oojason

^ Fake or not? I don’t care - it is great 😃
 

From https://imgur.com/gallery/hylcoTn
 

Manic Street Preachers’ ‘If You Tolerate This Your Children Will Be Next’ (Live):-

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BQMj202B67A
 

or the stripped back version…

James Dean Bradfield (with Allen Toussaint and John Grant) - ‘If You Tolerate This’:-

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1wULJgK8is0
 

Haarspalter said:

Not really a ship, but THIS

Preferably not in a forest 😉

Letter of recommendation to the Galactic Empire,

please deploy tactical ground troop vehicles sutitable for the respective planetary enviroment.

Slow dewbacks for open wide desert areas?
Fast speeder bikes for tree trunk-infested forests?

Someone needs to lose his job.

Sincerely, a worried Scout Trooper

Brilliant 😃
 

Make your dream come true mate…

😉

‘Star Wars original cuts on Blu-ray: the evidence’:-

Rumours suggest that original cuts of Star Wars are heading to Blu-ray. But how likely is that? Ryan weighs up the possibilities…

https://www.denofgeek.com/movies/star-wars-original-cuts-on-blu-ray-the-evidence - a 2014 article
 

a snippet…
 

"For many Star Wars fanatics, the special edition release of the Original Trilogy back in 1997 was a bittersweet moment. On one hand, it offered us the chance to see George Lucas’s space opera films in their natural habitat: on a huge cinema screen.

Then there’s the restoration to consider: Lucasfilm took the original Star Wars negatives from its archives and cleaned them up, removing years of dirt and scratches, and restoring the colours to their original balance. Thanks to the efforts of people like effects supervisor Dave Carson and his team, Darth Vader’s outfit was once again black and imposing, not an embarrassing shade of faded blue.

During this process, however, George Lucas decided to make a number of small yet significant alterations: the insertion of new effects shots, an entire song-and-dance sequence in Return Of The Jedi, and, most infamously, a change to Han’s fateful meeting with Greedo in A New Hope. Further alterations were made when the Original Trilogy made its way to DVD and then Blu-ray, which quickly led to a persistent question among Star Wars fans: when might we see a release of restored yet otherwise unmodified versions of the original films?

For George Lucas, there was one simple answer: never. Back in 2004, Lucas told The Today Show, “I’m not going to spend the money and the time to refurbish that, because to me, it doesn’t really exist anymore. It’s like this is the movie I wanted it to be, and I’m sorry you saw half a completed film and fell in love with it.”

Fans, it seemed, would have to make do with the bonus feature on the DVDs released in 2006: some decidedly threadbare original cuts taken from an old Laserdisc edition released in 1993. Otherwise, there are the various fan-made ‘de-specialised’ edits to be found on the internet. For the past eight years, the chances of seeing an official, high-quality, remastered edition of the Star Wars Original Trilogy have grown increasingly slim.

But over the past few days, rumours have begun to circulate that, with George Lucas now in retirement and Lucasfilm in the hands of Disney, the original theatrical cuts of Star Wars could be appearing on Blu-ray after all. It’s a story that has generated no small amount of excitement, but understandably, quite a bit of scepticism."
 

and…

"When George Lucas argued against an unaltered restoration of Star Wars in 2004, he said that he wasn’t willing to “spend the […] millions of dollars” on the process of making it. Two years later, Lucasfilm stated that the “negatives of the movies were permanently altered for the creation of the Special Editions.”

Taken at face value, this might suggest that a HD theatrical cut of Star Wars would not only be commercially unviable, but also technically difficult. Yet according to an Ars Technica article published in May this year, such a restoration would not only be possible, but also relatively cheap to produce. Star Wars expert Michael Kaminski suggests that a new, 4K scan of the trilogy would “likely be under a million dollars” – hardly a huge sum of money for a Hollywood studio.

What’s more, it emerged in July that a company called Reliance Media Works had created a 4k 16-bit remaster of the original Star Wars trilogy. Reliance’s demo reel even shows off its work on Star Wars:

While we don’t yet know whether Reliance’s conversion was based on the original theatrical cuts or the Special Edition, it seems highly likely that some kind of high-resolution release is being prepared."
 

‘Untouched is impossible: the story of Star Wars in film’:-

Star Wars: A New Hope has been re-released, re-edited, and updated more times… - a 2010 article

https://arstechnica.com/information-technology/2010/05/star-wars/2/
 

a snippet…
 

"Last week saw the 30th anniversary of The Empire Strikes Back, and along with it came discussions about the best way to watch the film and what we can expect from future re-releases. Michael Kaminski wrote the exhaustively researched and illuminating book The Secret History of Star Wars, so he knows damn near everything there is to know about the film stock used to shoot the film. George Lucas famously said that the original film “doesn’t exist” anymore, but is that accurate?

How exactly does Star Wars exist now? What are the challenges and possibilities involved in re-releasing a perfected original cut? How do the bootlegs stack up? Let’s find out.
 

Many prints exist…

We asked Kaminksi about the master copy of the original Star Wars. What does it look like now? “The term ‘master copy’ is slightly vague, because there are various kinds of print masters of different generations,” he told Ars. The original negative is conformed to the 1997 Special Edition, meaning the physical copy has been cut and edited with CGI “improvements.” With sections of the film being too damaged to work with, parts of that print were taken from other sources. “You never throw away your original negative, so I must assume that any pieces or shots that were removed are in storage somewhere at Lucasfilm or Fox,” he explained.

