Star Wars DVD Set Previews/Reviews 465
Reducer2001 writes "USA Today has an article up that has a couple more details about the upcoming Star Wars DVD release. The cantina shootout between Han Solo and the green-snouted bounty hunter Greedo is virtually identical, but now it seems their guns fire almost simultaneously." Reader Jutebox150 writes "Time magazine has an early preview of the Star Wars DVDs and gives some justification for Lucas issuing the updated versions of the trilogy and talking about his many mental and physical battles to finish filming. The article also describes a 2.5 hour documentary by Kevin Burns that traces the origins of the saga. 'The first cut of Star Wars,' Burns' narrator says, 'was an unmitigated disaster.'" Reader spoco2 writes "The Star Wars Original Trilogy is due for worldwide release on the 21st on DVD, but the first reviews are appearing already in Australia (obviously of the PAL version). Yes, they are the SEs with even more differences (Now Gredo and Han shoot at the SAME time!). I'm afraid I'll be waiting for the day when George reconsiders and releases the untouched originals."
Uh-oh! (Score:4, Funny)
Re:Uh-oh! (Score:5, Insightful)
Exactly - it's only a movie that redefined special effects, and by lucas choosing to bar the future generations of artisans who do this sort of thing from seeing their roots would be like the Charlie Chaplin being able to prevent future film makers from being able to learn anything from his work.
It's a slap in the face of everyone who worked on a movie that was revolutionary for it's time to have Lucas, who was only one of hundreds of people involved in the creation of the film(s) legacy to claim "They're work was shit so I will do all in my power to make sure future generations cannot lay eyes upon it" - release both you swollen headed egomaniac.
Re:Get Yours! (Score:4, Funny)
Dont feed the monkeys. and yes I could have posted AC.
Holding your breath... (Score:5, Funny)
Riiight, you do that... can you also let me know when Duke Nukem Forever comes out?
Re:Holding your breath... (Score:3, Interesting)
Dust off your VCR! I still have my original tapes [amazon.com], complete with grey bounding boxes on the models, etc. They still work. No need to wait for DVD really if you want to see the 'originals'. Sure, it isn't widescreen but at least the story is the same (one can argue that changing the shooting order is fairly significant for Han's character) and no new actors have been added!!!
Re:Holding your breath... (Score:3, Interesting)
Re:Holding your breath... (Score:3, Informative)
Then, under no circumstances, flog copies on ebay under an everchanging pseudonym
OK. The first paragraph is good advice.
Re:Holding your breath... (Score:3, Informative)
Take a look on suprnova.org. There are actual torrents of Laserdisc to DVD conversions on there for fans of the original.
Re:Holding your breath... (Score:5, Informative)
There's also a fourth disc of extras (not sure if it's on suprnova) that comprises most of the extras from the definitive collection, such as documentaries, old trailers, etc. It's geek ecstasy and it's an interesting look back at Lucas when he was seemingly quite content with his creations.
A website I won't link to out of courtesy (slashdotting) has images you can download and print out that look like and work like DVD covers. They have covers that look like the style of the currently released DVD's and covers that have the original movie posters. I opted gor the movie poster ones. Printed out on a color laser printer, the untrained eye can't tell a difference between them and the episode 1 and 2 DVD cover spines on a shelf (save for the reflective gold ink on the official ones).
Now I must say, after getting these, watching them, etc., I'm content with the DVD's coming out later this month. Sure, I would still like official releases of the theatrical cuts, but these work for me. Heck, since for some reason they've decided to make the spines of the official widescreen releases silver I won't even have "duplicates" on my shelf.
So to recap, get these laserdisc --> DVD-R rips. They're worth however many days it takes to download them. Find a DVD burner somewhere, somehow. Buy the officials (like I am). Be happy that you have both.
Re:Holding your breath... (Score:5, Informative)
Note that the commentary track is not screen-specific (i.e., it's not Lucas & crew sitting around watching the movie). I believe this hails from back when Laserdisc commentaries were rare and so few people did that. What it is is a bunch of audio clips from interviews, documentaries, etc. It's done such that the thing you're hearing has to do with what you're seeing but it's not like the people were sitting there and commenting in real time. The upcoming DVD's, I believe, will have a commentary like this.
