Yet another franchise that respects their films and fans enough to offer a choice.
Star Wars Eps I-VI Blu-Ray Release - Review Thread
- Thread starter Candlelight
- Start date
Yet another franchise that respects their films and fans enough to offer a choice.
This. The theatrical versions have been released some time before the extended editions, and were said to be of very poor quality (not much effort has been put into the transfers). The obvious intention was to sell the same movies to the same customers twice.No, they just want to make as much money as possible.
I seriously doubt the theatrical versions would have been remotely as successful as they ended up being, had the extended ones been available from the beginning.
You say that like they're mutually exclusive.
Things we learned from the Star Wars Blu-rays (Or: an appreciation)
Having just finished watching 8 of the 9 discs of the Complete Saga set (happily still having the whole documentary disc to watch), I find myself amazed by how I see so many things about these six films differently now. I'd like to present some of these to y'all for discussion (and hopefully not yet another PT bash).
Having just finished watching 8 of the 9 discs of the Complete Saga set (happily still having the whole documentary disc to watch), I find myself amazed by how I see so many things about these six films differently now. I'd like to present some of these to y'all for discussion (and hopefully not yet another PT bash).
- For the first time now, I have bowed to George Lucas' party line that the SW saga best be watched in numerical order, Episodes I through VI. And while I had previously been reluctant do so, believing that the movies were made in that order for a reason (whatever it might have been, because I never really bought the myth that it was all planned like this from the mid-70s), I now realize that this order in fact adds a whole new level of depth and scope to the saga. Having just seen the Anakin part of the story, especially how he ended in ROTS, makes Luke's first appearance in ANH all the more poignant: He's blissfully unaware of his family's history, craves adventure and gets into it, not knowing how it will take him to some dark and dangerous places quite like the ones seen by Anakin, yet also make him as important to that galaxy as his ill-fated father. A great character arc (which was of course always there, even before the PT) that gains something from being juxtaposed with his father's story.
- By the same token, Vader/Anakin's redemption at the end now resonates even more. His fall in ROTS has strong overtones of classical tragedy, which, as I've always believed, makes that film a delicious downer... and the ultimate "happy" ending all the sweeter. Nice - what's new being that watching in this order brings that part of the saga into sharper relief than the production order. (As for the changes relating to that arc: I still believe out of a sense of artistic integrity that Hayden Christensen has no business taking Sebastian Shaw's place in ROTJ, even though his appearance probably caps the Saga better than Shaw would have. And as for Vader's "Nooo": Another thing that wouldn't have been missed if absent, but it's hardly the excessive change of characterization that people have claimed it would be.)
- As for the craft and artistry involved: I never realized until now how many of the impressive vistas in the OT were done with matte paintings. Only now do I see how excellent they were: They make you buy these visuals so fully that you never even think of the process that created them, unlike some CG shots in the prequels. The imperial shuttle on Endor, Slave I on the Bespin landing platform, the Death Star II hangar, and many others: If you had asked me before, I would have said: "Very detailed models"... but that they're only brushstrokes on a canvas - astonishing.
- TPM CG Yoda > TPM puppet Yoda. But: CG Yoda < TESB puppet Yoda. (But that may not exactly be a new insight.) Besides, even with the improvement to TPM, I somehow miss the old puppet. While it looked nothing like the original Yoda, it was cuter than the CG version.
- Ian McDiarmid in ROTS: excellent.
- The deleted scenes: Oh my, Star Wars geek heaven! Interesting however, that the only film where I truly regret not having many of these scenes in the final film is ROTJ. The Tosche station bit in ANH is the stuff of legend and great to finally see it, but I think it might have ruined the pace of the film's first act. By contrast, I can't really figure out why Commander Jerjerrod's scenes in Jedi why cut. They would have added another level of danger to the Endor battle, they would have fleshed out the ruthlessness of the Emperor and simultaneously given the sort of depth of character to Jedi's main imperial officer the way it happened with all those poor fellows in Empire. I'm of a split mind about the original opening of Jedi - they probably wanted Luke to have a bigger entrance than sitting in a cave - but I do like the idea of associating him so closely with Vader early on, casting him in shadows, somehow indicating that he might be vulnerable to the dark side after all. A loss for the film. The sandstorm, then, although it probably doesn't add much, is a nice, atmospheric set piece. What do you think about these scenes? Any in there that you wish had made it?
