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Star Wars Prequels Media Movies

Detailed Empire Strikes Back DVD Change List 219

JSDopefish writes "The DVD news site DVDanswers.com is back with Part 2 (of 3) of the series by Chris Gould showing in detail the changes between some the various iterations of the Star Wars original trilogy movies. In Part 2, Chris covers The Empire Strikes Back, showing such important changes as the color of Han Solo's jacket before he's frozen in carbonite, as well as other things like the change in actor for the Emperor, and more on light saber colors. Chris has screen captures from the original, the 1997 remaster, and the 2004 DVD versions, plus some audio clips for you to check out. There is an existing Part 1 covering A New Hope, and a forthcoming Part 3 covering Return of the Jedi." Very detailed synopsis. Worth a read if... well, you're me.
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Detailed Empire Strikes Back DVD Change List

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  • by Pig Hogger ( 10379 ) <(moc.liamg) (ta) (reggoh.gip)> on Tuesday October 19, 2004 @11:26AM (#10565579) Journal
    Does Boba get swallowed (by the Sarlacc) first???
    • Doesn't Boba appear in post RotJ works (books, games, etc.) I'm not up to snuff on my SW canon, but how is that addressed? Jet-packed out off camera or something?
      • by OverlordQ ( 264228 ) * on Tuesday October 19, 2004 @11:37AM (#10565736) Journal
        Yes, in the Book "Tales from Jabbas Palace".

        The sarlacc (well one of the other digested minds) and him have some conversations, and Boba desides he really hates this Sarlacc so he manages to escape by flipping on his rocket pack (while in the sarlacc) which proceeds to explode (since he's entangled in the sarlacc) which sets him free but also cracks open his Mandalorian armor. He uses some remaining concussion grenades to knock some sand down into the pit for him to climb out. He later comes back in Slave II and hovers right over the opening and burns the crap outta the Sarlacc with the jet exhaust, but he returns the favor of Slow Digestion by not killing it entirely.

        Of course this is all from memory which might not be too accurate.
      • by chrish ( 4714 ) on Tuesday October 19, 2004 @11:43AM (#10565808) Homepage
        Feh. Jet pack indeed. Kids today...

        In my day we had to climb out of the bloody Saarlak [starwars.com] ourselves, then walk several kilometers across the desert, naked.
      • by aquasheep ( 681072 ) on Tuesday October 19, 2004 @11:48AM (#10565868)
        I hope this isn't too off topic, since the story is about Empire Strikes Back, but I was listening to the commentary on the ROTJ DVDs, and Lucas said something to the effect of, "if I had known Boba Fett was going to be such a popular character, I would have put more effort into giving him a more interesting death. Most people don't really believe he's dead anyways."
        • Boba Popularity (Score:3, Interesting)

          The Boba Fett action figure was available in some Kenner promotion before The Empire Strikes Back came out. It was hyped as a new character from the next Star Wars movie and it had some ridiculous requirement (mail order only with 5 barcodes from other figures plus money or something like that).

          While I may not recall the details of that merchandising campaign well, it WAS Lucas or his licensees that hyped Boba Fett as a big character before the movie came out. I think that he's being a bit coy by saying he
      • Boba Fett was saved by Dengar, another bounty hunter, in one of the books (Tales of the Bounty Hunter? Tales from Jabba's Palace? can't remember).

        Anyway, Boba returns the favor by being best man at Dengar's wedding.
  • sigh. (Score:2, Funny)

    by grub ( 11606 )

    The first story from that site with their Ep IV breakdown killed the server before a handful of comments were up. Noooo... let's try it again with another link to the Ep V review! Surely it'll be better this time around!

    Sheesh...
    • Re:sigh. (Score:5, Funny)

      by flyneye ( 84093 ) on Tuesday October 19, 2004 @11:45AM (#10565835) Homepage
      Better? what could be better than EP V or IV?
      How about a sequel to John Waters "Pink Flamingoes"
      How about remastered Ed Wood movies with new THX?
      Reruns of "Real People"
      The Gong Show?
      Burger King Breakfast with the King commercial?
      obsession....tsk..tsk.

      just grumpy I guess.

