Scruffy

User Group: Members
Join date: 29-Nov-2005
Last activity: 31-May-2016
Posts: 625

Post History

Post: #243749
Topic: 3D ?!
Link: https://originaltrilogy.com/post/id/243749/action/topic#243749
Time: 13-Sep-2006 4:03 PM

Old news. And, perversely, the first thing from Lucasfilm since 1999 that has excited me (just a little). Movie theaters need some kind of value-added proposition to compete with home theaters, and maybe 3D can be it.

Post: #243672
Topic: New Forum Software has recreated crawl?
Link: https://originaltrilogy.com/post/id/243672/action/topic#243672
Time: 13-Sep-2006 12:57 PM

The garbage mattes would not be visible if you included a screen optimizer to help readers adjust their brightness and contrast.

Post: #243668
Topic: OUT Review
Link: https://originaltrilogy.com/post/id/243668/action/topic#243668
Time: 13-Sep-2006 12:54 PM

Though I had some quibbles with the IGN review, I agree with their conclusion. The review was not disappointing at all, IMHO.

[quote]Overall, however, the Star Wars Episode IV: A New Hope (Limited Edition) DVD is a worthwhile purchase only for folks who love the movies unconditionally, do not own previous versions of the films on DVD, or (do not) worry as much about home-theater presentation (and in fact would be hard-pressed to discern between the two editions on a small, non-widescreen television). Otherwise, however, avoid these sets by any and all means; no matter how many retailers offer cool slipcases, comic books, or other swag, these sets were designed as a sort of back-handed show of gratitude to fans, or more likely as a stopgap for folks who wanted the originals and have yet to hear about the releases coming in 2007 in honor of the series' 30th anniversary.[/quote]

(Parenthetical "do not" is mine, an editorial attempt to make the statement unambiguous.)

Post: #243664
Topic: SW.com: "First and ONLY TIme"
Link: https://originaltrilogy.com/post/id/243664/action/topic#243664
Time: 13-Sep-2006 12:46 PM

1. I've always been one to call a spade a shovel, so I'll be the one to put this out there: Lucasfilm, and Lucas in particular, have no qualms about lying to hype up a product. "Never available," "not until," "last time," "always intended," "definitive," "original vision," ... when you hear these words, you know they are lying. (Or, to be charitable, telling the truth from a certain point of view.)

2. However, they may well be telling the truth this time. DVD, although not on its way out, is rapidly being complemented by potential successor technologies. Microsoft and Sony will be putting out their HD DVD and BD players by the end of the year, Amazon and Apple are both pushing downloadable content, and VOD is becoming ubiquitously available through cable providers. By the time Lucas runs out of 3D re-re-releases and TV shows to market, he'll put the O-OT on one of these formats.

3. I wouldn't put it past them to do a full restoration and release that claiming it's an altered version of the O-OT. That's just the kind of TF.N logic that fanboys seem to like.

4. If there is never again an official release of the O-OT, just download X0 or the GOUT and send a $45 check to Lucasfilm.

Post: #243651
Topic: First Impressions of the OOT ...
Link: https://originaltrilogy.com/post/id/243651/action/topic#243651
Time: 13-Sep-2006 12:28 PM

G stands for George's.

Post: #243354
Topic: 2006 OT DVD: the deal with the Best Buy tin ...
Link: https://originaltrilogy.com/post/id/243354/action/topic#243354
Time: 12-Sep-2006 7:12 PM

No one can tell you whether or not it's worth it. It all depends on how much you value having the GOUT, and how much you value your opportunity cost -- factoring in all the intangibilities and and irrationalities that don't always get included in economic models.

if util_GOUT > util_OpCost
then purchase(GOUT)
else
purchase(somethingelse);

Post: #243286
Topic: New Forum Software has recreated crawl?
Link: https://originaltrilogy.com/post/id/243286/action/topic#243286
Time: 12-Sep-2006 5:23 PM

Look at the date on there. "September 11, 2006." Least they could've done is generate a 1977 date.

