Star Wars: The Complete Saga (1977-2005)

[Propellarhead9]

Originally Posted by HDPlasma

Lucas will do what HE feels is right/correct and doubt that .0001% of hardcore fanatics will change his mind or persuade him to do anything. He's like Steve Jobs & will do as he pleases. All his DVD releases did sell very well after all so why cater to .0001% of fans.
They're his stories, not ours.

yep most people even if they wouldn't buy it at first would end up caving eventually after they realized that it's never going to happen. (hypothetically)

[HDPlasma]

Originally Posted by RebelPrince1986

I hope Episodes II & III hold up better. I haven't seen them since 2005, so I guess we'll see !

Nothing can fix the silly ewok battle of endor that sort of ruined what should have been a great battle between the rebels and the empire. It sort of destroyed what could have been an epic trilogy ending.
I was sorting of waiting for Kermit to jump out the trees and pound on a trooper, which would have been in line with the over the top silly anticlimactic battle.

[HDPlasma]

Originally Posted by Propellarhead9

yep most people even if they wouldn't buy it at first would end up caving eventually after they realized that it's never going to happen. (hypothetically)

Naw, most of these type of fans will hold their anger/hatred close & rather express their feelings like Anakin did on ep3 toward obi wan on mustafar than enjoy a great movie with less than 1% of change to the entire OT Saga.

[Lincoln6Echo]

Originally Posted by HDPlasma

Nothing can fix the silly ewok battle of endor that sort of ruined what should have been a great battle between the rebels and the empire. It sort of destroyed what could have been an epic trilogy ending.
I was sorting of waiting for Kermit to jump out the trees and pound on a trooper, which would have been in line with the over the top silly anticlimactic battle.

No, I think he was referring to the actual Episodes II & III, ie. AOTC and ROTS.

[Ernest Rister]

Originally Posted by Propellarhead9

yep most people even if they wouldn't buy it at first would end up caving eventually after they realized that it's never going to happen. (hypothetically)

Wow - you guys realize Lucas released the original cuts onto DVD to stem the rising tide of pirated versions of the same exact transfer, right?

Right.

It's not about "caving". If there is a market, and there is a buyer, eventually LUCAS becomes the salesman. It isn't the other way around. Everyone already owns the SW films, how to sell them again? Screw with the visual f/x. Keep screwing with them for years. Watch as the original cuts suddenly become hot sellers in the pirate world. Solution? Offer the original cuts yourself, but don't spend any real time or money on them. This is going to continue ad infinitum. For ALL the movies. Lucas will keep re-releasing the films with tweaks and fixes and new scenes and correced moments...on and on it will go.

[Jezza]

Originally Posted by RebelPrince1986

I just watched Episode I on DVD last night and I don't know if it's just because I am used to Blu-ray now or what, but the picture quality was TERRIBLE ! Tons of problems all over the place.

More importantly though I couldn't even make it all the way through the movie in one sitting, it was terrible. I remember liking it when I was younger, but it has not held up well at all. The characters are all annoying, the acting is terrible, the special effects are nothing special and the story is far too convoluted.

I hope Episodes II & III hold up better. I haven't seen them since 2005, so I guess we'll see !

Sorry to come into it late, but I'll give you the reason for why it looks terrible:

The Phantom Menace was shot on film just like any other movie from around that time, meaning it isn't coming from a digital source. The DVD of Episode I actually came out 2 1/2 years after it came out in theatres in 1999, so natrurally in that time, the film would have caiught lots of dust, smudges, etc., and no restoration was done for the DVD release.

Episodes II and III do look much better because of the way they were shot. Episode II was the first ever film to be filmed using HD digital cameras, so bother Attack of the Clones and Revenge of the Sith, came from a digital source, meaning there is no fluff or grubg marks on it. And actually Episodes II and III look very good upsacled on a Blu-ray player.

As for whether Episodes II and III will hold up, well it depends on the type of person you are; that's always been the case with the Star Wars prequesl - you either love them or you hate them. Episode III should hold up very well because it is very dark and sinister. Episode II however is a very tricky one to judge because you either like it for the massive Jedi battle or hate it for the Anakin/Padme love story plot, you'll just have to find out on your own. Although Ewen McGregor is absoultely amazing throughout both films, and Ian McDiarmid simply steels the show in Episode III.