Also note that there's an obsessive 67-page thread [originaltrilogy.com] on the OT.com forums on it dissecting all the various versions (many will sell you DVD's with the OT on them) and people discussing making their own DVD's from laserdisc. Apparently there's some short scenes that go missing now and again from all the various reissues. And now that dual-layer DVD burners are coming into vogue there's people discussing making higher quality anamorphic discs.
Re:Holding your breath... (Score:5, Insightful)
An elegant format for a more civilized time.
Re:Holding your breath... (Score:5, Interesting)
Of course, replacing actors with their prequel equivalents, making Han shoot first, changing bad songs to even worse ones (ROTJ), and adding more burping and farting creatures goes a bit beyond cleanup and director's cut land.
To some extent, the only reason to release the really original release (which would still need a great deal of digital restoration as the film stock has aged) would be as an illustration of film history. All of those ground-breaking, breathtaking special effects that look a bit cheesy now will be lost. In 20 years, it will be nearly impossible to go back and see what state of the art effects were in 1977, or what Tatooine looked like when the cinematography was based on what cameras, filters, and lenses were used instead of what digital post-processing can do.
These are the reasons I want *both* versions. I don't really want to watch the originals for entertainment and be distracted by David Prowse's eyes in the Vader mask, the bounding boxes and matte lines, or Vader's sometime's white lightsabre. I would like to have them to show my kids what I watched in 1977 and as nostalgia.
Re:Holding your breath... (Score:3, Funny)
That being said, I really wanted to get them on DVD, but sadly I won't get my wish this time around it seems. So I implore slashdot reader's and geeks everywhere to do the only thing you can do if you are truely passionate about this... Vote with your dollar. You don't need to purchase the new movies, you don't need to watch them, you don't need to see episode 3, etc. If enough people don't buy (which isn't going to happen) it w
Re:Holding your breath... (Score:5, Funny)
Duke Nukem Forever is set to be released in a box set with the original unfscked with Star Wars trilogy, along with Rick Berman's three hour apology speech for what he has done to Star Trek. Unfortunately its release will happen on the exact same day that the Pentagon announces that it now considers the world "safe" and will be disbanding itself accordingly. Due to the lack of press over the release, all three features will tank. Luckily for the studios, however, no one will notice due to the overwhelming victory of the combined Bigoot and Antlantis forces over a disbelieving US. Or something like that...
Re:Holding your breath... (Score:5, Funny)
Only 3 hours? He must talk really, really fast if he's going to fit it all into 3 hours...
Re:Holding your breath... (Score:2)
I'm not holding my breath, but it's possible. When Spielberg released "CE3K - The Collector's Edition" on DVD a few years back, he kept a few scenes from the special edition, but restored the original ending and a number of shortened and eliminated scenes to bring the movie real close to the original theatrical release -- something he swore he'd never do.
What sucks is even though it's *my* childhood, *he* owns it so he can do whatever he wants. I'm pretty sure there's a lesson about consumerism in there
Re:CE3K - TCE (Score:3, Informative)
Close Encounters of the Third Kind [imdb.com].
Re:Holding your breath... (Score:4, Funny)
Wookiese? Chewbacca, as a native Kashyyykian, speaks Shyriiwook you insensitive clod!
its obvious (Score:3, Interesting)
George==his own worst critic (Score:5, Insightful)
If I was a typical moviegoer for the original trilogy, then he's banging his head on the wall for nothing, or actually self destructively.
I was just mentioning my reaction to Star Wars (EP:IV ANH) yesterday.
There were these inexplicable commercials on TV about some movie, but I couldn't make heads or tails of them and ignored them along with spots for Palmolive Dishwashing Liquid, Fleismann's Margarine and anything about the upcoming 6 O'clock news. Then a friend calls, with an almost frantic voice, and asks have I seen the new movie something something. No... Go see it! Drop whatever you are doing and go see it!