Kaminski points out that a duplication of the original negative—commonly printed for the sake of protection—doesn’t seem to exist for Star Wars. Something better was created, though: separation masters. “These are special silver-based copies that do not fade, and in theory should be almost identical in quality to the original negative itself, so even if the negative was destroyed you still have a perfect copy (which is the point of making the separation master).” Duplicates from these prints were used to replace damaged sections of the negative during the restoration before the release of the Special Edition.

That’s not all, however. “There are also Interpositives and master prints. Interpositives (and Internegatives) are the color-corrected masters that theatrical prints are duplicated from, and were used in the past to make the home video telecines from 1985-1995.” Another common practice is keeping print masters, which are high-quality, fine-grain prints kept in the eventuality that no other higher-quality copies or masters are available.

What this tells us is that Lucas wasn’t lying—the original copy of Star Wars is, in fact, gone. What exists in its place is a composite film that has been restored and spliced together with Special Edition scenes and sections from other, later prints. There exist enough film copies and back-ups to re-create the film, however, so nothing is impossible in terms of a more classical high definition re-release."
 

and…

Is there hope for a definitive release of the original films?

Kaminski says that he’s fairly sure Lucas is done with large, sweeping changes, but we should expect a CGI Yoda in Episode 1 instead of the physical effect shot on the set. The inevitable Blu-ray copy of the movies will likely be safe from further meddling.

The thing he stresses is that a perfect, uncut version is possible with the film left from the edits, and there is money to be made there. “It’s certainly possible to do a new, high-quality transfer from original 35mm material. You could totally restore the original films from their original negatives for a few million dollars, and the 2004 release sold $100 million in a single day, so that pricetag is meaningless.”

We’re not asking for much, here. “Even films like Revenge of the Nerds have new transfers from 35mm prints. It costs nothing, and there are fine-grain masters and Interpositives that would only require mild clean-up to be presentable, even if the transfers were grainier and a bit damaged.”

Kaminski is not convinced that we’ll get a classic version of Star Wars on a high definition format, at least not for a while. “I’ve been trying to organize a letter writing campaign to Lucasfilm and get websites to promote the importance of having the original versions in high quality,” he said. “I really don’t have any need to pay money for another release of the films unless the originals are restored and available, and I don’t want to sound like a disgruntled fanboy. I just don’t think the 2004 master is something I would pay money for again; I would rather just watch the bootlegs of the original versions.”

What George Lucas does love is money, however, and the hunger and enthusiasm for the non-fussed-over releases is going to be impossible to ignore. “Which is a great—but callous—business practice on their part, because you get people to buy the same thing over and over again.”
 

Why is this important?

The story of Star Wars is the story of film, and of how we keep our past to share with the future. George Lucas does have the legal right to change and adjust his own work any way he’d like, but Star Wars existed in a very specific way for its original theatrical run. Those memories, and those scenes, have a very real value and meaning to fans. This isn’t just a science fiction film anymore—it’s an important piece of culture.

Star Wars is always going to be an ephemeral thing, changing and shifting as the film adapts to the technology of the time. As the film gets older, digital copies will become more important, but fans are always going to yearn for a version of the film that may exist mostly in their imaginations. Every time George Lucas or a fan takes another crack at the film, it’s a new interpretation of the past, and as the film ages and our viewing technology changes, it will continue to look different from how each of us remembers it."

A 2014/2017 article from ‘ARS Technica’, a sort-of update on the above subject, can be found here:-

https://originaltrilogy.com/topic/Articles-and-info-that-highlight-call-for-a-classic-version-release-of-the-Original-Trilogy/id/75597/page/1#1350469
 

An addendum to the above ‘Fan Edit / Preservation Forum Rules and FAQ’ - Rule 2:-

2. No profiting from any activities related to fan edits or preservation efforts. Those found selling their fan edits or preservation projects here or elsewhere will be banned… (see the post below or click here for more information as of June 1st, 2020)

June 1st, 2020

As the world of media ever evolves, so too does our ability to interact with that world. In the beginning days of film, access was only available through theaters or private screenings. Over time we’ve gained a more immediate access through the distribution of home video releases and now access-on-demand through the internet. As creatives, this has also allowed us greater opportunity to interact with media to the eventual advent of fanediting. One thing that we must remember is that even though our access and ability to manipulate media is increasing, that access and ability does not give us the right to reinterpret the established laws surrounding copyrights of intellectual properties (IP).

A recent trend in the world of digital creatives is to use subscription based revenue supports such as patreon. While this is a fantastic way for creatives to support the development and distribution of their own IPs, we stress that it cannot be used to support fanediting. Any engagement in the profiting off of another’s IP work without permission from the owner to do so is strictly prohibited and any faneditor who engages in such activity will be banned from participating in our fanediting communities.
 

To clarify…

In the past we have been clear that no faneditor may profit from fanediting. Under this new policy this now also includes subscription based models, monetization of content that editors do not hold the copyright for and pay-per-view/access models. If a faneditor profits in any way, they have violated this rule.

Profiting from fanediting is defined as any increase in currency that leads to a personal or collective financial gain.

Fanediting is defined as editing and presenting/sharing alternate versions of content that an editor does not hold the copyright for.
 

Simplified check list…

If you are profiting from fanediting…
If you are selling fanediting…
If you are monetizing fanediting…
If you are asking others to financially subscribe to support your fanediting…
…you have violated this rule.
 

Clearly stated…

If you don’t hold the copyright of the source material you may not profit from the content.

Again, any faneditor that is found violating these guidelines will be banned from our communities.

If you have any questions regarding these rules please contact a staff member privately.

