Star Wars: The Complete Saga (1977-2005)

[Bickle76]

Curious, does anyone know the stats on Superman II?? WB poored some money into that after they found the desire for it online. Did they make a profit??

[Bickle76]

Originally Posted by stvn1974

How I think it will work out is this: Disney releases the new film and it makes $1.6 billion at the box office plus another $1 billion in merchandise and tie ins. Disney buys rights of the first film from Fox for a shitload of money. Disney releases a set of the prequels a set of the original trilogy special editions and then each of the new films as they are released. After the three new ones are all released a huge 9 film set is released with the OOT possibly. Then the solo films are released individually.

Disney will make their new fortune before they release anything considered "old".

[BillieCassin]

Originally Posted by Geoff D

My point is, I have a feeling that the restored OT would be seen as nothing more than a quaint artefact by a great many people who've Learned To Stop Worrying And Love Star Wars. And don't forget the dedicated fans who've done something about it and already created their own special edition/despecialised/partly specialised/whatever versions.

[snip]

Heck, even if the people on this forum are a representative sample of who would buy it, y'all do realise that you might have to pay more than $9.99 for each film, right?

It will be part of a box set. As an "extra" - and, let's not forget - Lucas thought enough folks would desire that extra that he did put them on DVD in their original versions - albeit in non-anamorphic and in inferior quality. That said, look at the resale prices on those versions - they are very expensive, even on DVD.

It makes perfect sense - and considering how often a new Star Wars set has been released over the last 20 years, next year would be perfectly in line with a new box set release. What better way to ensure more folks pony up for a new set by putting on two of the most demanded, unreleased extras on Blu-ray - the OT in it's original form, and the glaringly-omitted (and now understandable) omission of Empire of Dreams. Either that, or super-deluxe single releases of each film with tons of extras and both versions - though personally, I think they will go the box set route.

The Blu-ray release was really smart - he got them on Blu, was able to do a "last pass" as to his "preferred" versions, proved yet again that folks will buy these movies over and over, BUT he left off some key extras and content (even some well-known deleted scenes) and at the same time he proved the continued viability he also ensured that there was extensive material to mine for the new owners. He couldn't have handled the prep for this sale better.

Originally Posted by wormraper

all it takes is one deal struck with fox for permission to distribute the original "A New Hope" and it's done. happens all the time. I seriously wouldn't be surprised to see it out to coincide with Ep VII

And for all we know, it was all taken care of already at the time, or even before, the sale. There have been a few articles about it but none of them have had any current information - it's all based on old pre-Disney speculation. This is Disney, here...and after the issues with the rights to the Marvel films, I am very doubtful they would have completed this sale without all this being fully ironed out, even if any release is a possible cooperative project (folks always said the Friday the 13th films would never end up in the same box set, but yet - a deal was made and they were).

With the popularity of Star Wars, and the fact that Fox is going to get shut out sooner or later anyway, I have a feeling that if it was an issue Fox would be more than willing to work something out - likely some kind of points system - because it's in everyone's best interest to keep the product churning out.

I have no doubt these issues are simply being used as fodder for folks to drive page counts to "articles", as they all just seem to use the same old references, like...

Originally Posted by kemcha

Looks like Arstechnica has posted a new piece about the possibility that Disney could give fans what they want and without rehashing the usual argument, I'm skeptical that such a thing could come to pass, even if Fox entered into some sort of arrangement with Disney; (Arstechnica article link posted below). The article is an interesting read.

[snip]

With a Kickstarter Project, it could give Disney an idea if such a release of the original trilogy would be worth pursuing.

http://arstechnica.com/gadgets/2014/...-wars-we-want/

I thought that "article" was terrible, not only does it have factual inaccuracies it makes really inane conclusions.

As to "Kickstarter", LOL - not only fantasy that it would happen - but absolutely unnecessary.

Disney is keenly aware about courting adult buyers/collectors - the "whales" who spend a great deal on Star Wars product. You would be amazed at the things Disney does to court these folks with their own products.

But even beyond that - being able to advertise that they include "the original versions of the films for the first time ever in HD!" sounds pretty Disney to me.

We shall see...but I'm willing to bet we see the OT available on Blu-ray before we are sitting in theaters to see Episode VII.