      • How about remastered Ed Wood movies with new THX

        yesterday I saw a blurb at fleshbot.com (nsfw so I'm not html'ing it) about Fleshbot releasing Ed Wood's Necromania in DVD, with other 'lost' Ed Wood smut films to follow soon.

        What makes my comment slightly less offtopic is that Ed Wood shot TWO versions of that movie, one which had less pr0n action, and another version that was more hot, aptly named the hot version.

        Apparently he had to use two cameramen, since his main guy refused to shoot hardcore (in th
      • Burger King Breakfast with the King commercial?

        If you are talking about that recent one with the two guys in bed, one wearing a king costume, obviously after a really intense night of bizarre prince-and-pauper role playing, that's one the best commercials I've seen in a while. I'm looking forward to the next commercial, where the king announces that he is really that guy's father, and the guy starts screaming just like Luke did on that platform. I hear they are going to spin off a mini-series of prequel
  • by wertarbyte ( 811674 ) on Tuesday October 19, 2004 @11:29AM (#10565625) Homepage

    http://www.schnittberichte.com/sw.php [schnittberichte.com] Although this is in german, the pictures speak for themselves. They also have Episode 1 as well as Episode 4/5/6.

    • I find that the written comments for DVDanswers add a lot to the images, actually.
    • by lommer ( 566164 ) on Tuesday October 19, 2004 @02:38PM (#10567745)
      I applaud what both these articles have, it really opened my eyes to what they can do these days. On that note was anyone slightly scared by how realistic and subtle these changes were? If not die-hard fanatics watching it repeatedly and comparing it to the original, they would never be noticed. Imagine what can be done these days with video feeds for press releases and publicity stunts. It certainly helped open my eyes to the fact that that the age where even video is completely untrustworthy is upon us, and has probably been here for longer than I thought.
  • by Prince Vegeta SSJ4 ( 718736 ) on Tuesday October 19, 2004 @11:30AM (#10565632)
    'Upgrading, please come back later'

    I feel a great disturbance in the force, as if suddenly a web server had thousands of requests, cried out, and then went silent.

  • by Reducer2001 ( 197985 ) on Tuesday October 19, 2004 @11:30AM (#10565641) Homepage
    Three minutes and the server has already been blow to bits by the Death Star-like fanboys (and fangirls) of Slashdot.

    Everything is proceeding as I have foreseen.
  • by ackthpt ( 218170 ) * on Tuesday October 19, 2004 @11:31AM (#10565647) Homepage Journal
    Seems like nitpicking movie changes and details would require a string of bad weather, as I hope the authors/researchers don't sit in on a good day. Heck, I can even remember when I used to watch movies for enjoyment other than picking them apart.

    I blame MST3K

    • I blame MST3K

      You riff because you must. If you were really wrapped up in the movie and enjoying it, it wouldn't occur to you to bust on it. But even good Hollywood movies throw so much riffable stuff in our faces we can't help it.

      This isn't true for older films. The cultural differences make it hard not to crack wise. I think "Gone with the Wind" could have been one of the best MST3K episodes ever.
      I was watching "Metropolis" (the Fritz Lang movie), and an observer would have been surprised to see me
    • I watched Episode V/DVD, and I thoroughly enjoyed it from start to finish. The ham handed CGI changes in IV and VI now make the overall quality of V stand out in sharp relief. The movie flows.
      • I watched Episode V/DVD, and I thoroughly enjoyed it from start to finish. The ham handed CGI changes in IV and VI now make the overall quality of V stand out in sharp relief. The movie flows.

        Pretty much my sentiments and about as far as picking at the movie as I get. The CGI added to the earlier films is about as awkward looking a house that's been half painted -- the old peeling paint has some sort of character, while the new paint draws sharp contrast. I don't think the idea in film is to draw contr