– The Staff of Fanedit.org & OriginalTrilogy.com

An addendum to the above ‘Fan Edit / Preservation Forum Rules and FAQ’ - Rule 2:-

2. No profiting from any activities related to fan edits or preservation efforts. Those found selling their fan edits or preservation projects here or elsewhere will be banned… (see the post below or click here for more information as of June 1st, 2020)

June 1st, 2020

As the world of media ever evolves, so too does our ability to interact with that world. In the beginning days of film, access was only available through theaters or private screenings. Over time we’ve gained a more immediate access through the distribution of home video releases and now access-on-demand through the internet. As creatives, this has also allowed us greater opportunity to interact with media to the eventual advent of fanediting. One thing that we must remember is that even though our access and ability to manipulate media is increasing, that access and ability does not give us the right to reinterpret the established laws surrounding copyrights of intellectual properties (IP).

A recent trend in the world of digital creatives is to use subscription based revenue supports such as patreon. While this is a fantastic way for creatives to support the development and distribution of their own IPs, we stress that it cannot be used to support fanediting. Any engagement in the profiting off of another’s IP work without permission from the owner to do so is strictly prohibited and any faneditor who engages in such activity will be banned from participating in our fanediting communities.
 

To clarify…

In the past we have been clear that no faneditor may profit from fanediting. Under this new policy this now also includes subscription based models, monetization of content that editors do not hold the copyright for and pay-per-view/access models. If a faneditor profits in any way, they have violated this rule.

Profiting from fanediting is defined as any increase in currency that leads to a personal or collective financial gain.

Fanediting is defined as editing and presenting/sharing alternate versions of content that an editor does not hold the copyright for.
 

Simplified check list…

If you are profiting from fanediting…
If you are selling fanediting…
If you are monetizing fanediting…
If you are asking others to financially subscribe to support your fanediting…
…you have violated this rule.
 

Clearly stated…

If you don’t hold the copyright of the source material you may not profit from the content.

Again, any faneditor that is found violating these guidelines will be banned from our communities.

If you have any questions regarding these rules please contact a staff member privately.

– The Staff of Fanedit.org & OriginalTrilogy.com

An addendum to the above ‘Fan Edit / Preservation Forum Rules and FAQ’ - Rule 2:-

2. No profiting from any activities related to fan edits or preservation efforts. Those found selling their fan edits or preservation projects here or elsewhere will be banned…

June 1st, 2020

As the world of media ever evolves, so too does our ability to interact with that world. In the beginning days of film, access was only available through theaters or private screenings. Over time we’ve gained a more immediate access through the distribution of home video releases and now access-on-demand through the internet. As creatives, this has also allowed us greater opportunity to interact with media to the eventual advent of fanediting. One thing that we must remember is that even though our access and ability to manipulate media is increasing, that access and ability does not give us the right to reinterpret the established laws surrounding copyrights of intellectual properties (IP).

A recent trend in the world of digital creatives is to use subscription based revenue supports such as patreon. While this is a fantastic way for creatives to support the development and distribution of their own IPs, we stress that it cannot be used to support fanediting. Any engagement in the profiting off of another’s IP work without permission from the owner to do so is strictly prohibited and any faneditor who engages in such activity will be banned from participating in our fanediting communities.
 

To clarify…

In the past we have been clear that no faneditor may profit from fanediting. Under this new policy this now also includes subscription based models, monetization of content that editors do not hold the copyright for and pay-per-view/access models. If a faneditor profits in any way, they have violated this rule.

Profiting from fanediting is defined as any increase in currency that leads to a personal or collective financial gain.

Fanediting is defined as editing and presenting/sharing alternate versions of content that an editor does not hold the copyright for.
 

Simplified check list…

If you are profiting from fanediting…
If you are selling fanediting…
If you are monetizing fanediting…
If you are asking others to financially subscribe to support your fanediting…
…you have violated this rule.
 

Clearly stated…

If you don’t hold the copyright of the source material you may not profit from the content.

Again, any faneditor that is found violating these guidelines will be banned from our communities.

If you have any questions regarding these rules please contact a staff member privately.

– The Staff of Fanedit.org & OriginalTrilogy.com

Sometimes the content is right under our noses…

Proof of Lucas’ revisionism in Rinzler’s making-of book? - 2019 OT•com thread, by canofhumdingers

😃
 

'U.K. Industry Confirms COVID-19 Guidelines for Film & High-End TV, Giving Greenlight for Production:-

https://variety.com/2020/film/global/uk-industry-publishes-covid-19-guidance-1234621699

^ seems the new shows that were due to be filmed in the UK (Cassian Andor? maybe more?) may resume / start shooting soon…
 

'A “New” New Hope: Film Preservation and the Problem with ‘Star Wars’:-

https://www.popoptiq.com/a-new-new-hope-film-preservation-and-the-problem-with-star-wars - date unknown
 

a snippet…

"In an episode of ‘The Big Bang Theory’ (a sitcom lampooning modern “geek” culture with varying degrees of success), physicist Dr. Sheldon Cooper refuses to watch the ‘Star Wars: Clone Wars’ animated series before the Clone Wars movie. He explains, “I prefer to let George Lucas disappoint me in the order he intended.” Though likely unintentional, this offhanded remark reveals the central dilemma of the Star Wars fandom. Does the franchise “belong” to Lucas or does it “belong” to the public, as an artifact of cultural history? With the 2011 release of the 6-part Star Wars saga on Blu-ray came the announcement that the version of the trilogy available in the set would not be from the original theatrical prints, but the 1997 “Special Edition” versions of A New Hope, The Empire Strikes Back and Return of the Jedi, which include additional scenes and updated technology. Many fans of the franchise see this decision—coupled with the critical backlash stemming from the three Star Wars prequels—as evidence of George Lucas’ transformation from an innovative filmmaker into a profit-seeking businessman.

