Star Wars: The Complete Saga (1977-2005)

[JulesAndJim]

With John Williams still around, do any of you think there is a chance they could get him to re-score Episode IV? Would be nice to add the Imperial March at certain points and perhaps implement a touch of the "Across the Stars" love theme from Episode II into the scenes with Han and Leia. I would definitely buy an edition of the UOT if it had something like that.

[imsounoriginal]

Originally Posted by JulesAndJim

With John Williams still around, do any of you think there is a chance they could get him to re-score Episode IV? Would be nice to add the Imperial March at certain points and perhaps implement a touch of the "Across the Stars" love theme from Episode II into the scenes with Han and Leia. I would definitely buy an edition of the UOT if it had something like that.

Dude, you're in a thread where people are clamoring for the unaltered versions of the original trilogy, and you're looking for MORE changes???

Originally Posted by rickah88

Kind of what I was thinking as well. Of course I wouldn't complain if we were both wrong.
Let's say 2017 is the year, and assuming a little work has been done so far...how long would it take to complete? Also assuming Disney won't be doing a top-of- line LoA-esque job... ~1 year?
So if we aren't seeing pics surface by 5/4/2016, I'm pressing the panic button!

I hope we're wrong, too. But it'll take them some time to do a full proper restoration. If they've already started, as has been rumored, 2017 is doable (I think ).

[Geoff D]

Originally Posted by imsounoriginal

That's kinda why I wouldn't surprised if they let 2017 pass without releasing it. They're already gonna get our money from Episode VIII's theatrical and home video sales, plus Rogue One's home video sales. Not sure if there are any video games or theme parks or whatever also opening/releasing that year. There's more than enough for them to use the 40th anniversary marketing on, plus they wouldn't want yet another release of the original movies getting lost in the shuffle of two other home video releases. 2017 isn't gonna be some slow year for them that they'd need to dust off the UOT to make some money.

Erm...but that's pretty much the case with Disney in general given the vast empire that they currently own (not just Star Wars), they're not gonna be hurting in the wallet region for quite some time. Why re-release anything if you don't need the bread?

More to the point, after 40 years of the SW merchandise machine the release of the UOT wouldn't ever have been about making money in any serious amount for whoever owned it, just as the Star Wars SE wasn't intended to be (before it blew up at the box office and ended up at #8 on the list of 1997's best domestic performers anyway ).

No, it's about preserving genuine cinematic classics (plus Return of the Jedi) and Disney already have plenty of form in that area after all, plus they LOVE their anniversary re-issues. If they do release it on HD/UHD it wouldn't surprise me if it got some sort of limited edition release before it got 'vaulted'.

[octagon]

Originally Posted by JulesAndJim

With John Williams still around, do any of you think there is a chance they could get him to re-score Episode IV? Would be nice to add the Imperial March at certain points and perhaps implement a touch of the "Across the Stars" love theme from Episode II into the scenes with Han and Leia. I would definitely buy an edition of the UOT if it had something like that.

Just out of curiosity, what do you think the U stands for?

[Geoff D]

As for the work, we already know that Lowry Digital a.k.a. Reliance Media did a 4K 16-bit restoration of the Trilogy in 2012! What versions they were we don't know, but even if it was just the reconformed 1997 negatives it wouldn't take drastic measures to find the relevant trims from the LFL archives (and they really do keep everything) and to splice it all together digitally.

[imsounoriginal]

Originally Posted by Geoff D

Erm...but that's pretty much the case with Disney in general given the vast empire that they currently own (not just Star Wars), they're not gonna be hurting in the wallet region for quite some time. Why re-release anything if you don't need the bread?

More to the point, after 40 years of the SW merchandise machine the release of the UOT wouldn't ever have been about making money in any serious amount for whoever owned it, just as the Star Wars SE wasn't intended to be (before it blew up at the box office and ended up at #8 on the list of 1997's best domestic performers anyway ).

No, it's about preserving genuine cinematic classics (plus Return of the Jedi) and Disney already have plenty of form in that area after all, plus they LOVE their anniversary re-issues. If they do release it on HD/UHD it wouldn't surprise me if it got some sort of limited edition release before it got 'vaulted'.

