The NEW Star Wars on DVD thread

[Agent ONE]

Jesus! I had no idea they were doing this, I mean the updates and stuff. I usually ignore SW threads because I am tired of reading about how Jar Jar is a fag.

[Agent ONE]

Hey are those DVD's the SPecial Editions, or the Original versions?

From what I can tell, its like they are special editions of the special editions.

[Ladic]

Hey are those DVD's the SPecial Editions, or the Original versions?

From what I can tell, its like they are special editions of the special editions.

lol no, I meant the HK boots the put a link to up there.

[Hurin]

Hey are those DVD's the SPecial Editions, or the Original versions?

From what I can tell, its like they are special editions of the special editions.

If they are made from the Defninitive Collection (as the image would seem to suggest), then they are the original theatrical releases. No SE stuff.

Of course, they might just be using the cover of the laserdiscs for the hell of it. . .

H

[Agent ONE]

Hey are those DVD's the SPecial Editions, or the Original versions?

From what I can tell, its like they are special editions of the special editions.

lol no, I meant the HK boots the put a link to up there.

AH!!! Well I am silly... This thread is new to me.

[Amped]

Keith,

Regarding those boots ya picked up...

Any chance you can do a screen capture of the menu screens?

I'd like to see if this is the same set (also copied from the Definitive Laser Disc Set) that a buddy of mine picked up recently. He returned them for a full refund because there were significant portions of some scenes that were 'skipped' (probably due to poor video editing at the moments where the Laser Disc would have been flipped).

Aside from the slightly grainy image quality, could you go into any more detail on the overall quality? Thanks!

[fearyaks]

Besides, by the time of episode IV, with no Jedi left to fight, it would probably be cheaper to use subjigated citizens as soldiers.

That's one thing that's disappointed me about the Stormtroopers=clones information. Logically, if you were a dictator of an expansive empire, you'd almost certainly WANT to draw upon your population for the army, whether be it from direct draft or making it seem like the 'cool' thing to do.

First of all, you eat up a good chunk of the energetic, able bodies young men (and maybe women) who are bound to be a troublemaking part of the population. Secondly, you then get to all but brainwash them through drills and emphasizing the 'nobility'of their cause and loyalty to their nation. Thirdly, you can glorify the military to the point where those who don't serve are considered less worthy and even unfit to hold office or even be listened to, which weakens the effect of dissidents who don't go 'through the system'. Fourthly, you're providing jobs and pay to the lower classes of the population. Fifthly, you're making anyone who rebels forced to fight their own sons, nephews, and husbands, which can easily eat at their heart.

I could go on, but my point is that by making your army an outside entity with no attachment to the populace, you strip all that away. You provide no extra jobs, you let the young and reckless run rampant, you alienate the people from their troops, giving them no incentive to root for them or reason to not kill your men. All you have is fear and while time has proven again and again from the earliest days to the present that fear can control and manipulate the masses, it's not deep rooted and can easily be overturned if the people are ever given something to doubt the validity of what they fear.

So it's not entirely logical that the Emperor would employ clones in the OT. Then again, it's also not logical that someone would hire a thug that can't accurately shoot someone who's sitting across the table, so I suppose it fits in the Star Wars universe...

As far as I know, the Storm Troopers are no longer clones. This is mostly addressed in the Zahn books in that most of the clone chambers were destroyed sometime before the OT. There are also references to conscripting soldiers in one of the crappier books... either the Dark Saber or the one where Leia is engaged to someone. ... some ship that 'conscripts' soldiers goes wonky and starts conscripting local species to the Emperor's forces.

Also, they give Stormtroopers names in the OT (Davin Felth).... I wonder if clones have names or numbers (hence the old rumors that Obi Wan was a clone - OB-1).

Finally, there are some short stories written from an imperial perspective which mention the academy.

Regarding Greedo, were his poor shooting skills ever addressed in a short story or a comic? I remember Solo taking his jacket in a short story when they were younger and maybe them mentioning how crappy a shot he was... in fact, if memory serves correctly, he was a horrible bounty hunter who nobody took seriously.

I look at it like I look at Leia and Amidala being great shots... why not?

Edited September 10, 2004 by fearyaks

[Hurin]

As far as I know, the Storm Troopers are no longer clones. This is mostly addressed in the Zahn books in that most of the clone chambers were destroyed sometime before the OT. There are also references to conscripting soldiers in one of the crappier books... either the Dark Saber or the one where Leia is engaged to someone. ... some ship that 'conscripts' soldiers goes wonky and starts conscripting local species to the Emperor's forces.

