Williarob

nafroe said:

@captainsolo - I am loving your in-depth analysis of the 007 films... Was enjoying them, but was wondering of the purpose of this analysis... Then I found your thread on fanres...  ;-)  :-)

 I like them too, but would it be possible to include more pictures? It would be nice to see the differences illustrated.

Danfun128 said:

Or any other average 35mm release, apparently.

 As I understand it, projectionists would routinely splice the reels together onto a big platter and then cut them apart again to return them to the reels. Obviously to run the film without heads and tails appearing on screen at each reel change they had to be spliced where the real picture information is. Over time, the frames at each end of the reel would get damaged and be cut off. Since the film soundtrack is on the film too, this would not cause audio sync issues and really nobody would notice one or two missing frames. From what I have seen of Team Negative One's prints they are nearly all missing some frames at the beginning and end of each reel when compared to the GOUT.

I Just borrowed a huge collection of 35mm and 16mm James Bond film reels from a private collector (just trailers and TV spots - sadly no full features) but there is some pretty rare stuff like original Black and White TV spots from the 1960s like this one:

http://www.the007dossier.com/007dossier/post/2015/01/09/Rare-Original-16mm-Dr-No-BW-TV-Spots-in-HD

which never made it onto the DVD special features. More of this collection will be posted over the next few weeks.

Also, to raise some money, I am selling some of the items in my collection, including many of the 35mm trailers, if anyone is interested:

http://www.the007dossier.com/007dossier/page/For-Sale

(Sorry, don't want to derail the thread, but I thought all of this might be of interest to some of you and it didn't seem worth starting a new thread.)

I am selling my Technicolor You Only Live Twice Trailer, if anyone is interested... http://rover.ebay.com/rover/1/711-53200-19255-0/1?icep_ff3=2&pub=5575033532&toolid=10001&campid=5337201588&customid=35mm_Yolt&icep_item=151520866580&ipn=psmain&icep_vectorid=229466&kwid=902099&mtid=824&kw=lg

Probably not much use as a color reference as it's from an old faded 35mm trailer reel, but still fun to watch:

http://www.thestarwarstrilogy.com/starwars/post/2014/12/02/Raiders-of-the-Lost-Ark-35mm-Trailer-in-HD

I watched it with my kids and we really enjoyed it.

My Dad took me to see Star Wars at a theater in California some time in 1977, but I was not even three years old at the time and although he tells me now that I really enjoyed it, I don't remember it at all. The weird thing is he also took me to a drive in Theater in '77 for a double bill: Herbie goes to Monte Carlo and James Bond in The Spy Who Loved Me, and I do remember being there for both of those. The first time I remember watching Star Wars was October 1982 when it aired in the U.K. on ITV. By then I was almost 8 years old, and I've been a fan ever since.

I saw The Empire Strikes Back for the first time on Betamax in 1984 at a friends house, and Return of the Jedi for the first time on VHS in 1986 at my cousin's house. I also saw Jedi in a theater on an American Air Force base in Frankfurt, Germany in 1987.

Also in '87 we finally got a VCR and the very first VHS tape I ever bought was this one:

http://www.swonvideo.com/vhs/vanhuk1987.htm

which I still have, £14.99 from my local WHSmith. Laserdisc never really took off in Britain so VHS was as good as it got for me.

Then I saw all the Special Editions and the Prequels at the Theater on 35mm and I've felt old and grumpy ever since ;)

I realize I'm late to this party, but I only found the Plinkett prequel reviews last week! (I tend to steer clear of anything prequel related). I was also able to track down the 108 page response (most of the download links are long dead) which, if anyone still wants a copy, can now be found here: 

http://thestarwarstrilogy.com/starwars/post/2014/09/03/The-108-page-rebuttal-to-Mr-Plinketts-Phantom-Menace-review

I just thought of another thing that might have improved the Prequels: Marcia Lucas' Editing. If you look at how the Original 1977 Star Wars is structured - A big opening battle to grab your attention and let you know this is going to be very cool, followed by some much slower pacing while the droids wander around in the desert and Luke complains about his chores. A lot of this works because of how it was put together in the editing room.

We also know (from Rinzler's making of Star Wars?) that it was Marcia's idea to add dialog to the Greedo scene when the Jabba scene proved to be unfeasable, which is why re-including the Jabba scene in the SEs is so pointless - Han Solo has to explain that "Even I get boarded sometimes" twice in as many minutes.

I expect she also helped to make the original trilogy better by pointing out things that just didn't work, whereas if you watch any of the docs on the SEs and prequels you get Rick McCallum telling us how great everything is, and what a genius George Lucas is, which is probably what he told George when he asked, "are you sure we're not going to far with Jar Jar?" I bet Marcia would have had something more constructive to say.

mfastx said:

Williarob said:

Also, Real sets! Real Props! Less CGI! I have yet to see a CGI Jabba that is as half as convincing as the massive foam-rubber puppet built 30 years ago. A real set, with something physical to work with not only gets a much better performance from the actors but also generates an atmosphere - something a computer just can't recreate convincingly - or at least it couldn't when the prequels were shot. Perhaps it can now.

 Agree with everything you said, but there were plenty of real sets in the PT: 

and

are a few examples.  Plus, the OT had its fair share of blue/green screen: 

Honestly I think the special effects were the least of the PT's problems. 

 Aren't all of those "real sets" above miniatures? The actors were not walking through them in the way they did the Death Star sets or the cantina or Jabba's palace. The actors walked around in front of Green screens. But, I concede the point that not all the sets were computer generated :)

Cobra Kai said:

They've already released the SE's on blu-ray, so all we need are the unaltered theatrical movies.  Fans who prefer the SE can just hang on to their 2011 discs and continue to enjoy the inferior versions. 