  • by RealProgrammer ( 723725 ) on Tuesday October 19, 2004 @11:31AM (#10565648) Homepage Journal
    Site's been slash-elipsized ("/....").
  • Fascinating reads (Score:5, Interesting)

    by SeanDuggan ( 732224 ) on Tuesday October 19, 2004 @11:31AM (#10565649) Homepage Journal
    I read the first part and am (hopefully) loading the second one. To me, it's fascinating, as many of the changes they make, I never would have noticed. I never really stopped and thought too much about lightsaber colors or the funky shadows below a landspeeder. And honestly, had I not read all the vehement discussions on the ramifications of Greedo shooting first, I might have passed over that change. (Well, not entirely... at least on the first remake, his head looks really weird when he dodges...) By opening my eyes to things I might not have noticed before, I think these articles are serving a valuable purpose.
  • by GuntherAEPi ( 254349 ) on Tuesday October 19, 2004 @11:31AM (#10565657)
    So apparently the entire movie was replaced with a splash screen?
  • slashdotted (Score:5, Informative)

    by GerbilSocks ( 713781 ) on Tuesday October 19, 2004 @11:32AM (#10565671)
    Thank goodness I read the article 6 hours ago before it got Slashdotted to hell.

    Basically, the baddest changes occured with Boba Fett's voice now dubbed by Temura Morrison. Also some changes in dialogue for Vader that helped with continuity, plus an extended scene with the Emperor.

    Visual changes include details shots of the Wampa, Cloud City exteriors, and a scene of Vader heading back to the Star Destroyer recycled from Outtakes from RoTJ.

  • (Watches webserver go up in flames, stops stopwatch)

    We've only posted 23 comments and the server's already a smouldering ruin. I think it's a record.

    You'd think they would have learned from the first time....

    ~D
  • by account_deleted ( 4530225 ) on Tuesday October 19, 2004 @11:34AM (#10565692)
    Comment removed based on user account deletion
    • Not this time (Score:3, Insightful)

      Empire was directed by Irvin Kirschner, not Lucas, so he'll take the blame, or rather credit. Actually in my opinion, Empire is the only one of the whole series that is actually good. Not coincidentally, it is also the least re-edited of the originals. The acting and dialogue didn't suck, the use of color and light was far more sophisticated, and the plot had many twists and turns without being overly cliched.
      • Re:Not this time (Score:3, Insightful)

        by Ubergrendle ( 531719 )
        Don't forget Leigh Brackett's hands in scripting the dialogue portions of the screenplay. The movie works in my mind because it has a gritty, fatalistic feel similar to many film noir movies -- where Brackett cut her teeth.

        Attack of the Clones proved to me that Lucas can't write dialogue to save his life. I think the mistake Lucas has made with the new trilogy is tryin to do too much. He's wealthy beyond imagination, and can make whatever movie he wants -- a bad combination for a director. Directing requ
  • Well well (Score:3, Funny)

    by Bigthecat ( 678093 ) on Tuesday October 19, 2004 @11:36AM (#10565725)
    I've just created an article detailing the changes to this articles' webserver:

    Before [64.233.167.104] - After [esds.ac.uk]

  • Solo's jacket (Score:5, Informative)

    by Aidtopia ( 667351 ) on Tuesday October 19, 2004 @11:37AM (#10565739) Homepage Journal

    At last, Lucas made a change that makes sense. He fixed a continuity problem. Han Solo's jacket appears and reappears in different shots before they freeze him in carbonite. (Neat trick since he was wearing handcuffs.)

    • Re:Solo's jacket (Score:3, Informative)

      by CoreyGH ( 246060 )
      Well, if you RTFA you'll note that Han was never wearing a jacket that shot; the lighting cast a shadow on his shoulders that made them appear darker. They did end up lightening his shoulders to put such speculation to rest.
  • by mumblestheclown ( 569987 ) on Tuesday October 19, 2004 @11:37AM (#10565740)
    important changes as the color of Han Solo's jacket

    i suspect that my definition of "important" seems to vary considerably from that of the submitter.

    • important changes as the color of Han Solo's jacket

      i suspect that my definition of "important" seems to vary considerably from that of the submitter.

      I assumed it was sarcasm. I mean, we're talking about changes in a film...

  • Great Reviews (Score:5, Interesting)

    by M$ Mole ( 158889 ) on Tuesday October 19, 2004 @11:40AM (#10565773)
    I really like this guy's work. He's spot on regarding the far inferior delivery of lines with the new and improved Boba voice.

    One disagreement I have with him though: the line change for Vader from "Bring my shuttle" to "Alert my star destroyer to prepare for my arrival" was a bad idea.