Well, you don't get a phone call like that every day (though it may give the MPAA some ideas) I ask and it so happens my Dad, brothers and sister are already planning to go see it, because they've been told this is something really different. Gosh, what can this bee?
So I'm sitting in the theater with my bucket of popcorn and soda and watch the titles, ready for another thrilling cinematic experience, or at the worst, ninety minutes of nursing my snacks and then immediatley forgetting about what I've seen. It wouldn't be like that. Above the broad curvature of a planet a little spacecraft is coasting along with something like short bursts of phasers hitting it. Then the star destroyer seemingly passes overhead while the sense-surround in the theater rumbles and popcorn I just put in my mouth falls back out into my lap. Wooowwww....
The rest of the movie passes with chills of excitement and oohs and ahhs, I probably would have won a staring constest as I don't think I blinked once the whole time. I'd be back a few times, others would be back every day or a few showings every day for months.
When I got home, still late afternoon, I stood in the sun on the driveway with my jaw still slack at what I had seen. Looking up, as if expecting to see a star destroyer cruise over my house. It seemed space fantasy had taken a big step forward and it clearly had a significant impact on millions of others as Star Wars was a massive merchandising success (my sister still has piles and boxes of original stuff, clearly it impacted her more than myself.)
Video games would suddenly take on certain similarities to Tie Fighters, X-Wings, R2D2 and Darth Vader was the epitome of cool.
Star Wars rocked the world and gave George Lucas the finances and clout, which have carried him these 27 years, to do a great many things other producer/directors could only dream of.
It really is pretty awful that he can't be happy with this original artifact and, like some old silver coin with a patina, feels he has to polish it with some course cloth until it's bright, shiny and utterly unattractive to those who appreciate it for what it was.
Re:George==his own worst critic (Score:5, Insightful)
Funny, seems to me it's all about George Lucas now...
Thus far (Score:2, Insightful)
Virgins, Get your opinions started! (Score:5, Funny)
Re:Virgins, Get your opinions started! (Score:5, Funny)
May the force be with you.
Re:Virgins, Get your opinions started! (Score:3, Funny)
I wore it once... needless to say, that's one of those things you only tend to wear around the (frat) house. Or, I suppose, trying to hit on girls at a Star Wars convention.
Re:Virgins, Get your opinions started! (Score:3, Funny)
No, they're not imaginary, but some days I wonder if they ought to be.
Special special editions (Score:2, Interesting)
X-mas Special (Score:5, Funny)
Shooting (Score:5, Funny)
How tantric.. err..
So now we have Star Wars, Episode IV, designed by a committee edition. I may yet end up with the box set (we have a house full of furniture and need smaller things to put on our wedding "wannas" list.. yeah.. I hate the concept too, but practicality is winning on this one).
Re:Shooting (Score:3, Insightful)
Gredo must have been a very, very, very bad shot.
Hans and Greedo now say "over" at the same time... (Score:5, Funny)
Re:Hans and Greedo now say "over" at the same time (Score:5, Funny)
Han shouts first!
Why does everyone ignore... (Score:5, Funny)
Why is everyone trying to act like it's not a big deal that R2-D2 and C-3P0 are being replaced with Crow and Tom Servo?
han/greedo (Score:5, Insightful)
Re:han/greedo (Score:3, Funny)
-- gid
Re:han/greedo (Score:3, Interesting)
Respect not likely (Score:5, Insightful)
I could respect a director who makes a controversial film decision (Han shoots first) provided that the film is made well, and it doesn't look like a mistake (see my film because it's controversial trash)
I could respect a director who admits to making a mistake in a film (or believes that his greater vision was compromised at first release) and rereleases the film with corrections (Greedo shoots first) provided that the film is remade well, and it doesn't look like he's just caving into a compromised version of his vision.
But I can't respect this. Either Lucas is stating that his vision was for Han to be a chior boy in bad boy clothing, or that his vision wasn't important enough to stand by, or that he has no vision, he's just doing whatever the polls say.
