captainsolo

It is better than the TB set?

How? Would love to see it in NTSC.

Why do these characters have to always have some moral qualm that eventually presents itself? Jacen did the whole going evil because its the right thing to do thing.

What happened to the good old days of Lando running for his life after cheating at sabacc? Or Han being hit by a toolkit? Or even the Kaiburr crystal?

Never knew there was a stereo mix-I'll have to dust off my doorstops.

It's almost impossible to get people to realize that there are two seperate special editions, and almost nothing exists of the 97SE except for the home video transfers which were botched color wise. I too would like to see images from the 97s just to see what I saw in the theater 13 years ago.

I don't remember much about the 04 audio as I haven't gone back to those discs in several years. That mix was atrocious. Although it has its issues, the 97 5.1 mix is probably my favorite overall. (Do wish the 97 ESB still had Vader's original "Bring my shuttle")

Yeah, I meant things like the G'kar and TB broadcast versions (how are these?). I went back and took a look at the Reivax version which is the best source I have for the 97 SE ANH. ANH largely has all of the pink tint gone in this version. It's actually strange to see the updated Mos Eisley sequence without it.

The binary sunset is still really dark.

It's been 50 years?

I loved it. When I first read the Heir trilogy I loved her as a counterpoint to Luke's idealism. The whole arc of the character made sense and just fit really well. It also ended the stupid Jedi-monk loner thing which was getting really annoying. I couldn't believe she was killed off. That was the final straw for me and the new EU.

miker71 said:

3. The Han Solo Adventures (Brian Daley)

YES!!!!! I agree that these are the best things after the OT. They are pure escapist fun and true to the spirit of the films. After these come the fantastic NPR dramatizations.

Do the broadcast versions of the SEs have the color issues of the home video releases?

1.Midichlorians.

2.The Midnight screening of AOTC-the tap of Yoda's cane and the theater is so silent that you can hear a pin drop. Then they start throwing cartoon rocks and lightning. Then Yoda pulls a miniature lightsaber and jumps around yelling, and there was "thunderous applause". Part of me died inside.

3.All of Anakin's whining.

4.The complete ignorance and stupidity of all the Prequel characters.

5.When James Earl Jones said Prequel dialogue.

6.Jimmy Smits.

7.Lucas in a cameo.

8.The avalanche of bad tie-ins, especially the video games. (Jedi Power Battles you and I have a score to settle...)

9.The criminal misuse of Christopher Lee and then quick dispatch in ROTS.

10.When people began talking Prequel nonsense as if it were gospel.

11.When I felt a great sense of relief at the end of ROTS.

12.When I realized how everyone was underused, and how I saw nothing that I had really wanted to see.

13.When I felt bad for Ewan McGregor.

14. When I thought ROTS should have started at the ending and just been about damn fool old Obi Wan sitting in the back of the Cantina drinking and wandering around the Jundland Wastes full of pain and regret.

15.How much time and effort went into garbage.

16.When I read the Heir to the Empire trilogy twice in a row for cleansing.

17.When I saw all of the "little touches" that were supposed to remind us of the original films and instead only served to make me realize just how great they were.

18.When I associated with Alec Guinness and began to hate SW.

and finally...

19.Someone's very bad attempt at expressing denial and a Frankenstein impression.

Yep, it affected both the LDs and VHS. ANH  has a pink tint and some of the colors are off in ESB and Jedi.

What I meant to say is the 97 IP before the SE changes were added-if it even exists. Still, the 97SE IP shouldn't be thrown away. I feel like they should be used as the source of the SE for the Blu set.

I also first saw the 97SEs. Mine are:

1.ANH-ESB tie. I like both equally for different reasons. ESB appeals to my story tastes and ANH makes me feel like a kid again.

2.ROTJ

And because I have to list all six...