Not saying they'll never release it, just that 2017 isn't necessarily the sweet spot. Would just make more sense for them to release it in a less crowded year, even the 45th anniversary in 2022. Making it a limited release and then vaulting it makes a ton of sense, you're right. Might even be a better idea for them to do it a year or so after UHD sales start picking up. Wonder how much it'd sell anyway, I know people like us are drooling over the UOT but I honestly know maybe half a dozen people personally who actually give a crap.

[Geoff D]

Sure, 2017's crowded but everyone's up against the same obstacles (three Marvel movies???) and it'd make a lovely symmetry with the 1997 re-release.

Hell, you only have to look to that version to find a strategy that would work: for the 1997 theatrical they cannily put the film out at the end of January, so it didn't matter that they weren't hitting the May 25 date or any bullshit like that. (They thought the film might make a few $$$ in the traditional cinematic wilderness of late winter but they had no idea it'd do what it did. Star Wars making money in mid-winter, eh? Who'da thunk it? )

Early 2017's schedule doesn't look too fierce to me, and what better way to ride off of Rogue One's December 2016 coattails than by re-releasing the movie that it directly precedes 8 weeks later? [edit] Doesn't have to be some 4,000 screen engagement either, just roll it out in a few key markets and see if it catches fire (hmmm, that sounds familiar). To me, that's too delicious an opportunity to pass up. But then I ain't a movie exec, so we'll see what we'll see.

[Aragorn the Elfstone]

You guys are making it really hard for me to pretend I know what I'm talking about.

[Geoff D]

Originally Posted by Aragorn the Elfstone

You guys are making it really hard for me to pretend I know what I'm talking about.

Don't let that put you off. I do it all the time, after all.

[DetroitSportsFan]

Originally Posted by HeavyHitter

If it doesn't happen by 2017, I don't know when.

2020, when the 9 episode mega set is released.

[imsounoriginal]

Originally Posted by Geoff D

Sure, 2017's crowded but everyone's up against the same obstacles (three Marvel movies???) and it'd make a lovely symmetry with the 1997 re-release.

Hell, you only have to look to that version to find a strategy that would work: for the 1997 theatrical they cannily put the film out at the end of January, so it didn't matter that they weren't hitting the May 25 date or any bullshit like that. (They thought the film might make a few $$$ in the traditional cinematic wilderness of late winter but they had no idea it'd do what it did. Star Wars making money in mid-winter, eh? Who'da thunk it? )

Early 2017's schedule doesn't look too fierce to me, and what better way to ride off of Rogue One's December 2016 coattails than by re-releasing the movie that it directly precedes 8 weeks later? [edit] Doesn't have to be some 4,000 screen engagement either, just roll it out in a few key markets and see if it catches fire (hmmm, that sounds familiar). To me, that's too delicious an opportunity to pass up. But then I ain't a movie exec, so we'll see what we'll see.

Ooh, theatrical re-release hadn't even occurred to me, but even that would be better served in another year where there isn't already gonna be Rogue One (spilling over from Dec. 2016) and Episode VIII hitting theaters within 6 months of each other. I still think it's in their best interest not to release the UOT on HD/UHD in 2017, much as I/we want them to. All the concerns about Star Wars burnout would basically be validated if there were three major home video releases and a theatrical film, plus whatever else, all in one year.

Originally Posted by Aragorn the Elfstone

You guys are making it really hard for me to pretend I know what I'm talking about.

Can't speak for anyone else but I'm freestylin over here

[Geoff D]

Eh, Disney clearly aren't concerned about Marvel burnout in the years ahead, so why should SW be any different? Burn it out I say!

[imsounoriginal]

[motorheadache95]

Originally Posted by JulesAndJim

With John Williams still around, do any of you think there is a chance they could get him to re-score Episode IV? Would be nice to add the Imperial March at certain points and perhaps implement a touch of the "Across the Stars" love theme from Episode II into the scenes with Han and Leia. I would definitely buy an edition of the UOT if it had something like that.