[Monolithium]

Is George Lucas a religion? He has enough people for and against him to make me think so.

[STARKILLER--1138]

I don't care which "versions" he has released, I'll get them either way. I especially want EP's II & III on BD more than any other.

[HD Goofnut]

I want a six movie box set for $80 or less. With both the original and special editions for IV-VI would be nice, but I'll take either.

[BMM]

Originally Posted by Johnothan Pedak

Is George Lucas a religion? He has enough people for and against him to make me think so.

I've always said the 3 things you can't discuss without heated debate are politics, religion and George Lucas.

[Danielle Ni Dhighe]

Originally Posted by Clone Trooper

that's always been the case with the Star Wars prequesl - you either love them or you hate them.

I have mixed feelings about them. I thought they could have been better, and Lucas took on too much by writing and directing all of them.

or hate it for the Anakin/Padme love story plot

The love plot didn't bother me, just the awful dialogue the actors had to recite and their wooden performances while doing so. Even Lucas once joked about being "the king of wooden dialogue."

[Bluyoda]

Originally Posted by Clone Trooper

Sorry to come into it late, but I'll give you the reason for why it looks terrible:

The Phantom Menace was shot on film just like any other movie from around that time, meaning it isn't coming from a digital source. The DVD of Episode I actually came out 2 1/2 years after it came out in theatres in 1999, so natrurally in that time, the film would have caiught lots of dust, smudges, etc., and no restoration was done for the DVD release.

Episodes II and III do look much better because of the way they were shot. Episode II was the first ever film to be filmed using HD digital cameras, so bother Attack of the Clones and Revenge of the Sith, came from a digital source, meaning there is no fluff or grubg marks on it. And actually Episodes II and III look very good upsacled on a Blu-ray player.

As for whether Episodes II and III will hold up, well it depends on the type of person you are; that's always been the case with the Star Wars prequesl - you either love them or you hate them. Episode III should hold up very well because it is very dark and sinister. Episode II however is a very tricky one to judge because you either like it for the massive Jedi battle or hate it for the Anakin/Padme love story plot, you'll just have to find out on your own. Although Ewen McGregor is absoultely amazing throughout both films, and Ian McDiarmid simply steels the show in Episode III.

I mostly agree with you. I recently watched the whole saga on DVD again, and TPM definitely was the worst of the bunch.

I think AOTC and ROTS both look stellar, and they are going to be mind-bogglingly beauitful on Blu-ray! The OT looked surprisingly good too.

[Jumpman]

Episode I will get a serious remaster/possible restoration job. It's inevitable. It's the worse looking one, as far as transfer, by far.

Great package, that DVD, but almost terrible transfer. The old school days of DVD.

[PeterTHX]

Originally Posted by Jumpman

Episode I will get a serious remaster/possible restoration job. It's inevitable. It's the worse looking one, as far as transfer, by far.

Great package, that DVD, but almost terrible transfer. The old school days of DVD.

Nothing wrong with the transfer, it was the master. Someone decided to add a bunch of EE that played havoc with the compression. The EE is not on the EU disc that was released at the same time: that region has it's own master, in PAL.

The HD broadcast from a few years ago looks excellent.

[Porkchop Express]

Originally Posted by BMM

I've always said the 3 things you can't discuss without heated debate are politics, religion and George Lucas.

Maybe we should add George Lucas to the list of things that cannot be discussed

[Jumpman]

"Nothing wrong with the transfer, it was the master. Someone decided to add a bunch of EE that played havoc with the compression. The EE is not on the EU disc that was released at the same time: that region has it's own master, in PAL."


Peter, yeah...that's a lot more accurate.

[Lincoln6Echo]

Ya know it's funny. Back around the time when HDTVs were just starting to be sold in major chain stores, like 2002 or so, I remember being in our local Sams Club and they had TPM DVD playing on one of their display projection HDTVs, and I thought it looked amazing. However, the contrast ratio was so low, it was hard to make out anything on that thing, except it looked much better than my TV at home which at the time was a Sony WEGA CRT flatscreen.

