Star Wars DVDs available for preorder

Post by **Dalton** » 2004-06-08 09:56pm

Dunno if this has been posted already...

Linky

Spanky The Dolphin · Post by **Spanky The Dolphin** » 2004-06-08 10:12pm

Hasn't been posted before, but it is kinda old: it's been available for preorder since 30 March.

Post by **Ghost Rider** » 2004-06-08 10:24pm

Coolness...and not bad of a price for a preorder.

Maybe when I come back.

McC · Post by **McC** » 2004-06-08 11:05pm

*caves and orders* Thanks for the heads' up, Dalton.

Out of curiosity, the last review there talks about potential additional changes made to the SE. Most of them I think are rather intriguing and could be quite good. Anyone else have any thoughts?

Montcalm · Post by **Montcalm** » 2004-06-08 11:06pm

I'd buy it only if i know that GL fixed the Han shooting first crap.

McC · Post by **McC** » 2004-06-08 11:07pm

One of the alleged fixes is that he did. I stress alleged, though.

Spanky The Dolphin · Post by **Spanky The Dolphin** » 2004-06-08 11:28pm

McC wrote:One of the alleged fixes is that he did. I stress alleged, though.

As would I. Nothing more than fans making shit up, in my opinion.

The Prime Necromancer · Post by **The Prime Necromancer** » 2004-06-08 11:32pm

McC wrote:Out of curiosity, the last review there talks about potential additional changes made to the SE. Most of them I think are rather intriguing and could be quite good. Anyone else have any thoughts?

I read through that list, and frankly I wouldn't hold my breath if I were you. Even if it were true, I can't say I'd care.

I'm not touching these things with a ten-foot pole. I know that my 40-50 bucks really doesn't mean anything in the grand scheme of things, but even if I did buy them, I'd end up just watching my old VHS copies anyway, simply because I loathe the SE so much. So I'm not going to buy them just so I can line Lucas's pocket for a product that I don't particularly care for.

McC · Post by **McC** » 2004-06-08 11:32pm

Yeah, that's what I'm guessing too. Be nice if it were true, though.

Spanky The Dolphin · Post by **Spanky The Dolphin** » 2004-06-08 11:38pm

I'm not looking at the list because I'm too lazy, but would it happen to be identical or similar to the fan fabricated "Ultimate/Archival Edition" wishlist that was making the rounds on the Net for some time?

McC · Post by **McC** » 2004-06-08 11:39pm

Not sure I ever saw that list, but I'm willing to bet they're probably very similar, or one-in-the-same.

Bob the Gunslinger · Post by **Bob the Gunslinger** » 2004-06-09 03:54am

How old is Lucas? I think I can wait him out. When he gets senile we just have to hit his legal guardian with a major campain of persuation, so they'll release the OT.

Mange · Post by **Mange** » 2004-06-09 01:01pm

The Prime Necromancer wrote:I'm not touching these things with a ten-foot pole. I know that my 40-50 bucks really doesn't mean anything in the grand scheme of things, but even if I did buy them, I'd end up just watching my old VHS copies anyway, simply because I loathe the SE so much. So I'm not going to buy them just so I can line Lucas's pocket for a product that I don't particularly care for.

Not that people can think what they want, but why do you "loathe" the SE's? While I'm not a first generation fan (I was born one year and a half after ANH premiered) but a first-and-a-half generation fan and never have watched any of the OT movies at the theatre before the SE's, I have seen the movies several hundred times each on Television (I first saw ANH on Swedish television in 1984 and was hooked as a child) and VCR. There are only so many times you can see a movie before it becomes repetitive, even Star Wars. IMO the SE's cleaned up and improved the visual effects (even though more work is still needed), added relevant scenes (well, perhaps not the landing of Vader's shuttle in TESB

) and tweaked scenes that needed tweaking (a good example is Cloud City which now looks more like a lived-in place and closer to the pre production work). I have never understood the BS that "Lucas raped my childhood" that some people are stating (thankfully I've never seen such a comment on these boards). This isn't meant to flame anyone, it's only to make my position a bit clearer. Oh, and I think that the Han/Greedo scene is totally inconsequential.
As I wrote earlier, some more work is needed, and I hope that the DVD's that are released have fixed such things as the sabers from ANH (it's annoying when they switch color, suddenly Kenobi holds a RED saber), matte artifacts evident in all three movies and an expanded space battle in ROTJ.
However, I think that Lucasfilm and 20th Century Fox should release the original and unaltered movies for the benefit of fans who wants to see the movie as they remembered it. I hope that noone takes offense.