After watching Kirosawa's "The Hidden Fortress", I am fully convinced that the success of Star Wars was part plagarisim and part mistake. Lucas's disneyland inspired lightening up of the film in it's theatrical re-relase was touted as being closer to his true "vision". Every improvement detracted from the story and lightened the tone of the film. I mean, Luke's family was just killed, and we're supposed to be laughing at visual gags when it's time to go find Han. "Empire Strikes Back" probably was saved due to the extra help he brought aboard. Help which he now eschews in the episode 1-3 films.
Let's face it. We'll never have a good Star Wars until the Master stops driving his Empire into the ground in the name of Profit.
plain and simple reason why Lucas is doing this: (Score:3, Insightful)
Richard Marquand must be spinning in his grave.
Re:han/greedo (Score:3, Interesting)
Maybe a bit unwanted.... (Score:5, Funny)
Also, I heard thanks to product placement, the death star now has the AT&T Logo slightly superimposed.
Re:Maybe a bit unwanted.... (Score:3, Funny)
and in the next version... (Score:5, Funny)
However, I predict this will fail to silence the critics that still complain about Han stepping over Jabba's tail.
Other Changes... (Score:5, Funny)
2. The wookie DOESNT win and C3P0 gets an unexpected "backdoor suprise"
3. Han is now Luke's father (See change 1)
4. The final scene in ROTJ has yoda wearing a ninja headband
Re:Other Changes... (Score:3, Funny)
6. Princess Leia gives birth to Senator Amidala
7. The stormtroopers are a nice shade of orange
8. Darth Vader commits suicide in the first scene
Re:Other Changes... (Score:4, Funny)
10.R2-D2 enrages C-3P0's by bringing another robot into their "relationship"
11.The part of Yoda will be played by Gary Coleman. "What you talkin' bout, Luke!"
12.At the battle of Hoth, all the guns are removed and replaced with snow balls.
More changes (Score:4, Interesting)
http://perso.club-internet.fr/willow/Index.html [club-internet.fr]
I wasn't sure how seriously to take it, but it seems to be corroborated by the article. (talking about having a better CG Jabba in ANH)
That's it. (Score:5, Funny)
*rolls up a newspaper and goes to Skywalker Ranch, finds George Lucas, and smacks him over the head four times*
NO! BAD GEORGE! GREEDO DOESN'T GET TO SHOOT *AT ALL*! BAD DIRECTOR! NO COOKIE!
How many are there? (Score:2)
Re:How many are there? (Score:5, Funny)
He can't stop altering it, to the point where it will soon all start falling apart.
And both men live on so-called "ranches", so it gives one pause to wonder...
Stream splitting (Score:5, Interesting)
Branching... (Score:3, Interesting)
Not sure if this still happens now.
Re:Stream splitting (Score:5, Insightful)
Even if branching wouldn't work, there's always DVD-18 (Don't worry, DVD writer users, it's only double sided dual layer). I believe T2 used that kind, and Terminator 1 used DVD-14.
erratum (Score:5, Funny)
Surely he means "the first episode"?
Re:erratum (Score:2)
Greedo (Score:4, Insightful)
To buy or not to buy... (Score:2, Interesting)
The article also describes a 2.5 hour documentary by Kevin Burns that traces the origins of the saga.
Which might make it worth it. I know I'll buy it anyway.
This, however:
'The first cut of Star Wars,' Burns' narrator says, 'was an unmitigated disaster.'
Would be very, very cool to see.
Review at Digital Bits (Score:4, Informative)
Re:Review at Digital Bits (Score:3, Interesting)
At least the new CGI Jabba doesn't look like he's about to join forces with Pikachu.
As for the Jabba scene, Jabba was pasted in... both in the old one and the new one. The scene was shot with a human actor, they kept the footage before Jabba was made into a giant slug, and then superimposed CGI years later when it became technically possible. The original edit is horribly animated, although in this new one, like you say, the shininess and dust does seem like an oversight... although he is a good slimy s
WTF is Greedo? (Score:5, Informative)
Who is Greedo and what did he and Han shoot and WHAT THE HELL IS THIS ALL ABOUT?! [fecundity.com]
Seriously, dude (Score:3, Insightful)
I don't care if Lucas thinks this is the way the movies were intended; as a customer, I'm not buying it from him unless he gives me what I want. Yeah, I know millions of people will buy the DVDs anyway, but that doesn't change my position.
