Star Wars: The Complete Saga (1977-2005)

[Merlinpants]

Cantina rough cut deleted scene is in black and white still, but looks cleaner than the version released on behind the magic. Han DOES shoot first.

Still has the choppy audio though.

[Merlinpants]

Originally Posted by aiman04

Thanks! I want this now!

I know you haven't really seen them whole, but somekind of early ratings of the PQ/AQ if you don't mind.

Yeah, everybody can tell that I'm super excited, maybe even more than our friend Ken.

I can't give a fair assessment as I am chopping through the discs to answer as much as you guys want to throw at me.

So far, from the little I have seen (which isn't much) 5's all round.

[aiman04]

Originally Posted by Merlinpants

Honestly, my surrounds have never been more active and the sub is growling like never before, even on the menus. It is stunning.

The star destroyer grabbing the blockade runner in ANH was totally enveloping from a sound stage point of view. Sounds coming from everywhere.

You just made my day.

[Cinescott]

Originally Posted by Inspector Toschi

Is it sad for a near 30 year old to tear up at the end of CET3K? When the aliens invite Roy to their ship, he looks back at Lacombe with a "should I go?" sort of face. And the brilliant John Williams throws in a musical cue from "When You Wish Upon A Star" from Pinocchio. Gets me everytime...

Not sad at all. keep in mind Spielberg was only 29 when principal photography started on Close Encounters. Richard Dreyfuss was only 28.

[Merlinpants]

One thing that wasn't immediately apparent. When on the bonus discs, go into the movie you want, you will see two worlds available. Push left or right on your controller, there are more on a carousel.

You can't highlight the arrows (i can't anyway) but pushing left or right does the trick. As you can probably tell, I'm on an egg hunt

[mredman]

Originally Posted by Merlinpants

Wait, different subs on bonus disc

Espanol
Francais
Nederlands
Portugues

Only these on Bonus OT

So are you saying that english subtitles isn't included at all on this set. because i see you didn't list them for the movies as well?

Glad to hear the PQ is stunning on all the movies though

[aiman04]

Originally Posted by Merlinpants

I can't give a fair assessment as I am chopping through the discs to answer as much as you guys want to throw at me.

So far, from the little I have seen (which isn't much) 5's all round.

Yes, of course I know. Just gone a bit crazy with all these great stuffs you're reporting. Thank you so much Merlinpants, really appreciate your response. I was never worried about this release, even with the leaks and screenshots didn't bother me. I'm just so happy now, and it's just 7 days to the Star Wars saga in full HD and lossless 6.1 audio. The reason I upgraded my home theater to blu-ray will finally be here. Good times ahead.

[Merlinpants]

Originally Posted by mredman

So are you saying that english subtitles isn't included at all on this set. because i see you didn't list them for the movies as well?

Glad to hear the PQ is stunning on all the movies though

No, they are there on both movie and special features, thought that was the obvious one so didn't include it, sorry.

[Merlinpants]

Ok, I have about another hour I can spare for questions (to be honest want to watch one of the films and perhaps do some work). Ask me anything you want.

[Merlinpants]

The sandstorm deleted scene on ROTJ is funny. It was the first footage filmed, not completed so they never bothered to re-record the dialogue according to the intro slide. You get the sound (loud) of the fans blowing the sand with subtitles for what they are saying. Cool.

[Show spoiler]
Leia: How are you doing?
Han: All I can see is blowing sand
Leia: Thats all any of us can see
Han: I guess i'm getting better then

LOL

Mark Hamills performance is odd as well during the scene, quite detached.

[IndyMLVC]

Always good to re-post these things...
If you want the best comparison between the different versions:

http://picasaweb.google.com/doubleof...itionChangesHD
http://picasaweb.google.com/doubleof...itionChangesHD
http://picasaweb.google.com/doubleof...itionChangesHD

Of course, this proves that there is absolutely NO way of ever doing a "branched" version of the films.

And here are the 2011 changes:
http://picasaweb.google.com/10254276...rs2011Changes#

[Breather]

Originally Posted by Merlinpants

The star destroyer grabbing the blockade runner in ANH was totally enveloping from a sound stage point of view. Sounds coming from everywhere.

Does the music in this scene seem buried in the mix or is it about the same level we've been used to over the years?

[tigertron]

Originally Posted by P@t_Mtl

In general, most of the actors in the Star Wars saga really have nothing to write home about. To be fair however these movies are the type and written in a way that don't really challenge actors. Back 60 years ago, Star Wars was a B movie, it just happen to be release at the best possible time to become a MAJOR THING but really it never was, it was just one of those lucky thing that for some reason society needed it and they jumped on it and made it a lot more then it was.

Mark Hamill is the one who tried his best to give and effort in the originals. When you have to spend most of a movie acting with a rubber muppet and still sell it all I can say to you is KUDOS my friend, you did great.

Let's be honest, Ford walk's into the three movies with a bore look on his face. Fisher is mostly stone or drunk and everyone else, they just read the lines.

