Star Wars: The Complete Saga (1977-2005)

[Galactus123]

I want the original versions on Blu-Ray. If I could decide they would be just restored but nothing changed. With the original color timing like they were first seen in the cinemas. Also they should leave the original film grain.

[Riddler95]

Originally Posted by gregmasciola

I think what they need to do is release each film with 2 discs. 1 disc would be the original versions (I could go either way with them fixing certain errors or not) and the second disc would be the 3 special editions with seamless branching. I think that would work, since after the 1997 versions, there were mostly just a bunch of minor tweaks to the DVD and Blu-Ray versions. I think I would end up watching the 1997 versions the most. I actually like most of the new Mos Eisley footage and Jedi still has the original Anakin ghost. I can just skip the new Jabba scene and "Jedi Rocks".

I know we've discussed them letting people order their own custom version of the films by going through each change made and letting us choose which way we prefer it, but I'm sure that would be quite a hassle for them. I think the only other way to do this would be if the disc went through all of the changes when you pop it in and store your preference in your player. You'd have to go through all that again if you used a different player, though.

It would be nice if they included the 5.1 Mixes created for the 1997 Special Editions.

[Dylan34]

Give the negative a fresh 4K scan and release it with original color timing and it will be great! Oh, and no DNR or EE!

[BillieCassin]

Originally Posted by Geoff D

Do people want to keep the expanded Cloud City? Yay or nay?

(Incidentally, that's another example of the lax quality control with the SE remastering, like how the window outside Vader's room in Cloud City has that fancy elevator thingy when Han and Lando walk past it, but when we cut back to it seconds later the window's gone back to it's pre-SE state. Wut?)

If I were picking and choosing, I think perhaps that is the most appropriate change in the entire trilogy. It never made sense that this big gorgeous Cloud City was full of stark white hallways, LOL. That's why I really have no issue with the Empire SE. In fact, if I had the UOT and the 2011 Blu-rays in front of me, I'd probably watch SW and ROTJ from the former, and continue to watch ESB from the latter.

If the other two films had received the same respect, I would have been absolutely fine with my personal watching all this time with the SE's. (Though, I still believe the original versions should be preserved for historical reasons).

I mentioned this many many pages ago, but I honestly foresee a day, maybe in a decade or so, where there is a sort of MOD process (or strictly digital delivery, depending on what comes to pass regarding media distribution) for a "design your own" version of the films, picking and choosing among changes/additions. Disney as a company is really pushing "customized" experiences, and it's already started to extend to Star Wars (the custom "Yourself In Carbonite" sculptures) and it's only poised to continue.

[Geoff D]

I agree about Empire, I said as much earlier in the thread. I know that certain changes really grate for some people, but (in spite of my most recent moans about it) it's the most un-****ed of all the OT SE's and I'd be happy to watch that version from here on out.

For Star Wars I'd love to have the original movie as-is until they get to the Death Star assault, then switch it out for the SE version.

As for Jedi, again I'd love to have the original only with the 'across the galaxy' ending rather than Yub-Yub.

[Geoff D]

But I don't think we'll be getting build-a-wookiee versions any time soon because of the rights implications (some folks won't get paid depending on which bits are selected, I doubt SAG would take kindly to that), but if they put the original theatricals, the '97 SEs and the final versions in one package then that would suit me down to the ground.

I love the '97 Special Editions because they're not the death-by-a-thousand-cuts editions that came later for Star Wars and Jedi, each one chipping away more and more at the original making it that much more disfigured every time. They have their own problems, sure, but in a funny way their heart was in the right place, like with Dennis Muren coming up with his own laundry list of VFX shots to redo for Star Wars because even he was very frustrated with what the limits of the tech were. But the later editions changes seem more cynical and lazy and they leave an increasingly bitter taste.

[fat_rancor_keeper]

Reading through all these comments really highlights the can of worms the SE's opened.

Some fans like changes overall, some despise them. One fan can live with an Anakin force ghost but for the next person that change ruins the entire movie.
I for one hate Vader's added 'nooos' at the end of ROTJ and Jedi Rocks but I bet there's people who don't mind those changes or are indifferent.

The customized editions is an interesting idea. That's basically what some fans are already doing with their personal edits. Piecing together versions of the movies and leaving in some of the fixes and tweaks they did like from the 3 SE's. When it comes down to it I bet most SE fans have an ideal version in their minds of the movies via cherry picking from the OT and the 3 SE's. Keep this, lost that, keep this, lose that...etc...

[Donat96]

Empire Strikes Back might be the one that's most intact of the three, but it has my least favorite subtle change: The replacement of Vader's line "Bring my shuttle" with "Alert my Star Destroyer to prepare for my arrival." It's a small change, but the original line is the perfect mixture of anger and disappointment and the new one just doesn't work. Add to that the actual cutaway to the shuttle arriving and I feel that the pacing of the sequence is wrecked.