A Bladerunner type set would just make it more expensive for those of us who have been waiting for years for a release of the OT.

 That's true. It would be nice if we didn't have to buy any kind of box set - just individual titles would be good too.

crissrudd4554 said:

Beatleboy99 said:

unamochilla2 said:

Can't they simply exist as products of their time?

 Thank you!

My thoughts exactly!!! I don't mean to sound like a dumper on the SE's but the only versions with cultural significance are the originals. For people who prefer the SE's better that's your opinion but whether you prefer it or not the original is the only one that has any cinematic significance. It laid the blueprint for the type of visual effects and filmmaking of today and its very deceiving to show newer generations SW when in fact its cluttered with effects of a later era. For Lucas to say the film wasn't finished I don't think is right. The film was made in an era where his vision couldn't be fully realized but the results were still monumental! Then again this is just my view of it.

I agree completely. It's unfortunate, however,  that an entire generation has now grown up with access (officially) only to the Special Editions. To them, these are the films they grew up with, and perhaps the originals just don't compare. I don't know, thankfully, I'm too old to be one of those unfortunates!

So, the only way to keep everyone happy is to produce a Blade Runner like multi-version Box set which includes the 1977, 1981, 1997, 2004, 2011 (and 2015?) versions. '77/'81 on one disc with seamless branching (including all the audio variations), and all the Special Edition variants on another disc, also with seamless branching - which is what Lucasfilm should have done in 2004...

I would have liked to see more of Darth Vader. Just imagine for a moment that Anakin had fallen into the lava by the end of Episode II and had spent all of Episode III with the Mask on, surrounded by Stromtroopers, and just generally being the evil doer he was by Episode IV - If he had killed the younglings with the mask on, in the suit, that would have made it so much better. That's the prequel I wanted to see. Really for me, it was only at the very end of Episode III, when Vader is on the bridge with Tarkin, that I felt any connection to the original Trilogy - that moment gave me goosebumps!  So, more of that would have been great.

Also, Real sets! Real Props! Less CGI! I have yet to see a CGI Jabba that is as half as convincing as the massive foam-rubber puppet built 30 years ago. A real set, with something physical to work with not only gets a much better performance from the actors but also generates an atmosphere - something a computer just can't recreate convincingly - or at least it couldn't when the prequels were shot. Perhaps it can now.

FanFiltration said:

superbond said:

Hello, i've browsed this forum for many years but this is my first post.

Been a big fan of the original 3 "Banned Bond" releases and listened to those commentaries a few times now- thank you FF for bringing them to DVD.

Wanted to ask had there been any further projects that have been released since? either conversions or perhaps some of the audio tracks from the LD's?

...

Could you please tell me? On the "Banned Bond" version of "From Russia With Love" that you have, does it have a music and effects only track as an audio option?

 

 No, the Music and Effects track was not included as an option on your Banned Bond version. Would love to hear it though!

Also, did you ever complete that Thunderball LD capture you were working on?

Here's what I have:

http://www.thestarwarstrilogy.com/starwars/post/2014/05/07/Star-Wars-TV-trailers-from-1979

I can give you the original, unwatermarked versions.

I wonder if the more subtle differences made to the '97 version - like the toning down of the violence - is part of the new "original negative" or if those changes were made after it was digitized. I assume (and hope) it's the latter.

jero32 said:

^^Blade runner style release sounds somewhat likely to me. Disney did pay 4 BILLION dollars. They are known for making excellent digital negatives out of all their movies (even if the releases don't always reflect it) So most likely they wanted a digital negative of the OOT as well now they own it. (and the '97 and '04 release)

Do they own it though? It was my understanding that Fox still owns the original movie. Disney bought Lucasfilm and the rights to all sequels, new prequels, reboots and spin offs to Star Wars and Indiana Jones, but I don't think they own the original films.

20th Century Fox controls all theatrical and home video distribution of both Star Wars Trilogies, and they own A New Hope in perpetuity.

Handman said:

How extensive is this damage?

Not terrible: Sample frame from the end of Reel2:

http://imgur.com/SfAjrOO

Another 16mm ESB print just popped up on Ebay:

http://rover.ebay.com/rover/1/711-53200-19255-0/1?icep_ff3=2&pub=5575033532&toolid=10001&campid=5337201588&customid=ESB16mm&icep_item=360968845808&ipn=psmain&icep_vectorid=229466&kwid=902099&mtid=824&kw=lg

Also Raiders of the Lost Ark:

http://rover.ebay.com/rover/1/711-53200-19255-0/1?icep_ff3=2&pub=5575033532&toolid=10001&campid=5337201588&customid=Raiders16mm&icep_item=360968845793&ipn=psmain&icep_vectorid=229466&kwid=902099&mtid=824&kw=lg

And E.T.

http://rover.ebay.com/rover/1/711-53200-19255-0/1?icep_ff3=2&pub=5575033532&toolid=10001&campid=5337201588&customid=ET16mm&icep_item=360968845815&ipn=psmain&icep_vectorid=229466&kwid=902099&mtid=824&kw=lg

I checked the MD5 and it is correct. You are probably missing a codec. I recommend you download and install the Combined Community Codec Pack - you should be able to play just about anything after installing that.

http://www.cccp-project.net/

Try Ctrl + F5 to reload the style sheet.

There was some cropping in IE, due to how IE chose to render the page... Should be gone now.

Laserschwert said:

Thanks for putting them up :)

The only problem I see is that the video players crop the image on the right side, since they are only 4:3 (and should be 16:9).

That's weird - the players are sized at 16x9 (748x420) and display correctly for me in Chrome, Firefox and Oh I see... The whole page is a little messed up in IE...

FYI: These excellent transfers are now available at TheStarWarsTrilogy.com.