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Star Wars Prequels Media Movies

Star Wars DVD Set Previews/Reviews 465

Posted by michael from the let-the-wookie-win dept.
Reducer2001 writes "USA Today has an article up that has a couple more details about the upcoming Star Wars DVD release. The cantina shootout between Han Solo and the green-snouted bounty hunter Greedo is virtually identical, but now it seems their guns fire almost simultaneously." Reader Jutebox150 writes "Time magazine has an early preview of the Star Wars DVDs and gives some justification for Lucas issuing the updated versions of the trilogy and talking about his many mental and physical battles to finish filming. The article also describes a 2.5 hour documentary by Kevin Burns that traces the origins of the saga. 'The first cut of Star Wars,' Burns' narrator says, 'was an unmitigated disaster.'" Reader spoco2 writes "The Star Wars Original Trilogy is due for worldwide release on the 21st on DVD, but the first reviews are appearing already in Australia (obviously of the PAL version). Yes, they are the SEs with even more differences (Now Gredo and Han shoot at the SAME time!). I'm afraid I'll be waiting for the day when George reconsiders and releases the untouched originals."
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Star Wars DVD Set Previews/Reviews More

Star Wars DVD Set Previews/Reviews

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  • Uh-oh! (Score:4, Funny)

    by Anonymous Coward on Thursday September 09, 2004 @11:02AM (#10200797)
    Oh shit. Time for a thread triage. Everyone complaining about how Star Wars is terrible and your childhood is ruined, reply here. People discussing Lucas and his never-ending quest to rape the franchise for more money, over on the left. If your contribution to the discussion is "HAN SOLO SHOT FIRST!", over on the right. GNAA... well, you know what to do.

  • Holding your breath... (Score:5, Funny)

    by jeffy210 ( 214759 ) on Thursday September 09, 2004 @11:02AM (#10200800)
    "I'm afraid I'll be waiting for the day when George reconsiders and releases the untouched originals."

    Riiight, you do that... can you also let me know when Duke Nukem Forever comes out?

    • Dust off your VCR! I still have my original tapes [amazon.com], complete with grey bounding boxes on the models, etc. They still work. No need to wait for DVD really if you want to see the 'originals'. Sure, it isn't widescreen but at least the story is the same (one can argue that changing the shooting order is fairly significant for Han's character) and no new actors have been added!!!

      • I still have the originals on laserdisc (widescreen) and my laserdisc player still works - so some of us can keep the dream alive.
        • and my laserdisc player still works
          Before it stops working, consider getting a high quality video capture card, and mastering them onto a DVD-R.

          Then, under no circumstances, flog copies on ebay under an everchanging pseudonym :)

          OK. The first paragraph is good advice.
        • I still have the originals on laserdisc (widescreen) and my laserdisc player still works - so some of us can keep the dream alive.

          Take a look on suprnova.org. There are actual torrents of Laserdisc to DVD conversions on there for fans of the original.

          • Re:Holding your breath... (Score:5, Informative)

            by Schnapple ( 262314 ) <tomkidd.gmail@com> on Thursday September 09, 2004 @12:29PM (#10201919) Homepage
            There are actual torrents of Laserdisc to DVD conversions on there for fans of the original
            At the risk of the storm troopers kicking in my door, I have these. They're real, and they're fantastic. They're ~4.7GB images, so the video quality for 2+ hour movies is not as good as it could be (the bit budget on a 2-layer DVD-R would provide for more) but they're really pretty good, all things considered. They even have Dolby Digial 2.0 surround and - get this - the audio commentaries from the definitive collection [blam1.com], complete with on-screen text. The menus even have easter eggs and production notes, along with the definitive collection logos. Make no mistake - whoever made these did it as a labor of love.

            There's also a fourth disc of extras (not sure if it's on suprnova) that comprises most of the extras from the definitive collection, such as documentaries, old trailers, etc. It's geek ecstasy and it's an interesting look back at Lucas when he was seemingly quite content with his creations.

            A website I won't link to out of courtesy (slashdotting) has images you can download and print out that look like and work like DVD covers. They have covers that look like the style of the currently released DVD's and covers that have the original movie posters. I opted gor the movie poster ones. Printed out on a color laser printer, the untrained eye can't tell a difference between them and the episode 1 and 2 DVD cover spines on a shelf (save for the reflective gold ink on the official ones).

            Now I must say, after getting these, watching them, etc., I'm content with the DVD's coming out later this month. Sure, I would still like official releases of the theatrical cuts, but these work for me. Heck, since for some reason they've decided to make the spines of the official widescreen releases silver I won't even have "duplicates" on my shelf.

            So to recap, get these laserdisc --> DVD-R rips. They're worth however many days it takes to download them. Find a DVD burner somewhere, somehow. Buy the officials (like I am). Be happy that you have both.

        • Re:Holding your breath... (Score:5, Insightful)

          by nomadic ( 141991 ) <nomadicworld@@@gmail...com> on Thursday September 09, 2004 @01:13PM (#10202465) Homepage
          I still have the originals on laserdisc (widescreen) and my laserdisc player still works - so some of us can keep the dream alive.

          An elegant format for a more civilized time.

