What do you want in the Star Wars Blu-Ray set out next year?

[Temis the Vorta]

I seem to recall the ANH one had some mention about scientists trying to pin down some sort of explanation for the Force,

I'm not up on the novels but it makes sense that a) scientists would beat their heads on the wall trying to nail down what exactly causes the Force (can it be harnessed more directly? can non-Force-sensitives learn to use it?) and that b) they should fail utterly to make any progress because the Force is mystical, not material/rational/scientific/measurable.

Star Wars is not Star Trek. It shouldn't be Star Trek. It certainly shouldn't dabble in technobabble. It's like seeing a monkey trying to pull a donkey cart.

 

[Whofan]

There's actually a 'force detector' in one of the Kevin J. Anderson novels (Jedi Search, I believe), written a few years before TPM.

 

[Temis the Vorta]

That's why I hesitate to read any of the novels - Star Wars works best at a level of mythological simplicity, but more novels means that writers have to invent more stuff to fill up the story, and pretty soon you're tripping over midichlorians and force detectors and all sorts of terrible ideas that just bring the story down from the epic and mystical level it should stay at.

Which is just another way of saying: Star Wars is not sci fi. The more everyone just accepts this as a virtue and not something to be ashamed of, the better off we'll be.

 

[Set Harth]

I'm way overdue for a re-read of the movie novelizations, but I seem to recall the ANH one had some mention about scientists trying to pin down some sort of explanation for the Force, so it's not like the midichlorians came out of nowhere.

There's a quote about them floating around which supposedly comes from the ANH
( or at least OT ) era, but I've been unable to source it in a specific sense. Even without that, midichlorians are alive and well in the original trilogy, in the form of the genetically-determined Force sensitivity in the Skywalker line which is explicitly discussed in ROTJ and implied by the unusual emphasis on Luke's importance in TESB. It wasn't guesswork or up to "mystical" chance that Anakin's children would be strong in the Force; it was guaranteed by heredity. Also known as midichlorians.

 

[RAMA]

Overall the special editions are better, but I really hate several things that were added, and some were definitely unnecessary. I generally love "remasterings" but don't really like the changez in plot elements in such projects.

 

[Trekker4747]

There's a difference, however, between "remastering" and adding un-needed changes.

Cleaning up the film, sharpening the colors and all of that is fine and great. Replacing some of the dodgier effects with CGI versions? Fine and great.

Adding in needless CGI porn scenes of creatures or "populating" scenes with more vehicles and persons? Not such a great, or needed, change.

Changing critical plot elements? Not a great change at all.

Replacing ghost version of Anakin? BULLSHIT!

 

[RandyS]

There's a difference, however, between "remastering" and adding un-needed changes.


Replacing ghost version of Anakin? BULLSHIT!

Which never made sense when you consider that Shaw is still Anakin in the unmasking scene. Why didn't Lucas "fix" that?