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SilverWook

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Join date
9-Dec-2004
Last activity
6-Apr-2023
Posts
22,080

Post History

Post
#377027
Topic
Stuff about the original releases of ANH, with what a book says (early variations in ANH)
Time

My earliest U.S. LD copy dates from 1983. Pan and scan, and time compressed.

Unless you lived in a large city at the time, it was less likely you had a 70mm theatre nearby. Installing Dolby stereo gear for 35mm was probably an expensive proposition for small theatre chains, and they wouldn't jump in unless they thought it would pull in more crowds. Just like now we are starting to see IMAX, 3D, and digital projection in smaller towns.

The overwhelming reason at the time to do the mono mix is, nobody was sure Dolby Stereo was going to catch on. (Just like some early widescreen movies were shot twice to have a version able to be projected on older screens.) It's hard to believe these days, where even the dollar theater has Dolby Digital, but there were a couple other sound systems tried out that never made beyond use in one movie or two.

Seen any movies in Sound 360 or Megasound lately? ;)

All three SW sound mixes are valid, the mono just had the benefit of being tweaked a bit more.

The 80's saw a lot of mono films "electronically re-channeled for stereo" on home video. Even early stereo tv broadcasting put a fake stereo effect on older shows and even some then current ones.

Post
#376912
Topic
Stuff about the original releases of ANH, with what a book says (early variations in ANH)
Time

Who says it's supposed to be the same trooper saying both lines? There are about six of them chasing Han and Chewie.

Also, "Close the blast doors!" is the setup to the punchline that is "Open the blast doors!". It got a laugh from the audience that I can remember. It was in the "Story of Star Wars" record too, so it's burned into the brains of us old coots. ;)

I personally believe the 44 magnum blaster is the actual blanks being fired on set. They simply goofed, and forgot to put a regular blaster sound in the mono mix.

The story I read ages ago was Lucas went out to eat while working on one of the foreign dubs, when he saw the line around the block at Grauman's Chinese and wondered what movie it was.

I personally own a Japanese LD from 1983 with the original stereo mix. Non time compressed. Curiously, it has subtitles for lines only present in the mono mix. I verified this with a fellow board member who could read Japanese a few years back.

Post
#376870
Topic
Stuff about the original releases of ANH, with what a book says (early variations in ANH)
Time

Six track was for the 70mm venues. (Where Star Wars was released first.) Then they needed the stereo mix for 35mm theaters as it opened on more screens, and then the mono because Dolby couldn't play properly on old mono gear at the time.

This was also in  the days before audio mixers could "remember" all the settings, so other differences could happen in later remixing sessions.

It's a safe bet all the pre-1985 Laserdiscs have the 35mm stereo mix.

Post
#376111
Topic
Star Wars Movies on Blu-ray (and some documentary) News
Time

They were not thinking about music clearances for home video in 1978, any more than the producers of Heavy Metal were in 1981. That film took 15 years to come out on video.

And even the Making of Star Wars has been altered. William Conrad's narration was inexplicably replaced on the 90's VHS.

What's really troubling about THX-1138, is the changes are never talked about on the DVD. There aren't even restoration credits like the SE's all have.

You'd think all those ILM guys would want a screen credit for the new shots. Unless the people who animated that sex machine in THX's apartment are too ashamed! ;)

In the documentary, Lucas talks about filming in various locations around San Francisco to create his underground world, while a shot of a CGI cityscape is shown. That baked my noodle!

 

Post
#375945
Topic
Star Wars Movies on Blu-ray (and some documentary) News
Time

Isn't one of the fan made DVD's allegedly sourced from a broadcast master found in the basement at a CBS affiliate?

Lucasfilm does not pretend the HS doesn't exist. The characters have listings on the official site, and Hasbro released a Boba Fett based on the cartoo segement.

If they finally decided to officially release it, there might be music rights to sort out with Jefferson Starship, etc. Nobody was thinking of a video release back in 1978.

Post
#375372
Topic
Info: 3-minute 16mm trailer - for sale on eBay
Time
doubleofive said:

Why would they do trailers on 16mm?  I thought theaters wouldn't use that film.  Heck, I'm not sure why (most of) ANH is on 16mm, just that you did a project with it!

