Star Wars: The Complete Saga (1977-2005)

[FilmEntertainment]

Bought it at Amazon.com for $34.99 w/o tax. Used $20 GC + $5 promo back from when you bought $35+ from Amazon. Only seen the 1st film from the original trilogy. Can't wait to finally see the rest of Stars Wars films.

[Kryptonic]

Originally Posted by HD Goofnut

Tough to beat $10 per movie and then the extra 3 discs for free.

Or you could divide it like a sane person and say a little over $6 per disc.

[Geoff D]

Originally Posted by HeavyHitter

As mentioned, they are passable at best and most certainly upgrades over the DVDs. It's just that with movies like these you would hope for something top notch in quality. I do think the audio is very impressive on them given the source.

Empire does seem to look the best of the three and has more stable color. A New Hope and even Jedi has weird looking skin tones at times.

IMO the audio mixes are waaaay too aggressive, especially on Empire. You say that it has stable colour, but there's some odd pulsing on faces during the early scenes in the rebel control room on Hoth. And, like the other two movies, it's got lots of Lowry's trademark frozen grain, which is painfully obvious across the swathes of icy tundra.

For me, none of the OT scrubs up particularly well on Blu-ray. As you say, these masters are now 10 years old, and it doesn't help that they were hamstrung from the beginning by the rushed Lowry clean-up. At this point I'd be happy with a brand new 4K transfer from the SE negs, let alone an actual restoration of the originals.

Originally Posted by Thomas Guycott

Because he wanted to be "first out the gate" and not have to wait until the technology caught up.

I don't think that Lucas was as short-sighted as people think. Even now, in the midst of this push towards 4K, new films are still routinely finished at 2K, and those that are finished at 4K usually have upscaled VFX shots. So, if they were making the prequels today, a 4K finish would make little sense given that the movies are basically end-to-end VFX showreels, i.e. doing it all at 4K would cost an astronomical amount of money. (The Hobbit movies are being finished at 2K for similar reasons.)

It'll be interesting to see where they go with Abrams' SW sequel in that regard. We already know that it'll be shot on film, in anamorphic (yay!), but I reckon it'll get a 2K finish (like pretty much everything else that wasn't made by Sony ).

[HeavyHitter]

Originally Posted by Geoff D

IMO the audio mixes are waaaay too aggressive, especially on Empire. You say that it has stable colour, but there's some odd pulsing on faces during the early scenes in the rebel control room on Hoth. And, like the other two movies, it's got lots of Lowry's trademark frozen grain, which is painfully obvious across the swathes of icy tundra.

For me, none of the OT scrubs up particularly well on Blu-ray. As you say, these masters are now 10 years old, and it doesn't help that they were hamstrung from the beginning by the rushed Lowry clean-up. At this point I'd be happy with a brand new 4K transfer from the SE negs, let alone an actual restoration of the originals.

Whoa, hang on now. I said Empire had "more stable" color but that was relative to the other two movies and that much is true. There is better consistency comparatively speaking, but I am not claiming its perfect. However, these transfers are not the disasters some have made them out to be either. But, they are definitely below the other movies I mentioned and need a true modern remaster even at 2K with a new scanner and competent technicians.

See, I don't think the audio tracks are too aggressive. I want something aggressive for these. Compared to the original tracks from the 70s and 80s? Perhaps, not sure, but for a new surround mix I think they are good.

[HeavyHitter]

Originally Posted by Geoff D

IMO the audio mixes are waaaay too aggressive, especially on Empire. You say that it has stable colour, but there's some odd pulsing on faces during the early scenes in the rebel control room on Hoth. And, like the other two movies, it's got lots of Lowry's trademark frozen grain, which is painfully obvious across the swathes of icy tundra.

For me, none of the OT scrubs up particularly well on Blu-ray. As you say, these masters are now 10 years old, and it doesn't help that they were hamstrung from the beginning by the rushed Lowry clean-up. At this point I'd be happy with a brand new 4K transfer from the SE negs, let alone an actual restoration of the originals.