      • Re:Holding your breath... (Score:5, Interesting)

        by cmpalmer ( 234347 ) on Thursday September 09, 2004 @12:19PM (#10201798) Homepage
        You know, the problem with this whole discussion is that if Lucas *did* decide to release the "original" versions, we would still expect him to cleanup the matte lines, fix the light sabre glows, digitally clean-up the prints, tweak the soundtracks, etc., so they wouldn't really be the "original" versions.

        Of course, replacing actors with their prequel equivalents, making Han shoot first, changing bad songs to even worse ones (ROTJ), and adding more burping and farting creatures goes a bit beyond cleanup and director's cut land.

        To some extent, the only reason to release the really original release (which would still need a great deal of digital restoration as the film stock has aged) would be as an illustration of film history. All of those ground-breaking, breathtaking special effects that look a bit cheesy now will be lost. In 20 years, it will be nearly impossible to go back and see what state of the art effects were in 1977, or what Tatooine looked like when the cinematography was based on what cameras, filters, and lenses were used instead of what digital post-processing can do.

        These are the reasons I want *both* versions. I don't really want to watch the originals for entertainment and be distracted by David Prowse's eyes in the Vader mask, the bounding boxes and matte lines, or Vader's sometime's white lightsabre. I would like to have them to show my kids what I watched in 1977 and as nostalgia.
      • I've got the originals for the VCR in widescreen format. Na-ne-na-ne-na-na.

        That being said, I really wanted to get them on DVD, but sadly I won't get my wish this time around it seems. So I implore slashdot reader's and geeks everywhere to do the only thing you can do if you are truely passionate about this... Vote with your dollar. You don't need to purchase the new movies, you don't need to watch them, you don't need to see episode 3, etc. If enough people don't buy (which isn't going to happen) it w
    • can you also let me know when Duke Nukem Forever comes out

      Duke Nukem Forever is set to be released in a box set with the original unfscked with Star Wars trilogy, along with Rick Berman's three hour apology speech for what he has done to Star Trek. Unfortunately its release will happen on the exact same day that the Pentagon announces that it now considers the world "safe" and will be disbanding itself accordingly. Due to the lack of press over the release, all three features will tank. Luckily for the studios, however, no one will notice due to the overwhelming victory of the combined Bigoot and Antlantis forces over a disbelieving US. Or something like that...


    • I'm not holding my breath, but it's possible. When Spielberg released "CE3K - The Collector's Edition" on DVD a few years back, he kept a few scenes from the special edition, but restored the original ending and a number of shortened and eliminated scenes to bring the movie real close to the original theatrical release -- something he swore he'd never do.

      What sucks is even though it's *my* childhood, *he* owns it so he can do whatever he wants. I'm pretty sure there's a lesson about consumerism in there

  • its obvious (Score:3, Interesting)

    by Bhull ( 644157 ) on Thursday September 09, 2004 @11:02AM (#10200802)
    he's embarrased by the original trilogy. he should just get it over with and release the damn thing.

    • George==his own worst critic (Score:5, Insightful)

      by ackthpt ( 218170 ) * on Thursday September 09, 2004 @01:04PM (#10202366) Homepage Journal
      he's embarrased by the original trilogy. he should just get it over with and release the damn thing.

      If I was a typical moviegoer for the original trilogy, then he's banging his head on the wall for nothing, or actually self destructively.

      I was just mentioning my reaction to Star Wars (EP:IV ANH) yesterday.

      There were these inexplicable commercials on TV about some movie, but I couldn't make heads or tails of them and ignored them along with spots for Palmolive Dishwashing Liquid, Fleismann's Margarine and anything about the upcoming 6 O'clock news. Then a friend calls, with an almost frantic voice, and asks have I seen the new movie something something. No... Go see it! Drop whatever you are doing and go see it!

      Well, you don't get a phone call like that every day (though it may give the MPAA some ideas) I ask and it so happens my Dad, brothers and sister are already planning to go see it, because they've been told this is something really different. Gosh, what can this bee?

      So I'm sitting in the theater with my bucket of popcorn and soda and watch the titles, ready for another thrilling cinematic experience, or at the worst, ninety minutes of nursing my snacks and then immediatley forgetting about what I've seen. It wouldn't be like that. Above the broad curvature of a planet a little spacecraft is coasting along with something like short bursts of phasers hitting it. Then the star destroyer seemingly passes overhead while the sense-surround in the theater rumbles and popcorn I just put in my mouth falls back out into my lap. Wooowwww....

      The rest of the movie passes with chills of excitement and oohs and ahhs, I probably would have won a staring constest as I don't think I blinked once the whole time. I'd be back a few times, others would be back every day or a few showings every day for months.

      When I got home, still late afternoon, I stood in the sun on the driveway with my jaw still slack at what I had seen. Looking up, as if expecting to see a star destroyer cruise over my house. It seemed space fantasy had taken a big step forward and it clearly had a significant impact on millions of others as Star Wars was a massive merchandising success (my sister still has piles and boxes of original stuff, clearly it impacted her more than myself.)

      Video games would suddenly take on certain similarities to Tie Fighters, X-Wings, R2D2 and Darth Vader was the epitome of cool.

      Star Wars rocked the world and gave George Lucas the finances and clout, which have carried him these 27 years, to do a great many things other producer/directors could only dream of.

