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Joined: Feb 24 2006 Posts: 2578

IMDb.com News wrote:

Original 'Star Wars' Movies Coming to DVD -- At Last
Responding to legions of fans, Lucasfilm and 20th Century Fox Home Entertainment have agreed to release the original versions of the first three Star Wars movies, unmodified by digital enhancements, on Sept. 12. Each of the films, Star Wars (1977), The Empire Strikes Back (1980), and Return of the Jedi (1983) will be released separately and will be accompanied by a second disc offering the digitally reedited version produced in 2004. They will be withdrawn from circulation on Dec. 31. A promo for the new releases states: "See the title crawl to Star Wars before it was known as Episode IV; see the pioneering, if dated, motion-control model work on the attack on the Death Star; groove to Lapti Nek or the Ewok Celebration song like you did when you were a kid; and, yes, see Hans Solo shoot first."

Fuck yeah!

Posted: May 05 2006 10:30 am

That's pretty damn cool. The only way it could be better would be if they packaged them with the 1997 special editions instead of the 2004 versions. Or if they didn't package them with the special editions at all, since that's just an excuse to charge $30 apiece for them.

Honestly, I don't know if I can bring myself to buy Return of the Jedi. Knowing that there's a second DVD in the box that has Hayden Christensen edited into the closing sequence will make me want to fucking puke.

Posted: May 05 2006 01:01 pm

I heard that the original film negatives of "Star Wars" were destroyed by time as they were not preserved digitally and that pretty much all film over 30 years old is destroyed by time. Meaning the colors of the film would tint into magenta or something.

Of course, this was taught to me in film class when we looked at time ravaged film. As such, I was probably half asleep.

I just remember something about Martin Scorsese trying to preserve old films and someone saying that the special editions of Star Wars could not have been made a year or two after they came out.

Joined: Apr 24 2006 Posts: 292

How many times did they edit the first three Starwars?

I remember specifically Lukes Liht Saber was green and not white or am I mistaken but it was not bluish white at all.

Dark Vadors escape ship in the last movie was much better looking.

Also how many times did they mess with the fat snail guy?

I heard that the original film negatives of "Star Wars" were destroyed by time as they were not preserved digitally and that pretty much all film over 30 years old is destroyed by time. Meaning the colors of the film would tint into magenta or something.

Film as in the reels held in canisters or Film as in Tape or Beta. Also what about the Beta copies. Beta is four times better then VHS Tape where some people will tell you the qaulity even surpass DVD. Now DVD is just data so what about the Beta tapes?

Joined: Feb 24 2006 Posts: 2578

RegalSin wrote:

Film as in the reels held in canisters or Film as in Tape or Beta. Also what about the Beta copies. Beta is four times better then VHS Tape where some people will tell you the qaulity even surpass DVD. Now DVD is just data so what about the Beta tapes?

Film as in film. Hence "negatives". Beta ain't higher quality than the master source, buster. Rolling Eyes

In any event, I was under the impression that they restored the original negatives for the first Special Edition. I imagine those are still in good shape.

Posted: May 05 2006 06:55 pm

Tebor, if I recall that if film is stored properly, as I assume these were, it normally takes like 75-80 years for time to destroy them. Maybe it takes 30 for audio tape or something since even if it's well stored there's an effect known as "print through" because of the magnetic quality of the tape where parts of the tape that are touching will actually record their own audio information on to the other parts at low but audible decibel levels. Of course, the fact that this is an issue at all is why my music engineering professor constantly said how much he hates analog, and I'd say rightfully so.

Posted: May 06 2006 12:25 am

RegalSin wrote:

How many times did they edit the first three Starwars?

I remember specifically Lukes Liht Saber was green and not white or am I mistaken but it was not bluish white at all.
The first light saber was blue. Bad film prints make it white. After it is lost in Episode V, Luke switches to a green saber.

Dark Vadors escape ship in the last movie was much better looking.
I have no idea what you're talking about. If it's his ship in Episode IV (the TIE with hyperdrive), it never got mucked around with so Question

)

Also how many times did they mess with the fat snail guy?
Twice. Both times in Episode IV, once in the 1997 special edition and then again in 2004. Jabba was either added or reshaded. His name is "Jabba the Hutt" for all future references.

I was taught about film deterroration for about ten minutes on one day, I'm sure I didn't get the full story. Now, Lucas is going to release the original films (probably from the laserdiscs if the negatives have been lost or destroyed) so either way my point is moot.