My Star Trek movie set is a region free UK set. Thankfully the big ratings are on the bottom of the box, but they’re also printed on the otherwise great disc art that uses original poster art.
I think Australia, the UK and Germany are the main countries that have mandatory cover rating printing.
Australia is by far the worst though. So obnoxious.
Australian here. It’s printed. Don’t even get me started.
Our nanny state of a Government decided about a decade ago that huge ass ugly ratings on the front of every form of home media would ‘better today’s youth.’
Plot twist: It didn’t.
You legally cannot sell a movie or video game here without paying a fee to get it ‘rated’ by the classification board and printing the appropriate classification on the cover.
The style of the scene set the expectation that the audience would be shown what happens next.
I don’t necessarily agree with everything you’ve said, but that I do. Looking at it again I can see that perspective on it, thanks for opening my eyes a bit on that aspect in particular.
the spirit of the changes is frustrating.
I agree. I’m in the camp who actually thinks some of the changes are for the better. ESB has a lot of changes I think are improvements (visual anyway, I detest Vader’s line change).
However, that doesn’t mean they should be there at the expense of the actual originals, but we all know that.
I think that there was a shot in the theatrical version that was impossible to pan & scan so they just left it out or replaced it with something else. It’s not a big alteration.
Bingo. It’s a shot during the final lightsaber battle, when Darth Maul jumps to another platform? If memory serves correctly.
I’m glad more people seem to be interested in preserving the theatrical versions of the Prequels!
Same here, I think it’s incredibly important to preserve everything Star Wars. Obviously the priority for most people is the OT, but it’s nice seeing some preservation love for the PT too.
How easy would it be to take the HDTV (dvd) version of AOTC and fix the audio changes so it’s the digital theatrical version?
Hm. You might be onto something there.
I’m going to do some research and see if it’s possible, that’s something I’d definitely love to do.
The biggest challenge I imagine would be cleaning the audio to insert into the mix without sounding off. Centropy’s SVCD is currently the best source for the theatrical AOTC, but the exported 2.0 audio initially captured using a camcorder isn’t exactly Dolby 5.1 quality.
I have about a dozen bootlegs of the theatrical AOTC on VCD and DVD but none of them match the quality of the official home release DVD/HDTV broadcast, obviously.
If you disagree, totally cool, this kind of thing is subjective, but that’s just where I stand.
Obviously I do, but thanks for taking the time.
No worries, likewise.
In my opinion, the story told in the prequels is not effective, and Lucas’s retroactive six film saga just doesn’t work for me in the way he intended.
That’s fine. Like I said it’s all about perspective. I don’t think anybody is going to argue over the objective quality of the films; ESB is always going to come out on top in that regard, but subjectively speaking I completely disagree. That’s fine though.
I’ve not once heard anyone use expanded universe work to explain the ST. I heard it all the time when people would defend the PT, but never for the ST.
A common complaint for the ST is that it doesn’t make sense that the FO has all these resources and that it doesn’t make sense that the Republic and the Resistance are separate, while the Resistance is still being funded by the Republic. I really don’t feel like going in-depth with the ST story details because I really don’t like talking about them, but there are common complaints that are addressed in other material.
Empire basically establishes the entire nature of the force and the dark side.
Care to elaborate? Genuinely interested as to your reasoning.
Most disappointing aspect:
The Force Awakens. I don’t understand why so many like what is essentially SW 2.0, the FO is made up of what’s left of the Empire yet still has the resources to build a third Death Star about twenty times the size of the original, plus there’s a line of dialogue from Rose in Canto Bight which is “there’s only one job that can make you this wealthy in the Galaxy… Selling to the FO”. So, despite being reduced to a mere fraction of what once was the FO has apparently retained the Empire’s vast wealth. WTF?
I also didn’t like Finn being a total buffoon in TFA, and as for Rey, while I like her as a character I want you to imagine the following: picture a girl from a third world country who grew up in the slums scraping through garbage but guess what, she’s a capable hand-to-hand fighter, can fly aeroplanes, drive motorbikes and is pretty knowledgeable in mechanical engineering. Congratulations, you just pictured Rey, and her being so skilled at just about everything is what annoys me the most.
A huge problem with the ST is so many of these issues are explained through expanded universe material (books. comics, etc.) and are often the scapegoats used to defend the films.
The problem with that is that films should stand on their own and not rely on outside sources to fix their problems.
