captainsolo

I can certainly agree that IV is way too dark. VHS and Laserdisc transfers always come off as a bit brighter, but its usually dependent on your viewing setup. However, this should not be drastically affecting the orginal film elements unless there has been artificial brightening. The 2004 dvd was restored by Lowry Digital, and then color corrected and re-color timed. This led to the implementation of computerized color tones that did not even exist back in 1977 onto elements from 1977. Thus everything looks too colorful and is lush in color, all adding to the darkness effect. The naturally dark lit scenes such as the cantina now have harsh red tones that make the background almost unrecognizeable. Upon first watching the 04 dvd, I thought to myself: When did Wuher start decorating the cantina like The Godfather?

There's no way that anyone in their right minds would have spliced the 97 footage back into the original negative. A new print must have been created after cleaning the o-neg as much as possible, and then the 97 scenes would have been spliced into that. There is proof that the original negatives were restored (Lucas said so himself in 97!), so the question is: Where the hell are they? The 1993 "Definitive" Collection laserdiscs cannot be our historal reference print!

What if we could hire the Blade Runner DVD project team for Star Wars? Do you think they would be interested? More importantly, would George let them?  This would probably be the only way that we'd ever get modern transfers of all three versions of all three films. (Not that I really care about the 04 versions.) Can you imagine it? A Blade Runner style briefcase set for the Trilogy? Pipe dreams, I know.

adywan said:

i can remember back to pre-'97 when the first rumours about the SE started floating around. It was a time when we had all grown up and a new generation had only ever seen it on VHS or on the TV. i, along with many of my friends, were really excited about being able to Star Wars again on the big screen, even though it would be a different version. We didn't care about this at all. I was able to take my 3 daughters to the cinema to experience what i had experienced when i was a kid. They loved it and so did i. there were some additions i didn't like, Greedo shooting first for instance, but they were minor niggles. Star Wars fandom hit a high again and no one i knew hated the SE trilogy at the time. A whole new generation became Star Wars fans. The VHS box set came out (i didn't have a laserdisc player back then) and it sat along side my OUT box set. I could happily watch both versions without any problem and the quality was the same.

But years later things turned sour.

The day GL said that the SE were now the definitive versions and that the OUT doesn't exist in his mind became the turning point for the hatred of the SE to begin. Minor niggles became hated additions.

Then we were told that the OUT would never be released ever again and only ever the SE. The hatred again grew among fans. Then the insult of the 2004 DVD set: terrible colouring, additions that were far worse than anything (apart from Han not being the only one to shoot, thus changing his character) that was added in '97, screwed up soundtracks that they tried to tell us that we were all wrong in that all the screw ups were a creative decision, but to top it all, the SE was now available with a high quality format (colouring aside) but the OUT was nowhere to be seen. Where was the high quality transfer the version that won all the awards and revolutionised the FX industry deserved? nowhere to be seen. Then the 30th anniversary was all but ignored

Now the SE was no longer the fun alternative to our beloved trilogy but something that became thrust down our throats as the only version  DVD quality, or higher, that was restored and we would ever be allowed to see.  Then the insult to top all insults happened: the GOUT. What a great way to thank all the loyal Star Wars fans that have been there from the start. I think not.

What happened to the company that always pushed for the best image & sound quality possible, setting industry standards? The Lucasfilm that existed pre '97 would never have released such a sub-standard product as the GOUT.

My point is this: If GL had acknowledged the fact that OUT is a masterpiece that should be preserved in the highest quality alongside the SE, with the SE just being a fun alternative experience, had released both versions in the same high quality and never said that the SE is the only version we are allowed to see, would there be the hatred for the SE that exists now? i would have to say no. You would either like the SE or not, but at least you could watch the OUT on your large screen TVs with great picture quality and chose to ignore the SE if you wish.

Way to go George. You locked yourself away in your little bubble surrounding yourself with "yes" men and lost touch of all reality. How can you ignore the things that gave you what you have today: the Fans and the OUT. Look what you accomplished with such a limited budget. You should be proud of that and not be ashamed that a few FX shots didn't look perfect or that you couldn't do a few things back then (i'm ignoring any additions to ESB or ROTJ here). It was a masterpiece with all its flaws. they didn't bother us back then and they don't bother us now.

With the Blu-Ray releases of movies like Close Encounters & Blade Runner on Blu-ray with all the different versions with the same high  quality transfer now available wouldn't this be the time to just thanks the fans for what they have given you and give us what we want?

So would anyone else not hate the SE as much as they do now if GL hadn't buried the OUT and told us that the SE will be the only version that will exsist from now on?

This is exactly some of the things I felt. I was one of those people who first experienced the film on the big screen in 1997. I like both the OT and the 1997 versions. I like to go back and forth. I don't approve of every 97 change, but it is understandable. Why the 2004 SEs had to be the "definitive version" I will never know. this has caused a hatred for any version of the SE. Now the 97 SE is never acknowleged at all. if we had all three versions in a good, well preserved format-peace would finally exist in the galaxy.