3.TPM-most enjoyable of the prequels as a standalone film. The DVD version ruins any charm this may have had by adding in even more crap (and the almost obligatory SW pink tint on home video). Thanks to Ady for making the theatrical cut available again. I also like to watch RLM's TPM review with the film so that I can laugh amidst all the pain.

4.RLM's AOTC Review

5.AOTC-For some reason I had to see this film 4 or 5 times in the theater and it became unbearable. Holds the record for the only film to make me physically sick (saw it last in an IMAX dome-never see a theatrical film that way-EVER!!)

6.ROTS-this has to be just about the most depressing movie experience. All of the tedious events of the previous two building blocks were all for nothing and only gave us more tedium! Bad dialogue, bad acting, terrible fights, and completely boring. When SW becomes both tedious and boring then you definitely have some serious problems. Give me Backstroke of the West any day. Still the only SW film I have seen one time. I actually do enjoy the novelization though because it really goes into the character's heads and gives them badly needed motivations and depth. Something that no midiclorian can provide.

The Spy Who Loved Me is a great movie. Even though it is You Only Live Twice underwater 10 years later with the same director and a different Bond. It just works so well. And I do have to say it is art.

Films now are empty. Just take a quick look at what we had in the 90's to compare. Then people were moaning about the lack of story, but at least  there was some semblance of story left in mainstream cinema! Compare an action film of today to the force that is Hard Boiled. The action in that film is wonderfully overdone, but with no CGI and never overwhelms the story. Also we still care about these characters who are allowed to flesh out their roles-this is why we actually care about our heroes in the final hospital shootout.

Films with story are unreleased, dumped, ignored, or butchered. Kingdom of Heaven was cut by nearly an hour into a messy good film. The original 194 minute version is the masterpiece that Gladiator laid the groundwork for.

If the 1997 color corrected IP still exists, couldn't that be easily put on a Blu-Ray release? It wouldn't have all of the SE add-ons and would be a cleaned up version of the originals.

hairy_hen said:

So . . . my audio recommendations would be as follows:

Star Wars: 35mm stereo, 70mm 5.1, 35mm mono (possibly 70mm stereo or 1993 stereo if desired).

Empire: 1993 stereo, music-edited 5.1 (forthcoming).

Jedi: 1993 stereo, music-edited 5.1 (already available).

Theatrical stereo mixes for Empire and Jedi would be nice, but I don't believe anyone has ever made GOUT-synched versions of those.

I agree-especially about theatrical stereo mixes for Empire and Jedi. I don't think I've ever heard them. It's nice to finally be able to get away from the 93 mixes.

Ady's ESB is about as close as you can get, but it isn't quite the same. There is the Reivax version for ANH-it's from a Beta tape and looks great, but unfortunately is in PAL format and only has a 2.0 track.

Laserdisc captures can be good, but there aren't any out currently and all will have the pink tint form the telecine. The best would be the G'kar, TB, or another broadcast version. Sadly, there aren't any now. I hope someone does finish a 97SE set with the full 5.1.

That's the main reason why I bought that last Jaws release. So glad I did-the mono track really sounds good! I held off because I thought there would be a better one and refused that awful 5.1 remix. Why do they think that older films need new sound effects?

The latest releases of the Bond films thankfully included original audio for almost all of the films (except LALD and TSWLM for some strange reason) plus Dolby and DTS mixes and any foreign dubs. The studios are finally starting to realize that people appreciate original mixes.

Major Dundee has the original mono and the reconstruction's new 5.1 score-wish MGM had done the same for their Extended version of The Good The Bad and The Ugly. That new 5.1 mix is just about the worst I have ever heard next to the 04 SW mix. Like that mix it completely goes against the intentions of the original mix. At least they included the original mono for Fistful and For a Few.

Mad Max should only be watched with the original Australian track. Screw the English dub-it really sucks. Same with Hard Boiled, original Cantonese is so much better-but no one can ever do a proper subtitle translation (or a proper transfer for that matter).

