[Rumor] The complete Saga 4K Bluray box set in the works

[Campe]

Instead of getting hung up on the term "original", most people would probably be satisfied with an up resolution version of the film that was releases as the old VHS home video releases or the THX remastered sound releases from before the Special Edition was made.

I’d be happy with that.

I’d be ecstatic with a well-within-the-bounds-of-technology-and-reason-but-might-be-very-pricey set with all of the different video and audio versions of the film utilizing seamless branching. Might cost upwards of $50 a movie, but I’d definitely do it.

 

[JD]

I apparently am not as much of a Star Wars fan as I thought, because I don't really care about the pre-SE versions of the OT. Sure there are some annoying things about the SE, but for me the good outweighs the bad, and if given the choice I would much rather go with them than the pre-SE versions.

 

[BillJ]

...and if given the choice I would much rather go with them than the pre-SE versions.

And those are out there, already available in 1080p for anyone that wants them.

 

[Campe]

I apparently am not as much of a Star Wars fan as I thought, because I don't really care about the pre-SE versions of the OT. Sure there are some annoying things about the SE, but for me the good outweighs the bad, and if given the choice I would much rather go with them than the pre-SE versions.

Again, for me it’s for historical sake. The 1977 version(s) won some Oscars. Those versions are not readily available for purchase in a reasonable format. I’d like them to. I’m not sure they will, but I’d like them to be.

 

[ScottJ85]

And those are out there, already available in 1080p for anyone that wants them.

And in 4K, if you know where to look.

 

[JD]

And those are out there, already available in 1080p for anyone that wants them.

I tend not to rebuy stuff, so for now I'm content with the 2004 DVDs I have, but if I do decide to upgrade, I figure I'll go for that big 6 movie 9 disc Blu-Ray set from 2011, with all of the documentaries, spoofs, and OT deleted scenes.
It just occurred to me that they'll probably do a big 9 movie release after Rise of Skywalker comes out, so that would be the way to go.
I just saw on Wookieepedia that they did release the unaltered OT on DVD in 2006, from the way people were acting I had been assuming they hadn't been released at all since the special editions were made.

 

[mos6507]

I think everyone has their own head-canon perfect version of ANH. I have NO affection for the matte-lines, for instance, nor the "unlit" saber moments. And the sound mix has so many variations (close/open blast-doors, etc...). It's one of those movies that can't really please everyone unless it offered so much branching and options that you'd have to release the raw un-DRMed footage and multilayered soundtracks and just let people edit their own hybrids.

 

[Tosk]

from the way people were acting I had been assuming they hadn't been released at all since the special editions were made.

The reason that brief (extras disc bonus only) re-release is easily disregarded is that they used old LaserDisc-era masters (with very bad grain-management, resulting in all sorts of horrible artifacts) and presented them non-anamorphically. It's about as poor a presentation as you can get without going back to VHS.

 

[Gaith]

Film has a higher resolution than even 4K.

Depends on what size of film. Sure, theoretically, even a 16mm film negative has "more resolution" than 4K, because 4K can be quantified to a particular number of pixels, and chemical, tangible film could be scanned with a microscope built for, say, cellular imaging, which one could save to a file size larger than 4K. In terms of actual detail and not random noise, however, a 4K image is absolutely going to capture a much more complex image than a 16mm negative. The OT was filmed on 35mm, which is the same size of negative used in everyday household film and disposable cameras (remember those?). Even in the most carefully lit shot, it won't pick up as much detail as a 4K digital camera capture.

 

[jaime]

The reason that brief (extras disc bonus only) re-release is easily disregarded is that they used old LaserDisc-era masters (with very bad grain-management, resulting in all sorts of horrible artifacts) and presented them non-anamorphically. It's about as poor a presentation as you can get without going back to VHS.

We still snapped those bad boys up though. XD

 

[jaime]

I apparently am not as much of a Star Wars fan as I thought, because I don't really care about the pre-SE versions of the OT. Sure there are some annoying things about the SE, but for me the good outweighs the bad, and if given the choice I would much rather go with them than the pre-SE versions.

Jedi.
That’s the one with the most changes, and I for one prefer the originally silly singing to the new silly singing.

 

[jaime]

When Lucasfilm did release "original" cuts of the OT, the money they got out of said releases - which weren't even what people wanted and weren't very good, qualitatively - was a pittance because the vast majority of SW fans didn't care enough to actually buy the "original" versions as offered.

In the 15 years since that time, the SW fandom has only gotten larger and much more populated with people whose "definitive" versions of the films are the "Special Edition" cuts and are therefore what they would be interested in purchasing if remastered/given a high-gloss update.

