I find 'A New Hope' hard to watch nowadays

[fireproof78]

they are his films hhe can add whatever he wants.
and I worship the guy but in this particular case tweking the films is fine on its own but is dishonest wehn you make the original versions difficult to acquire in an acceptible format. It was the originals that were the source of the innovations is pushing technology forward.. the originals that won oscars etc.

It's particularly hypocritical when he said the following back in 1988:

Yup, he's a hypocrite. He also owes us nothing.

 

[Flying Spaghetti Monster]

Yup, he's a hypocrite. He also owes us nothing.

As /I implied.. i don't disagree.

But I do think the classic films should be as available as, at least, other classic films.

 

[fireproof78]

As /I implied.. i don't disagree.

But I do think the classic films should be as available as, at least, other classic films.

I think that is up to the artist. I can disagree with Lucas and his decision. But I'll respect it and defend his right to do so.

 

[Tosk]

What's absurd is the flagrant disregard for Lucas and his feelings regarding his art.

I think George himself said it best back in 1988...

"In the future it will become even easier for old negatives to become lost and be “replaced” by new altered negatives. This would be a great loss to our society. Our cultural history must not be allowed to be rewritten."

 

[fireproof78]

I think George himself said it best back in 1988...

"In the future it will become even easier for old negatives to become lost and be “replaced” by new altered negatives. This would be a great loss to our society. Our cultural history must not be allowed to be rewritten."

I think he did too. I think there is also a lot of emotions wrapped up for Lucas in this film that caused him a lot of depression and anxiety, and cost him his marriage eventually. In addition, he considered it "unfinished" I can imagine it would be something he still feels an anxiety around them.

I don't agree with him. But, neither can I demand he revisit something that he doesn't care for to satisfy my entertainment needs.

 

[Tosk]

But, neither can I demand he revisit something that he doesn't care for to satisfy my entertainment needs.

You don't need to, he has revisited it willingly no fewer than five times.

 

[fireproof78]

You don't need to, he has revisited it willingly no fewer than five times.

And I have all five.

 

[Flying Spaghetti Monster]

my only point is: they are his films and he can do whatever he wants. He can re-edit them and release them until he is blue in the face

But there is a version of the film that belongs to the studio, to the public, and to history, and it should be made available.

 

[fireproof78]

But there is a version of the film that belongs to the studio, to the public, and to history, and it should be made available.

Here's the thing-it is available. Not in a "preferred format" (or whatever nonsense I'm will be thrown at me). The film that belongs to history is stored in the special vault, and are ensuring its place in history. It not being able available in some convenient fashion doesn't mean it is unavailable to history, any more than the Mona Lisa is unavailable to the public.

 

[Tosk]

any more than the Mona Lisa is unavailable to the public.

You can legally view an unaltered copy of the Mona Lisa with extreme ease.

 

[J.T.B.]

Proper place? It's not some lost arthouse film that we can never see again. Star Wars already has its proper place in history.

If you think that the film historians and cineastes of the future will accept revisions of 20 or 30 years later as substitutes for the original, I think you are mistaken.

What's absurd is the flagrant disregard for Lucas and his feelings regarding his art.

His feelings are irrelevant. What he released in 1977 is part of history. That will still be the case long after Lucas is gone. Speaking of flagrant disregard, the disregard for cinematic history is unrealistic, and kind of bizarre.

The film that belongs to history is stored in the special vault, and are ensuring its place in history.

Then what was the point of denying a 1977 print to the Library of Congress National Film Registry?

 

[fireproof78]

You can legally view an unaltered copy of the Mona Lisa with extreme ease.

At the risk of sounding incredibly luddite, I can watch a VHS copy of "Star Wars" with extreme ease.

His feelings are irrelevant. What he released in 1977 is part of history. That will still be the case long after Lucas is gone. Speaking of flagrant disregard, the disregard for cinematic history is unrealistic, and kind of bizarre.

Wow. My days of taking this argument seriously are vanishing. Treating a film more important than a human being is insulting at best.