There may be a more pertinent problem at stake. As the years go by, the original theatrical print of the trilogy has become more and more difficult to access. The original version of Star Wars has a loyal and prolific fan following, including the website Save Star Wars, a space promoting the preservation and distribution of the original theatrical prints of the trilogy. But what constitutes an original art object in film? With regards to this issue, Star Wars presents a unique problem—what the fans consider the original work of art has been actively suppressed by its creator.

In an interview in the February 1997 edition of American Cinematographer Magazine, Lucas stated: “What ends up being important in my mind is what the DVD version is going to look like, because that’s what everybody is going to remember. The other versions will disappear. Even the 35 million [VHS] tapes of Star Wars out there won’t last more than 30 or 40 years.” From this, it appears that Lucas intends for the Special Edition of the trilogy to supersede the original versions, eventually taking their place in our collective cultural memory."
 

and…

"Another influential fan-based initiative for the preservation and public distribution of the original cut of Star Wars is the online petition at OriginalTrilogy.com. The current version of the petition reiterates that authorial agency and cultural responsibility are not mutually exclusive—while Lucas has every right to alter his films, he has an artistic obligation to preserve the original version for future generations. The website has also published a letter from a Lucasfilm PR rep, responding to the site’s original petition. It is damning evidence for Lucas’ continued suppression of the original trilogy:

“The negatives of the movies were permanently altered for the creation of the Special Editions, and existing prints of the first versions are in poor condition. […] Since these movies do not represent George’s artistic vision, we could not put the extraordinary time and resources into this project as we did with the Special Editions. […] We want you to be aware that we have no plans—now or in the future—to restore the earlier versions.”

The argument that the updated version of Star Wars constitutes Lucas’ original “artistic vision” is not entirely cohesive. Such an admission implies that, had computer generated graphics existed in the 1970s as they do today, Lucas’ original version of Star Wars would have more closely resembled the Special Edition. However, this argument is historically and technologically deterministic—that Lucas was somehow destined to make the Special Edition at any point in history. Films as artifacts are a product of their cultural, historical, and aesthetic limitations, and as such, the original Star Wars theatrical prints should be preserved as a representation of science fiction filmmaking in the late-70s and early-80s."
 

'Why finding the original 1977 Star Wars is verges on the impossible:-

https://www.inverse.com/article/3942-why-finding-the-original-1977-star-wars-verges-on-the-impossible - 2016 article
 

a snippet…
 

"It’s a scene etched into every Star Wars fan’d mind. The roguish anti-hero Han Solo sits alone at a bare table in the Mos Eisley Cantina. An alien bounty hunter pulls up a chair to confront him. After some chit-chat, the amphibian-looking barfly pulls a gin and fires a laser blast inches from from Solo’s head. Without batting an eye, Han fires a return blast from under the table, killing the bounty hunter and sauntering away from the grisly yet PG-rated scene. Everybody’s seen it Except not.

That impromptu shootout in the first Star Wars is but one of the sequences that diverges from what audiences saw when the movie was originally released in 1977, and it’s perhaps the most infamous of writer/director George Lucas’s endless tinkering with his beloved space saga. This means that a whole generation of supposedly passionate fans have been living a lie. The galaxy far, far away that fans like me fell in love with is a different film entirely.

I confess that I love Star Wars far too much. It’s a cultural artifact that permeates my whole being. I couldn’t count how many Star Wars birthdays I’ve had, how many toys I’ve bought, and how many home video editions of the original trilogy I owned. I’ve even made some of my best friends by challenging them to exceedingly nerdy Star Wars trivia (Q: What was the number of the garbage compactor that nearly killed Han, Luke, and Leia in the first movie? A: If you don’t know it, we aren’t best friends.)

And yet I’ve never seen the original version of Star Wars — a crime that should be punishable by freezing me in Carbonite and shipping me off to an uncertain fate with Boba Fett. But in 2015, it requires nothing shy of an actual quest if you want to find Lucas’s 1977 original, the ur-Star Wars from which the subsequent multi-multi-billion-dollar cultural empire sprang. Lucas has ensured the “original” is a tampered-with version he now sells riven with edits and festooned with computerized effects. To see his original vision, one must dig."
 

The Emperor’s way of killing the Jedi… eventually backfires…

https://imgur.com/gallery/amDl7y5 (with sound)
 

Goodbye Panakin - troll and sock.

Vladius said:

oojason said:

I thought I was on a reddit thread for The Last Jedi for a while there - not in an OT.com thread - supposedly for an TLJ Edit…
 

hey buddy, you missed the large section of posts bashing Rise of Skywalker

In here? Or elsewhere? Please feel free to PM me with any posts you feel have overstepped the line as to what Preservatioinists, Fan Editors, fellow members, and moderators have requested below…

oojason said:

An Index & Help Thread for Star Wars Fan Edits and Other Projects… to try and help members find information on, and links to, the many various Edits & Other Projects that have originated on the OriginalTrilogy•com down the years…

 

A quick reminder that the Star Wars Preservation and Star Wars Fan Edit sections of the site are NOT the places to bash on certain eras or aspects of the films, actors, film-makers or owners - or any perceived ‘agendas’ or politics thereof.

There are far more relevant threads in the Beyond the Original Trilogy or General Star Wars Discussion sections of the site to talk about this.