[Dynamo of Eternia]

Originally Posted by Dispatch Ninja

Yea, I'm kicking myself for not watching them sooner. This is the dvd I'm watching that my friend let me borrow...

http://www.englishmoviez.com/wp-cont...arwars4dvd.jpg

I'm assuming this is one of the bad editions? I don't really have anything to compare it to since I've never seen the original theatrical cuts.

If the exact edition that you are borrowing is the one pictured, then it contains two versions of the film. The first disc is the updated version as of 2004 (a few more changes were made since that time for the 2011 Blu-Ray release), and the 'bonus' disc contains the original version of the movie... though it's just an old non-anamorphic laserdisc master 'dumped' onto a DVD.

[Bob Schlapowitz]

I really don't mind the changes made to ANH and Empire, but Jedi is an atrocity.

[Astro Zombie]

Originally Posted by Bob Schlapowitz

I really don't mind the changes made to ANH and Empire, but Jedi is an atrocity.

Pretty much. The worst ANH got in my opinion was the Jabba scene which looks terrible and is completely out of place. The Han/Greedo scene is better unaltered, but at least the Blu-ray improved it over the 2004 DVD. The rest is fine. Empire has barely any changes, that I noticed anyway.

[HomerThompson]

Originally Posted by Bob Schlapowitz

I really don't mind the changes made to ANH and Empire, but Jedi is an atrocity.

The ending with John William's new score is better than Yub Nub ever was (come on, you can't end the franchise with that cheesy song) so I actually prefer the new ROTJ ending (sans Hayden Christensen though).

[Nice Guy Eddie]

I was embarrassed, actually embarrassed, watching the new musical scene in Jabba's palace, it is that bad. The only reason I didnt mute/fast forward was to make sure I didnt have a defective disc. Anytime I watch ROTJ in the future I'll be damn sure to skip that part.

[Kryptonic]

I like the musical number in Jedi. It adds a lot of color and flavor to Jabba's palace and it's funny.

[gregmasciola]

Just my thought on the Fox logo/music at the beginning, I don't think it will be a big deal for Disney to leave that at the beginning of the original movies. I mean, think about it. Wizard of Oz was distributed by Warner Bros, but the MGM logo remains at the beginning. I'm sure there are plenty of other instances like this.

[Geoff D]

Originally Posted by Bickle76

I get the intention of the what was recorded for the SE, but then there's once again a fault in the visuals; CGI of the other planets, seeing Naboo is just as much an eyesore as Christensen. More importantly is the last frames leading up to the final frame. There are more cuts, so the camera doesn't stay on Luke long enough as he reaches his catharsis. I also want to say in original cut, Luke gives the Jedi ghosts a "charming wink" before Leia takes him away. I believe the original is more effective with it's ending on a more personal note with the kiddie; Yub Nub, than the SE's mediocre results to close it on a grander scale. It's a respectable attempt just like the prequels lol

This round goes Yub Nub

I love the new end celebration, as I said it's perfect for that version of the film. But I agree with you about the "wink", that was such a lovely little moment and it should have never been removed.

[PrestigeWorldwide]

Originally Posted by Astro Zombie

The rest is fine. Empire has barely any changes, that I noticed anyway.

Empire has some horrible editing changes towards the end of the movie after the Luke Vs Vader duel. I think for some people it's been so long since they saw the OT's that they don't remember. I didn't remember how much better the ending of the original version of Empire is until I saw Harmy's de-specialized version a couple years ago. Before that, I hadn't seen the VHS tapes for about 10 years. Another really annoying change is Boba Fett's voice - his original voice sounds much better - more menacing and was done by a better actor.

[klauswhereareyou]

Originally Posted by PrestigeWorldwide

Empire has some horrible editing changes towards the end of the movie after the Luke Vs Vader duel. I think for some people it's been so long since they saw the OT's that they don't remember. I didn't remember how much better the ending of the original version of Empire is until I saw Harmy's de-specialized version a couple years ago. Before that, I hadn't seen the VHS tapes for about 10 years. Another really annoying change is Boba Fett's voice - his original voice sounds much better - more menacing and was done by a better actor.