Then what was the point of denying a 1977 print to the Library of Congress National Film Registry?

Well, a weird bit of trivia I discovered:

"Written into George Lucas' contract with Fox is the line stating that any prints of the original that are found must be hunted up and destroyed," he said. "As a result, film collectors are very loath to disclose where any prints of any Lucas films are at all. There are a few IB Technicolor Star Wars prints in private hands." He went on to state. "I'm not sure which contract it is. I have no idea whether it's public record or not. I do know that in the early 2000s there were a Technicolor festival in LA, and Star Wars was announced as a title. After trying to legally clear the title through Fox, the organizers of the festival were threatened with having the print confiscated and destroyed. They told the organizers of the festival that it was a line in Lucas' contract. The organizers were frantic to get rid of the print they had so that Fox couldn't get to it."

The following is the response from the Library of Congress' librarian Zoran Sinobad:

"While both STAR WARS (1977) and THE EMPIRE STRIKES BACK (1980) are on the National Film Registry, the Library has not yet acquired new prints of either one. When the request was made for STAR WARS, Lucasfilm offered us the Special Edition version. The offer was declined as this was obviously not the version that had been selected for the Registry. We have not yet requested a print of THE EMPIRE STRIKES BACK, added to the Registry late last year.
>
> The Library of Congress does hold the original release versions of STAR WARS, THE EMPIRE STRIKES BACK and RETURN OF THE JEDI, but these 35mm prints were acquired as copyright deposits in March 1978, October 1980, and June 1983 respectively. All three are classified as archival masters and as such cannot be accessed for viewing/research. The existing condition reports for STAR WARS and THE EMPIRE STRIKES BACK (there is no report for RETURN OF THE JEDI) indicate that the former has minor scratches but is in good shape overall, while the latter has extreme color fading. We also have an additional 35mm print of the original STAR WARS (received June 1979) with English subtitles for the deaf.

https://savestarwars.com/lucas-nfr.html

ETA: To be perfectly clear, yes I do want the film preserved. No, I do not believe that Lucas is obligated to do so. I find it incredibly odd that Lucas's feelings are so disregarded as to basically make the man irrelevant in the discussion. It's offensive because it's basically demonstrating extreme disrespect for another human being and their emotions.

Now, I would love for someone to have a conversation with Lucas, to show him his words from his speech before Congrees. Yes, please do that. Preserve the original print of the film if possible.

However, that doesn't make it necessary to release again to the public. It is available to the public. Sorry it isn't in the format that is preferred, but it is an extreme misrepresentation to act like it is "unavailable."

TLR-Give it to the National Registry. There is no obligation to release again to the public. Respect other humans and their feelings, even if you disagree.

 

[CorporalClegg]

You know I've never actually seen a completely unaltered cut of 77.

Really.

I've also never seen the Mona Lisa. (Because I can't afford to go to France.) There was an article in the NYT a few weeks ago advocating for the Louvre to take it down and lock it up.

 

[Tosk]

I've also never seen the Mona Lisa.

But you have seen an unaltered copy of it.

 

[CorporalClegg]

I guess. In the same way I've seen screencaps of Han shooting first.

 

[Tosk]

I don't find that to be a valid comparison, but okay.

 

[cooleddie74]

You can legally view an unaltered copy of the Mona Lisa with extreme ease.

Well, I can do the same with my 2006 DVD bonus discs that contain the original theatrical versions of each film even if they are transferred from the laserdisc releases with no remastering of picture quality or sound. It's as close as we're likely to get for the foreseeable future unless Disney and Lucasfilm have a huge surprise in store for us during the 40th Anniversary celebrations for Empire.

 

[Tosk]

"You" as in anyone in general.

 

[fireproof78]

Well, it appears you might be able to stream it on Amazon for ten bucks: https://www.amazon.com/Star-Wars-Episode-IV-Limited/dp/B000FQJAIW Not entirely sure but the 2006 DVD is there. Might have to experiment with it.

 

[cooleddie74]

If you don't mind a less-than-1080p(or even 720p) image and unimpressive sound you should enjoy yourself.