Critiquing a scene in the Star Wars Fan Edits section with the aim of improving it, removing it, altering it etc is perfectly fine. Statements such as ‘Disney sucks’ and ‘this film is so shit no Fan Edit can save it’ is not.

Fan Editors, Preservationists and members do not want the same sort of repeated comments and discussions in the ‘Fan Project’ areas - especially when they’ve already taken place (and continuing) in other more relevant sections of the site, as linked to above.

If there are posts voicing frustration about the pacing of the film, the lack of deleted scenes available, certain scenes or character arcs, legitimate criticism of the writing etc - with the aim of coming up with better / improved Edits… it generally isn’t a problem (without personal or toxic insults etc, of course).

Though posts such as yours made previously on here - which earnt you two quick warnings in succession - sure, let me know.
 

Just a reminder; I’m still waiting for a reply to some info from you in PMs - I look forward to finally reading them.

Now, if we could get back on the topic of thread… 👍
 

‘The release of the Original Trilogy to DVD’:-

Sorry, but this isn’t a review of the new DVD set from Lucas. I won’t be doing any review of the new set, because I won’t be buying. This isn’t a review, but rather an explanation as to why I’m not buying. It’s not a plea for you to boycott, or an attempt to tell you what to do - each person must follow their own conscience on such things. - from 2004.

(around the time of the 2004 OT SE DVD release…)

http://www.mwctoys.com/MOVIES_STARWARS_092104.htm
 

a snippet The whole thing…
 

"The reason I’m skipping this set of DVD’s is simple - I’m not going to feed the monster. Lucas is a man completely out of control at this point (and if some of the things I’m hearing about the final film pan out, God helps us), and it’s clear there’s no one around him with the courage to tell him he’s wrong. I can’t tell him he’s wrong (last time he called, we argued over Jar-Jar, and he hasn’t spoken to me since), but I can let him know my disapproval of his childish, immature, and downright stupid handling of the original trilogy by keeping my money right where it is.
 

Like many fans, I’m very bothered by the changes to these films. There are two core reasons for my disdain:

1 - Once a film is released, it is owned by those that paid for it with their ticket price. We bought the original film, in it’s original format, from Lucas, and it is no longer only ‘his’. I loved that film for what it was, when it was released - I want to be able to own that film, unchanged. Lucas may have the legal right to screw with that, but he lost the emotional right several billion dollars ago.

2 - Films are part of history. The look of the film, the actions of the characters, the theme and plot, all reflect the thoughts and feelings of society at the time the film is released. When Turner started colorizing old films for the sake of color, Lucas understood this and rallied against it. Unfortunately, like all good hypocrites, he can’t see that this applies to him as well as others.

I’m all for director’s cuts. I like to see what they might have envisioned, but couldn’t do because of external constraints. But that is not what is happening here. George is systematically destroying your chance of ever seeing the original film again, slowly killing off his original baby for the new and improved.

The argument for the changes goes something like this “I’m improving the film.”. When it becomes painfully obvious that the changes rarely do that, the follow up argument quickly raises its ugly head “It’s my movie and I’ll do whatever the hell I want.” Once you reach that stage, it’s pretty clear the person never had a leg to stand on in the first place.

If the changes were purely cosmetic, more people would buy into the ‘improving the film’ theory. Of course, Lucas didn’t buy it with the whole silly colorizing thing, but there are enough people out there that would say “sure, throw in a few more ships zipping around, what can it hurt?” But these changes, the ones that truly rub me the wrong way, are far more than simply the film version of Botox. These changes alter the motivations of the characters, and the intentions of key scenes.

Let’s look at the two worst - the demise of Greedo, and the final scene of the Three Jedi (any resemblance to Larry, Moe and Curly being a complete coincidence).

The Demise of Greedo. In our beloved original, Han knows exactly where the conversation with Greedo is leading, and he doesn’t like it. He finishes the slimy bounty hunter off before he ever has a chance to kill Han. The Cantina is a ruthless place, filled with ruthless people, and we realize that Han is a man not to be messed with.

In the first alteration, a poorly edited first shot from Greedo is thrown in. Obviously, George has decided in his old age that Han needs to be less ruthless and more puppy dogs and warm apple pie. This simple change alters the character of Han drastically.

And now, in this latest version, they shoot at the same time. At this point, the only thing the scene proves is that George is unable to make up his mind, and actually thinks that compromise makes for great art.

But what of the new change to the big finale? In one of our final scenes of Return of the Jedi, we see Ob-Wan Kenobi as played by Alec Guinness, Yoda as played by a puppet, and Anakin Skywalker as played by Sebastian Shaw, all in ghostly, force fed form, smiling over the festivities. This scene was intended to send a simple and straight forward message - although Anakin had strayed, his last final heroic act of self sacrifice redeemed him. This simple scene was all that was required to impart this important message.

In our new release, Shaw has been digitally replaced with Hayden Christiansen, the young version of Anakin Skywalker. What in God’s name is Lucas thinking? Or is it that he simply isn’t? In what fantasy world does this make sense? Perhaps he’s trying to set up whatever explanation he has for why Obi-Wan and Yoda disappeared when they died and Qui-Gonn did not, but if that’s the case, the answer smells lame already.

While the original scene told us that Anakin was redeemed, this scene now tells us that not only was he redeemed, but the cosmic forces once again went out of their way to screw the good guy, stiffing Obi-wan with an old man’s appearance and giving Vader back his youthful one. Even the Force screws you in the end.