But the thing you also have to remember was that TPM was released on DVD in 2001. DVD compression techniques were still in their infancy at the time. Even though the format had been around for 4 years at that time. DVDs really didn't get better until the next year in 2002 or even 2003. The first LOTR movie also didn't look too good then either by today's DVD standards. Which is probably why the FOTR BD isn't quite as sharp as the other two.

[HD Goofnut]

Originally Posted by Lincoln6Echo

Ya know it's funny. Back around the time when HDTVs were just starting to be sold in major chain stores, like 2002 or so, I remember being in our local Sams Club and they had TPM DVD playing on one of their display projection HDTVs, and I thought it looked amazing. However, the contrast ratio was so low, it was hard to make out anything on that thing, except it looked much better than my TV at home which at the time was a Sony WEGA CRT flatscreen.

But the thing you also have to remember was that TPM was released on DVD in 2001. DVD compression techniques were still in their infancy at the time. Even though the format had been around for 4 years at that time. DVDs really didn't get better until the next year in 2002 or even 2003. The first LOTR movie also didn't look too good then either by today's DVD standards. Which is probably why the FOTR BD isn't quite as sharp as the other two.

Yeah, I agree with you there. Just look at the difference between the extended editions of LOTR versus the original theatrical DVD pressing of Fellowship. I imagine that has something to do with why the BD of Fellowship looked borderline average compared to the later two films.

[BaronVH]

Originally Posted by Lincoln6Echo

Ya know it's funny. Back around the time when HDTVs were just starting to be sold in major chain stores, like 2002 or so, I remember being in our local Sams Club and they had TPM DVD playing on one of their display projection HDTVs, and I thought it looked amazing. However, the contrast ratio was so low, it was hard to make out anything on that thing, except it looked much better than my TV at home which at the time was a Sony WEGA CRT flatscreen.

But the thing you also have to remember was that TPM was released on DVD in 2001. DVD compression techniques were still in their infancy at the time. Even though the format had been around for 4 years at that time. DVDs really didn't get better until the next year in 2002 or even 2003. The first LOTR movie also didn't look too good then either by today's DVD standards. Which is probably why the FOTR BD isn't quite as sharp as the other two.

Ahh, a discussion worth talking about. When I got my fancy new home theater with the reference speakers the first thing I watched was the Star Wars DVDs. My jaw on the floor. Then Blu-ray came out and I realised something. They really looked bad in terms of black level. The scene with Luke and Vader when he turns himself in on Endor just looked awful as it relates to the black level. Then I started noticing the black level in other movies. Slither (an absolute B-level classic) became almost unwatchable. So I cannot wait for the Blu-ray of the Star Wars movies for the improvement of black levels alone. Oh, and Slither would be nice. Mr. Pibbs are my favorite Cokes.

[PUsokrJosh305]

Originally Posted by Lincoln6Echo

Ya know it's funny. Back around the time when HDTVs were just starting to be sold in major chain stores, like 2002 or so, I remember being in our local Sams Club and they had TPM DVD playing on one of their display projection HDTVs, and I thought it looked amazing. However, the contrast ratio was so low, it was hard to make out anything on that thing, except it looked much better than my TV at home which at the time was a Sony WEGA CRT flatscreen.

But the thing you also have to remember was that TPM was released on DVD in 2001. DVD compression techniques were still in their infancy at the time. Even though the format had been around for 4 years at that time. DVDs really didn't get better until the next year in 2002 or even 2003. The first LOTR movie also didn't look too good then either by today's DVD standards. Which is probably why the FOTR BD isn't quite as sharp as the other two.

That's exactly what I was thinking. It seems that a lot of movies that turned out "ok" on dvd, turned out ok on Blu-Ray, like Harry Potter and the Sorcerers Stone, it's ok on dvd and Blu-Ray, but not up to our standards. The same thing can be said for TPM, and the Fellowship of the Ring.