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Mentasm

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Join date
3-Sep-2004
Last activity
11-Apr-2013
Posts
94

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Post
#142418
Topic
OT Released AGAIN!!! (DVDAnswers.com article on possible new box set...)
Link
https://originaltrilogy.com/post/id/142418/action/topic#142418
Time
Quote
Originally posted by: DarkGruson
I guess Vader still has his pink "bubble gum" lightsaber in TESB and ROTJ?

The quality control of the DVD transfer/Lowry cleanup was horrible.

Thank God we have Citizen's DVD transfer now!


Lowry himself was supposedly hushed up at a Q&A when he said that Lucasfilm hadn't given his company enough time to properly complete the restoration. Bit shit really.
Post
#142316
Topic
OT Released AGAIN!!! (DVDAnswers.com article on possible new box set...)
Link
https://originaltrilogy.com/post/id/142316/action/topic#142316
Time
I hate to break it to the guy who gave the tip to TF.N, but we told them about it as soon as we posted the news article We always pimp Star Wars releated news there (and most other SW related sites). As for the set, it's the same as the one that came out last year, minus the bonus disc. Lucasfilm always said that last year's release was a limited edition (just not that limited). It's no different than when they took TPM and AOTC off of the shelves, only to re-release them to coincide with the ROTS release. The discs have the commentaries with the same participants (oh and Easter eggs) as the existing release.

I can't see that they would have fixed any of the 'crative decisions'. Doing it so soon after the initial release would surely open them up to way too much criticism. In fact, I wonder if their would be a case for legal action if such fixes were made? It would be pretty conclusive proof that the exisiting sets are seriously flawed if they acknowledged and fixed the mistakes. Just can't see it happening myself.
Post
#138735
Topic
Prequel Trilogy Script rewrite
Link
https://originaltrilogy.com/post/id/138735/action/topic#138735
Time
Don’t really think you need to recast the whole film. Most of the players were perfectly adequate, it was bad writing and direction that was to blame. After all, it is Lucas who ultimately chooses what takes go into the film, and we know for a fact that Christensen did (in his opinion) better takes of certain key scenes. I’m sure Obi-Wan’s ‘I have failed’ you in Sith was a casuality of Lucas’ inability to direct. The emphasis should have been on the word ‘failed’, not the word ‘have’ as it is in the film.

Anyway, I’m with most people in thinking that the prequels are hugely flawed, but I can see why Lucas did certain things. I hate the concept of Midichlorians, but I imagine that they were introduced to explain why Anakin was less powerful as Vader (because he has fewer organic body parts and therefore less funky DNA). Still, it was something that didn’t need explaining.

I also hate Lucas’ current explanation of the crap fight between Obi-Wan and Vader in the original Star Wars. He now says it’s because one is old and the other a cyborg, but he contradicted all of that in the prequels. I mean, come on, you have Qui-Gon and Count Dooku, who are both well over 60, doing stuff that aged Obi-Wan could only dream of, and he was only in his mid 50s! Then you have General Grievous (a cyborg), who is incredibly agile and powerful without having any Force ability. By that measure, Vader should rule!

Personally I don’t mind that Anakin was found on Tatooine, as it makes sense that he would be unwilling to return there. What I really hate is the ages of the characters. Obi-Wan should have been 30 minimum, and Anakin should have been a brilliant, but troubled teen. This would have made the romance with Padme far more convincing (not to mention the rest of his character). If they really had to have the droids in the film then they should both have been Padmes. Better yet he should have appeared right at the end with Bail Organa. The whole Anakin building 3P0 is terrible.

Loads more I thought of the other day, but can't remember it now
Post
#138331
Topic
Info: Well yes, it's another OT project. (* unfinished project *)
Link
https://originaltrilogy.com/post/id/138331/action/topic#138331
Time
This project has been a bit quiet lately, but I've just been given a massive update on how it's progressing. It's not far off completion, and looks to be a very nice set. Here's how it's shaping up:

Movie Discs:
Anamorphic Widescreen
Dolby Digital 2.0 Stereo Surround
PCM 2.0 Stereo Surround
Definitve Collection Audio Commentary layered with original soundtrack
Isolated Musical Score

English Subtitles
Commentator Identifying Subtitles
Animated Menus featuring full motion video and sound
Original THX Trailer that first appeared before ROTJ in 1983 (Return Of The Jedi only)

Bonus Discs:
From the '93 Definitive Collection and '95 THX Laserdiscs:
George Lucas Interview
Ralph McQuarrie on Designing Star Wars
A Tour of The Lucasfilm Archives
Ben Burtt on The Sound of Star Wars
Time Lapse Featurette on The Imperial Walkers with Dennis Murren
Film vs. Storyboard Comparison of the Asteroid Field Sequence from ESB
Dennis Murren on the special effects work on ROTJ
Cut Jabba's Palace Music Video from ROTJ
Animatic of the Death Star Raid from ROTJ
Behind the scenes slideshow galleries for each of the films taken from DC LDs
Ralph McQuarrie artwork gallery
Leonard Maltin Interviews George Lucas from the 1995 home video release
Trailers for each film