I've tried several times to get it up and running on MAME, but I can never get that program to ever work. Supposedly SWT arcade still crashes.

I love having all of the audio options, but is g-force's a lot better than dj's gout-sourced and the pwnage?

That's right, I forgot about the Brett Holmes. I still like Cushing better.

I thought Lee was great as Mycroft. It may have not been the exact character, but it worked very well in that Holmes universe against that particular incarnation of Holmes.

Thanks!

Wow. I had no idea he said things like that. Uhh...thanks..I think?

Guys: It's called an adventure movie. You know, escapist adventure-not action. Things like Zorro, Gunga Din, early James Bond, and everything else Indy built upon. Indy filled a hole in the 80's because there are no more adventure films. The last great one was in 1975 and made by a true adventurer, John Huston. That's why the main inspiration was the Treasure of the Sierra Madre.  For example Belloq is a great character, a great role, and a believable and enticing opponent. Spalko is first and foremost annoying and a carboard cutout (and people said this of Willie..Jesus-"thatsh forsh blasphemysh").

Indy IV, The Prequels, Mad Max 3. They never happened. They live now...only in my memories...

Here's some catching up:

Yes Lugosi's performance is an icon, but Lee nails the nobleman and stronger figure more-not to mention being a physically imposing figure. He scared the crap out of me as a kid when I first saw Prince of Darkness-he has absolutely no dialogue and just hisses like mad. I like both and see them as two different ways to protray the same character. Max Schreck is creepiest.

The new Holmes film was just a Guy Ritchie movie dressed up as a a Holmes film. Billy Wilder nailed it with Private Life, something which Hollywood will never realize and never did (which is why they butchered it). However, the best Holmes performance is from Peter Cushing who sends it way out of the park. He is the only one to ever get that steely reserve and disdain down perfectly. (also the man I picture most when reading the stories).

The best Indy scene for me, and the moment when I fell in love with the character as a kid is the scene in the Cairo bar. Indy has just killed the love of his life and is drowning his sorrows with that dumb monkey on his shoulder. Then the talk with Belloq about how they are not so unalike with Indy's darkening face in the foreground growing nastier until: "You wanna talk to God? Let's go see him together. I've got nothing better to do."

I don't like CEot3K. I just can't help feeling like it's an more of an ego trip and less of a movie. I love it when Spielberg actually holds it in and makes a really great film (Duel, Jaws, Raiders, Empire of the Sun). I hope Tintin shows that he can do so again.

finally onto the last seen:

Major Dundee-extended version. This is a weird one. It's part Civil War, part Pekinpah male bonding, and very out there. It constantly fights with itself over being typical Hollywood fare and being the forerunner to The Wild Bunch. Definitely flawed, but ambitious and features a nastier Charlton Heston than we are accustomed to. I like it. I may also like it for having cheery music with the Main Titles over a burning massacre with corpses everywhere and for featuring James Coburn.

Iron Man and Iron Man 2. I was persuaded to watch the first film, and while it's always nice to see Robert Downey Jr. on top of the world-it was just flat. (can always go back to Kiss Kiss, Bang Bang) I found myself more enjoying the simple absurdities of: "why the heck would he do all this stuff in his garage?" and "Look at Jeff Bridges-he looks ridiculous!" than actually enjoying the movie. It is the same with the sequel even only more so. I like the small moments in these films-(superhero sitting in the doughnut sign, inebriation, etc.) than I do the cartoons that they become. Mickey Rourke does chew scenery like no one's business.

Gattaca. A modern sci-fi film with no explosions or action scenes. It's a drama. How in the heck did this ever get made??

One, Two, Three. Sidesplittingly funny Billy Wilder satire with a manic James Cagney. Beautiful B&W widescreen cinematography. Classic.

Well Horror of does come close in some ways, but it is a completely different movie with different aims. Nosferatu is super creepy as an alternative. Never have gotten all the way through the Spanish Universal though.