Star Wars: Episode VII

Same here -- and if I knew that the bonuses would be lame and/or streaming-only, I would have just ordered it from Amazon, and I'd have gotten it yesterday!

 

The digital versions of the movie have an additional deleted scene.

I didn't mess with that "Disney Anytime" cr@p. I just redeemed the code through iTunes and then streamed it through my AppleTV. Haven't watched the Blu-ray yet. The 1080p stream on the AppleTV looked pretty good, even with what I am assuming is tons of compression.

For the theatrical release, JJ cut approximately 20 minutes from the initial assembly of the movie and many of the most important deleted scenes are NOT on the Blu-ray (Leia's scenes on Coruscant with the Senate and with her staff, the scenes with Maz on the Falcon and at the rebel base, Maz giving Luke's light saber to Rey, Rey's extended hallucination in Maz's castle, the opening shot of Luke's light saber floating through space, and all the alternate scenes and dialog takes in the trailers).

 

Dang. So what ARE the deleted scenes -- other than the Kylo on the Falcon one?

I guess this is a product of the way movies are often re-written in editing these days. It's one thing to write a film, shoot it all, and then include the scenes you took out for time or pacing. But when the deleted scenes contradict the "truth" you settled on for the movie, should you let the fans see those? Sounds like J.J. decided not to...

 

First off, all of the scenes have time code stamp, incomplete foley and voiceovers, and where present, not 100% complete effects. The CGI shading and rendering does not look "real" as the other CGI in the movie does, but rather unfinished.

The only GOOD deleted scene is in the streaming/digital version only. It's a funny Han scene. Basically, everybody gets captured by storm troopers inside of Maz's basement and one by one, they reluctantly hand over their weapons. Han balks and tells the stormtroopers his blaster is broken.

The other six deleted scenes are described in the link below. The scene that sounds the most promising--the snowspeeder chase--is not exciting and, as stated earlier, the effects look unfinished.

'Star Wars: The Force Awakens' Blu-Ray Deleted Scenes: More Finn, Kylo Ren and a Snow Speeder Chase »

 

I'm afraid I have to be part of the "okay" side on this one. While I did enjoy it more than the prequels, there were some things about it that I didn't like. Han Solo died a chump's death, the score is unmemorable, and my biggest issue is that it relied too much on elements from the original trilogy. I know that's what the fans like the most but Disney should realize that they can do new things with the franchise and NOT be lackluster at it like the prequels.

 

They will be doing new things. But they had to first remake IV to stem the disturbance in the force (fanbase) and to act as a setup for the next bunch of movies.

 

Argh, these titles! Too many episodes to count on one hand!

We need a tagline or acronym for each film so I can keep straight in my head whether we are discussing the one where Luke returns as a Jedi, or the one where the force kind of awakens after a long period of dormancy.

Im all out of ideas myself. Maybe name them like the Godfather movies or something. I can often tell those apart by Al Pacino's hair, though so I may be waaay off base.

 

I thought the Han Solo/Kylo Ren scene was incredible. Solo wasn't a chump. I didn't get the feeling that Solo thought he could redeem Ren. I think he knew he could be on the losing end of the "strength" Ren was searching for. This was one confrontation he finally could not talk his way out of. He knew there was no escape.

 

After hearing that Harrison Ford never wanted to play Han again and wanted Disney to kill him, that scene became weaker to me. :/

 

He'd been angling for that since Han got frozen in carbonite. Nothing new there.

 

Yet he is again on the set in Iceland (presumably filming scenes) for Ep. VIII.

 

Harrison Ford is? Where did you see that at?

 

Harrison Ford is? Where did you see that at?

 

We just streamed it and it is a good movie. I especially liked the new characters. The major fault, IMO, is that the plot seems to be a rehash of the earliest Star Wars movies.

 

I watched it for the second time on a flight back from Vancouver over the weekend. Tiny airplane screen, but I think I might have liked it better this time around, even though as everyone and his brother has already pointed out, the film is a total plot rehash of the original.

I think the stuff they edited out means a bunch of the film doesn't make a lot of sense, especially the action on Starkiller base. Which is unfortunate.

One big contrast to the original Star Wars - the young actors all carry this film. Daisy Ridley in particular is simply outstanding. Still, I can't get over the feeling this film should have spent another 3 months having its script polished and edited down. It's close to being really great, instead of merely not-disappointingly lame like the prequels, but too much of its greatness comes from the performances of the young actors, the sets, SFX and cinematography. The script is something they all have to work with, instead of something that works with them...

 

It's been widely reported.

 

Really? Because this is the first I'm hearing of it. Got a link?

 

Earlier on in the year, in January or February, Harrison Ford was reportedly spotted on set in Iceland. Check out the usual Hollywood rumor mill sites and Star Wars rumors sites for the news.

 

Yep, and just like Phantom Menace echoed A New Hope, so does this one. Other than the elements that were in both Menace and Hope, they really are NOT all that similar.

Both Phantom Menace and New Hope had a Macguffin cause the heroes to all wind up on a desert planet where they meet someone "special." The oldest of the band of heroes begins acting as the special one's mentor. They take that special one to the Rebels/Jedi/Resistance where that person is welcomed and entreated to aid in a mission to destroy a new "ultimate weapon." On the mission, the mentor is killed, and the "special one" destroys the weapon/saves the day.

The End.

All three movies follow that same path. It's chapter 2 & 3 of each trilogy where they diverge.

There are clues scattered in the look, feel, and flow of this movie. Too many people are writing it off as a simple "re-hash" but it's not. There's a lot more to it than that, and there's a reason it echoes the first movie in each of the other trilogies.

I feel this film will get a serious re-evaluation after Episode VIII gets released. I think for the better.

 

He knew the "mentor" figure always has to die in the first episode of a Star Wars trilogy. It's precedent!

 

Y'know, they have these narrative devices named "flashbacks"...

 

(sigh)

Both Phantom Menace and New Hope followed the exact same narrative path... both had a Macguffin cause the heroes to all wind up on a desert planet where they meet someone "special." The oldest of the band of heroes begins acting as the special one's mentor. They take that special one to the Rebels/Jedi/Resistance where that person is welcomed and entreated to aid in a mission to destroy a new "ultimate weapon." On the mission, the mentor is killed, and the "special one" destroys the weapon/saves the day.

The End.

It wouldn't be Part 1 of a Star Wars trilogy without following that narrative path.

Everything outside that narrative, in the new movie, was fabulous! Well, everything except the goofiness with the pirates on Han's ship. That seemed a bit too Hitchhiker's Guide/Red Dwarf for my taste.

 

I think you're thinking of someone else; this is the first I've heard of it (and I'm one of those pathetic SW spoiler junkies), and I just googled it and nothing came up.

 

And your point is? I asked where the poster had seen that. I didn't say he was wrong or not, just that I was surprised that I may have missed something.

 

Any real News about tha next installment.. .. Rogue One 'Looks' pretty CooL..