Star Wars: The Complete Saga (1977-2005)

[WorkShed]

Originally Posted by Strevlac

Nonsense. 4 of the Star Wars movies were shot on 35mm film just like 99% of every commercially released motion picture ever made. The last 2 were were shot with digital cameras which are already obsolete.

With a proper photochemical clean-up and digital scan, the 4 movies shot on film would kick the digitally shot movies in the ass, special edition or no special edition.

Don't believe the fraudulent Lucasfilm marketing drivel about the original versions being unsalveagable. There is no way the original negatives for these films are in anything less than excellent shape. Besides, there are extant film elements (internegatives, not just release prints) in film vaults all over the damn world, not to mention what exists in the hands of private collectors.

I still remember the restoration special feature on the first home video release of the special edition. I couldn't believe they had the gall to present such outright fraudulent information to the public....there was a side by side demo of an aged film element that was going pink and the new "restored" version. Like all that's left of Star Wars are vinegarized film elements. Yeah, riiiight. What a crock of shit.

Agreed.

[Uxi]

lol, you don't believe them? Have fun believing that he's choosing to personally spite you instead.

[Steel Panther]

I hope the release date is announced.

It's all I want for my birthday tomorrow. Then I can book that week off work to sit on my ass and watch them a few dozen times =P

[Bluyoda]

Here's hoping for a May 19th BD release date!!!!!

That'd be freaking awesome!!!!

[STARKILLER--1138]

Originally Posted by Beast

The complaint was that they should be available for people. They are available.

They may not be presented as you desire. But they're available for those who want them.[/

BINGO!

[STARKILLER--1138]

Originally Posted by Bluyoda

Here's hoping for a May 19th BD release date!!!!!

That'd be freaking awesome!!!!

Shoot, I wish! It will most likely be an Oct. release (as reported earlier in this thread) like TCW, the Saga DVD's, TFU, etc.

[Aerodude73]

Originally Posted by Beast

$80-$90 seems about right frankly.

Since Lucas knows they'll sell like hot cakes. And he'll likely make even more with a lower price point.

Outside of a few examples like the Alien set most 3 movie sets, like BTTF, run around $40-$50.

So a 6 movie set like the Star Wars Saga for $80-$90 seems to make sense for the most part. We'll see.

Plus, if the "rumored" release date is Mid-late October, can you Imagine what they might sell for on/near/just after BLACK FRIDAY?! I for one will Wait the extra 4 or so weeks for then IF they come out Oct. 2011. Just in case.

Originally Posted by Steel Panther

I hope the release date is announced.

It's all I want for my birthday tomorrow. Then I can book that week off work to sit on my ass and watch them a few dozen times =P

I'm 99.9% SURE they'll have the official release date in their little press conference tomorrow. Aside from the 3D info for 2012, anything else is going to Pale in comparison, as EVERYONE will be waiting for info on the Blu-Ray set, the "Star Wars Complete Saga", or whatever it'll be called.

[STARKILLER--1138]

Originally Posted by Steel Panther

I hope the release date is announced.

It's all I want for my birthday tomorrow. Then I can book that week off work to sit on my ass and watch them a few dozen times =P

Happy (early) Birthday, BTW.

[Strevlac]

Originally Posted by Uxi

lol, you don't believe them? Have fun believing that he's choosing to personally spite you instead.

It's not about personally spiting anyone. I'm not sure where you got that. It's about presenting misleading and in some cases outright false information to a public that doesn't know any better, in order to sell a "new and improved" version.

If you believe for one second the Lucasfilm PR line that the original elements for Star Wars are unsalveagable then you are painfully naive. Star Wars is not an RKO film from the 30's. The original negative wasn't destroyed by a fire, stolen, or intentionally scrapped by the studio to clear space in the vault. There were numerous internegatives and safety copies created and they exist, like I said, all over the world.

Look at what people and studios like Robert Harris, James Katz, Fox, Warner Brothers, etc were able to do with Vertigo, Lawrence of Arabia, My Fair Lady, The Sound Of Music, The Wild Bunch, Ben Hur, The Wizard of Oz, Gone With The Wind, Blade Runner, Superman, The Godfather, The Exorcist, the list goes on and on. All of these films were very popular and had their original elements handled numerous times, and sometimes not with the greatest of care, especially in the case of the large format films.

