Star Wars: Episode VII: The Nerd Rage Awakens

[Venardhi]

It is going to happen, and Ultra HD is the reason why. Reliance Media Works (formerly Lowry Digital) completed a 4k 16 bit restoration of Episodes IV-VI last year.

It was George's own over-reliance on CGI that did him in; the SE effects were never meant to be seen at 4k resolution. To remaster the Special Editions in 4k, all the CGI would have to be redone from scratch. (Not an impossible task, but quite pricey.) Ditto with TPM. AOTC and ROTS are disqualified from 4k, as the live-action elements were shot using first-generation digital cameras that went up to 1080p and no higher. The pre-SE film prints, however, can be easily scanned at 4k - models, animation, stopmotion and all - and for relatively cheap.

Lucas ain't in charge anymore. Disney knows how much the fans want this. Fox will have no problem striking a profit-sharing deal. It's gonna happen. It's a matter of when, not if.

I'd guess (and hope) we're likely to see a slightly-over-polished version and not just a straight restoration. There is no particularly compelling reason to restore the matte boxes around TIE fighters or to leave out Ben's blade from the couple shots they were trying to use a practical effect for it in the Death Star duel. I think the key is to go with original intent. No adding anything, just making the existing effects look as good as could potentially have been accomplished at the time using the methods they used, even if that means recreating and recomposing them digitally for an overall more compelling result.

People want to see the movies they grew up with, but matte boxes that weren't visible on their well-worn VHS tapes doesn't have a place in that memory and will be distracting to viewers both old and new.

 

[Mach5]

The Indiana Jones trilogy is probably a perfect example of a good restoration. Although, some people did complain about that deleted reflection off the glass in that snake scene. I had no issue with that whatsoever.

 

[DWF]

I could see the matte boxes on the video tapes. And really if people really want the original versions of the movies on then what's the point of fixing up the visual effects? That kind of defeats the purpose putting outthe unaltered movies on DVD in the first place. I can live with the unaltered versions already out on DVD, that came out with SE's on DVD.

 

[Corran Horn]

I could see the matte boxes on the video tapes. And really if people really want the original versions of the movies on then what's the point of fixing up the visual effects? That kind of defeats the purpose putting outthe unaltered movies on DVD in the first place. I can live with the unaltered versions already out on DVD, that came out with SE's on DVD.

There are still matte lines on the blu-rays in several spots.

The unaltered DVDs put out already were substandard by most reports - I don't even believe they were anamorphic.

(could be wrong)

My treasured set is the pre-SE VHS digitally remastered letterbox boxed set. I got it at Suncoast and it came in a flat box with each next to each other so you could see the full front box art. Viewing that was the first time I'd seen any of the films in letterbox after dozens and dozens of pan & scan showings from the VHS tapes at our library. I couldn't believe what I'd been missing in terms of the 'extra footage' all around the screen.

 

[cooleddie74]

I'm all for the originals to come out unaltered, but I hate the "yub nub" song.

I don't mind it, but John Williams' Victory Celebration piece for the Special Edition and later versions of ROTJ is just the superior musical selection to use for the end of the film and generates more raw emotion than Yub Nub did. The victory of the Rebels over the Empire deserved something a little grander-sounding and more epic, anyways.

 

[Mach5]

I'm all for the originals to come out unaltered, but I hate the "yub nub" song.

I don't mind it, but John Williams' Victory Celebration piece for the Special Edition and later versions of ROTJ is just the superior musical selection to use for the end of the film and generates more raw emotion than Yub Nub did. The victory of the Rebels over the Empire deserved something a little grander-sounding and more epic, anyways.

Exactly... But in the context of what is coming (TFA, war not really over), an ending with less grandeur would perhaps be more fitting.

To be perfectly honest, I wan't Disney to release two versions of the trilogy. One completely unaltered, only restored (for film buffs, and for history's sake), and a decent "rejuvenated" (so to speak) edition, with
minor touchups, like erasing the matte lines, R2D2's dome color corrected to look blue against the black backdrop of space, lighsaber effects digitally re-rotoscoped... Minor stuff no one would go apeshit about, perhaps with the addition of the SE version of the victory celebration, but without Coruscant, Naboo etc.

 

[cooleddie74]

The morning following the celebrations on Coruscant must have been....awkward. Hangovers and wondering which species you had sex with behind Dexter's Diner are nothing compared to reprisals from angry Imperial military units.

And yes: digitally rotoscope the OT lightsabers. The blades in ESB are the best and sharpest-looking of any in the first three films but they should all be redone and brought up to par with the blades seen in the other films. We've been through no fewer than four modern re-edits and rereleases of ANH (1997 Special Edition, 2004 DVD, 2006 Limited Edition DVD, 2010 Blu ray) and yet the lightsaber blades in some scenes are still the wrong color and/nor not sharp enough.

 

[Corran Horn]

The morning following the celebrations on Coruscant must have been....awkward. Hangovers and wondering which species you had sex with behind Dexter's Diner are nothing compared to reprisals from angry Imperial military units.

The EU walked back the 'statue toppling' on Coruscant pretty quickly.

"Aftermath" lays out what happened during that in the beginning. The New Republic seems to have taken over Coruscant far more quickly in this new canon.