      It really is pretty awful that he can't be happy with this original artifact and, like some old silver coin with a patina, feels he has to polish it with some course cloth until it's bright, shiny and utterly unattractive to those who appreciate it for what it was.

  • Thus far (Score:2, Insightful)

    by Ossadagowah ( 452169 )
    I haven't seen anything that makes me want to buy his updated releases. I think I'll buy the original movies on DVD at a science fiction convention.

  • Virgins, Get your opinions started! (Score:5, Funny)

    by ajservo ( 708572 ) on Thursday September 09, 2004 @11:03AM (#10200815)
    Begun, this flame war has...
  • I'm afraid I'm going to wait a couple of years until George ends up releasing all six with even more changes. I hope they took the wussy scream that Luke lets out as he falls from Vader at Cloud City though.

  • X-mas Special (Score:5, Funny)

    by dr_dank ( 472072 ) on Thursday September 09, 2004 @11:06AM (#10200863) Homepage Journal
    The Holiday Special is said to have been altered too. In the new edition, Jefferson Starship shoots first.

  • Shooting (Score:5, Funny)

    by Mateito ( 746185 ) on Thursday September 09, 2004 @11:06AM (#10200869) Homepage
    Now Gredo and Han shoot at the SAME time!

    How tantric.. err..

    So now we have Star Wars, Episode IV, designed by a committee edition. I may yet end up with the box set (we have a house full of furniture and need smaller things to put on our wedding "wannas" list.. yeah.. I hate the concept too, but practicality is winning on this one).

  • Hans and Greedo now say "over" at the same time... (Score:5, Funny)

    by j1bb3rj4bb3r ( 808677 ) on Thursday September 09, 2004 @11:06AM (#10200870)
    as all guns are now replaced with walkie talkies.

  • han/greedo (Score:5, Insightful)

    by pyros ( 61399 ) on Thursday September 09, 2004 @11:06AM (#10200871) Journal
    well at least he seems to have made a partial concession on such a controversial edit. Show's he has at least one tiny spec of respect.

    • Re:han/greedo (Score:3, Funny)

      by Anonymous Coward
      Of course, lets not be so crazy as to put it back the way it was originally.

      -- gid

    • Re:han/greedo (Score:3, Interesting)

      by drinkypoo ( 153816 )
      You are confusing respect with pragmatism. Lucas is firmly convinced that his way is the right way. However, since a rerelease is about making money, he's trying to "preserve his vision" (how about preserving the fucking movie? is that not his vision?) while still making it more palatable to SW fans so he can sell it to them. It's not because he cares what you think on a personal level. He cares only on a financial level.

    • Respect not likely (Score:5, Insightful)

      by ebuck ( 585470 ) on Thursday September 09, 2004 @12:21PM (#10201821)
      Let's see.

      I could respect a director who makes a controversial film decision (Han shoots first) provided that the film is made well, and it doesn't look like a mistake (see my film because it's controversial trash)

      I could respect a director who admits to making a mistake in a film (or believes that his greater vision was compromised at first release) and rereleases the film with corrections (Greedo shoots first) provided that the film is remade well, and it doesn't look like he's just caving into a compromised version of his vision.

      But I can't respect this. Either Lucas is stating that his vision was for Han to be a chior boy in bad boy clothing, or that his vision wasn't important enough to stand by, or that he has no vision, he's just doing whatever the polls say.

      After watching Kirosawa's "The Hidden Fortress", I am fully convinced that the success of Star Wars was part plagarisim and part mistake. Lucas's disneyland inspired lightening up of the film in it's theatrical re-relase was touted as being closer to his true "vision". Every improvement detracted from the story and lightened the tone of the film. I mean, Luke's family was just killed, and we're supposed to be laughing at visual gags when it's time to go find Han. "Empire Strikes Back" probably was saved due to the extra help he brought aboard. Help which he now eschews in the episode 1-3 films.

      Let's face it. We'll never have a good Star Wars until the Master stops driving his Empire into the ground in the name of Profit.
      • Richard Marquand and Irvin Kirshner. They directed VI and V, respectively. I honestly think that Lucas is trying to make the entire trilogy patently his and by doing so is forced to "rewrite" history. Granted, yes, the first was directed by him, but I firmly believe that the first installment was the roughest out of the 3.

        Richard Marquand must be spinning in his grave.

    • Re:han/greedo (Score:3, Interesting)

      by Sloppy ( 14984 )
      Partial consession == lack of conviction. The fact that he edited this scene again, and into a third form, is the proof: Lucas is trolling. Have a nice day.

  • Maybe a bit unwanted.... (Score:5, Funny)

    by Aceto3for5 ( 806224 ) on Thursday September 09, 2004 @11:07AM (#10200877)
    Call me a purist, but I think the akward "Kiss Goodbye" between Jar Jar Binks and Chewbacca in the cantina is unappreciated at best.

    Also, I heard thanks to product placement, the death star now has the AT&T Logo slightly superimposed.
    • I came home the other day and there was a message on my answering machine from James Earl Jones. It was eerie -- he talked for like three minutes about how my DSL was now activated and who I should call if I had any trouble, but the poor digital quality of the answering machine meant he sounded just like Vader. I expected him to say some shit about "You don't know the power of the Broadband" or "Obi Wan never told you what happened to your cablemodem."