The amount of people, in the grand scheme of things, who would buy "original" versions of Episodes IV-VI was small 15 years ago, and it's only gotten smaller still since then.

I worked in retail around the time the special editions sprang into being. Well. Just after. We had to price mysteriously found stock of the older versions (and even the SE once they were out of print a whil) off the books so other branches in the chain wouldn’t steal our stock, and well, let’s say the bosses sold them at silly prices. Because people clamoured for those originals. Note even Star Wars fans.
The DVD releases were available for a very very short window, and sold very well, despite them being fairly low quality jobs.
There’s no way to use that data as a fair representation of demand for them, because the data is easy to skew.

I mean I can tell you how beloved TPM was at the time, and no one would would believe me, but since I as working the midnight of its VHS release, watched the first ever home video copy being sold, I can assure you that queue went round the block. Is that fair data to judge TPM on?

 

[Campe]

Jedi.
That’s the one with the most changes,

I don’t know about that. Shot per shot, I think ANH wins the prize for most SE changes. There were a lot.

 

[JD]

Other than the Jabba scene weren't most of the ANH additions fairly minor?

The reason that brief (extras disc bonus only) re-release is easily disregarded is that they used old LaserDisc-era masters (with very bad grain-management, resulting in all sorts of horrible artifacts) and presented them non-anamorphically. It's about as poor a presentation as you can get without going back to VHS.

Oh, OK now I see.

Jedi.
That’s the one with the most changes, and I for one prefer the originally silly singing to the new silly singing.

I'm pretty equal on the two songs myself.

 

[Campe]

Other than the Jabba scene weren't most of the ANH additions fairly minor?

Depends on your definition of minor.

ANH changes
ROTJ changes
(Note: these are based on the 2004 versions not the 1997 ones.)

The biggest changes in the entire trilogy, yes, would be the new musical numbers in ROTJ. But shot per shot, I really do think ANH takes the cake. I hate to harp on this, but ANH won an Oscar for its special effects back in 1978. Much of that work has been replaced. Jedi also won a special achievement award but a lot of the visual work was just enhanced not straight out replaced.

 

[jaime]

Depends on your definition of minor.

ANH changes
ROTJ changes
(Note: these are based on the 2004 versions not the 1997 ones.)

The biggest changes in the entire trilogy, yes, would be the new musical numbers in ROTJ. But shot per shot, I really do think ANH takes the cake. I hate to harp on this, but ANH won an Oscar for its special effects back in 1978. Much of that work has been replaced. Jedi also won a special achievement award but a lot of the visual work was just enhanced not straight out replaced.

I think it’s the size and length of the scenes being changed in Jedi. I liked the Ewok song. I was one of the kids at that time. The new whistful pan pipes just seems wrong. Whereas the new Jabbas palace scene is more kid friendly, and muppetlike, whereas the original worked fine.

 

[Campe]

I think it’s the size and length of the scenes being changed in Jedi. I liked the Ewok song. I was one of the kids at that time. The new whistful pan pipes just seems wrong. Whereas the new Jabbas palace scene is more kid friendly, and muppetlike, whereas the original worked fine.

That's fair.

I could do without either song in Jabba's Palace. But I will forever miss Yub Nub.

 

[ScottJ85]

The biggest changes in the entire trilogy, yes, would be the new musical numbers in ROTJ. But shot per shot, I really do think ANH takes the cake. I hate to harp on this, but ANH won an Oscar for its special effects back in 1978. Much of that work has been replaced. Jedi also won a special achievement award but a lot of the visual work was just enhanced not straight out replaced.

I think the thing that bothers me the most is the way the new CGI effects stand out next to the original miniatures and practical effects. Kind of takes you out of the movie.

 

[Gaith]

The biggest changes in the entire trilogy, yes, would be the new musical numbers in ROTJ.

In run time, perhaps, but in artistic terms, I find the completely unnecessary replacing of old man Anakin with Hayden C., and, most of all, the addition of Vader's Nooo!s to be the biggest/worst changes. To deface one of the most powerful moments of the whole saga with an out-of-place and trite callback to one of the many howler moments of RotS is just beyond the pale, and I will never watch any version of the movie that features it.

 

[Campe]

In run time, perhaps, but in artistic terms, I find the completely unnecessary replacing of old man Anakin with Hayden C., and, most of all, the addition of Vader's Nooo!s to be the biggest/worst changes. To deface one of the most powerful moments of the whole saga with an out-of-place and trite callback to one of the many howler moments of RotS is just beyond the pale, and I will never watch any version of the movie that features it.

I don’t disagree with the sentiment regarding those specific changes, however I’m still going to hold the idea that from an artistic standpoint, the changes made to ANH are a greater loss.