Whoa, hang on now. Not sure why you are jumping down my throat (?!). I said Empire had "more stable" color and that was relative to the other two movies and that much is true. (Not boasting here, but I am viewing these on a reference quality display that has been calibrated with a $10,000 laser Jeti spectro instrument). There is better consistency comparatively speaking, but I am not claiming its perfect. However, these transfers are not the disasters some have made them out to be either. But, they are definitely below the other movies I mentioned and need a true modern remaster even at 2K with a new scanner and competent technicians. I see you gave them an 8/10 on your review, but I would put them more around a 6/10.

See, I don't think the audio tracks are too aggressive. I want something aggressive for these. Compared to the original tracks from the 70s and 80s? Perhaps, not sure, but for a new surround mix I think they are good.

[Gold Ranger]

The sound has been neutered. For one, there's no deep bass hum to the Lightsabers anymore.

[ZoetMB]

Originally Posted by Geoff D

Even now, in the midst of this push towards 4K, new films are still routinely finished at 2K, and those that are finished at 4K usually have upscaled VFX shots. So, if they were making the prequels today, a 4K finish would make little sense given that the movies are basically end-to-end VFX showreels, i.e. doing it all at 4K would cost an astronomical amount of money. (The Hobbit movies are being finished at 2K for similar reasons.)

It'll be interesting to see where they go with Abrams' SW sequel in that regard. We already know that it'll be shot on film, in anamorphic (yay!), but I reckon it'll get a 2K finish (like pretty much everything else that wasn't made by Sony ).

Penny wise, pound foolish. It's one thing for a film that has a short theatrical life, is then released on home video, has fair sales for a couple of weeks and then doesn't do much or winds up in the $4 bin. But for films like this which unless they're a complete disaster are going to be selling to generation after generation forever. They should use the highest available technology regardless of the cost because they're going to have to co-exist with films made decades after.

I only watched the BDs once, but I thought the color was pretty damned good. The reds and blues were far more beautifully saturated than even the original 70mm prints, at least as I remember them. And IMO, the sound should be aggressive, as it was in the original 70mm mag presentations. Dolby optical, while far better than Academy Curve mono optical, was pretty sad in comparison to the 6-track mag. Since there weren't that many 70mm prints, most people either heard the film in mono or in Dolby optical matrix.

[Blu-21]

Originally Posted by MacEachaidh

They're passable, but not much more. To my perception ESB is perhaps the best of the bunch, of those shot on film. But these transfers are from the home of THX — not really Lucasfilm walking its talk, is it?

Originally Posted by HeavyHitter

As mentioned, they are passable at best and most certainly upgrades over the DVDs. It's just that with movies like these you would hope for something top notch in quality. I do think the audio is very impressive on them given the source.

Empire does seem to look the best of the three and has more stable color. A New Hope and even Jedi has weird looking skin tones at times.

Fair enough guys, but to me its actually TPM and AOTC that are the most disappointing as far as PQ goes.

[GrandPixel]

Can anyone point me to details why there is an October 2013 re-release? I see the complete saga is $60 right now at amazon and the re-releases are $29 each. I would like to get one set or the other before they go back up. What's the difference??

Thanks!

[JavaJulien]

Originally Posted by GrandPixel

Can anyone point me to details why there is an October 2013 re-release? I see the complete saga is $60 right now at amazon and the re-releases are $29 each. I would like to get one set or the other before they go back up. What's the difference??

Thanks!

The re-releases are simply reprints of the 2011 "trilogy set" only this time they include DVD copies of the films.

To my knowledge, the complete saga contains three bonus discs worth of Extra Content, while the stand alone trilogy only has the Audio Commentaries.

[HeavyHitter]

Originally Posted by Blu-21

Fair enough guys, but to me its actually TPM and AOTC that are the most disappointing as far as PQ goes.

If TPM didn't have DNR, it would have been the most detailed film in all likelihood. However, I still thought it looked pretty solid (still some good detail in many scenes and excellent contrast) and they achieved their goal of having it 'look' like the other two prequels as much as possible.

