73 replies to this topic

[DLibrasnow]

Originally posted by Tarl_Cabot

I heard the Imperial march theme was to be inserted in ANH. That I have no problem with. If he is going to show Jimmy Smits on Alderaan before he gets vaporized that would be in poor taste, IMHO.Anyway, I hope E3 is good.

Well of course I am not privvy to exactly what Lucas is filming to be edited into ANH, TESB and ROTJ, but don't be surprised if he releases some special special editions of the three in the theaters in 2006....I know a lot of that extra footage is in the can.

[ChandlerBing]

Oh, you mean like Luke's girly scream at the end of Empire as he falls down the pipe? The editing gets chopped up as they tried to throw in Vader's shuttle heading for the Avenger, and kinda threw the rhythm and pacing that the original sequence had. Believe it or not, that's the ONLY addition that really rubbed me the wrong way.

[DLibrasnow]

I really hated the fact that we got to see the snow monster in TESB....I thought it was better unseen, especially since it looked so silly in the special edition.

[Triton]

Originally posted by ChandlerBing
The editing gets chopped up as they tried to throw in Vader's shuttle heading for the Avenger, and kinda threw the rhythm and pacing that the original sequence had.  Believe it or not, that's the ONLY addition that really rubbed me the wrong way.

Talk about ruining the tension of a sequence with needless scenes. I found the original cut to have a lot more tension and urgency. The Millennium Falcon must flee Cloud City as quickly as possible so that they aren't captured and made prisoners of the Empire. In the Special Edition the story comes to screeching halt to clue-in those audience members who weren't paying attention. Why do we really need to see Vader's shuttle leaving the atmosphere of Bespin and heading toward the Executor and then continue the sequence with the shuttle's landing and Vader's departure from it in the Executor's landing bay?
Meanwhile Luke is clinging on to the weather vane on Cloud City about to fall to his death.

I don't know if all this revisionism makes for a stronger and more entertaining movie. For the most part, it seems like a gimmick to get people to buy another copy of the movie on DVD, see it in the theaters again, and get the film maker's name in entertainment press.

For example, did the restored scenes in Apocalypse Now Redux make the movie better, or did it prove that the scenes didn't work to begin with and deserved to be on the cutting room floor?

Perhaps Lucas needs to wait until 2007 to release Episodes IV-VI to coincide with the thritieth anniversary. It could be titled Star Wars: A New Hope --- The Even More Special Edition with even more needless, irratating, or stupid CGI revisions.

I am reminded a quote from Mel Brook's Space Balls when Yogurt announces the sequel Space Balls II: The Quest for More Money.

[ChandlerBing]

Prepare for Ludicrous Speed!

[zencat]

Originally posted by ChandlerBing
Oh, you mean like Luke's girly scream at the end of Empire as he falls down the pipe?  The editing gets chopped up as they tried to throw in Vader's shuttle heading for the Avenger, and kinda threw the rhythm and pacing that the original sequence had.  Believe it or not, that's the ONLY addition that really rubbed me the wrong way.

HATE the scream. It's ALL WRONG for so many reasons. When a hero makes his most heroic move, takes his ultimate leap of faith or sacrifices himself for the good of the universe, he doesn't scream while he does it. I mean, what is Lucas thinking? And I also dislike the Vader arrival stuff, if for no other reason that it's out-take footage from Return of the Jedi. How

[Tarl_Cabot]

G-Lu has no clue anymore.

[DLibrasnow]

Originally posted by Tarl_Cabot
G-Lu has no clue anymore.

Agreed...I shudder to think what he has up his sleeve for the planned Ultimate editions of the original trilogy planned for release in 2006.

[Turn]

Will these come out before or after the American Graffiti special edition in which Greedo beats John Milner to the finish line and Richard Dreyfuss catches up to Suzanne Summers?

[Pussfeller]

As well as a Bond geek, I am also a Star Wars geek, and I'm fairly sure that the "classic trilogy" isn't coming out on DVD until November of 2005 or May of 2006, after the release of Episode III in May of 2005.

[Rich Douglas]

I wish Lucas would leave the older triology alone... period. He has yet to learn the most valuable lesson about being an artist (of any kind: painter, filmmaker, composer, etc) projects can never be finished, they just have to be abandoned. Only a few minor things bugged me about the special editions, overall I thought the effects were very tastefully put in. However a "Special... even more special than the special '97 edition" release is naive in my opinion, i think lucas is just trying to make more money if he does that, plain and simple. In fact, through listening to his part of the commentary on the ep I and II dvd's, i can safely say I dont much care for Lucas, he's hung up on himself and the star wars world he has created. Now dont get me wrong, he did an incredible thing thinking up this incredible "space western" story. I had an absurd amount of respect for the man when I first saw the original star wars trilogy as a kid, but ep 1 and ep 2 are just rediculous, way to much cgi, i just wish he'd build some sets rather than use blue screen all the damn time. It's absolutely incredible how much of those films are digital, something like 80% - 85%, absolutely rediculous. I simply wont buy the original trilogy on DVD if they are convoluted even more with flashbacks and even more cgi, ill track down older copies on VHS before I give in to the dark side known as Lucasfilm.

