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zombie84

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Join date
21-Nov-2005
Last activity
12-Jan-2024
Posts
3,557

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Post
#214155
Topic
We have to buy this set atleast to preserve it for the next generation of fans
Link
https://originaltrilogy.com/post/id/214155/action/topic#214155
Time
I think CO makes a decent point--regardless of the quality of the release, its been so long since the OOT has been widely available that if this release fails then a whole generation will grow up without having seen it. If it takes until 2012 for an HD OOT to come out, thats over 15 years without seeing the OOT--this is literally our last chance to preserve these films for the current crop of viewers brought up on the SE and PT, who will no doubt do much more to influence future fans than we ever will.
Post
#214057
Topic
1977-->1993: What?!
Link
https://originaltrilogy.com/post/id/214057/action/topic#214057
Time
The original crawl was transfered to video for the Empire of Dreams doc. So i imagine they will just be splicing it on. It is also claimed that we are getting the original audio so perhaps the original audio is being dug up and synced to the picture--or, hopefully not, simply the laserdisk's stereo track. In any case though, this is really a "simulated original version" since its not from the actual 1977 print.
Post
#213618
Topic
The Reason the OOT was released
Link
https://originaltrilogy.com/post/id/213618/action/topic#213618
Time
I'm not saying they are doing it to throw us in jail or anything, perhaps those selling the disks, but clearly there is a market for the OOT that LFL is losing out to.

Lucas even said that the only reason they released the 2004 SE so early as opposed to the original plan of 2007 was because bootlegs were becoming so widespread. I think he may have included a similar statement recently regarding the OOT.

But i have no doubt that it IS because of bootlegers. Go to ebay--theres tons of copies of the OOT being sold for very high prices. Thats money that goes to Lucasfilm's pocket if they put out official copies. Additionally, they probably figure that since an official pressing of the LD master will be better than any possible LD preservation we can do, the fan preservation community will suddenly wither away since their efforts will no longer have any use.

Thats why this release is so balls. They dont have to put any effort into it--just dig up the Laserdisk master and put it out on dvd. Instantly, both bootlegers and fan-preservationists will be out of work (and yes, despite the amazing results of XO I am very sure, unfortunately for them, that the official disk will be somewhat better in picture quality). Tack on the original opening crawl as a bit of extra incentive and you have them. Everything is in Lucasfilm's pocket. All those people shelling out two hundred dollars for bootlegs will instantly fork out money for even better official versions at a fraction of the price (with no legal reprecusions) and once all the people who have waited all this time for the dvd have bought it--ie january--the release can be pulled.

I thought maybe Lucas changed his mind about "the films are dead" thing, but it seems he hasnt. The only reason its being thrown out at all is because he is losing massive amounts of money to bootlegers. So he throws out some half-assed version for a limited time and problem solved. I'm thinking maybe the OOT will never be properly archived for home video beyond the original Laserdisk D2 tape from 1993. Maybe our best efforts will be fundraising for a proper 4k scan of a 35mm print from a private collector (seriously).
Post
#213423
Topic
The Reason the OOT was released
Link
https://originaltrilogy.com/post/id/213423/action/topic#213423
Time
I finally figured it out.

I thought maybe Lucasfilm genuinely wanted to please fans under the new management of Jim Ward. Then I thought maybe Lucasfilm saw an untapped market that they could profit off. But the whole Laserdisk-transfer thing completely threw me for a loop; it would be so easy to make a high-quality transfer from the original negative. Its always like they went out of their way to screw with us. Then i figured it out.

They are doing it to stop us from what we are doing, in some sense. They are doing it to stop bootlegers.

Think about it. If they cared at all they would spend a measily few thousand dollars to scan an original 35mm print of the OOT. But they are simply porting the Laserdisk. What is being bootleged like crazy out there? The OOT Laserdisk.

Its about stopping bootlegs. As long as they put a version out that is of equal quality as the bootlegs--which, luckily for them, is not very good--they bootlegs will suddenly stop and all that lost profit will go to them. Thats why its being sold as a low-quality "bonus", and why Lucasfilm says they have no plans now or in the future to re-master the OOT. They never intended to and never will--the only reason this is happening is because the bootlegs have gotten more out of control than they ever thought. So tossing out a non-anamorphic laserdisk transfer suddenly nullifys the LD-rip bootleg market.