It is possible to restore the original version of Star Wars to it's original state, without any herculean effort or exhorbitant cost. Just some administrative drudgery and the will to do it.

[Aerodude73]

Originally Posted by Strevlac

If you believe for one second the Lucasfilm PR line that the original elements for Star Wars are unsalveagable then you are painfully naive. Star Wars is not an RKO film from the 30's. The original negative wasn't destroyed by a fire, stolen, or intentionally scrapped by the studio to clear space in the vault. There were numerous internegatives and safety copies created and they exist, like I said, all over the world.

Look at what people and studios like Robert Harris, James Katz, Fox, Warner Brothers, etc were able to do with Vertigo, Lawrence of Arabia, My Fair Lady, The Sound Of Music, The Wild Bunch, Ben Hur, The Wizard of Oz, Gone With The Wind, Blade Runner, Superman, The Godfather, The Exorcist, the list goes on and on. All of these films were very popular and had their original elements handled numerous times, and sometimes not with the greatest of care, especially in the case of the large format films.

Good point. Also, add to that list the recently released & Superb Restoration job (Audio & Video are Outstanding!!) for "APOCALYPSE NOW". Just watched this last week or so. Talk about Incredible, Amazing, Superb, etc., etc.

If Francis Ford Coppola can personally supervise every aspect of this restoration job, then Lucasfilm (George & Co.) CAN do whatever they want with the Star Wars collection. It's a question of IF they want to.

[Beast]

They never said unsalvagable. They said those version of the films don't exist for release anymore. Yes, there are prints around.... but not the original negatives. The film negatives were restored and then they were basically destroyed when they were cut apart to allow the Special Edition footage to be inserted. So they would have to go through the effort of fully restoring the 3 films again... this time from available prints. An incredibly expensive process which Lucas doesn't feel is worth the money laid out, because those versions are basically inferior workprints compared to his approved versions.

[Uxi]

If Lucas was as cynical as you believe, why hasn't he done a zillion editions on DVD and really milked it? He could market the Special Edition set. Then 6 months later, the 1980 version with the title name... then 6 months later, do the 1977 theatrical print with out the episode name in the title crawl... then the Super Special Edition with deleted scenes. Then the "Director's Special Edition" with said scenes edited back in...

Instead, he took 10 years to even come out on DVD, spawning a bunch of useless petitions and far more committed internet campaigns, etc. He's done anything but milk the franchise the way 20th Century Fox would have if they hadn't foolishly given him all the rights. The second DVD release (with non-anamorphic original cuts) wasn't done until the first sets were out of print and another run was needed to sate demand...

[Strevlac]

Originally Posted by Beast

They never said unsalvagable. They said those version of the films don't exist for release anymore. Yes, there are prints around.... but not the original negatives. The film negatives were restored and then they were basically destroyed when they were cut apart to allow the Special Edition footage to be inserted. So they would have to go through the effort of fully restoring the 3 films again... this time from available prints. An incredibly expensive process which Lucas doesn't feel is worth the money laid out, because those versions are basically inferior workprints compared to his approved versions.

All of this statement is false.

[ZoetMB]

Originally Posted by Strevlac

Nonsense. 4 of the Star Wars movies were shot on 35mm film just like 99% of every commercially released motion picture ever made. The last 2 were were shot with digital cameras which are already obsolete.

With a proper photochemical clean-up and digital scan, the 4 movies shot on film would kick the digitally shot movies in the ass, special edition or no special edition.

Don't believe the fraudulent Lucasfilm marketing drivel about the original versions being unsalveagable. There is no way the original negatives for these films are in anything less than excellent shape. Besides, there are extant film elements (internegatives, not just release prints) in film vaults all over the damn world, not to mention what exists in the hands of private collectors.

I still remember the restoration special feature on the first home video release of the special edition. I couldn't believe they had the gall to present such outright fraudulent information to the public....there was a side by side demo of an aged film element that was going pink and the new "restored" version. Like all that's left of Star Wars are vinegarized film elements. Yeah, riiiight. What a crock of shit.

