Star Wars on Blu-ray in 2011

[myk]

So it could be said unless somoene is actively trained/using the force, they don't show up on the force radar. For instance, Leia didn't register at all.

I used to think about how odd it was that Vader never realized who Leia was until ROTJ. Despite the fact that they were in close proximity to each other on the Death Star, and that he even tortured her to some unknown extent, no one was the wiser as to who Leia was and what Vader was to her and what possibilities she may have held. So yeah, unless you've at least "made your own little step into a larger world", as Obi put it, you don't register in the Force...

[JB0]

Hey don't you make fun of Wraith Squadron

yub yub commander

Word!

Best thing to come out of the Star Wars franchise aside from the original three movies and all those DOS games.

[Dynaman]

So it could be said unless somoene is actively trained/using the force, they don't show up on the force radar. For instance, Leia didn't register at all.

From what is shown in the films, that is a good interpretation. That just leaves us to wonder why Luke had to be hidden out in the boonies to get Vader from finding him. We have to totally disregard the fact that they sent him to the one place where any competant government WOULD have found him(*) (if they are looking at all) as well... (and if they bought the bit about the kids dying with Padme, the only way Luke would be found would be for Vader to sense him, and till he is trained that just isn't going to happen)

(*) - I assume the Empire has law enforcement of some kind, and they would know that the first thing to do when finding someone on the run is to put a watch on all their relatives...

[Zor Primus]

I have to admit, Empire never looked so good.

[Duke Togo]

We have to totally disregard the fact that they sent him to the one place where any competant government WOULD have found him.

Why would they be looking for someone they didn't know even existed?

[Dynaman]

Why would they be looking for someone they didn't know even existed?

EXACLTY! If no one is looking then there is no need to hide them, unless Vader could sense who they were if he got close enough. To that we add the silliness of leaving them with a known relative (someone looking for them or not, that is just stupid considering the stakes). But I repeat myself.

[Chronocidal]

Word!

Best thing to come out of the Star Wars franchise aside from the original three movies and all those DOS games.

Seconded. Hell, I've been waiting for things to come full circle, and give us a new X-Wing game series based on the books. Likely won't happen, but if we ever get a new X-Wing game, I'd settle for a well written fan campaign.

In terms of the EU, it's definitely been hit or miss, and there have been some real oddballs (the Luke/Callista thing never should have happened, those books were an overdose of WTF), but in general, I think anything Zahn/Stackpole/Allston up to the NJO books is stuff I've thoroughly enjoyed.

As for Vader not thinking to look for Luke and Leia, it is true, he shouldn't have really had any reason to look for them, since he wouldn't know they'd survived. But that still doesn't explain how they managed to raise Luke for 18 some odd years there, and never come under Vader's eye. Unless Anakin truly gave up looking for Obi-wan, or was content to just let him live out his life in exile, I don't see how the Lars homestead wasn't blown off the map years earlier. May not have been the first place Vader would have gone looking for Obi-wan, but how he never got around to checking there seems odd.

Then again.. now that I think of it, Obi-wan never actually visited there before dropping off Luke, did he? While he was there in EpI, he never went near that spot on the planet, and while Anakin and Padme went there in EpII, Obi-wan was off chasing the Fetts. Still surprises me a little Vader never made a housecall there looking for potential jedi, but I guess he may not have considered anyone there to be any threat to him.

[Duke Togo]

Then again.. now that I think of it, Obi-wan never actually visited there before dropping off Luke, did he? While he was there in EpI, he never went near that spot on the planet, and while Anakin and Padme went there in EpII, Obi-wan was off chasing the Fetts. Still surprises me a little Vader never made a housecall there looking for potential jedi, but I guess he may not have considered anyone there to be any threat to him.

You already answered your own question; no reason at all to look there for anyone.

Some of you guys are starting to worry me; you're starting to sound like a bunch of Trekkies nitpicking something that happened in an episode of some 40 year old tv show.

[Dynaman]

Some of you guys are starting to worry me; you're starting to sound like a bunch of Trekkies nitpicking something that happened in an episode of some 40 year old tv show.

Nah, I forget how it all started a couple days ago, but my philosophy is "Don't ascribe to some master plot, that which can be more easily explained by a plot hole"

I like Star Wars, plot holes, bad dialog, and all the rest that goes along with it.