Rich

[Tarl_Cabot]

Goerge Lucas is 'The Phantom Menace'!

[Rich Douglas]

After doing a bit of research, it seems there are options other than Lucas' special special edition:

http://cgi.ebay.com/...&category=41575

granted.. these are definately bootlegs most likely transferred from the widescreen VHS or Laserdisc, still would be worth having as they are in DVD format and the originals.

Rich

[Pussfeller]

If you go to dvdasian.com or something like that, you can probably find some high-quality DVD bootlegs of the classic trilogy. They were released legitimately on Laserdisc throughout Asia and a lot of poor-quality DVD ports were made, mostly for sale in Korea and Indochina. With all of Lucas' recent messing-around, however, demand in the U.S. and Europe for the original films on a digital media is high enough that a lot of Asian video wizzes are burning professional-looking DVDs with the real, unadapted films on them. I have two sets myself--bought them two years ago in Tokyo. (That's in addition to the Chinese VCDs I got in 1996--those things are a dime a dozen at the local video store.)

If you're an upstanding citizen and want to hold out for a respectable legitimate DVD with the original film, think again. Lucas has made it abundantly clear that he does not intend to release the original, un-remastered films at all, on any disc, ever. This has a lot of fans royally pissed, but there's nothing to be done. He is the emperor. The only way to get the original is to go bootleg, or buy a VHS made pre-1997. Naturally, I went bootleg.

I'm glad they never pull this sort of nonsense with the Bond discs, or I don't know what I'd do.

[DLibrasnow]

Originally posted by Pussfeller

If you're an upstanding citizen and want to hold out for a respectable legitimate DVD with the original film, think again. Lucas has made it abundantly clear that he does not intend to release the original, un-remastered films at all, on any disc, ever.

The line from Lucasfilm is that the original trilogy as they appeared in the movie theaters in 1977, 1980 and 1983 DO NOT EXIST, so it's hardly likely they will be able to release DVDs of movies they insist no longer exist!

[ChandlerBing]

Here, since we're talking about Star Wars. Here's Anakin as he looks in Episode 3.

[Tarl_Cabot]

It's Leif Garret, circa '77!

[DLibrasnow]

While we are on the subject...does anyone have any info on the additional footage that Lucas is filming to be inserted into ANH, TESB and ROTJ for his "Ultimate" editions due out in the theatres in 2006?

Has anything leaked out?

[Blue Eyes]

Only that Natalie Portman won't, according to Lucas, feature in any such footage.

[DLibrasnow]

What?? That makes no sense...I thought for sure Lucas would include some Portman footage in the original trilogy...

[Felix_Leiter]

This is from http://www.darkhorizons.com/news.htm

Star Wars Trilogy (DVD): Finally, the classic original series trilogy may at last be coming to DVD in order to help the buzz for "Episode Three". The Digital Bits reports that Lucasfilm is so happy with the format of their upcoming "Indiana Jones Trilogy" DVD set hitting shelves late October that they're rumoured to be planning to use the same style to release the classic Star Wars films. This would mean a four disc set with one film on each, plus a fourth disc with extra features for all three films. Work is believed to have already begun with a 4th Quarter 2004 release date being targeted. For now though this is still rumour, nothing official has yet come from Lucasfilm about this. Thanks to 'FanHalen'.

[DLibrasnow]

I think this information is highly suspect...Why would Lucasfilm release a DVD set in 2004 when they are planning on redoing them in 2005 as an Ultimate Edition...

Unless of course they plan on making some fans double-dip...

[Turn]

Originally posted by DLibrasnow
I think this information is highly suspect...Why would Lucasfilm release a DVD set in 2004 when they are planning on redoing them in 2005 as an Ultimate Edition...

Unless of course they plan on making some fans double-dip...

It wouldn't be the first time.

[DLibrasnow]

Yeah, now that I think about it, I wouldn't put it past Lucasfilm to make fans pay twice for one movie...

[Tarl_Cabot]

The official STAR WARS website reports that principal photography on EPISODE III, the final STAR WARS film, wrapped yesterday at 6:42 PM local time. Producer Rick McCallum held the slateboard and marked the final scene to be shot. Surprisingly the production was ahead of its targeted completion date by five days.

Now the next phase of work begins in earnest. Director George Lucas will now return to the Skywalker Ranch and supervise the movie's extensive post-production work. As Lucas starts to assemble a working print of the film, he will look at filling in any missing parts of the story when reshoots are scheduled with the actors. That part is scheduled to happen in March 2004.


"Shooting the film is only a small part of the whole process," McCallum said on the STAR WARS website. "For George and I, this is only the mid-way point. We still have eighteen months to get through."


The still-untitled EPISODE III comes out in May 2005.

[ChandlerBing]

Grand Moff Tarkin is in Episode 3.

[Tarl_Cabot]

Yeah that's amazing, bullseye casting/make-up! I have high hopes still despite being let down by I and II.

[DLibrasnow]

I am hoping this one is better than the previous two prequels!!

[CommanderBond]

i hope so to because the other two sucked!!!!!

[DLibrasnow]

They relied too much on computer effects....just like another venerable franchise appears to be leaning towards!