Fanchildren, Cease Thy Whining

[bsu legato]

4 reals, yo

http://www.starwars.com/episode-iv/release...ws20060503.html

This September: Original Unaltered Trilogy on DVD

May 03, 2006

Fans can look forward to a September filled with classic Star Wars nostalgia, led by the premiere of LEGO Star Wars II: The Original Trilogy video game and the long-awaited DVD release of the original theatrical incarnations of the classic Star Wars trilogy.

In response to overwhelming demand, Lucasfilm Ltd. and Twentieth Century Fox Home Entertainment will release attractively priced individual two-disc releases of Star Wars, The Empire Strikes Back and Return of the Jedi. Each release includes the 2004 digitally remastered version of the movie, as well as the original theatrical edition of the film. That means you'll be able to enjoy Star Wars as it first appeared in 1977, Empire in 1980, and Jedi in 1983.

See the title crawl to Star Wars before it was known as Episode IV; see the pioneering, if dated, motion control model work on the attack on the Death Star; groove to Lapti Nek or the Ewok Celebration song like you did when you were a kid; and yes, see Han Solo shoot first.

This release will only be available for a limited time: from September 12th to December 31st. International release will follow on or about the same day. Each original theatrical version will feature Dolby 2.0 Surround sound, close-captioning, and subtitles in English, French and Spanish for their U.S. release. International sound and subtitling vary by territory.

"Over the years, a truly countless number of fans have told us that they would love to see and own the original version that they remember experiencing in theaters," said Jim Ward, President of LucasArts and Senior Vice President of Lucasfilm Ltd. "We returned to the Lucasfilm Archives to search exhaustively for source material that could be presented on DVD. This is something that we're very excited to be able to give to fans in response to their continuing enthusiasm for Star Wars. Topping it off with a new interactive adventure makes September 12 a red-letter day for Star Wars fans."

That's also the day fans will be able to experience the LEGO Star Wars II: The Original Trilogy video game, the action-packed sequel -- filled with tongue-in-cheek humor -- to one of the best selling video games of 2005. To see the trailer to the new game from LucasArts and TT Games, click here!

Click here to order your copy today.

In light of this, can we all finally STFU and get along?

Edited May 6, 2006 by >EXO<

[promethuem5]

Thank you. God.

[Eternal_D]

nope...I kill lucas for doing this ass crap...how much more money does this guy need? I'm gonna get bootlegs of this...I aint paying another $50 for the set.

[promethuem5]

Oh hold on, I didn'nt say I'd BY it either.... but I'll certianly download it, as a good hgh quality digital copy of the OT.... I've still got the really old VHS OT tho anyways...

[Mog]

Well, considering I boycotted buying the "Even More Special" OT DVD's when they first came out, I'll probably be buying these suckers, just to have them on DVD.

......Now if I could just find a VOTC Biker Scout at a store.

[Mr March]

Sounds like a release just meant to placate the fans and get give the hate mail workers a break. Doesn't sound at all like they're serious about the release and this "limited time" only junk sounds just that. And what about future formats? Released on HD or Blu-Ray? All very good questions.

Still, I suppose one can't complain too much. It's been a long fight for many of the fans and I don't want sound so skeptical when fans are no doubt quoting to me "Evacuate? In our moment of triumph?!"

[JsARCLIGHT]

Why did I suddenly have a vision of New Coke being yanked from shelves and Coke Classic filling it's place?

[bsu legato]

Doesn't sound at all like they're serious about the release and this "limited time" only junk sounds just that.  And what about future formats?  Released on HD or Blu-Ray?  All very good questions.

396519[/snapback]

After December 31st, they go back into the Disney Vault....FOREVER (or until another anniversary needs to be marked by a DVD release)

[Mr March]

Doesn't sound at all like they're serious about the release and this "limited time" only junk sounds just that.  And what about future formats?  Released on HD or Blu-Ray?  All very good questions.

396519[/snapback]

After December 31st, they go back into the Disney Vault....FOREVER (or until another anniversary needs to be marked by a DVD release)

396525[/snapback]

Hehehe, how true. You gotta give the guy points for his marketting. The guy squeezes so much money out of the fanbase, it's like...dare I say the "r" word?