Montcalm · Post by **Montcalm** » 2004-06-09 01:05pm

Bob the Gunslinger wrote:How old is Lucas? I think I can wait him out. When he gets senile we just have to hit his legal guardian with a major campain of persuation, so they'll release the OT.

Thats hoping he did not destroyed every copy of OT he had,then we'll have to see those who got it on VHS to make copies of them.

McC · Post by **McC** » 2004-06-09 01:09pm

I mostly agree with you, except on the Han/Greedo thing. That is just awful -- it looks awful and it's totally unbelievable as a realistic chain of events. He's two feet away and he misses? Riiiiiight. The Greedo scene is the biggest issue I have with the SE. For the most part, I muchly enjoy the SE over the OT -- and this is coming from a person whose first movie was ROTJ. I grew up watching the videos of the SW movies, so it's not as if they didn't have a lasting impact on me either. I just think the SEs improved (for the most part) on what was already amazing. *shrug*

Mange · Post by **Mange** » 2004-06-09 01:26pm

McC wrote:I mostly agree with you, except on the Han/Greedo thing. That is just awful -- it looks awful and it's totally unbelievable as a realistic chain of events. He's two feet away and he misses? Riiiiiight. The Greedo scene is the biggest issue I have with the SE. For the most part, I muchly enjoy the SE over the OT -- and this is coming from a person whose first movie was ROTJ. I grew up watching the videos of the SW movies, so it's not as if they didn't have a lasting impact on me either. I just think the SEs improved (for the most part) on what was already amazing. *shrug*

Yes, I agree that the Han/Greedo scene in the SE wasn't done very well and shouldn't have been "fixed" in the first place. Over at the Galactic Senate forums there is a link in the thread Original Trilogy on DVD to what allegedly is a "tweaked" version that will be on the DVD's. I haven't seen it, and I don't know whether the link is functioning.

Zac Naloen · Post by **Zac Naloen** » 2004-06-09 01:33pm

Im not quite sure what i think of that video

Its an improvement because it looks a lot less fake... but... still.. missed!!

they should have just get rid of greedo's shot.

Kurgan · Post by **Kurgan** » 2004-06-09 01:35pm

Are you guys talking about this:

12 of 23 people found the following review helpful:

The Ultimate Archival editions?- I hope it's true., June 4, 2004

Reviewer: Ryan Piekenbrock from Oshawa, Ontario Canada
I have heard there are changes that have been made to make these movies match with the prequels visually and story wise. Let's hope so!

Star Wars: Episode IV - A New Hope:

1.The Imperial March has been added to Darth Vader's first
appearance on Princess Leia's ship.

2.The lightsaber effects have been redone and the frame jumps of lightsabers being turned on has been removed.

3. There's a new scene which has been shot during the filming of Episode III in which the Emperor dissolves the Senate.

4. The bleeding arm on the floor in the Cantina has been replaced with a non-bleeding arm because it's now canon that lightsabers cauterize wounds.

Say's who? Maul bleeds in TPM. Sabers may cauterize wounds but they can still produce blood.

5. The original shooting scene between Han and Greedo has been restored.

6. When the Death Star destroys Alderaan there's a new scene of Yoda's reaction to the disturbence in the Force that is created by all those deaths and then it cuts to Obi-Wan reacting to it as
well.

7. Temuera Morrison's voice is being recorded for
use with all the stormtroopers and Boba Fett in all the movies.

8. The Obi-Wan/Vader duel has been remade. A modified version of Duel of the Fates is being considered for the scene.

9.The Death Star battle is more epic

10. There's a new scene with Vader goes to Coruscant in the same building at the end of Attack of the Clones and inform the Emperor of a new potential who is strong in the Force.