You mean the going from Vader saying Bring me my shuttle on Cloud City in the original to.....Alert the Star Destroyer of my arrival, then later cut to a new shot of Vader walking to his shuttle (which I'll admit is a nice shot), then cut to him landing on the Super Star Destroyer...which is actually stock footage of him landing on the 2nd Death Star from Return of the Jedi...all of this hacking up the awesome John Williams cue Escape/Hyperspace.

[HGN2001]

Originally Posted by Dynamo of Eternia

...and the 'bonus' disc contains the original version of the movie... though it's just an old non-anamorphic laserdisc master 'dumped' onto a DVD.

Surely it's been pointed out in the hundreds of pages of STAR WARS discussion that the version of STAR WARS on that non-anamorphic DVD differs from any LaserDisc version since it does not contain the "A NEW HOPE" subtitle. To my knowledge, all LaserDisc versions had the A NEW HOPE tag on it.

Or am I totally losing it?...

Harry

[Dynamo of Eternia]

Originally Posted by HGN2001

Surely it's been pointed out in the hundreds of pages of STAR WARS discussion that the version of STAR WARS on that non-anamorphic DVD differs from any LaserDisc version since it does not contain the "A NEW HOPE" subtitle. To my knowledge, all LaserDisc versions had the A NEW HOPE tag on it.

Or am I totally losing it?...

Harry

Yes, I am aware of that difference. I actually thought it was pretty cool that it did not contain the text (it was just neat to have an official release that has the original crawl... though let's not get into a debate about text variation options at the beginning or end of a movie... some people in the BTTF thread don't like that ). But the point is that the general "masters" of the film were originally made for Laserdisc per Lucasfilm at the time of their release. If that information is not accurate, blame the source.

[Lyle_JP]

Originally Posted by HGN2001

Surely it's been pointed out in the hundreds of pages of STAR WARS discussion that the version of STAR WARS on that non-anamorphic DVD differs from any LaserDisc version since it does not contain the "A NEW HOPE" subtitle. To my knowledge, all LaserDisc versions had the A NEW HOPE tag on it.

Or am I totally losing it?...

Harry

That's the one shot on those DVDs that was not from the laserdisc masters. For whatever reason, Lucas got a touch of whimsy and decided to put the 1977 opening onto that disc for the first time ever on home video (all previous home video versions had been made from the re-issues, when the "A New Hope" title was added).

[Galactus123]

The only change that Lucas did I like is the change of music for the celebration scene in the Return of the Jedi. The new one captures the right feel better:

Original:

Original Ewok Celebration Ending Scene - Star Wars, Episode VI: Return of the Jedi - YouTube

New: 1:26

Return of the Jedi -- Funeral Pyre & Victory Celebration - YouTube

[Bickle76]

Originally Posted by Geoff D

I love the new end celebration, as I said it's perfect for that version of the film. But I agree with you about the "wink", that was such a lovely little moment and it should have never been removed.

I will go on record and say this - the one addition in the entire SE Trilogy that trumps all the others is Luke hugging Wedge at that celebration.

As far as Yub Nub goes, it is a Williams composition and you can't deny the strings of the symphony easing its way in just as Luke sees old SebAnikin; and then the chorus "celebrate the love" crescendoing.

I wish I was on Endor right now.

[Bickle76]

Originally Posted by PrestigeWorldwide

Empire has some horrible editing changes towards the end of the movie after the Luke Vs Vader duel. I think for some people it's been so long since they saw the OT's that they don't remember. I didn't remember how much better the ending of the original version of Empire is until I saw Harmy's de-specialized version a couple years ago. Before that, I hadn't seen the VHS tapes for about 10 years. Another really annoying change is Boba Fett's voice - his original voice sounds much better - more menacing and was done by a better actor.

Empire sure has its fair share of hackings. You have to remember that Williams composes music it is being paired with the film on a giant screen. Everytime there is a new edit, quite often it's a music queue that's been looped/re-hashed, which ends up sounding out of place and choppy. Perfect example is Vader landing in super star destroyer. It hinders the momentum of that entire escape cloud city sequence. I have the same problem with the wampa cave.

[HeavyHitter]

Does anyone here have the Yub Nub as a ring tone?