Original/Unaltered "Star Wars" Trilogy on Blu-Ray in 2017

Discussion in 'Visual Arts' started by Bowie Fett, Feb 23, 2017.

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  1. Encuentro

    Encuentro Forum Resident

    You don’t have to go that far. You just have to bend a rule that Lucasfilm and 20th Century Fox have thus far overlooked. They’re available, just not officially.
     
    Solaris likes this.
  2. Vidiot

    Vidiot Now in 4K HDR!

    Location:
    Hollywood, USA
    Actually, Lucas is a very, very fine editor who changed the entire concept of film editing in many ways. Read this book:

    [​IMG]

    https://www.amazon.com/Droidmaker-G...=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1513236137&sr=1-1

    Where I will agree with you is that he went back and changed his original films too much. There's a point where his quest for perfection became obsessive. But as an editor -- and as a producer who supervised editors -- his instincts were terrific and he's a very, very bright man. Read the book and find out for yourself. (Michael Rubin's other books on editing are very good as well.)
     
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  3. hanshotfirst1138

    hanshotfirst1138 Well-Known Member

    Location:
    Michigan
    I know about the Despecialized Edition, but apart from lacking skills with a Blu-Ray burner, it’s really not the same. I have a version of DE, and Harmy does amazing work, no question (I need a more up-to-date version though). But he and his crew don’t have access to original film elements, and I’d love to see a proper restoration. It’s pretty clear that Disney and Fox are willing to look the other way on the DE given how long it’s been around.

    But for works like Star Wars and THX 1138, the latter of which we’ll never see in its original format, even the best fan-editors will still have trouble competing with professional restorations. Then there’s The Warriors, the mono track on the original Terminator, the teal coloring of Aliens, etc. :(.

    A quick sidebar regarding Lucas himself, I’ve often wondered what would have happened to him if Star Wars hadn’t convinced him he was the guardian of western mythology. American Graffiit & THX 1138 suggest a quieter, more introspect filmmaker who may have gone quite a different way.
     
    Last edited: Dec 14, 2017
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  4. SamS

    SamS Forum Legend

    Location:
    Texas
    Don't sell your soul, just wait about 4-6 weeks (for the '77 movie, at least): Project 4K77 | The Star Wars Trilogy
     
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  5. marblesmike

    marblesmike Forum Resident

    Location:
    Pennsylvania
    And with the pending sale of Fox to Disney, I'm guessing this whole thing becomes a lot easier...
     
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  6. PaulKTF

    PaulKTF Senior Member

    Location:
    USA
    Why are they wasting their time and effort doing this when they know Disney will eventually do it (and make a better quality product) relatively soon? I guess I don't get it..
     
  7. JAuz

    JAuz Forum Resident

    Location:
    US
    Does this deal mean that the whole question of whether or not to include the Fox Fanfare at the beginning becomes moot? Keep it in there!
     
  8. PaulKTF

    PaulKTF Senior Member

    Location:
    USA
    Yes, Disney would own the 20th Century Fox logo and fanfare now.
     
  9. BeatleJWOL

    BeatleJWOL Senior Member

    Cause nobody knows that. I'm not sure the money's there for a release like this, because the filthy casuals that drive the market will never tell the difference. So let the fan restorers run wild. If and/or when a GOUT release actually happens, then they can stop.
     
  10. SamS

    SamS Forum Legend

    Location:
    Texas
    Link to Disney announcement where they said they were restoring the original movie to exactly how it was showing in theaters in 1977?
     
  11. PaulKTF

    PaulKTF Senior Member

    Location:
    USA
    What "link to Disney announcement"? They haven't even cleared the regulations yet! :laugh: Sheesh...

    [​IMG]
     
    Last edited: Dec 14, 2017
  12. SamS

    SamS Forum Legend

    Location:
    Texas
    Which means we’re at least 12 parsecs from that ever happening. I’ll enjoy the ‘77 movie in 4K, in the meantime.
     
  13. The Hermit

    The Hermit Wavin' that magick glowstick since 1976

    So who's to blame for the prequels then... those films badly needed a great editor!? Where was Walter Murch, longtime Lucas friend/confidante and one of the best editors in the world, when he was needed?

    Of course, a better screenwriter and director wouldn't have hurt either, whilst we're on the subject...
     
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  14. will_b_free

    will_b_free Forum Resident

    Location:
    Boulder, CO
    But he hasn't edited a film since the early 1970s! It is hard to judge his editing skill based on the work of others who he sat next to.
     
  15. hanshotfirst1138

    hanshotfirst1138 Well-Known Member

    Location:
    Michigan
    I just hit up Pablo Hidalgo on Twitter: he says “What’s keeping the theatrical editions off of home video is the same thing that always has been. It’s not a studio thing.” When I asked he said a “particular person is keeping it from happening. It won’t take a lot of research to figure out who.” It sounds like our last hope is out the window at this point.
     
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  16. Jason Manley

    Jason Manley Senior Member

    Location:
    O-H-I-O
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  17. The Doctor

    The Doctor Forum Resident

    Location:
    Philidelphia, PA
    The editor on the prequels had only done several TV episodes and commercials prior. The editor on the originals was a mixture of people including Marcia Lucas, who was highly talented and in great demand by many directors.

    Lucas just needed a good screenwriter to help with dialogue. I contend that overall the prequels are better and have more heart than the new films (Rogue One I like, I'm talking about the sequels).
     