There are several other changes as well, and even one that George reversed - he added in the girlie scream when Luke falls, but has removed it once again in the dvd release, proving the waffle theory once again. In a recent interview, he said he pays no attention to what the fans say about the films or the changes. Yea, right.

Lucas needs to move on, learn how to let go, and actually be creative, instead of obsessing and reassessing his past work. Grow up, George - nothing is ever perfect, and adults are usually smart enough to know that reworking something over and over sucks all the creative and spontaneous beauty out of it, leaving a technically perfect but lifeless creation.

Rating - Skip It.

All of this, and my general uneasiness with Lucas’ attitude, are why I’m not buying these films. Buying them simply sends the message that it’s okay, that I’m more than happy with the product. I’m not, and if I don’t have these DVD’s in my house on September 21st, I won’t suddenly die. In fact, by taking the money I would have spent and buying a few more Toys For Tots with it, I’m going to be feeling pretty good.

Of course, I might rent them…
 

Spoiler Laden Thoughts:-

Nothing more to spoil here - George did that for me."
 

‘Could Disney finally give us the remastered, unedited Star Wars we want?’:-

A rumored sale of Fox assets to Disney adds a new wrinkle to our 2014 analysis. a 2017 article.

https://arstechnica.com/gaming/2017/11/could-disney-finally-give-us-the-remastered-unedited-star-wars-we-want
 

a snippet…
 

"Disney is doing all kinds of things with the Star Wars universe now that it has purchased the franchise away from George Lucas. In addition to the three sequel films, there will be “at least three” spin-off movies, which will likely be origin stories for some of the supporting cast of Star Wars characters. The House of Mouse is pouring a tremendous amount of time and money into Star Wars, and Disney could be the new arbiter of the Holy Grail of Star Wars requests: a remastered release of the unedited, non-special-edition original trilogy.

Unadulterated, “pure” versions of the original Star Wars films are difficult to come by. Except for one sad, low-resolution release on DVD in 2006 (which we’ll discuss in a moment), the films have only been available in their modified “Special Edition” forms since 1997, when George Lucas re-released the films to theaters with a series of changes. Some of those changes aren’t bad at all—the fancy new attack on the Death Star in Episode IV is perfectly cromulent—but others are absolutely terrible. In Return of the Jedi, Jabba’s palace gains an asinine CGI-filled song-and-dance interlude. Dialogue is butchered in Empire Strikes Back. And in the first movie, perhaps most famously, Han no longer shoots first."

The article is definitely worth taking the time to deep dive into - it may be from 2017 - though many of the well-crafted and researched points made in it… still stand today.
 

‘OK, so the original Star Wars trilogy probably isn’t coming back’:-

The odds of seeing restorations of the classic trilogy this year are low. They’re very, very low.

http://www.forcematerial.com/home/2017/2/24/ok-so-the-original-star-wars-trilogy-probably-isnt-coming-back - 2017 article
 

a snippet…
 

"Sadly, Pablo Hidalgo has come along to rip out our fluttering hearts and show them to us before we died.

Hidalgo, a key member of Lucasfilm’s vaunted Story Group, would almost certainly know if there were any plans underway to re-release the original cuts of the films, and judging by his response to the rumour, it doesn’t sound like it’s on the agenda:-
 

Celebrating 20 years of that unaltered re-release rumor.

— Beloved By Reddit (@pablohidalgo) February 23, 2017

 
Hidalgo’s trademark snark has gone over about as well as you’d imagine, although he does sympathise with the fans who want to see the original films (“I prefer my ‘70s movies to look like ‘70s movies”, he told one fan).

Ultimately, though, it’s not up to him, and Hidalgo seemed to confirm the widely held belief that, somehow, the original cuts can only be released with vengeful god George Lucas’ permission, despite the fact that Lucas sold Lucasfilm to Disney for a casual $4 billion in 2012.
 

@Shatterhand1701 As far as I know, there’s only one person who could make this happen and he hasn’t seemed > all that interested.

— Beloved By Reddit (@pablohidalgo) February 23, 2017

 
Meanwhile, the folks at The Digital Bits conferred with sources at Disney and 20th Century Fox, the two studios that would need to come to an agreement to make the re-release happen (despite the sale of Lucasfilm, Fox owns the distribution rights to the first Star Wars film in perpetuity).

They report that, while the elements needed to reconstruct the original ’77 cut of the first film have been preserved, no such reconstruction work has been done to date.
 

Still, we can hope, right?

Restorations are built on hope…"
 

Panakin said:

oojason said:

I thought I was on a reddit thread for The Last Jedi for a while there - not in an OT.com thread - supposedly for an TLJ Edit…
 

Cant slam JJA with out giving Ruin Johnson his fair share of criticism of what he did. Both men are at fault equally with what happened

You missed the point - this isn’t the section of the site for these type of remarks.
 

As has been said of many occasions…
 

oojason said:

An Index & Help Thread for Star Wars Fan Edits and Other Projects… to try and help members find information on, and links to, the many various Edits & Other Projects that have originated on the OriginalTrilogy•com down the years…

 

A quick reminder that the Star Wars Preservation and Star Wars Fan Edit sections of the site are NOT the places to bash on certain eras or aspects of the films, actors, film-makers or owners - or any perceived ‘agendas’ or politics thereof.

There are far more relevant threads in the Beyond the Original Trilogy or General Star Wars Discussion sections of the site to talk about this.

Critiquing a scene in the Star Wars Fan Edits section with the aim of improving it, removing it, altering it etc is perfectly fine. Statements such as ‘Disney sucks’ and ‘this film is so shit no Fan Edit can save it’ is not.

