Star Wars: The Complete Saga (1977-2005)

[Blu-21]

Was the Holiday Special originally filmed in widescreen (but cropped to full frame for VHS and TV?)

[FilmFreakosaurus]

Originally Posted by Blu-21

Was the Holiday Special originally filmed in widescreen (but cropped to full frame for VHS and TV?)

No it was shot for regular SD resolution 70's TV on video. And it's from the same producers who did some of the worst Oscar award shows in TV history too. How these people are still allowed to make TV shows is amazing to me.

[Norbie]

Originally Posted by HeavyHitter

I thought the scene was perfect with no "nooo" at all. Nothing had to be said and you could just sense the change in Vader's conscience as the camera stared into his mask given what was happening to Luke. It was a moment when no words needed to be said before picking up and throwing the Emperor. It was a very well done scene as originally done. I agree with others; Jedi is by far the worst of the three special editions because of this and the Jabba palace dance scene.

Who is Vader looking at when he lets out with the "no"?

[Lutz]

Speaking of the x-mas special making a great special feature on the unaltered edition blu-ray: now that Disney owns both properties they can FINALLY include THE MUPPET SHOW STAR WARS episode as an extra!

[HomerThompson]

Originally Posted by Scarface32

I wish Disney would acquire the rights and, assuming the film print still exists, do an HD scan of it for blu-ray.

If Disney acquired the rights, they'd keep it in a vault with Song of the South for being offensive to everyone.

[master gandhi]

Originally Posted by BillieCassin

Funny enough, I had the opposite experience this week. I finally checked out one of the less "special" versions of ROTJ - and I was floored. I've been watching the SE all these years, F-FWD past the stupid song, but I really had no idea how much completely changed that entire sequence is.

The atmosphere is completely different. For the first time in many years, I saw the Jabba's Palace I remember as a kid in the theater - dark, a bit scary, and mysterious. It was a revelation. I just never realized how much junk and how much "lighter" the entire sequence was in the SE editions.

I want to experience the unaltered version again for sure. I'm not saying I'm becoming a fan of the special edition. It's merely tolerable, and only because I'm forgiving. I much prefer how the movie was before all the changes. I can still remember the original Jabba's palace musical number and celebration song at the end. The unaltered versions of the trilogy are forever ingrained in my mind.

[Scarface32]

Originally Posted by Thomas Guycott

The Star Wars Holiday Special was shot on video.

Originally Posted by FilmFreakosaurus

No it was shot for regular SD resolution 70's TV on video. And it's from the same producers who did some of the worst Oscar award shows in TV history too. How these people are still allowed to make TV shows is amazing to me.

Are you sure it wasn't shot on film, but edited on video (like the PeeWee show)?
That's so sad, that it was shot on video.

Originally Posted by HomerThompson

If Disney acquired the rights, they'd keep it in a vault with Song of the South for being offensive to everyone.

The Holiday Special is a fun kind of offensive though.

[DMRI2006]

Are you sure it wasn't shot on film, but edited on video (like the PeeWee show)?
That's so sad, that it was shot on video.

Nope, it was shot on video, like a TV sitcom. But that's what it was intended to be -- a basic TV variety show!

[deto]

Was the original theatrical version ever released on any media? VHS?

[FilmFreakosaurus]

Originally Posted by deto

Was the original theatrical version ever released on any media? VHS?

Yes. VHS and Laserdisc.

[rexcrk]

Originally Posted by master gandhi

The unaltered versions of the trilogy are forever ingrained in my mind.

Same. Like, when I listen to the A New Hope soundtrack and it gets to the track where Obi-Wan rescues Luke from the Tusken Raiders, I STILL hear the "Dewback Krayt Dragon" call over the one from the DVD OR the Blu-ray.

[dvdmike]

Originally Posted by FilmFreakosaurus

Yes. VHS and Laserdisc.

Plus CED, plus Hope and Empire on VHD.

[BillieCassin]

Originally Posted by deto

Was the original theatrical version ever released on any media? VHS?

Yes. And no.

Depends on how far you wish to take it.

Some argue that it never was, because there were slight changes even back then (particularly sound, if I recall - even theatrically the 35mm and 70mm prints had different soundtracks).

