Who's gonna pony-up for the Star Wars originals??

Cafe Society
1

Mother-lovin’ Lucasfilm!

I was very pleased to hear that they were finally going to release the original non-messed with versions of the Star Wars trilogy this September. Not as a set in a nice box, mind you but instead as individual releases :rolleyes: ).

Now, however, I read that they’re not just putting them out, they’re actually bonus discs included with…wait for it… the Special Edition trilogy! :smack:

So, now I have to but the crappy Special Editions AGAIN so I can get the orignal films that never should have been altered to that extent in the first place (updating FX is fine, but don’t alter the story!)

So, for the record, let’s go through my Star Wars video collection.

Here’s what I have:

-Star Wars (Original release version, bad picture, no restoration, 4x3), VHS.
-The Empire Strikes Back (Original release version, bad picture, no restoration, 4x3), VHS.
-Return of the Jedi (Original release version, bad picture, no restoration, 4x3), VHS.
-From Star Wars to Jedi (Bonus videotape), VHS.

-Star Wars (The “Last Chance” re-issue, with a nicely cleaned up picture.)
-The Empire Strikes Back (The “Last Chance” re-issue, with a nicely cleaned up picture.)
-Return of the Jedi (The “Last Chance” re-issue, with a nicely cleaned up picture.)
-The bonus video from the above series, with… you guessed it, different content than the first bonus tape.

-Star Wars: Special Edition (The first issue on VHS)
-The Empire Strikes Back (The first issue on VHS)
-Return of the Jedi (The first issue on VHS)
-Bonus Materials videotape from this series… with… yup, different features.

This was kinda my own fault… I bought the VHS because I didn’t have a DVD player just yet. So guess what’s next:

-Star Wars (Special Edition), DVD
-The Empire Strikes Back (Special Edition), DVD
-Retrun of the Jedi (Special Edition), DVD
-Bonus disc, but I’m not even sure anymore if the features are repeated!

Now, the only way I can get a nice, cleaned up, digitial, widescreen copy of the original movies (the Holy Grail for SW collectors) is to buy the stupid Special Editions AGAIN. Probably with different features so I can’t even toss out my old copies.

To quote Darth Vader: “NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!”
I guess what I really should be asking is, does anybody want to buy some used Star Wars videotapes and DVDs?

2

Oh, never mind… I just found out that these re-releases aren’t going to be in anamorphic widescreen! They’re just pulled off the 1993 laser disc! Ha! In this time of technology, Lucasfilm releases the most treasured science-fiction movie of all time with technology that’s more than a decade old.

Guess I just saved myself $100.

3

Ummm…I’ve got a used VHS copy of Star Wars I bought at a flea market for two dollars.

4

I wouldn’t buy the new sets. The “Original” versions on them are reportedly not even in Widescreen.

5

They are also of terrible quality if they are based on those laser-discs.
Somebody had already remastered them on DVD and those look awful !!
They will also probably have the original sound? (2.0, I would think)

6

That appears to be the case. I think there’s a mono mix on there if you’re feeling particularily retro.

Personally, I wouldn’t mind the original 2.0 & mono tracks if they could clean up the picture a bit, and make an anamorphic version. That is just unacceptable in 2006!
CandidGamera, they will be in widescreen, but not in anamorphic widescreen, so if you have a 16x9 display you will get black bars on all 4 sides with a tiny little picture in the middle.

7

I never bought any of them. I just might get these.

8

Trust me : you won’t be happy.
The picture quality is atrocious if they don’t clean them up (a lot).
There is no black, only shades of grey and everything looks hazy.

I admit that the changes made for the Special Additions aren’t really improvements, but the picture and sound-quality difference is much, much, much better.
The difference is almost as big as the difference between VHS and DVD.

9

Until I can get the originals, remastered without all the Lucas additions, he will never see another cent from me.

10

We should do a “Phantom Edit” of these Special Editions.

That way we can keep all the niceley cleaned up picture and sound and get rid of the terrible additions.

11

Ditto here. I bought the “last chance” editions on VHS, but as soon as it was clear that Lucas was asking the fans to shackle themselves to an ever-spinning multi-version merry-go-round, I stopped buying. I’m waiting for the originals, treated with the respect they deserve, and that’s it.

12

I would really like to say I won’t buy it, but if they packaged Spice World in a Star Wars box, I’d probably pay for it.

I’m so ashamed. Hopefully, I’ll find other useless crap to spend my money on, rather than actually own five copies of the same three movies.

13

You should be! :stuck_out_tongue:

14

Thanks for saving me the cash guys. I didn’t buy the previous DVD’s because I felt that the special editions did more than just muddle around with the story but were actually bad filmmaking. But without anamorphic widescreen and cleaned up video and sound (not hacked up to make a 5.1 track, just cleaned up) it isn’t worth it. Star Wars as a product of the 1970’s does have issues with the original print that a modern release needs.

What were they thinking with this…

15

I’ve got the original VHS, which is good enough for me. And a DVD of Ep. I bought used from Blockbuster.

Now, if they’d rerelease Eps 1 - 3 with digitally improved acting and a plot that makes sense, I’d get them. Who knows, if Lucas runs out of money some day, it could happen. :slight_smile:

16

Even then.

17

Here’s what I have:

A life. :stuck_out_tongue:

18

Guys, there have been decent DVD releases of the original trilogy available long before the v3 movies were released. True, you have to weed your way through the crappy amateur Laserdisc dumps, but there were some GREAT Laserdisc to DVD releases done a couple years ago by a company called Gonzo, and even brought over the technical commentaries. I’d tell you where to get them, but I’d rather not get banned.

Those were, and still are, my definitive versions. Oh btw, there is never going to be an anamorphic version of the original trilogy because Lucasarts destroyed the original film when they made the 1997 version. Which was also their excuse for not bringing the original out on DVD at all, but since everybody is insisting, the non-anamorphic transfer from a non-original source is what they’re getting.

19

Same. This run-around is ridiculous.

20

I’m not buying this. I have old VHS copies of the original trilogy. I’m not married to the series, but they’re good movies and fond reminders of my childhood like Indiana Jones and Back to the Future. I was glad to buy shiny new DVD copies of those series, and I’d be pleased to purchase Star Wars DVDs too, as long as they were the original versions, and of acceptable technical quality. I’ll keep waiting.