Star Wars: The Complete Saga (1977-2005)

[Guydowood]

******BREAKING RELEASE NEWS*************************


UPDATE: The most anticipated Blu-ray release ever -- the Star Wars Saga -- emerges from light speed on September 16, 2011!

from starwars.com

[JamesKurtovich]

Originally Posted by shelldweller

It´s not that Lucas went into your home and took your old VHS tapes, DVDs or Laserdiscs... those versions are still around. Should be enough to see the film´s evolution. All I am saying is that Lucas (or anyone) should not be forced to release something he does not want to see released.

I guess you can do that if you had no other choice... A lot of SW fans keep that old stuff or get them off the internet.

It definitely doesn't help its preservation. I'm very surprised Lucas released the theatricals on DVD since it seemed like his plan was for the UOT to wither away on old formats while his SE's survived on the hottest new piece of technology... But then again look at the quality of it.

It would be nice for Lucas to do this for a lot of his fans. I don't think anyone should order for him to do it at gunpoint or anything, but I definitely have no problem talking about how crappy the situation with SW is on the internet.

[kamphausd1]

Originally Posted by danny_boy

Quite frankly the effects shots of the original unaltered Star Wars trilogy in something as high as 4k will be ugly.
All those optical effects were rendered using multiple layers of film......each layer degrading the overall resolution of the picture which will be exposed in a transfer mastered at 2 k let alone 4K(Hence the reason why Lucas replaced a lot of those shots for the special editions).

They may not look as super clean or pristine as modern day digital composites, but in a way that's part of the charm, and it hasn't hurt blu ray releases of other older classics that used some of the same special effects procedures. Besides, and I might be wrong, but didn't the original effects shots use Vista Vision cameras to reduce excess grain buildup and loss of quality?

And from what I've read, I think many of the special edition shots were originally done in 2K and even basic 1080p, which means that the original shots would actually benefit better from a 4K scan regardless of some fairly visible matte lines. In a weird way, that's actually somewhat ironic if you think about it.

[IndefinentBlu]

Originally Posted by Guydowood

******BREAKING RELEASE NEWS*************************


UPDATE: The most anticipated Blu-ray release ever -- the Star Wars Saga -- emerges from light speed on September 16, 2011!

from starwars.com

This is good news guys this jumped from the 27th to the 16th they obviously are confident in their conversions of each movie to release this early.

[PeterTHX]

Originally Posted by Geoff D

I'd love to have a proper archival edition. But it'd be great if they put just as much emphasis on sound as well as picture, preserving each of the original release mixes (mono, Dolby Stereo, 70mm 6-track mag) as well as the 'final' home video mixes done for the Definitive Collection LDs (which still sound absolutely STUNNING and piss all over the DVDs from a great height).

Strongly disagree. Mixing choices aside (score levels & L&R) the imaging of the Dolby EX DVDs thrash the weaker LDs.

[chip75]

Originally Posted by OG Pooh

What I don't understand is why Ben & Yoda decided to wait for Luke to go after Vader & Palpatine....

Because Jedi wouldn't have finished in a neat little package if Obi-Wan was been Force Lightning'd by Palpatine. Vader would have watched him fry then peed lubricant on his charred remains.

Prophecy my backside. I hate all mention of 'the chosen one' or 'prophecies' and they should be edited out. Obi-wan and Yoda were too crusty to defeat anyone, their use of the Force was severly diminished over the years all they could do was offer a guiding hand. They needed the rebellion and they needed unrest for their plan to take affect.

Which might make Leia stronger perhaps she had Palpatine levels of manipulation?

[chip75]

Originally Posted by PeterTHX

Strongly disagree. Mixing choices aside (score levels & L&R) the imaging of the Dolby EX DVDs thrash the weaker LDs.

Star Wars only comes out as a DD5.1 track on my amp all the rest DDEX6.1. Anyone have the same problem with their UK discs?

[JamesKurtovich]

Originally Posted by Shaft Windu

I have to totally agree with Shelldweller in this case. All these cuts that have been released of the "Blade Runner".. Theatrical, Final Cut, Director's Cut, Workprint and whatnot!? Are you kiddin' me? Can't Ridley Scott decide which Cut he prefers? And why is it okay to release both Theatrical AND Extended Versions of "Lord of the Rings" on Blu-Ray AGAIN - and seperately!? How many times am I supposed to buy the same movie?

Lucas isn't that weak and undecided or that greedy. The upcoming Blu-Ray release of the compete Saga is a lean and mean set that is affortable and contains the latest versions of the movies.

If you want to indulge yourselves in nostalgia, why do you demand the "old" versions on "Blu-Ray"? VHS is much more nostalgic experience...

Scott probably realizes that some people prefer the Final Cut and some prefer the theatrical version and he wants both of those groups to enjoy his release... I think more than 2 is excessive... The theatrical and the updated one is fine. Besides aren't these two versions of Blade Runner very different? One of them changes Ford's character. Not sure though... been a while since I saw it.

