Star Wars: The Complete Saga (1977-2005)

[iamsometal]

My Blockbuster has all the films for rent and purchase. Since I'm a Combo member already, i rented Ep. 3 and 4 first (i'll rent Ep.'s 5 and 6 tomorrow, and no one can ever get me to actually sit down and watch Ep.'s 1 and 2, ever). If you are a PT fan, EP. 3 will blow you away. Looks and sounds incredible. The film itself makes me want to claw my own eyes out, but the PQ/AQ is absolutely top notch. The level of detail and clarity, the color balance, the black levels, shadow detail, it's all 5/5. Same goes for the sound, just insane levels of quality in every aspect. I only watched the first 30 minutes, but from what i can tell, it's the technical star of the set. So, if you can tolerate the prequels, you'll most likely enjoy this disc the most. Demo-worthy material. Just skip any parts when people talk and you'll be fine.

Now, as far as Ep. 4 goes, it does look fantastic, but still has similar issues that the dvd's had, mainly in terms of color saturation (and all the unnecessary SE crap and additional changes). Lips still appear to be purple in a few shots, blues are still really over-saturated. That's about my only PQ niggle. Detail is very impressive, there's an ever so-faint layer of grain, and honestly, i expected heavier grain. So i think the image is somewhat scrubbed, but not enough to take away a noticeable amount of detail. You can still make out individual beard whiskers on Alec Guiness's face. OH, and the lightsabers all pretty much looked fantastic in ANH. They all have hot, white cores. I'm bummed that they look so good in ANH, but apparently completely inconsistent in ESB and ROTJ. Overall, if you can tolerate the changes made (yes, Ben's Boga call is really that aweful, sounds like a frat kid getting his nob polished by a coed, Greedo still shoots at Han and it looks totally awkward, but happens much faster in this version, ALL of the CGI additions stick out like sore thumbs amongst the higher resolution, and that rock over R2-D2 is just a stupid here one minute, gone the next addition), you will go nuts for ANH's PQ. The sound? Oh man, if that dreadful new Boga-frat-douche sound wasn't in there, i could honestly say this is one of the best catalogue audio treatments i've ever heard. Jaw-dropping, ear-popping stuff. My only complaint is that the music is still a little too buried under the sound effects, especially in the attack on the Death Star sequence. If you're buying this set (i'm still not), you'll go nuts for this disc. I'm quite happy with the, um, other versions i currently have.

[El_Jay]

You know, with time and proper reflection... Darth's NOOOOOOOOO won't really ruin anything for me.

Mainly because the change I hate the most, even a little more than Hayden in Jedi, is the "Jedi Rocks" song, and that has been around for aaaaages. The song itself is bad, it alters the tone of the scene completely, the (dated) CGI characters break the 4th wall by looking at the cameras...

Anyway, since I was able to get "used" to that change, accepting the NOOOO or blinking Ewoks is a much easier pill to swallow.

Wondering when I should go pick this up Friday. Right at 10 AM when things open I suspect a nerdling horde at the retail outlets, and lunch time may be similar. I'll try and sneak in sometime between those 2 rushes.

I expect this to actually have people lining up. When it comes to Star Wars, never underestimate the Power of the Forc- er... Dollar.

[Uxi]

Originally Posted by Dynamo of Eternia

Lapti Nek wasn't anything spectacular, I'll agree. But it was more subtle. There were a few shots of the band playing, etc, but it was otherwise more of something going on in the background while everything else was happening, and not something where the whole plot of the movie just stops specifically because of it.

Gaudy seems more Jabba's style than subtle but that's an entirely separate issue from the SFX being laughably bad on Sy Snoodles.

[Pure-Evil]

Originally Posted by Jason520C

Anakin was 9 and Padme was 15 (I believe, maybe 14) in TPM."

Anakin was 19 and Padme was 24-25 in AotC.

