We also see Anakin how Lucas portrays him for a while at the start of ROTS (maybe it's time constraints that he preferred building up the conflict in Anakin instead of his good persona) in the films.

I personally like that Anakin is shown as a more.. full character. We get to see that is heroic and a likeable character in general. It makes the scenes where we get to see his darker side in the series(which the series explores in a few scenes) better. We also get to see his relationship with Obi-Wan which is quite interesting (their sarcastic and cynical banter toward each other is always good for a smile :)).

Think Lucas has seen the CG work done with Tron: Legacy? It's not out of the realm of possibility that you both get your wish...:eek:

I love that Liam Neeson cameoed but the scene where they show Anakin his future as Vader and then wipe his memory was a bit of a waste.

I was hoping that Lucas would've shot the scene for Qui-Gon counseling Yoda for the "Sith" Blu-Ray, or at least had Liam Neeson do a voice-over. The movie works without it, but that moment was so powerful in the novel.

I believe the line is, "You fell into that nightmare, master, and I rescued you, remember?" :D

Yes - i brought it back
 

OK guys, revisiting this old thread for the billionth time...

I just watched some of the documentaries on the saga set last night - and finally came around to watching the "Anatomy of a dewback" doc again after over 12 years, and came across some really good info that gave me hope over the unaltered trilogy restoration:

1. More than 5 ILM employees were interviewed on the process of adding effects to the '97 special editions of the original trilogy.
2. They explained the process of finding the original negatives (One of the employees states that they specifically located the original "O" negatives. This is the "master" copy of the film.
3. George Lucas himself stated that he keeps a master copy of all his films as well (I'm assuming at the Ranch, since there were the "O" negative in a storage warehouse
4. They then stated that the first thing they did was have a 3rd party company wash and clean all the film and that it restored the quality of the negatives from "65-95%"
5. They then stated that the next step they did was make "BACKUPS AND DUPLICATES" of the "O" negatives (the cleaned master copies)
6. They then made "tape" backups to work from to do the new special effects and edits
7. One of the employees stated "these are classics, so we were sure to give them the best care and attention possible to not destroy them" (when talking about cleaning and restoring the original "O" negative to make backups of)

Conclusion: There are the original "O" negatives already cleaned and in the original state. From what I concluded, they didn't cut up the originals, they made redundant copies and edited from those. Therefore, a fully restored UOT is possible. He will crack eventually...

Ah.........yes.....muha

The novel was brilliant and I too wish that scene was completed.

At least we got Neeson guest starring in the Clone Wars, even if he is CG...

RotS is on my short list of books to read. I've heard great things about it. Kinda late to the party, I know. :)

http://chakru.com/wp-content/uploads...t-up-money.jpg

It made for a powerful scene but still, it wouldn't make much sense in ROTS if he knew his future. Then he would know that if he helped Palpatine against Mace he would join the dark side and lose everything eventually.

Lucas gets a lot of hate and most of it is rightfully so, but there was always a part of me that believed he was ignoring the originals as an elaborate ploy to make more sales in the future since he is a brilliant as a marketer and businessman. I figure he'll finally pull the trigger in 2017 or 2018.

And I was absolutely fine with that. It made total sense that Anakin would turn renegade in a quest to gain more power. It was perfect the way it was touched on in Episode IV. Lucas didn't have to ruin it by trying to make Anakin a sympathetic character. He shouldn't have been. Out of everything that was wrong with the prequel trilogy, that was my biggest complaint about it.

I don't mind them having Anakin turn to the dark side in hopes of saving Padme' but it all was too fast. I even read that by the time Lucas starting writing ROTS, he realized there wasn't enough "time" to convey everything he wanted to. If true, shame on Lucas. I really wanted them to have Padme' go into hiding, but I think Lucas wanted some closure for such a big character. Maybe that is one of things he "ran out of time" about. The first time I saw it, I kept hoping she was faking her death, and that one of her handmaidens would be put in the coffin, but we didn't even get that. Now when Luke reveals his heritage to Leia, Leia's memory of her "real" mother makes no sense. And the explanation that it's, Leia using the force, is a cop out, and obviously a major plot hole, if you ask me. I was really worried that Lucas would somehow change that line on the blu-ray.

I definitely see where you are going Falaskan and agree. I watched the dvd copies of the sequels recently and the last two seem rushed. Could be, as my wife pointed out, why he's doing the CW cartoon now. Well, that and to continue to sell toys :laugh: Seriously though, I kind of feel that the last half of the movie feels rushed in ROTS. As far as Padme, it would have been better for her to go into hiding, eventually marry Organa and then meet with some tragedy offscreen between ROTS and ANH. This would explain Leia's memory of her.

