Wars, along with special guest stars in a live-animated-musical potpourri of pure entertainment complete with astounding electronic special effects.” Highlights include McQuarrie’s matte paintings of the Wookiee homeworld Kashyyyk and an animated cartoon sequence that introduces Boba Fett. In the Special, Kashyyyk is pronounced “Kazzookk” and is spelled that way in the script, reflecting Lucas’s earliest notes on the Wookiee homeworld. The Special is never rebroadcast or officially released on video.

Post
#1516497
Topic
Preserving the...<em>cringe</em>...Star Wars Holiday Special (Released)
Time

Is there any mention of the SWHS in Taschen’s The Star Wars Archives, 1977-1983?

It would make the book that much easier a purchase, especially at the 40th anniversary price which can almost fit my budget.

It’s actually the reason that I kept the copy of Star Wars Year by Year that I was gifted years ago.

Post
#1473235
Topic
The Star Wars Holiday Special: The Definitive Release (Help Needed) (WIP)
Time

I’m pretty sure that KCCI and KCMO both exist only sans commercials. I’ve always seen a better-looking copy of C-3PO’s “The earthlings at Kenner” toy introduction paired with it, but I’m not sure if it actually was part of that transfer. It’s on the Angrysun disc with some other miscellaneous short videos.

Altogether sounds like a terrific undertaking and one I’m looking forward to seeing when it’s complete!

Post
#1472268
Topic
Preserving the...<em>cringe</em>...Star Wars Holiday Special (Released)
Time

You’re so right (not that I actually thought YOU could be wrong in this, you’re the expert): AngrySun KCCI.

I’m fairly sure that he only did two different transfers so if he did KCMO then I’m definitely in the wrong.

And as you said, the WMAR I’ve seen has a far more elaborate menu than the one he used for KCCI. Had forgotten that completely.

Post
#1472262
Topic
Preserving the...<em>cringe</em>...Star Wars Holiday Special (Released)
Time

Not an idiot.

It’s one of the earliest DVD transfers IIRC. Rikter distributed two versions: WMAR (that was the one with the commercials, right?) and another whose callsign I forget. I think it was too early for KCCI, but even if it wasn’t the video quality is definitely surpassed by more recent transfers.

(KCCI was seen as the gold standard for many years and it was distributed in a variety of forms. Seemed like everyone had their own menuing over the KCCI content. That was the second and last version I purchased, that one from OCP Movie. I then learned about this community and started zealously turning in sellers on eBay (whence came my first version).)

I really shouldn’t be answering a technical question without checking my information at home but I’m at a Super Bowl party and kinda bored…

Post
#1460011
Topic
The Star Wars Holiday Special: Remastered and Restored (Released)
Time

It is a shock to see the Special in widescreen and the opening start destroyers so clear – and then to shift to a fairly muddy-looking main program. Not a bad shock, just a surprise – I’d somehow missed that word in the opening post.

As nobodybutjarjar42 asked a few posts earlier, which transfer did you use? The EditDroid transfer really is fabulous, and if you’re going to be cropping and zooming it’s probably the best place to start.

And if I may offer an opinion…

At times the widescreen seemed too severe. The moment that stuck out the most is when the Imperial officer’s transmission came in looking for the missing trooper. It seemed so HUGE that I wonder if it might have been wiser to aim for an aspect ratio of 1.78 (plain old widescreen TV) rather than the 2.35 you used. Just as pan-and-scan of an old movie to a 1.33 screen was a sad thing once upon a time, here you’ve lost almost half the original image if I’ve done my maths correctly.

That said, a great experiment.

Post
#1459558
Topic
Fantasia - Special Edition laserdisc (Released)
Time

Class316 said:

Take for instance, the social media site GAB. They essentially refuse to moderate any content that is legal speech under US law. Unlike the Facebooks and Twitters of the world that censor viewpoints they don’t like. For this stance, credit card companies deny them service. Google and Apple deny them a spot on their app store. Obviously there is a pc police. People get fired for posts on twitter. Again, pc police. And so on and so forth.

“Ideas have consequences”, Frank Herbert said (and I’m sure many others have echoed him).

If my choices make credit card companies unwilling to associate with me, whether for their own reasons or because of perceived backlash from their stakeholders then that is MY problem.

That said, there is always collateral damage. Living in WA state, I’m reminded of when marijuana was legalized and banks would not deal with companies that sold the stuff because their national standing as corporations put them at potential risk with the federal government. Unintended consequences of well-meaning people who had the neat idea of legalizing the stuff.

I can see your point about a PC police. Things do get taken too far with cancelation culture.

And I also wonder if what we’re doing is, in fits and spurts, trying to work our way into a better world.

We won’t get there by rewriting our pasts, though, a la 1984, but by acknowledging them and moving beyond them.