[Uxi]

As for Vader not thinking to look for Luke and Leia, it is true, he shouldn't have really had any reason to look for them, since he wouldn't know they'd survived. But that still doesn't explain how they managed to raise Luke for 18 some odd years there, and never come under Vader's eye. Unless Anakin truly gave up looking for Obi-wan, or was content to just let him live out his life in exile, I don't see how the Lars homestead wasn't blown off the map years earlier. May not have been the first place Vader would have gone looking for Obi-wan, but how he never got around to checking there seems odd.

Why? The Lars didn't do anything to piss Anakin off. There are a bunch of good reasons for Vader to feel the exact same way as Luke and after the death of his mother to feel like "there's nothing for me here now." Now if he thought his child with Padme had survived, yeah he'd probably turn over every rock in every corner of the galaxy, like the crawl for TESB says he has been doing.

You already answered your own question; no reason at all to look there for anyone.

Some of you guys are starting to worry me; you're starting to sound like a bunch of Trekkies nitpicking something that happened in an episode of some 40 year old tv show.

Don't pretend you're any less of a nerd.

[Duke Togo]

Ok, time for me to start beating the video quality drum again: the first reviews are coming out of the Ben-Hur blu-ray release (which got a brand new, 8k resolution transfer from the original 65mm negative), and to say they are glowing would be putting it lightly. I want to know why Star Wars deserved anything less than this?

[Uxi]

Ok, time for me to start beating the video quality drum again: the first reviews are coming out of the Ben-Hur blu-ray release (which got a brand new, 8k resolution transfer from the original 65mm negative), and to say they are glowing would be putting it lightly. I want to know why Star Wars deserved anything less than this?

Star Wars, ahem ANH didn't. I'd argue TESB, ROTJ, AOTC, and ROTS didn't either, so you're pretty much speaking about TPM alone.

[Keith]

Ok, time for me to start beating the video quality drum again: the first reviews are coming out of the Ben-Hur blu-ray release (which got a brand new, 8k resolution transfer from the original 65mm negative), and to say they are glowing would be putting it lightly. I want to know why Star Wars deserved anything less than this?

Dude, rent the freakin' disc's and see for yourself.

[peter]

EXACLTY! If no one is looking then there is no need to hide them, unless Vader could sense who they were if he got close enough. To that we add the silliness of leaving them with a known relative (someone looking for them or not, that is just stupid considering the stakes). But I repeat myself.

You'd think that a known relative of Vader would get some preferential treatment, like a nice cushy mansion on Corusceant, instead of a hole in the ground on planet Dirtball. haha, especially when Stormtroopers showed up at their doorstep looking for droids.

Uncle Owen "Do you know who I am?? I am the half-brother of your boss, Lord Vader? I'll have you fired *ucking faster than you can take off your armour to take a poo"

[Keith]

You'd think that a known relative of Vader would get some preferential treatment, like a nice cushy mansion on Corusceant, instead of a hole in the ground on planet Dirtball. haha, especially when Stormtroopers showed up at their doorstep looking for droids.

Uncle Owen "Do you know who I am?? I am the half-brother of your boss, Lord Vader? I'll have you fired *ucking faster than you can take off your armour to take a poo"

Except that Anakin ceased to exist once he became Vader. All the Jedi were killed off, as far as anyone would have been concerned, Skywalker was among them.

[Agent ONE]

"do you remember your mother. Your REAL mother?"

She knows.

Good point, lucas should change the ROTJ dialogue to match ROTS events. Maybe she can say it in jive:

"Yo, Iz nots be knowinz mah Moms"

[Chronocidal]

Exactly.. in fact, that's what surprised me. Whether the Lars family posed a direct threat to Vader or not, I'm surprised Palpatine didn't see them as a loose end to be tied up.

Plus, given their relation to Anakin, I'd think they'd be on the list of places to check for potential force sensitive children to corrupt. While they never said whether Anakin's relatives had potential or not, I'd think they'd at least be on the radar when the great jedi hunt began, and they probably would've taken Luke.

Maybe part of the reason Obi-wan hung around was to act as a force jammer? I mean, it's certainly possible to mask force power/sensitivity, considering how long Palpatine did it right under the noses of the jedi council.

[Keith]

Exactly.. in fact, that's what surprised me. Whether the Lars family posed a direct threat to Vader or not, I'm surprised Palpatine didn't see them as a loose end to be tied up.

Plus, given their relation to Anakin, I'd think they'd be on the list of places to check for potential force sensitive children to corrupt. While they never said whether Anakin's relatives had potential or not, I'd think they'd at least be on the radar when the great jedi hunt began, and they probably would've taken Luke.

