Star Wars: The Complete Saga (1977-2005)

[stvn1974]

I don't watch the Special Editions but aren't there shots in Cloud City where there a windows and then a shot through a door where they aren't visible where they should be?

[drush9999]

The only changes I liked was restoring Threepio's tractor beam line, and the funny "Close the Blast Doors" that had got lost in the various previous sound mixes.

The most egregious changes for me are the cartoon Mos Eisley, Jedi Rocks, and the butchery of the music at the end of Empire to show Darth Vader landing his shuttle, killing the tension.

[Geoff D]

Originally Posted by Nicolawicz

Nah, it looks far more elegant without those obvious CGI windows.

I didn't say "elegant" though, did I? The compositing and 'sunset' grading is remarkably good considering that CG wasn't as advanced then as it is now. Like I said, stuff done with taste and restraint and technical proficiency appeals to me on one level or another.

Would I buy the UOT in a heartbeat? OF COURSE. Doesn't mean I can't talk about what I do/don't like about the SE alterations. People may think me a negative nellie with my regularly scheduled complaints about Lucas, but even when I'm praising something he did I get shit for it. Heh.

Originally Posted by stvn1974

I don't watch the Special Editions but aren't there shots in Cloud City where there a windows and then a shot through a door where they aren't visible where they should be?

Unfortunately, yes. When Han is about to get "introduced" to Vader he and Lando walk past a CG-embellished window which shows an elevator moving past, but when we cut to the same angle with the stormtroopers crowding in the CG stuff has gone. I always wondered what the rationale was for that one, it reminds me of them making a song and dance about (seamlessly) removing the snake reflection in Raiders...only to leave in the one on Marian a couple of shots later.

[imsounoriginal]

Originally Posted by HD Goofnut

I'd probably have OUT on their own disc each and then have each of the other three versions seamlessly branched with the changes.

This by far makes the most sense.

[Geoff D]

Originally Posted by hariseldon

So do you choose the original 1977 1st release, the 70mm version, the updated re-release version. the various minor changes in print runs. With or without the Episode IV leadin.

You already have branched branches before you even get to the original release of of ESB

Eh. Most the changes were on a soundtrack level, not in the cut, so by branching the movie with/without Ep IV title and including the main audio mixes (mono, Dolby Stereo, 70mm, 'Definitive' LD remix) that would cover most of the bases with regards to New Hope.

Oh, and I'd LOVE to have the original theatrical cut of Phantom Menace on proper HD disc too.

[shinobipopcorn]

Originally Posted by drush9999

The only changes I liked was restoring Threepio's tractor beam line, and the funny "Close the Blast Doors" that had got lost in the various previous sound mixes.

The most egregious changes for me are the cartoon Mos Eisley, Jedi Rocks, and the butchery of the music at the end of Empire to show Darth Vader landing his shuttle, killing the tension.

I forgot about the tractor beam line. Yeah, I'd keep that one. Was that one of the pre-special edition changes?

Han's line on the skiff when he's about to shoot Lando's leg free is another one I just thought about. It's minor, but "trust me" is a little more in character than "I can see a lot better", even though the latter is funnier.

[Nicolawicz]

Originally Posted by Geoff D

I didn't say "elegant" though, did I? The compositing and 'sunset' grading is remarkably good considering that CG wasn't as advanced then as it is now. Like I said, stuff done with taste and restraint and technical proficiency appeals to me on one level or another.

I think they look like from some cheap sci-fi TV movie or something. And in plenty of cases they actually ruin the compositions.

[Rodney-2187]

How long before there are 4K fan edits?

[imsounoriginal]

Originally Posted by rodneyfaile

How long before there are 4K fan edits?

Considering how many fake 4K videos on YouTube have been made from 1080p sources, I'm surprised we haven't seen some already. I'm sure there'll be some when UHD drives become more pervasive and, you know, they release some version of these movies on UHD.

EDIT: my bad, you know I wasn't tryna be a snarky there at the end

[Geoff D]

^ Yeah, that would certainly help.

[HeavyHitter]

Originally Posted by rodneyfaile

How long before there are 4K fan edits?

It's looking more like that will be the only way we'll ever see the UOT in 4K.

[Mighty Max]

Originally Posted by stvn1974

I don't watch the Special Editions but aren't there shots in Cloud City where there a windows and then a shot through a door where they aren't visible where they should be?

Yup. Disappearing windows and rocks...