11. Chewbacca now gets a medal.

Star Wars: Episode V: The Empire Strikes Back

1.The battle of Hoth is enhanced with a ground battle between the Rebel soldiers and stormtroopers

2. Ian McDiarmid has refilmed scenes as the Emperor. The conversations between Vader and Palpatine is now longer and features a few connections to the prequels.

3. Yoda's face is now animated in CG allowing more expression of emotions.

Star Wars: Episode VI: Return of the Jedi

1.Jabba the Hutt is now a combination of the puppet and
CGI.

2. The Rancor is CGI

3. Yoda is CGI. Yoda disappears leaving his clothes behind like Obi-Wan now.

4. The love theme Across the Stars is inserted when Luke is talking with Leia about their mother.

5. In the battle of Endor there are thousands of Ewoks and they are more vicious

6. Lightsaber effects shadows on the floor are gone.

7. During Anakin's death scene it starts with a sad rendition of the Imperial March and slowly evolves into Anakin's Theme.

8. Sebastian Shaw who played Anakin when he was unmasked has been replaced with Hayden
Christensen.

9.Anakin's spirit is now played by Hayden Christensen.

?

This is just a fan reposting the list that's run the gamut of the internet already. It DOES sound like a fanboy wishlist, so I'd take it with a planet of salt until we see the real deal.

#8 has been rumored with that "picture" of the Jedi Spirit of Anakin with Hayden's picture pasted over Shaw's, but otherwise we have no idea really what, if anything is being changed beyond the SE's that are already available. I imagine a few tweaks here and there with sound and color are to be expected, but honestly I'm going to wait and see what's changed before I buy.

McC · Post by **McC** » 2004-06-09 01:41pm

I should point out that no mention or glimpse of additional changes shows up in the DVD advertisement trailer on Hyperspace.

Zac Naloen · Post by **Zac Naloen** » 2004-06-09 01:44pm

6. When the Death Star destroys Alderaan there's a new scene of Yoda's reaction to the disturbence in the Force that is created by all those deaths and then it cuts to Obi-Wan reacting to it as
well.

Anyone else think that this is just the stupidest they've ever read?

It completely Ruins the introduction of yoda in Empire Strikes Back.

McC · Post by **McC** » 2004-06-09 01:56pm

Zac Naloen wrote:Anyone else think that this is just the stupidest they've ever read?

It completely Ruins the introduction of yoda in Empire Strikes Back.

...who we've already seen since Episode I-III, and thus already know about? You mean that Yoda?

And I suppose the fact that Luke and Leia are born as Anakin's children at the end of Episode III completely ruins the revelation in Episode V that Vader's Luke's father, huh?

Bob the Gunslinger · Post by **Bob the Gunslinger** » 2004-06-09 02:01pm

Mange, if you want to know why people really don't like the SE, read the "OT Whiners" thread in the Hall of Shame. Posters describe pretty well what they don't like and why, and the real anger stems from the fact that we are not given a choice between the classic and the crappy SE.

Here is a quote to demonstrate this:

Red Imperator wrote:
Elfdart wrote:
I don't think it made Solo look like a pussy. It did make Greedo look like and even more incompetent heavy. But he was always a loser. I mean, he should know Solo was armed and didn't even tell him to keep his hands up. Missing from across the table isn't that farfetched. Who knows? Maybe Greedo's trigger finger got itchy. He was pretty stupid.
On the contrary, having Greedo shoot first does tremendous damage to Solo's character. It's important that Han's character starts off somewhat dark, because it makes his change of heart late in the film more dramatic. He's supposed to be a scoundrel, and one of the things that scoundrels do is shoot people who are trying to shoot them.