  • and in the next version... (Score:5, Funny)

    by WormholeFiend ( 674934 ) on Thursday September 09, 2004 @11:07AM (#10200878)
    Lucas, tired of people still complaining that Han shoots first, and not at the same time as Greedo, will tweak the scene so that, even though the shots look simultaneous, it will be possible to demonstrate that Han's shot fired milliseconds before Greedo's.

    However, I predict this will fail to silence the critics that still complain about Han stepping over Jabba's tail.

  • Other Changes... (Score:5, Funny)

    by HogynCymraeg ( 624823 ) on Thursday September 09, 2004 @11:08AM (#10200895)
    1. Han cries "Nice one kid, that was one in a million" BEFORE luke fires
    2. The wookie DOESNT win and C3P0 gets an unexpected "backdoor suprise"
    3. Han is now Luke's father (See change 1)
    4. The final scene in ROTJ has yoda wearing a ninja headband

    • 5. The Death Star blows itself up before the rebels leave Yavin 4
      6. Princess Leia gives birth to Senator Amidala
      7. The stormtroopers are a nice shade of orange
      8. Darth Vader commits suicide in the first scene

      • Re:Other Changes... (Score:4, Funny)

        by Vinnie_333 ( 575483 ) on Thursday September 09, 2004 @05:09PM (#10206025)
        9.Ben Konobi parties with Sand People, drinks too much and passes out in desert.
        10.R2-D2 enrages C-3P0's by bringing another robot into their "relationship"
        11.The part of Yoda will be played by Gary Coleman. "What you talkin' bout, Luke!"
        12.At the battle of Hoth, all the guns are removed and replaced with snow balls.

  • More changes (Score:4, Interesting)

    by JayBlalock ( 635935 ) on Thursday September 09, 2004 @11:08AM (#10200906)
    I'm not even going to bother bitching about the Anakin thing. There's no point. But, I have found this page, which purports to show most of the changes in the DVD. (although, oddly, it DOESN'T show the new Anakin)

    http://perso.club-internet.fr/willow/Index.html [club-internet.fr]

    I wasn't sure how seriously to take it, but it seems to be corroborated by the article. (talking about having a better CG Jabba in ANH)

  • That's it. (Score:5, Funny)

    by Dirtside ( 91468 ) on Thursday September 09, 2004 @11:09AM (#10200912) Journal
    The cantina shootout between Han Solo and the green-snouted bounty hunter Greedo is virtually identical, but now it seems their guns fire almost simultaneously."
    Okay, that's it, I've had it.

    *rolls up a newspaper and goes to Skywalker Ranch, finds George Lucas, and smacks him over the head four times*

    NO! BAD GEORGE! GREEDO DOESN'T GET TO SHOOT *AT ALL*! BAD DIRECTOR! NO COOKIE!

  • I loved the original trilogy, and really have no major gripes abou the new ones, but how many re-releases are there? Seems like every other month slashdot has an article about a new release, what gives?

  • Stream splitting (Score:5, Interesting)

    by Zorilla ( 791636 ) on Thursday September 09, 2004 @11:10AM (#10200928)
    One thing that was done on the Terminator 2 DVD was provide the original, plus the extended version with the deleted scenes. Both can be played all the way through as a movie even though the extended version is merely the original with deleted scenes spliced in, thanks to the wonders of random access media. My question is why Lucas hasn't taken advantage of that to allow certain scenes to be added/remove/changed to look like the original or enhanced version?

    • Branching... (Score:3, Interesting)

      by antdude ( 79039 )
      It's called branching. Didn't T2:Ultimate Edition have a lot of problems with many DVD players even software players until updates came out? I know WinDVD did when T2:UE first came out.

      Not sure if this still happens now.

  • erratum (Score:5, Funny)

    by chegosaurus ( 98703 ) on Thursday September 09, 2004 @11:10AM (#10200933) Homepage
    > The first cut of Star Wars,' Burns' narrator says, 'was an unmitigated disaster.'"

    Surely he means "the first episode"?

  • Greedo (Score:4, Insightful)

    by Anonymous Coward on Thursday September 09, 2004 @11:11AM (#10200948)
    Most annoying part about the Greedo change: the original version was a justifiable shooting in any state in the Union! Somebody's holding a gun on you and threatens your life - that's clear-cut case of self-defense, and you're entirely within your rights to shoot the bastard.
  • My first thought was "Buy this? In a pig's eye Jim!" But then I saw:

    The article also describes a 2.5 hour documentary by Kevin Burns that traces the origins of the saga.

    Which might make it worth it. I know I'll buy it anyway.

    This, however:

    'The first cut of Star Wars,' Burns' narrator says, 'was an unmitigated disaster.'

    Would be very, very cool to see.

  • Review at Digital Bits (Score:4, Informative)

    by spagiola ( 234461 ) on Thursday September 09, 2004 @11:12AM (#10200965)
    There's an in-depth review at Digital Bits [thedigitalbits.com], including some screen shots [thedigitalbits.com] of the major changes.

  • WTF is Greedo? (Score:5, Informative)

    by Placido ( 209939 ) on Thursday September 09, 2004 @11:14AM (#10200988)
    For all of you who, like me, didn't get the Greedo reference, (probably less than 1% of /.) here's a link which explains the whole Greedo and Han thingamy bob.