[rexcrk]

Originally Posted by Donat96

Empire Strikes Back might be the one that's most intact of the three, but it has my least favorite subtle change: The replacement of Vader's line "Bring my shuttle" with "Alert my Star Destroyer to prepare for my arrival." It's a small change, but the original line is the perfect mixture of anger and disappointment and the new one just doesn't work. Add to that the actual cutaway to the shuttle arriving and I feel that the pacing of the sequence is wrecked.

Yeah, one of my biggest pet peeve-alterations to the original trilogy is in Empire Strikes Back too. I can't STAND that they dubbed over Boba Fett's dialogue.

[master gandhi]

This thread goes to prove how impossible it will be for Lucasfilm/Disney to ever please everyone. I hope they strike a good balance between many of these ideas. Either way, I very much look forward to the future of Star Wars past.

[StingingVelvet]

I think anyone rational probably has changes they like and changes they dislike. In the end though having the unaltered versions and the full SE versions together is the best anyone can hope for. There's never going to be a self-edit version, at least not with current technology.

[BillieCassin]

Originally Posted by StingingVelvet

I think anyone rational probably has changes they like and changes they dislike. In the end though having the unaltered versions and the full SE versions together is the best anyone can hope for. There's never going to be a self-edit version, at least not with current technology.

Oh, it's just a distant "someday" possibility that keeps spinning around in my mind. Disney Parks are absolutely obsessed with customized experiences right now and it's spreading to the rest of the company (and it's subsidiaries). For example, did you know you can schedule rides three months ahead of time? Because who wouldn't want to schedule a single ride on Space Mountain sometime between from 3:15 to 3:45, 90 days out.

Technically, though, no pun intended, technology isn't the problem - it's will, desire, and practicality. What I can see them doing someday (I'm talking ten years from now) would be a web page, with a lot of check boxes. Yes, I want blinking Ewoks, no I don't want NOOOOOO!, etc. Then either delivered digitally or if disc-based media is still viable at that point you get mailed a copy of your 'customized' version.

The only technical issue at this point would be (and I haven't thought it down to that level before, because as I freely admit - the whole idea is silly) multiple changes that would be in the same shot. Off the top of my head I can't think of one, but I am sure something significant must cross at some point. Aside from that, though, it would simply be a matter of programming certain clips/audio cues to certain check-boxes and then assembling them - it's almost something one could do as a fan project right now.

But yet again - I am not seriously proposing it - but in a very odd way, I really can almost see them attempting something like that someday when things have started to wind down a bit. Not that Disney plans on much winding down, since their official corporate projections say they plan on exploiting Star Wars for the next 40 years.

Originally Posted by Donat96

Empire Strikes Back might be the one that's most intact of the three, but it has my least favorite subtle change: The replacement of Vader's line "Bring my shuttle" with "Alert my Star Destroyer to prepare for my arrival." It's a small change, but the original line is the perfect mixture of anger and disappointment and the new one just doesn't work. Add to that the actual cutaway to the shuttle arriving and I feel that the pacing of the sequence is wrecked.

Would you consider me a bad Star Wars fan if I never noticed that before?

Originally Posted by master gandhi

This thread goes to prove how impossible it will be for Lucasfilm/Disney to ever please everyone. I hope they strike a good balance between many of these ideas. Either way, I very much look forward to the future of Star Wars past.

First, I love that last phrase. It's very apt for 2015 I have no doubt.

That said, yes, we are sitting here talking about this stuff while waiting for the inevitable announcement of the set (which honestly, I wouldn't be surprised for the initial announcement in the next couple of months) - and talking about this and that change as there are simply so many that of course we all are going to have different ones that we like or dislike more or less than others.

But by and large, most of us will be just fine and happy as long as we have the UOT (or as close as possible). What's interesting about these recent discussions is our different preferences essentially prove the point of what folks who care about the UOT truly want, not the "OMG LUCAS #&*@ MY CHILDHOOD!" crap, but - just - the choice to watch the original versions in good quality, along side whatever new shiz-boop-walla-walla-bing-bang things they want to do on top of them.

[Galactus123]

The only change I like is the new celebration music in the end of Return of the Jedi.

[Mansinthe]

i have never seen star wars 2-6

[ZoetMB]

Originally Posted by Geoff D

Well, changing the Endor tree-dwellers from badass Wookiees to cuddly Ewoks was about as blatantly kiddiefied a decision as Lucas has EVER made with the Star Wars saga IMO. During the making of Jedi he said (in Dale Pollock's biography) about how uncomfortable he was with the level of violence in the first film and how his becoming a father had changed his outlook, so although the Lucas of that period wasn't all the way gone, he'd already started down the dark path and forever would it dominate his destiny...

