georgec

JohnStewart said:

I think this is just wonderful. I love seeing him screw up his films more and more with every release. Maybe he will work himself back around to the UOT eventually.....

I hope you are following the thread on that "other" forum. The stages of apologist denial you constructed earlier this summer were perfect. I'm watching it play out beautifully.

Diego said:

That's right, it's great that one of the most iconic prequel moments is finally getting the respect it deserves. I suggest the "NOOOOOOOOOOO!!" is added to Star Wars when Vader loses control of his TIE.  And then to ESB when he enters the Hoth hangar and the falcon is just leaving, or after Luke jumps, or both.

Seriously this has to be George just giving us the finger.

 

I quite believe it is just that from a psychological point of view. People disliked the prequels. "Nooooooo!" was a rightful target for mockery of the PT and its varied, numerous faults. Lucas is butthurt by these things, which is why he drastically reduced Jar Jar's role in AOTC. He hears the fans. He listens to them. He may not do what they ask for, but he hears them.

So, adding "Noooo!" twice to that crucial scene is Lucas' way of telling fans they're his movies, he can do what he wants, and you're going to buy it anyways. I'm not saying that's his literal intention, just that it could be a subdued psychological driving factor.

Take something the fans hated in the PT and put it in the OT. Remind them that they're his movies and it's all supposed to be one saga of Darth Vader. "It's poetry, it sort of rhymes." Diminish the work of more talented directors, writers, and producers so that your fingerprint on the entire saga is clear in every scene and every frame.

Alexrd said:

georgec said:

I feel sorry for him thinking that he'll ever convince people to love the PT as much as the OT by adding all these changes and linking the two trilogies together by diminishing the OT's original charm.

I'm not sure how you got the assumption that he wants to convince people to love the PT as much as the OT. Not just because there is nothing that points to that, but because there is nothing wrong with people liking it as much as the OT.

Anyway, that "no nooo" from Vader is the second bad news I'm getting from this version (the first being the lightsabers). One inch closer to not buying the set.

Well, a great majority of SW fans disliked the PT. Most of the PT enthusiasts were children when those movies came out. The PT is Lucas' trilogy, while the OT creatively belongs to a number of people. Lucas wants people to like the PT as much as the OT so that the entire saga can thrive. That's why you only get the special features discs with the complete set and not the individual trilogies. A considerable number of consumers would only buy the OT set if it had all the relevant deleted scenes and bonus features.

Not sure what you're trying to argue here, as you have no argument. Lucas wants SW to be one saga rather than two disparate trilogies. If you can't understand that, then you are lost! ;)

This is hilarious, honestly. I feel sorry for Lucas believing that these continuous changes somehow do justice to the OT. I feel sorry for him thinking that he'll ever convince people to love the PT as much as the OT by adding all these changes and linking the two trilogies together by diminishing the OT's original charm.

The real culprit here in my opinion is Matthew Wood. Every interview that guy gives makes him sound like an uninformed, arrogant egomaniac who was overcome with giddiness to retool the audio for the OT. Ben Burtt is laughing his ass off somewhere.

Jumpman on blu-ray.comtakes the mantle of person in most denial of straight, hard facts and evidence. Adywan seems to have given up explaining things to people over there. When they see something they don't like they rabble rabble until the facts are drowned out.

Lucas must put subliminal messages into these movies because it seems the people who watch them more are highly inclined to behave irrationally. Just look at the evolution of their argument:

- SW on blu will be great

- It will be new transfers

- Those pictures mean nothing, Lucasfilm said it'll be fixed

- Those promo videos aren't footage from the blu-rays

- (Insert effect) was always meant to be (wrong appearance)

- You guys are haters and just want to ruin this for others

- Those leaked videos are not real

- Even if they are real, it looks fine to me

- Lucas is fitting the movies to his original vision

- I'm going to buy it anyways, it's SW on blu

If these leaks are authentic, and now I'm 99.9% convinced they are, it's hilarious. Seven years and no improvement in the colors.