 

[Lakenheath 72]

I grew up being taught that World War II ended with the death of Hitler and the destruction of Hiroshima and Nagasaki. There is a movement under way to revise the history. I learned this year about the complexity of what happened after the war. Of ethnic groups and political groups battling for control of regions of Europe devastated by the war. These groups had been manipulated by the major powers to their benefit, with the major powers pitting groups against groups. When the war ended, there was for years conflict. The situation became so volatile that some believed that a civil war might break out in Europe at any time. Though a situation like this is too complex for a space opera, I am not surprised that the war was not ended at the Battle of Endor. I am surprised, though, that control of the galaxy has not been decided thirty years after the battle. What has been preventing either side from gaining control?

As more details are released about this film, I am reading some fans reactions to it. Some are of the opinion that this film will be a recycling of elements from the original trilogy: a massive space weapon threatening the galaxy and a band of rebels attempting to destroy it. I hope they are wrong, that they are misinterpretating what has been said.

 

[Venardhi]

I could see the matte boxes on the video tapes. And really if people really want the original versions of the movies on then what's the point of fixing up the visual effects? That kind of defeats the purpose putting outthe unaltered movies on DVD in the first place. I can live with the unaltered versions already out on DVD, that came out with SE's on DVD.

I want the best quality version of the OT possible. No edits, no additions, just a polish on what is already there to make the color timing and effects consistent and "as intended", much like the removal of the aforementioned (and somewhat infamous at this point) Indiana Jones snake reflection. BluRays are big enough you could even fit a few versions of each film on each disk: Warts-and-all OT, Polished OT and "Director's Cut" SE OT.

 

[Mach5]

much like the removal of the aforementioned (and somewhat infamous at this point) Indiana Jones snake reflection.

I honestly don't understand this "infamy". The reflection is a goof, not a creative choice, for crying out loud. It takes the viewer right out of the narrative when noticed, and I suspect it would look real silly in full HD.

BluRays are big enough you could even fit a few versions of each film on each disk: Warts-and-all OT, Polished OT and "Director's Cut" SE OT.

It was George who directed ANH, and Irwin Kershner and Richard Marquand are both dead, so directors' cuts are off the table (yeah, I noticed the quotation marks).

But yeah, I agree. Three versions - unaltered, polished, and shiny SE (with Han shooting first, and no Jabba in ANH).

 

[DWF]

As more details are released about this film, I am reading some fans reactions to it. Some are of the opinion that this film will be a recycling of elements from the original trilogy: a massive space weapon threatening the galaxy and a band of rebels attempting to destroy it. I hope they are wrong, that they are misinterpretating what has been said.

By all accounts though that's exactly what they're doing, recycling elements of the OT, the First Order has replaced the Empire, the Resistance replaces the Rebellion and the Knights of Ren replaces the Sith.

 

[Mach5]

As more details are released about this film, I am reading some fans reactions to it. Some are of the opinion that this film will be a recycling of elements from the original trilogy: a massive space weapon threatening the galaxy and a band of rebels attempting to destroy it. I hope they are wrong, that they are misinterpretating what has been said.

By all accounts though that's exactly what they're doing, recycling elements of the OT, the First Order has replaced the Empire, the Resistance replaces the Rebellion and the Knights of Ren replaces the Sith.

It's almost like... Poetry.

 

[Venardhi]

The dynamic between the Resistance and First Order is likely to be somewhat different. The Rebel Alliance was organized and lead by political elites within the Empire seeking to overthrow Palpatine but keep the existing structure of the Senate et al intact. The name "Resistance" would suggest this is more of an occupation of territory by the First Order which some have organized a taking-up of arms against following whatever conflict won the First Order the worlds which are now resisting them.

 

[DWF]

As more details are released about this film, I am reading some fans reactions to it. Some are of the opinion that this film will be a recycling of elements from the original trilogy: a massive space weapon threatening the galaxy and a band of rebels attempting to destroy it. I hope they are wrong, that they are misinterpretating what has been said.

By all accounts though that's exactly what they're doing, recycling elements of the OT, the First Order has replaced the Empire, the Resistance replaces the Rebellion and the Knights of Ren replaces the Sith.

It's almost like... Poetry.

It would've been nice for Abrams dnd Kasdan to at least try to give us something new.

 

[Mach5]

The name "Resistance" would suggest this is more of an occupation of territory by the First Order which some have organized a taking-up of arms against following whatever conflict won the First Order the worlds which are now resisting them.

That could mean that there's also a third party - the Republic, with its regular armed forces, separate from the Resistance.

 

[DWF]

The dynamic between the Resistance and First Order is likely to be somewhat different. The Rebel Alliance was organized and lead by political elites within the Empire seeking to overthrow Palpatine but keep the existing structure of the Senate et al intact. The name "Resistance" would suggest this is more of an occupation of territory by the First Order which some have organized a taking-up of arms against following whatever conflict won the First Order the worlds which are now resisting them.

It's a difference that makes no difference, the Senate was disolved in ANH so the Rebellion was no longer fighting for that cause. The conflict onscreen was merely one of good VS evil and of course good won, there's little reason to think we're getting anything different this time around.

 

[Venardhi]

I assume as much anyways, similar to the dynamic in France during WW2, with the Resistance doing whatever they can to undermine the First Order and assist the new Republic in liberating their worlds.

 

[DWF]

There's no evidence that the Republic even exists in TFA, if anything the First Order has taken out the new Republic as well.

 

[fireproof78]

There's no evidence that the Republic even exists in TFA, if anything the First Order has taken out the new Republic as well.

Lack of evidence is not evidence to the contrary. We have no information regarding Leia's role or the current political state of the Galaxy, so why assume that there is no Republic?