Also, they give Stormtroopers names in the OT (Davin Felth).... I wonder if clones have names or numbers (hence the old rumors that Obi Wan was a clone - OB-1).

Finally, there are some short stories written from an imperial perspective which mention the academy.

Regarding Greedo, were his poor shooting skills ever addressed in a short story or a comic? I remember Solo taking his jacket in a short story when they were younger and maybe them mentioning how crappy a shot he was... in fact, if memory serves correctly, he was a horrible bounty hunter who nobody took seriously.

I look at it like I look at Leia and Amidala being great shots... why not?

I'm under the impression that Lucas officially said: "All the other crap besides the first three movies doesn't count" when he started making the new ones. So, Zahn is out the window.

Could be wrong. But I'm pretty sure that the novels are now non-canon.

H

[Duke Togo]

As far as I know, the Storm Troopers are no longer clones.  This is mostly addressed in the Zahn books in that most of the clone chambers were destroyed sometime before the OT.  There are also references to conscripting soldiers in one of the crappier books...  either the Dark Saber or the one where Leia is engaged to someone. ... some ship that 'conscripts' soldiers goes wonky and starts conscripting local species to the Emperor's forces.

Also, they give Stormtroopers names in the OT (Davin Felth).... I wonder if clones have names or numbers (hence the old rumors that Obi Wan was a clone - OB-1).

Finally, there are some short stories written from an imperial perspective which mention the academy.

Regarding Greedo, were his poor shooting skills ever addressed in a short story or a comic?  I remember Solo taking his jacket in a short story when they were younger and maybe them mentioning how crappy a shot he was... in fact, if memory serves correctly, he was a horrible bounty hunter who nobody took seriously.

I look at it like I look at Leia and Amidala being great shots... why not?

I'm under the impression that Lucas officially said: "All the other crap besides the first three movies doesn't count" when he started making the new ones. So, Zahn is out the window.

Could be wrong. But I'm pretty sure that the novels are now non-canon.

H

Yes, he has stated that he only concerns himself with the films. Only the movies are cannon.

[Drad]

Yeah. Canon.

[Guppy]

Well, when you run the galaxy, cannon fodder is no longer in short supply so it's safe to assume the storm troopers aren't clones in the OT. And as was stated earlier, it's keeping the population under the thumb.

[GRAND CANNON]

Anyone with inside knowledge on this DVD set know if this Special (SW:Empire of Dreams) that's going to be aired on A&E this Sunday is included as an extra.........will save me having to record it.

[Ladic]

Anyone with inside knowledge on this DVD set know if this Special (SW:Empire of Dreams) that's going to be aired on A&E this Sunday is included as an extra.........will save me having to record it.

Yep, It will come with the dvd:

Details of 'Star Wars' DVD Release Disclosed

The Sept. 21 DVD release of the original Star Wars trilogy will be accompanied by a fourth disc that includes a two-and-a-half-hour documentary, Empire of Dreams, by Kevin Burns, featuring interviews with 40 people involved in the original productions, including director George Lucas and all of the cast members, Video Store magazine reported on its website Wednesday. It also includes footage of some of the actors who auditioned for the leads, including Kurt Russell, William Katt and Cindy Williams. Some of the actors who appeared in the prequels have reportedly been inserted into some of the scenes in the original films, and Lucas has also introduced "subtle changes" into additional scenes. Each film was cleaned digitally by restoration expert John Lowry, who told the magazine: "These were the dirtiest, grimiest films I've ever had the pleasure of working on." He remarked that his team sometimes had to remove hundreds of dust particles from each frame of the negative. The set features a number of extras, including a game that can be played on Microsoft's Xbox.

http://www.imdb.com/news/sb/#1

[bsu legato]

All you have is fear and while time has proven again and again from the earliest days to the present that fear can control and manipulate the masses, it's not deep rooted and can easily be overturned if the people are ever given something to doubt the validity of what they fear.

Fear. Fear attracts the fearful. The weak. The strong. The innocent. Fear is my ally.

Fear will keep the local systems in line. Fear of this station.

I'm not afraid.

