Star Wars: The Complete Saga (1977-2005)

[bobbyh64]

Someone needs to convince George that his original Classic Trilogy should be released. Then maybe he could work with Disney to release them!

[Ernest Rister]

Originally Posted by Geoff D

I honestly do think that as long as the dude's still alive then the restored UOT will never see the light of day.

I must be reading this differently...she's confused about what he's asking, then says she isn't going to touch the films, they will always be his -- as in messing around with the films in some way. She doesn't say anything about pulling a Spielberg (who she's even tighter with than George) and releasing a set including the original version or the three major versions a'la CE3K, or the 20th anniversary DVD edition of E.T., original mono and updated soundtrack on the Jaws blu-ray, etc. I think she's saying she wasn't going to alter the films further.

At least that's what...

[Ernest Rister]

Originally Posted by bobbyh64

Someone needs to convince George that his original Classic Trilogy should be released. Then maybe he could work with Disney to release them!

He released them himself as a bonus feature nod to the fans (and to combat the piracy of the laserdisc transfer which was becoming rampant).

[Ernest Rister]

Originally Posted by Arch Stanton

He might have twenty years of life in him yet, ol' George.

He might...then again, he's diabetic which is a progressive disease and none of us know when our time is up.

[sandman slim]

Originally Posted by IndyMLVC

Bingo. This whole thing has exploded in the typical way that things on the internet do, with little regard to truth.

In the end, the only positive that can possibly come from this is if a journalist (and I use that word loudly) asks her a follow-up directly.

Even then, what do people expect her to say? "Actually, yes, we will be releasing those for the holiday season, and they'll be announced sometime in June. Oops, I just announced them, didn't I? Dang, why did I answer that question..." If Disney or Fox have anything planned, they ain't gonna tell us till they're ready to tell us.

[shinobipopcorn]

Remember when Disney used to charge 79.95 for its VHS tapes? They could always try that out again... "The original, unaltered STAR WARS... Bring it home for the holidays at a special price of only one kidney! While supplies last."

[Rodney-2187]

Originally Posted by ernest rister

i must be reading this differently...she's confused about what he's asking, then says she isn't going to touch the films, they will always be his -- as in messing around with the films in some way. She doesn't say anything about pulling a spielberg (who she's even tighter with than george) and releasing a set including the original version or the three major versions a'la ce3k, or the 20th anniversary dvd edition of e.t., original mono and updated soundtrack on the jaws blu-ray, etc. I think she's saying she wasn't going to alter the films further.

At least that's what...

[Show spoiler]

IMG_0709.JPG

[Geoff D]

Originally Posted by Ernest Rister

I must be reading this differently...she's confused about what he's asking, then says she isn't going to touch the films, they will always be his -- as in messing around with the films in some way. She doesn't say anything about pulling a Spielberg (who she's even tighter with than George) and releasing a set including the original version or the three major versions a'la CE3K, or the 20th anniversary DVD edition of E.T., original mono and updated soundtrack on the Jaws blu-ray, etc. I think she's saying she wasn't going to alter the films further.

At least that's what...

[Show spoiler]

I don't mean that just from the interpretation of her comments in that video, it's the overall vibe I'm getting right now. Disney are putting the pieces in place for the day it can finally happen but if they're not doing it for the 40th anniversary, then when? Just some random post-Fox-deal home video release or something? Maybe someone should swap out the UFO for the Falcon in that poster.

Originally Posted by Ernest Rister

He released them himself as a bonus feature nod to the fans (and to combat the piracy of the laserdisc transfer which was becoming rampant).

...which also ended up being a way to confirm in his mind that people didn't actually want them after all, Lucas conflating the reactions to the shit transfers with reactions to the original cuts themselves.

[bobbyh64]

I don't understand why Lucas released the Classic Editions as bonus discs on DVD. If he wasn't happy with the originals, why release them? And why did he care if there were bootlegs of them? It's not like they were still producing the LaserDiscs and losing profit, right?

If these are the reasons, then why haven't the Despecialized editions persuaded Lucasfilm/Disney to release the Classic Editions on Blu-ray?

[B72]

With all due respect to Kathleen Kennedy,
it surprises me that she didn't know what Steele was getting at with his "changes" question. No matter how clumsy the wording was. She is the current President of Lucasfilm after all. I can't help but think she was being coy.

Good for Steele for having the courage to ask.

[Ernest Rister]

Originally Posted by bobbyh64

I don't understand why Lucas released the Classic Editions as bonus discs on DVD. If he wasn't happy with the originals, why release them? And why did he care if there were bootlegs of them? It's not like they were still producing the LaserDiscs and losing profit, right?

People were selling them on e*bay and other places, LucasFilm was leaving money on the table by not countering all that. I don't think Harmy is selling his stuff, it wouldn't surprise me, though, if people have bootlegged his version.

If these are the reasons, then why haven't the Despecialized editions persuaded Lucasfilm/Disney to release the Classic Editions on Blu-ray?

I can think of one good reason...double-dipping. Figure a box set is coming in 2020 (after Episode IX comes to home video and Fox is largely out of the picture, natch).

[Ernest Rister]

Originally Posted by B72

With all due respect to Kathleen Kennedy,
it surprises me that she didn't know what Steele was getting at with his "changes" question. No matter how clumsy the wording was. She is the current President of Lucasfilm after all. I can't help but think she was being coy.

Good for Steele for having the courage to ask.

She looked genuinely confused, I don't think she was being coy.