There were rumors of things like that happening about 10 years back but they never panned out. I believe John Williams actually said something about adding the imperial march to the film for some "new version." There were also rumors that Lucas was going to shoot new scenes with Bail Organa on Alderaan to put into the film before the planet explodes.

I don't know if Lucas was planning that at some point or they were just bogus rumors, but either way the only way you'll get anything like that is with those fan-made versions that came out a while ago with all the added alterations-- I didn't see them and I don't recall who made them but one of the things they did was add the Anakin vs. Obi-Wan score from Revenge of the Sith into the original film.

[Geoff D]

The 'Revisited' versions, yes. There's only one thing worse than a George Lucas Special Edition...a random fan's Special Edition.

[crissrudd4554]

Originally Posted by Dynamo of Eternia

Also, I have that final VHS set, and from what I recall, at the time of it's release, it was only intended that Star Wars: A New Hope would get this updated treatment. Having watched those tapes several times, I recall the narration of the intro saying "This will be your last chance to own the original version of Star Wars... the George Lucas masterpiece that launched the Star Wars trilogy."

So originally, at the time of that release, Empire and Jedi were to be left alone, but ended up being updated later.

This actually gets me wondering. Were the initial trailers for the SW SE possibly put together before or during the time the changes were made to TESB and ROTJ? I actually recall a few shots from the unaltered versions of those films in the trailer, notably the original explosion of the second Death Star. I know they had trailers for the SE's of TESB and ROTJ that had clips of some of the new additions but perhaps this was after the SE's for those films were completed?? I was always under the assumption the SE trailers were created the changes had been made.

[MechaGodzilla]

Originally Posted by motorheadache95

There were rumors of things like that happening about 10 years back but they never panned out. I believe John Williams actually said something about adding the imperial march to the film for some "new version." There were also rumors that Lucas was going to shoot new scenes with Bail Organa on Alderaan to put into the film before the planet explodes.

I don't know if Lucas was planning that at some point or they were just bogus rumors, but either way the only way you'll get anything like that is with those fan-made versions that came out a while ago with all the added alterations-- I didn't see them and I don't recall who made them but one of the things they did was add the Anakin vs. Obi-Wan score from Revenge of the Sith into the original film.

Yes, I remember Williams talking about how they considered adding the Imperial March to ANH but decided against it, thinking it would be better to let the score stand as is.

[dubious]

Originally Posted by Geoff D

The 'Revisited' versions, yes. There's only one thing worse than a George Lucas Special Edition...a random fan's Special Edition.

"War of the Stars" is pretty good, the rotoscoped in blood splatter gives the movie a much needed infusion of grindhouse.

[Aragorn the Elfstone]

Another thing I really hope for on a future release is something that I'm sure very few others care about. I want them to remove the DNR they slathered on Episode I.

I know I'll catch hell for this, but it's the one prequel that I unequivocally love (hell, I don't even like the other two). Yes, I recognize that it has some issues that probably wouldn't sit well with me if I came to it fresh. But I loved it as a kid, and it still makes me feel like that 15 year old sitting in the theater seeing his first "new" Star Wars movie on the big screen.

They went through the trouble of doing a new scan and then screwed it up. I imagine that should be a pretty easy fix if they're so inclined.

[Blu-21]

Originally Posted by Aragorn the Elfstone

Another thing I really hope for on a future release is something that I'm sure very few others care about. I want them to remove the DNR they slathered on Episode I.

I know I'll catch hell for this, but it's the one prequel that I unequivocally love (hell, I don't even like the other two). Yes, I recognize that it has some issues that probably wouldn't sit well with me if I came to it fresh. But I loved it as a kid, and it still makes me feel like that 15 year old sitting in the theater seeing his first "new" Star Wars movie on the big screen.

They went through the trouble of doing a new scan and then screwed it up. I imagine that should be a pretty easy fix if they're so inclined.

They wanted TPM, on BD, which was shot on film to match the digital photography and look of AOTC. Both look poor on BD for slightly different but similar reasons.

I don't include ROTS, because despite being shot digitally as well, it actually had grain/noise giving it a textured look that both the other prequels lack.