    Who is Greedo and what did he and Han shoot and WHAT THE HELL IS THIS ALL ABOUT?! [fecundity.com]

  • Seriously, dude (Score:3, Insightful)

    by Dirtside ( 91468 ) on Thursday September 09, 2004 @11:14AM (#10201001) Journal
    I'm afraid I'll be waiting for the day when George reconsiders and releases the untouched originals.
    As others have noted, it's more likely that Duke Nukem Forever will come out first. Personally, this is my position: I will not buy any version of the original Star Wars trilogy unless Lucas releases the original theatrical cut. I've already got four VHS copies of the entire trilogy (the *true* original in pan-n-scan and widescreen, and SE on pan-n-scan and widescreen), from way back before Lucas started really fucking things up with the prequels. (I'm also not going to get around it by getting someone to buy it for my birthday or for Christmas. I will not *own* these DVDs for any reason.)

    I don't care if Lucas thinks this is the way the movies were intended; as a customer, I'm not buying it from him unless he gives me what I want. Yeah, I know millions of people will buy the DVDs anyway, but that doesn't change my position.

  • In Episode V: The Empire Strikes Back, in an attempt to show the kinder, gentler, Annakin side of Darth Vader. Vader is quoted as saying to Luke "Please, please, please dont make me destroy you, this is your last warning, can I just give you a flesh wound? please..."

  • Holding out. (Score:5, Funny)

    by Anonymous Coward on Thursday September 09, 2004 @11:15AM (#10201019)
    I'm still holding out for the version where Han and Greedo hug eachother.
  • including shots of what was changed...

    http://www.thedigitalbits.com/reviews3/starwarstri logy.html [thedigitalbits.com]

  • Make it a DVD option? (Score:5, Funny)

    by daveewart ( 66895 ) on Thursday September 09, 2004 @11:17AM (#10201047)
    Perhaps it should be an option in the DVD menus:
    1. Greedo shoots first
    2. Han shoots first
    3. They shoot simultaneously
    4. They don't shoot each other, they have a nice chat instead
    • You jest, but why is this such a bad idea. I have no plans of buying this adulterated version of the trilogy. I could reconsider, however: DVD is a versatile enough medium that Lucas could really make it an option to view the original theatrical release (cleaned-up and digitized, of course) or the re-release with ridiculous aliens and dumb slapstick CGI which also includes Han and Greedo both shooting.

      It's only a small number of scenes that were changed by Lucas for the re-release, and now he's just chan

  • Not that guy!!! (Score:5, Funny)

    by Meostro ( 788797 ) * on Thursday September 09, 2004 @11:19AM (#10201075) Homepage Journal
    The article also describes a 2.5 hour documentary by Kevin Burns that traces the origins of the saga.

    Did anyone else mis-read that as Ken Burns [wikipedia.org] and think Only 2.5 hours? That must be one of his short films!

  • MOD ALL POSTS DOWN! (Score:5, Funny)

    by ajservo ( 708572 ) on Thursday September 09, 2004 @11:25AM (#10201141)
    You people aren't being hateful enough...

  • A lesson from David Lean... (Score:5, Insightful)

    by eamacnaghten ( 695001 ) on Thursday September 09, 2004 @11:27AM (#10201180) Homepage Journal
    I remember once David Lean saying in an interview that once a picture of his was finished, then it was finished! It was a work of creation and no-one should change it retrospectively, not even him.

    There is a scene in Lawrence of Arabia where you see a camel riding slowly towards O'Toole taking time to do it. This was the entrance of Omar Sherif. Afterwards David Lean said he got it wrong, and that that particular buildup ended too quickly, however, he did NOT change it for the reasons given.

    Although George Lucas's modifications to the original Star Wars Trilogy may be making it more cinematically pleasing, and maybe even more to how he would have liked it to originally turn out, what he is doing could be interpreted as defacing. The original Star Wars Trilogy are works of art in themselves.

    Everyone would have thought it ridiculous if Picasso took some of his earlier work back, and touched it up to make it more realistic, or in fashion. I think the same way about the Star Wars Films.

  • Stop it. (Score:5, Insightful)

    by juuri ( 7678 ) on Thursday September 09, 2004 @11:29AM (#10201208) Homepage
    Seriously people stop supporting this nonsense. Even if you don't plan on buying all these hacks, this constant deluge of information about changes, edits and new editions of this crap is still supporting this garbage by keeping up the visible mindshare capital of this franchise.

    I don't believe any of these pictures are classics or sacred treasures but these films are not like Director's Cuts where the original vision was changed to get the movie to market, no matter what Georgie says. He is 'Robin Williamsing' these things because of his change in character after become a parent. That is, some famous actors, directors, etc... at some point feel everything they've done should some how be compatible with things their kids could watch.

    • Re:Stop it. (Score:3, Interesting)

      by advocate_one ( 662832 )
      they're making the changes to restart the copyright clock... ie. get some 20 odd years back from us. It allows them to whop a big "copyright 2004" notice all over it.

  • Biggest irony... (Score:5, Insightful)

    by NaugaHunter ( 639364 ) on Thursday September 09, 2004 @11:33AM (#10201236)
    Lucas on colorizing the three stooges. [cnn.com]

    "Star Wars" creator George Lucas, who testified with Steven Spielberg before Congress in the 1980s against colorization and other forms of alteration, said the process yanks such slapstick performers as the Stooges out of the black-and-white universe they belong in.