The problem isn't that he wanted to make a film for children. It's that by adding elements for children to a film riddled with both violence and the scarier concept for kids that a father of a hero was evil, he made a film that doesn't work for either audience. Besides, if the Wookies did pretty much the same thing the Ewoks did, it could still have appealed to children but not alienated macho "adults". Although having said that, I don't remember the hate for the Ewoks at the time the film was released in theatres. I think most of that hate has come since the home video releases and the availability of the web to preach that hate.

Originally Posted by thegoat

While not officially confirmed, it seems that Fox traded ownership of IV in exchange for distribution rights to the prequels. The evidence is the copyright on the film, which is now attributed to Lucasfilm instead of Fox. As such, there is no deal to cut. Disney will release them, and Fox will distribute them.

I'm not claiming you're wrong, but the copyright in itself doesn't mean that much. It's the contract with Fox that means everything. And if Fox retains distribution rights on the prequels, it means that there can never again be a single package release of all the films, but maybe Disney saw that as a lesser evil than not being able to release a new package of the OT.

Originally Posted by fat_rancor_keeper

If we ever do get the unaltered theatrical versions released on Blu doesn't that mean certain issues which were fixed in the SE will be back again? Meaning we'll clearly see old matte lines and matte boxes and the Emperors slugs for example?

Not complaining about this possibility (the OT is what it is), just saying.

That's absolutely correct and you see that your post triggered a whole bunch of "oh, they should fix this but don't fix that". For me, it should be all or nothing. If you really want the theatrical OT, then they should release the theatrical OT, only repairing damage, fading, etc. It should be all or nothing. Once you start fixing stuff, you start jumping down the Lucas rabbit hole.

Originally Posted by fat_rancor_keeper

I wonder though, if Disney did put out the theatrical versions but they quietly did stuff like clean up mattes and black issues relating to the slugs would there be any backlash?

Could some OT fans consider such a release with minor clean-ups just another slightly less tampered with SE? Or is some minor clean-up and tweaks seen as a reasonable thing in this case?

That's the problem. And as you see from the posts, everyone has a different idea of what should be touched or not.

Originally Posted by Riddler95

It would be nice if they included the 5.1 Mixes created for the 1997 Special Editions.

Why? Do you really think they'll sound all that different from the 7.1 BD release downmixed to 5.1? If anything, they'll probably have less dynamic range due to the technology of the time.

Originally Posted by master gandhi

This thread goes to prove how impossible it will be for Lucasfilm/Disney to ever please everyone.

That's totally correct. As I've posted for years, no matter what they do, the "web" will find a way to complain that Disney is filled with idiots and that their lives are ruined all over again.

What people don't want to realize is that no matter what Disney does with the OT, there's no way that they can exactly replicate the experience of seeing SW in 1977 in a good quality 70mm theatre. And the fans actually wouldn't want that anyway. The original release in both 70mm 6-track Dolby "Baby Boom" and 35mm Dolby Stereo had mono surround. Would the fans be happy with a mono surround release? I didn't think so. And there were supposedly slight differences in the edit and/or dialogue between the 70mm and 35mm editions. So which one do you go with? From my perspective, the 70mm was canon, but others might disagree.

[Geoff D]

Originally Posted by ZoetMB

Why? Do you really think they'll sound all that different from the 7.1 BD release downmixed to 5.1? If anything, they'll probably have less dynamic range due to the technology of the time.

The BD's are 6.1, not 7.1. And I think reduced dynamic range would be a good thing because of the clipping in the DVD/BD mixes for Empire and Jedi. As with the underlying video transfer, those mixes are overblown efforts designed to wow DVD audiences 10 years ago. (Star Wars got remixed for the BD so it sounds great.)

[Thomas Guycott]

Originally Posted by ZoetMB

Would the fans be happy with a mono surround release? I didn't think so.

I would, but I'm the odd duck.

But this has been brought up before and as I've said: it's not like 2-3 audio tracks can't be included. Alien and Aliens did it.

[Geoff D]

Originally Posted by Thomas Guycott

I would, but I'm the odd duck.

But this has been brought up before and as I've said: it's not like 2-3 audio tracks can't be included. Alien and Aliens did it.

Wouldn't bother me either because there are plenty of other versions which have discrete surround sound mixes. Gimme Star Wars with the mono mix, the original Dolby Stereo in 2.0, the '93 LD remix in 2.0 and the 70mm mix in 4.1 and I'd be a very happy bunny.

[the fly]

The original unaltered trilogy if ever released.

[oldgame]

Originally Posted by Geoff D

Wouldn't bother me either because there are plenty of other versions which have discrete surround sound mixes. Gimme Star Wars with the mono mix, the original Dolby Stereo in 2.0, the '93 LD remix in 2.0 and the 70mm mix in 4.1 and I'd be a very happy bunny.

This would be perfect.