[GrandPixel]

Originally Posted by JavaJulien

The re-releases are simply reprints of the 2011 "trilogy set" only this time they include DVD copies of the films.

To my knowledge, the complete saga contains three bonus discs worth of Extra Content, while the stand along trilogy only has the Audio Commentaries.

So the video and audio in all sets is identical?

[Gold Ranger]

Originally Posted by JavaJulien

The re-releases are simply reprints of the 2011 "trilogy set" only this time they include DVD copies of the films.

To my knowledge, the complete saga contains three bonus discs worth of Extra Content, while the stand along trilogy only has the Audio Commentaries.

Correct and those DVD's are the SAME altered Versions as the Blu-Ray's not the "original" DVD Versions...

[JavaJulien]

Originally Posted by GrandPixel

So the video and audio in all sets is identical?

Yep.

[thegoat]

Originally Posted by Havok83

One step closer to my $50 limit. I wish there was a coupon or promo that could stack with this

Sign up for an Amazon store card, if you haven't already. They usually offer a $10 credit with sign-up.

[Geoff D]

Originally Posted by HeavyHitter

Whoa, hang on now. Not sure why you are jumping down my throat (?!). I said Empire had "more stable" color and that was relative to the other two movies and that much is true. (Not boasting here, but I am viewing these on a reference quality display that has been calibrated with a $10,000 laser Jeti spectro instrument). There is better consistency comparatively speaking, but I am not claiming its perfect. However, these transfers are not the disasters some have made them out to be either. But, they are definitely below the other movies I mentioned and need a true modern remaster even at 2K with a new scanner and competent technicians. I see you gave them an 8/10 on your review, but I would put them more around a 6/10.

See, I don't think the audio tracks are too aggressive. I want something aggressive for these. Compared to the original tracks from the 70s and 80s? Perhaps, not sure, but for a new surround mix I think they are good.

Easy tiger. I wasn't jumping down anyone's throat, just responding to your post. I said it was a "charitable 8 out of 10" for PQ in my TDF review, in which I noted all of the things I mentioned above and more. The colour does have broader consistency in Empire than in the other two, but, as you say, it's not perfect, which is the point I was trying to make above.

And yeah, I want some aggressive sound for these movies, but they're too overblown IMO, particularly in the case of Empire which sounds strained and even a little harsh to my ears.

Originally Posted by ZoetMB

Penny wise, pound foolish. It's one thing for a film that has a short theatrical life, is then released on home video, has fair sales for a couple of weeks and then doesn't do much or winds up in the $4 bin. But for films like this which unless they're a complete disaster are going to be selling to generation after generation forever. They should use the highest available technology regardless of the cost because they're going to have to co-exist with films made decades after.

Don't tell me, tell the powers that be. Heck, a 2.8K camera has become a weapon of choice for many filmmakers at this point in time. (Though it must be said that spatial resolution is not the be-all and end-all...)

I only watched the BDs once, but I thought the color was pretty damned good. The reds and blues were far more beautifully saturated than even the original 70mm prints, at least as I remember them. And IMO, the sound should be aggressive, as it was in the original 70mm mag presentations. Dolby optical, while far better than Academy Curve mono optical, was pretty sad in comparison to the 6-track mag. Since there weren't that many 70mm prints, most people either heard the film in mono or in Dolby optical matrix.

Yeah, there's a great deal of saturation; too much, maybe. The BD colour is somewhat uneven, especially with the skin tones.

[Havok83]

Originally Posted by thegoat

Sign up for an Amazon store card, if you haven't already. They usually offer a $10 credit with sign-up.

Thanks but I don't need to add another credit card. $10 is not enough incentive to do so either

[#Darren]

The Complete Saga set will soon be obsolete.

[rickah88]

Originally Posted by #Darren

The Complete Saga set will soon be obsolete.

Not to this fan it won't. Keep making more films, I say...I'll get the next "complete" set, and the next, and the next.

[GrandPixel]

Originally Posted by #Darren

The Complete Saga set will soon be obsolete.

Can you expound on this?