STAR WARS on DVD - and the "controversy"

[Craig]

Posted: 8/17/04 at 4:55pm

Nope, we aren't talkin' Reagan here - we're talking what Eddie Varley and Kevin Smith would consider the Holy Trilogy. Seems as though the DVD set due in Sept will not be the original films, but the editions that played in theaters back in 1997...
Star Wars on DVD

[Matt_G]

Posted: 8/17/04 at 4:57pm

Craig, this has been an ongoing battle between fans of the films and George Lucas for years now. He has said his original versions of the films are dead and that they are ever changing. He will not be releasing them for any reason and he won't even allow them to be shown anywhere. You can get them on DVD on eBay though, which a LOT of people are doing.

[StickToPriest]

Posted: 8/17/04 at 5:00pm

Is there really THAT big a difference between the originals and the 1997 versions?

[Craig]

Posted: 8/17/04 at 5:04pm

They are pretty different - different enough. Matt_G I am "blessed" if you will in that I have the originals on Laserdisc and have since burned them on DVD since I don't have the laserdisc player hooked up anymore. It's a shame...

[Matt_G]

Posted: 8/17/04 at 5:06pm

Same here, Craig. I sold my laserdisc player a while ago, but not before burning what rare stuff I had onto DVD. The difference between what Lucas is putting out now and what he put out than is very substantial. He wants to completely redo Yoda and make him digital. Does this upset anyone else? A great website that has followed this whole mess from the beginning is www.digitalbits.com
It's the only DVD info website I visit and in my opinion is the best on the web. Defintaely check it out and search the archives.

[Ruffian]

Posted: 8/17/04 at 5:16pm

It is as if George wants to upset us

***sob***

[Matt_G]

Posted: 8/17/04 at 5:18pm

Geroge doesn't see people. He sees $$$$$$
He could care less what you want.

[StickToPriest]

Posted: 8/17/04 at 5:19pm

He sees $$$ by paying more $$$ to rework them how he wants?

[Ruffian]

Posted: 8/17/04 at 5:20pm

No Kidding George doesnt care

I was just lamenting, as are many

[eyeonbroadway]

Posted: 8/17/04 at 5:21pm

I don't understand why Lucas would want to "upgrade" the original movies. They represent moments in time and the evolution of special effects that still hold up quite well, considering all the advances that have been made. Other than 2001 Space Odyssey, which nobody understood at the time, Star Wars was revolutionary. I remember sitting in the movie theater when it came out and thinking, "Oh my God, how did they do this!"

[Matt_G]

Posted: 8/17/04 at 5:23pm

But you see, he doesn't like how they looked. Even though the original STAR WARS won an academy award for it's groundbreaking special effects, Lucas wants people to see them as if they were made today.

[Ruffian]

Posted: 8/17/04 at 5:24pm

***smack*** George in the head

[StickToPriest]

Posted: 8/17/04 at 5:25pm

Yes. But that doesn't mean he is doing it b/c, as you said "He sees $$$$$"

[Matt_G]

Posted: 8/17/04 at 5:26pm

Are you serious? Go and count how many different, updated versions of these films he's put out and than tell me he's not doing it for the money.

[eyeonbroadway]

Posted: 8/17/04 at 5:29pm

That's a shame. Especially if he isn't going to preserve the originals. I find the original Yoda to be much more believable than the digitized version so it isn't really progress. Guess it's Lucas' baby, and he can do what he wants, but it's still a shame.

[StickToPriest]

Posted: 8/17/04 at 5:29pm

When STAR WARS is released on DVD it will sell millions of copies no matter what version it is that is released.

[Ruffian]

Posted: 8/17/04 at 5:33pm

Yes, but the Fans would like the ORIGINAL version for the DVD

[StickToPriest]

Posted: 8/17/04 at 5:34pm

Granted. But it won't affect how much he makes from it.

[Craig]

Posted: 8/17/04 at 5:36pm

Well I'm not a die-hard, but what I find very disturbing about movies 1,2 and next year 3, is the technology displayed. It would appear the gadgets, vehicles, etc used in the "past" are far more advanced then those that were used in 4,5 and 6. I can only gather that between 3 and 4, the devestation during the clone wars was so vast that all technology was lost and the rebels were forced to make do with what they could salvage..

oh.. I also think the story telling in the new episodes are far inferior to the originals.. but that's another whole can of worms, isn't it?

[Ruffian]

Posted: 8/17/04 at 5:39pm

The First Two are just....CLASSICS

As cute as the EWOKS are, the Let-Me-Sell-Toys was beginning there....

These latest....need HELP

[eyeonbroadway]

Posted: 8/17/04 at 5:43pm

I don't think I'm really a die-hard, either, and I didn't mind some of the "upgrades" to the originals when they came out...but they sure didn't add anything substantial, either. They are what they are and, heck, it was Lucas' idea to introduce them in the order that he did. Kind of late to try and make it look seamless now! I think, too, that there is a strong argument for preservation of the original for what it was. Not that I'd compare it to the Mona Lisa, but would anyone defend "updating" her clothes every 20 years?

[Craig]

Posted: 8/17/04 at 5:51pm

at least spielberg put both versions on the dvd release of ET. Can anyone look at the new version and NOT laugh at FBI men threatining the kids with walkie-talkies?

[secret-soul]

Posted: 8/17/04 at 6:13pm

I hate the newer versions. I hate that they totally changed the ending of Return of the Jedi (btw, I'm a closet StarWars FREAK) and there are just too many inclusions in the newer ones that interrupt the original flow. It's OK to re-release the movies if the QUALITY is better (digitizing it and all and making it clearer) but not if you're going to CHANGE things. Unfortunately, there are not ENOUGH fans who would buy a DVD of the older ones....at least not enough that George Lucas would relapse...I think his whole plan was to make you forget the original originals and market the new look so that the prequels would look more in-synch with the older ones...just a thought.

[newyorkuniq]

Posted: 8/17/04 at 6:59pm

When I was a kid the part where ET was all white and dying made me have nightmares for weeks. Does anyone else remember playing ET on Atari? You had to follow the reeses trail before the space ships got to you :P As for Star Wars, I like the old ones not the new series. He should have put out the originals on DVD

[Matt_G]

Posted: 8/17/04 at 8:07pm

You need to understand that Spielberg came under ENORMOUS pressure to release the original theatrical cut of ET on DVD after he said he wasn't going to because he saw that it was irresponsible to have the guns in the first one. But by changing his mind and releasing the film we all grew up with, he effectively showed us that he does in fact care about his films and how they fit into history. By George Lucas destroying (and that's what he's doing here) the original STAR WARS films, he is erasing a part of history. The films will make a fortune this winter, there's no doubt about that. I'm sure the set will become the highest selling DVD of all time. And that's a shame. If these fans would just hold off for another two years and keep sales down, Lucas would find himself putting the first cuts out.

He is a filmmaker that is an enemy to film.