Star Wars: The Skywalker Saga 4K UHD (1977-2019)

[StingingVelvet]

Originally Posted by MechaGodzilla

The biggest "what if" that nags at me re: the sequel trilogy is how we know Lucas' version would have gone much more deeply metaphysical. The movies we got in the end did end up using many of his ideas - though of course remixed, filtered through the visions of other filmmakers and so on - but this is definitely one they almost entirely discarded. I think that would have truly set this trilogy apart, and contributed something to the greater saga.

Makes me think of how much better it would have been if Palpatine was a "dark force" that still tainted the universe, despite his death. Snoke maybe was a normal and peaceful man until being corrupted by that force, and then corrupting Ben. Final confrontation after Ben turned back to the light could have been with a Sith cult/Knights of Ren infused with dark energy from Palpatine's spirit, which is then finally sent beyond the physical realm by Ben and Rey's combined good.

[bferr1972]

Originally Posted by Geoff D

The reason why it's there is to cover two plot points: how the Jedi test for latent Force ability and how Anakin was conceived.

I would add that the midichlorians exist as a limiting factor, explaining why not everyone could become a Jedi and also how the Jedi could be eliminated from the galaxy. In my head canon, most people are midichlorian-negative, but a narrow few are midichlorian-positive. It becomes a way to identify who should be eliminated and who shouldn't.

[nousefouraname]

Originally Posted by Gold Ranger

The Marvel Ifinity Saga was and still is a Best Buy exclusive

IT's also apples to oranges. $500 price point vs. $200. 22 movies vs. 9. 3 studios vs. 1.

Doesn't shock me that the Infinity Saga is an exclusive.

[Geoff D]

Originally Posted by AreaUnderTheCurve

Isn't it true that the only prequel that can have a legitimate 4K scan is The Phantom Menace? Regardless, I'm pre-ordering this set because I really love Rise of Skywalker.

Not really. Although Phantom Menace was indeed shot on 35mm (with one scene done on digital) the vast majority of the movie has digital VFX which was output as a completed shot as a 2K file and then recorded back to film. If you scanned the actual camera negative you'd get the live action but none of the VFX, there'd be Ahmed Best prancing about in his Jar Jar costume etc. If you scanned the finished 2K filmout negative then you'd technically have a "4K transfer" of the completed film but with a small amount of generational loss and added scanner noise versus using the actual 2K files to begin with. (This is partly why people accuse Lionsgate's filmout transfers for certain UHDs as being DNR'ed when they're not, as the softer detail comes from using an analogue copy of a digital master, maybe even an IP created from the filmout neg which loses even more sharpness and detail.)

[Noremac Mij]

Happy New Year Geoff! Filmouts look good. When something analog is in the chain, it makes the whole thing better. Take vinyl for example. A digital master sounds significantly better on vinyl than it does on CD.

[philthehip]

Originally Posted by Noremac Mij

Take vinyl for example. A digital master sounds significantly better on vinyl than it does on CD.

That is a rather broad statement. It depends on a whole host of factors. My experience of digitally mastered music that is released on vinyl is somewhat split and often the CD counterpart sounds better.

[Falaskan]

Originally Posted by StingingVelvet

Makes me think of how much better it would have been if Palpatine was a "dark force" that still tainted the universe, despite his death. Snoke maybe was a normal and peaceful man until being corrupted by that force, and then corrupting Ben. Final confrontation after Ben turned back to the light could have been with a Sith cult/Knights of Ren infused with dark energy from Palpatine's spirit, which is then finally sent beyond the physical realm by Ben and Rey's combined good.

I think they should’ve kept Palps a spirit until Rey, his heir, was sacrificed to resurrect him. Then it ends with Ben killing Palpatine somehow and resurrecting Rey. A true slap in the face to the Sith that had been striving to live forever all along.

[Quigonmike]

Originally Posted by Geoff D

They're free not to like it for whatever reasons but Velvs is right, people just think that the midis are the Force. They're not. So if people want to use that as an example of the science in the fiction then they'd better get their facts straight. The reason why it's there is to cover two plot points: how the Jedi test for latent Force ability and how Anakin was conceived. The first was only ever supposed to be a quick and easy plot device but people seized upon it and got completely the wrong idea about what Lucas was saying, which ultimately led him to dump any proper explanation for Anakin's conception.

The CG Clone Wars series got a lot of input from Lucas, if the prequels are the more 'matter of fact' explanation of the Force then CW is by far the more metaphysical, it's enriched my perception of the Force in a way that no SW movie has ever done.

Great post and I can dig this. I have no problem with the MCs and I always wondered why the freak-out occured when they were introduced into the Star Wars universe. I think its a sound concept - it gives a way to physically measure & assess ones force sensitivities. I love when ObiWan says regarding Anakins blood sample: "the readings are off the charts - even higher than Master Yoda". Thats cool stuff, IMO.

Originally Posted by bferr1972

I would add that the midichlorians exist as a limiting factor, explaining why not everyone could become a Jedi and also how the Jedi could be eliminated from the galaxy. In my head canon, most people are midichlorian-negative, but a narrow few are midichlorian-positive. It becomes a way to identify who should be eliminated and who shouldn't.

Im a "narrow-few". A good buddy of mine almost stopped talking to me when I supported and liked the idea of the MCs. He was a pure hater but he had it in for the prequels anyways. He's one of those grumpy "raped my childhood" people.

[Alister_M]

Originally Posted by philthehip

That is a rather broad statement. It depends on a whole host of factors. My experience of digitally mastered music that is released on vinyl is somewhat split and often the CD counterpart sounds better.

Digitally mastered music on vinyl is as useless as a football that's been run over by a steamroller.