Maybe part of the reason Obi-wan hung around was to act as a force jammer? I mean, it's certainly possible to mask force power/sensitivity, considering how long Palpatine did it right under the noses of the jedi council.

No? Anakin's powers came from Palpatine using Plagueis's technique for manipulating midiclorians into creating life. There's no reason to think that would rub off on the family of the man who purchased his mother If Anakin "was" going to kill them, it would have been because they allowed his mother to be kidnapped by sandpeople. He couldn't do that because Padme was there. After he slaughtered the sandpeople for sodomizing his mother, the Lars family was a non-issue. Considering how much he hated Tattooiine, it would have taken more effort & care there than not. Though who knows, maybe he planned on just blowing the whole planet up once the Death Star was up and running and that rebel business was taken care of.

[taksraven]

Exactly.. in fact, that's what surprised me. Whether the Lars family posed a direct threat to Vader or not, I'm surprised Palpatine didn't see them as a loose end to be tied up.

Plus, given their relation to Anakin, I'd think they'd be on the list of places to check for potential force sensitive children to corrupt. While they never said whether Anakin's relatives had potential or not, I'd think they'd at least be on the radar when the great jedi hunt began, and they probably would've taken Luke.

Maybe part of the reason Obi-wan hung around was to act as a force jammer? I mean, it's certainly possible to mask force power/sensitivity, considering how long Palpatine did it right under the noses of the jedi council.

Seriously, does anybody *really* think that Lucas took any of this stuff into consideration??? I really doubt that he did.

[Uxi]

Seriously, does anybody *really* think that Lucas took any of this stuff into consideration??? I really doubt that he did.

Regardless, the discussion seems to be in universe.

[Chronocidal]

Oh of course not, but it's rather entertaining to try and explain away all the inconsistencies. We all know GL lost it somewhere along the way, but we can still delude ourselves into thinking it all makes sense somehow. It helps the workday go faster, in any case.

Anyhow, regardless of it being worthwhile to do, I just have no trouble imagining that Palpy would have wiped the Lars family off the map for the lulz, just because they were connected.

[Dynaman]

Oh of course not, but it's rather entertaining to try and explain away all the inconsistencies. We all know GL lost it somewhere along the way, but we can still delude ourselves into thinking it all makes sense somehow. It helps the workday go faster, in any case.

Reminds me of a Bloom County strip, where everyone starts waxing philosophical about the meaning of life, then Opus comes along and says "you are born, you go on a few diets, you die". I'm with Opus, and changing this to SW "They are born, they get a few force powers, they die"

[Duke Togo]

Star Wars, ahem ANH didn't. I'd argue TESB, ROTJ, AOTC, and ROTS didn't either, so you're pretty much speaking about TPM alone.

Ignorance is bliss, I suppose.

[Uxi]

Ignorance is bliss, I suppose.

Indeed, especially as you assume my disagreement with your unsubstantiated opinion can't occur from any other factors.

[Duke Togo]

Indeed, especially as you assume my disagreement with your unsubstantiated opinion can't occur from any other factors.

Unsubstantiated? You mean besides every in-depth review of the release that has been done?

You guys can't have it both ways. You can't tell me my copies of Harmy's "despecialized" OT in 720p are vastly inferior to your Blu's, and then turn around and deny the superior quality of the restoration and transfer that was done for Ben Hur.

I'm not one who settles for "good enough," especially when it's something I'm passionate about, like film.

[eugimon]

Unsubstantiated? You mean besides every in-depth review of the release that has been done?

You guys can't have it both ways. You can't tell me my copies of Harmy's "despecialized" OT in 720p are vastly inferior to your Blu's, and then turn around and deny the superior quality of the restoration and transfer that was done for Ben Hur.

I'm not one who settles for "good enough," especially when it's something I'm passionate about, like film.

And Ben-Hur costs 45 bucks at retail, versus 90 bucks for all 6 movies. I'm sure you'd still be complaining if GL released the SW box set at 300 bucks.

[Duke Togo]

And Ben-Hur costs 45 bucks at retail, versus 90 bucks for all 6 movies. I'm sure you'd still be complaining if GL released the SW box set at 300 bucks.

Quality of transfer? Unaltered original trilogy? $300? Probably not. The right release, I might pay $200.

More than a few of us here out a decent chunk if change for AnimEigo's Macross set when it first came out. I'd wager there are many more who would do the same for the right Star Wars release.

[eugimon]

Quality of transfer? Unaltered original trilogy? $300? Probably not. The right release, I might pay $200.