    I know it doesn't bother him much, but I think that the original line and delivery better contributed to Vader's character arc, as the voice always sounded morose to me...like he was either angry with Luke or himself, and the curtness of the line was appropriate if that was the case. /shrug
    • the line change for Vader from "Bring my shuttle" to "Alert my star destroyer to prepare for my arrival" was a bad idea.

      I agree completely.

      but I think that the original line and delivery better contributed to Vader's character arc, as the voice always sounded morose to me...like he was either angry with Luke or himself

      ditto! Now he sounds like he doesn't give a shit, it's just another day at the office.
    • by MooseByte ( 751829 ) on Tuesday October 19, 2004 @01:23PM (#10567001)

      "the line change for Vader from "Bring my shuttle" to "Alert my star destroyer to prepare for my arrival" was a bad idea."

      Agreed, for the reasons you mention. Also, he's freakin' DARTH VADER! "Alert my star destroyer for my arrival"? Yeah right. His entire staff would be like terrified meerkats passing the alarm, constantly alerting each and every station sector whenever Vader was about to even pass by, much less arrive at his destination.

      You think Patton ever said, "Alert my carrier for my arrival"? You think Genghis Khan ever said "Alert my Horde for my arrival"?

      Lucas has the dialog skills of the Zero Wing [classicgaming.com] translation team.

  • by MooseByte ( 751829 ) on Tuesday October 19, 2004 @11:44AM (#10565820)

    "showing such important changes as the color of Han Solo's jacket before he's frozen in carbonite"

    OK, it's official: Someone is in desperate need of a girlfriend.

    Tip for first date - don't wear the Y-Wing pilot uniform, try a t-shirt. Also Yoda-speak does not make ladies hot. Unless they're into small green muppets. In which case send me their phone number.

  • by Bigthecat ( 678093 ) on Tuesday October 19, 2004 @11:47AM (#10565858)
    Come on! How could it miss the most important change of all? That being revealing the 'creature' that attacks Luke in the snow to being nothing other than a hand puppet!

    1 [iinet.net.au] | 2 [iinet.net.au]

    Shocking stuff how they could miss that while redoing it almost frame by frame, and now all my childhood memories of that creature looking real have been ruined. I hate you George Lucas :(

    • At the risk of revealing my geekness (though hardly a Jedi Master Geek), that's not the "creature that attacks Luke". It's a Tauntaun [starwars.com]. The "creature that attacks Luke" is a Wampa Ice Creature [starwars.com].
      • No no, the 'hand puppet' flashing on screen is the Wampa attacking the TaunTaun, where it hit it in the face. I guess they didn't expect a HQ 16x9 DVD release more than 20 years in the future.
      • Turn in your geek card, citizen, and go watch the original Empire again. That is the tauntaun's head but the furry white thing is the ice creature's arm. The tauntaun isn't that furry around the neck. Watch closely and you'll see the scene where the ice creature jumps up from the snow and strikes the tauntaun on the side of the neck (where in Earth creatures you'll usually find the jugular vein). Whereupon the tauntaun falls down dead in the snow.

        As can be seen in the linked images, the ice creature's arm
  • by jmcmunn ( 307798 ) on Tuesday October 19, 2004 @11:47AM (#10565859)
    I know I posted the same thing when the story for a New Hope came out here on Slashdot...but if they make repetitive front page stories, I get repetitive posts.

    Here's another site that has detailed changes as well that I was reading a few WEEKS ago.

    http://www.thedigitalbits.com/reviews3/starwarscha nges.html [thedigitalbits.com]
  • by timepilot ( 116247 ) on Tuesday October 19, 2004 @11:54AM (#10565947)
    I was thinking, maybe George Lucas can use his magic movie editing powers for good instead of evil.

    For example, instead of doing idiotic things like making Greedo shoot first or inserting Jabba the hut into a scene that was rightfully left out from the original Episode IV, perhaps Mr Lucas can remove Jarjar Binks entirely from Episodes I and II.

    Or maybe he can graft some character onto Anakin Skywalker in Episode II.

    You listening George??

  • Flying cars (Score:5, Funny)

    by dj245 ( 732906 ) on Tuesday October 19, 2004 @11:56AM (#10565973) Homepage
    from page two:
    Here we see the original approach to Cloud City, as the Millennium Falcon, flanked by a pair of clod cars, makes its way towards the floating city.