You know...it's almost as if Lucas were trying to make a point there. But other than that, I'm imagining that clones are the ultimate army for a dictator like Palpatine. they're cheap (you don't have to pay clones) they're disposable and loyal to the Emperor on a genetic level. No army of recruits could match that.

Edited September 10, 2004 by bsu legato

[VF-1Guy]

Star Wars was my life when I was kid - toys, sheets, underoos, records, tapes, comics, books, toothbrush - you name it. However, the passing years along with the revisionism has really turned me off. I never really liked the Greedo thing and the Luke ESB scream since I feel that it changes the characters that I knew so well. Han was a scoundrel - that was what made him cool. Luke was a strong hero who wouldn't scream like a sissy - he did make the decision to let go after all! I don't mind the new scenes here and there as long as they don't change the story or the characters.

I'll pass on the DVDs due to my general lack of interest and the Hayden RoTJ scene. This scene really bothers me for some reason. I liked to see the old Anakin. It reinforced to me that he did indeed die redeemed. Now with the young Anakin it almost seems as if his younger self is the only thing that was redeemed and that Luke didn't actually suceed in redeeming the old Anakin. Also, where did he get that outfit? Is he looking to old Ben to see what the current Jedi fashion is?

[Guvava]

Yeah, this just really bothers me. And it really disrespects the original actor that played Anakin of a good cameo in his own movie.

[lt.actionjackson]

Now that I've seen that Hayden replacement scene in ROTJ for myself, I have to say it looks HORRIBLE. Did they have to do that? Really? I guess I'll have to wait for the uber 6 disc gold and diamond plated set to get the movies how they were originally shown.

[aarbain]

Oh no ... why must they do that!

You got old VAder unmasked but a younger version of him apperaing in spirit.

What's the logic ???

[lt.actionjackson]

From they way they're figuring, when Anakin fell into the lava he died, and only Vader existed after. So, the redeemed Anakin could only be the one that existed before Vader. So, we get a lame photoshop of creepy Hayden in place of that guy (forget his name) who originally played Vader unmasked in ROTJ.

[Guppy]

Had a thought... I have an unopened Jedi Spirits 3 figure box set at home. I wonder if this will drive up the price?

[Radd]

It just would have mshed better if they made Anakin look older. Makeup, that's all it would take. Still, it's hard to tell from just that one screenshot.

[GreenGuy42]

Yeah, this just really bothers me. And it really disrespects the original actor that played Anakin of a good cameo in his own movie.

yea, agreed. I don't mind, and even LIKE many of the changes in the DVD, but this just seriously bothers me.

I'm still snaggin' them as soon as I can, though.

[Keith]

I watched through all 3 films already, and saw no missing footage. Also forgot to mention that they include what appear to be copies from the LD liner notes.

[Anubis]

I watched through all 3 films already, and saw no missing footage. Also forgot to mention that they include what appear to be copies from the LD liner notes.

Cool, can't wait for my set (of the original version boot).

Edited September 10, 2004 by Anubis

[Mercurial Morpheus]

I'm not buying these, no matter how good they look. I hate the SE's and this is even worse. First Lucas disrespects David Prowse by killing Vader and not telling him. Then he robs him of appearing on screen by hiring Sebastian Shaw to play Anakin. Now he removes half of Shaw's performance with Hayden Christiansen, giving, as one member of a different forum put it, "his daughter a , 'Hey, you're cute' look". While Lucas has the right to mess with these films, all I want to know is where it will end.

[Amped]

Sweet! Thanks for the info Keith!

This looks to be a different set from the one my friend bought & returned.

Gonna haveta order these so I have a halfway decent DVD version of the orginal theatrical versions of the films...

[Southpaw Samurai]

Personally, I always liked the content old spirits. Was a nice way to close it. While I'm sure Lucas has some logic as to why we have a young Anakin and old everyone else (Anakin redeems himself at the end, so wouldn't the death of the 'good' Anakin happen as an old guy anyway...even if it's a 'second death'?...if Vader's 'not really the good Anakin', then where's Lucas' big redemption story. Is Lucas afraid of old age now and wanted to give Anakin a bigger reward than being a happy old man-spirit?) what REALLY bothers me is the shot of Hayden they've chosen. He doesn't have that kind, gentle, 'I'm now happy with my existence' look that Shaw had in that scene. He's got this crazed stalker look...or a 'I'll be back...muwhahahah!' look. Maybe it's just because they had to use some other shots of him because of shooting conflicts or maybe it's because Hayden just can't express anything but psycho stalker, but it's the way he looks that really ruins the scene now, not just his appearance.