Documentaries:
From Star Wars To Jedi: The Making Of A Saga (1983)
The Making Of Star Wars (1977)
SPFX Empire - The Making Of The Empire Strikes Back (1980)
Classic Creatures - The Making Of Return Of The Jedi (1983)

Easter Eggs:
Marvel Comics Star Wars gallery featuring the covers for all 107 issues, 3 Annuals and 4 issue ROTJ Limited Series
Official Marvel Comics Adaptations for each film (DVD-ROM)
MAD Magazine Parodies for SW, ESB, and ROTJ
Topps Offical Movie Cards gallery
The Star Wars Holiday Special (1978)
Bill Murray's rendition of Star Wars (audio only)
Kenner Toy gallery
Kenner Toy and other, miscellaneous television commercials
Star Wars Video Games gallery
Star Wars Video Games from the arcade, Atari 2600, Nintendo Entertainment System and Super Nintendo (DVD-ROM)
Star Wars scripts (DVD-ROM)

Note: I was originally intending on including the Muppet Show episode featuring Mark Hamill, however, due to available disc space and the fact that it will be available commercially in the very near future I decided to omit it from the set.

Here are a few menus from Star Wars, jedi and one of the bonus discs. The author sent me the complete menus for Empire and they are very nice (great use of music and artwork). He also included a short clip of Vader and Luke fighting on Cloud City, which while not completely restored is probably as good as anything that's already available. They're taken from the DC rather than the Faces set, as according to the author the transfers for Empire and Jedi are better on the DC set (even if a few seconds of Empire are missing). As he put it, he's using the lesser of two evils.

http://www.dvdanswers.com/misc/chris/images/swlddvd/sw_main.jpg

http://www.dvdanswers.com/misc/chris/images/swlddvd/sw_audio.jpg

http://www.dvdanswers.com/misc/chris/images/swlddvd/sw_chapter.jpg

http://www.dvdanswers.com/misc/chris/images/swlddvd/jedi_main.jpg

http://www.dvdanswers.com/misc/chris/images/swlddvd/jedi_options.jpg

http://www.dvdanswers.com/misc/chris/images/swlddvd/jedi_chapter.jpg

http://www.dvdanswers.com/misc/chris/images/swlddvd/doc_main_menu.jpg

http://www.dvdanswers.com/misc/chris/images/swlddvd/jedi_video.jpg

http://www.dvdanswers.com/misc/chris/images/swlddvd/jedi_video_2.jpg
Post
#117588
Topic
Info: Well yes, it's another OT project. (* unfinished project *)
Link
https://originaltrilogy.com/post/id/117588/action/topic#117588
Time

Someone I know through our website is currently having a stab at doing a LD/DVD conversion of the OT, with emphasis on the bonus material as much as anything else. I know there are loads of them around, but I thought I’d share what he’s come up with for the menus as they’re pretty nice. Here are the images he’s done for Jedi so far. He’s pretty much decided on the one with the central red border.

http://www.dvdanswers.com/misc/chris/images/swlddvd/jedi_menu_test_1.jpg
http://www.dvdanswers.com/misc/chris/images/swlddvd/jedi_menu_test_2.jpg
http://www.dvdanswers.com/misc/chris/images/swlddvd/jedi_menu_test_3.jpg
http://www.dvdanswers.com/misc/chris/images/swlddvd/jedi_chapter_selection_test.jpg
http://www.dvdanswers.com/misc/chris/images/swlddvd/jedi_audio_menu_test.gif

Here are the others:

http://www.dvdanswers.com/misc/chris/images/swlddvd/anh_menu.jpg
http://www.dvdanswers.com/misc/chris/images/swlddvd/empire_menu.jpg

I like the use of the artwork, rather than the standard clips from the films etc. The menus will all be animated, with different central images cycling every 30 seconds, accompanied by appropriate music from the trilogy. Obviously they’re nowhere near cmplete yet, but they look promising.

Post
#116914
Topic
The changes made to the Original Trilogy films down the years...
Link
https://originaltrilogy.com/post/id/116914/action/topic#116914
Time
Quote
Originally posted by: Hoichi, the Earless
So, nobody can confim that LucAss went back and re-dubbed every piece of stormtrooper dialogue with one guy so as to strip away their personality & make them seem like clones?

I've heard this might be true, but i've never heard confirmation either way...