[Viceland]

Wow, finally.

Watch eBay get flooded with those 2004 remastered OT sets...3...2...1...

[eriku]

And this comes after Lucas swore the original cut of the movie would never see the light of day again. He must have spotted another island somewhere that he wanted but didn't have quite enough dough to purchase.

Seriously though, this will make my fiance very happy. She's cooler than I am and refuses to watch the SE Trilogy DVDs because of the CG.

[bsu legato]

My spider sense tells me that this thread will go from zero to awesome in the next few posts. Let's watch....

[eugimon]

hmmm... I dunno. I'm thinking pass. but maybe. it's low on my list of DVDs I wanna buy and I dont actually have a list.

[Mr March]

Well, the press release does say "attractively" priced, for what such double-talking jargon that's worth. Only if it's attractive to ME, the consumer

[chrono]

Well Lucas was always good at advertisting his shows and since he'll have 2 shows coming out within 2 years this is a smart movie to keep people interested.

[Skull Leader]

I have no intention of buying them. Why?

a) I've already got bootleg DVDs of the THX originals, which I never watch anyway

and

b) I've got the special edition DVDs, which look much nicer, and they're all I watch anymore anyway.

the church of HSF (Han Shoots First) is easily first on my list of fanboys to make fun of... I've never seen so many people get sand in their vaginas over such a stupid little detail.

[Dangard Ace]

I'll get it....mainly cause it's going to be released around my birthday and I won't pay for it.

I'm actually looking forward to see how their version looks to the boots.

[1/1 LowViz Lurker]

I bet you they eventually do make another star wars trilogy of movies in the future even though they say they wouldn't. It's a licence to print money. Of course I'll be there buying the lego star wars toys and playing the games of them and still watching the movies despite it all.

the church of HSF (Han Shoots First) is easily first on my list of fanboys to make fun of... I've never seen so many people get sand in their vaginas over such a stupid little detail.

But it does kind of suck that the new and improved version has replaced the old version for fans who liked the older version and can't get a dvd of the damn thing. So this is good news no matter how you look at it. If it makes him even more rich than is deserved, because of his ability to milk the fan, then so be it. As long as it means the option is now there so they can stop whining. No different from people who had issues with HG changing the sound FX in the robotech remastered dvds when a majority of people preffered those old sounds for nostalgia reasons. I was one of the whiners that complained they should have just left the original sounds as is. It's a little thing to people watching it today who don't care, but a big thing for those want to bring back memories of the old days and retain the feel of what it was like back then.

Edited May 4, 2006 by 1/1 LowViz Lurker

[JB0]

Oh hold on, I didn'nt say I'd BY it either.... but I'll certianly download it, as a good hgh quality digital copy of the OT.... I've still got the really old VHS OT tho anyways...

396513[/snapback]

You could download rips from the LaserDisk remaster now, and they'd be better than your VHS copies.

But yeah...it'll be nice to have it on DVD. I'vd got the pan+scan VHS remaster, and it's starting to look a tad ratty.

"Each original theatrical version will feature Dolby 2.0 Surround sound..."

*laughs*

On the upside, they aren't doing the remix idiocy. On teh downside, they're calling a stereo mix "surround sound."

[Keith]

Sweet, now when are they going to release the new cut of Phantom Menace with all Jake Loyd's lines re-dubbed by someone who can act?

[Duke Togo]

I'll get it....mainly cause it's going to be released around my birthday and I won't pay for it. 

I'm actually looking forward to see how their version looks to the boots.

396563[/snapback]

Same here! LOL

[Hurin]

Well, I'll be damned! Good for Lucas, Fox, Lucasfilm, and film lovers all around. Lucas is living up to his own words (as quoted on originaltrilogy.com). . . and it's really great to see:

I am very concerned about our national heritage, and I am very concerned that the films that I watched when I was young and the films that I watched throughout my life are preserved, so that my children can see them - George Lucas Regarding Colorization of Black and White Films

Surely the whiners will now say: "But, but, he lied to us and said he'd never do this. . . so I bought his crappy Special Editions already! He just wants to make more money!"