Fan Editors, Preservationists and members do not want the same sort of repeated comments and discussions in the ‘Fan Project’ areas - especially when they’ve already taken place (and continuing) in other more relevant sections of the site, as linked to above.

Do you wish to carry on with those kind of remarks in here?

I thought I was on a reddit thread for The Last Jedi for a while there - not in an OT.com thread - supposedly for an TLJ Edit…
 

‘5 Reasons Why Lucasfilm Needs To Release The Unaltered Theatrical Cut Of The Original Trilogy On Blu-Ray’:-

Hardly a month goes by where there isn’t a rumor making the rounds that an unaltered theatrical cut of the Original Trilogy is finally coming to Blu-ray before being quickly shot down by Disney and/or Lucasfilm. It’s a seemingly endless cycle of false hope and harsh reality.
 

All 5 links below are from the EpicStream website - a 5-part article, from 2017:-
 

1. ‘To Withhold The Original Cut Is To Encourage Piracy And Enable Pettiness’

“Some might say it’s cheap to argue that by restricting access to something, you’re only encouraging people to obtain it illicitly, but tell that to the speakeasy operators and bathtub gin brewers of the Prohibition days. The simple fact is that many fans aren’t above resorting to legally dubious methods (i.e. piracy) if it’s the only way they can watch the unaltered cut of the Original Trilogy, especially considering the only reason it’s not widely available is because of George Lucas’ pettiness. Make no mistake; the man is a true visionary, but to deny fans access to something they cherished growing up just because it’s not the version you like, even though it’s the version you felt comfortable releasing in theaters in the first place, is the act of a petty individual.”
 

2. ‘It’s Nice To Have Options’

“Just because fans want to be able to watch the unaltered theatrical cut of the original trilogy in crisp, clear 1080p (or even 4K) doesn’t mean that none of them want to see the versions with Lucas’ various revisions, as well. In fact, for every 100 fans that demand the theatrical cut, there’s probably 100 more that are perfectly happy with – or even prefer – the updated CGI, additional lines of dialogue, and Greedo shooting first (hey, to each his own). The point is, it’d be nice to have the option to watch the unaltered version of the trilogy for those that prefer it.”
 

3. ‘Fans Yearn For The Versions They Saw In Theaters When They Were Young’

"Why are diehard Star Wars fans so hung up on getting an unaltered cut of the Original Trilogy on Blu-ray? It’s simple – they just want to be able to enjoy the versions of the films they saw in the theaters as children, but in a manner that capitalizes on the outstanding capabilities of modern technology. They want to scratch that nostalgic itch, and aside from worn out VHS copies and the 2006 bonus DVDs (poor laserdisc transfers that weren’t formatted for widescreen TVs), there’s no reasonable/legal way to do it. We live in a world where nearly every R-rated film can be purchased in either the theatrical or unrated cut; a world where you can purchase five different versions of Blade Runner on Blu-ray; a world where you can purchase either the theatrical or extended cut of the Lord of the Rings trilogy. That being said, it makes no sense that fans aren’t able to see the Original Trilogy of one of the most influential film franchises of all time in its original incarnation. "
 

4. ‘It’s A Guaranteed Cash Cow’

“Do Disney and Lucasfilm not like money? It sure seems like they do, considering they’re moving all of their content to an exclusive streaming service in 2019. So why, then, are they seemingly not interested in offering something there’s already a massive demand for? In 2011, when Episodes I-VI were released on Blu-ray (sans the unaltered cut of the Original Trilogy), it sold more than one million units after only a week on the market, shattering records for the high-definition format and generating more than $84 million in worldwide sales. Obviously, those sales include purchases made by casual fans of the franchise, and while an unaltered cut of the Original Trilogy would appeal more so to hardcore fans, Disney/Lucasfilm could still generate a pretty massive payday.”
 

5. ‘It Would Finally Silence Angry, Nostalgic Fans’

“As much as Star Wars purists are hard-pressed on getting a Blu-ray copy of the unaltered Original Trilogy, they’re also sick and tired of hearing other fans beg for it – perhaps just as much as the people who could care less which version of the films they watch. Before infighting destroys Star Wars fans like it nearly did to the Sith, to put an end to the in incessant pleas once and for all, Lucasfilm should bite the bullet and find a way to release the unaltered theatrical cut of the Original Trilogy on Blu-ray.”
 

‘A load of ‘MacClunkey’: will George Lucas’s Star Wars tinkering never end?’:-

Lucas has apparently changed the famous Greedo scene in 1977’s Star Wars again, for its broadcast on Disney+. It’s yet another pointless edit by the director

https://www.theguardian.com/film/2019/nov/13/macclunkey-george-lucas-star-wars-disney-plus-greedo - 2019 article
 

a snippet…
 

“Who’s that cackling maniacally, the puppet master we all thought had long ago left the Star Wars scene, suddenly revealed to have been pulling strings in the background all along? It’s not Emperor Palpatine, seemingly restored to life in trailers for the forthcoming Episode IX: The Rise of Skywalker despite being killed by Darth Vader in Return of the Jedi. It’s George Lucas, the saga creator whose departure from all things Star Wars seems to have been greatly exaggerated – especially if reports that he has yet again doctored the famous Greedo scene in 1977’s Star Wars turn out to be true.”
 

and…

"Disney’s mixed attitude to Lucas and Star Wars should also be questioned. If executives don’t trust the film-maker to get involved creatively in new episodes of the franchise – as Lucas has reported – why has he been given permission to vandalise his older work?