Also reported (Score:2, Funny)
Holding out. (Score:5, Funny)
Excellent review at The Digital Bits... (Score:2, Informative)
http://www.thedigitalbits.com/reviews3/starwarstri logy.html [thedigitalbits.com]
Make it a DVD option? (Score:5, Funny)
Re:Make it a DVD option? (Score:3, Interesting)
It's only a small number of scenes that were changed by Lucas for the re-release, and now he's just chan
Not that guy!!! (Score:5, Funny)
Did anyone else mis-read that as Ken Burns [wikipedia.org] and think Only 2.5 hours? That must be one of his short films!
MOD ALL POSTS DOWN! (Score:5, Funny)
A lesson from David Lean... (Score:5, Insightful)
There is a scene in Lawrence of Arabia where you see a camel riding slowly towards O'Toole taking time to do it. This was the entrance of Omar Sherif. Afterwards David Lean said he got it wrong, and that that particular buildup ended too quickly, however, he did NOT change it for the reasons given.
Although George Lucas's modifications to the original Star Wars Trilogy may be making it more cinematically pleasing, and maybe even more to how he would have liked it to originally turn out, what he is doing could be interpreted as defacing. The original Star Wars Trilogy are works of art in themselves.
Everyone would have thought it ridiculous if Picasso took some of his earlier work back, and touched it up to make it more realistic, or in fashion. I think the same way about the Star Wars Films.
Stop it. (Score:5, Insightful)
I don't believe any of these pictures are classics or sacred treasures but these films are not like Director's Cuts where the original vision was changed to get the movie to market, no matter what Georgie says. He is 'Robin Williamsing' these things because of his change in character after become a parent. That is, some famous actors, directors, etc... at some point feel everything they've done should some how be compatible with things their kids could watch.
Re:Stop it. (Score:3, Interesting)
Biggest irony... (Score:5, Insightful)
"Star Wars" creator George Lucas, who testified with Steven Spielberg before Congress in the 1980s against colorization and other forms of alteration, said the process yanks such slapstick performers as the Stooges out of the black-and-white universe they belong in.
"Would color distract from their comedy and make it not as funny anymore?" Lucas said. "Maybe just the fact that they're in black and white makes it funny, because their humor is dated. But by putting it in black and white, it puts it in a context where you can appreciate it for what it was.
"But you try to make it in full living color and try to compare it to a Jim Carrey movie, then it's hard for young people to understand. Because you're then thinking you're comparing apples to apples, when you're not. You're comparing apples to oranges. I'm saying it's not fair to the artist."
Part of Star Wars' charm was that while the special effects were advanced for the time, they were NOT excessive to any degree beyond being how they directly supported the plot. The extra things running around Mos Eisley, windows in Bespin... it just started being more distractive than immersive. The only two I absolutely agreed with were putting in the Jabba scene (yeah, it wasn't done well, but it did actually help establish Han a little more) and fixing the Hoth shots so you couldn't see AT-ATs through the actual instrument panel. (I'd never noticed before on small TV's, but almost a must for a high-quality DVD on large TVs.)
Don't get me started on Guido shooting first, that completely changed Han's daring go-for-it attitude as a lawless smuggler out only for himself. Having them shoot at the same time I can accept logically. Han decides to shoot, Guido sees it in his eyes and shoots as well. Of course, Guido missing makes little sense at 3 feet, but if he had hit him it would have been a pretty short movie. What really bugs me about this change was that it was never "I wanted to do this, but I couldn't", it was "I've changed my mind about how much of a lawless guy Han was at the beginning, thus weakening his story arc as he progressed to a caring person."
Huh, guess I got myself going. Anyway, I guess I'll go hit the local antique and pawn shops to see if anyone's ignorant mothers have turned in the laserdiscs of the originals...
