criterionforum.org

Person wrote:I feel that Star Wars has had its day. It's status as a cultural shibboleth is over. It has been beaten into the ground and slapped across the faces of so many generations that it now just looks like something akin to a discredited philosophy, political ideology or wowser religion from the 1910s, with Lucas as the Elmer Gantry mountebank huckster.

Indeed, George Lucas is the George W. Bush of the American cinema. At least in Lucas' case he actually had talent and integrity in his youth, unlike that loathsome politician.

And now for the new Malibu Stacy, eh, I mean Star Wars re-re-re-release.

If any of you plan on buying this, I would urge you to shoplift it.

link is dead for me.

aox wrote:link is dead for me.

They've been having some technical issues the last few days.

aox wrote:link is dead for me.

It should be back soon. DVDTalk has been having server and update issues.

I supposed Anamorphic versions of the original trilogy is out of the question.....

People need to stop handing this guy money. Make it stop. Make him go away.

I like to think I'm doing my part. When Episode III came out, I actually bought a ticket to see Cinderella Man, which at the time I believe was struggling at the box office, and used it to see Star Wars instead. (Still felt cheated.)

Of course, I later saw Cinderella Man and regretted having supported that as well. Though I like to think Ron Howard used the money to buy Arrested Development another stay of execution.

:sigh:

oh, and... Fuck Lucas, etc...

Nerds keep buying these, and they have no one to blame but themselves. If I were George Lucas, I would be doing the same thing, frankly. Oh, I want another vacation home and I don't want to dip into my savings - "Hey, Fox, commission another re-release of my overrated movies from 30 years ago that people will buy because they have nothing better to do with their money or time. Oh, there's someone on the other line--" "Hello, yes, I will take that home in Martha's Vineyard, actually, make that two."

"Oh - and please make sure you leave something out so they'll buy the next rehash, too."

the only thing at this point that would even minimally pique my interest would be the 50+ minutes of deleted scenes from A New Hope (and deleted scenes from the other two as well).

Just watch - these will be souped up, anamorphic versions of the original trilogy, everyone will be thrilled, and then he'll have like, cropped out one of Yoda's ears in one scene and made a spaceship yellow instead of silver, and everyone will be crying in their nebulators.

Then next year, we'll catch wind of another re-release with the promise of a silver ship, all ears included, but something else will be missing from the equation. It's fucking brilliant if you ask me.

mfunk9786 wrote:Nerds keep buying these, and they have no one to blame but themselves. If I were George Lucas, I would be doing the same thing, frankly. Oh, I want another vacation home and I don't want to dip into my savings - "Hey, Fox, commission another re-release of my overrated movies from 30 years ago that people will buy because they have nothing better to do with their money or time. Oh, there's someone on the other line--" "Hello, yes, I will take that home in Martha's Vineyard, actually, make that two."

Not to defend nerds, but you also have to consider the fact that Lucas keeps lying and saying: "This is the last time I'm going to do this. This is the last chance to own the original trilogy on DVD, and, yeah, it's the Special Edition, but I'm never going to release the original original trilogy, so you're stuck with this." And then a year or two later: "OK, here are the original originals, but they're only a special feature, and only available for a limited time, and I'm never going to make them anamorphic, so you're stuck with this." And let's not forget that whole yarn about the original prints having been destroyed.

Fortunately, I only ever bought these DVDs once (actually, they were gifted to me) and I think I have enough self-restraint to hold out on upgrading until the eventual Blu-ray (or whatever other format has taken over by then). But even then, I will try to buy them from the secondhand market so Lucas can't see another dime of mine.

swo17 wrote:Not to defend nerds, but you also have to consider the fact that Lucas keeps lying and saying: "This is the last time I'm going to do this. This is the last chance to own the original trilogy on DVD, and, yeah, it's the Special Edition, but I'm never going to release the original original trilogy, so you're stuck with this."

Anyone who actually believed that run-around after the first time it happened deserves to have their wallets raped on a yearly basis, they really do.

Same crap he released before. No anomorphic versions of the originals, no deleted scenes, no "From Star Wars to Jedi"...in short, nothing worth a damn.

I love how they spell this out: Fans, there's nothing new here for you. But for your friends, families, and other suckers, these will make perfect gifts for the holidays!

That's the best kind of $$$ really, the kind that requires zero effort to get. Kudos Lucas!

So, according to the producers, the original trilogy still hasn't made a profit so David Prowse who filled the Darth Vader suit, still hasn't been paid the residuals he's owed.

Blu-ray officially announced for Fall 2011. No original cuts of the original trilogy. May or may not be available separately.

Jeff wrote:Blu-ray officially announced for Fall 2011. No original cuts of the original trilogy. May or may not be available separately.

In the article it mentions that Lucas sees no point to releasing the original (real) versions of the Star Wars films because they would require an expensive restoration first. But wouldn't they just need to restore the scenes that weren't mutilated by the addition SFX splotch-work? 95% of the work is already done.

That's a deal-breaker from where I stand.

So wait, you mean he's not finally going to alter all of the characters in the original movies to look like this?



No sale

Too expensive as an excuse is laughable. Actually, it kind of pisses me off, considering the extensive restoration films get that have made one one billionth of what the SW franchise had made so far. Lucas could restore these a thousand times over and still have more dough than anyone else is Hollywood. Ugh.

Not going to pay for a boxset including the prequels. Not ever. However, I can't imagine them not releasing the original trilogy separately at some point, or better still, breaking them down into individual releases which would be my preferred option since I'd only really badly want The Empire Strikes Back.

George Lucas' career has basically exactly mirrored the life of Anakin Skywalker/Darth Vader. I have my fingers crossed for a deathbed repentance.