Star Wars: The Complete Saga (1977-2005)

[goldenrod]

Originally Posted by nmycon

I've been so jealous over the last few weeks seeing Americans comment on the $89.99 release price, while it remained $99.99 in Canada.

Well now Best Buy Canada has dropped the price to $79.99 until September 18th... so SUCK IT!

That's why I didn'y pre-order, am sure it'll drop on release day with WM, FS and BB war...

[danman227460]

It might even hit 67.99 if it is part of the 15% sale for labour day at Best Buy Canada. I will be keeping an eye on the price for that day. Sale starts 4 PM Sunday night.

[beckmen]

Originally Posted by nmycon

It doesn't even look blue to me on the 2004 DVDs.

The only noticeably blue shot on Hoth is when Luke sees Ben's ghost. All other shots look white.

Calibrated display ftw!

[Show spoiler]

*sighs*

VLC caps, non-anamorphic UOT DVD on top, 2004 DVD on bottom. Both from the Limited Edition DVD...

[Show spoiler]

[vargo]

Originally Posted by beckmen

*sighs*

VLC caps, non-anamorphic UOT DVD on top, 2004 DVD on bottom. Both from the Limited Edition DVD...

It's a bit like the LOTR EE thing. Lots of jackass 'reviewers' who make sure to tell everyone how expensive their equipment is, professionally calibrated etc, and then they assure everyone there is no green tint.

I guess one thing that money can't buy is properly calibrated eyeballs.

[42041]

I don't really see the problem with blueish snow. Movie visuals are usually intended to convey some mood/emotion/sense of place/etc, not merely neutral white balance

[spidey0115]

Originally Posted by aiman04

The price on Amazon hasn't moved a bit, $89.99 since day one. Only 2 weeks to go, hopefully it'll drop to $74.99 by release day.

Thats whats nice about amazon. I orderde a couple of blus that went on sale the following week after release and they refunded me the diffrence.

[kingkong650]

After having compared the german hdtv streams (that look the same as the dvds, albeit in HD) to screencaps from the actual blu-rays, here are some of my thoughts:

1) The blu-rays have definately been brightened slightly relative to the hdtv/dvd, so there is more detail visible in the shadows and less ´black crush´. Definately an improvement in that regard.

2) Contrast may have been reduced slightly as well relative to the hdtv/dvd to help reveal more detail in the shadows and reduce ´black crush´. Definately an improvement in that regard as well.

3) The blue tint is still there on the blu-ray, like it is on the hdtv and dvd versions, though it seems to me that the blue tint is slightly stronger on the blu-ray, so not so happy there.

4) Picture quality wise the blu-ray is a marked improvement over the german hdtv streams (which are the highest quality hdtv versions of the OT out there) and a big improvement over the dvds. The grain is finer and more clearly defined on the blu-ray than on the hdtv. The grain could definately be finer, like it would have been had the OT been rescanned with the latest technology to create new masters rather than using the old lowry 2004 masters but despite those limitations, very nice and constant grain, with little to no artifacts. The hdtv on the other hand has coarser grain and quite a few artifacts from time to time so the blu-ray is definately better in that regard.

5) The image is also clearly sharper on the blu-ray than on the german hdtv streams, with little details in the sets, props and costumes being more clearly visible now on blu-ray. So overall as far as picture quality of the OT blu-rays are concerned, impressive, most impressive.

Let me add that I´ve personally cancelled my amazon order on principle due to Darth Vader having been turned from a stoic badass into a whiny little p*s*y (ie. Anakin throughout the whole of the PT) at the end of ROTJ and Obi-wan´s abrupt change of sexual orientation in the Krayt dragon scene. George went too far this time with those two scenes, at least for me.

I thought however that in the spirit of fairness I should share my thoughts on the PQ as well as the changes to the content that have been discussed here already ad infinitum, to help those that haven´t made up their minds yet whether or not to get this set.

[nmycon]

Originally Posted by beckmen

*sighs*

VLC caps, non-anamorphic UOT DVD on top, 2004 DVD on bottom. Both from the Limited Edition DVD...