The true test of a whiney fanboy is their knack for whining and finding fault even when they're given what they have been begging for all along.

While I will always have qualms with the more blatantly childish cinematic sensibility Lucas has developed in every movie he's done since Empire, and the "retroactive" changes that his later movies (essentially) force upon his earlier ones, I feel simply grateful towards Lucas and/or the Fox beancounters that convinced him to allow this. George Lucas can have as much money as he wants as long as he's doing things like this.

Though, I sorta feel bad for the guys out there busting their humps to capture, remaster, and restore the Laserdisc releases of the OT. Especially the XO project. They hardly seem necessary anymore.

I actually stopped working on my frame-by-frame remastering of DYRL for the same reason, I figure an HD-DVD release of DYRL will similarly render my hundreds of man-hours moot as well.

Best,

H

[UN Spacy]

Screw that. I'm NOT giving Lucas anymore money.

[JB0]

Well, I'll be damned!  Good for Lucas, Fox, Lucasfilm, and film lovers all around.  Lucas is living up to his own words (as quoted on originaltrilogy.com). . . and it's really great to see:

I am very concerned about our national heritage, and I am very concerned that the films that I watched when I was young and the films that I watched throughout my life are preserved, so that my children can see them - George Lucas Regarding Colorization of Black and White Films

Somewhat ironic that that Lucas quote came out while he was insisting the original version of Star Wars didn't exist and it was Special Edition or nothing.

Surely the whiners will now say:  "But, but, he lied to us and said he'd never do this. . . so I bought his crappy Special Editions already!  He just wants to make more money!"

He DID lie. My VHS remasters clearly say it's the last time Star Wars will EVER be available in it's original form.

He's ruined their value now. The bastard.

The true test of a whiney fanboy is their knack for whining and finding fault even when they're given what they have been begging for all along. 

Actually, what they WANTED was for this to be the original DVD release, with both the original AND Special Edition in the same package. Instead, we got a THIRD version.

[EXO]

Wow... I feel as if millions of childhoods suddenly cried out in glee and were suddenly unraped.

[Hurin]

the church of HSF (Han Shoots First) is easily first on my list of fanboys to make fun of... I've never seen so many people get sand in their vaginas over such a stupid little detail.

396559[/snapback]

I think you'll find that they have the sand there because that change is symptomatic of an overall change in tone that permeates the prequels and the altered OT. Indeed, more than symptomatic, it is the quintessential post-ESB Lucas decision:

1. Change something that doesn't need to be changed (was anyone really offended by Han blowing away Greedo without giving Greedo "first shot!?!")
   
2. Fundamentally alter a character (in this case, changing Han from a bad-ass into a goodie-goodie idiot who is alive only because Greedo can't hit a guy at point-blank range from two feet away).
   
3. Finally, disingenuously claim that any changed events, characters, timelines, or meanings are not changes at all but were always part of the "original vision."
   

It irks in the same way that all the guns in E.T. were replaced with walkie-talkies to make the movie more kiddie-friendly and PC. Though, in that case, Steven Spielberg did the right thing and also made the unaltered version available, as Lucas has now done.

Now, Everybody wins! Well, except those of us who would like to have not gagged at all the pratfalls, kiddie humor, and fart jokes during the prequels. But you can't have everything!

"This will be a day long remembered. . ."

Best,

H

Edited May 4, 2006 by Hurin

[Uxi]

I have no intention of buying them. Why?

a) I've already got bootleg DVDs of the THX originals, which I never watch anyway

and

b) I've got the special edition DVDs, which look much nicer, and they're all I watch anymore anyway.

the church of HSF (Han Shoots First) is easily first on my list of fanboys to make fun of... I've never seen so many people get sand in their vaginas over such a stupid little detail.

396559[/snapback]

W3rd. On both accounts. I bought a DVD-9 copy of the Chinese laser discs sometime back. Even has Dolby Digital.

I wouldn't dream of watching anything other my special editions. While I wouldn't mind seeing Han shoot first, I don't think I could stomach seeing the strings on the TIE fighters again.