The storytelling of the ST is fundamentally broken, I do not understand how anybody can sit there and call the ST good storytelling. It’s just lazy and contrived.
Hahaha YES. The comedy I’ve been waiting for.
All three prequels above ESB. And we’re supposed to ignore these posts. Lol.
I mean you think the ST are good films so if we’re gonna start taking cheap shots two can play at that game.
I don’t rank them above ESB so your point is irrelevant.
Right. I forgot dissenting opinions aren’t allowed. We should just all post an identical ranking over and over again to stilt discussion, because it’s not like this is a forum or anything.
Here’s an actual question for you…why do you consider all three theatrical prequels better than Empire Strikes Back?
If you’re actually wondering why, I’ll bite.
I’m not going to comment on why I think ROTS is better purely because I feel that film has enough defenders as is; I’m sure you disagree with them, but you’ve probably heard arguments for the film time and time again, so there’s no point repeating them. Dumbing it down, I think it’s both visually and emotionally more impactful, while having a more interesting plot and contributing more to the saga’s lore as a whole; but that’s just my opinion.
As for TPM and AOTC being ranked higher?
First of all I want to make one thing clear; I think on a technical level, one based purely on physical filmmaking and nothing else; ESB is undoubtedly the best Star Wars film. Its direction, artistry and dare I say, acting, is unmatched to this day.
However, that’s not all I look for in a Star Wars film. I’ve always been more concerned with the overall story of the saga of films I - VI than technical details. You can disagree with this notion and that’s fine, but that’s just my preference.
I think the world-building, the expansion of the lore and the incredibly detailed plot of TPM and AOTC far outweigh that of the OT. Do I think the execution is better? No. The execution of the OT (At least ANH and ESB), is fantastic. The execution of the Prequels? Not so much. But I much prefer an interesting experience over a play by the numbers one; there are plenty of ‘legendary’ films that hit all the technical beats, but few as interesting as the prequels.
I’m not going super in-depth because I’ve spent years on this site frequently just getting trolled for my viewpoints so I don’t want to pump heaps of time into a response, so I’m trying to keep it simple.
Essentially what I’m saying is that everyone pulls different things from Star Wars. Some people are just interested in seeing the best technically made film possible, and that’s totally fine. If we’re judging the films purely on those merits I’d say TFA is better than ROTJ, but that’s not all I personally care about.
I know it gets made fun of a lot but I personally think George’s vision for a one complete story told over six films is incredibly interesting and valuable, and I view all six films as one large piece, so I judge them more on what they add to the overall story than what I do as an individual work of art.
If you disagree, totally cool, this kind of thing is subjective, but that’s just where I stand.
The VHS version was not altered a bit from the theatrical release
Uhg. No. Excuse the incoming long post but prequel preservations are my thing.
There were two theatrical versions of the film during its initial run: film and digital.
The film version and the digital version are basically identical from a sound design perspective (this is important later), but visually they are different. Give or take a few minor altercations, the digital theatrical print is visually identical to the home video release, whereas the film print of AOTC includes multiple visual additions/subtractions that are well documented on this site and in other places (Anakin’s robotic hand being the prime example).
The home video release of AOTC is across the board (on DVD/VHS/VCD), identical to the digital theatrical release on a visual level, as aforementioned. However, the initial home video release changes a few audio cues, the most notable being Padme’s “Yes” being changed to a more natural “Uh-huh” after falling out of the Republic Gunship.
Contrary to popular belief, the VHS is not only pan and scan; a few European releases of the film on VHS exist in Widescreen format. I know this because I own them all. However the US, UK, AUS, etc., releases of the film on VHS and VCD (VCD being Asian releases) are in pan and scan, until the very final shot of the film (the wedding scene), which jarringly cuts to widescreen before the credits crawl.
The Widescreen DVD release is identical to the digital theatrical print in every way bar the audio cues. The Fullscreen DVD release is identical to the VHS/VCD release.
The Blu Ray is again different, changing up even more audio cues and rearranging some shots here and there.
There is also an IMAX version, which has never been preserved. There are recreations, but they are not accurate to a tee.
As it stands the only true theatrical version is in the form of bootlegs, which can be found if you know where to look.
Or, obviously, if you have access to all the original film reels.
Hopefully this information is helpful to someone, and hopefully I won’t have to repeat it again, haha.
