Sounds like a good fix to me, as it would be more in line with how widescreen movies were usually presented on tv at the time, at least over here.
The Zoetrope logo on the spine is a nice touch. :)
Would "Italian Cut" be a more accurate description though? Some people might think Italian Version is simply a dubbed track.
Here's a idea for the back label text:
"Rescued from a 19?? Italian tv broadcast, this rare alternate cut of THX features an unique prologue, narration, and creative dialog dubbing by the foreign distributor. English subtitles are provided to fit your consumer.
This version also features several seconds of footage not seen in any official video release of the film! And as always, work hard, and prevent accidents!"
If you look at the label on the blue jar, there is more picture information on the right side of the frame on the PAL disc. On the car in the tunnel shot, there is less. Very strange...
Very interesting! There's a white speck on Duvall's lower lip in both. (Yet a new speck on the manipulator control rod in the foreground.) Possibly a different transfer of the same print?
Does our old friend the mystery white fleck show up in the scene where THX and Hologram guy converse in the room full of blue jars?
Thanks for taking the time to do this, Jaitea. :)
Thank you, Jaitea!
In other news, I've belatedly realized the analog to HDMI converter I use on the flat panel in the living room is adding it's own video gremlins to what I'm seeing. (The analog video inputs on this tv are screwy, but I didn't start using them until it was out of warranty.) Therefore, I'm going ahead with a 704 capture and will see how it looks on the other screen in the house before counting it out.
I know it would make sense to simply have everything in the same room on the better tv, but there just isn't space anymore. And I need to get to the back of the LD players, S-VHS VCR, and DVD recorder to swap cables around often.
And msycamore, I didn't intentionally plan to have three LD players, honest! ;)
That's great, Jaitea! Could you check it against the screencaps I posted a few pages back to see if it's the same print that was used? Or possibly post some screencaps from your copy?
I was planning on taking pictures of my LD's for potential extras on the eventual DVD. Shots of the PAL disc and jacket would be most welcome!
Bocce_Linguist said:
Bingowings said:
In terms of space battles the one at the end of TPM looks WWI to ANH's WWII (colourful simple fighter craft
/less colouful gritty fighter craft
).
The problem isn't so much in the design but it the writing.
Maybe it's not so much the specific look* of the fighter crafts but rather the execution of the battles that makes it hard for me to believe/accept that TPM is supposed to be 'before' SW/ANH.
*even taking into consideration your color analogy, there's still a problem, though: we should have at least seen Y-Wings in the PT, since during the OT days the film makers involved were saying that they looked so 'beat-up' because they were in fact older craft than the X-wings....
The Y-Wings have actually shown up on The Clone Wars series. They even have the streamlined coverings that the Rebels eventually remove for ease of maintenance. And I'm amazed I still recall that little piece of trivia!
I respect Walter's work, but unless he's seen a current movie actually shot in 3D and not a conversion, he's full of crap. Captain Eo was shot with the old headache inducing 3D. In fact, every 80's 3D flick I ever saw gave me problems. Half the blame can be put on bad projection though.
And Ebert was spinning pseudo technobabble about why digital projection is inferior to film from day one, so it's no surprise he's not a fan of 3D.
As a migraine sufferer, I'm amazed I haven't had a problem with a single film I've seen with the new tech.
Very impressive, Leonardo! Would you consider helping msycamore out with the Laserdisc captures I'm going to send him?
In other news, I'm really disappointed with how THX looks played back on the 704. This player does some internal digital processing of the video whether VNR is on or off. This was probably a good thing in the era of smaller CRT monitors, but just seems to degrade things slightly now. I also saw signs of the dreaded "CLV smearing", that drove me back to my old gas tube monster for DVD capture to begin with. I don't regret getting it fixed though!
Long story short, I think captures made with my other two players of both the domestic and Japanese discs will be what we need. Some scenes look slightly better on one machine than the other.
Good catch. As it matches the graphic seen when the rebels "download" the DS plans from Artoo, maybe it's a prototype? The SW Album photo looks slightly different, and it seems like there's something behind it, which suggests a model or cutout.
They did experiment with rear projection for some shots in the movie, so they might have needed a Death Star for the distant views out the Falcon cockpit windows.
In what parallel universe is TOD a turkey? ;)
I have to wonder what Lucas' relationship with Katz, Hyuck, and Kasdan is like these days. You'd think somebody who had admitted how much he hates writing in the past would have had all three of them helping out on the prequels. The lines Kasdan wrote for Crystal Skull are easy to spot.