So you have a ~6 year difference. Little Anakin isn't even in puberty yet, or at least just started. Padme's been through with puberty, probably nearly done with it. Her looks won't change THAT drastically in those 10 years, but Anakin's looks will because he went through puberty, which explains his drastic changes in looks.

ok. well i guess that could make sense...but isn't it creepy as HELL that she goes from taking care of him like her own child calling him cute little kid etc kinda stuff in one movie to rolling around in the grass getting it on not long after? i mean...i realize there was already the plot/hint incest with Luke & Leia.... but this just felt much much worse.

honestly, i think the first movies luke & leia were supposed to get it on...but then someone changed their minds and decided that they would be brother/sister....not really thinking "oh shiit" we had them kissing recently. i was shocked even as a kid that this was not a big deal to anyone....

like i said...the whole Anakin thing with Padme felt even creepier to me

I think the thing I was most pissed off about was that they took my all time favourite movie trilogy from my childhood (born in 1972 btw) and then released what is to me 3 of the worst POS movies ever and damned near destroyed the Star Wars name forever. I had such high hopes and I was in line for each release at midnight..even after the first one....thinking that the next couldn't POSSIBLY be any worse but yes...they got even worse.

JarJar made my head hurt and absolutely destroyed the movie completely....I mean come on...a fish looking ant eater looking creature with a Jamaican accent and a bad stutter? WTF was ANYONE associated to this movie thinking?

for me though...one of the worst calls anyone made was allowing that assclown (and yes i know he's Canadian...much to my dismay) Christian to actually wear the Darth Vader outfit. Vader was like 6 10" and he can't be any taller than 5 10"??? WTF?

The 3 movies were just aweful...no other way to put it. too bad...they could have been incredible, but like so many other movies (Avatar for one example) they relied on CGI instead of good old fashioned competent actors, story line, and character development.

[El_Jay]

Originally Posted by KubrickFan

Oh, by the way, Lucas redid the Han vs. Greedo again:

Han Shot Last - YouTube

Looks much better to me .

That is even better than "Trash Compactor Shot First" or "Control Panel Shot First".

[El_Jay]

Originally Posted by Uxi

Gaudy seems more Jabba's style than subtle but that's an entirely separate issue from the SFX being laughably bad on Sy Snoodles.

Gaudy may be more his style but there's no denying that scene sticks out like a very sore thumb. Not only is the CGI dated, but it comes from nowhere and just (as another user mentioned) stops the entire scene to have this musical number. It's jarring. It doesn't help that the song itself is just totally awful and the stupid CGI characters look at the camera and break the 4th wall.

It's most obvious when the song ends, because the tonal shift is so jarring. All the sudden it's Jabba's dingy, sinister palace again and you're like... wtf did I just see?

It's just so, so bad. It adds nothing, and detracts significantly. If Lucas is in the business of cleaning things up to make them more current, he should start by just removing that whole scene entirely, because the CGI is even more dated than the song.

[iamsometal]

Originally Posted by El_Jay

That is even better than "Trash Compactor Shot First" or "Control Panel Shot First".

+1, such an improvement!

[ryan4blu]

Originally Posted by Pure-Evil

ok. well i guess that could make sense...but isn't it creepy as HELL that she goes from taking care of him like her own child calling him cute little kid etc kinda stuff in one movie to rolling around in the grass getting it on not long after? i mean...i realize there was already the plot/hint incest with Luke & Leia.... but this just felt much much worse.

honestly, i think the first movies luke & leia were supposed to get it on...but then someone changed their minds and decided that they would be brother/sister....not really thinking "oh shiit" we had them kissing recently. i was shocked even as a kid that this was not a big deal to anyone....

like i said...the whole Anakin thing with Padme felt even creepier to me

I think the thing I was most pissed off about was that they took my all time favourite movie trilogy from my childhood (born in 1972 btw) and then released what is to me 3 of the worst POS movies ever and damned near destroyed the Star Wars name forever. I had such high hopes and I was in line for each release at midnight..even after the first one....thinking that the next couldn't POSSIBLY be any worse but yes...they got even worse.

