Star Wars Trilogy DVD Set

[Guest MikeSC]

And, hands --- who here thinks Kurt Russell would have sucked, hard, as Han Solo?

-=Mike

 

Still weird Christopher Walken was Lucas' original choice for Han!

Now that woulda rocked. Also hard.

 

SNL's sketch with Walken as Solo was gold.

-=Mike

[starvenger]

And, hands --- who here thinks Kurt Russell would have sucked, hard, as Han Solo?

-=Mike

 

Still weird Christopher Walken was Lucas' original choice for Han!

Now that woulda rocked. Also hard.

 

SNL's sketch with Walken as Solo was gold.

-=Mike

I think it was Kevin Spacey as Walken as Solo, actually...

 

but it was still gold.

[Slayer]

Well, I gave in (to the dark side) and got it today and watched ANH with Miss Slayer. It really didn't feel that different from the SE, as all those rumored changes from SE to DVD were apparently just that: rumors

 

It's still a great movie, though I had some minor issues

 

1. I still can't accept "Greedo shot first" over the original scene, though that was the only 5 seconds that I was really unhappy watching the film

 

2. All those assorted dinosaur things and flying robots on Tatooine that Lucas felt the need to put in back in the SE. They don't take away from the film, but they don't add anything either and instead just stink of George saying "Look what I can do with my computers!"

 

3. The strange mix of 70's fashion and effects with digital effects from the 90's/00's

 

4. Aforementioned sound mixing issues during the last battle

 

I didn't really get to experience the vision and sound though as we watched it on my g/f's dinky little TV, but tomorrow I'm watching ESB on my folks' big screen with 5.1

 

Also... somewhere, Black Lushus is smiling

[Black Lushus]

Awesome!

[pochorenella]

Just heard/saw on TV that total sales on the first day of release were over $150 million, but it could be combined sales with SW: Battlefront. Still, is this a record or something?

 

Also, my DVDs arrived today, so this weekend is officially Star Wars weekend at my place (mixed with a little Triumph the Insult Comic Dog for some comic relief.)

[kkktookmybabyaway]

Would this also count pre-orders? I'll be getting mine tonight. Woo-hoo...

[Guest ken adams]

Since we all know how most everyone feels on GREEDo shooting first, I'll skip it, but there are a couple of other changes I'd like to comment on.

 

1. The Rancor.

In ROTJ whenever Luke was on screen with the Rancor, it looked like one of the characters was cut & pasted on top of film of the other. Looked really cheesy. It looks like now they have fixed it. Score one for George.

 

2. Destruction of the shield generators in ESB.

It always looked like an explostion was cut and pasted on film of a snowy backdrop. It looks like now they have fixed it, not perfect, but better. Score two for George.

 

3. The Emperors hood shadow in ROTJ.

They tried filling in the hood shadow by the Emperor's eye with a true black, even though the hood was a dark grey. Since they colored it frame by frame, it looks like a pulsating black slug. They have NOT fixed it, and it still is distracting. Minus a big one for George.

 

4. Jabba in ANH.

While the new Jabba looks good, there are still places where Han is right on top of Jabba, or actually occupying the same space as Jabba, which is not possible in any galaxy. Minus another one for George.

 

Instead of changing dialogue, Jedi ghosts, and adding musical numbers, I wish he would've fixed the things that needed to be fixed and included the deleted scenes. I'm sure those will come on the Ultra Special Edition next Christmas. What a dick.

[cawthon777]

Nevermind my post of news that everyone already knows.

 

Minus one for not being up to date that Hayden was added to ROTJ lol

[Slayer]

Ken Adams reminded me of something I forgot to mention in my previous post about ANH: with all the digital technology at his disposal, George still didn't get rid of the grey boxes around the TIE fighters in the "Escape from Death Star" battle

 

Also, I'm still kinda chuckling about how George added in all those dinosaur creatures on Tattoine, as if he's saying "My vision of Star Wars absolutely can not be complete without some dinosaur creatures in this scene."

 

I didn't get to watch ESB today as I was busy, but I hope to finish up the Trilogy tomorrow

[Guest El Satanico]

maaan...you just don't understand how crucial those dinosaur creatures were to those scenes.

[Guest SteveyP93]

I was gonna buy it until I heard that it's the updated versions. I remember watching the updated version of "Return of the Jedi" on VHS and hating what they did to it. It was ridiculous.

 

I would have bought it if they had released two-sided discs with the cheesy original graphics and the CGI updates, because some of the improvements sound cool (like the new Jabba), but...fuck it.

[Slayer]

Finished watching the movies tonight (this morning) and was pleased overall with my decision to purchase the set. Seems like most of the rumored changes were untrue, and there isn't a huge difference between the DVD and the SE versions.

 

The only thing now is that after watching some of the trailers for the movies, I wish I could see the movies in the theaters back when they were originally released, just to get the experience of the time (I was not alive in '77, barely alive in '80 and while I do remember going to see ROTJ in '83, I was much too young to appreciate it)

[kkktookmybabyaway]

I saw ANH last night/this morning. I rolled my eyes when watching Jabba, but overall I was content. One thing I noticed that I hadn't before is the bass drop when Darth Vader has that one guy in a chokehold after he made fun of the force. I'll probably watch the other two today or sometime next week.

