Star Wars: Original/Prequel Trilogies & General Thread

[aox]

Most of the changes are pretty minuscule though.

[swo17]

GIANT SPACE ANIMAL WALKING IN FRONT OF POST

Special editioned!

P.S. If you have the entire weekend free, you might be able to fit in a reading of most of this list of all of Lucas' changes to the Star Wars films in the various home video releases. (And you can bet there will be plenty more of them in the upcoming BD set.)

[matrixschmatrix]

People always mention the Greedo shooting first thing, which is abysmal (and totally belies Lucas's 'this is what I would have done with a higher budget' rationale) but at least is over pretty quickly, but I always remember the endless, horrible little CGI alien concert in Return of the Jedi. I don't know how much it was actually increased, timewise, but it felt like an eternity spend in prequel-land.

[Murdoch]

The Greedo shooting and the inserted scene between Han and Jabba in New Hope are my biggest complaints: one, they look so poorly done when Han jerks his head or steps on Jabba's tail; and two, because Jabba is about a fourth the size of what he was in Return of the Jedi. There are probably a load of others that would irk me more since it's been so long since I watched any of the Star Wars movies, but those have always stuck out to me.

[aox]

Yeah, the musical number in Jedi is the most offensive change/addition IMO.

[zedz]

it's the best format on which to do so.

Not true. I know you haven't seen them, but the edits that will be on the Blurays are really horrendous and out of place. The whole affair is treated clumsily and with a certain laziness. The best versions of the OT is the untouched, sadly non-anamorphic, designated as extra copies on the limited edition sets as seen here. Save you a load of cash too I presume.

Yeah, but if mfunk doesn't much care for the originals anyway, the liberties taken with them probably won't matter so much either.

For my part, fretting over Lucas's tinkering would be like losing sleep over some guys relooping a few lines of dialogue in the third series of The A-Team. So sad for the Mr T fanatics, I guess, but meanwhile we're all still waiting for The Magnificent Ambersons.

[matrixschmatrix]

I don't know- I never liked Gone With the Wind, and don't feel much attached to it one way or the other, but I would be fairly appalled if someone went back and edited in a big musical number where CGI Clark Gable breakdance-reenacts the Civil War. Star Wars is a pretty major part of the narrative of American cinema at this point, and it's kind of gross that we can't actually watch it in any reasonable format.

[zedz]

Oh, I agree with all that, and I'm objectively interested in what Lucas has done to the films if only for the confirmation it offers that he's a complete prick and not much of a filmmaker, but from a personal standpoint, I'm about as likely to willingly watch Star Wars again as I am to watch Gone with the Wind, breakdance number notwithstanding, or any random episode of The A-Team, so the various travesties are irrelevant to me.

(While I'm at it: also amusing to me is when people who decry what Lucas did to the original films nevertheless conform with his Stalinist retitling of them. As far as I know, there was no film called 'A New Hope' released in 1977, unless it was some teen-with-cancer TV movie I missed.)

[swo17]

Yeah, the musical number in Jedi is the most offensive change/addition IMO.

Other than that, the other change that most makes my skin crawl is the ending to Jedi. I'm not even sure if I still love the film, but the fact remains that my entire childhood was largely based on the foundation that the Ewoks have a little festival, Obi Wan and old white man Anakin show up as ghosts, and then they all sing their little song ("Jub jub/jigga ja-jub jub/ga-jub jub jibby jubbay/ja-jub jub jubh jubh jayyyy/jub ja-jub ja-jub JUB JUB/jub ja-jub ja-juuhb/jub ja-jub ja-juuhb/jub ja-jub ja-JUUHB/JUUUHB!") and this segues perfectly into the Star Wars theme to commence the credits.

In the most recent iteration of this, the Ewok song has been excised in favor of a jolly rendition of "We Are the Universe" laid over footage of a million pixelated people you don't care about from the prequels cheering, and ghost Hayden Christensen smirking slyly, which is even creepier when you realize the implication that not even death can remove Hayden Christensen from the earth.

Oh, and zedz, eight-year old you is totally disinvited from my treehouse sleepover this weekend.

[Mr Sausage]

and ghost Hayden Christensen smirking slyly, which is even creepier when you realize the implication that not even death can remove Hayden Christensen from the earth.

You deserve member of the year for this. Everyone go back and change your votes.

[mfunk9786]

I don't need to! \:D/

[zedz]

Oh, and zedz, eight-year old you is totally disinvited from my treehouse sleepover this weekend.

Eight-year-old me is going to stay in and watch The Other on TV, then burn down your tree.

[swo17]

Well now I'm just going to throw that cupcake I made for you right in the trash.