JarJar made my head hurt and absolutely destroyed the movie completely....I mean come on...a fish looking ant eater looking creature with a Jamaican accent and a bad stutter? WTF was ANYONE associated to this movie thinking?

for me though...one of the worst calls anyone made was allowing that assclown (and yes i know he's Canadian...much to my dismay) Christian to actually wear the Darth Vader outfit. Vader was like 6 10" and he can't be any taller than 5 10"??? WTF?

The 3 movies were just aweful...no other way to put it. too bad...they could have been incredible, but like so many other movies (Avatar for one example) they relied on CGI instead of good old fashioned competent actors, story line, and character development.

you have to remember that the luke and leia kiss was innocent, she always had an interest in han. even with their attitudes towards each other, it was all innocent. i dont think they intended to make it a incest scene

i think george had it all planned out anyways, he always knew how he wanted the story to go. i think it was more of leia making han jealous and that she had feelings for him. remember their little tiff in the hallways of the rebel base...

just my 2 cents

[RuttedCatfish]

Originally Posted by blarneyrubble

He was right, you were wrong. Why do people think it is alright to speak to salespeople like this. The customer is not always right; in fact most of the time they are a&$ho%3s. He was just doing his job and you threw a temper tantrum.

All you showed him was that at your age you still act like a 10 year old when you don't get your way.

no because I was going to buy it for 100 until he became a smarta$$ about 3 days early. He was the store manager and oh did I say he said it was 100 dollars because it was bluray not dvd.

He was technically wrong anyway for having it out early. I had no problem with the price it and not being able to price match I do understand policy but when he became smart about it just to be smart thats when I had the issue.

Your 100 percent right the customer isn't always right, I'm a CSR so I know how customers can be. Maybe you should know the whole story before you comment.

I asked if he could price match Best Buy and instead of being respectful to the customer and saying sorry we can't do that and at that time I would have handed him my bank card he responded nope your lucky we have it out 3 days early thats when I called him a smarta$$ and will take my money elsewhere.

Blockbuster is sending me out a 50 dollar gift card becuase of the incident and said they will be taking reprimand on him for releasing the product early and he deserves it. I never once got out of line with him asked a simple question. In fact I'll take heat for saying this but I hope they fire him. You dont need to be in customer service if you can't treat the customer with respect

[Jay444]

Originally Posted by ryan4blu

you have to remember that the luke and leia kiss was innocent, she always had an interest in han. even with their attitudes towards each other, it was all innocent. i dont think they intended to make it a incest scene

i think george had it all planned out anyways, he always knew how he wanted the story to go. i think it was more of leia making han jealous and that she had feelings for him. remember their little tiff in the hallways of the rebel base...

just my 2 cents

Lucas will change that scene in Empire for the 3D release as it is clearly too subtle and being subtle doesn't work in Star Wars. Leia will now say "I did that to make you Jealous!" as she storms out of the medical bay followed by a new CGI solo saying: "No! Nooooooooo!" during the Luke and Liea kiss. Fact.

[iamsometal]

Originally Posted by ryan4blu

you have to remember that the luke and leia kiss was innocent, she always had an interest in han. even with their attitudes towards each other, it was all innocent. i dont think they intended to make it a incest scene

i think george had it all planned out anyways, he always knew how he wanted the story to go. i think it was more of leia making han jealous and that she had feelings for him. remember their little tiff in the hallways of the rebel base...

just my 2 cents

Luke and Leia had to have their "Back to the Future" moment, when they both get that "kissing you was like kissing my brother/sister" feeling. Though Luke reacted a little too... pleased. Hmm, i dunno about Luke in that scene now. But yeah, it was purely out of Leia's intention to piss of Han and make him jealous.

[spidey0115]

Still waiting for my amazon status to turn to shipping soon. Sigh.

[rubystone356]

I wonder if the people that are against the changes in the movie.. didnt beleive darth when he said that he was luke's father in empire strikes back.

Jacob

[El_Jay]

Originally Posted by Jay444

Lucas will change that scene in Empire for the 3D release as it is clearly too subtle and being subtle doesn't work in Star Wars. Leia will now say "I did that to make you Jealous!" as she storms out of the medical bay followed by a new CGI solo saying: "No! Nooooooooo!" during the Luke and Liea kiss. Fact.