 

One thing I hadn't noticed for the longest time was how Wedge is in IV, V, and VI. A friend told me there's all this backstory regarding him, but I'm not THAT big a fan of the series to have known...

[Guest MikeSC]

I was gonna buy it until I heard that it's the updated versions. I remember watching the updated version of "Return of the Jedi" on VHS and hating what they did to it. It was ridiculous.

 

I would have bought it if they had released two-sided discs with the cheesy original graphics and the CGI updates, because some of the improvements sound cool (like the new Jabba), but...fuck it.

Well, you can rest assured of one thing: The odds of the originals ever coming out is virtually nil. Lucas doesn't want them out.

-=Mike

[ChrisMWaters]

Seeing all the negative comments towards Episodes I and II of Star Wars makes me feel kinda weird.

 

I actually LIKE both of those movies. Don't know why, but I do.

 

And from what I've seen of it, I've also liked the mini-series "Clone Wars"

[Slayer]

Episode I was kinda meh, in retrospect, even though I saw it 4 times in the theater (that was during the blackout summer of '99, so I didn't have much else to do)

 

I liked Episode II as long as it dealt with fighting and as long as it didn't deal with Anakin philosophizing towards Amidala

[Hank Kingsley]

Got it Thuriday, watched IV and V today.

 

It wasn't a wave of nostalgia, it was like a Peter North ejaculation of nostalgia. I almost forgot how much I love these movies.

[ChrisMWaters]

Episode I was kinda meh, in retrospect

Lucas gave a reason for why it seemed meh in the episode II DVD commentary. He gave the reason that he had to give information of things like how the senate worked and stuff like that.

[Guest Bling-Bling Buchanan]

I really have no problem with any of the changes made to the first two. RotJ on the other hand...

[2GOLD]

I have my original VHS box set.

Since the originals will NEVER be released on DVD, I'm not buying this.

 

VHS still has one good use, the actual versions.

[kkktookmybabyaway]

Two down, one to go.

 

The "non-scream" was kinda odd, but it didn't bother me that much.

 

Saw a bunch of little things that I'm not sure should be attributed to George's "additions" or the fact I'm watching them in wide-screen.

 

I have a feeling I'll like TESB the best out of the three because I'm already dreading that Jabba scene in ROTJ that I loathe...

[bobobrazil1984]

i watched my brother's DVD of ANH, and although i still think the changes are rather silly, the video quality is outstanding. It really felt like a modern movie rather than one from 77. The color, the richness of the picture, wow. I usually watch my original release VHS copies, (not the 95 re-issue or the 97 SE), so the difference was REALLY striking.

[slimm44]

I didn't see this mentioned but I notice they edited the sound at the end of ANH where Luke yells out 'Carrie' instead of 'Leia'

[Rendclaw]

I finished watching ANH and TESB. To me, the changes made sense. The Greedo scene is much more satisfactory even though I still prefer the original, but I have learned to let that go.

 

The picture quality just blew me away, and I have a 19 inch TV that I am going to have to replace before long.

 

I have yet to watch RoTJ, because everyone I know who has it has been telling me about the trailer. I'll run a search for the trailer that Downhome mentioned.

[Lil' Bitch]

Does Luke really say "Carrie" in the original? Also is the Stormtrooper blooper in ANH kept intact?

[Spaceman Spiff]

Yes, he did. It's not crystal clear, but if you're listening for it, you can make it out. Definitely not "Leia" though.

 

And, yes, the Stormtrooper still hits his head.

[NoCalMike]

I have watched Episode IV & V......and in an hour or so I am gonna go watch VI. So far so good. Only minor complaints, most of which have already been covered.

[Vyce]

Seeing all the negative comments towards Episodes I and II of Star Wars makes me feel kinda weird.

 

I actually LIKE both of those movies. Don't know why, but I do.

 

And from what I've seen of it, I've also liked the mini-series "Clone Wars"

Is Clone Wars out on DVD yet?

 

I'll say this: after seeing it for the first time on Cartoon Network this weekend, each of those 4 or 5 minute episodes was better than the prequels.

 

The General Grievous lightsaber battle with the half-dozen Jedi was, quite simply, a better lightsaber fight than ANY saber duel Lucas put in the prequels. And I'm not embellishing there.

 

As for the dvds - fuck it. Unless he puts the ORIGINAL versions of the film out on DVD, I refuse to get this. I'll just find someone who can sell me bootlegs of the originals burned onto digital disc.

[bobobrazil1984]

for those not buying it, i would recommend renting the bonus disc. There's 2+ hours documentary by Ken Burns that's pretty damn good imo.

[kkktookmybabyaway]

Does Luke really say "Carrie" in the original? Also is the Stormtrooper blooper in ANH kept intact?

Where did this happen? I have probably seen it -- I just didn't notice it as a "blooper..."