    "Would color distract from their comedy and make it not as funny anymore?" Lucas said. "Maybe just the fact that they're in black and white makes it funny, because their humor is dated. But by putting it in black and white, it puts it in a context where you can appreciate it for what it was.

    "But you try to make it in full living color and try to compare it to a Jim Carrey movie, then it's hard for young people to understand. Because you're then thinking you're comparing apples to apples, when you're not. You're comparing apples to oranges. I'm saying it's not fair to the artist."

    Part of Star Wars' charm was that while the special effects were advanced for the time, they were NOT excessive to any degree beyond being how they directly supported the plot. The extra things running around Mos Eisley, windows in Bespin... it just started being more distractive than immersive. The only two I absolutely agreed with were putting in the Jabba scene (yeah, it wasn't done well, but it did actually help establish Han a little more) and fixing the Hoth shots so you couldn't see AT-ATs through the actual instrument panel. (I'd never noticed before on small TV's, but almost a must for a high-quality DVD on large TVs.)

    Don't get me started on Guido shooting first, that completely changed Han's daring go-for-it attitude as a lawless smuggler out only for himself. Having them shoot at the same time I can accept logically. Han decides to shoot, Guido sees it in his eyes and shoots as well. Of course, Guido missing makes little sense at 3 feet, but if he had hit him it would have been a pretty short movie. What really bugs me about this change was that it was never "I wanted to do this, but I couldn't", it was "I've changed my mind about how much of a lawless guy Han was at the beginning, thus weakening his story arc as he progressed to a caring person."

    Huh, guess I got myself going. Anyway, I guess I'll go hit the local antique and pawn shops to see if anyone's ignorant mothers have turned in the laserdiscs of the originals...

  • Come on... (Score:3, Funny)

    by grasshoppa ( 657393 ) on Thursday September 09, 2004 @11:39AM (#10201311) Homepage
    Given the angle of the blast, we can deduce that Han did not, in fact, shoot guedo. There must have been a second gunner!

    On the grassy knoll, of course.

    • Re:Come on... (Score:5, Funny)

      by Colonel Cholling ( 715787 ) on Thursday September 09, 2004 @12:00PM (#10201548)
      However, Six Seconds in Tattooine provides testimonies from witnesses that were never called before the Palpatine Commission, and these indicate that there were no less than three separate shots fired. Also, don't you find it suspicious that Han Solo, a known Wookie sympathizer, would be fingered as the lone gunman? Why do we never hear mention of his Hutt gang connections, going back several years? His checkered history with Lando Calrissian, the very man who would one day encase him in carbonite? And who, as we well know, was the second Death Star shooter?

      But of course the most valuable piece of evidence is the original, unedited Lucas film. If we play the scene repeatedly in excruciatingly slow motion, you can clearly see Greedo's head moves back... and to the left. Back... and to the left. Back... and to the left. Back... and to the left.

  • Disappointed in you geeks (Score:5, Funny)

    by gmletzkojr ( 768460 ) <gmletzkojr@NOSpaM.gmail.com> on Thursday September 09, 2004 @11:43AM (#10201351) Homepage Journal
    I am so disappointed in you geeks - with a picture like Leia and her stunt double sunbathing in *the* outfit (at the Time magazine link), you guys are worried about who shot who first. Shouldn't we all be talking about whether or not that footage is included in the special edition?

    *I hang my head in shame.*

  • Referral ID in link (Score:3, Informative)

    by Anonymous Coward on Thursday September 09, 2004 @11:59AM (#10201540)
    Way to go, Reducer2001, by slipping that referral ID into the link for the box set. On a Star Wars thread, too boot; it's sure to generate a lot of cash.

  • Full List of DVD Changes (Score:5, Informative)

    by diver8 ( 810336 ) on Thursday September 09, 2004 @12:12PM (#10201716) Journal

    From theforce.net (http://boards.theforce.net/Classic_Trilogy/b10002 /16704309/?596 [theforce.net])

    ---LIST OF DVD CHANGES---

    A NEW HOPE

    Confirmed :

    - The opening crawl has been re-done to match the colour/quality of the PT opening crawl.
    - Lightsaber effects have been fixed. The colours now appear more vibrant and the blades better defined.
    - The lettering on various Death Star panels will be written in Aurebesh rather than English.
    - An improved version of Jabba inserted into his scenes.
    - Greedo still shoots first...however, Han's reaction is 'much more realistic'.
    - R2's panels will be consistantly blue in all of the space shots, instead of just a few of them.
    - The Dianoga now appears more lifelike and not so obviously Stop-Motion.
    - The matte-painted hall in the detention block has been fixed rather than just having a bright white light at one end.

    Rumoured :

    - Stormtrooper voices redubbed by Temura Morrison (Jango Fett).
    - The Emperor may possibly make an appearence to address the Senate in a new scene.
    - The Imperial March may be inserted into the score in certain parts to maintain continuity with the other films.
    - The 'Binary Sunset' shot outside the Homestead could have clouds to match Luke's later POV shot.
    - Rumours of work on Obi-Wan's death scene with CGI.
    - Door closings/openings could be smoothed out without the frame jumps.
    - Rumour that the aliens and other creatures blink now to make them look non-mask like.
    - Vader and Obi-Wan's fight scene may be upgraded with CGI work.
    - Battle of Yavin shots cleaned up and recomped.

