Star Wars: The Complete Saga (1977-2005)

[chip75]

Originally Posted by Geoff D

If by "wow factor" you mean horribly overblown colour, boosted contrast and obvious artefacts relating to Lowry's tinkering, then no, Indy did not have the "wow factor" of the OT DVDs - and thank **** for that.

The upcoming Indy Blu-rays will destroy the OT Blu-rays for picture quality. Brand new 4K scans vs. 8-year-old HD transfers, there's no contest.

For me at least Indiana Jones has always been presented very well, the VHS tapes were great in pan and scan and widescreen but due to their quality I didn't have the 'wow' factor when they were released on DVD, I'm not saying they were poor quality DVD's (although the DVD's aren't highly regarded in some circles), it's just when Star Wars made the jump to DVD (with all the problems that have been mentioned) there seemed to be a huge leap in quality (although having only experienced pan and scan versions and widescreen TV broadcasts might be the reason for my opinion).

As you said the Indy BD's if done properly should be superb (as would new scans of the original trilogy).

[kamphausd1]

Originally Posted by miniroll32

Let's not forget though that around this exact same period, MGM had sent the James Bond films to Lowry for restoration, and you only have to see those spectacular efforts to understand that the state of the Star Wars films is nothing to do with old technology, but rather the parameters that Lucasfilm chose.

And I think right around that same time, the original King Kong also received a 4k restoration for it's then-long awaited DVD debut (which was polished and made to look even better for it's release on blu ray).

[NYorker]

Originally Posted by Stinky-Dinkins

Topher Grace recently took the three Prequel films and edited them to create one movie to create a better, more cohesive film. It was a private screening for friends and Hollywood insiders, apparently. I had no idea but I heard it on the news driving into work and thought it was interesting. How he managed to harvest 85 minutes of decent stuff from the prequels, I have no idea. He cut out Jake Lloyd and Jar Jar completely, hahaha.

Slash Film was there and did a rundown.



In other news Topher Grace just debuted on Lucas' shit list.

For that alone, Topher Grace deserves an Oscar for film editing...

[HeavyHitter]

Originally Posted by Geoff D

If by "wow factor" you mean horribly overblown colour, boosted contrast and obvious artefacts relating to Lowry's tinkering, then no, Indy did not have the "wow factor" of the OT DVDs - and thank **** for that.

The upcoming Indy Blu-rays will destroy the OT Blu-rays for picture quality. Brand new 4K scans vs. 8-year-old HD transfers, there's no contest.

Totally agree.

[Geoff D]

Originally Posted by miniroll32

It's sad that Lowry take a lot of flack for the 2003/4 transfers, because they simply work to what the customer wants. Within the ridiculous time-frame that Lucasfilm gave them and the obvious 'artistic choices' (facepalm) that altered the films looks, then they did an OK job.

Let's not forget though that around this exact same period, MGM had sent the James Bond films to Lowry for restoration, and you only have to see those spectacular efforts to understand that the state of the Star Wars films is nothing to do with old technology, but rather the parameters that Lucasfilm chose. A 2K scan was likely cheaper, faster, and only reiterates that if you shoved a rock up Lucas's fat arse, he could turn it into a diamond.

I don't blame Lowry for the wonky colour, contrast etc, as that stuff's down to Lucasfilm, always was. But what I do blame Lowry for is their 'wonderful' algorithms leaving vast swathes of frozen grain all over the place. I could clearly see it on the Star Wars DVDs (other folks probably mistook it for a compression artefact) but it's horribly obvious on the Blu-rays. And it's funny you should mention the Bond remasters, because they also exhibit this exact same artefact to varying degrees. Moonraker is particularly bad.

[Grim Reaper]

Darth Malgnificent: Seven-foot Star Wars figure is awesome, expensive

http://www.yahoo.com



Remember all those Star Wars action figures you collected as a kid?

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The replica, created by Sideshow Collectibles, includes a light-up lightsaber, LED lights in the chest, collar and wrist gauntlets, and a fabric hood. The power of the dark side? That costs extra.

So if you need a centerpiece for your Sith temple, have an enormous quantity of papers you need weighted, or are just looking for a good way to keep the cats living in abject terror, start saving your pennies. Malgus ships out in July.

[The Dragon]

Originally Posted by NYorker

For that alone, Topher Grace deserves an Oscar for film editing...

[RudyC]

i decided to put the OT blurays in the closet...

i got the theatrical versions from the dvd boxset and put those in my bluray boxset instead..
im going to lose big in picture quality but i just couldnt bear all the changes anymore. he changed sooo much stuff!

[PeterTHX]

Originally Posted by RudyC

i decided to put the OT blurays in the closet...

i got the theatrical versions from the dvd boxset and put those in my bluray boxset instead..
im going to lose big in picture quality but i just couldnt bear all the changes anymore. he changed sooo much stuff!