[domino harvey]

My parents never thought to show me Star Wars when I was a kid because they didn't like it and both thought it was a movie for nerds. I remember my mom sneering when she got a permission form for Return of the Jedi in fifth grade and asking me if I really wanted to watch such a lame movie. I'm sitting here right now trying to decide if that childhood memory is awesome or sad

[mfunk9786]

Awesome.

[Person]

A wise to the unword: NEVER get attached to ANY motherfuckin' movie. Enjoy, yes. Talk about, yes. Fight for? No. End of.

[matrixschmatrix]

A wise to the unword: NEVER get attached to ANY motherfuckin' movie. Enjoy, yes. Talk about, yes. Fight for? No. End of.

What? Why not?

[tenia]

Yeah, the musical number in Jedi is the most offensive change/addition IMO.

Other than that, the other change that most makes my skin crawl is the ending to Jedi. I'm not even sure if I still love the film, but the fact remains that my entire childhood was largely based on the foundation that the Ewoks have a little festival, Obi Wan and old white man Anakin show up as ghosts, and then they all sing their little song ("Jub jub/jigga ja-jub jub/ga-jub jub jibby jubbay/ja-jub jub jubh jubh jayyyy/jub ja-jub ja-jub JUB JUB/jub ja-jub ja-juuhb/jub ja-jub ja-juuhb/jub ja-jub ja-JUUHB/JUUUHB!") and this segues perfectly into the Star Wars theme to commence the credits.

What is really sad is that in the process was removed the only appearance without any make-up of Sebastian Shaw.
And I find the smile he has and everything much more moving than this creepy smile from Christensen.

Not only he put down 2 movies, but now, he even screw the one I loved and which was shot 5 years before he was even born.

Not even death can remove Christensen from the Earth, but he was even there before his own birth.

[AfterTheRain]

A wise to the unword: NEVER get attached to ANY motherfuckin' movie. Enjoy, yes. Talk about, yes. Fight for? No. End of.

What? Why not?

I know! That's how people know you loved (or liked if that's too strong of a word) the movie! What's the point of liking/loving a movie if you can't defend it to anyone?

[flyonthewall2983]

Special features

STAR WARS: THE COMPLETE SAGA ON BLU-RAY is presented in widescreen with 6.1 DTS Surround Sound. Special features include:

DISC ONE – STAR WARS: EPISODE I THE PHANTOM MENACE

Audio Commentary with George Lucas, Rick McCallum, Ben Burtt, Rob Coleman, John Knoll, Dennis Muren and Scott Squires
Audio Commentary from Archival Interviews with Cast and Crew

DISC TWO – STAR WARS: EPISODE II ATTACK OF THE CLONES

Audio Commentary with George Lucas, Rick McCallum, Ben Burtt, Rob Coleman, Pablo Helman, John Knoll and Ben Snow
Audio Commentary from Archival Interviews with Cast and Crew

DISC THREE – STAR WARS: EPISODE III REVENGE OF THE SITH

Audio Commentary with George Lucas, Rick McCallum, Rob Coleman, John Knoll and Roger Guyett
Audio Commentary from Archival Interviews with Cast and Crew

DISC FOUR – STAR WARS: EPISODE IV A NEW HOPE

Audio Commentary with George Lucas, Carrie Fisher, Ben Burtt and Dennis Muren
Audio Commentary from Archival Interviews with Cast and Crew

DISC FIVE – STAR WARS: EPISODE V THE EMPIRE STRIKES BACK

Audio Commentary with George Lucas, Irvin Kershner, Carrie Fisher, Ben Burtt and Dennis Muren
Audio Commentary from Archival Interviews with Cast and Crew

DISC SIX – STAR WARS: EPISODE VI RETURN OF THE JEDI

Audio Commentary with George Lucas, Carrie Fisher, Ben Burtt and Dennis Muren
Audio Commentary from Archival Interviews with Cast and Crew

DISC SEVEN – NEW! STAR WARS ARCHIVES: EPISODES I-III

Including: deleted, extended and alternate scenes; prop, maquette and costume turnarounds; matte paintings and concept art; supplementary interviews with cast and crew; a flythrough of the Lucasfilm Archives and more

DISC EIGHT – NEW! STAR WARS ARCHIVES: EPISODES IV-VI

Including: deleted, extended and alternate scenes; prop, maquette and costume turnarounds; matte paintings and concept art; supplementary interviews with cast and crew; and more

DISC NINE – THE STAR WARS DOCUMENTARIES

NEW! Star Warriors (2007, Color, Apx. 84 Minutes) – Some Star Wars fans want to collect action figures... these fans want to be action figures! A tribute to the 501st Legion, a global organization of Star Wars costume enthusiasts, this insightful documentary shows how the super-fan club promotes interest in the films through charity and volunteer work at fundraisers and high-profile special events around the world.