[Blu-21]

Originally Posted by Nicolawicz

I think they look like from some cheap sci-fi TV movie or something. And in plenty of cases they actually ruin the compositions.

They might not have aged perfectly, but the added stuff to cloud city expand and liven up the city in a good way unlike say the goofy crap in ANH.

[motorheadache95]

If it was up to me, they'd start with a proper restoration of the original versions, and then make a new enhanced version from scratch, not including any of the late 90's CGI enhancements.

Everything would be a bit more subtle, like the Final Cut of Blade Runner. Fix all the effects mistakes and blunders, redo and enhance the lightsaber shots so they all match, etc. Maybe you could redo some of the effects that were done for the Special Editions, like some effects with the ships and opening up Cloud City, but more carefully and consistent.

[CinemaBlu]

Disney and Lucasfilm would need George Lucas's approval to make any more changes to the original six films. He gave up ownership of those films but I don't think he gave up final cut.

[jobalexang]

Originally Posted by CinemaBlu

Disney and Lucasfilm would need George Lucas's approval to make any more changes to the original six films. He gave up ownership of those films but I don't think he gave up final cut.

I don't think so. When he signed away Star Wars, he gave away ALL of Lucasfilm.

[HD Goofnut]

Originally Posted by jobalexang

I don't think so. When he signed away Star Wars, he gave away ALL of Lucasfilm.

This was my understanding as well.

[WorkShed]

You don't buy out someone's company with $4 billion and let them have any creative input. You make them consultant at best and tell them to bugger off. I'm sure the "slave trader" line Lucas spouted off a while back had him blacklisted from Disney. Unless it is a public event, Lucas has nothing to do with Star Wars now.

[Ernest Rister]

I can't speak to the ownership agreement, and even if I did have knowledge, there's no way I'd blab about it, so take this as just chatter. Typically, a Right of Final Cut is part of a contract between a director and the financing partner or producer or studio...one of the reasons you don't see Schindler's List in heavy rotation on cable is because Mr. Spielberg made sure that any airings of the film have to remain uncut, which presents certain issues (notably nudity, which given what happens in that movie, seems a little silly -- boobies and penises more objectionable than, well, you know, but that's a whole other topic). Spielberg takes pride in the fact that he hasn't had to pony up his own money to make a movie -- Lucas self-financed every Star Wars film after the original Star Wars, so right of final cut back in 1980 seems self-evident. Is it possible Lucas included a term in the contract for the sale of LucasFilm that the original release versions of his films would not be used by LucasFilm under the new corporate parent? Sure, it's possible. All kinds of goofy stuff winds up in contracts -- is it likely? I don't think so. It's a revenue stream, he himself released the "laserdisc version" because of the online piracy of those versions, Disney is historically fanatical about protecting their IP assets. As I mentioned before, as a much younger man, I got schooled on this subject by Robert Harris when I wrote how remarkable the restoration efforts were in bringing Disney's WWII shorts to DVD, and he told me, no -- they didn't have to be restored because Disney (as opposed to some other studios) were very careful to protect those films in the first place. A beautiful mastering does not mean restoration. They are two different things. When LucasFilm was sold to Disney, I said I'd wager the ink wasn't dry before Disney's people went to town cataloguing what they had just purchased, and CaptVeg's recent comments back that up, and by now, everything in the LucasFilm archives has been "future proofed" to the extent such a thing can ever really be achieved. Put two and two together...why would they go nuts preserving every existing take and element in the LucasFilm archives if not for possible (this is probably the wrong word) exploitation for future revenue, even as bonus material? No, LucasFilm has the ownership of the films, they're in good hands, and I think it is far more likely we'll (eventually) see the fruits of that labor. How that comes to market? That's a whole other question. I was joking when I said someday you might be able to someday select which versions you want to see, streaming on a TV, maybe even making your own in-home cut (Han shoots first, Death Star doesn't turn into a blue-fuzz black-and-white shot when it explodes, 1997 Jabba, whatever)...but, when you think about it, that's really not outside the realm of possibility. Anyway, circling back -- did Lucas demand as a condition of the LucasFilm sale that no older version of the Star Wars film ever come back to market? Sure, that's possible. So is the Earth being vaporized by a supernova next March...but is it probable? I don't think so.

[RickWJ324]

Originally Posted by WorkShed

Lucas has nothing to do with Star Wars now.

Thank God for that!!!!