Killing Greedo established Han as a scoundrel and set us up for his redemption (the main theme of Star Wars). Politely waiting for Greedo to shoot first, at risk to his own life, changes him from a dark, edgy character who we can believe will fly away from Yavin and leave the Rebels to their fate to yet another Paragon of Virtue whose "redemption" at the end of ANH is meaningless because there was nothing to redeem--if the man will give a piece of trash like Greedo a chance to shoot first because it would be wrong to kill him without provocation, how are we supposed to believe he'll let Luke die in the Death Star trench?

The other explanation is that Greedo got the drop on him, which is even worse. He's also supposed to be street smart, and we're supposed to believe he's survived as long as he has in a hostile universe because of his wits. What does it say about him, then, if the only reason he didn't get splattered all over the cantina wall was because Greedo was too worthless to hit a man sized target from across a table?

Greedo shooting first is symptomatic of more than just Lucas's hubris, by the way. It's symptomatic of the dumbing down of Star Wars, of the cleansing of shades of gray, of its sanitization, of The Powers That Be at Lucasfilm trying to turn the Star Wars franchise from a morality tale to candy coated moralistic pablum that really began as early as ROTJ. It's true that Star Wars was concieved of as a black-and-white, good vs. evil tale along the lines of traditional fantasy, but traditional fantasy is not and has never been stories of morally perfect characters doing battle against perfectly evil ones.

The great heroes of literature and legend are flawed. So should the heroes of popular mythology. They should make mistakes, they should lose their tempers, they should act selfishly or cruelly at times, and they should act "dishonorably" when the situation or their character development calls for it. Nobody's interested in flawless white knights unless sticking by their moral code creates its own moral dilemmas (which is how the Star Trek: TNG writers tried to get around Roddenberry's idiotic proclaimation that "these people have no faults!"). But apparently, almost 30 years after Lucas created some of the most memorable characters in American popular mythology, he's decided he's unhappy with them acting like regular human beings. With the notable exception of Anakin Skywalker, the characters in the prequels are either shining pillars of virtue or sinister mustache-twirling evil. And while completely rewriting the OT is beyond his technological means, turning Han Solo into a honorable gentleman who only shoots when shot at (or a fool who survived because of Greedo's incompetence and his character shields) is well within his capabilities--damn the character and damn the fans who liked him just fine the way he was.

</rant>

Zac Naloen · Post by **Zac Naloen** » 2004-06-09 02:02pm

McC wrote:
...who we've already seen since Episode I-III, and thus already know about? You mean that Yoda?

And I suppose the fact that Luke and Leia are born as Anakin's children at the end of Episode III completely ruins the revelation in Episode V that Vader's Luke's father, huh?

well if you want to get technical

The point i didn't actually say and not even actually imply in anyway at all was that we see yoda as a senile little guy in empire strikes back, if we see him in ANH we know that he hasn't completely lost it and is just testing luke. Surely it would make more sense for an audience watching empire strikes back to go
"Oh my god the bad ass little guy has completely lost it!! NOW What is Luke gonna do?"

McC · Post by **McC** » 2004-06-09 02:05pm

Zac Naloen wrote:The point i didn't actually say and not even actually imply in anyway at all was that we see yoda as a senile little guy in empire strikes back, if we see him in ANH we know that he hasn't completely lost it and is just testing luke. Surely it would make more sense for an audience watching empire strikes back to go
"Oh my god the bad ass little guy has completely lost it!! NOW What is Luke gonna do?"

The fact that he's still in tune with the Force and can feel the instant and sudden deaths of billions or trillions of people doesn't make him any less senile, you know...

Zac Naloen · Post by **Zac Naloen** » 2004-06-09 02:07pm

McC wrote:
Zac Naloen wrote:The point i didn't actually say and not even actually imply in anyway at all was that we see yoda as a senile little guy in empire strikes back, if we see him in ANH we know that he hasn't completely lost it and is just testing luke. Surely it would make more sense for an audience watching empire strikes back to go
"Oh my god the bad ass little guy has completely lost it!! NOW What is Luke gonna do?"
The fact that he's still in tune with the Force and can feel the instant and sudden deaths of billions or trillions of people doesn't make him any less senile, you know...

Okay, i give up on that point now. :p

I still think its a stupid and unnecessary addition, although it probably won't happen.