    I want my flying cars you insensitive clods!

  • by ajlitt ( 19055 ) on Tuesday October 19, 2004 @11:58AM (#10566000)
    Now that we know the changes, can we back this one out?
  • by Doesn't_Comment_Code ( 692510 ) on Tuesday October 19, 2004 @12:02PM (#10566052)
    Am I the only one who thinks the Wampa (ice creature) looks an awful lot like the abonimable snowman from the children's Christmas special?
    • "Bumbles Bounce!"

      Yukon Cornelius :-)

    • Am I the only one who thinks the Wampa (ice creature) looks an awful lot like the abonimable snowman from the children's Christmas special?

      As a guess, yes, because you're the only person who's watched that horrible thing all the way through? :)

      (And I mean that with the utmost respect to you and your stamina)

  • by Ibby ( 130127 ) on Tuesday October 19, 2004 @12:09PM (#10566134) Homepage
    But the clod cars weren't insensitive enough...

  • Come on people (Score:3, Interesting)

    by Vlad_Drak ( 20809 ) on Tuesday October 19, 2004 @12:13PM (#10566174)
    Lucas is a posterboy for anti-corporate success, having financed Ep. V & VI himself, so he could maintain his artistic vision. That's pretty cool in my book. There are many similarities (in spirit, mostly) to OSS and blogging culture, if you think about it. There was a system in place that did not make sense to someone who deeply loves his craft. Lucas had the drive to do it differently, overcoming great obstacles. He hired SFX guys laid off by the corporate crew that took over the studios some years before, and gave the whole industry a new perpective. He fought the law and _he_ won.

    Lucas looks at his craft much like a technology-type, (Google-Lucky ILM & non-linear editing) so why shouldn't he be able to release version 1.2? He can do whatever he wants, it's _his_ story, so only he can decide when it's done. Go buy the original off eBay or something if it irks you, or don't buy the reworked films.

    Lots of people bitch and moan about the changes, (some posts are quite hilarious, though). But, before you jump on the smack-the-changer-of-the-story train, stop and think about it. Maybe there's some inspiration in the story of it all.
    • Re:Come on people (Score:4, Insightful)

      by Lisandro ( 799651 ) on Tuesday October 19, 2004 @01:42PM (#10567206)
      Oh, c'mon. No one is overlooking the huge impact he made on moviemaking, and particularly in SFX, but the fanboys are right. Just because it's "his story" doesn't make it right that he changes it at will - minor details, given, but if you want to see what dazzled you as a kid in DVD, why can't you get it instead of "the original vision of the creator"? I'm not sure, but i'm pretty positive you can't even find the original, unedited trilogy in DVD.

      I mean, c'mon, Star Wars is what, 30, 35 years old now? He is woking on EP3, is it really necesary to go back and rework what came before just because it doesn't connect as well with the new trilogy? Simply having a quality digitalization of the original film would've been enough.
    • Re:Come on people (Score:3, Insightful)

      by mike3411 ( 558976 )
      NO it is NOT his. Besides the fact that he was not the sole creator of these movies (lets not forget the original editors, script writers, actors, or the fact that Lucas didn't even direct all 3 original movies) once he releases the film he has given it to the public. WE went to see it, we sang its praises, we told our friends to check it out. We have all been made party to the success of the films, and that gives us claim. Lucas absolutely does not have the right (artistically, not legally) to change these
      • Re:Come on people (Score:3, Interesting)

        Personally, I don't give a bleep if he changes the movies and releases any new versions he wishes to - as long as I can get cleaned up, UNALTERED versions of the originals - on DVD, as I saw them in the theater. (1977 in the Paramount Theater, Mason City, IA for example)

        Not saying I dislike the new versions, either - just that the originals are the ones nostalgic, bad sfx and all.

        I own all three originals on VHS - with backup copies, and good thing, as the original VHS tapes are getting funky - and a
  • by Anonymous Coward
    Original version:
    "Join me Luke, we can rule the galaxy"

    DVD version
    "Get a life. Move out of your parents basement. You've turned a movie from 1977 into a colossal waste of time"
  • Not again.. (Score:2, Interesting)

    You'd think after being slashdotted the last time that they would figure out that they were going to be slashdotted on parts 2 and 3 and get a bigger server....