Re: Star Wars: The Complete Saga On Blu-Ray Breaks Worldwide Sales Rec
Huh? What's that got to do with what I said? Saying I like one version of a movie does not equal saying I dislike the other version. I said the changes are inconsequential (which means "they don't matter much"). Sure the set would have been ever better if it included the original version, but as a fan of these films, I would've also loved to have the original scripts to read (as the Alien box-set provided), complete storyboards, all deleted scenes, six more bonus discs, hell, even the Holiday Special!
I take what's offered to me and enjoy it. What's the problem with that?
Huh? What's that got to do with what I said? Saying I like one version of a movie does not equal saying I dislike the other version. I said the changes are inconsequential (which means "they don't matter much"). Sure the set would have been ever better if it included the original version, but as a fan of these films, I would've also loved to have the original scripts to read (as the Alien box-set provided), complete storyboards, all deleted scenes, six more bonus discs, hell, even the Holiday Special!
I take what's offered to me and enjoy it. What's the problem with that?
Re: Things we learned from the Star Wars Blu-rays (Or: an appreciation
Yeah I think Ian McDiarmid was great in all the prequels. And I do like the Moff Jerjerrods scenes. It would be nice to have in the film just to build up Luke's anger and such, since with the Emperor threatening Endor it would make Luke's situation more desperate. The sandstorm was cool to watch, but it's pretty much the same dialog they use in the finished film when they are in their ships flying off - I guess Lucas or whoever just wasn't happy with the sandstorm footage.
Yeah I think Ian McDiarmid was great in all the prequels. And I do like the Moff Jerjerrods scenes. It would be nice to have in the film just to build up Luke's anger and such, since with the Emperor threatening Endor it would make Luke's situation more desperate. The sandstorm was cool to watch, but it's pretty much the same dialog they use in the finished film when they are in their ships flying off - I guess Lucas or whoever just wasn't happy with the sandstorm footage.
I couldn't really make out the dialogue in the sandstorm over all the fan noises. Even then, it might also have had to do with pacing issues. These things you can never fully appraise from outside the filmmaking process. I remember the director's edition of Alien - they had several scenes reinserted that I assume fans had been clamoring to see. (Specifically a scene in which Dallas is found to have been cocooned by the alien.) While they were nice and interesting, they did slow down the climax of the movie. So sometimes these things have to go even though they're perfectly fine on their own terms.
Yeah, something like that, I forget the whole details.
See I thought the studio only signed away the merchandise rights, as -at the time- merchandise wasn't worth squat and the real money was in sequels and distribution rights.
Then the merchandise took off and oops
Didn't bother me in the slightest
I watched the movies in order, and found myself nodding and hmming at scenes in episodes IV-VI, and as per my previous comment there ^ I didn't find it awful that Vader shouts "noo", I remember watching ESB way back in the day and not batting an eyelid that Vader was Luke's father... but this time round it was much more profound (IMO)
Yeah, that would be me. I pre-ordered the disks, and didn't get around to ordering a player (looking for a cheap deal online!) forgot all about it, disks arrived. Oh crow, no player!!!
Yeah, Luke tells Leia he'll meet them back at the fleet, Han thanks Luke for rescuing him, and Luke talking about visiting an old friend. Also get a glimpse of his wounded robotic hand and him putting a glove over it.
The pertinent question is did the lack of the NOOOOO bother anyone before.
Certainly didn't bother me.
But it's presence bothers me for a lot of reasons. The big one as far as plot goes is that it makes the Emperor look stupid.
"No."
"What was that Lord Vader?"
"Nooooo."
"Oh shit, guess I should be frying you now instead. But, I guess I'll just pretend I didn't hear that and continue to IEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE!"
It bothered George Lucas, apparently.
I personally can't wait to see what weird and wacky changes we will get in the future as George's precarious hold on reality slips further and further.
I don't think we got a NOOOOOO at the end of the first film, when Vader loses control of his Tie Figher. Think about how more epic that scene would be!
Or at the end of Empire, when Luke falls into the depths of cloud city. Just think about how awesome that would be with a thunderous NOOOOOOO!
Good for you. But you are missing out on a lot of great features that way.
Yeah, I pretty much bought The Complete Saga only for the special features. I have the movies several times over, but the bonus stuff is what I really wanted.
The next best thing is this, from the '97 Special Edition release:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PaXgK5HRBjk
Yep, they just slapped on the Emperor's ROTJ scream for no reason whatsoever, but at least it was removed from later releases.
I have never been one to watch special features on anything I own. I wish all movies had cheaper barebones versions. I would buy them every time.
That is perfect! Now they need another one when the Death Star blows up, and again when they show Vader regain control of his fighter.
I only watch them for movies I really enjoy. But then, I only buy DVD's for movies I really enjoy and plan on watching more than once.
So I have maybe 20 DVD's!
