SilverWook

Impressive! Most impressive. You do this for a living? 😃

Also a good point. IIRC, at least former ILM guy has been stymied in being able to present examples of the untouched work they did on the original film. If you can’t even show OOT clips in a historical context, what’s the point?

I like that line.

I’ll probably give it until Monday so more people can weigh in before I revise it again. Thanks to everyone for the constructive criticism so far! 😃

The old theater I saw the Empire SE at closed in 2004. (It had been around since 1966.) It remained empty and forlorn until demolished in 2011. Lots of good movie memories there, going all the way back to 1974. This photo captured it at it’s best. I might have even been inside the day it was taken.

I remember seeing an employee in a safety harness changing the marquee letters once in a while. They needed a big ladder to get up there!

The multiplex I saw Star Wars SE and TPM at closed in late 1999. Remodeled and reopened in 2005. I saw TFA there.

The 80’s era multiplex I saw AOTC at closed in 2012 after a newer larger theater complex opened at the mega shopping center/housing development down the road. It’s now a church.

The 90’s era multiplex in the area where I saw ROTS is still chugging merrily along. Saw Rogue One there.

LOL!

DrDre said:

I like the letter very much, but I also worry it’s a bit too long. I always learned you should use three paragraphs in a letter:

1. Introduction
2. State problem
3. State solution

You should have seen my first draft. 😉
What I’m trying to do is make an impassioned polite plea here. (I don’t want to be cold and clinical.) Disney ought to know we care about Star Wars, but reiterating why these versions mean so much can’t hurt.
I think it’s a manageable length at the moment. Any open letter is going to seem long winded in the age of 140 character limits. The 40th is pretty much the last occasion we can make an appeal to the powers that be, and get as many eyeballs on it as we can. So, we throw the kitchen sink in and hope for the best.

TV’s Frink said:

Mocata said:

It’s time to take the stance of normal rational people and stop getting all worked up until they actually provide real news.

WYSHS, especially as I have no idea who HelloGreedo is nor do I care.

He’s a Star Wars blogger on youtube whose positions on the OT are pretty much aligned with ours here. Seems pretty well spoken, and doesn’t rant or rave.

theMaestro said:

I like the letter. My only concern is that it seems to be implying that only the people who grew up with the OOT in the 70s and 80s are passionate about seeing a new restoration. As if the only reason a restoration should be done is for the sentimental satisfaction of the aging fanbase. I think it would actually be of benefit to broaden the scope a bit.

Maybe you could mention how even a lot of newer fans are passionate about these hugely important movies. Personally speaking, I grew up in the 90s and associate almost every single version of the OT with my childhood (besides the 2011 versions). Despite that, I still want the OOT released because…well, those are the actual movies. There’s an authenticity to those original films that’s simply lost when you watch any subsequent version. It’s really hard to appreciate the special editions on any contextual level because they’re a mishmash of various ideas & film-making technology that spans 4 decades. Like you can’t watch the 2011 version and marvel at what Lucas was able to accomplish with his low budget (for the kind of movie he was making) and 1970s special effects.

These two quotes by George Lucas are quite relevant here:

1.) Talking about colorizing The Three Stooges, he says “Would color distract from their comedy and make it not as funny anymore? Maybe just the fact that they’re in black and white makes it funny, because their humor is dated. By putting it in black and white, it puts it in a context where you can appreciate it for what it was. But you try to make it in full, living color and try to compare it to a Jim Carrey movie, then it’s hard for young people to understand.”

2.) “As a filmmaker and a lover of cinema, I have always appreciated the many disciplines that go into making a film-- the props, the costumes, all the aspects that come together to make the whole as great as the sum of its parts. I have archived all the important pieces from my own films, and I am a staunch believer that it’s important that we all make an effort to preserve our cinematic heritage-- before it’s too late.”

George’s own words have been used a few times before, so I was avoiding rehashing them here. And with his strained relationship with the mouse, I wasn’t sure it was a good idea to invoke it now.
How about “Even though they have become difficult to see, these original versions continue to inspire a new generation of fans.”?