He said something along the lines that Phantom Menace and Clones contained 20% of his planned backstory, so he felt like he could play in his sandbox with the universe he had created, only to discover when writing Sith he could fit in 60% of what remained.

Sort of leads one to think what would have happened if he had forced himself to pound out all three scripts in advance of shooting Menace. I still get the strange suspicion while watching the prequels that I'm watching someone's first draft. I know that isn't true (Menace was quietly sent out to a few script doctors, inlcuding Carrie Fisher), but it certainly feels like it.

Definitely gives hope for an unaltered trilogy. Got my hope back up. :) At least the reason is because George doesn't like them and not the more permanent "no more good copies". Nice. :)

Interesting to have the new info; thanks. I still don't understand all the entitlement going around though, concerning the OT. Most people fail to remember that what Lucas has chosen to do is very rare. Most versions of films are released mainly by the studios, and if the creator has any say, its usually limited. Lucas worked all his life to make sure he owned "Star Wars", because he was adamant about doing things his own way. We all have preferences and wants, but ultimately, its his choice to make, and no amount of bickering will change that. If he changes his mind someday, that's one thing...but if he doesn't, some will have to accept that.

I love how Anakin's turn is handled. He's under so much pressure in Sith it's unreal; the Jedi ask him to spy on Palpatine, who in turn asks Anakin to keep an eye on the Jedi, and even Padme urges him to speak to Palpatine to bring an end to the fighting. Everyone wants a piece of him and, in the end, it's just too much for him to take. So, in his selfish way which the Jedi never got a handle on, he reverts to looking after numero uno.

BTW I really dig the comments about the Force being brought back in to balance by him destroying the Jedi and the Sith. It never occurred to me to think about it in that way before, because when you watch the saga as a whole it finishes with the Sith getting destroyed and the Jedi still able to carry on, so where's the balance in that, right?

But the point is that Luke is a Jedi in name only, he has none of the rigid dogmatic teachings of his predecessors which is why he's able to embrace his love for his father, which ultimately is what redeems Anakin. The Jedi had to be destroyed for that transition to take place, and Anakin had already fulfilled that part of the prophecy at the end of Sith. By destroying the Emperor and sacrificing himself in the final film, Anakin closes the loop and truly does bring balance, leaving a clean slate where Force users are free of the restrictions of the past.

THAT'S why I love Star Wars, for people being able to shed new light on these movies years after the fact. I really should watch the Saga again, as I reviewed the Blu-rays (for another site, natch) and didn't really get to appreciate the films themselves at the time.

Don't get me wrong, I can watch and enjoy George Lucas' version quite easily. I just like the originals too, especially the effects (I'm a sucker for puppets and models :rock:). I hope we get the originals, but if Lucas feels that bad about them, so be it. :)

This is why I tend to ignore bad reviews on the prequels. Yeah, they're not perfect, but they did great in expanding the story started by the 70s/80s films. I enjoy all the films...the original trilogy (Lucasised and unaltered) more, but I love them all. :D

Kathleen Kennedy has been named to be co-chair of Lucasfilm. She's never really done anything notable to me, except associate herself with Steven Spielberg's films and made it her meal ticket, along with Frank Marshall. If she can convince George to release the unaltered Star Wars trilogy in HD, then I'll take back any bad thing I've ever said about them.

With this newly found hope, I'm dreaming of a "Definitive" set, of which we will get the 2011 Bluray Edition AND the unaltered trilogy (with a proper master transfer of course). With or without bonus features (preferably with SOMETHING of course though).

And it would be ideal in individual release packages, like done in 2006. But heck, I'd spend $80 again on a saga set if I could get the unaltered trilogy properly transfered to bluray with it.

Individual "ultimate" steelbooks would be amazing of each film if it included the 2011 and originals! I'd pay $30 a piece even! And I also would take back any bad thing ever said about lucasfilm.

It will happen in 2078. The same page number that we are on now!

I think it's been stated by George that "balance" isn't a term used in the traditional sense in regards to the prophecy of the chosen one.

From Wookieepedia...

Lucas interview...

More from Wookieepedia...

I still think there is room for a Chewbacca, ala Mr. Belvedere, watching Han and Leia's kids sequel in there somewhere for EP VII.

