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MeBeJedi

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Join date
10-Mar-2003
Last activity
10-Feb-2025
Posts
4,879

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Post
#67472
Topic
Star Wars DVD Music Mix Botched!!
Link
https://originaltrilogy.com/post/id/67472/action/topic#67472
Time
Oh good Christ, what is this guy smoking?
Quote
What we have is a case of the DVDs being too GOOD for our cheap DVD players... Most DVDs are encoded at a 3.5 bitrate data stream and a two hour movie can fit on a single disc. I made a DVD of my own movie to show at a fest and I encoded at 7.5 megabits to get the best image quality. The DVD player used could not play the disc about 20 minutes into the show - it skipped, the audio jumped and it got stuck on a freeze frame. As a backup I had a 3.5 back-up DVD that we switched to and it played fine . Like my movie I think the SW DVDs are at a higher
bitrate than NORMAL but within the DVD standard. I have ESB playing on an i-mac 800 MHZ at if I try to listen to the Audio com track it stutters in full screen mode but plays fine a small window. My players fault not the disc if I had a G5 I'm sure the full screen would work...
On my Sony the movies played fine , on my Apex Dual - layer discs no way...
It's the Player not the disc. - LINK

Apology NOT accepted, Captain Needa. LOL!

Post
#67468
Topic
STAR WARS DVD Producer Van Ling answers the tough questions!
Link
https://originaltrilogy.com/post/id/67468/action/topic#67468
Time
Okay, now you are really being a dingbat. Read my posts carefully. Better yet, let me reiterate more clearly...

"LOL, you're really out there, ain't ya buddy?

Let's say Bill Gates goes out and buys the Mona Lisa and just about every classic piece of art available, and then burns them all."

First of all, explain to me how this "never gonna happen" scenario isn't "out there" in and of itself

Secondly, in case you weren't aware, Bill Gates is behaving exactly like Lucas is in many ways...

First of all, Bill Gates never created DOS. He bought it from someone else and sold it off as his own software. I'll bet he's never written a piece a code since Windows. This would loosely tie in with your description of Lucas' "ownership" of ESB/ROTJ.

Furthermore, like Lucas, Bill Gates no longer acknowledges old versions of Windows (much less DOS) by stopping support for them, and only selling the "newest" version - also analogous to Lucas claiming the O-OT no longer exists.

"How you feel about those actions has NOTHING to do with legal ownership, and everything to do with a meglomaniac wantonly destroying pieces of our cultural heritage."

Whatever that means. How about we talk about what I like to call the "real world", and find a more reasonable example than your prior attempt:

O.J. Simpson's Heisman trophy.

First of all, I think O.J. was guilty, and should have been punished. That being said, when I saw that his Heisman trophy had been bought at auction and deliberately destroyed, I thought that was a ridiculous gesture. The trophy had nothing to do with the murder, nor did destroying it bring back the victims or bring any relief to the remaining family. It was simply an act committed as a gesture against what O.J. had recently done.

Now, I don't even want to watch old Police Squad movies anymore, because O.J.'s appearance in them kinda spoils the fun for me, but...

Did the people who bought the trophy at auction "own" it? Yes.

Did the people who bought the trophy at auction have the right destroy it? Yes

Was it necessary to destroy it? No. Even though I would never want to look upon the trophy personally, it does represent an important event, and its destruction was a real shame..

Now, back to Lucas. He is ultimately responsible for the Star Wars saga, regardless of whoever else worked on the films. He has put serious time, effort and money into these films, and has fought tooth and nail to maintain ownership of them from the studios. In the end, they are his baby.

Does he "own" them? Yes - especially after going back and purchasing the rights to ANH from Fox, WHICH OWNED ANH PRIOR TO THIS, in case you weren't aware of that little fact.

Does he have the right to change/modify/alter them? Yes, and has in fact done so long before the SE's ever came around. This was simply the greatest and most deliberate set of changes performed on the films at any one time.

Now, for the million dollar question: Should he change them?

In my personal opinion, no. In Lucas' opinion, why not?

They were fine the way they were, but he feels otherwise, and that's a sad fact for people like me and you to take. This is why I've invested over a thousand dollars and hours transferring the best LD material of the original films to DVD. Lucas is going to do what he wants, and I am going to do what I want.

And the next time you feel like contriving ridiculous pie-in-the-sky scenarios in some lame attempt to misrepresent how I feel about this situation: don't, because, once again, it misses the point entirely.

"They were paid to do their jobs, like a cameraman or a grip is. Do you think the costume designer should have a say in way George wants his films to look? It's basically they same thing."

Let's not forget about the first editor of ANH, whom George fired because he didn't want to edit the film George's way. Apparently, that guy thought ANH was his film.
Post
#67423
Topic
STAR WARS DVD Producer Van Ling answers the tough questions!
Link
https://originaltrilogy.com/post/id/67423/action/topic#67423
Time
"To disregard their contributions and instead consider them as nothing more than mere 'labor' is, well, just not my opinion."

I'm curious. Please point out where in my post that I disregarded their contributions. Also, please explain how any contribution on their part limits Lucas' rights and ownership of the films.

It's a moot and rather ridiculous point. These attempts to redefine, much less negate Lucas' ownership of the films miss the point entirely.
Post
#67361
Topic
STAR WARS DVD Producer Van Ling answers the tough questions!
Link
https://originaltrilogy.com/post/id/67361/action/topic#67361
Time
"The presentation of the films has varied for years, with certain lines being changed or dropped or levels changing, and they certainly have the ability to do what they want"

Very true.