  18. The Doctor

    The Doctor Forum Resident

    Location:
    Philidelphia, PA
    Also, Lucas asked several friends to help him write and direct the prequels and they all told him he didn't need them. Ron Howard and Spielberg were among those asked and Kershner as well.
     
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  19. Time Is On My Side

    Time Is On My Side Forum Resident

    Location:
    Madison, WI
    :-popcorn: This will be interesting to see.
     
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  20. Vidiot

    Vidiot Now in 4K HDR!

    Location:
    Hollywood, USA
    Oh, you're very mistaken: Lucas supervised the editing of all his films all the way up through Revenge of the Sith in 2005. George is a very, very hands-on guy who is extremely specific about what he wants technically from the editing, VFX, color, and sound departments. I worked right down the hall from the main editor on Revenge in 2004, who was on the second floor of C Building at the ILM San Rafael campus, right at the top of the $250,000 staircase. Very nice guy. What I remember most about the edit bay was the editor had printed up a sign that said, "Han Shot First" and a little drawing of Greedo on it. It stayed up for months and months, and Lucas didn't make him take it down.

    Trust me, editors work under the supervision of directors, and if the director says, "I want that reaction shot 1 frame earlier and then I want to cut to the reaction of that other guy over there," the editor is going to do it. Some directors are specific, some want a collaboration, some expect the editor to do most of the work... but Lucas is very decisive and specific in terms of what he wants. He's not adverse to accepting a suggestion here and there, but there's no question, George is the guy in charge. Read the book.

    I don't think this is true. What I was told at ILM (by my supervisors on the 2004 Blu-ray home video restoration) was the only reason they didn't go back and do all the theatrical versions was because of time and money. Basically, George only cared about the version that existed at that moment, and no other versions mattered. So it wasn't a dislike of the idea or being incredibly stubborn -- it was more a question of not caring about the earlier versions. I think like a lotta stuff, money and time can solve this problem. Now, Disney has fewer excuses not to do it.

    I still say a boxed set of the old and new versions would satisfy everybody, and nobody would complain about it.

    I think the script and casting problems overwhelmed everything else. The editing on all those films was fine, at least to me. I think they could've dialed back the intensity of the effects and the amount of composites, but that's me.
     
    Last edited: Dec 14, 2017
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  21. Vidiot

    Vidiot Now in 4K HDR!

    Location:
    Hollywood, USA
    The other problem is that these morons are trying to scan theatrical prints, because they don't have access to the o-negs. Remember that most theatrical prints go through 4 optical stages: OCN -> IP -> IN -> Print. If you stick with the OCN, you've saved three layers of crud. These so-called fan-restorations are total bullsh!t. They merely represent one person's opinion as to how they should look.

    I would bet that conversations will be happening in the next 60-90 days as to exactly what Disney plans to do once they own all the Star Wars films under one roof. Bear in mind the deal doesn't kick in for seven months.
     
    supermd likes this.
  22. Dude111

    Dude111 An Awesome Dude

    Location:
    US
    I dunno buddy.....Many think he is a bloody f00l who took gold and make it crap....
     
  23. The Hermit

    The Hermit Wavin' that magick glowstick since 1976

    With all due respect, that's a foolish and asinine comment; Lucas is no fool... he's a talented guy who made two excellent films prior to Star Wars; with the latter film he not only changed both the film industry and popular culture at a single stroke (against all the odds and warnings from most of his peers that he was killing his career by making a kid's movie!), he created a modern cross-generational mythology that has pervaded every aspect of our culture; he founded a VFX company for that film that pioneered effects that made blockbusters possible ever since and which has long been the standard-bearer in that field to this day; he revolutionized the industry with digital non-linear editing, digital cameras, and the THX sound system, he was far ahead of the curve in recognizing the potential of tie-in merchandise and used the windfall generated from that to fund the sequels and build his own personal empire, and he took on the studio system and won... getting complete independence to make his films his way.

    He has also helped inspire countless thousands to follow their dreams in chosen career paths of film, television, art, writing, and technical vocations within the creative field.

    Oh, and he created Indiana Jones too!

    Whatever your own opinion about the Special Editions, the prequels, the refusal to remaster and re-release the OT's theatrical versions, or him selling his life's work to Disney, by any metric standard, Lucas has lived an extraordinarily productive and immensely influential life that has greatly impacted the world around him in ways that will outlive us all.

    He may be many things (as are we all), but a fool he most certainly is not... if only everyone's life was as well-lived as George Lucas' life.
     
    Last edited: Dec 14, 2017
  24. Trashman

    Trashman Forum Resident

    Location:
    Wisconsin
    There is no guarantee that Disney will do it anytime soon, if at all. They missed several obvious opportunities already. They could have released a restored original trilogy in 2015 prior to Episode 7 hitting the theaters, but they didn't. They could have released a restored Star Wars (aka Episode 4) this year to mark its 40th anniversary, but they didn't. To date, they've spent most of their time and energy focusing on the new movies, not the old ones.

    And then, assuming they do someday reissue the original trilogy, there is no guarantee they will produce a "better quality product." Will they restore every shot to match the original theatrical presentation? Will they match the color grading of the original presentation? Will the music be restored to match the original presentation? Or will the end result be some sort of hybrid between the original versions and the special editions?

    Disney could get it right. But that's all dependent on several ifs and whens. For the time being, the restorations overseen by the fans are currently the best chance for these films to most closely represent what people saw in the theaters in 1977-1983.
     
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  25. Time Is On My Side

    Time Is On My Side Forum Resident

    Location:
    Madison, WI
    I don't think Disney owns the rights to the 1977 movie.
     
    Dude111 likes this.
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