Its about $$. Thats all. They dont care about fans and they dont care about us. They just want the money.
Post
#212215
Topic
$36 pre-order (AR) for all 3 titles...anyone found it cheaper??
Link
https://originaltrilogy.com/post/id/212215/action/topic#212215
Time
NOT buying it certainly has many advantages. The cat is out of the bag on this one--the entire home theater world is up in arms about it. Lucasfilm has been sent a message loud and clear. Boycotting these is the natural follow-through.

If we protest and complain enough, Lucasfilm WILL release them again in a better form. They thought they could get away with this...but they cant. And if we buy these new dvds then it will only prove Lucasfilm can dick consumers around in such ridiculous ways that have never even been contemplated by other video corporations.
Post
#211747
Topic
Info Wanted: Legal implications of the OOT DVDs
Link
https://originaltrilogy.com/post/id/211747/action/topic#211747
Time
Originally posted by: Karyudo
Originally posted by: vbangle
I thought that the OOT was in the public domain by now.....isn't there a length of time after initial release that movies become part of the public domain?


HAHAHAHAHAHA!!

In the US, thanks to Disney and Sonny Bono, NOTHING has passed into the public domain since 1923.


Night of the Living Dead is, since they forgot to put a copyright at the end of the film!
Post
#211659
Topic
Info: Leave the Duck alone... Howard The Duck coming soon...
Link
https://originaltrilogy.com/post/id/211659/action/topic#211659
Time
Originally posted by: trickbaxter
http://efilmcritic.com/feature.php?feature=1786

If this is true, I'm just completely in awe. That they would spend this much time on Howard the Duck, and so little time on an OUT DVD....mind boggling. But leave it to Lucas to make a bad (though fun and somewhat loved by me) movie worse somehow. I think now is the time to make the Definitive edition preservation of Howard the Duck.


Its an april fools joke.
Post
#211654
Topic
Info Wanted: Legal implications of the OOT DVDs
Link
https://originaltrilogy.com/post/id/211654/action/topic#211654
Time
I've been thinking about this too. Its hard to say. On the one hand the release will technically be official--BUT, do we lose our right if ours are actually BETTER? Isn't that one of the primary tenants of the preservations, to improve upon what we already have to work with in official releases? I suppose legally Lucasfilm could make a convincing case if they really wanted to sock it to us.

Fan edits are a different matter though.
Post
#211627
Topic
Info & Help Wanted: for a 9/11 News Footage Preservation Project...
Link
https://originaltrilogy.com/post/id/211627/action/topic#211627
Time
well its really about closeness. We can talk about the Inquisitions and such, which were more horrifying than anything committed that day in september, because we are not very emotionally connected to it. We dont know wifes who lost their husbands to the inquisitions and such. This is why the Holocaust used to be extremely sensitive, almost taboo, but has becoming increasingly comfortable discussing in society. September 11, being relatively fresh, it is no surprise that there are some who are still too emotionally scarred to confront such things so directly. For those who can however, this is a great project.
Post
#211570
Topic
We have less than 4 months, lets not give up now
Link
https://originaltrilogy.com/post/id/211570/action/topic#211570
Time
Originally posted by: Invader Jenny
I don't know how many people have sent letters/e-mails/phone calls, but I guess the number is pretty good right now (including the other sites devoted to this cause). For many of us who have made our voice heard, it is now just a waiting game.


Who says we only have to write one letter? I've sent in two already and on monday i will be sending a third. Lucasfilm has to wake up.
Post
#211441
Topic
<em><strong>Official Release Thread - Alien Appendix</strong></em> - Updated with #2 info (Released)
Link
https://originaltrilogy.com/post/id/211441/action/topic#211441
Time
Originally posted by: suntech
Today I picked up the Special Wide Screen Collector's Edition Lasedisc of Alien. I just couldn't Help my self. It was just sitting there in the used laserdisc bin at my local used record store. The Big Box looked so Cool that I had to have it. Not sure if it has any thing on it that is not on Qaudrilogy or Legacy box sets. I like the Booklet that comes with it I can actually Read it. It sure looks nice on my shelf. I got that and The uncensored LD of Roger Rabbit. To quote Trotter in Let It Ride "I'm having a very good day".