I'm glad for the grognards like Hurin, though, so they can hopefully enjoy it without acrimony. Enjoy Hurin.

Just don't hold your breath on the high def version.

[Mr March]

Wow... I feel as if millions of childhoods suddenly cried out in glee and were suddenly unraped.

396607[/snapback]

HAHAHAHA

Brilliant. Just brilliant :)

[Radd]

You know, there's a lot of things I prefere in the Special Edition versions of the movies, especially with the DVD release which improved on a lot of what was wrong with the original SE additions.

However, there are a few things that really bug me about them, too. Not in a deal breaker sort of way, but still. Han shooting first, the dance scene in Jabba's palace, and even bigger than either of those is a single line from Empire Strikes Back in which they dub over one of Vader's lines with new dialogue...and it sounds absolutely nothing like Vader's voice, it sounds like a bad impersonation.

If I'm ever feeling particulary ambitious, I might actually edit together my own edition of the movies, picking and choosing what I like and don't like from the different versions.

[Graham]

Will buy these and get rid of the SE boxset.

Graham

[Sdf-1]

Will buy these and get rid of the SE boxset.

Graham

396659[/snapback]

Ditto.

[Mr March]

You know, there's a lot of things I prefere in the Special Edition versions of the movies, especially with the DVD release which improved on a lot of what was wrong with the original SE additions.

However, there are a few things that really bug me about them, too. Not in a deal breaker sort of way, but still. Han shooting first, the dance scene in Jabba's palace, and even bigger than either of those is  a single line from Empire Strikes Back in which they dub over one of Vader's lines with new dialogue...and it sounds absolutely nothing like Vader's voice, it sounds like a bad impersonation.

If I'm ever feeling particulary ambitious, I might actually edit together my own edition of the movies, picking and choosing what I like and don't like from the different versions.

396651[/snapback]

Now you're talking. I couldn't agree more. Ideally, I'd prefer to simply have both versions. But if I were to choose a desired "Special Edition" version, axe any changed dialogue ("You're lucky you don't taste very good/You're lucky you got outta there"), axe the Greedo fires first crap, axe the music video, and axe Hayden at the end of Jedi. Keep all the new CGI, all the cleanup on the old special effects, the final Jabba scene in ANH, the shuttle from Bespin to the Executor, Ian McDiarmid as the hologram is TESB, and the Coruscant celebration. That'd be my ideal "Special Edition" version.

[EXO]

You know, there's a lot of things I prefere in the Special Edition versions of the movies, especially with the DVD release which improved on a lot of what was wrong with the original SE additions.

However, there are a few things that really bug me about them, too. Not in a deal breaker sort of way, but still. Han shooting first, the dance scene in Jabba's palace, and even bigger than either of those is  a single line from Empire Strikes Back in which they dub over one of Vader's lines with new dialogue...and it sounds absolutely nothing like Vader's voice, it sounds like a bad impersonation.

If I'm ever feeling particulary ambitious, I might actually edit together my own edition of the movies, picking and choosing what I like and don't like from the different versions.

396651[/snapback]

Now you're talking. I couldn't agree more. Ideally, I'd prefer to simply have both versions. But if I were to choose a desired "Special Edition" version, axe any changed dialogue ("You're lucky you don't taste very good/You're lucky you got outta there"), axe the Greedo fires first crap, axe the music video, and axe Hayden at the end of Jedi. Keep all the new CGI, all the cleanup on the old special effects, the final Jabba scene in ANH, the shuttle from Bespin to the Executor, Ian McDiarmid as the hologram is TESB, and the Coruscant celebration. That'd be my ideal "Special Edition" version.

396664[/snapback]

I agree too. I generally like the SE stuff with the ships and some of the background of Cloud City. But dont like the character changes. But with these DVDs coming out there's gonna be a lot of these fan edits available, just need to find the right one. Radd, get yours out quick!

[Radd]

Don't hold your breath for mine, if I even do one. I'm getting married later this year, and the final scenes of my webcomic are turning out even more complex than I'd expected

On top of that, it's been a few years since I've used video editing software on any sort of regular basis.

We'll see, though.

[the white drew carey]

Score one more for the Lucas Marketing Strategy Division.