But the "sensible" answer unless you get really pedantic, is that yes, it was - although I believe every version on video has had the "Episode IV" title added, which was not added until the 1981 theatrical re-release. Perhaps there was a CED or Beta release prior to that, but I don't believe there was.

[dvdmike]

Originally Posted by BillieCassin

Yes. And no.

Depends on how far you wish to take it.

Some argue that it never was, because there were slight changes even back then (particularly sound, if I recall - even theatrically the 35mm and 70mm prints had different soundtracks).

But the "sensible" answer unless you get really pedantic, is that yes, it was - although I believe every version on video has had the "Episode IV" title added, which was not added until the 1981 theatrical re-release. Perhaps there was a CED or Beta release prior to that, but I don't believe there was.

Post right above yours.

[Scarface32]

Originally Posted by deto

Was the original theatrical version ever released on any media? VHS?

Originally Posted by FilmFreakosaurus

Yes. VHS and Laserdisc.

Originally Posted by dvdmike

Plus CED, plus Hope and Empire on VHD.

Also on DVD in 2006 as "bonus" discs to the re-release of the 2004 cut. They are LD ports, non-anamorphic.

[Gaius Marius]

There are things I like about the SEs, things I hate about the SEs, and things I am indifferent to about the SEs.

I like the Biggs/Luke scene in ANH, the enhanced Battle of Yavin, and the opening up of Cloud City.

I hate the Jabba's Dance number, Greedo shooting first, "Noooo", Obi-Wan's frat boy yell in ANH, extra rocks in front of R2-D2, and the size changing door on Jabba's Palace.

I can give or take everything else. Ideally, if I can get an edition with the few changes I like while getting rid of the stupid crap, I would be possibly happier than receiving the UOT

Seriously, with all of the changes, Disney should just have a "Create your own Star Wars Trilogy" disc-on demand Just click boxes corresponding to what features you want.

[Optimus-Prime-Rox]

Now that Disney own the Star Wars franchise they should bring the 2 Ewok movies to Bluray.

[deto]

Originally Posted by Scarface32

Also on DVD in 2006 as "bonus" discs to the re-release of the 2004 cut. They are LD ports, non-anamorphic.

I have these! Haha just never watched because I didn't like how it looked on my tv.

[Dynamo of Eternia]

Originally Posted by Scarface32

Also on DVD in 2006 as "bonus" discs to the re-release of the 2004 cut. They are LD ports, non-anamorphic.

And I believe that this was actually the first time on any home format that the original movie was released without "Episode IV A New Hope" in the opening crawl.

But from what I understand, it's still not technically the true original theatrical version. If I'm not mistaken, those little minor changes that BillieCassin mentioned were still in this version. It's effectively just the exact same version previously released on laserdisc, only with that modification to the opening crawl.


All of that being said, I'm not personally overly concerned about a few minor audio differences. I actually would like to have some kind of branching option that lets us toggle between having and not having the "Episode IV" notation in the crawl, but even that isn't essential.

I'd just like to have some version of the movie and the two sequels released that are otherwise identical in terms of content and edits as some version of the movies released theatrically or on home video formats during or prior to 1995 (the "last" home video release of the pre-special edition UOT, not counting the 2006 bonus DVDs), but otherwise being properly restored for modern HD (and eventually UHD) viewing in the proper aspect ratio.

[Scarface32]

From Wikipedia about the Holiday Special

Animation cels sold in the mid-1990s came from the special's animated Boba Fett segment. Segments of that cartoon appear in the 2002 Attack of the Clones web documentary "Bucket Head", and Jeremy Bulloch, who portrayed Fett in the original films, introduces the segment as coming from the Holiday Special. In 2004, the official Star Wars site confirmed that documentary filmmaker Kevin Burns was allowed access to the original print for use in his Empire of Dreams documentary; however, the segment using footage from the holiday special was ultimately left out of the final cut.

However, the entire Fett cartoon would see an official home video release as an Easter Egg on the 2011 Star Wars: The Complete Saga Blu-ray set, and therefore the only portion of the Holiday Special officially released by Lucasfilm in any home video format.

http://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_S...oliday_Special

Can anyone with the Blu-ray set, check the quality of the special. If it's better quality than the VHS rips found online, then we know it's possible to get a better version. Also, the use of the word "print" in the first paragraph leads me to believe it was in film, not just video tape.