NEW! A Conversation with the Masters: The Empire Strikes Back 30 Years Later (2010, Color, Apx. 25 Minutes) – George Lucas, Irvin Kershner, Lawrence Kasdan and John Williams look back on the making of The Empire Strikes Back in this in-depth retrospective from Lucasfilm created to help commemorate the 30th anniversary of the movie. The masters discuss and reminisce about one of the most beloved films of all time.

NEW! Star Wars Spoofs (2011, Color, Apx. 91 Minutes) – The farce is strong with this one! Enjoy a hilarious collection of Star Wars spoofs and parodies that have been created over the years, including outrageous clips from Family Guy, The Simpsons, How I Met Your Mother and more — and don't miss "Weird Al" Yankovic's one-of-a-kind music video tribute to The Phantom Menace!

The Making of Star Wars (1977, Color, Apx. 49 Minutes) – Learn the incredible behind-the-scenes story of how the original Star Wars movie was brought to the big screen in this fascinating documentary hosted by C-3PO and R2-D2. Includes interviews with George Lucas and appearances by Mark Hamill, Harrison Ford and Carrie Fisher.

The Empire Strikes Back: SPFX (1980, Color, Apx. 48 Minutes) – Learn the secrets of making movies in a galaxy far, far away. Hosted by Mark Hamill, this revealing documentary offers behind-the-scenes glimpses into the amazing special effects that transformed George Lucas' vision for Star Wars and The Empire Strikes Back into reality!

Classic Creatures: Return of the Jedi (1983, Color, Apx. 48 Minutes) – Go behind the scenes — and into the costumes — as production footage from Return of the Jedi is interspersed with vintage monster movie clips in this in-depth exploration of the painstaking techniques utilized by George Lucas to create the classic creatures and characters seen in the film. Hosted and narrated by Carrie Fisher and Billie Dee Williams.

Anatomy of a Dewback (1997, Color, Apx. 26 Minutes) – See how some of the special effects in Star Wars became even more special two decades later! George Lucas explains and demonstrates how his team transformed the original dewback creatures from immovable rubber puppets (in the original 1977 release) to seemingly living, breathing creatures for the Star Wars 1997 Special Edition update.

Star Wars Tech (2007, Color, Apx. 46 Minutes) – Exploring the technical aspects of Star Wars vehicles, weapons and gadgetry, Star Wars Tech consults leading scientists in the fields of physics, prosthetics, lasers, engineering and astronomy to examine the plausibility of Star Wars technology based on science as we know it today."

[Murdoch]

This is brilliant: Existential Star Wars

[bunuelian]

I worked for a time in the same complex as the Lucas drones. The Lucas cafeteria is a stunning place to buy lunch. There are more beautifully mounted original release posters in that building than you can imagine.

I wish no one would buy this release. Lucas is an anti-artist and he surrounds himself with anti-artists. The number of staff who sported Kingdom of the Crystal Skull gear not only prior to the release of that abortion but well afterward spoke to how little regard the people there have for the resources that are being squandered by that garbage factory. Sucking up to the man is the dominant paradigm of that outfit. It's pathetic and sad.

I'd be slightly impressed if they included the Red Letter Media review of Phantom Menace on this, largely due to the fact that I'd buy that on DVD. One of the most hilarious films I've seen.

[Clodius]

Bumping for confirmed (and unconfirmed but likely) changes to the movies.

Episode 1 (So who cares really but anyway) is getting a CGI Yoda to replace the puppet used http://io9.com/5834189/compare-the-new- ... nal-puppet Not a huge deal, honestly, but worse are yet to come.

Star Wars (A New Hope)- Obi-Wan's yell at the Sand People to frighten them away is... different. Just different...

Also, R2D2 is now even more hidden by rocks in the same scene, to the point that it makes no sense how he got behind the rocks.

Return of the Jedi- Darth Vader now yells "No" twice as he throws Palpatine down the reactor chute, similar to the end of Return of the Sith. Just watch the clip.../sigh

Also, Ewoks have digital blinking eyes now.

http://www.aintitcool.com/node/51019

Ain't it cool has videos for the "Nooo" and Obi's yell, a recent io9 piece has the Ewoks, and I've seen the R2D2 shot, but I can find a good link for it at the moment.

[knives]

...And now for something completely expected. I'm laughing too hard to be as angry as I should.

[swo17]

I don't understand how Lucas is making these (and surely many other) changes, and yet reports are that the only one getting a new HD transfer is Episode I.

Or wait, my actual response is: I don't even care anymore.