Having seen this scene in motion, the one shot sadly DOES give you an idea of how bad the whole thing looks, btw...

[Coota0]

what REALLY bothers me is the shot of Hayden they've chosen. He doesn't have that kind, gentle, 'I'm now happy with my existence' look that Shaw had in that scene. He's got this crazed stalker look...or a 'I'll be back...muwhahahah!' look. Maybe it's just because they had to use some other shots of him because of shooting conflicts or maybe it's because Hayden just can't express anything but psycho stalker, but it's the way he looks that really ruins the scene now, not just his appearance.

exactly

[lt.actionjackson]

it's definitely that "how much for the little girl" look on Hayden's face that is wrong with that shot. Did GL even look at that? Does he look like a happy ol' jedi ghost? Does GL even remember how ROTJ originally ended anymore? I'm surprised he didn't try to digitally remove the ewoks and replace them with Howard the Duck and his friends.

[Hurin]

I think this whole "Vader actually dies" in Ep III thing is getting out of hand. What is the ultimate source for this other than fanboy conjecture?

[bsu legato]

I think this whole "Vader actually dies" in Ep III thing is getting out of hand. What is the ultimate source for this other than fanboy conjecture?

I'm not certain if that's been confirmed yet, officially or otherwise. However it does seem to be a good guess, in light of the revised "ghost" scene in Jedi. I guess we'll have to wait until May next year to be sure.

[Mercurial Morpheus]

Guys, don't buy HK boots. The quality sucks and at 30 bucks a pop, its not worth it. If you have a DVD burner, head over to this thread at OriginalTrilogy.com and get the TR47 set, or the new anamorphic set for the price of a DVDR.

Don't support the darkside and buy bootlegs, burn your own.

[Blaine23]

Guys, don't buy HK boots. The quality sucks and at 30 bucks a pop, its not worth it. If you have a DVD burner, head over to this thread at OriginalTrilogy.com and get the TR47 set, or the new anamorphic set for the price of a DVDR.

Don't support the darkside and buy bootlegs, burn your own.

Darkside, shmarkside. This is Lucas' doing.

If he didn't want bootleggers making a profit, then he would release the OT on DVD the way many, many fans are asking him to. Either that, or make his own clone army and patrol the world for bootleggers

The only difference between your link and paying more for someone else to do the work is that your method is a bit cheaper. It's just as "darkside" as any other filesharing, legally.

I look at these OT DVDs as similar to buying boots of Macross in the US. I want to watch what I want to watch and I'm willing to bend the law to be able to do so. The only difference is how much you're willing to bend it and whether or not you feel it's immoral to pay some guy to do the burning for you.

[Blaine23]

I think this whole "Vader actually dies" in Ep III thing is getting out of hand.  What is the ultimate source for this other than fanboy conjecture?

I'm not certain if that's been confirmed yet, officially or otherwise. However it does seem to be a good guess, in light of the revised "ghost" scene in Jedi. I guess we'll have to wait until May next year to be sure.

The only thing I don't really like about this theory is that it seems that if the "real Anakin" dies in Episode 3, then how was their anything left of Anakin for Luke to redeem from Vader in RotJ? I guess it could be a ghost-in-the-machine type thing where the soul of Anakin is trapped in the machinery of Vader, but I don't see how it would stop his ghost from aging.

Ultimately I think this Hayden ghost is just a directorial touch. Lucas wants to tie the prequels into the OT forever, in such a way that you can't pretend the prequels don't exist if you don't want to. As it is now, I can watch RotJ and never once picture Hayden (or Jake Lloyd, thank god) as the guy in the Vader suit.

Unless you only watch VHS or buy bootlegs as mentioned in my earlier post.

I can only pray that there isn't some hidden "Yipppeee" added to the audio of the ghost scene now in RotJ. I still want to pretend that Darth Vader was never a bad little actor before he became Jedi.

[Mercurial Morpheus]

That last line was meant to be lighthearted....

I know Lucas brought it on himself, and I know that both versions are illegal. My point is why pay some guy 32 bucks when you can download it and give considerably less money than that to, say, Walgreens. I hate seeing fans getting ripped off for something they shouldn't. We're all in the same boat here, I'm just pointing out a different oar.