I'd be willing to bet that if I went up to Bob Iger and asked about a release of the 1982 Irwin Kostal version of Fantasia, he wouldn't know what I was talking about.

[Chiyo_chichi]

I can't say I'm surprised. The higher up you look the corporate ladder, the more clueless it gets. Notwithstanding memorized PR talk.

[motorheadache95]

Originally Posted by Geoff D

I don't mean that just from the interpretation of her comments in that video, it's the overall vibe I'm getting right now. Disney are putting the pieces in place for the day it can finally happen but if they're not doing it for the 40th anniversary, then when? Just some random post-Fox-deal home video release or something? Maybe someone should swap out the UFO for the Falcon in that poster.

.

Well it isn't a totally random date to target 2020-- that will be the year Episode IX will hit home video and there will be a new "Complete Saga" to release. That combined with the end of paying Fox sounds like a good target-time to me.

If we don't hear anything by then though, or if they do release a new version but it's just the altered versions in 4k, then I give up.

[crissrudd4554]

Just my two cents, I don't think George cares anymore. I know the 2006 DVDs were meant to end the bootlegged LD rips being put on ebay but if he was truly that adamant about them never being released he wouldn't have caved and released the GOUT. Plus towards the end of his tenure as head of LF his attitude towards releasing the OUT was more 'I don't wanna spend the money to restore them' as opposed to 'I don't wanna release them'. His money is no longer a factor. Also assuming he wasn't mistaken there's also John Landis saying that George told him himself that the OUT was eventually coming out. The factor at the moment looks to be the fact that Fox still has distribution rights to 1-6 until May 2020. If Disney/LF waits until after that they only have to cut a deal with Fox for ANH. Frankly though I think the longer they sit on it the less meaningful it is. There's already a new generation that only knows the SE now so assuming they do have a release planned out they better market and package it together right. However if nothing is said by then then I think its safe to say its never happening, hell there's people that are saying that already.

[Ernest Rister]

Originally Posted by crissrudd4554

Just my two cents, I don't think George cares anymore. I know the 2006 DVDs were meant to end the bootlegged LD rips being put on ebay but if he was truly that adamant about them never being released he wouldn't have caved and released the GOUT. Plus towards the end of his tenure as head of LF his attitude towards releasing the OUT was more 'I don't wanna spend the money to restore them' as opposed to 'I don't wanna release them'. His money is no longer a factor. Also assuming he wasn't mistaken there's also John Landis saying that George told him himself that the OUT was eventually coming out. The factor at the moment looks to be the fact that Fox still has distribution rights to 1-6 until May 2020. If Disney/LF waits until after that they only have to cut a deal with Fox for ANH. Frankly though I think the longer they sit on it the less meaningful it is. There's already a new generation that only knows the SE now so assuming they do have a release planned out they better market and package it together right. However if nothing is said by then then I think its safe to say its never happening, hell there's people that are saying that already.

Never is a long time, Criss. There are a lot films and alternate versions of films that I thought I'd never see, only to be surprised.

Completely unrelated, but there's some sort of Star Wars announcement planned for the D23 Convention on July 15, probably showing off construction photos for the SW expansions at Disneyland and WDW.

[HeavyHitter]

I've got to believe at this point, Disney is just going to wait until 2020 before releasing a remastered SE original 4K remastered trilogy. Maybe they will also be supporting UHD BD by that time. They don't have to cut any distribution deal with Fox except for A New Hope by that point, so it makes more sense for them financially.

[Michael24]

Originally Posted by HeavyHitter

They don't have to cut any distribution deal with Fox except for A New Hope by that point, so it makes more sense for them financially.

I was under the impression that Fox only still has distribution of the original until 2020 and the rest are now with Disney. But Fox still has all six until 2020 and then Disney will get all but the original? If that's the case, then when would the original switch over to Disney?

[Geoff D]

Originally Posted by Michael24

I was under the impression that Fox only still has distribution of the original until 2020 and the rest are now with Disney. But Fox still has all six until 2020 and then Disney will get all but the original? If that's the case, then when would the original switch over to Disney?

Disney have already finagled things like TV transmissions and the DMA streaming versions of I,II, III, V and VI out of Fox's clutches, yes, but for physical media the deal with Lucasfilm for Fox to distribute all six is firmly in place until May 2020, according to documents that Disney filed.

BUT despite handing over the copyright to LFL for Ep IV during negotiations for the prequels Fox managed to keep hold of the perpetual distribution rights to that one film, which means any release thru any platform - TV, digital, theatrical, physical media etc - is theirs to govern, albeit on behalf of the actual rights holder, which is LFL.

So, even when the main Fox deal expires in 2020 they will still be the ones distributing Ep IV, and there are no guarantees of it 'switching' to Disney unless the House of Mouse pony up a rather large wodge of cash. However, that's not to say that they wouldn't be able to licence it from Fox for any potential box set so I still think the issue is being blown waaaaaaay out of proportion by certain internet commentators.

[shane01]

Not to interrupt the same conversation re: the unaltered cuts that we've been having since 2012, but I just watched The Phantom Menace on BD again and I thought it looked better than I remembered!

Obviously, the de-grained, waxy, smudged DNR is a travesty, but the contrast and colors are much better than I remembered.

Speaking of unaltered trilogy, I'd love a theatrical cut for TPM and AOTC (and throw that IMAX cut in there as well, if we're creating our own dream set) with a 4K scan of the TPM negative. I have one of those Phantom Menace film cell promo things and it looks sooo cool.

I just started working at Deluxe. Maybe I'll run this by home entertainment...see what they have to say.