As an extra tidbit though, the comment about it being identical to the VHS release (the theatrical version, that is), is actually true for the TPM VHS release… Kind of. I’m not going to get super into it here but there are one or two minor altercations between the theatrical and VHS releases of TPM that prevent it being truly accurate, but it’s very close.
And while we’re on the topic, the ROTS VHS and VCD are the same as the full screen ROTS DVD.
As it stands the only way to see the actual theatrical releases of the prequels are in the form of original film reels, bootlegs or fan recreations. The ROTS Blu Ray does not preserve the theatrical print as there are CGI and audio enhancements; too often I see people claiming otherwise.
I haven’t actually seen TLJ
Out of curiosity, why?
I don’t think anyone’s going to argue that, just that that alone isn’t enough to ruin the film.
I’d say that horrid Jabba scene that actually has a ripple effect of terribleness on the trilogy is considerably more damaging.
Hahaha YES. The comedy I’ve been waiting for.
All three prequels above ESB. And we’re supposed to ignore these posts. Lol.
I mean you think the ST are good films so if we’re gonna start taking cheap shots two can play at that game.
I don’t rank them above ESB so your point is irrelevant.
Right. I forgot dissenting opinions aren’t allowed. We should just all post an identical ranking over and over again to stilt discussion, because it’s not like this is a forum or anything.
Hahaha YES. The comedy I’ve been waiting for.
All three prequels above ESB. And we’re supposed to ignore these posts. Lol.
I mean you think the ST are good films so if we’re gonna start taking cheap shots two can play at that game.
Never said it came close, just that TLJ is one above it because I can actually make it through TLJ. Never been able to do the Holiday Special in one sitting
… Surely that can’t be real. Jesus.
TLJ has none of that mystery because it picks up literally where the previous installment leaves off, and that’s J.J.'s fault because he just had to have his dramatic ending and couldn’t tell a complete story
I really, really disagree with that and I don’t understand why its become such a common argument for TLJ.
Rian wasn’t forced into anything by JJ,
Rian was definitely forced to do certain things based on the way things had played out in TFA,
Ok. 😋
I guess it might have been interesting to do a time Jump. But so much of what was alluded to the end of TFA would have had to have been just ignored that I can’t imagine people would have been happy.
I mean… So much was already ignored from TFA so what’s one more thing?
Always found ESB to be pretty overrated, soz.
Still a great film, I just don’t find it too interesting.
TLJ has none of that mystery because it picks up literally where the previous installment leaves off, and that’s J.J.'s fault because he just had to have his dramatic ending and couldn’t tell a complete story
I really, really disagree with that and I don’t understand why its become such a common argument for TLJ.
Rian wasn’t forced into anything by JJ, especially not making TLJ to pick up right where TFA left off, mere seconds later.
There was no reason Rian couldn’t have done a time jump, and he should have. Even if by only a month or two; the time jump between TPM and AOTC was 10 years and it benefited greatly from it from a storytelling perspective. Literally every other Star Wars film has had a time jump. Yes JJ put in a cliffhanger ending instead of rounding it off, but the story still could have gone in any direction.
Rian was definitely forced to do certain things based on the way things had played out in TFA, but a lack of a time jump isn’t one of them.
I’ve always been quite partial to Star Wars: Bounty Hunter on the PS2. It’s not perfect but there aren’t really any other Star Wars games like it and the concept is very cool.
Other than that Rogue Squadron 3 for the GC and Shadows of the Empire on the N64 are absolutely killer.
Yeah. TFA isn’t even a bad film, it’s fine as its own thing, but in context of the whole saga it’s just incredibly disappointing. They could have made it ‘feel’ like the OT without literally just redoing the OT. What’s the point of that? We already have the OT, we don’t need to see a modernised version of it.
I think above everything the most disappointing aspect of the ST is just the huge wasted opportunity. We could have had anything but instead got an uninspired copy-and-paste job of the OT that’s inferior in just about every way. Now with Carrie gone and the way TFA and TLJ have been handled there’s no other direction to go in. Literally endless possibilities but this is what we got. Sad.
Most satisfying would be seeing Mark Hamill give a great performance… I guess? Just wish the actual character was handled better.
I recently watched all the feature films again recently so may as well give this another go ¯\(ツ)/¯
The only reason TLJ is higher than The Holiday Special is because as awful as it is at least I can make it through in one sitting.