    Denied rumours:

    - Bail Organa will not be in ANH, for when Alderaan blows up.

    THE EMPIRE STRIKES BACK

    Confirmed :

    - The opening crawl has been re-done to match the colour/quality of the PT opening crawl.
    - Lightsaber effects have been fixed. The colours now appear more vibrant and the blades better defined.
    - Ian McDiarmid is now in place for Emperor Palpatine's scene, rather than the monkey-eyed old woman. There are also a couple of new lines in this scene.

    Rumoured :

    - The Tauntauns could be re-done with CGI.
    - Rumour that the missing Wampa Attack sequence may be back into the beginning of the film .
    - 'Grander escape sequence' between Lando, Leia, Chewie, C3PO and R2 in Cloud City.
    - Possible additional deleted scene(s) with Yoda on Dagobah.
    - Boba Fett's voice redubbed by Temura Morrison (Jango Fett).

    RETURN OF THE JEDI

    Confirmed :

    - The opening crawl has been re-done to match the colour/quality of the PT opening crawl.
    - Lightsaber effects have been fixed. The colours now appear more vibrant and the blades better defined.
    - Hayden Christensen appears at the end of the film in place of Sebastian Shaw as 'Ghost Anakin'.
    - The Rancor's matte-lines have been removed.
    - Naboo now appears in the end celebration sequence.
    - In Vader's death scene, Shaw's eyes have been recoloured (to match Hayden's) and his eyebrows removed (as they would never have survived).

    Rumoured :

    - Palpatine's Force Lightning may have been re-done.
    - Rumour that the Jedi Temple now appears in the background of Coruscant during the end celebration sequence.
    - Work done on background matte-paintings.
    - Rumour that the Ewoks have had CGI work done to animate their facial features.
    - Rumour that Watto appears during the Tatooine celebration sequence at the end.

    Denied rumours:

    - Padme does not appear at the end alongside the ghosts of Anakin, Ben, and Yoda.

    MISC INFO

    Audio Quality

    - "I spoke with Ben Burtt recently. He mentioned the upcoming Star Wars DVDs. It seems that they were able

    • - Hayden Christensen appears at the end of the film in place of Sebastian Shaw as 'Ghost Anakin'.

      I wonder how this affects actor's residuals... I see several possibilities:

      (1) Shaw stops getting residuals because he's effectively no longer in the picture

      (2) Shaw still gets residuals because he was in the picture, just you can't see him anymore

      (3) Christensen sues Shaw for all the back residuals, since Lucas is effectively ret-conning the movie, and Christensen now always played ghost Anikin.

      (4) Ev

  • First cut is not the released cut. (Score:3, Interesting)

    by Performer Guy ( 69820 ) on Thursday September 09, 2004 @12:34PM (#10201999)
    From the article the first cut was never released, it was re-edited in a completely different form. From my recollection the original theatrical release actually won an Oscar for Best Film Editing in 1977.

  • Stop the Second Guessing (Score:4, Insightful)

    by Nom du Keyboard ( 633989 ) on Thursday September 09, 2004 @12:35PM (#10202019)
    Please don't turn this release into an E.T. Anniversary Edition where, among other things, the guns are replaced by flashlights. Mr. Lucas, stop the second guessing of yourself and minimize the political correctness. Just give us the film we remember!

  • 2 things stand out in the article.. (Score:5, Informative)

    by gosand ( 234100 ) on Thursday September 09, 2004 @12:42PM (#10202103)
    1. "Universal and United Artists passed on it, but Ladd said yes, famously giving Lucas the merchandising rights that made the filmmaker's fortune."

    And so began down the path to the Dark side.

    2. The shot of Carrie Fisher and her stunt double? [timeinc.net] Whoa.

  • Whiny Ani in RoTJ? (Score:3, Funny)

    by dafz1 ( 604262 ) on Thursday September 09, 2004 @01:02PM (#10202348)
    Why do we see whiny bitch Ani(Christensen) in the final scene of RoTJ? Wouldn't it make sense to see Ewan as well, for continuity? I would like to say that wouldn't happen, as leaving out Sir Alec would piss off too many fans, but George doesn't seem to care about that with all of his other changes.

    Then again, seeing Sebastian Shaw standing(rumor is Ani loses legs in/after the "great" battle) doesn't make a lot of sense either. Then again, I wouldn't want to see a stumpy Anakin. Maybe he has "magic legs" like Lt. Dan?

  • What the hell is wrong with people today? (Score:5, Insightful)

    by endus ( 698588 ) on Thursday September 09, 2004 @01:12PM (#10202457)
    Why does everyone feel the need to go and revisit everything and tweak it and make it different? Anyone ever watched the Redux version of apocalypse now? It's not as good....it was one of the greatest movies of all time AS IS so leave it ALONE. The reasons for cutting scenes or doing things a certain way DO NOT MATTER. Are we going to start painting over Picassos because he ran out of green that day and he WOULD have made that part green if he only had the right paint? Who cares??? Art is a culmination of all the factors which go into making it. You made it, you put it out there. It's done. Leave it ALONE.