They never said they were vinegarized, but it's very possible that the original elements are in very bad shape. Many films of that era are in bad shape because there was never any expectation in that era that the prints would be used for anything but theatrical release + TV release in SD. Even HBO was still in its infancy in 1977 and VHS was first introduced in June of that year, but no one paid much attention to it the first few years.

I believe the Star Wars films were shot on Eastman Color of that era and the dyes in that film were really bad. But having said that, there's no reason why Lucasfilm couldn't release a version which has his new versions, plus restored versions of the original scenes before he messed with them and put it together with seamless branching. That way he wouldn't have to restore the entire OT, only the scenes that he messed with and consumers could watch either the original or the "redux" versions. But I doubt that will happen.

[Beast]

Originally Posted by Uxi

If Lucas was as cynical as you believe, why hasn't he done a zillion editions on DVD and really milked it? He could market the Special Edition set. Then 6 months later, the 1980 version with the title name... then 6 months later, do the 1977 theatrical print with out the episode name in the title crawl... then the Super Special Edition with deleted scenes. Then the "Director's Special Edition" with said scenes edited back in...

Bingo. Hell, he never re-released the 1997 Special Edition cuts after the first time either.
He could easily sell at least 3-4 versions, 4-5 if you include the upcoming 3-D ones.

The "Original Original Trilogy" - With the 1977 ANH without "Episode IV: A New Hope" title card.
The "Original Trilogy" - With the 1980's "Episode IV: A New Hope" Title Card version of ANH.
The "Theatrical Special Edition Trilogy" - With the 1997 Versions of the Special Edition.
The "DVD Special Edition Trilogy" - With the 2004 Versions of the Special Edition.

And that's not even getting into the differences between the Theatrical and DVD releases of the Prequels.

People act like he's milking these releases so badly. But honestly, he's really not.
Hell, he could make a ton of money releasing the horrible Star Wars Holiday Special as well. But won't.

[Beast]

Originally Posted by Strevlac

All of this statement is false.

It's true. It's factual. You should do some research. The work was even covered in the Star Wars Insider.

[Beast]

Originally Posted by ZoetMB

But having said that, there's no reason why Lucasfilm couldn't release a version which has his new versions, plus restored versions of the original scenes before he messed with them and put it together with seamless branching. That way he wouldn't have to restore the entire OT, only the scenes that he messed with and consumers could watch either the original or the "redux" versions. But I doubt that will happen.

Go back a few pages. A seamless branching version is pretty much impossible.
There's ton of minor changes that would be impossible to seamless branch around.

[Strevlac]

Originally Posted by ZoetMB

They never said they were vinegarized, but it's very possible that the original elements are in very bad shape. Many films of that era are in bad shape because there was never any expectation in that era that the prints would be used for anything but theatrical release + TV release in SD. Even HBO was still in its infancy in 1977 and VHS was first introduced in June of that year, but no one paid much attention to it the first few years.

I believe the Star Wars films were shot on Eastman Color of that era and the dyes in that film were really bad. But having said that, there's no reason why Lucasfilm couldn't release a version which has his new versions, plus restored versions of the original scenes before he messed with them and put it together with seamless branching. That way he wouldn't have to restore the entire OT, only the scenes that he messed with and consumers could watch either the original or the "redux" versions. But I doubt that will happen.

There are too many changes in the different versions for seamless branching to work.

Eastmancolor does indeed have bad fading problems. The thing is that there are numerous internegatives to pick and choose from, cut together and do a raw digital scan. The resolution is there, it didn't go anywhere. The digital color correction tools we have today, you can basically do anything you want to. There are IB Technicolor prints in existence. As you probably know, those prints do not fade. Just take your digital, uncorrected scan, and match it to one of those prints for reference. It's really not some impossible project. Studios do it all the time. There are lots of eastmancolor films on bluray that look great.

[Strevlac]

Originally Posted by Beast

It's true. It's factual. You should do some research. The work was even covered in the Star Wars Insider.

Oh shit, the Star Wars Insider said it. Game over, you win.

[Beast]

Originally Posted by Strevlac

Oh shit, the Star Wars Insider said it. Game over, you win.

I think the people who worked on it know more about it than some angry fanboy.