The NEW Star Wars on DVD thread

[bsu legato]

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.

Meh. We're talking about ghosts here. As far as I'm concerned, there's no real rules for how you can or cannot portray ghosts, particularly force-ghosts of people who die but are resurrected as more-machine-than-man killbots.

[VF-1Guy]

Now that I think about it, Lucas probably changed the ghost scene since he doesn't think the audience is smart enough to associate the old ghost with Anakin. After all, the original SW movies are so complex that few people actually understood the plot.

[Anubis]

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.

I have but to ask:

WHY DIDN'T YOU POST THOSE LINKS EARLIER?!!?

I might have done just that, but I already made my order for the discs so oh well. May be good for back-up copies for the family and friends though depending on two things:

1)How long the bittorrent links stay active.

2)How soon lucasfilm takes to notice and sends a C&D order.

Edited September 10, 2004 by Anubis

[Hurin]

So, I own the Laserdiscs from which these bittorrent files are ripped. Am I within my rights both legally and morally to download these?

Obviously, those who think that it's perfectly moral to download copyrighted material don't need to answer since it's not even a question for you.

Just curious.

H

[Duke Togo]

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.

How is the quality on these?

[Drad]

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. 

How is the quality on these?

I've owned three Hong Kong rips of the Star Wars OT sourced from the same Star Wars Definitive Collection that was used to master the TR47 set. I recently received one of TR47's Star Wars OT DVD sets, and it is noticeably better than the HK sets in both quality and content. The video is sharp and clear, without that "softness" that I noticed in the HK sets. Audio is significantly better. Any imperfections are likely due to the limitations of the source material.. these are laserdisc rips, after all. Still, TR47 has provided an excellent product. The time and care that he put into these discs is obvious, unlike the fast and dirty compression methods used by the HK makers of these sets. Included are the three movie discs, a fourth supplemental disc, and a CD-ROM containing artwork files for DVD case art, inserts and disc labels. For those who want more content, TR47 offers three more DVDs containing even more extras like documentaries, commercials, trailers, screen tests, TV episodes and a parody of COPS. The price is very reasonable. No, this set is not as good as an official DVD release (which apparently we're not going to see, either, since Lucas has supposedly burned all original prints of the OT), but it's certainly better than what most of us have sitting around on VHS. For the time being, TR47's set appears to be the best that fans of the original trilogy are going to get.

Here's a more detailed review of the TR47 Star Wars Original Trilogy DVD set.

Edited September 11, 2004 by Drad

[Mr March]

Perfect. This is just what I was looking for. THanks.

[Uxi]

Interesting review. I have had the 5-star set for awhile. I payed under $50 shipped for the whole thing, too IIRC.

Quality isn't outstanding (i'm using a relatively higher end system - 34" Sony 16:9 HDTV connected via component to a Toshiba DVD system and Sony DTS surround sound), but far far better than VHS.

Course, I like that they're SE and have little sympathy for the "original only" grognards.

[Keith]

Bootlegs are bootlegs, no matter how you get them. Personally, I'd rather go for an HK set that's an actual factory produced DVD than a home burned DVD-R with a fraction of the half life (though if you have the hardware, you can always burn yourself a new copy of it).

Don't demean others for getting their bootlegs from other places. If you want to download, download, if you want to buy from HK, buy from HK, none of it's morally better or worse.

[CoryHolmes]

and a parody of COPS.

Ahh, TROOPS. By far, the best and greatest of any fanfilm. So good, it got liscened by LucasArts

[Radd]

and a parody of COPS.

Ahh, TROOPS. By far, the best and greatest of any fanfilm. So good, it got liscened by LucasArts

Indeed. Not to mention the guy that wrote it went on to do Star Wars comics for Dark Horse. Tag and Bink have since become my alltime favourite SW characters.

[Mercurial Morpheus]

Sorry Anubis, I posted that once I read the thread. As for bthe legality of downloading these if you have the original laserdisc, yes, you are permitted to burn them for personal backup reasons. That's what I've always been told. Just read the thread for details, links to reviews and whatnot. I hear the Magnoliafan edits are superb.

[eriku]

Hey, just be glad that it's not Jake Lloyd in the ROTJ spirits scene!

I'm fine with all the changes. I've loved Star Wars dearly since I was 4 years old, but I've never really taken any versions of the films seriously enough for Lucas' changes to bother me. In whatever incarnation, they're all just entertaining dumb-ass sci-fi popcorn flicks anyway. And I mean that it the best of ways.

[Mercurial Morpheus]

To each their own, that's my view. I hate just about every change in the SEs. The only reason most people are getting upset is that not only is Lucas denying us the versions we want, but also making changes without telling anyone. I know that if I have these DVDs pre-ordered, waiting for the 97 SE and then I find out that there's even more changes, I'd be none too happy. i'm all for him streaching his creative muscles, but it'd be nice if he were as considerate of his fan as they are to him.

[KingNor]

i think i'm done with starwars forever now. i hope you guys like the DVD's if i ever see another starwars movie again it'll be too soon.

MEH!

[Duke Togo]

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?