[mysticwaterfall]

Originally Posted by Alister_M

Digitally mastered music on vinyl is as useless as a football that's been run over by a steamroller.

True that. You negate any advantage the vinyl might have had with the digital conversion. In fact, the vinyl probably sounds worse because you're converting a digital file to analog.

[Nicolawicz]

Transferring to film adds a lot of weight to video-shot shit.

[Nicolawicz]

This is from a film print of Attack of the Clowns. Looks a million times better than the digital master:

1001764704_sqMHK-O.jpg

[ThulsaMike88]

As much as I wanted to pull the trigger on pre-ordering this on impulse, I just can't. The recent trilogy has forced me to look at Star Wars more critically without the rose-tinted nostalgia glasses recently. There's only been two great movies I enjoyed: Empire, and the original film. Rogue One was surprisingly good for what I was expecting, however.

The rest have been either disappointing missed opportunities (Sequels, RotJ, Solo) or downright unwatchable in my opinion (Prequels). I think I'll wait to get the singles when/if they get released.

[KRW1]

Originally Posted by mysticwaterfall

True that. You negate any advantage the vinyl might have had with the digital conversion. In fact, the vinyl probably sounds worse because you're converting a digital file to analog.

Not always true in my experience. CD's that are horribly compressed often have nice vinyl counterparts which aren't (usually mastered by completely different people) even though the source is the same.

[jayembee]

Originally Posted by KRW1

Dude, it's literally got wizards, princesses, castles, princesses trapped in castles, and magic in it. It's primarily fantasy.

The exact same comment could be made about Dune. But I think you'll find most people would consider that science fiction rather than fantasy. After all, it was originally published as a serial in a magazine titled Analog Science Fiction/Science Fact. As were Anne McCaffrey's Pern stories that included gasp! horror! dragons!

The problem here is that Star Wars is:

(1) Full of fantasy tropes -- "wizards, princesses, castles, princesses trapped in castles, and magic".

(2) Full of science fiction tropes -- Spaceships, aliens, alien worlds, aliens on alien worlds, robots, ray guns.

Some people here are claiming that the presence of the fantasy tropes makes Star Wars fantasy rather than science fiction, regardless of the presence of the science fiction tropes. Other people argue that the presence of the science fiction tropes makes it science fiction, regardless of the presence of the fantasy tropes.

Why should one of those two viewpoints be considered "right" and the other "wrong"?

If you want to consider Star Wars fantasy and not science fiction, knock yourself out. But that doesn't make the people who want to consider it science fiction and not fantasy wrongheaded. Their viewpoint is just as legit as yours.

My mistake in this discussion is trying to actually bring facts and knowledge about what people considered "science fiction" in the days before Star Wars muddied the waters.

And if all this isn't enough, how about coming to a compromise and agree that Star Wars isn't just one thing or the other, but a mixture of both.

[Alister_M]

Originally Posted by KRW1

Not always true in my experience. CD's that are horribly compressed often have nice vinyl counterparts which aren't (usually mastered by completely different people) even though the source is the same.

That's because they have to reduce the signal strength for vinyl. I'm sure if tone-deaf record execs could find a way to brickwall vinyl they'd be all over it. Either way, digitally sourced vinyl still sounds "fake" to my ears.

[jayembee]

Originally Posted by Geoff D

George Lucas speaking to the LA Times in 1977: as well as "space opera" he called it "science fiction without the science"

Originally Posted by Bn43

He has also called it fantasy in multiple interviews and mentioned the fantasies that inspired it. I wish I could find the VHS cover where he calls it a fairytale. He talked in that quote about bringing fairytales to a new generation. It's more fantasy than sci-fi.

OK, so George Lucas has the final say about it because he is its creator.

There were a writer back in the 50s/60s named Richard M. McKenna. After a career in the Navy, he began a new career as a writer. Primarily, he wrote short stories for the science fiction magazines, though he also wrote some for non-sf magazines like The Saturday Evening Post.

Anyway, what McKenna was best known for the military/historical novel The Sand Pebbles. The funny thing is, McKenna once said that he thought of The Sand Pebbles as science fiction, with the science in question being sociology.

Now, I've never come across anyone who seriously considers The Sand Pebbles to be science fiction, but McKenna wrote the damn book, so shouldn't we take his word for it? If not, then why should we take Lucas's word for what genre he callss his creation?

[Bn43]

Originally Posted by jayembee

OK, so George Lucas has the final say about it because he is its creator.

There were a writer back in the 50s/60s named Richard M. McKenna. After a career in the Navy, he began a new career as a writer. Primarily, he wrote short stories for the science fiction magazines, though he also wrote some for non-sf magazines like The Saturday Evening Post.

Anyway, what McKenna was best known for the military/historical novel The Sand Pebbles. The funny thing is, McKenna once said that he thought of The Sand Pebbles as science fiction, with the science in question being sociology.

Now, I've never come across anyone who seriously considers The Sand Pebbles to be science fiction, but McKenna wrote the damn book, so shouldn't we take his word for it? If not, then why should we take Lucas's word for what genre he callss his creation?

I don't... I'm simply responding to some people who said Lucas said it. But it's fantasy anyway.

[1924]

I checked out Empire Strikes Back on Disney Plus and it looks kind of dark. Also I can hardly see any film
Grain but I’m guessing That’s Disney’s doing. But anyone else thought it looked kind of dark


Took a look at AOTc and that looks kind of dark as well. It’s not my Tv I know that

[Noremac Mij]

Originally Posted by 1924

I checked out Empire Strikes Back on Disney Plus and it looks kind of dark. Also I can hardly see any film
Grain but I’m guessing That’s Disney’s doing. But anyone else thought it looked kind of dark


Took a look at AOTc and that looks kind of dark as well. It’s not my Tv I know that

Not dark, just black and white.