And if Disney doesn’t actually care about upsetting Lucas, why has it failed to deliver the official “de-specialised” version of the original trilogy that many fans would sell their limited edition 1983 Rancor toy (with movable mandible) to view just once before they pass off this mortal coil?

Had Disney+ debuted with the original films in their unaltered state, the service would instantly have become an essential subscription. Instead, we have the pretty middling The Mandalorian and yet another pointless edit to Solo’s first action scene. What a load of MacClunkey."
 

Another official site article to add to Fated’s quality thread for the 40th anniversary of Empire…
 

‘Empire at 40 | The stories begind 5 amazing matte paintings from The Empire Strikes Back’:-

Industrial Light & Magic created worlds with just pain and glass.

https://www.starwars.com/news/empire-at-40-5-amazing-matte-paintings-from-star-wars-the-empire-strikes-back

‘Ralph McQuarrie: Tribute to a Master - part 1’

‘Ralph McQuarrie: Tribute to a Master - part 2’

were also included in the ‘40th Anniversary section’ for Empire - despite being made in 2012 - though great videos themselves.
 

There is also a 58 image gallery on Ralph McQuarrie’s art for Empire at https://www.starwars.com/empire-40th

‘Defining Moments: I know’ article - https://www.lucasfilm.com/news/defining-moments-i-know - though no mention of how George Lucas hated it - and Empire’s director Irvin Kershner apparently having to fight to keep it in the film.

‘George Lucas Apparently Went “Apeshit” Over Harrison Ford’s Classic Line “I Know” From Empire’ - https://geektyrant.com/news/george-lucas-apparently-went-apeshit-over-harrison-fords-classic-line-i-know-from-empire-strikes-back - with quotes from Irvin Kershner and Harrison Ford (with video interview of Ford, by Jon Favreau).
 

 
‘Star Wars: Jedi Temple Challenge - Trailer’:-

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ynDMTiamRRY - at the official ‘Star Wars Kids’ youtube channel. (2 mins)

'Star Wars Jedi Challenge to debut on June 3rd, on Star Wars Kids’:-

https://www.starwars.com/news/star-wars-jedi-temple-challenge-premiere
 

'Star Wars: Jedi Temple Challenge, the new game show set in a galaxy far, far away, will soon arrive in our own.

Premiering with two full episodes on June 3, 2020, the weekly series tests young Padawans’ strength, knowledge, and bravery in a series of trials designed to discover who is capable of becoming a Jedi Knight.

The 10-episode series will debut on StarWarsKids.com and the official Star Wars Kids YouTube channel, which currently host 'Star Wars: Galaxy of Adventures,’ ‘Star Wars: The Clone Wars fun facts, craft and drawing tutorials’, and several other activities for young fans.’

“With so many children and families home and looking to Star Wars for hope and entertainment, we wanted to make Jedi Temple Challenge available to as many young fans as possible by airing the series on our Star Wars Kids network for everyone to enjoy,” says Lucasfilm’s senior director of Online Content & Programming, Mickey Capoferri.

Ahmed Best, known to many fans as Jar Jar Binks from the Star Wars prequels, hosts the show as a new Jedi, Master Kelleran Beq. Best guides players through three rounds of trials as they vie to become Jedi Knights and wield the iconic symbol of the guardians of peace and justice, the lightsaber. Accompanying Best is Mary Holland (Veep, Upright Citizens Brigade) who voices the wise-cracking protocol droid companion AD-3, and Sam Witwer, who gives a unique voice to the dark side of the Force. Witwer recently reprised his role as the voice of Darth Maul in the critically acclaimed final season of Star Wars: The Clone Wars.’

Looks a lot of fun for the kids taking part - and for Ahmed Best. I hope it does well.
 

’From A Certain Point Of View’:-

https://contingentmagazine.org/2019/12/10/certain-point-of-view - 2019 article
 

A snippet…

"There are two key myths at the heart of the Star Wars saga: first that creator George Lucas came up with all the events of the saga, then split it apart into different films; the second is that the story was always intended to be about Anakin Skywalker’s downfall and redemption by his son Luke.

It’s true that Lucas struggled to pare down his complex scripts into the final draft that became 1977’s Star Wars. He had more ideas than he could use for a single film. At different points, Lucas claimed that the story would unfold over multiple film series (either 6, 9, or 12 films in total). But as much as aspects of this claim may be true from a certain point of view, there’s simply no one document or master plan that outlined everything that Star Wars would become.

The truth is more complicated than myth, and the quickest version of that truth is that Lucas built out the Star Wars saga through retroactive continuity, or “retconning.” Simply put, this means that Lucas fleshed out the backstory as he went, adding character histories and ideas that changed our understanding of the material. This is especially evident when examining the character of Darth Vader. Looking at textual evidence, A New Hope (the subtitle itself added for a 1981 theatrical re-release) rebuts the notion of the saga being Anakin Skywalker’s story. We now read into the first film—his training as Obi-Wan’s apprentice, what the Clone Wars were, how Emperor Palpatine took power—with ideas that have been put into our heads ex post facto. But in the original film, Darth Vader is more henchman than primary villain, sidelined in scenes by other Imperial officials."
 

and…

“Over nearly forty years, Lucas took Star Wars from crowd-pleasing whiz-bang fun to a full-blown family soap opera. When it comes to the story behind the story, perhaps Lucas reacted like many of us might, preferring to craft a tidy narrative in retrospect in order to make some sense of the chaos and stress he experienced while making the films. But in the process, Lucas rewrote our memories of what Star Wars is, at the same time obscuring where it came from and how it became such a cultural touchstone.”