"so I have to trust that what you see on the DVD is what they intended, even if you may disagree with their choices."

Even when the foreign soundtrack has different (i.e. "correct") settings? LOL!

"Van Ling: I would definitely expect something like that, probably around 2007. But I still think this current set is worth getting as well, since the content will be different for any future sets."

Curious. Does the "different content" refer to the extra materials, or to the movies themselves? More changes, George?

"The bottom line is that Lucas is 100% within his rights to do anything he wants with these films. I don't want to be called a Lucas apologist for pointing out an objective fact. "

Actually, you are absolutely right. I just have a problem with how Lucas is exercising these rights.

Quote
"They created the OT, Lucas (along with the real Producer) could only REVIEW and CONFIRM their creation. It's a pretty easy concept to understand, but it seems to go over the head's of many Lucas Fanboys.

Lucas does have the LEGAL RIGHT to screw up the OT, but he's no different than Ted Turner attempting to colorize classic movies. Both own the legal rights, so they can do what they want with someone ele's creation.

But that legal right does not make hacking up classic cinema morally right.


Well, I'm certainly not one to defend Lucas either, but you are seriously splitting hairs and mixing the issues in your argument here.

"So no, I don't see much different between Ted Turner and George Lucas, and I think it's quite insipid to consider Lucas the creator of the Star Wars Trilogy, any more than Albert S. Ruddy *created* The Godfather, or Lawrence Bender *created* Pulp Fiction."

By that reasoning, just because you don't see a difference between Turner and Lucas doesn't make it so, either. The only film he had to buy the rights to in order to change was ANH, which is ironic because it is the one film that was mostly his.

Now, if you wish to put a myopic focus on the strict definition of theatrical terminology in order to put 1) a man who financed, oversaw and finalized ESB and ROTJ on the same level as 2) a man who had no direct or peripheral involvment in the actual making of films which he later bought and changed, then go right ahead, but you are nowhere near making a relevant point.

Lucas did not want direct, day-to-day involvement with his films, but he was involved with them. Obviously, he's gotten way too involved with them now (as have we, apparently. )
Post
#67079
Topic
Info: OT Bootleg DVDs
Link
https://originaltrilogy.com/post/id/67079/action/topic#67079
Time
Attaboy. Hey, if your ESB LD has the "snowspeeder wipe-out" sound byte, you may have to send it to me.

[EDIT] I meant, as a .wav file (though it would be nice to extract it digitally from the LD.)

[EDIT] You know, I totally forgot I had this LD as well...http://www.davisdvd.com/images/starwars/esb_ld6.jpg
• RELEASE DATE: 1985

• STUDIO: CBS/FOX

• RELEASE FORMAT: Laserdisc

• COMMENTS: Three Standard-Play CAV discs (Cat# 1425-84)

• TECHNICAL COMMENTS: Pan & Scan transfer with with CX-encoded Stereo Surround sound

• OTHER COMMENTS: This edition is not time compressed and also marks the first time ever that fans can analyze the film frame-by-frame (thanks to the CAV format) - DavisDVD
Anyone know if this version has the sound byte? I guess I'll have to bring a TV in my office to play the LD, since my computer is busy.

Oh, I have this disc also...http://www.davisdvd.com/images/starwars/rotj_ld1.jpg
• RELEASE DATE: 1986

• STUDIO: CBS/FOX

• RELEASE FORMAT: Laserdisc

• COMMENTS: Two Extended-Play CLV discs (Cat# 1478-80)

• TECHNICAL COMMENTS: Pan & Scan transfer with CX-encoded Digital Stereo Surround sound

• OTHER COMMENTS: The film is spread over three sides


(They are fool-screen, so I never really bother with them. Of course, that didn't stop me from buying them. )
Post
#67037
Topic
Info: OT Bootleg DVDs
Link
https://originaltrilogy.com/post/id/67037/action/topic#67037
Time
"MeBeJedi, do you have the original 1989 version of the ANH LaserDisc or do you have the 1992 re-release of the '89 disc with corrected 2.35:1 letterboxed transfer?
"

I have the Def. Col, the Faces set, and disc 1 of the 1992 LD set (long story...)

"MeBeJedi, do you have the original 1989 version of the ANH LaserDisc or do you have the 1992 re-release of the '89 disc with corrected 2.35:1 letterboxed transfer?"

Technically, it's immensely easy. It's simply a voice-over of the existing scene (which now has "snapshot
' noises as the pictures changes.)
Post
#66869
Topic
Info: OT Bootleg DVDs
Link
https://originaltrilogy.com/post/id/66869/action/topic#66869
Time
This one: http://www.davisdvd.com/images/starwars/sw_ld3.jpg

"WHAT YOU MAY NOT HAVE KNOWN: The 1989 laserdisc was quietly reissued with the newly corrected letterboxed transfer, completely doing away with the "incredible shrinking ratio" problem. This release, pressed by Mitsubishi Japan, features the same catalog number as the 1989 release. So how can you tell the two apart? This corrected edition is released by "Fox Video." Coupled with the 1985 audio mix , this could very well likely be the best presentation of the film

And in the 1985 audio mix...

"effects, new stereo'd effects (Jawa voices after Artoo's capture) and, most noticeably, the addition of C-3PO's line in the Death Star ("The tractor beam is coupled to the main reactor in seven locations. A power loss at one of the terminals will allow the ship to leave"). This new sound mix was used for every subsequent video release until the 1993 THX "Definitive Collection" remastering." Davis DVD Video Timeline

Actually, it sounds a little out of place. It was definitely recorded at a different time.