Star Wars: The Complete Saga (1977-2005)

[HylianBowcaster]

The only thing Lucas is really guilty of is not releasing the UOT on blu-ray, or at least not announcing that he will someday. If he would just release some sort of definitive edition with it included I think, although I'm probably wrong, that everyone would be happy.

[al cos.]

Maybe not everyone, just the people that want the best quality product for the money and for old films to be well treated. CRAZY!

[Falaskan]

Originally Posted by HylianBowcaster

The only thing Lucas is really guilty of is not releasing the UOT on blu-ray, or at least not announcing that he will someday. If he would just release some sort of definitive edition with it included I think, although I'm probably wrong, that everyone would be happy.

If I was a betting man, I'd bet on the 50th ann. so hold on, 2027 isn't that far away.

[Moviefan2k4]

Originally Posted by klauswhereareyou

Are we refering to the dance number in Jedi as it was in 1983...or the...special edition...

I meant the Special Edition. The effects are still pretty cool, but the song is stupid. There's not even subtitles so fans can understand it, so I don't see the point.

At a certain point Lucas has just got to let go, because by making certain fixes, he also ends up making things worse. It's like if you've got a tiny hole in your wall and you try to fix it, but then you end up burning your whole house down.

Well, it'd be nice to have an HD copy of the theatrical cuts available, but its not a high priority for me. I still enjoy the films as they are.

Originally Posted by motorheadache95

...I am still frustrated that they haven't been given the restoration treatment like we're seeing with Jaws, Indy, and E.T. The films easily rank up there with those other classics and it is a shame they haven't been treated as such.

Those are all Spielberg movies, and while he and George are friends, they have different styles of working. Similarly, Robert Zemeckis isn't a fan of altered versions, which is why there's no longer cuts for his movies, like "Back to the Future" or "Forrest Gump".

[NYorker]

Originally Posted by Moviefan2k4

I meant the Special Edition. The effects are still pretty cool, but the song is stupid. There's not even subtitles so fans can understand it, so I don't see the point.

Well, it'd be nice to have an HD copy of the theatrical cuts available, but its not a high priority for me. I still enjoy the films as they are.

Those are all Spielberg movies, and while he and George are friends, they have different styles of working. Similarly, Robert Zemeckis isn't a fan of altered versions, which is why there's no longer cuts for his movies, like "Back to the Future" or "Forrest Gump".

You don't have to be Spielberg to give the films a proper restorations - there are plenty of examples. GL just didn't want to invest the money and/or waiting for the second "go around" to give the films a proper restoration this release should have had.

[klauswhereareyou]

Isn't the major problem with releasing the "original" version of Star Wars on blu ray is the fact that Lucas actually went back and cut all the special edition stuff into the camera negative of the films. Any print made for a blu ray would have to come from a different source, which would still be welcome, but I think that's one of the reasons other than Lucas' artistic vision that's keeping back a decent release of the original versions. I think from a historical perspective that there should be good copies of the original version of the OT so we can see the films in the forms that they were originally seen, and in the versions that won Oscars, because I don't think the current iterations of the films can make the claims that they are Oscar winners, because they are not.

[phansson]

You can find copies of the originals. Hell, I have the final reel of ROTJ upstairs in a film can.....

The Library of Congress has a copy that I would assume is in pretty good shape. They could probably scan it properly and restore it for a couple of million dollars so it shouldn't be that big of a deal.

[wormraper]

Originally Posted by klauswhereareyou

Isn't the major problem with releasing the "original" version of Star Wars on blu ray is the fact that Lucas actually went back and cut all the special edition stuff into the camera negative of the films. Any print made for a blu ray would have to come from a different source, which would still be welcome, but I think that's one of the reasons other than Lucas' artistic vision that's keeping back a decent release of the original versions. I think from a historical perspective that there should be good copies of the original version of the OT so we can see the films in the forms that they were originally seen, and in the versions that won Oscars, because I don't think the current iterations of the films can make the claims that they are Oscar winners, because they are not.

sorry, but that "destroying the original negatives in the process" is a garbage cop-out by lucas. NO DIRECTOR is going to compromise the original negatives doing something like that. they copy the negatives to an intermediary and THEN do work on them. the chance of accidentally destroying them half way through a process is WAY to high to risk that. also MULTIPLE sources have original prints that have been offered to Lucas to restore and he's refused. he HAS the tools and the source. he just....doesn't....want...to

[klauswhereareyou]

Originally Posted by phansson

You can find copies of the originals. Hell, I have the final reel of ROTJ upstairs in a film can.....

The Library of Congress has a copy that I would assume is in pretty good shape. They could probably scan it properly and restore it for a couple of million dollars so it shouldn't be that big of a deal.

I know this was brought up by the people who made The People Vs. George Lucas, and it sounded like they were never able to get a definitive answer on what version currently resides with the Library of Congress. Lucas could've gotten them to hand over their prints of the originals for the special edtions from 1997.

