IIRC, the documentary was originally made for the Signature Collection Laserdisc in 1998, and may predate the changes made to the film.
Either there are no old prints in circulation, or Lucas made sure the new shot was tacked on.
There was some consternation over at the Home Theater Forum over the wire working the Cowardly Lion's tail being erased on the Blu Ray of Oz. Somebody explained you probably never would have seen the wire on a 1939 release print.
Whomever thought Judy flubbed a line in the scene where Toto is handed over to Miss Gulch, and took it upon themselves to wipe it even from the mono soundtrack, is the real screw up job!
I imagine the wires on the Learjet model shots in Goldfinger that have been touched up probably couldn't be seen in 1964 either.
I'd hate to see Cameron succumbing to Roger Rabbit syndrome though. That is, changing stuff people probably didn't notice until they looked at a movie frame by frame. Think I'll hold onto my CAV Laserdisc a bit longer!
There's an opportunity for me to see American Graffiti in a few weeks. I'm tempted to go just to see if the opening shot has been "fixed". ;)
I saw Raiders on the big screen five years ago, and I still couldn't see this glass reflection I keep hearing about. I did finally spot the Star Wars hieroglyphics in the Well of Souls though. ;)
What's this about a floor replacement in Aliens?
The HS was released theatrically? Wouldn't that have caused riots or something? ;)
The Ewok movies were released theatrically in Europe, and those slightly different versions are what was released on video.
Does Labyrinth count as a Lucasfilm production?
DSL went bye bye before I could put in a bid. I'll keep an eye on the seller in case another copy pops up.
Someone has bid on that radio commercial record. If it's someone on here, speak up, so we don't end up in a silly bidding war. ;)
I didn't know they were Grass Valley video switchers until I was a tv production intern ten years later. Was fun recognizing them from the film. Every time I used the fader bar, I imagined I was vaporizing Alderaan.
I suppose somewhere there is a fan who knows his guns who cringes at all the British firearms dressed up as blasters. Or a camera collector who groans when Luke, Ben, or Darth whip out a Graflex flash gun. ;)
Could you do anything with the mono audience track from the old THX Laserdisc box set? Maybe it's easier to hear?
There was also the Audience Participation Album, but I don't know if that's the same or a different audience track entirely...
I will have to dig out my CQ dvd and watch it again sometime. It's a cool film if you haven't seen it.
I used to think maybe Anakin would have lived a double life for a while, the Vader costume being the disguise. (And traditional Sith armor style to boot.) The big fight we'd waited decades to see should have been while dressed as Vader.
Then, after the whole falling in lava pit thing, the armor also became his life support system, because Vader was already known to many around the galaxy, and the Emperor needed that reputation to continue.
Considering how we only get to Vader proper in the last few minutes of the film, I felt a bit cheated. All those publicity shots of Darth with his lightsaber drawn were damn lies! ;)
The Boston screening of that Technicolor SW print was free, and was publicized at least locally in advance.
What Lucasfilm could or would do is a good question. Of course, that would mean acknowledging people actually went out of their way to see the original versions. ;)
Jetrell Fo said:
Here's what I don't get......
I just got done watching Empire of Dreams again and it's obvious that the original "Star Wars" was created during a tumultuous time in history not only here in America but in the world as we knew it then. There were also SO many challenges when it came to creating the techniques from scratch which were used to help garner the 10 Emmy nominations and the 7 wins....all of them for the production side of the process. Countless people in film-making were influenced by these changes and the end results....what a WASTE for it to be shunned by the guy who fought so hard to get it made with the obviously restricted budget he was allowed.
WHY undo all of that by exacting what seem by most to be frivolous changes that weren't executed very well with far superior technology than was used to create the original masterpiece?
Oscars, not Emmys. ;)
Wow, two renegade screenings in the same year?
I have to wonder if anyone at Skywalker Ranch is brave enough to mention these little rebel incidents to the boss. ;)
That poster is new to me. Much too racy for American audiences! I've been keeping an eye out for the late 70's poster that ties in with Star Wars, but haven't found one yet.
By the way, does anybody have a record player so we could capture this?
"FU II", is Lucasfilm trying to tell us something? ;)
Seriously though, the previous game is a fun "what if?" scenario. Especially the bonus levels with where the player character replaces Vader at Palpy's side, and eventually makes Luke turn!
I sometimes wonder if Splinter of the Mind's Eye would have been as dark as the novel if Lucas had actually filmed it.
Some of those "losers" as you call them were camping out in front of theaters to raise money for charity.
Of course, nobody has ever camped out in line for concert tickets or sporting events. ;)
zombie84 said:
You can't make it the way it was. The people involved are different now. Case in point, Lucas makes the PT. Case in point, Lucas, Ford and Speilberg make Crystal Skull. I doubt Gary Kurtz would be of any use, since he hasn't worked in three decades, and he wouldn't be the same person he was in 1980 anyway.
Gary has actually been quite busy the past few years.
http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0476030/
When the heck is '77 coming out anyway?
He did return as Luke, narrating the Vector Prime ad.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bOV2dGdFbGk
And let's not forget Robot Chicken. ;)
I kind of doubt Lucasfilm is going to confirm anything that huge via a simple email reply to a web article.
Not saying the rumors are true, just that they won't let the cat out of the bag that way. And this is the biggest potential cat in the bag they've got left...
The 1940's Bugs Bunny cartoon "The grey old hare", set in the far off year of 2000, coined the name, ("Smellovision replaces Television!") but there was a real smell-o-vision film made in 1960.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Scent_of_Mystery
John Waters also released Polyester in "Odorama", where a number flashed on the screen to tell you which part of a scratch and sniff card to use. I think Criterion reproduced that for the Laserdisc!
Vader flushed him out an airlock on Robot Chicken, and with the RC gang working on a SW series now, I think it ought to count as canon. ;)
Love or hate the guy, he has an impressive collection of SW items a lot of us wish we could have had, or still owned today. To label the entire collection "crap", or wish it to burn is really not cool. :/
Unfortunately, that is probably the fate of the two 35mm prints of Star Wars that have been listed in the past month.
Jaxxon tried for the second one, but got outbid literally at the last second. I think he's making a film collector voodoo doll now. ;)
It's sad to think of these prints never being seen by a large group of people ever again. If I was some rich film collector, I'd rent out a theater and have my own free screening. OT.com film festival!
16mm is probably our last best hope for completing the OT at this point though.