[Show spoiler]

The walker shot is fine IMO, but the top and bottom shots definitely do not look that blue on my TV, I'm comparing them right now.

I'm not denying that they are bluer, but I guess the settings I'm watching the movie under manages to alleviate the blue, while keeping the colours true throughout the rest of the film as well.

[larrythefatcat]

Originally Posted by beckmen

What are you talking about? That big ass LOTR boxset that costs $90, doesn't carry over the extras from the 2-disc DVD releases. This SW boxset is no different from that. If you want all the extras, you need to own more than one release.

I don't know why anyone would spend $90 on the LOTR EE Blu-ray set... it was $65-75 pretty much everywhere upon release.

Anyway, the reason I needed to respond to this post is the fact that the big LOTR set is just the EEs... you don't get the theatrical versions of the movies so you don't get the bonus features from those releases either. It's not like New Line/Warner included one thing or the other, it was a conscious choice to include niether. And if you're going to b*tch about it (not you personally, but all of the people who want stuff and don't want to drop the cash on it), just buy the theatrical versions on Blu (unless they're from Wal-mart... no bonuses there) and have a nice glass of STFU!

Star Wars has been infintely worse in this respect... no carried over deleted scenes from the prequel DVDs and many missing documentaries aside (my main beef is why is "From Star Wars to Jedi" not on here with the other classic docs?), you don't even get the older versions of the movies either and they're not readily available in the same format (probably won't ever be on Blu-ray... or it'll take at least 2 or 3 years). I'm not really going to complain on my own personal behalf as I'm going to hold onto all the DVDs and I was planning on doing so anyway. I just love my pink-tinted, DNR'd, cropped Episode I!


To go off on slight tangent, I also don't understand why SOOO many people cry foul over the lack of OOT when there have been no SE releases since the VHS re-release (which, more importantly, brought us the VCDs at the same time)... a whole generation of fans grew up with those versions, too, so why automatically dismiss them?

Sorry if any points I made have been covered in the last 10 pages, but I seriously don't have enough time to go through all the (primarily) repetitious posts.

[MacEachaidh]

Originally Posted by spidey0115

Thats whats nice about amazon. I orderde a couple of blus that went on sale the following week after release and they refunded me the diffrence.

They don't always. I recently ordered several full-price Blus from them, two of which dropped in price the very next day by more than 30%, and when I asked about a price adjustment (as the order hadn't been processed yet) I only got a form letter that said "Yes, it's awful when that happens, isn't it?" I still got charged the pre-drop price.

Anyway. Prices for the full SW set here in Australia currently vary from about $130 US to $150. Ouch.

................................................

Meantime, has anyone got a list of the extras that are included in the set? If they're not especially of interest to me, I might just get the movies-only packs and keep the DVDs.

[phansson]

Originally Posted by kingkong650

After having compared the german hdtv streams (that look the same as the dvds, albeit in HD) to screencaps from the actual blu-rays, here are some of my thoughts:

1) The blu-rays have definately been brightened slightly relative to the hdtv/dvd, so there is more detail visible in the shadows and less ´black crush´. Definately an improvement in that regard.

2) Contrast may have been reduced slightly as well relative to the hdtv/dvd to help reveal more detail in the shadows and reduce ´black crush´. Definately an improvement in that regard as well.

3) The blue tint is still there on the blu-ray, like it is on the hdtv and dvd versions, though it seems to me that the blue tint is slightly stronger on the blu-ray, so not so happy there.

4) Picture quality wise the blu-ray is a marked improvement over the german hdtv streams (which are the highest quality hdtv versions of the OT out there) and a big improvement over the dvds. The grain is finer and more clearly defined on the blu-ray than on the hdtv. The grain could definately be finer, like it would have been had the OT been rescanned with the latest technology to create new masters rather than using the old lowry 2004 masters but despite those limitations, very nice and constant grain, with little to no artifacts. The hdtv on the other hand has coarser grain and quite a few artifacts from time to time so the blu-ray is definately better in that regard.

5) The image is also clearly sharper on the blu-ray than on the german hdtv streams, with little details in the sets, props and costumes being more clearly visible now on blu-ray. So overall as far as picture quality of the OT blu-rays are concerned, impressive, most impressive.

