MadDog73
06-07-2006, 02:54 PM
I never thought I'd say that. For the record, I was a huge Star Wars geek (who wasn't!?!). I was even part of the "Star Was Fan Club", had all the action figures, etc., etc.
I saw the Special Edition of Episode IV at the Mann's Chinese Theater in January 1997. I was so pissed, they ruined that movie. Ruined it.
Ever since, I've been waiting for Lucas to release the Original versions on DVD so I could enjoy the movies in their original glory.
Well, apparently, that is not to be:
http://www.originaltrilogy.com/Lucasfilm_PR_response.cfm
I wanted you to know how much we appreciate the passion and enthusiasm you have for Star Wars, and thank you for sharing your concerns about our upcoming DVD release.
The DVDs being released in September will contain two versions of Star Wars: Episodes IV, V and VI – the Special Editions (which represent George’s vision of the movies) and the first versions, which will be included as bonus material. We hoped that releasing those “original” movies on a bonus disc would be a way to have some additional fun with the debut of the movies as individual DVDs. We certainly did not want it to become a source of concern or frustration for any of our fans.
As you may know, an enormous amount of effort was put into digitally restoring the negatives for the Special Editions. In one scene alone, nearly 1 million pieces of dirt had to be removed, and the Special Editions were created through a frame-by-frame digital restoration. The negatives of the movies were permanently altered for the creation of the Special Editions, and existing prints of the first versions are in poor condition.
So many fans have requested the original movies, we wanted to find a way to bring them to you. But since these movies do not represent George's artistic vision, we could not put the extraordinary time and resources into this project as we did with the Special Editions. The 1993 Laserdisc masters represented the best source for providing the original versions as DVD bonus material. Although these are non-anamorphic versions, they do preserve the original widescreen composition of the movies.
We want you to be aware that we have no plans – now or in the future – to restore the earlier versions.
We hope you will understand our decision and, again, want to let you know how much we appreciate your interest and enthusiasm.
Sincerely,
Lynne Hale
[email protected]
There's lots of links out there, but I think this sums it up best:
http://www.penny-arcade.com/
I listened to Gabriel with increasing disbelief. I'd heard, as I think everyone did, that the original - by which I mean the original original - Star Wars trilogy was coming to DVD. What I had not heard, and what Gabriel intimated to me with his eyes wide was that these would not be from the scrubbed, manicured footage they used to make the re-imaginings, they would, in fact, be anamorphic rips from old laserdiscs. What's more, they can't even be purchased separately. They can only be purchased with the newer versions, together, for ninety dollars! Ha!
Clearly, the original trilogy can't be put in a position where it can outsell the new one - that's just not going to happen, so those two things must be in a statistically coherent package. But as to why the original movies can't even be seen in their original format, it's actually been claimed that George Lucas (in a manner of speaking) "taped over" the classic trilogy. That terminology was a little too good to pass up. There are good shepherds of that beloved context, but they toil in the long shadow of a dark obelisk.
I saw the Special Edition of Episode IV at the Mann's Chinese Theater in January 1997. I was so pissed, they ruined that movie. Ruined it.
Ever since, I've been waiting for Lucas to release the Original versions on DVD so I could enjoy the movies in their original glory.
Well, apparently, that is not to be:
http://www.originaltrilogy.com/Lucasfilm_PR_response.cfm
I wanted you to know how much we appreciate the passion and enthusiasm you have for Star Wars, and thank you for sharing your concerns about our upcoming DVD release.
The DVDs being released in September will contain two versions of Star Wars: Episodes IV, V and VI – the Special Editions (which represent George’s vision of the movies) and the first versions, which will be included as bonus material. We hoped that releasing those “original” movies on a bonus disc would be a way to have some additional fun with the debut of the movies as individual DVDs. We certainly did not want it to become a source of concern or frustration for any of our fans.
As you may know, an enormous amount of effort was put into digitally restoring the negatives for the Special Editions. In one scene alone, nearly 1 million pieces of dirt had to be removed, and the Special Editions were created through a frame-by-frame digital restoration. The negatives of the movies were permanently altered for the creation of the Special Editions, and existing prints of the first versions are in poor condition.
So many fans have requested the original movies, we wanted to find a way to bring them to you. But since these movies do not represent George's artistic vision, we could not put the extraordinary time and resources into this project as we did with the Special Editions. The 1993 Laserdisc masters represented the best source for providing the original versions as DVD bonus material. Although these are non-anamorphic versions, they do preserve the original widescreen composition of the movies.
We want you to be aware that we have no plans – now or in the future – to restore the earlier versions.
We hope you will understand our decision and, again, want to let you know how much we appreciate your interest and enthusiasm.
Sincerely,
Lynne Hale
[email protected]
There's lots of links out there, but I think this sums it up best:
http://www.penny-arcade.com/
I listened to Gabriel with increasing disbelief. I'd heard, as I think everyone did, that the original - by which I mean the original original - Star Wars trilogy was coming to DVD. What I had not heard, and what Gabriel intimated to me with his eyes wide was that these would not be from the scrubbed, manicured footage they used to make the re-imaginings, they would, in fact, be anamorphic rips from old laserdiscs. What's more, they can't even be purchased separately. They can only be purchased with the newer versions, together, for ninety dollars! Ha!
Clearly, the original trilogy can't be put in a position where it can outsell the new one - that's just not going to happen, so those two things must be in a statistically coherent package. But as to why the original movies can't even be seen in their original format, it's actually been claimed that George Lucas (in a manner of speaking) "taped over" the classic trilogy. That terminology was a little too good to pass up. There are good shepherds of that beloved context, but they toil in the long shadow of a dark obelisk.