I dunno, I've never been able to get into the whole restructuring of the story into a 6 film saga about Anakin Skywalker. For me, Star Wars is still 'The Star Wars Trilogy', with the main characters being Luke Skywalker, Han Solo, and Princess Leia. Then after that you have the Star Wars Prequel Trilogy about Obi-wan Kenobi, Anakin Skywalker, and Padme Amidala. I actually have always wished that Lucas would have made Obi-wan the protagonist of the new trilogy (which is what I thought the movies were going to be when they first started talking about them). Obviously he had other goals in mind, but for me the films will just never be a linear 6 film series about Anakin balancing the Force.

Well, he basically did; Obi-Wan is one of the top Jedi Knights in the Old Republic, right behind Yoda and Mace Windu. Anakin was more powerful, but his recklessness was his undoing.

There's a line in the "Sith" novel, when Yoda says to Qui-Gon Jinn, "I trained these Jedi to be like my masters of old, not realizing the Sith we fought were different from the past. Change the Order did not, because let it change, I would not." It shows a great humility, where he realizes a static approach to every pupil no longer served them best. Qui-Gon then says Yoda shouldn't condemn himself for Anakin's downfall, and offers to train him as an apprentice.

I suppose. Obi-wan's certainly the hero of the trilogy, but it's Anakin's story that drives the narrative (at least in II & III).

George can waffle on about it all he wants, but he didn't bother explaining this stuff in the films and I don't like filling in the gaps with info after the fact. The destruction of the Jedi AND the Sith, with Anakin as the catalyst, perfectly fits the traditional sense of the word "balance", in reference to the Force.

Haha! Thanks for that anyway, some good observations :) I don't think even Lucas would be foolish enough to actually cut up the o-neg just for the SE's. Thinking back, I remember reading in a magazine how they could only digitally restore about 20% of each movie because the processes were so expensive back then, and the rest were just the result of the physical clean-up work. When you look at those 1997 VHS's, the digitally restored shots stand out like a sore thumb now, but I have to admit that as a whole they all look impressive.

Also, Lucas said that they had to redo all the optical wipes/transitions, and so in order to do that they would have needed to transfer the ends/beginnings of each scene into digital information anyway for a new print.

The worst things that we can hope for are;

1. Lucas writes in his will, "Never release the OT's! Or I'll come back and haunt you b!tch"
2. The o-neg combusts miraculously.
3. It turns out that he has right… we're all mis-remembering how the Star Wars films looked! Amnesia I guess...

After 2000 pages and 40,000+ posts on the subject, is there anything new left to be discussed?

I thought this might be a nice diversion, only because the Blu-ray edition was mentioned in the lyrics (I'm sure there are thousands of parodies on the subject, but this is one of the better ones and a more contemporary take)


LYRICS

[DARTH:]
Now and then I think of when I was in power
Like choking people with the Force until they died
But then you told them all my history
And took away my masculinity
And had my character portrayed by subpar actors.

You are now addicted to an overuse of graphics
And making Greedo shoot first? Han shot first.
So when you tried to have the Force make sense
You introduced the midichlorians
And what's the deal with having me be dubbed over (Noooooooooo!)

But you didn't have to change it all.
Make 'em like they never happened and the fans are nothing
I don't even need your love
But you treat me like a Bantha and that feels so rough
No you didn't have to make them blow
Have your friends direct your movies and they'll turn out better.
You think that you don't need them though
What happened to the Star Wars that I used to know

What happened to the Star Wars that I used to know
What happened to the Star Wars that I used to know

[GEORGE LUCAS:]
Now and then I think of all the times I screwed fans over.
I had them believing that the first three films were really done.
But Star Wars will be done my way
I don't care what you have to say
I think that they should let it go
And they'll never get the Blu-Ray of the Star Wars that you used to know

[DARTH:]
You didn't have to change it all.
No more puppets, no more practical effects or nothin'
I don't even need your love
But you treat me like a wampa and that feels so cold.
No you didn't have to sell your soul
Do we really need to watch them all again in 3D?
Jar Jar was an all time low
What happened to the Star Wars that I used to know

[x2]
The movies
(I used to know)
The movies
(What happened to the Star Wars that I used to know)

(I used to know)
(That I used to know)
(I used to know)
(That I used to know)

^ That is awesome. I liked George's portrayal. That ought to rustle some jimmies.

What????:confused:

Meh. Just sounds like the same old complaints to me.

Best parody ever! Heard it straight from GL's mouth, no originals on BD.

Yes it does sound like the same old valid complaints. Very funny though!

Pffft. Valid or not, it's still the same old shit.

The only valid complaint is the lack of the original versions. Everything else is the same stupid childish rant (heck, not even children to that).

Wow! This is pathetic! Let it f*cking go already!

If Mr. Lucas had taken that advice, nobody would even be having this conversation.

Ha!