Post: #242329
Topic: Just saw TV ad for DVDs for the first time....
Link: https://originaltrilogy.com/post/id/242329/action/topic#242329
Time: 8-Sep-2006 6:20 PM

I guess Chewie's just from a touchy-feely family. He did everything but dry-hump Han when the two met in RotJ.

Post: #242289
Topic: Just saw TV ad for DVDs for the first time....
Link: https://originaltrilogy.com/post/id/242289/action/topic#242289
Time: 8-Sep-2006 5:12 PM

Originally posted by: Invader Jenny
Yeah, I saw the TV commercials. I thought they were cute. The little kids are saying "how much they want a pet wookie" and stuff like that. And the announcer guy was like "See Star Wars including it's original theatrical version!" with the scene with the REAL Anakin Skywalker standing next to Yoda and Kenobi. All I can say is, "yes."

I hate reading racism into things, but Wookiees were portrayed as sapient creatures deserving the same dignity as any other human, Mon Cal, or Rodian. (Well, maybe a little more than the Rodians.) Wanting a "pet Wookiee" is like wanting a "pet negro." I can't help but feel that this commercial continues the Star Wars tradition of dividing civilizations into races deserving more or less dignity.

Incidentally, as I'm typing this I'm seeing the commercial for the fist time. Ugly, ugly SE.

Post: #242260
Topic: 2006 OT DVD: Are my eyes deceiving me?
Link: https://originaltrilogy.com/post/id/242260/action/topic#242260
Time: 8-Sep-2006 3:40 PM

Alright ... so the shuttle, orbiting a measly 17,500 miles above the daylit surface of the Earth gets enough light to render the color blue. What about an X-wing passing under a red gas giant, or dogfighting over a gray metal sphere? I think we've usually seen starships within the well-lit band where habitable planets lie, but I do wonder to what extent nearby celestial objects would influence their coloring.

(Special Edition answer: It makes them blue!)

Post: #241481
Topic: What did the Prequel Trilogy need?
Link: https://originaltrilogy.com/post/id/241481/action/topic#241481
Time: 5-Sep-2006 6:06 PM

Saxton is a published SW author, so of course he has to be familiar with the whole canon. He's also the most rigorous thinker associated with SW. Do you have some comments to make regarding the selections you quoted?

Post: #241438
Topic: What did the Prequel Trilogy need?
Link: https://originaltrilogy.com/post/id/241438/action/topic#241438
Time: 5-Sep-2006 3:01 PM

Have you read Curtis Saxton's essay on droids, the prequels, and continuity? He pretty much agrees that Threepio is very old, knows a lot more than he lets on, but is incapable of relating what he knows due to his protocol programming. Unlike a biological organism with a "real" mind, Threepio's decision-making ability is strictly limited by the constraints of his programming ... and that makes the whole thing kind of a bittersweet sci-fi tragedy. From a certain point of view.

Post: #241349
Topic: What did the Prequel Trilogy need?
Link: https://originaltrilogy.com/post/id/241349/action/topic#241349
Time: 5-Sep-2006 5:30 AM

Originally posted by: AJ
I however do not like how they killed Padme'. I always thought they should have put one of her look-a-like handmaidens in the coffen. That is what I would have done, so Padme' could've gone off with Leia.

That's what I think actually happened. She had doubles standing in for her to protect her in the first two movies, and that was a neat trick. If a double (or clone, or mannequin, or something) took her place in the grave -- well, that turns a neat trick into a thematic element carried to a meaningful and logical conclusion. It might not have been the auteur's intention, but sometimes auteur's accidentally make things more complex and interesting than they had intended.

Post: #241194
Topic: What did the Prequel Trilogy need?
Link: https://originaltrilogy.com/post/id/241194/action/topic#241194
Time: 4-Sep-2006 4:23 PM

I don't think so. There was a "molten pit" reference or two in the RotJ novel, which has certain implications regarding the screenplay. But it wasn't in the movie as presented. I don't know what early Lucas's or popular opinion was on the origin of Vader's breathing problems. The only contemporary SW material I have is some Mad and Cracked reprints, and they probably just chalk it up to asthma.

Here's a great line from the SW novel:

"How," he asked slowly, "did my father die?"