The 9th disk on the Alien Quadrilogy box set actually has a complete preservation of the Laserdisk extras (pretty cool i think!).
Post
#211333
Topic
ORIGINAL STAR WARS TRILOGY OUT 09/2006 BY LUCASFILM
Link
https://originaltrilogy.com/post/id/211333/action/topic#211333
Time
Originally posted by: Doctor M
I need help understanding something. Maybe I'm stupid. I don't really have a firm grip on negatives, and interpositives, etc.

In a really nice editorial rant on thedigitalbits.com today, they repeated something I had heard before: "creating the new 1997 Special Edition versions of the films... [GL] cut the original negatives. So the original negatives of the theatrical versions no longer exist."

I remember when the '97 edition was coming I saw a cool hype-documentary. They explained that they went back to all of the original composite elements that GL was smart enough to preserve. After cleaning the elements, all of the fx shots were recomposited digitally to remove artifacts, transparencies, etc that resulted from the original dated analog methods.

Now I'm no film genius, but doesn't that mean they had to build a new master negative for the S.E.? They couldn't go back to the master negative, recut it, and use a computer to print new CG characters onto the film. They had to use the original ELEMENTS and recreate the scenes from scratch re-layering ships and stuff onto background plates. Someone had to cut by cut re-edit this movie and make a new master negative.

So which is it? Why would you re-cut the master negative if it's not even involved in the process? For that matter, if all of the original elements are now clean and ready to be digitally recomposited, why can't they use them and rebuilt the OOT again (digitally) without the "upgrades"?

Maybe I'm stupid, but it sounds like they didn't get their stories straight. Can someone help me understand this?


Bingo!

When work was being done on the SE in 1993 the first thing they did was restore the negative. They washed it, cleaned it up, restored it in general. This was then made into a new print. This print is what ILM then worked with for CGI additions and such for the SE--so its the same source material that we saw on screens in 1997. Meaning there is a preserved OOT 35mm print that is as good quality as was onscreen in 1997.

And yes--the obvious reaction is "WHAT THE FUCK!" The thing is just sitting there. If anyone from Lucasfilm says any different they are lying. There is a restored 35mm OOT print that is as good condition at the SE and Lucasfilm cant be bothered to spend a few grande and do an HD scan of it.

This is why the Laserdisk transfer thing is so infuriating to me.

Post
#211290
Topic
Torn.... To buy, or not to buy.
Link
https://originaltrilogy.com/post/id/211290/action/topic#211290
Time
Originally posted by: THX
I'd like to believe that they will make a new transfer for HD video. However, there's nothing to suggest that the OUT will ever be released on an HD format. Sure, it might - but I'm not taking any chances.


I'm pretty sure it will, like i said its a question of when--most people understandably dont want to wait that long, especially if its not for another six or seven years.

But really, this release is hardly an improvement over what we already have. The XO project should rival it. I'm not really willing to plunk down 40 bucks for something that gives me a movie i already have on disk one and a movie i already have in nearly equal quality on disk two. I just dont see any point to the release and obviously the purchase of this release.

The only considerations are what effect it will have on Lucasfilms view of the OOT. Considering that its a case of "damned if we do, damned if we dont" I'm going to just do what I should and not purchase them. In the meantime, an agressive letter-writting campaign should clearly dispell the notion that the release was unwanted to Lucasfilm--maybe it will force them to actually give us a proper, newly transfered master a lot sooner if they realise they cant just give us pieces of shit. Honestly--what motivation is there for Lucasfilm to go all out and dig up the old prints of Star Wars if we lap up these table scraps like the starving dogs we are?
Post
#211283
Topic
New DVDs NOT 16x9
Link
https://originaltrilogy.com/post/id/211283/action/topic#211283
Time
Originally posted by: RATLSNAKE
To try get slightly back on topic here, check this out.

http://www.lucasfilm.com/press/news/news20060504.html

The above link contains this excerpt, which I haven't seen before in other online reports:

"On Dec. 31, the original movies will be returned to the Lucasfilm Archives."


Is it just me, but why in the world would a company take the effort to mention this, unless their intent was ONLY purely aimed at using scare tactics to persuade people to "buy, buy, buy".

As an employee of a global billion dollar company, I can say I've seen some pretty evil marketting campaigns by Sales staff, but Lucasfilm is taking first prize with this one.


RATLSNAKE



Yeah, its like when Disney says "such and such movie for a limited time--buy it now before it goes back to the Disney vault."

In either case its very easy to obtain a copy regardless of the year--they are re-released every five years or so, and in the last two years between them when copies are scarce in stores you can always get used copies off Ebay and such.