More than a few of us here out a decent chunk if change for AnimEigo's Macross set when it first came out. I'd wager there are many more who would do the same for the right Star Wars release.

again, you want ben-hur quality transfers? be prepared to pay ben-hur prices. As it is, the video quality for Sith and Empire are widely praised. It's too bad you're so hung up on TPM but whatever makes you happy.

[Duke Togo]

again, you want ben-hur quality transfers? be prepared to pay ben-hur prices.

I thought we already established that I am? I'd pay even more for a similar release of Lawrence of Arabia.

And if you think I'm only "hung up" on the video quality TPM, you're really missing 90% of the discussion that's been going on.

Edited September 24, 2011 by Duke Togo

[BeyondTheGrave]

again, you want ben-hur quality transfers? be prepared to pay ben-hur prices. As it is, the video quality for Sith and Empire are widely praised. It's too bad you're so hung up on TPM but whatever makes you happy.

We'll get that when Lucas magically finds a copy of the original theatrical release.

[eugimon]

I thought we already established that I am? I'd pay even more for a similar release of Lawrence of Arabia.

And if you think I'm only "hung up" on the video quality TPM, you're really missing 90% of the discussion that's been going on.

but you yourself just said you wouldn't pay 300$ for it.

No, I get that you think the SW transfers are horrible, and I get that no one else thinks that.

*shrug* to each their own.

[Duke Togo]

but you yourself just said you wouldn't pay 300$ for it.

No, I get that you think the SW transfers are horrible, and I get that no one else thinks that.

*shrug* to each their own.

No, I said the transfers were below what they deserved. And yes, to each their own.

[Uxi]

Unsubstantiated? You mean besides every in-depth review of the release that has been done?

Yeah, unsubstantiated when I know I have a calibrated system with decent to mid-hi equipment and I'll have Ben-Hur soon enough and you're relying on third-hand hearsay to make you feel better for settling for an inferior release. I don't know what sort of setup you have other than your own admission of sub-par audio, but I really question both the veracity of your implication wrt the saga set and whether an ordinary setup would make much use of the difference. Your main contention is on the quality/age of the master yet, most of the reviews are raving about the quality. I know first hand that there is loads of high def detail in 5 of those 6 movies (and I'd argue for great amounts of detail in TPM even, though hampered by DNR that appears to be deliberate and could be just as likely to appear in a higher rez re-master).

You guys can't have it both ways. You can't tell me my copies of Harmy's "despecialized" OT in 720p are vastly inferior to your Blu's, and then turn around and deny the superior quality of the restoration and transfer that was done for Ben Hur.

Uh, sure I can. If a better release of TPM comes out, I'll consider it. If special extended editions come out, I'll consider them. If they rehash the same release, there's no point. I'll take the pepsi challenge on 5 of the 6 movies in the Saga set vs Ben-Hur and on top of that, I'd bet the delta between those 5 and Ben-Hur is much less than that between TPM and your fan edit.

I'm not one who settles for "good enough," especially when it's something I'm passionate about, like film.

Wait, isn't that exactly what you doing with a 720p fanedit? Or is it ok to settle because you didn't pay for it? Or your passion for the old cut overrides your passion for the highest quality available?

Edited September 24, 2011 by Uxi

[Duke Togo]

Wait, isn't that exactly what you doing with a 720p fanedit? Or is it ok to settle because you didn't pay for it? Or your passion for the old cut overrides your passion for the highest quality available?

I have owned 5 copies of the OT over my life, and seen them all in the theaters. That I chose for my 6th set a fan effort to restore the films to their original vision should answer your question well enough.

While you'll defend your love of this release as much as I'll defend my disdain for it, I find it hard to believe that in your heart-of-hearts you didn't want more from this set.

[Uxi]

I have owned 5 copies of the OT over my life, and seen them all in the theaters. That I chose for my 6th set a fan effort to restore the films to their original vision should answer your question well enough.

Sure, that you value a preferred cut more than the best quality you could have. That's enough to justify not buying but and I don't begrudge you that. Don't try to couch that as saying the PQ isn't still a generational leap by relying on third parties and generally exaggerating some of the nitpicks they have (outside of TPM's DNR, there are a few but they're trivial).

While you'll defend your love of this release as much as I'll defend my disdain for it, I find it hard to believe that in your heart-of-hearts you didn't want more from this set.

Outside of my growing desire for extended special editions, this set couldn't have done more to fulfill my expectations. Picture and sound are great and befitting blu-ray. I think that if you had a decent setup and gave this set a chance, you could enjoy it, too. Is it the ultimate set