I've been saying all along that reviewers would gush over the discs despite the problems they'll have, and advance stories will be overwhelmingly positive to build up hype. That's how it works, folks.

All I can hope for is that these images and videos spread around enough to generate enough buzz and create a PR issue for Lucasfilm, not that it will matter to them.

For shame...

Funcha said:

"Come on. Let's keep a little optimism here!"

This is OT.com - I thought we're here to expel our venom at Lucas for not treating the UOT properly?

Seriously, though, if people are happy with the set then I hope they enjoy it. I just think it's a damn shame that Lucas continues to make all these CGI tweaks and not give the (small group of?) fans what they really want.

That moments.starwars.com site is laughable. Most of the top ten moments are from the prequels. Either the site traffic is prequel lovers or those lists are skewed.

I can't fathom that an earnest poll of SW fans would have something like Darth Maul's reveal or Dooku and Yoda's duel over Yoda lifting the X-Wing out of the swamp or Han's "I know" line.

Give it up, George. People aren't going to revere the PT as they do the OT. One trilogy is classic (despite your efforts to mold it into "your own" and erase others' handprints) while the other is just a mish mash of CGI and awful writing.

I don't get why anybody has even entertained the notion of the 2004 color problems not being on the blu-rays. It's the same transfer. All the official promo material has shown the same crushed blacks and darker hue as the 2004 release. I don't care about fixing a lightsaber here and there. I care about the fact that you can barely make out details in the background on the 2004 dvd and the upcoming blu-ray.

SW fans...I've never met a group more hopeful for things that will never come true. Lucas continues to mistreat these movies and people just continue to buy each release anyways. I respect and appreciate the work of individuals who put out color comparisons and try to inform consumers, but your voices are drowned out by the louder idiot apologists who can't comprehend the fact that there might be problems with the A/V on the 2004 and upcoming blu-ray.

Sheesh. What else is there to which a person can cling for hope? What reason is there to think that these blu-rays will not have the same problems as 2004? This has been known for months but people have continued to deny it. I don't get it...

edit: I'm not even talking about the leaked 720p images at mf.com. I doubt those are authentic. I'm talking about every piece of promotional material Lucasfilm has released. Nothing has made me think the color problems will be corrected in any way, other than a few lightsaber touches. Again, I'd rather have the original lightsabers from 1977 than CGI'd ones.

Alexrd said:

DuracellEnergizer said:

The only reason people liked Fett was because of the mystery behind him. How could George not get this?

And his armor.

And my axe!

kenkraly2007 said:

The sound for those little video clips of all 6 films on the star wars youtube channel just don't sound right. The little video clips on the starwars aficionado blogspot site and on the walmart site sound so much better. Those audio from those youtube clips will not be how it will sound when the final blu-ray's come out in September.

You forgot to say how excited you are for Star Wars on blu-ray on September 16 because it will be a great box set and all the news has been really great and you just cannot wait for SW on blu-ray on September 16 because you're really excited and it's going to be a great set and September 16 cannot come soon enough so that you can enjoy SW on blu-ray on September 16.

American Hominid said:

 

ESHBG said:

Wait a minute, I am confused at what you are saying here, as "Bring my shuttle" was not in the OOT, it was in the SE, so you were watching the '04 DVDs.

 

No, "bring my shuttle" was the original, in the SEs it was changed to "Alert my star destroyer to prepare for my arrival."

Ugh not to derail the thread, but that change is one of the fundamentally worst of them all.

"Bring my shuttle" - Vader sounded PISSED, as he justifiably was so

"Alert my..." - long-winded, unnecessary, doesn't reflect Vader's mindset at that moment

Lucas tries to over explain various details of the OT and it comes off moronically.  He doesn't respect his audience to make small inferences such as Vader going to his ship or Han being indebted to a gangster, even though they're quite clear in the UOT.