Re:Biggest irony... (Score:5, Funny)
Oh, great...Lucas has gone and turned the cantina scene into something from The Godfather.
"That's a nice Wookiee you've got there, Mr. Solo...it'd be a real shame if something happened to him..."
Come on... (Score:3, Funny)
On the grassy knoll, of course.
Re:Come on... (Score:5, Funny)
But of course the most valuable piece of evidence is the original, unedited Lucas film. If we play the scene repeatedly in excruciatingly slow motion, you can clearly see Greedo's head moves back... and to the left. Back... and to the left. Back... and to the left. Back... and to the left.
Disappointed in you geeks (Score:5, Funny)
*I hang my head in shame.*
Referral ID in link (Score:3, Informative)
Full List of DVD Changes (Score:5, Informative)
From theforce.net (http://boards.theforce.net/Classic_Trilogy/b10002 /16704309/?596 [theforce.net])
---LIST OF DVD CHANGES---
A NEW HOPE
Confirmed :
- The opening crawl has been re-done to match the colour/quality of the PT opening crawl.
- Lightsaber effects have been fixed. The colours now appear more vibrant and the blades better defined.
- The lettering on various Death Star panels will be written in Aurebesh rather than English.
- An improved version of Jabba inserted into his scenes.
- Greedo still shoots first...however, Han's reaction is 'much more realistic'.
- R2's panels will be consistantly blue in all of the space shots, instead of just a few of them.
- The Dianoga now appears more lifelike and not so obviously Stop-Motion.
- The matte-painted hall in the detention block has been fixed rather than just having a bright white light at one end.
Rumoured :
- Stormtrooper voices redubbed by Temura Morrison (Jango Fett).
- The Emperor may possibly make an appearence to address the Senate in a new scene.
- The Imperial March may be inserted into the score in certain parts to maintain continuity with the other films.
- The 'Binary Sunset' shot outside the Homestead could have clouds to match Luke's later POV shot.
- Rumours of work on Obi-Wan's death scene with CGI.
- Door closings/openings could be smoothed out without the frame jumps.
- Rumour that the aliens and other creatures blink now to make them look non-mask like.
- Vader and Obi-Wan's fight scene may be upgraded with CGI work.
- Battle of Yavin shots cleaned up and recomped.
Denied rumours:
- Bail Organa will not be in ANH, for when Alderaan blows up.
THE EMPIRE STRIKES BACK
Confirmed :
- The opening crawl has been re-done to match the colour/quality of the PT opening crawl.
- Lightsaber effects have been fixed. The colours now appear more vibrant and the blades better defined.
- Ian McDiarmid is now in place for Emperor Palpatine's scene, rather than the monkey-eyed old woman. There are also a couple of new lines in this scene.
Rumoured :
- The Tauntauns could be re-done with CGI. .
- Rumour that the missing Wampa Attack sequence may be back into the beginning of the film
- 'Grander escape sequence' between Lando, Leia, Chewie, C3PO and R2 in Cloud City.
- Possible additional deleted scene(s) with Yoda on Dagobah.
- Boba Fett's voice redubbed by Temura Morrison (Jango Fett).
RETURN OF THE JEDI
Confirmed :
- The opening crawl has been re-done to match the colour/quality of the PT opening crawl.
- Lightsaber effects have been fixed. The colours now appear more vibrant and the blades better defined.
- Hayden Christensen appears at the end of the film in place of Sebastian Shaw as 'Ghost Anakin'.
- The Rancor's matte-lines have been removed.
- Naboo now appears in the end celebration sequence.
- In Vader's death scene, Shaw's eyes have been recoloured (to match Hayden's) and his eyebrows removed (as they would never have survived).
Rumoured :
- Palpatine's Force Lightning may have been re-done.
- Rumour that the Jedi Temple now appears in the background of Coruscant during the end celebration sequence.
- Work done on background matte-paintings.
- Rumour that the Ewoks have had CGI work done to animate their facial features.
- Rumour that Watto appears during the Tatooine celebration sequence at the end.
Denied rumours:
- Padme does not appear at the end alongside the ghosts of Anakin, Ben, and Yoda.