Let me add that I´ve personally cancelled my amazon order on principle due to Darth Vader having been turned from a stoic badass into a whiny little p*s*y (ie. Anakin throughout the whole of the PT) at the end of ROTJ and Obi-wan´s abrupt change of sexual orientation in the Krayt dragon scene. George went too far this time with those two scenes, at least for me.

I thought however that in the spirit of fairness I should share my thoughts on the PQ as well as the changes to the content that have been discussed here already ad infinitum, to help those that haven´t made up their minds yet whether or not to get this set.

Where are you finding the actual Blu Ray screenshots? I haven't been able to find any.

[kristoffer]

Originally Posted by phansson

Where are you finding the actual Blu Ray screenshots? I haven't been able to find any.

There are some from ANH here:
http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showt...43512&page=171

[Mahatma]

I have one question which has dogged me from childhood:Why were those stormtroopers walking around in those cumbersome armour when that clearly did nothing to protect them from laserblasts?Wouldn't it be better to have the mobility without them?...

[kingkong650]

Originally Posted by phansson

Where are you finding the actual Blu Ray screenshots? I haven't been able to find any.

Here are some from Star Wars:

http://www.phyrefile.com/image/view/ofiODdaWyvigKmf0

http://www.phyrefile.com/image/view/7453UZ76Qom6GLz8

http://www.phyrefile.com/image/view/4UcyDoSMDpVLnm8y

http://www.phyrefile.com/image/view/no0FavyO0yVT5sPI

http://imagehostdaddy.com/images/2jpj.png

http://imagehostdaddy.com/images/3oio.png


Here are some from Empire Strikes Back:

http://www.phyrefile.com/image/view/RMMoSEPktyHgSNEv

http://www.phyrefile.com/image/view/z9AlrOnVpF77UMZN

http://www.phyrefile.com/image/view/6TDLAgRP3JJuWJQ3

http://www.phyrefile.com/image/view/AH5Q6OYYJgRFreM9


Here are some from Return of the Jedi:

http://www.phyrefile.com/image/view/udfvKC2qtJbim26Q

http://www.phyrefile.com/image/view/vG3JcTRWvuin8CYU

http://www.phyrefile.com/image/view/c5n98yxIvApjsSqY

http://www.phyrefile.com/image/view/HGSgI3K5V5bT0IOK

[nmycon]

Originally Posted by phansson

Where are you finding the actual Blu Ray screenshots? I haven't been able to find any.

The ones I posted earlier came from the blu-ray rip. I think that's where they're all coming from.

As there are now 720p and 1080p rips for each of the OT movies.

[kingkong650]

Originally Posted by nmycon

The ones I posted earlier came from the blu-ray rip. I think that's where they're all coming from.

As there are now 720p and 1080p rips for each of the OT movies.

The screencaps I posted up just above your post are from the blu-ray itself, not the 1080p or 720p rips.

[Snowmaker]

I'm tempted to cancel my preorder. Not because of all the changes, but to allow time to fully determine if I want the US or UK packaging. Both seem crappy so its more a lesser-of-two-evils kind of thing.

I also feel the set will be a lot cheaper closer to Christmas (especially off amazon UK).

[phansson]

Originally Posted by kingkong650

The screencaps I posted up just above your post are from the blu-ray itself, not the 1080p or 720p rips.

Thanks!

[kristoffer]

Originally Posted by kingkong650

Here are some from Empire Strikes Back:

http://www.phyrefile.com/image/view/RMMoSEPktyHgSNEv

http://www.phyrefile.com/image/view/z9AlrOnVpF77UMZN

http://www.phyrefile.com/image/view/6TDLAgRP3JJuWJQ3

http://www.phyrefile.com/image/view/AH5Q6OYYJgRFreM9

Thanks! The screenshot from Hoth looks a little weird. Blue on one side and white on the other..

[chip75]

I've tried looking for it but failed miserably, but could someone please post a picture of the US set (or a link to it) of the page showing all the Star Wars characters (with the OT characters in the top right corner). I was trying to do a comparison with the UK set which has them on the top left corner (Princess Leia still looks crazy).

You're my only hope....