If you mean for the DVD editions, no he hasn't. Clones don't inherit accents anyway, so there's no reason for them to be the same.
Post
#114119
Topic
Another Trilogy DVD Screw Up?
Link
https://originaltrilogy.com/post/id/114119/action/topic#114119
Time
Loads of DVDs are slightly reframed from the theatrical or previous home video versions, but it doesn't alter the aspect ratio. 2.40:1 is still 2.40:1. Sure there's less information present than in previous releases (I compared it when this thread showed up on Millienniumfalcon.com, and even posted a couple of pics), but it's almost certainly intentional and the ratio hasn't changed (although the image is slightly cropped). There's a good featurette on this sort of thing on the Seven DVD. It goes into detail about how shots are reframed and how scenes are colour corrected according to the director's wishes.

It's all about the framing and what the director wants you to see. Lucas could well have changed his mind (and I think the composition of the cramped shot looks better). The prequels (well Eps II and II anyway) were shot at 1.78:1 but composed for 2.40:1. There are many more things to worry about than this, such as the incorrectly coloured lightsabers and audio glitches. Those are undeniable mistakes (no matter how much Lucasfilm try to deny them). If you watch the Empire of Dreams documentary there are many shots where the lightsabers look perfect, yet they're wrong in the films. I'll be interested to see when and if a 'corrected' boxed set is quietly rolled out at a later date. They can't very well fix it after they claimed the faults with the existing set were intentional, at least not without opening themselves up to a lot of flack...
Post
#81746
Topic
Question about Return Of The Jedi
Link
https://originaltrilogy.com/post/id/81746/action/topic#81746
Time
Quote
Originally posted by: Darth Justin
When the Emperor gets thrown down that huge shaft, why the hell is there a gigantic explosion? Is it something to do with the force?


No one seems to have answered this. There's an explosion because he's thrown down the reactor shaft. Presumably the oxplosion was as big as it was for dramatic purposes (i.e. it looked cool).
Post
#78248
Topic
I'm doing a comparison - opinions please!
Link
https://originaltrilogy.com/post/id/78248/action/topic#78248
Time
Quote
When the stormtroopers walk into the bar they can be heard saying, “Undertand you had some trouble in here”. This is heard under Hans, “Looks like somebody’s beginning to take an interest in your handiwork.” line.


I'm sure this is in older versions, just burried in the mix. I say this because I'm sure I actually checked to see if it was a new line. I'm going to have to listen to this one again now.
Post
#77151
Topic
ROTJ is worse than I remember.
Link
https://originaltrilogy.com/post/id/77151/action/topic#77151
Time
Unlike the original poster I am unable to disregard the SE and 2004 'enhancements'. I think ANH has been ruined by the needless introduction of so much CGI. The Sandtroopers on dewbacks, the new Mos Eisley footage, Greedo, Jabba... all of these things ruin the pacing of the film. Empire is clearly the best of the three films, but Jedi has overtaken ANH as my second favourite. I've always liked it though. The Ewoks never bothered me (it helps that they don't speak), and I find the conclusion satisfying (or at least I did until Hayden Christensen showed up).

Technically these DVDs are a work in progress. Quite frankly I was staggered by the number of professional reviewers who missed the glaring audio/visual faults. Lucasfilm/Fox should be ashamed for releasing them in there current state. I have never been so disappointed with a DVD set in my life. After sets like Alien Legacy, Alien Quadrilogy, Nightmare on Elm Street, and even Indy Jones, Star Wars just doesn't cut it. Even Universal reissued Back to the Future when people proved it had problems.
Post
#75862
Topic
Letter to LFL about DVD Defects (No OT vs SE discussion)
Link
https://originaltrilogy.com/post/id/75862/action/topic#75862
Time
Thing is, it's not just ANH. Empire and Jedi have problems with sabers (especially Jedi) and contrast issues. It's Lowry's digital clean-up work that's at fault. It has to be. You can actually fix a lot of the scenes if you take a capture and manually adjust the brightness and contrast etc. Computers are good at some things, that's for sure, but they're not as good as a real person manually checking/correcting things. Just look at the Star Wars Legacy site for proof of that. If only they had put as much effort into it as Mike has.

I can't see Lucasfilm/Fox releasing a corrected set (not that I'd one anyway cause I live in the UK and bought the R1 release). It would cost them too much money and they'd lose face. It's much easier to deny the problems and piss off a relatively small number of people who have issues with the defects than it is to actually take a positive step towards fixing them. The whole thing makes a mockery of THX though, doesn't it? Quality assurance my arse!

I might write to Fox UK just to see if anyone there has the brain capacity to actually comprehend my grievences. I bet I just get a standard reply about 'no known issues', even though I have posted three lengthy articles that clearly show some of the defects. If things go well some of these things will soon be appearing in a well-known UK magazine - let's see them deny it then!