MISC INFO
Audio Quality
- "I spoke with Ben Burtt recently. He mentioned the upcoming Star Wars DVDs. It seems that they were able
Re:Full List of DVD Changes (Score:3, Interesting)
I wonder how this affects actor's residuals... I see several possibilities:
(1) Shaw stops getting residuals because he's effectively no longer in the picture
(2) Shaw still gets residuals because he was in the picture, just you can't see him anymore
(3) Christensen sues Shaw for all the back residuals, since Lucas is effectively ret-conning the movie, and Christensen now always played ghost Anikin.
(4) Ev
First cut is not the released cut. (Score:3, Interesting)
Stop the Second Guessing (Score:4, Insightful)
2 things stand out in the article.. (Score:5, Informative)
And so began down the path to the Dark side.
2. The shot of Carrie Fisher and her stunt double? [timeinc.net] Whoa.
Whiny Ani in RoTJ? (Score:3, Funny)
Then again, seeing Sebastian Shaw standing(rumor is Ani loses legs in/after the "great" battle) doesn't make a lot of sense either. Then again, I wouldn't want to see a stumpy Anakin. Maybe he has "magic legs" like Lt. Dan?
What the hell is wrong with people today? (Score:5, Insightful)
I am a Star Wars fan, but not hardcore in any sense of the word. I have never seen the 1997 redone versions, mostly because redoing that movie sounded like the most retarded thing I had ever heard of.
I didn't even know about the Cantina shootout thing until this post, but it might be one of the gayest moves a filmmaker has ever made. The thing is, it is NOT a "Star Wars Nerd" thing....it's a film thing. If what I have read here is true, that is a MAJOR change to a subtle but important incident in the movie. If people don't understand why that change makes a difference, then they don't understand the movie or the character of Han Solo. It's not about whether the movie agrees with all the times you've reenacted the scene with action figures in your bedroom, it's about a movie that was good because of the story it told and the characters it developed being hacked by a director who used to know what he was doing but has now fallen off into a pit of mediocrity.
I can't believe the other changes he made either. Fuck continuity...who CARES for chrissakes? Who would complain about the lack of coninuity? No one. Who would complain about fucking up a masterpiece? Apparently quite a few people. Isn't this movie being made for the audience to enjoy? Apparently not because now the artist is rehashing his work, to the displeasure of the fans, on some kind of ego trip that's supposed to make up for the fact that he will NEVER make a movie that good again.
What is it with people? You go out and make one of the better scifi movies ever made and then shit all over it when it's released to DVD to support continuity with movies that NO ONE thinks are as good as the originals. Dumb Dumb Dumb.
Sorry, this turned into something closely approximating nerd-rage, but it's about ART...and if it's one thing I hate to see it's artists who sell out and forget what they used to be about.
The SPECIAL Special Edition! (Score:3, Funny)
Gredo and Han switcheroo (Score:3, Funny)
Also, Lucas digitally changed the scene so that Han misses and Gredo kills Han instead. Later, Gredo assasinates Jabba the Hutt and takes over his crime ring, and falls in love with Princess Leia and tehy get married and have a child who turns out to be Tiger Woods.
So, George, is FOUR enough? (Score:3, Insightful)
2. Videotape (dropped a scene - which I can't freakin' remember NOW)
3. Added some scenes (with some really BADLY done CG at times)
4. YET another Edit...
Hell, Thomas Dolby is about the only artist I can think of who has re-worked the same material only to come up with essentially the same thing.
And the first one STILL is better...
Mostly cosmetic changes (Score:3, Insightful)
Overall, the expected changes on the DVDs aren't as dramatic as those for the Special Editions in 1997, says Scott Chitwood, one of the co-founders of TheForce.Net, a Star Wars fan/news site. "I think a few of the changes will only make sense after Episode III," he says.
Hopefully this is true, but not because I'm one of those purist Star Wars fans, but rather I'd love to hear an end to the incessant whining sound coming from some of you.