Sorry for having been so quiet. I had the chance to get a nice quiet weekend away from home, and took it. (And I really needed to be "off the grid" for a while.) Several untidy messes awaited me when I got back, but I really needed the rest.
To complicate matters, the hard drive in my laptop dropped dead this morning. (It gets hung up on the startup screen.) I tried various old dirty tricks, including yanking the HD out and plugging it back in. Finally, I gave it one last try this evening before contemplating finding a repair shop, and the thing came back to life. I'm furiously backing up my files, because I don't know if this thing will turn over again after I shut it down.
I have a backup for the laptop, but I haven't been able to warm up to using Vista. Barring any more unforseen computer problems, I will try to get things back on track this weekend.
And thanks for the offer, msycamore. I want to get a transfer using the Pioneer 704 done to add to the other discs before sending them out to you.
You can find decent scans of the book here.
http://www.theforce.net/timetales/misc/arcana/arcana-1980.asp
It's pretty darn educational for a kid's book!
Film preservationist Robert Harris' comments on the preservation state of the OT.
I feel like I'm the last person on the planet to actually see this, but WOW! Simply amazing, and a testament to the power of editing. I was laughing so hard at times, Jaxxon started throwing things at me.
It conjured up fond memories of a primitive "fan edit" some guys I knew in high school did, over two decades ago.
The Vader red eye thing was totally cool. As were the unexpected plot twists.
So, is this guy the next "Angry Video Game Nerd"?
Kenobius Prime said:
People at Blu-ray.com are still still calling us wrong and saying shit like the changes made were done by the creator of the movies, not someone like Ted Turner so our points are invalid.
Oh yeah, kenkraly has new posts up too.
God help us all.
Are they referring to ot.com specifically, or fans who want the originals in general? My past experience lurking over there was they were unaware of this site. They certainly didn't know about the Boston screening at the time.
Sluggo said:
adywan said:
Kenobius Prime said:
Here's video of the actual announcement. Absolute pants.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Q05CunZ82o0
That was the big announcement? that was embarrassingly bad.
I clicked on it but I immediately turned it off when I saw the clowns in costume.
Something wrong with dressing up as a Star Wars character, and getting paid to do so? Sounds like my dream job! ;)
see you auntie said:
Fuck me.
Just out of curiosity I wanted the read the 1 star reviews and their reasoning on the amazon page.... this guy is everywhere.
TV's Frink said:
The shocking thing is that Lucas will let you buy the OT without the PT.
That's the first thing I thought upon seeing the announcement. Following this vein if/when the OOT restored and released on blu-ray/new format I won't have to buy the PT. I'm very surprised they're giving the consumer options.
edit: sorry about the length of the screencap and the comment being cut off but we can all probably fill in the gaps.
And way to go Kenneth using your mothers amazon account to post your rhetoric.
Guess who posted for the first time on the HTF today?
You could put the shirts and hats on Ebay. ;)
Could we see what they look like in any case?
The Star Wars thread on blu-ray.com is best avoided if you have high blood pressure, or simply value your sanity. ;)
Yes, that is an incredibly tasteless thing to say.
Bad enough we had people on here a few years back talking about burying Lucas, (presumably after doing him harm) and creating pictures of his tombstone. These kind of things reflect badly on all of us.
Lucas has frustrated and even pissed me off the past 14 years, but wishing bad things to happen to him? Never...
This fellow I met over the HTF has a pretty impressive video collection. If he doesn't have a copy, it may not exist! He's got the Episode III VHS.
http://home.online.no/~frinilse/starwarsonvideo/
He has vowed to buy the behemoth Fox 75th anniversary DVD set, (and tell the world what version of Star Wars lies within) but I haven't heard anything yet.
I'll do my best. I misplaced the audio cable adapter I was going to use, so I've also got the sound of the projector grinding away on the DV tape. (Finding the SEN scene was a long shot!) It's pretty close what you translated before.
I'm wondering if the last reel is from a different print, hence the tv logo?
And in case you didn't know what today is, happy birthday to our favorite robot assembly line worker!
http://www.fandango.com/movieblog/happy-80th-to-robert-duvall-and-nowfive-great-robert-duvall-movie-performances-654187.html
These will probably look more grainy than they really are, as the camcorder is picking up the texture of my improvised "screen".
The heads and tails on the reels are kind of cool and might make for good menu graphics.