Kenobi hesitated, and Luke sensed that the old man had no wish to talk about this particular matter. Unlike Owen Lars, however, Kenobi was unable to take refuge in a comfortable lie.

"He was betrayed and murdered," Kenobi declared solemnly, "by a very young Jedi named Darth Vader."

I actually like Kenobi as a conniving old bastard -- I think it fits better with the theme of youthful rebellion -- but something about this line tickled me. I suppose true believers would insist that Obi-wan's lie was uncomfortable, so it all fits together just like it was planned to.

Post: #241190
Topic: Poll: Do You Think the OUT will be Released Again in '07?
Link: https://originaltrilogy.com/post/id/241190/action/topic#241190
Time: 4-Sep-2006 4:07 PM

The Special Special Special Edition boxset will be released in 2007.

For the next ten years or so, Lucasfilm's tentpole releases will consist of the theatrical 3D saga, possible home releases of that (if it's doable), the TV show, and HD releases of the Special Special Special Edition. After that, maybe we'll get the OUT in anamorphic widescreen (standard definition).

Post: #241153
Topic: What did the Prequel Trilogy need?
Link: https://originaltrilogy.com/post/id/241153/action/topic#241153
Time: 4-Sep-2006 12:55 PM

If you're throwing out ESB and RotJ, that means you can also throw out the name Anakin and the lava fight. You can call the elder Skywalker John and say he's in a mechanical suit because of a helicopter accident. You can also go back to the original characterization of Palpatine as kind of an idiot who lets other people control him. You can use the Star Wars novelization's characterization of Vader as the sole Dark Side Force-user around, one of many Sith lords but the last of the Jedi religion, with no peers. It would be neat to see the Sith lords as a kind of peerage or fraternity separate from the Dark Side cult of the EU or the evil universal tyrants of latter-day Lucas. The young Jedi Darth Vader might join them not to gain magical wife-resurrecting powers, but rather for more mundane ideological or pragmatic reasons -- then he would rise to the top and turn against the established order, using the Sith as his weapon. Kind of like Hitler taking over the NSDAP, only for all of Vader's prodding, he only succeeds in Jedi genocide and reorganizing the Republic into an Empire; he never becomes the fuhrer. But he is patient, and he has plans ....

Post: #241044
Topic: So, this is how the DVDs are going to look...
Link: https://originaltrilogy.com/post/id/241044/action/topic#241044
Time: 4-Sep-2006 1:06 AM

Huh. It does say that on the side. Bad choice for an example, but it was all I had handy. The point stands, though.

Post: #241009
Topic: So, this is how the DVDs are going to look...
Link: https://originaltrilogy.com/post/id/241009/action/topic#241009
Time: 3-Sep-2006 10:46 PM

The "IV A New Hope" can easily be explained by the fact that it's printed on the bonus disc accompanying EIV:ANH. It is not unusual for bonus discs to bear the title of the feature, rather than the bonuses contained thereon. In fact, that's how it's labeled: Star Wars IV A New Hope Bonus Disc.

By way of comparison, disc three of Return of the King: EE is simply labeled, "Return of the King / The Appendices," instead of the title of the program ("The Appendices Part 5: The War of the Ring").

Post: #240883
Topic: Episode V: What Has Changed?
Link: https://originaltrilogy.com/post/id/240883/action/topic#240883
Time: 3-Sep-2006 12:04 PM

Probably old news to DVD owners, but I just noticed what they did to the hangar in Echo Base. In the old version, it was well-lit (if a little dim) and had good color rendering, like the type of place a person might work in for hours at a time. In the new version, it's almost monochromatically blue, like a bad imitation of Michael Mann's style. I guess the logic was, "Echo Base is cold, and blue is the color of cold, so let's make it blue!" I know the whole thing looks kind of blue; are they overcompensating for the old blue screen effects, or is that just a deliberate creative decision?

I also love the fact that they acknowledged "Moff Jerjerrod made a cameo" in the Executor hangar. Does this mean it's canon, now? Are they going to get an EU writer to do a trilogy with a comic book tie-in about how Moff Jerjerrod was aboard Executor to provide political control over Death Squadron's mission?