Still, if it doesn't go higher $30 is worth it, I would think.  Its like a mystery box!

 

Some college campus theaters have used 16mm for years.  Tv stations used the format before video tape took over. There has also been a collector's market for 16mm movies for ages. (Both legally made and otherwise.)

Post
#375130
Topic
Making our own 35mm preservation--my crazy proposal
Time
adywan said:
SilverWook said:

Anybody got $20K to spare for this beast? ;)

http://cgi.ebay.com/URSA-DIAMOND-TELECINE_W0QQitemZ310162023416QQcmdZViewItemQQptZLH_DefaultDomain_0?hash=item483718e3f8&_trksid=p3911.c0.m14

 

Cintel's URSA DIAMOND TELECINE machine is only SD. Their C-Reality version is capable of HD.

There isn't any way to strip it down and modify it then?

 

Post
#374394
Topic
Two questions about the Battle of Yavin
Time
cap said:
SilverWook said:

Of course, none of this explains away making an even bigger design flaw than the original. Exhaust ports big enough to fly into! ;)

They didn’t see that as a design flaw because those exhaust ports were protected by a shield they believed to be invulnerable.

As long as we’re on the “Why didn’t they...” theme, I don’t see why the Rebels decided to let everything depend on a ground assault force defeating the (assumed, for no good reason, to be small) Imperial force protecting the shield generator and placing explosives.  The Alliance may not have had the power to destroy a planet, but they certainly had enough firepower to blast a sizable crater in one.  Why not take out the shield generator by nuking the entire site from orbit?  (In the words of Ellen Ripley, “It’s the only way to be sure.”)  Is there any reason given why this wouldn’t work?

 

Noted author Norman Spinrad asked the nuke question in a controversial review that ran in Starlog back in the day. It generated a lot of angry letters, IIRC. And a cartoon depicting Spinrad in carbonite. ;)

Either nobody really wants to use nukes, or they don't exist as weapons in the galaxy. At least among the advanced cultures.

 

Post
#374359
Topic
Two questions about the Battle of Yavin
Time
cap said:
JarHead413 said:

I don't know how much time the DS needs between shots.  Might be a day to recharge that thing

That certainly was not the case in ROTJ, but who knows, maybe technology advanced in four years from “takes a day to recharge” to “takes moments to recharge even when the darn thing is only halfway built.”  True, this is a universe that had no significant technological development for thousands of years, but you never know.

I think it's been established the DSII was deliberately made to look incomplete, so as to make it a more tempting target. It can also be argued the superlaser was not firing at full strength when taking out Rebel fleet ships, so faster recharge time.

Of course, none of this explains away making an even bigger design flaw than the original. Exhaust ports big enough to fly into! ;)

 

Post
#374295
Topic
Two questions about the Battle of Yavin
Time

A friend of mine used to wonder why they just didn't email the darn plans. ;)

The Falcon was "on the lam" after blasting out of Mos Eisely, so perhaps a spaceport free of an Imperial presence was too far away at the time. We also don't know if the Death Star moved on during the time our heroes were aboard.

Leia just saw her whole planet wiped out, so she was probably hell bent on getting the DS plans to the Rebels ASAP, before another heavily populated world was next.

She could also have had doubts about whether she really spilled everything under the mind probe.

Maybe they were betting on the DS coming in without any Imperial Navy support?

Post
#374279
Topic
Two questions about the Battle of Yavin
Time

I think maybe the Rebels decided to make a "last stand"? It's not very clear how much time passes from when our heroes arrive on Yavin 4, and when the Death Star shows up. Possibly just enough time to study the plans, form an attack plan, and brief the pilots.

In Empire, it seems to take at least a day to pack up and prepare to flee Hoth. You don't want to leave stuff behind you're going to need later.

Also, it's clear from Jedi the entire Rebel fleet is not on Yavin 4. They may have wanted to make the Empire think all the eggs were all in one easily to blow up basket.

Yavin is like Jupiter. It's huge, mostly gaseous, and potentially combustable. Blowing us a gas giant you're in orbit around is probably a bad idea. See the end of 2010, for reference. ;)

Alderaan was used as an "effective demonstration" already.