From the IGN Star Wars DVD review, on the Lucas commentary:

He does explain the replacement of Sebastian Shaw with Hayden Christiensen in RotJ, so consider it a spoiler for Episode III.

There ya go...

[Mercurial Morpheus]

I've heard the commentary for that scene. No, he doesn't. If I didn't delete it, I listen to it again, but if he did, it was to vaugue to remember. The IGN review isn't very good.

[Hurin]

I've heard the commentary for that scene. No, he doesn't. If I didn't delete it, I listen to it again, but if he did, it was to vaugue to remember. The IGN review isn't very good.

I provided and addressed the relevant quote from the commentary here.

For those too lazy to click:

What is said in the MP3 is open to interpretation:

"as he joins the force he is able to retain his original identity. It's because of Obi-Wan and Yoda who learn how to do that. How to join the force at will and then retain your identity. But it was his identity as it was when he died, as Anakin Skywalker."

For the record, this could apply to either scene, changed or not. Personally, I still think he's still referring to him dying at the end of ROTJ. . . as Anakin Skywalker.

"I've got to save you."

"You already have, Luke. You were right about me. . ."

I'm not sure how you can say that this points to Vader actually being dead and resurrected. But. . . to each their own.

H

Edited September 12, 2004 by Hurin

[Ladic]

[Ladic]

Star Wars: EMpire of Dreams is on RIght now on A&E

Just in case anyone is interested, they are gonna have this Docu on the DVD's also.

[Noriko Takaya]

In regard to clones of clones, there was some deleted dialog in Attack of the Clones that specified that they couldn't do such a thing, or else the quality of the clones would plummet. Hence, that's why they had to keep Jango there to supply fresh DNA.

The term you are referring to is called replicative fading. It's a generalized term that came about to explain that there was a certain limit you could go on to the replication of clones from a dominant DNA source, hence this is why the original donor subject needed to be kept close by. And while it is not stated in the movie, this is probably why Jango retained a home on Kamino. Not only was it a safehaven, but it also kept him close by when the Kaminoans needed material.

I for one do not think the Storm Troopers seen in the OT are clones of Jango. I think they may be clones of another source, or at the very least, conscripts contracted to serve the Emperor.

Edit: One other thing. Since Lucas has been running around changing this and changing that, does anyone know if he got James Earl Jones to re-do the voice of Vader from that one excruciating moment near the end of Episode V where he isaking for his Star Destroyer or whatever?

Edited September 13, 2004 by Noriko Takaya

[bsu legato]

Damn, I so need to get that episode of the Muppets on DVD!

And thanks to Noriko for the elaboration on my Clones post.

[GreenGuy42]

So, it seems we're going to see a SW TV series...

http://www.theforce.net/holonet/index.shtml#24770

...Oh, and listen to Hamill's audio clip about it, toward the end... It seems we may just see 7, 8, and 9....

[Noriko Takaya]

And thanks to Noriko for the elaboration on my Clones post.

Hey, no problem. I knew that there was a term used for that. I first read about it in an old Doctor Who novelization dealing with the Sontarans, who themselves are a race of clones. But I hadn't heard the term used again until an episode of Star Trek: The Next Generation when Doctor Katherine Pulaski vocally stated it.

[Guppy]

So, it seems we're going to see a SW TV series...

http://www.theforce.net/holonet/index.shtml#24770

...Oh, and listen to Hamill's audio clip about it, toward the end... It seems we may just see 7, 8, and 9....

That should be interesting. And George won't be directing so it should be great!

And wasn't the clip of Mark Hamill discussing 7-9 more of an anecdotal story? I think that conversation took place before GL dismissed the idea.

[GreenGuy42]

So, it seems we're going to see a SW TV series...

http://www.theforce.net/holonet/index.shtml#24770

...Oh, and listen to Hamill's audio clip about it, toward the end... It seems we may just see 7, 8, and 9....

That should be interesting. And George won't be directing so it should be great!

And wasn't the clip of Mark Hamill discussing 7-9 more of an anecdotal story? I think that conversation took place before GL dismissed the idea.

not sure, though it wouldn't surprise me that said TV series represented the events after ROTJ.

Hell, the EU spends SEVERAL thousand novels detailing the continuing fight between the (New Republic) and the Empire.

[Chronocidal]

Well, I honestly can't tell for sure, but I wouldn't give up entirely on the original versions of the films being released.. While watching Empire of Dreams tonight, I noticed a few things that gave me hope. Mainly, the fact that the original film from Episode IV HAS been restored.. and I don't mean the Special Edition stuff, I mean the old motion control battle scenes with models flying every which way. It's not for certain, and I guess it could have been from the THX release a while back, but it looked every bit as crisp and clean as any of the DVD shots I've seen. All, the old shots of the DS battle looked perfectly cleaned up, and the gunnery scene on the Falcon looked similarly clear. Also, when they showed shots of the original title scroll, it was clearly remastered for clarity, but lacked the separate EPISODE IV: A NEW HOPE line. So that proves that they've restored at least a part of the original version. Whether that means they've done the same to the whole movie, and will release it later remains to be seen, but I did see one shot of the original Greedo scene in there.