[Ryan0503]

Originally Posted by klauswhereareyou

I know this was brought up by the people who made The People Vs. George Lucas, and it sounded like they were never able to get a definitive answer on what version currently resides with the Library of Congress. Lucas could've gotten them to hand over their prints of the originals for the special edtions from 1997.

Someone emailed the LOC and posted that email in this forum ... the library has the original editions but the are not negatives ... they have a print like you would show in a theater

[42041]

Originally Posted by klauswhereareyou

Isn't the major problem with releasing the "original" version of Star Wars on blu ray is the fact that Lucas actually went back and cut all the special edition stuff into the camera negative of the films. Any print made for a blu ray would have to come from a different source, which would still be welcome, but I think that's one of the reasons other than Lucas' artistic vision that's keeping back a decent release of the original versions. I think from a historical perspective that there should be good copies of the original version of the OT so we can see the films in the forms that they were originally seen, and in the versions that won Oscars, because I don't think the current iterations of the films can make the claims that they are Oscar winners, because they are not.

That doesn't mean they tossed the non-SE materials into the dumpster. Some of the cut negative was unusable by the 90s because many effects shots were printed on a defective internegative film stock, so they had to be replaced either way. They still have the original materials, which they used to make the SE replacements.

[mrr1]

I just want to chime in and say that I watched 'Revenge of the Sith' last night, and it still amazed me at how great it looked, and how much fun that movie is to watch.

Personally, I would like to see the original theatrical versions properly re-released on Blu Ray too, but I can live without them.

This set rules and these movies (4 out of 6 of them, anyway) are great.

[Moviefan2k4]

Originally Posted by NYorker

You don't have to be Spielberg to give the films a proper restorations - there are plenty of examples. GL just didn't want to invest the money and/or waiting for the second "go around" to give the films a proper restoration this release should have had.

Well, the films look very good on a technical level, aside from a few FX gaffes. I think one thing that keeps them from being "properly restored" is that everyone has a different definition, and you can't please everyone. Even if all 6 films were re-scanned at 4K or better, cleaned up like crazy, and had all the FX shots fixed to modern standards...there'd still be people bickering about this or that, and George knows it. Maybe he thinks its simply not worth enduring more hate, because his choice to retire was closely tied to the Blu-Ray backlash.

[budious]

Originally Posted by Moviefan2k4

... Even if all 6 films were re-scanned at 4K or better, cleaned up like crazy, and had all the FX shots fixed to modern standards...

Only EP I, IV, V, VI exist on film. EP II was filmed digitally at 1920x800 before anamorphic digital was possible, EP III used 1920x1080 anamorphic source for scope resolution. The conspiracy theory is GL doesn't want the OT looking better than the prequels so there is no reason to upgrade to a 4K scan anyways (in GL opinion).

[klauswhereareyou]

I really wish they would've shot ep II and III on film. Ep II looks terrible, it's all glowy and fake looking. Really apparant that HD cameras were not ready for primetime. Ep III actually looks preaty good, but they should've stuck with film to keep the look consistant with the other 4 films.

[HeavyHitter]

It will be interesting to compare Raiders of the Lost Ark on BD with its 4K restoration to the original Star Wars films. That might give an indication at just how much better ep. 4-6 could have looked on BD.

[PeterTHX]

Originally Posted by HeavyHitter

It will be interesting to compare Raiders of the Lost Ark on BD with its 4K restoration to the original Star Wars films. That might give an indication at just how much better ep. 4-6 could have looked on BD.

Not really, because the DPs are different, the directors are different, the shooting conditions were different, and RAIDERS isn't an FX heavy film.

[The Apocalypse]

Originally Posted by klauswhereareyou

I really wish they would've shot ep II and III on film. Ep II looks terrible, it's all glowy and fake looking. Really apparant that HD cameras were not ready for primetime. Ep III actually looks preaty good, but they should've stuck with film to keep the look consistant with the other 4 films.

Yeah, but Episode I got slapped with DNR. Still, it would've been interesting.

[HeavyHitter]

Originally Posted by PeterTHX

Not really, because the DPs are different, the directors are different, the shooting conditions were different, and RAIDERS isn't an FX heavy film.

PeterTHX,

I know you will defend the original SW Blu-rays until the end as being "optimal."

But, Star Wars and Raiders were both shot on Eastman 100T 5247 according to imdb.

Some Star Wars scenes had no special effects and were shot in similar settings and conditions as some scenes Raiders.

It will be a reasonable indicator either way.

[motorheadache95]

Originally Posted by EclipseSSD

Yeah, but Episode I got slapped with DNR. Still, it would've been interesting.

I think that also may because a proper transfer of Episode I would have looked better than at least Episode II if not both of the other prequels.

My guess is that the DNR was used to give the movie a similar smooth and glossy look to the digitally shot prequels. Once that was done, it would appear that detail and clarity improves with each subsequent movie.