    I am a Star Wars fan, but not hardcore in any sense of the word. I have never seen the 1997 redone versions, mostly because redoing that movie sounded like the most retarded thing I had ever heard of.

    I didn't even know about the Cantina shootout thing until this post, but it might be one of the gayest moves a filmmaker has ever made. The thing is, it is NOT a "Star Wars Nerd" thing....it's a film thing. If what I have read here is true, that is a MAJOR change to a subtle but important incident in the movie. If people don't understand why that change makes a difference, then they don't understand the movie or the character of Han Solo. It's not about whether the movie agrees with all the times you've reenacted the scene with action figures in your bedroom, it's about a movie that was good because of the story it told and the characters it developed being hacked by a director who used to know what he was doing but has now fallen off into a pit of mediocrity.

    I can't believe the other changes he made either. Fuck continuity...who CARES for chrissakes? Who would complain about the lack of coninuity? No one. Who would complain about fucking up a masterpiece? Apparently quite a few people. Isn't this movie being made for the audience to enjoy? Apparently not because now the artist is rehashing his work, to the displeasure of the fans, on some kind of ego trip that's supposed to make up for the fact that he will NEVER make a movie that good again.

    What is it with people? You go out and make one of the better scifi movies ever made and then shit all over it when it's released to DVD to support continuity with movies that NO ONE thinks are as good as the originals. Dumb Dumb Dumb.

    Sorry, this turned into something closely approximating nerd-rage, but it's about ART...and if it's one thing I hate to see it's artists who sell out and forget what they used to be about.

  • The SPECIAL Special Edition! (Score:3, Funny)

    by LittleGuy ( 267282 ) * on Thursday September 09, 2004 @02:25PM (#10203588)
    Yes, they are the SEs with even more differences (Now Gredo and Han shoot at the SAME time!).

    ...using walkie-talkies!

  • Gredo and Han switcheroo (Score:3, Funny)

    by Anonymous Custard ( 587661 ) on Thursday September 09, 2004 @02:25PM (#10203592) Homepage Journal
    (Now Gredo and Han shoot at the SAME time!)

    Also, Lucas digitally changed the scene so that Han misses and Gredo kills Han instead. Later, Gredo assasinates Jabba the Hutt and takes over his crime ring, and falls in love with Princess Leia and tehy get married and have a child who turns out to be Tiger Woods.

  • So, George, is FOUR enough? (Score:3, Insightful)

    by feloneous cat ( 564318 ) on Thursday September 09, 2004 @02:28PM (#10203643)
    1. Initial release.
    2. Videotape (dropped a scene - which I can't freakin' remember NOW)
    3. Added some scenes (with some really BADLY done CG at times)
    4. YET another Edit...

    Hell, Thomas Dolby is about the only artist I can think of who has re-worked the same material only to come up with essentially the same thing.

    And the first one STILL is better...

  • Mostly cosmetic changes (Score:3, Insightful)

    by inkswamp ( 233692 ) on Thursday September 09, 2004 @04:07PM (#10205111)
    As if anything could stop all the whining at this point, the article states that most of the changes are minor and cosmetic in nature. And this:

    Overall, the expected changes on the DVDs aren't as dramatic as those for the Special Editions in 1997, says Scott Chitwood, one of the co-founders of TheForce.Net, a Star Wars fan/news site. "I think a few of the changes will only make sense after Episode III," he says.

    Hopefully this is true, but not because I'm one of those purist Star Wars fans, but rather I'd love to hear an end to the incessant whining sound coming from some of you.

    BTW, I think Hayden Christensen at the end of Jedi makes a ton of sense and is an excellent decision on the part of Lucas. It will really wrap up the continuity of the entire series of films in a simple and effective way.

    Disagree with me? Probably. Do I care? Probably not.

  • Shooting at the same time (Score:3, Interesting)

    by {tele}machus_*1 ( 117577 ) * on Thursday September 09, 2004 @04:07PM (#10205118) Journal
    I've always been in favor of Han shooting first, but I can live with simultaneous shooting. It always bothered me that Greedo was like a James-Bond-movie-villain: too much talking before killing the guy he was after ended up in his own demise. Simultaneous shots makes Greedo seem more like a serious bounty hunter who just gets beat because Han is better.

  • Meanwhile, some of the changes are GOOD! (Score:3, Insightful)

    by inkswamp ( 233692 ) on Thursday September 09, 2004 @04:27PM (#10205430)
    Instead of complaining about the few things that Lucas changes that apparently ruined your childhood, why not check out some of the subtle things Lucas cleaned up or altered that will be a massive improvement over the original releases? [hostdepartment.com]

    Bear in mind, people, that directors (even Lucas) get pressure to alter their films, change things, remove things, cut corners, etc. At least give Lucas's new versions a chance before denouncing them outright. It appears to me that lots of things have been changed just to improve what he originally intended and only a few changes to tweak the films to make them line up with the prequels. I see lots worth being excited about, little worth whining about.

    I'm especially thrilled that they took the time to color correct the damn Rancor scene in Jedi. It never looked right that Luke's shading was a noticeable lighter value than the Rancor's. It looked like an actor moving around in front of a movie screen. Judging from the stills on the site above, it looks perfect.

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