Yeah. The stories are different. The music is different. The performances are different.

[svenge]

Originally Posted by PeterTHX

Yeah. The stories are different. The music is different. The performances are different.

Yeah, except for killing the mood at the pivotal point of the entire trilogy (i.e. Vader throwing Palpatine down the shaft), and then having a ham-fisted digital replacement during the primary closing shot of ROTJ, inserting the one actor [Jar-Jar doesn't count because that's a full CG character] who most signifies the downward spiral of the entire franchise since 1997...

[miniroll32]

For myself, it is the 1997 S.E releases that I find most watchable. The way I look at it is that if you're going to put up with any of the S.E's, then these are the most enjoyable.

OK, so I'm probably biased as I watched them in a theatre and was blown away, but there are plenty of positives to be taken. I've always felt that the 2004 and 2011 changes were even more unnecessary than the 1997 counterparts - almost as if Lucas was just making changes for the sake of doing so. That's not to say that everyone should like the original S.E's, but heck, at least those changes were actually made to provide a new experience rather than pointless tinkering.

I also like the fact that those 1997's transfers do not look overly processed. Obviously the restoration techniques were entirely primitive compared to the 2004 efforts, but they do look more 'filmic'. This is probably helped by the fact that the films were colour timed against surviving Technicolor prints, which is why they have that 'warm' look. In comparison, the 2004 restoration gave the films a whole new look and feel.

Obviously the definition of the Blu-ray is a no brainer if I was going to watch these films, but I still kept my 1997 VHS's to look back on. I guess not a lot of people remember them, but it was a very exciting time when these films were re-released, and for the minority that did scorn at the changes, a whole new generation of youngsters (sorry, younglings!) and adults were able to see these films for the first time. For them, the S.E's were the original Star Wars.

It's a really interesting debate. In my perfect world, the Star Wars release would contain the Original film and the 1997 S.E branched on one disc, a second disc for the 2011 version, and a third disc for bonus content.

I live in hope

[Cobra33]

i remember before the special editions in 1997 were released on videotape, we used to have to rent star wars movie (origina versions) from the library, the oold tapes. then the 1997 videos came and as a kid i watched them all the time. then came the dvd's, and now i own the saga on bluray.

[GDHickey]

Just finished ep4 and I must say, that I've seen it at least 50 times,and it has never looked so good. I think they did an awesome job on it. Will buy the OT,don't care about the PT.......

[budious]

Originally Posted by GDHickey

Just finished ep4 and I must say, that I've seen it at least 50 times,and it has never looked so good. I think they did an awesome job on it. Will buy the OT,don't care about the PT.......

But Greedo still shoots first... film ruined.

I don't see what's so hard to reconstruct the TC from the altered negatives in a digital world using existing prints as reference. Especially when the fan edit community is already doing it themselves. Lucas just wants to be upstaged by amateurs I suppose.

[kamphausd1]

Originally Posted by budious

But Greedo still shoots first... film ruined.

I don't see what's so hard to reconstruct the TC from the altered negatives in a digital world using existing prints as reference. Especially when the fan edit community is already doing it themselves. Lucas just wants to be upstaged by amateurs I suppose.

Yep, it's pretty sad when the tech savvy fans out there show more passion, dedication, and competence towards delivering high quality and preserving the original films than the original filmmaker does.

[Moviefan2k4]

Originally Posted by GDHickey

Just finished ep4 and I must say, that I've seen it at least 50 times,and it has never looked so good. I think they did an awesome job on it. Will buy the OT,don't care about the PT.......

Did you see all the hideous matte boxes around the ships, in the TIE battle after the Death Star escape? That bugs me even more than Luke's still glitching saber on the Falcon.

[boxterduke]

Originally Posted by GDHickey

Just finished ep4 and I must say, that I've seen it at least 50 times,and it has never looked so good. I think they did an awesome job on it. Will buy the OT,don't care about the PT.......

That is true, Ep4 amazed me the most out of the six films. Its PQ is just stunning.

[GDHickey]

I actually was on the lookout for the matting around the Tie fighters,but didn't notice it. I remember it was very obvious on the DVD. One of the many things that looked great to me was the Tattooine scenes when the jawas were taking R2...The rocks for example were so sharp I literally let out a "WOW."

As for the changes,I could do without them,but they really don't wreck the experience for me.

So for myself anyhow,a fantastic watch. It's a rental due back tomorrow,but I need to watch again before it goes back.... Will be a purchase once I can budget it in.....

[Eny-]

7 months after and no decent deal yet :-(

[Magicmonger]

Originally Posted by Eny-

7 months after and no decent deal yet :-(

I agree. I want this soooooo bad. But they are not moving on the 79.99 to 89.99 range.