I know for a fact that LOTR needs to have both versions available to people because about half prefer TE and the other half prefer the EE. And most just like having the option to choose anyway. They're not the same.

I personally don't mind the small necessary changes Lucas made, it's the big ones that make the SE's hard to watch (CG Jabba, Greedo, Jedi Rocks) and since Lucas doesn't seem to know the difference it's best to watch the unaltered versions.

I can't wait for an actual trailer for this set so we can see if the colors have been fixed.

[ZoetMB]

Originally Posted by Geoff D

Don't get me wrongo, I'd love to have a proper archival edition. But it'd be great if they put just as much emphasis on sound as well as picture, preserving each of the original release mixes (mono, Dolby Stereo, 70mm 6-track mag) as well as the 'final' home video mixes done for the Definitive Collection LDs (which still sound absolutely STUNNING and piss all over the DVDs from a great height).

And how would one play the 70mm 6-track mix at home? That's five channels across the front with channels 2 and 4 dedicated only to low frequencies. Plus they only had mono surround. No one is going to want that. And no one is going to want a mono mix either, because almost no attention was paid to it. Taking the original 6-track and remixing that into 5.1 (and possibly 7.1, although I really have to wonder how many people actually have 7.1) is the way to go. I really don't see why anyone would want to hear anything else. (Obviously I'm talking about the OT here.)

[PUsokrJosh305]

Originally Posted by chip75

Because Jedi wouldn't have finished in a neat little package if Obi-Wan was been Force Lightning'd by Palpatine. Vader would have watched him fry then peed lubricant on his charred remains.

Prophecy my backside. I hate all mention of 'the chosen one' or 'prophecies' and they should be edited out. Obi-wan and Yoda were too crusty to defeat anyone, their use of the Force was severly diminished over the years all they could do was offer a guiding hand. They needed the rebellion and they needed unrest for their plan to take affect.

The mention of the prophecy was a joke...guess you didn't get it

[OG Pooh]

Originally Posted by chip75

Because Jedi wouldn't have finished in a neat little package if Obi-Wan was been Force Lightning'd by Palpatine. Vader would have watched him fry then peed lubricant on his charred remains.

Prophecy my backside. I hate all mention of 'the chosen one' or 'prophecies' and they should be edited out. Obi-wan and Yoda were too crusty to defeat anyone, their use of the Force was severly diminished over the years all they could do was offer a guiding hand. They needed the rebellion and they needed unrest for their plan to take affect.

What I'm saying is why didn't they go after Vader & Palpatine way before Luke's time? They were more prepared to do so than Luke ever was. They ran, hid & later sent a severely undertrained, uninformed kid to do their dirty work. Dirty work that ONLY got done because one of the bad guys turned against the other. I guess it's Anakin's way to turn on an ally during battle. Their plan was a bad one that did fail. Only Vader's unforseen turn changed the outcome.

[DarknessBDJM]

Originally Posted by shelldweller

I´m not a big fan of multiple versions of one movie being released at the same time ...it´s like the filmmaker can´t decide on which version of his own movie is the best or official one to him. I don´t see the point. If a filmmaker manages to make the final cut why should the subsequent versions be released? Audiences should not be able to decide between versions.
In the case of Star Wars especially it doesn´t really make sense to me. There is no extended and theatrical cut but an abandoned and an almost finished cut.

Freedom of choice is a good thing (especially in a case like this), directors' minds change and they will forget why they did certain things in the first place, they are not infallible. In this case the SW cgi of the late 90's re-releases looks laughable compared to today's tech and cannot hold up to the animatronics, puppets and models of the 70's.

[IndefinentBlu]

Originally Posted by OG Pooh

What I'm saying is why didn't they go after Vader & Palpatine way before Luke's time? They were more prepared to do so than Luke ever was. They ran, hid & later sent a severely undertrained kid to do their dirty work. Dirty work that ONLY got done because one of the bad guys turned against the other. I guess it's Anakin's way to turn on an ally during battle.

First off there was the massing army of clone troopers plus all of the clones that where on Kamino. Palpatine weakened the jedi from within he did not attack the jedi head on as so many failed sith before him have done. He planned this sham of a war to weaken their numbers so when the time came he would strike. He knew what he was doing plus it could be assumed that not all jedi survived and, besides Vader went on a jedi killing spree during the time between EP3 and EP4.

[Gold Ranger]

No matter what, Vader and Palpatine would be dead by the end of Jedi.
Luke is the most useless Jedi ever!
Except for freeing Han (and he couldn't do that without help) he did NOTHING in Jedi.

The Rebels still would have blown up the Death Star, thereby killing Palpatine & Vader.
Only thing Luke did was turn Vader back into Anakin.

I for one say that if Yoda went after Anakin, Ani would be dead.
If Obi-Wan went after Palpatine, Palpatine would be dead.

The chose the wrong people to go after...