All the news so far on the blu ray set of Star Wars has been great. I cannot wait to watch the Star Wars saga on blu ray. September 16 cannot come soon enough. So excited.

adywan said:

so you have now been banned at blu-ray.com cowboy for posting the exact same rants that kenkraly constantly posts, yet he gets no ban? Figures. Very one sided over there.

Blu-ray.com - you will never find a more wretched hive of apologists and childish Lucas lovers.

TV's Frink said:

see you auntie said:

georgec said:

Honestly, to hell with this garbage. Unless you're an idiot apologist, I can't fathom why any SW fan would want to buy these discs. Stick with bootlegs and torrents of the original movies and forget about wanting the crispest, cleanest picture imaginable. You enjoyed it on VHS on a small tv for years and years, after all.

Playing devil's advocate, there is some merit to this set. Some people here want to buy it in order to have a clear conscious when downloading other members HD projects.

This.

Including other member's future PT HD projects.  Plus the bonus features, which are looking reasonably interesting...I'll probably end up buying it.  But I won't be as happy about it as I should be.  'Cause I ain't no idiot apologist....or at least, I ain't no apologist. ;-)

I've given Lucas enough money over the years to justify sticking with torrents of the UOT. There is a 720p version on youtube that is pretty good as well. I haven't explored any of the fan edits but would like to sometime in the near future.

adywan said:

Has anyone noticed that they seem to have changed Nien Numb's voice slightly in the death star footage? Or is it just my sound system crapping out?

http://youtu.be/4fq4CH3I7SU

Could be a result of the egomaniacal Matthew Wood forcing as much of his personal tinkering as possible onto the movies.

Honestly, to hell with this garbage. Unless you're an idiot apologist, I can't fathom why any SW fan would want to buy these discs. Stick with bootlegs and torrents of the original movies and forget about wanting the crispest, cleanest picture imaginable. You enjoyed it on VHS on a small tv for years and years, after all.

Jacobss said:

Puggo - Jar Jar's Yoda said:

georgec said:

I'm going as far as to say that since 2004 and the botched audio issues with A New Hope, and now with confirmation of added dialogue and other changes, Matthew Wood comes across as a complete douche bag who's trying to put as much of his imprint on SW as possible.

...he sounds like an idiot who's more excited about making his own changes to SW and taking credit for them rather than doing what's best for the movies,

The more I read the interview, the more I saw that too.  I get the impression that at LFL, the movies are seen as a sort of sandbox that everyone gets to play in once every few years. What a warped view of classic cinema.

I agree. I got that impression when I was watching the making of documentaries from PT. Designers, actors and ILM guys were almost always talking crap like:

"Getting into Darth Vader suite - that's the cool part", "Yoda with the lighsabre, that's cool". "Everyone was cheering when Darth Vader showed up on the set". "I was doing things which I was imagining since I was a kid". And so on...

It's sad that besides Lucas, nobody was really interested in the story. Every character from OT showing up in the PT was cool for them and that's it. They didn't see any magic in those films. It was just a job for them. That's why I say that it wasn't only Lucas fault that the PT failed. To make a good movie, you need a good team, with passion. Look at OT, then you will see ILM guys really wanting things to work. You will see a producer interested in the plot, not only interested in making the cheapest movie possible (McCallum).

You also need actors, who are interested in the roles - Portman and Christensen, although they were main characters, didn't show any interest. I think they just used this movies for their carriers and that's it.

You're 100% right. The other people working on the PT simply didn't have the balls to challenge Lucas creatively or they didn't want to so long as they "got to work on Star Wars LOL." I don't understand how anybody could rationally think Jar Jar would be a hit with anyone older than 5 or with a brain, or the romance in AOTC was anything but empty and soulless.

That said, it all goes back to leadership. Lucas was in charge and it's a combination of him not assembling the best team, or not leading them properly, or otherwise being a toy and merchandise mogul with no regard to story or characters.

In terms of the blu-rays, we have people like Matthew Wood who don't seem to have a regard for the original movies and care more about getting to play with them rather than preserving them. It's honestly quite disappointing and saddening.