Also, am I the only guy who thinks the new Emperor isn't really looking at Vader in the profile shots?

Post: #240855
Topic: So, this is how the DVDs are going to look...
Link: https://originaltrilogy.com/post/id/240855/action/topic#240855
Time: 3-Sep-2006 6:13 AM

I've never known anyone to watch a 4:3 letterboxed movie in its "native" resolution unless their particular combination of DVD player, television, and/or standalone upscaler doesn't allow proper scaling. Every DVD player and widescreen TV I've used in person makes it very easy, and at least one combination did it automatically (i.e. with no user intervention, it adjusted the screen to maximize the area used by the film frame). Everything I've read on home theater forums for a number of years suggests that Joe Sixpack considers "black bars" to be anathema and buffs want the biggest OAR picture they can get, even if it means they must futz with the resolution. In fact, upscaling DVD players and external scalers/deinterlaces are a pretty big market for HT enthusiasts and other discerning consumers.

[quote]And yes you are correct that the images have been resized somewhat, however mark my words the zoomed imaged on your TV screen,(and on my 56" HD 16:9 WS) will look worse. Just wait and see.
[/quote]

Well, yes, the fact that you're scaling it to a much huger area ensures that. I think I mentioned that already.

Post: #240827
Topic: So, this is how the DVDs are going to look...
Link: https://originaltrilogy.com/post/id/240827/action/topic#240827
Time: 3-Sep-2006 3:02 AM

Originally posted by: vbangle

How's that? Don't you understand that on your widescreen TV the Offical OOT won't be anything like the screen captures in this thread? It's going to be this tiny litttle movie in a sea of black, of course you could zoom in which always looks like shit, but to each his own....

You answered your own question. It is de rigeur to scale letterboxed 4:3 films horizontally and vertically when viewing them on a 16:9 device. The only reason I can think not to would be if the subs got cut off. Scaling both images to the same size most closely reproduces the way owners of widescreen devices will be watching it.

I know this, that the screen caps in this thread of the OOT were not zoomed in on, so if you do this on your own TV it will look worse than it does here....

My own TV* is also much larger than the eight square inches of screen real estate these screen shots occupy, so whether I zoom the image on the TV or not, that's a given.

Oh, and the OOT screen captures were enlarged before they were posted. Look at the size (720x633) and compare that to the size of a properly-displayed 4:3 NTSC DVD frame (640x480).

* Not really mine, but every now and then I get to watch movies on it.

Post: #240804
Topic: The Blob!
Link: https://originaltrilogy.com/post/id/240804/action/topic#240804
Time: 3-Sep-2006 12:48 AM

It's only visible for like one frame at a time. I think it's better described as an error in compositing than a side effect of compositing.

Post: #240774
Topic: So, this is how the DVDs are going to look...
Link: https://originaltrilogy.com/post/id/240774/action/topic#240774
Time: 2-Sep-2006 11:00 PM

Originally posted by: vbangle
And from now on when people post screen captures of the Offical OOT, can you please not crop out the black bars? It's a little dishonest to post them looking like a full anamorphic screen capture....

Those of us with widescreen TVs or monitors may appreciate it, however.

Post: #240647
Topic: The Artistic Vision (TM Luca$hFilm)
Link: https://originaltrilogy.com/post/id/240647/action/topic#240647
Time: 2-Sep-2006 6:25 AM

If by "led to a film franchise" you mean "got the second series aborted after writing and casting the first season, and tabled a number of scripts until a writers' strike in the 80s," yeah, Star Wars did that ... as did the failure to launch the Paramount network , the success of CE3K, and a number of other things. If not for this combination of events, we'd have seen a lot more of Kirk's adventures. Whether that's a good thing or a bad thing is up to you.

Post: #240646
Topic: X-Wing or Y-Wing, which ship would you prefer?
Link: https://originaltrilogy.com/post/id/240646/action/topic#240646
Time: 2-Sep-2006 6:04 AM

Saying "I'll take all of you out in a T/D" isn't exactly saying a lot about your abilities, you know.