Star Wars exists now only in our memories and for as long as our widescreen letterboxed VHS tapes and laserdiscs can last.

Thanks, George.

GOUT (metabolic CGritis) is a digitalization disease hallmarked by elevated levels of lucas tinkering (hyperprequelization) in the Star Wars Universe.

Darth Vader will forever have eyebrows!

I remember the date: September 21st 2004. The Trilogy arrived on DVD. As a 13 year old, I eargerly waited in line to get get my beautifuuly embossed silver widescreen box...fast forward to a few hours later. I felt like I had been gut punched. I didn't know that these were the SEs. I would have been happy with the 1997 SE-the versions I grew up on.  We were all cheated into buying these travesties called the Star Wars Trilogy.  I absolutely refuse to watch these, and I feel sorry for the guys at Lowry digital who did an amazing cleanup job. If only they could have been given the originals. Apart from Empire of Dreams, I have still been watching Star wars on pan and scan VHS (the agony!!) and whatever letterbox vhs I could get my hands on. Then we were stabbed in the back again with the GOUT dvds. We now had to buy the atrocious discs we were already tricked into buying in order to gain the originals ripped from a laserdisc! I for one refused. It took all of my effort to keep away, and this killed my interest in Star Wars for a long time.

The GOUT DVDs are the best way to see Star Wars-just throw out the first disc. I hope to find a good laserdisc player soon so that I can enjoy Star Wars the way I love it, whether it be original or 1997 SE.

2004's release is the one that should never have happened. It was a betrayal of cinematic art that turned what was once a masterpiece into a degraded schlock of bantha fodder.

The one thing that keeps getting me are those weird white blocks around every ship. The Battle of Endor is really dampened by this, especially in the one shot through the Falcon's cockpit gazing at all the oncoming TIEs. It's like one giant white glob what splits into fifty million little ones completely ruining the shot.

Well, I just started the Jedi GOUT, and find that Jabba's dialogue no longer has the burned-in subtitles! What's up with that? Does this mean Greedo's dialogue in IV is unsubtitled as well?

Is there any update on the project? I been living off my letterboxed VHS tapes for too long!

After watching the GOUT Empire, I am as giddy as I was after I saw the trilogy for the first time. For a while I let the alterations get in the way. Hopefully, the eventual blu-ray release will mean that the circle will finally be comeplete. In a perfect world we will see a Blade Runner-esque complete release with wonderful anamorphic transfers of all versions. Fingers Crossed!

I recently bought the Empire GOUT Disc. I noticed the various instances of ghosting and these murky white blobs around all spacecraft. Is all this caused by the digital video reduction thing put on the "Definitive Collection" laserdiscs? What exactly is that thing anyway? The disc is certainly watchable-even blown up to 16:9. It's marginally better than my old tape set (Those were unfortunately fullscreen). For people wanting the original versions this is about as good as it gets at the present. Something occurred to me: Isn't there a better transfer of the Trilogy? What ever happened to the "One last time" 1995 THX release? Or maybe, gasp!, go back to the original negatives that had to be restored back in 1997 in order to do the first Special Edition!

I think he likes his films, but is never "satisfied" with the result. THX-1138 even has a CGI enhanced "Special Edition"! THX was phenominal! Why mess with it? If you have a few nags, it is understandable to patch them-yet not detracting from the overall experience. If only George followed Ridley Scott's lead. Scott enhanced Blade Runner for the final cut, but didn't feel the need to perfect every little thing. i kinda get this feeling that Star wars has become a sort of chore for him. It doesn't ever stop, thus there is a sense of: "Well, while I'm here I guess I better replace Han with a fish-man."

How do these compare with the 2006 Bonus Discs?

There is a major difference in the 97 SE and the 04 DVD SE. While I may not agree with all of the 97 changes-they are at least palatable and more importantly: understandable. (Save for Han and Greedo in the Cantina)

The 97 SE are still my preferred versions of ESB and ROTJ. (I like to watch the original version of ANH.)The 2004 SE is an abomination.

George. Why didn't you tell me? Why didn't you tell me you had gone back and redone the OT again? I bought your 2004 boxset and then felt like the biggest chump in the world. My VCR thanks you for keeping it alive ever since.

I first experienced Star wars in 1997. Thse are treasured memories for me. While I do not agree with all of the changes, they are understandable. The 2004 dvds are an abomination. They are garishly overdone, and their only redeeming quality is the fantastic Lowry digital restoration-couldn't they have been given acess to the original masters? For me it goes:

97 ANH (Although I now prefer the theatrical)

97 Empire (Long live the real Boba Fett!)

97 Jedi (100% Hayden free!)

I hope the project is coming along smoothly. This has totally made my day. If these are completed, all I can say is: eat your heart out George!! The 97 SE's live on!!

This may have been answered before:

I'm completely new to this: how and where do I find good versions of the 1997 SE's? I used to have the tapes. Is there a good source online or elsewhere? These were my first introduction to the Star Wars world, and I would like to see them again instead of the atrocious 2004 versions.