In snipping this down, I did omit a line about how film history is getting muddied when people think Jabba the Hutt was actually present in the film back in 1977.

CatBus said:

SilverWook said:

None of us ever imagined as kids that we would have to resort to “alternative methods” to keep these historic versions from fading away to memory, before nobody remembers them at all.

My take? Scratch this. To a media PHB, it’s a threat. And illegal. And piracy. And a war crime. And the end of civilization as we know it.

Understood. I kept it vague, but they have to be at least aware of such things. 😉 The idea is not to threaten, but underscore the passion for a film we cannot easily obtain.

Maybe just say: None of us imagined twenty years ago that we’d still be watching Star Wars on the exact same VHS tapes, while other films easily leapfrogged past that home video quality many times over.

We live in a era where even a “bad” movie is loved enough to get a meticulous restoration, and can be easily purchased.

Again, when dealing with a media PHB, a bad movie is one that didn’t make enough money to justify a home video release. Direct-to-video movies are all good movies, QED.

As I’ve said, Manos The Hands of Fate is hardly a good film. In fact it’s now used to teach film students how not to make a movie. The successfully funded kickstarter campaign for Manos proves even a bad film can be saved.
I wonder if we could punctuate these points with an photo or two?

Maybe focus on something along the lines of Star Wars in 1977 being a revolutionary and groundbreaking A/V experience in 1977–and yet in 2017, it’s easily outshone by the very films it once stood apart from, because those other films have gotten meticulous restorations, released on modern home video formats, and can be easily purchased.

We have nothing against the Special Editions. They simply aren’t the versions we grew up with and loved.

Meh. I suppose you can say this, as long as there are at least two of us who believe it to qualify for the use of “we”.

The intent is not to hate on any other edition here. The 1997 version is as historically valid at this point in time as the 1982 theatrical of "Blade Runner*. (Again, a photo of the multi disc BR might work here.) And we don’t have the '77 SE’s in good quality either.

robertelee said:

I like it. I really like it. Especially the part in the middle where you talked about turbulent childhoods, I teared up a little. You are a good writer thank you.

Thanks. They say write what you know. 😃

doubleofive said:

Let’s see it.

Ok! Here goes. And please keep this on the forum for now. And keep in mind this is a draft, not etched on stone tablets yet. I’ve been revising and chopping this down for a while.

*Dear Disney and Lucasfilm,

Today is the 40th anniversary of Star Wars, the film that started it all. Yet, where is that film? No, not the special edition, the original 1977 film. The one we grew up with. The film that changed our lives forever.

It’s not hyperbole to say that. Those of us who were there that incredible summer of '77 had never seen anything like it. It was a major event in our lives. Some of us came away wanting to know how it was made, some even wanted to make movies, or tell stories of our own because of it. No matter the path we chose, George Lucas lit a spark that remains within us today.

One thing we all share are the memories of where we saw it, who we saw it with, and even shooting down imaginary TIE fighters out the back window of the car on the way home. For others, it was a bright shining light in the middle of a turbulent childhood. If Luke and his friends could survive their trials, and eventually triumph over them, maybe we could too.

We saw the movie over and over again. Probably more than any other movie before or since. We know the lines by heart, we love the characters. Seeing our heroes again on the screen for the first time in 32 years was like reuniting with family. Star Wars is a very emotional thing to us.

All these years later, we would love to revisit the original trilogy that we remember. To recapture those memories of a long time ago, in a movie theater far far away. To those of us with families, we want to be able to show our kids what we actually saw when we were their age, and relive it with them. It should be such a simple and easy thing to do.

Only it isn’t.

We’re limited in our choices to old video formats, that become more difficult to obtain, and inch closer to extinction with each passing year. And the now out of print Bonus DVD discs from 2006, utilizing ancient video transfers done in 1993, are hardly better, if you can find them at all.

None of us ever imagined as kids that we would have to resort to “alternative methods” to keep these historic versions from fading away to memory, before nobody remembers them at all. We live in a era where even a “bad” movie is loved enough to get a meticulous restoration, and can be easily purchased.