In the prequels I find only McGregor really tried his best to make a great Obiwan. Christensen was alright but I think a bit too young to pull off Vader with conviction (my opinion). My question is why Jackson wanted to play Windu so much if he spend the entire 6 movies looking like an idiot? I guess it's hard to act when you can't swear at every other words I know a lot of boys are so in love with Portman that they would not care but she did not really use much of her skills in these movies either.

Some of it is due to age, experiences, the director and the lines written for the movies. Overall however I never expected great acting skills to come out of Star Wars. They were nothing more then B movies 30 years ago that we all raise to A level and then expected even greater stuff for the prequels and starter to get mad when what we had built into our mind never happend on screen.

Well said, although I do think the only actors in Star Wars that acted well were Harrison Ford, Billy Dee Williams, Ian McDiarmid and Liam Neeson. Everyone else was pretty average but I still look at the films with rose tinted glasses, especially the prequels. The likes of Ewan McGreggor, Natalie Portman and Samuel L Jackson certainly acted much better in other films i.e. The Island, Leon and Die Hard 3. They certainly came off as wooden in alot of scenes, especially in the ones where emotion was required. However, I like them as actors so I really didn't mind - not having them in Star Wars would have been ashame.

I think that if all six films were to come out for the first time, say this year...then I think our opinions would be different.

By the way...to anyone that has seen TPM, would you say the DNR was as bad as people were trying to make out on this board? or are those screen caps of Natalie Portman a representation of most of the film? (pretty good)

[IndyMLVC]

Originally Posted by Breather

Does the music in this scene seem buried in the mix or is it about the same level we've been used to over the years?

It's buried...as usual.

[Merlinpants]

Originally Posted by Breather

Does the music in this scene seem buried in the mix or is it about the same level we've been used to over the years?

Hmmm, again, I have no reference to compare against. It is slightly drowned out by the bass rumble, in some parts almost entirely (as the destroyer engines appear on screen). Very low in the mix inside the ship and once the fire fight starts, drowned out again.

It is there, but quiet. I did notice it missing when the door bursts open with the stormtroopers as the music was timed perfectly there. Almost non-existant here. Back again on Darh's arrival but very quiet again.

[IndyMLVC]

Originally Posted by Merlinpants

Hmmm, again, I have no reference to compare against. It is slightly drowned out by the bass rumble, in some parts almost entirely (as the destroyer engines appear on screen). Very low in the mix inside the ship and once the fire fight starts, drowned out again.

It is there, but quiet. I did notice it missing when the door bursts open with the stormtroopers as the music was timed perfectly there. Almost non-existant here. Back again on Darh's arrival but very quiet again.

I thought you had the OT DVD's?

[Merlinpants]

Detail in the scene where Darth strangles the rebel officer is stunning. No sign of crushed blacks either, detail all over Darth's cloak. Please remember though, I am no expert.

[Merlinpants]

Originally Posted by IndyMLVC

I thought you had the OT DVD's?

I do, but not to hand, and frankly can't be bothered to get them out and compare.

The music is consistently back stage, dialogue is crisp clean and at the front.

[scraptor]

Originally Posted by Moviefan2k4

OK, I'd really like to know what kind of standard some folks are using, when they refer to someone as a "bad actor". In comparison to what? Your own opinion? Other actors? What the Academy thinks?

There are two parts to it. One is a relative scale and one is an absolute.

The absolute is as simple as this: does this actor make you believe he is who he says he is? If he threatens to kill someone, does he look threatening, or is he a kid playing dress-up? If an actress is supposed to be grieving, why does she look so bored?

The relative standard is compared to all other examples of acting an audience member has experienced. If your film experience were to consist entirely of tepid popcorn blockbusters starring Nic Cage, then you might be perfectly comfortable with Hayden Christensen.

There's a reason that Brando, Day-Lewis, De Niro, Hoffman, Pacino, and Nicholson are almost universally considered acting heavyweights. If you've seen enough movies, you know what's good, and you know what's bad.

The Prequels are hard to judge for acting because the scenes are so bland and lacking in tension, while the dialogue itself is so banal. I thought Ewan Mcgregor did very well with what he was given.

SPOILERS IN THE CLIPS BELOW

Compare Christensen in AOTC:

Anakin's Dark Side Revealed - YouTube

to Wes Bentley, around the same age, in American Beauty:

American Beauty - There's so much beauty in this world - YouTube

Bentley inhabits Ricky Fitts. Christensen plays Anakin like a suit that doesn't quite fit, with petulance and awkwardness instead of rage, shame, sorrow.

Timothy Hutton in Ordinary People, Ryan Gosling in the Believer. Ed Norton, though a little older, in Primal Fear. That's acting. The right material helps, obviously--just compare Portman in Black Swan to Portman in Thor (awesome movie, but her role stank).

But there aren't any cringe-inducing acting flubs in the OT the way there are in the PT.

[IndyMLVC]

Originally Posted by Merlinpants

I do, but not to hand, and frankly can't be bothered to get them out and compare.

The music is consistently back stage, dialogue is crisp clean and at the front.

*sigh* That's really too bad.