[danny_boy]

Originally Posted by kamphausd1

They may not look as super clean or pristine as modern day digital composites, but in a way that's part of the charm, and it hasn't hurt blu ray releases of other older classics that used some of the same special effects procedures. Besides, and I might be wrong, but didn't the original effects shots use Vista Vision cameras to reduce excess grain buildup and loss of quality?

And from what I've read, I think many of the special edition shots were originally done in 2K and even basic 1080p, which means that the original shots would actually benefit better from a 4K scan regardless of some fairly visible matte lines. In a weird way, that's actually somewhat ironic if you think about it.

Indeed!
Those are good points about the use of vistavision.
And I agree ,seeing the matte lines and the optical composites in all their unadulterated quality is part of the charm.
When Star Wars was released in 77' all (some)people had were 1st generation VHS machines and crude color/black and white/mono TV's. Seeing a film in 35mm or 70mm was always going to blow people's minds back then because they were so used to watching inferior quality at home.
The situation is different now.

[kamphausd1]

Originally Posted by Shaft Windu

If you want to indulge yourselves in nostalgia, why do you demand the "old" versions on "Blu-Ray"? VHS is much more nostalgic experience...

Who the hell want's to watch moldy and deteriorating VHS tapes in this day and age (especially when the picture is usually cropped)? The name of the website is bluray.com, not VHS.com. And one of the great things about blu ray is the ability to give the consumer the choice between different versions and present older classics in the highest quality possible and give you a representation of what the film looked like originally. Star Wars and it's 2 sequels should not be excluded from that.

[Geoff D]

Originally Posted by ZoetMB

And how would one play the 70mm 6-track mix at home? That's five channels across the front with channels 2 and 4 dedicated only to low frequencies. Plus they only had mono surround. No one is going to want that. And no one is going to want a mono mix either, because almost no attention was paid to it. Taking the original 6-track and remixing that into 5.1 (and possibly 7.1, although I really have to wonder how many people actually have 7.1) is the way to go. I really don't see why anyone would want to hear anything else. (Obviously I'm talking about the OT here.)

Because it's historical, man. Tracking the progess of Star Wars' original sound is just as important to me as the picture. Yes, the 70mm spread would need to be reconfigured for home use but it really should be preserved somehow.

It amazes me how people can argue so vociferously for unaltered visuals but just don't give a **** about the sound. No doubt folks would want a 5.1 mix to go with their unaltered visuals, never mind the fact that the OT didn't get conventional 5.1 until the dreaded 1997 SE's.

Originally Posted by kamphausd1

And from what I've read, I think many of the special edition shots were originally done in 2K and even basic 1080p, which means that the original shots would actually benefit better from a 4K scan regardless of some fairly visible matte lines. In a weird way, that's actually somewhat ironic if you think about it.

Sure. But much of the CG work done over the last 25-odd years has been rendered at 2K, which is what makes me laugh so much when people start ragging on Lucas for building obsolescence into Episodes II and III. And maybe it's just me, but folk seem to talk about Lucas & HD like he's the only one who's nobbled his movies for future use. I wonder if they're as passionate about this issue in threads about certain films by Robert Rodriguez or Michael Mann?

Originally Posted by Kinetic_Blue

All that needs to be fixed with this scene is make Han "walk" farther back behind Jabba so it doesn't look so terrible. Plus you really think Jabba'd let somone walk on them and not get something broken....?

Ah, but look at Jabba's reaction (2004 version). When Han treads on his tail, Jabba cocks his right fist as if he's about to smack Han in the mouth. But then Han starts sweet-talking Jabba, about paying him back with a little extra on top, and the Hutt relaxes, quickly glancing at his fist as he lowers it. Compare that to the crappy '97 version, which displays a look of mild surprise and then shakes its head a little. Most people are probably too busy rolling their eyes to notice the subtlety of the new animation.

It's still not quite there, though. If ILM could tune up the colour of the Jabba model, and the sound people change the voice to the more authentic version heard in the Clone Wars cartoon, that'd suit me just fine.

[octagon]

Originally Posted by Shaft Windu

And why is it okay to release both Theatrical AND Extended Versions of "Lord of the Rings" on Blu-Ray AGAIN - and seperately!? How many times am I supposed to buy the same movie?

How many times you buy the same movie is up to you.

A lot of people like the theatrical cuts. A lot of people like the extended cuts.

Why is catering to both those groups a bad thing?

[PeterTHX]

Originally Posted by chip75

Star Wars only comes out as a DD5.1 track on my amp all the rest DDEX6.1. Anyone have the same problem with their UK discs?

Several discs were mis-flagged.

All Star Wars Episodes I-VI were mixed/remixed for Dolby EX (THX Surround EX), so on the mis-flagged ones you have to manually set the mode to get the proper mix.

[IndefinentBlu]

Originally Posted by octagon

How many times you buy the same movie is up to you.

A lot of people like the theatrical cuts. A lot of people like the extended cuts.

Why is catering to both those groups a bad thing?

You think that is bad wait till about christmas time when they release individual digibook versions of the trilogies.