I'll probably buy the new DVD set even with the screwed up Anakin ghost, just so I can actually have a set of my own. It's actually not as bad as I imagined it would be... I had assumed they would replace the dying Vader footage as well, with Hayden in a bunch of age/scar makeup, so thank God they didn't go that far. I'm leaving home for college, and no one is gonna let me take the old videos with me when I go. Besides, I've been dying to rip some real sounds and screenshots from the movies for years (FINALLY, a good accurate reference for building my X-Wing models ). If they release the originals later, I'll probably get them too, since we've refrained from buying the prequels, but that's just me. Maybe if I download a rip of the laserdisc set, I'll splice in the original Anakin footage just for the heck of it, and make a new DVD (heck, if I go that far, I'll replace Anakin's face and voice in Episode II with a cut and paste of William Shatner- the acting might be better ). But it's not that big a deal for me. I can always just fast forward.

As for the later episodes, how the heck are they gonna do that? I was under the impression that Timothy Zahn got specific permission from Lucasfilm to make those first novels, allowing him to write the story. I guess I was wrong... But either way, there's probably no way the sequels will have any success with fans. Writing new stories for after Endor would pretty much negate any of the already accepted storylines and character relationships in the EU, as well as tick off a lot of authors who went to a lot of work to continue the story, only to be completely ignored by the man whose story they were contributing to, and previously seemed to acknowledge their efforts. GL will probably cut off a lot of his fanbase by saying all those books don't count. If anything, they should be making movies OF those books. Both the Thrawn Trilogy and Jedi Academy Trilogy would make incredible movies.

Edited September 13, 2004 by Chronocidal

[Mercurial Morpheus]

Some over at OriginalTrilogy.com have though of de-SEing the DVDs. So there will be attempts. I too was greatly pleased by seeing the original crawl, Yavin battle, Sarlaac and such in the documentry. Especially since Lucas maintains that they don't exist to him. Even the fact that the SE itself was nothing more than a footnote was surprising. There's still about an hour of footage missing from it that's only on the DVD, so one doesn't know for sure. I'll probably rent the extra disc, as I can't condone a purchase merely for extras(Star Trek IV and Tarzan were the only exceptions, being obtined cheaply). i wouldn't mind a set of sequels per-se. They would most likely be post-NJO, and not follow Luke and crew. They would have to be done with a more coopertive Lucas, as his ideas work best through others.

[Chuey]

So, it seems we're going to see a SW TV series...

http://www.theforce.net/holonet/index.shtml#24770

...Oh, and listen to Hamill's audio clip about it, toward the end... It seems we may just see 7, 8, and 9....

Actually, Hamill's comments relate to the plot ideas of George Lucas from about 20 years ago. Hints suggest that the two TV projects to possibly be released sometime in 2006 may relate to storylines between Revenge of the Sith and A New Hope.

[gerwalk25]

No matter the changes to the new OT DVD set I'm gonna buy it. Will the original Trailers (during their first intial releases into theaters before the SE's) be available in the new set? BTW The best Trailer is the pre-production paintings by legendary SW artists Ralph M. McQuarrie panning and zooming for Empire Strikes Back .

[GreenGuy42]

So, it seems we're going to see a SW TV series...

http://www.theforce.net/holonet/index.shtml#24770

...Oh, and listen to Hamill's audio clip about it, toward the end... It seems we may just see 7, 8, and 9....

Actually, Hamill's comments relate to the plot ideas of George Lucas from about 20 years ago. Hints suggest that the two TV projects to possibly be released sometime in 2006 may relate to storylines between Revenge of the Sith and A New Hope.

Oh, okay. I didn't listen too closely to Hamill, but that makes sense.

Honestly, I'd love to see Vader kicking the remaining Jedi around, though, stuff along the lines of Knights of the Old Republic would also be a welcome breath of fresh air from the rather played out characters from the movies.

[Max Jenius]

I think if they couldn't get J.E.J. for the TV Vader, Sisco from DS9 would be a cool intermediate version....

I've always thought his voice was cool and vader-esque...

[CoryHolmes]

I think if they couldn't get J.E.J. for the TV Vader, Sisco from DS9 would be a cool intermediate version....

I've always thought his voice was cool and vader-esque...

Indeed. He could probably play a wicked badguy.

Will the original Trailers (during their first intial releases into theaters before the SE's) be available in the new set?

Good God, I hope not! Have you ever *seen* the original Star Wars trailer? I'm amazed that they could get ANYONE into the theater!

[Keith]

Oh come on, you know we need the "Revenge of the Jedi" trailer on there!

[Chuey]

I think if they couldn't get J.E.J. for the TV Vader, Sisco from DS9 would be a cool intermediate version....

I've always thought his voice was cool and vader-esque...

Funny that you mention that. Brock Peters, who played Avery Brooks's TV dad in DS9 along with Adm. Cartwright in Star Trek IV and IV, also did the voice of Darth Vader for the National Public Radio's versions of the Original Trilogy.