I half-expect future releases of this to have sort of a "Pop-Up Video" feature that can't be disabled, so during that scene it pops up a little factoid: "Leia kisses Luke to make Han jealous". During the Greedo scene: "I didn't want to use puppets but CGI didn't exist in 1977. Sorry! "

[Shaft Windu]

Originally Posted by Dynamo of Eternia

In Episode IV, we have Obi Wan explaining the force and everything to Luke. We see Luke learning, and we are learning my extension. But Episode 1 sort of "hits the ground running". There's really no explanation about who or what the Jedi are, how the force works, or anything like that. We just see 2 Jedi in action almost immediately after the start of the film. The only thing that we do get is an explanation about the midichlorians, but otherwise everything else we are assumed to already know. And granted, 99.9% of people who went to see Episode 1 in the theater did already know this info. None the less, if Lucas's intention was for future generations to watch and discover these movies in the order of 1-6, and by the sheer virtue that this is meant to be the first in a 6-episode story, there really should have been some kind of equivelant introduction to the concept of the Jedi and the force.

This proves that you don't give both trilogies the same chance. From an objective standpoint you could argue that the explanations of the force in later episodes "destroy" the magic and mystery of the first three episodes where the jedi just do this amazing stuff - just like some people argue that the midiclorians do just that... I don't share any of those views.

With the symbolism I'm not just talking about the obvious things (Anakin/Lukes hand; Gungens/Ewoks; Droid-control-ship/Death Star; "This is where the fun begins!" by Anakin/Han; "I have a bad feeling about this"; Qui Gons/Bens death, etc. etc.) but rather the jedi-council as representation of the zodiac, the importance of the anima and shadow-archetypes in the two trilogies; the development and foreshadowing of themes like the dark side in Dooku or the cyborg-idea with Grievous; the various grades of dogmatism and dictatorship (even the jedi are dogmatic); the distinction between the living force and fate; the allusions to Kurosawa, Flash Gordon, Gunga-Din, The Searchers, Forbidden Planet, THX-1138, Shakespeare, world-mythology...

Just think about the grand structure that only reveals itself after watching all the movies: In the PT the jedi dominate the sith (in each new episode one new Sith is introduced) - In the OT the sith dominate the jedi (in each new episode one new jedi is introduced)... This reveals pairs of antagonists with different levels of complexity:

Darth Maul (E1) - Obi Wan (E4)
evil vs good. there is no common ground between them. There is no other solution other than one killing the other.

Darth Tyranus (E2) - Yoda (E5)
aprentice vs master. closer connection. there is new theme to cross to the dark side. from here stems Yodas opinion "Once you start down the dark path, FOREVER will it dominate your destiny."

Darth Vader (E3) - Luke (E6)
father vs son. closest connection. there is the new theme to bring someone back from the dark side. That's the wisdom of Luke against the teachings of Yoda. It's weakened without the PT in mind.

[bboisvert]

Originally Posted by ryan4blu

i think george had it all planned out anyways, he always knew how he wanted the story to go.

Absolutely, demonstrably false.

http://www.amazon.com/Secret-History.../dp/0978465237

[HD Goofnut]

Originally Posted by spidey0115

Still waiting for my amazon status to turn to shipping soon. Sigh.

Mine too and since expected delivery is not for another 9 days I imagine it will not ship until the end of this week.

[PUsokrJosh305]

Just got my e-mail from amazon saying The Complete Saga has shipped and will be here on the 16th!!!

[PeterTHX]

Originally Posted by bboisvert

Absolutely, demonstrably false.

Secret-History-Star-Wars

Would people stop linking to that debunked "book"?

The Blu-rays themselves show the trilogy was mastered in better than "1.9k"

[spidey0115]

Originally Posted by HD Goofnut

Mine too and since expected delivery is not for another 9 days I imagine it will not ship until the end of this week.

My expected delivery is Friday. Hope it changes soon