[Rob Babcock]

Or has Lucas pissed everyone off to the point where no one cares?  I for one will probably be buying them since I don't have the recent-ish DVD set.  But I wonder what the "new" versions will be like?  Will they be ultra-purist, ie no DD or DTS, no remaster, etc?  Or will they use the wonderful remaster used for the recent reissues?  I found the reissues to be a seriously mixed bag.  On the one hand, I hated most of the added stuff, with the exception of the extended celebration scenes.  I thought the CGI was tacky and the discontinuity in look vs the mechanical stuff was jarring.  And I loathed his splicing of the new actors over the originals!   Still, the sound was incredble, better than most new films.  And the visuals were stunning!  It was hard to believe a film from '77 could look so good.

[MaxCast]

Yeah, hard to tell what will come.  I think reissues will be coming every 4 years to keep the $gazillions coming in.  I like the story so much each movie could have been doubled in length or made into 12 episodes. So, it's hard for me, I want the original as good as can be, but want more sceens at the same time.

[ted_b]

Yeah, I want it all too, but with DVD technology (and especially in HD or BR) why not put both in the release, with two separate discs.  The "decision tree" hierarchy that some movies have used wouldn't work since it's not just added footage but redone as well.  Net/net, I want the originals in wonderful HD. 

[PhilNYC]

I would buy them, but they are not anamorphic, which means the video quality won't be all that good...

[ted_b]

I would buy them, but they are not anamorphic, which means the video quality won't be all that good...

Where's the info on these?  Why would something coming out in the 21st Century be non-anamorphic???  Thanks,
Ted

[MaxCast]

Yeah, I want it all too, but with DVD technology (and especially in HD or BR) why not put both in the release, with two separate discs.  The "decision tree" hierarchy that some movies have used wouldn't work since it's not just added footage but redone as well.  Net/net, I want the originals in wonderful HD. 

That will be in the next release.  See my gazillions statement above

[PhilNYC]

I would buy them, but they are not anamorphic, which means the video quality won't be all that good...

Where's the info on these?  Thanks,
Ted

Here's the original announcement about the release (note that they will also only offer 2-channel audio):
http://www.starwars.com/episode-iv/release/video/news20060503.html


Here's the "discovery" about them not being anamorphic
http://www.themovieblog.com/archives/2006/05/original_star_wars_dvds_not_going_to_be_anamorphic.html

[ted_b]

Thanks.  Sorry, I frequent AVS but have been lax in the DVD section lately.  It has a big thread and also confirms the horrible truth (man, I hope it's just nasty misinformation) that these will be re-purposed laserdisc/vhs masters in letterbox!!  Wow, what a scam.  it would take 2 minutes to redo in anamorphic, given that they'll not do any digital surround, etc.  WOW!  Got all pumped to see the originals.  Guess I need to finally repair my Pio LD-S2 laserdisc player.  It's a beast but plays the orginals, likely better than a transfer of a transfer..(not likely, but now I'm pissed so Lucas won't get my $$).

[nathanm]

You can only watch Star Wars so many times before you get your fix and move on.  The digital stuff they added on later releases is so embarassingly bad I'll take the bad old school bluescreen technology any day.  I got bootleg laserdisc-to-DVD transfers from some dude on eBay.  Not great, but it does the trick.  This is the movie I remember.  That CG Jabba has got to be some of the worst crap I've ever seen on screen, second only to the redone Sy Snootles song sequence.  Horrid.

What he really should do is re-release the Star Wars Christmas Special in beautifully remastered high definition video!  Wookie porn in Dubly 7.1 surround!  Yee haw!

[Rob Babcock]

Hmmm...maybe I'll just pass altogether.  Nonanamorphic?   Why?  And why only 2CH Dolby surround?  How hard would it be to default to 2CH but have the DD on the disc, too?  Like pretty much every other DVD ever made.  Does the guy just live to fuck the fans or what?

[Voodoo Rufus]

I don't think they'll ever release something that will satisfy the hardcore SW fans. Maybe with BR/HD, but who knows.

I think the best bet still is to buy the laserdisc versions of the original and special edition sets and a LD player, and be happy until a non-screwed up version comes out in HD.

I have mixed feelings on the the CG mods.

SW: Jabba sucks, but I do like the minimization of the square boxes around the spaceships. Han SHOOTS FIRST dangit.
ESB: I like the additional ambience in the hallways in the ending sequences, but toss the Falcon flying through the city
RTOJ: Toss the new singing sequence in the palace, but I like the new ending party. The sarlac wasn't a bad addition.

Overall, small things are alright, getting rid of square boxes and adding environmental things, but nothing major.

[Rob Babcock]

Yeah, I'd like to have a repaired/cleaned-up/restored version but with no added footage.  I imagine Lucas will remain combative, but if he cared about the fans he could do it.  Surely even the purists wouldn't object to a cleaned up picture!  And why the hell not have both the original 2CH soundtrack & a DD/DTS track?  Probably 90% of the DVDs in the world do this!  If you wanted to be "old school" the default could be 2CH PL, with the user actually having to use the setup menu to choose DD/DTS.  And I can't fathom why in this day and age the DVD wouldn't be anamorphic!

Sadly, there'll be no LD version for me.  I like Star Wars, but not enough to buy another machine just to watch those 3 films!  LD was good for the day, but let's face it- what year did the last new LD come out? 

Oh, well.  Maybe someday.

[bubba966]

what year did the last new LD come out?

2002

[duff138]

Yeah, I'd like to have a repaired/cleaned-up/restored version but with no added footage.  I imagine Lucas will remain combative, but if he cared about the fans he could do it.  Surely even the purists wouldn't object to a cleaned up picture!  And why the hell not have both the original 2CH soundtrack & a DD/DTS track?  Probably 90% of the DVDs in the world do this!  If you wanted to be "old school" the default could be 2CH PL, with the user actually having to use the setup menu to choose DD/DTS.  And I can't fathom why in this day and age the DVD wouldn't be anamorphic!

Sadly, there'll be no LD version for me.  I like Star Wars, but not enough to buy another machine just to watch those 3 films!  LD was good for the day, but let's face it- what year did the last new LD come out? 

Oh, well.  Maybe someday.

  Check out originaltrilogy.com  The guys there are working on a project to clean up the original trilogy.  Hopefully they'll complete it someday.

[Rob Babcock]

what year did the last new LD come out?

2002

That was a rhetorical question.

[Digi-G]

George Lucas blows.  I'll be keeping my $$$.