    They are 0 for 2 right now. What are the odds that they'll get their problems resolved for part 3?

    My money is going on 0 for 3.

  • In the original release of the movie, when Luke threw himself to his apparent doom after his duel with Darth Vader, he did so silently and with dignity. You can listen to this scene by clicking here. For the Special Edition release of the film, a scream was added as Luke fell. You can hear the new sound effect by clicking here. ...I'm of the opinion that it sounds terrible. Thankfully the scream was removed for the 2004 DVD release.
    Interesting information and well researched, but the writing is a tad amat
  • by exp(pi*sqrt(163)) ( 613870 ) on Tuesday October 19, 2004 @12:33PM (#10566453) Journal
    I'm sure that on the 23,127th frame the shadow behind the guy standing 3/4 of the way across the frame is now casting a shadow that has a slightly bigger blue component than in the original movie. But I may have misremembered it.
    • My biggest problem with the special edition versions was that you could no longer see the stormtrooper banging his head on a door in Episode 4. Took the fun right out of it for me, that did. ;)
  • Interesting (Score:3, Informative)

    by indros13 ( 531405 ) * on Tuesday October 19, 2004 @12:34PM (#10566465) Homepage Journal
    This guy is pretty insightful in his analysis of the changes. I particularly like that you can download the dialogue changes. I'm bummed about the removal of Luke's ad-lib on Dagobah, "you're lucky you don't taste very good," to R2. I wonder if Lucas was more interested in improving visual than audio (as could also be argued for his choice to change the voice for Boba Fett--lame).

    Anyway, I'm still going to be thrilled to have the "original" trilogy on DVD, my VHS copy is wearing out!

  • But that girlish scream from Luke is the only thing that makes me feel superior to Luke and can hold my head high while watching the movies.

    Now I have to sulk about how he is so heroic in every way and I can never be a good Jedi like him and will have to turn to the dark side instead.

  • I don't know why they decided to follow up this "story," as this same site was slasdotted INSTANTLY last week and is once again down. www.digitalbits.com covered the changes in detail, TWO WEEKS before the release of the dvds, complete with fancy pictures :)
  • In summary (Score:5, Funny)

    by NSash ( 711724 ) on Tuesday October 19, 2004 @01:00PM (#10566778) Journal
    I think that this pretty much says it all. [penny-arcade.com]
  • For the love of God... no more Star Wars...

    Let's stop talking about Star Wars while I still think it's still good.

    No more changes, no more new edits, no more extra scenes. I just want my Star Wars in plain old vanilla flavour!

    Oh, and I think CG is a terrible replacement to actual live models and puppets.

  • Did they leave in the scene where one of the Stormtroopers knocks his head against an opening door?
    • I think that happened in Ep. 4, A New Hope. I remember the first time I noticed that, I was watching the VHS all stoned out of my head and I noticed the "bump." Man, we must have rewound and rewatched that like 20 times.

  • by Glendale2x ( 210533 ) <slashdot@ninjam o n k ey.us> on Tuesday October 19, 2004 @03:17PM (#10568186) Homepage
    I'd say the worst change pointed out there is the re-dubbing of Boba Fett. The new voice sounds horrible; it's weak and delivered badly. Shit, I could do a better job. The accent doesn't work, either. With the original voice, he didn't have to say too much because when he did speak, it had the tone of "F with me and you'll regret it before you know it." The voice was the main thing, it made you feel the character, and it got bastardized.

    The new voice makes me think "WTF is Vader listening to this wimp for?" whereas before Boba Fett sounded like someone who was as equally badass as Vader.
  • True story (Score:4, Interesting)

    by ceswiedler ( 165311 ) * <chris@swiedler.org> on Tuesday October 19, 2004 @04:30PM (#10568954)
    A friend of mine is a lead compositor at ILM. He worked on the Special Edition of Empire, and did the Cloud City scenes (among other things). To make some of the interior shots more realistic, he added slight reflections on the windows. He showed it to Lucas, who said thoughtfully,

    'Lose the reflections. In Cloud City, they use force fields to keep the bugs out.'

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