We have nothing against the Special Editions. They simply aren’t the versions we grew up with and loved. The Original Original Trilogy, or OOT for short, deserves to be seen again, in the best possible quality afforded by modern cinema and home video formats in the 21st century, and loved again by all.

There is room for both(all?) versions of Star Wars, The Empire Stikes Back, and Return of The Jedi to happily coexist. And we want to give you our money for them, we really do! Please give us that opportunity. At least give us hope that we will be able to do so soon? Some of us aren’t getting any younger! That is all we ask for.

Sincerely yours,
The Staff and Members of Originaltrilogy.com*

Mocata said:

Maybe. Have they ever replied to past attempts?

I mean feedback from you guys. No idea if anyone has tried this via twitter before or got a response.

DuracellEnergizer said:

Tobar said:

This in-universe cooking show should give you an idea of the food diversity in the Star Wars galaxy.

Only now did I notice Malla’s TV is a flatscreen.

How is it a subpar holiday special set a long time ago in a galaxy far, far away did a better job predicting future technology than Alien, which is actually set in the future and doesn’t suck?

Perhaps long duration deep space voyages require more reliable display technology? 😉

2001: A Space Odyssey predicted flatscreens and Ipad type devices before anyone else did.

I got a draft of the open letter I think is ready for previews. Should I post it here, or start a new thread, or PM it to interested parties to get feedback?

Jetrell Fo said:

generalfrevious said:

TV’s Frink said:

24 million people were probably going to lose insurance under the previous failed bill, per the CBO. It’s unknown how many people would potentially lose insurance under this plan, and the Senate is sure to make fairly severe amendments to it as well. And of course, losing insurance does not equal death for a large number of people. For some, yes, and that will be blood on the Republican’s hands (and all because they can’t stop themselves from creating more giveaways to the rich while fucking over the poor)…but your exaggerations do not help your points at all.

Do you know who we are up against? We have a president that only does not respect the law or any morals whatsoever, but openly flaunts and brags about it.

Are you suggesting we’re up against this child actor?

😉

More like this one. 😉

CatBus said:

Mike O said:

I’m fucking sick of shit. “Oh, wait for the 40th anniversary, oh wait for May 4th, oh Wait for 2020.” Fuck this shit. I’m not getting any younger.

This “rumor of a pending new decent OOT release” business is almost old enough to buy its own beer. It’s not gonna quit now just because it’s been wrong every single time for a couple decades running.

So, if we get it really drunk…

baron_lando said:

Meanwhile, even the movies they make fun of on the new Mystery Science Theater are in HD now! Argh…

Yes, but that decision has limited the bad movie pool to films that have an existing HD master. (I’m only aware of one movie so far that may have been scanned just for the show.) Many of the Season 11 experiments have been available uncut on Blu Ray for a while. They aren’t picking and choosing from bottom of the barrel tv syndication movie packages anymore.

Mocata said:

doubleofive said:

I’m pretty sure Leia just hands Wicket a rice cake.

Hah yeah I always think that.

All the stuff looks like terrible dry health foods. The ESB lunchbox is like a bunch of Ryvitas.

Freeze dried food makes sense for emergency rations stored in the belly of an X-Wing for long periods of time.

@midnight really had a lot of fun at George’s expense tonight. “George” even threatened to make a Watto movie.
That they had K-2SO’s voice actor and John DiMaggio, (Bender!) in the same room was awesome.

Disney bought Pixar for 7.4 billion in 2006.

ILM has always been busy working on non Lucasfilm projects, and I would think THX branding was still bringing in the moolah back in the '90’s. Other movies have used Skywalker Ranch’s post production facilities.
I bet he wishes he had kept Pixar in the fold sometimes.

Fresh minty breath is a must when meeting your new Jedi master for the first time. 😉

They probably drew inspiration from what NASA astronauts were eating in the 70’s.

And no, that’s not Captain Kirk’s dinner tray, it’s what they used on Skylab. 😉