BTW, I think Hayden Christensen at the end of Jedi makes a ton of sense and is an excellent decision on the part of Lucas. It will really wrap up the continuity of the entire series of films in a simple and effective way.
Disagree with me? Probably. Do I care? Probably not.
Shooting at the same time (Score:3, Interesting)
Meanwhile, some of the changes are GOOD! (Score:3, Insightful)
Bear in mind, people, that directors (even Lucas) get pressure to alter their films, change things, remove things, cut corners, etc. At least give Lucas's new versions a chance before denouncing them outright. It appears to me that lots of things have been changed just to improve what he originally intended and only a few changes to tweak the films to make them line up with the prequels. I see lots worth being excited about, little worth whining about.
I'm especially thrilled that they took the time to color correct the damn Rancor scene in Jedi. It never looked right that Luke's shading was a noticeable lighter value than the Rancor's. It looked like an actor moving around in front of a movie screen. Judging from the stills on the site above, it looks perfect.
Orginal on VHS was a "one time offer"... (Score:2, Interesting)
Then a while later we had big creen Special Editions, but of course this didn't contradict the previous offer, becuase it wasn't the "Original Star Wars Trilogy" even if it was only slightly different.
Re:same time! (Score:5, Funny)
Re:same time! (Score:3, Insightful)
(Han shooting first was what made his character. Having him shoot at the same time reduces the effectiveness of his story and makes his change from self righteous smuggler to selfless statesman less impressive)
Re:Formats (Score:2, Offtopic)
They might still need a separate laser, but like the separate laser that was required at one time to read CD-Rs, the difference will likely be unnoticed by the user.
Re:Shoot at the same time? (Score:3, Informative)
The controvers is... (Score:5, Insightful)
The reason this upsets so many people is that this scene established Han Solo as an anti-hero in the movie. He was a rogue and a pragmatist. The core appeal of this character was that he was not so damn foolish as to take his chances and let someone get the first hit in, if he knew a fight was coming. Han was street smart. He would strike first to survive.
Although many on slashdot are loathe to admitt it, this was part of the charm and good writing in the first movie that created its appeal. You had classic heroes,like skywalker. Who were good, but naive and ultimately had super powers to help them do the right thing. You also had heroes like Han who would do the right thing, but get dirty doing it. Characters like Leia were somewhere in between. She was "good" but willing to lie and sacrafice others for her cause. Reality tends to reflect this, which is why the movie spoke to so many so strongly. The changing of the Greedo scene cheapened the movie and its core complexities. Hence, the hatred on these fair forums.
my two cents,
-Iowa
Re:The controvers is... (Score:3, Insightful)
I wouldn't even go that far. Originally, Han was just about the bucks. He wanted nothing to do with saving Leia, until Luke tells him she's a rich princess who will give him a wad of dough.
Then there's the Leia-Han "If money is all you want then thats what you'll get" (paraphrasing) scene.
I remember having a slightly uneasy feeling about Han - like he could betray Luke and Obi-Wan at any moment. Someone would just have
Re:The controvers is... (Score:5, Interesting)
Jesus, I'm posting to SW:EP4 threads. Anything to take my mind off Ivan [wftv.com], I guess.
The Emperor's Court (Score:5, Interesting)
Here's a online comic [club-internet.fr]that pokes a little fun at the "Han/Greedo shoots first" argument.
Re:Shoot at the same time? (Score:3, Insightful)
In the original release, Han is presented as a tough, ruthless mercenary. When confronted by Greedo in the cantina, he acts cool and unconcerned by the blaster Greedo has pointed at him, while, under the table, he is pulling his blaster out. After a pointed threat from Greedo, Han blows him away in cold blood. While Greedo is clearly threatening him, it seemed apparent at the time that Greedo wasn't going to kill him on the spot.
In the new release, Lucas evidently decided,
Re:Unmitigated disaster (Score:3, Funny)
Actually, if you watch the documentary on the TPM DVD, they show Lucas and posse sitting down in a screening room and watching the first 'final' cut of TPM, and when it's over, they're all just stting there, with 'oh FUCK' looks on their faces. The voice over of one of them confirms it, as well, as I recall.