I'm going as far as to say that since 2004 and the botched audio issues with A New Hope, and now with confirmation of added dialogue and other changes, Matthew Wood comes across as a complete douche bag who's trying to put as much of his imprint on SW as possible.

I can't remember why Burtt and Lucas parted ways, but this Wood character just seems to lack integrity. He could be following Lucas' orders, but reading those quotes he sounds like an idiot who's more excited about making his own changes to SW and taking credit for them rather than doing what's best for the movies, which is TO NOT FUCK WITH THEM.

Christ, what the hell has happened to Star Wars? Thank heaven for bittorrent - may the originals live on.

bkev said:

this post is where he says they are mock ups.

Thanks, missed that in my quick scan of the page.

What a great article - "I saw the blu-rays, they are amazing! Here are some images showing their picture quality! Wait, they aren't representative of the discs!"

I believe that he thinks the PQ is most excellent, but this is the internet - pics or GTFO. I don't blame him for not having official screenshots, but I think it's a shitty move to post images as if they are screen caps. Quite misleading, even if he clarified that later.

I think kenkraly2004 is the greatest troll to ever use the internet. Reading his comments on blu-ray.com is laughable. He's like a blind cheerleader. I just posted the link bkev provided to Adam's comments over there. Of course I'm going to get flamed while nobody will take a moment to realize the guy who gave the report himself is saying those pics aren't direct screen captures.

Someone enlighten me, though - I genuinely don't understand how images can be from the "new transfer" but not be screen captures of the blu-ray disc. How would someone have access to the "transfer" if he doesn't have screenshots?

Laserschwert said:

generalfrevious said:

I can no longer understand why SW became so great back then.

Oh I can fully understand, why it became so great BACK THEN...

It was great because there were other people (Kurtz, Marcia Lucas, Kazanjian, Kerschner, etc.) who really made the important creative contributions. Lucas had the general idea but those people made it work. When Lucas decided he'd rather focus on a toy empire, he got rid of everyone who challenged him creatively and surrounded himself with sycophants.

But, we're all posting on this forum because we already know this, so I don't know why I'm saying it.

These movies have been so butchered and screwed up it's disgusting.

Crushed blacks, changed hues, brightened images, loss of detail, recolored lightsabers... It goes on and on.

It's like a chef compensating for flavor by continually adding different ingredients, but no matter how hard he tries the desired flavor is unattainable. Eventually he starts over

Lucas, just go back to the original sources and rescan them without all this tampering. It's not that hard.

bkev - I don't see that quote by Adam Gregorich on here or the HTF thread. Where did he say that?

No reviewer will dare criticize this release. They're all going to gush over "SW on blu-ray finally!" because they could otherwise lose opportunities for future advance discs from 20th Century Fox or Lucasfilm.

It's going to be unanimous praise across the board. Just look at these reviews for the 2004 dvds. It's laughable, man!

http://www.dvdtalk.com/reviews/12228/star-wars-trilogy/ - "bright and vibrant"

http://www.digitalbits.com/reviews3/starwarstrilogy.html

http://dvd.ign.com/articles/545/545786p8.html

http://www.dvdverdict.com/reviews/starwarstrilogy.php - "black levels deep and rich"

I agree with Bingo. These are the 2004 versions and now have been brightened or mixed with additional colors. The result looks good in places but bad in others.

ANH clip still looked dark - too bad they don't want to show Luke's saber in that scene. ESB pilot shots and ROTJ seemed a little pink.

Just another "Up Yours" from Lucasfilm re SD docs. Would love to hear the apologists' take on that one. "Just be happy you're getting them at all - Lucas doesn't have to do anything if he doesn't want to." Sigh...

I preordered the Complete Saga back in March/April for a net cost of $40 at B&N (ship to home, 50% off coupon, $10 off Groupon). I haven't canceled yet because I'm mulling the idea of selling it for a little profit, but even that wouldn't be worth it.

I'll take a laserdisc with grain and less sharpness but correct colors over a color-botched, DNR'ed high def release any day