I always thought there was a voice change for Aunt Beru. The original voice seemed more "natural."

Well, there are DVD backup copies of the faces LDs.

Try looking at local pawn shops. I got my Pioneer player for $10. The guy said it had been on the same shelf for ten years, and no one had looked at it since they pawned it.

Well, there are a lot of players that have those features. Personally, I'm impressed with both the price and picture quality of the Pioneer DVL-700:

http://www.oz.net/blam/LaserDisc/DVL-700.htm

(It plays DVDs too...)

The LD picture quality on this unit is *fantastic*. I really have never seen better -- although some of the high-end Pioneer Elite units apparently have improvements.

You can usually find good deals on LD players on eBay... the only issue is the shipping costs, which can be a deal-breaker in some cases. LD players are pretty heavy.

Most people will tell you the best American models were the Pioneer CLD-97 and CLD-99. I recently purchased Pioneer's DVL-919. It's not in the same league as those first two, but it is still available new at a number of online stores:

http://www.pricegrabber.com/search_g...search=dvl-919

The CLD-97 or CLD-99 will probably cost more if it is being sold on Ebay in mint condition. The DVL-919 plays DVDs, has S-video, has a very fast automatic side flip for LDs, has digital audio, and allows you to pause/rewind/fast forward CLV discs.

There are a number of laserdiscs besides Star Wars that are not available on DVD, so I've been busy buying a lot of them off Ebay after I purchased the original trilogy. It's grown into an interesting hobby for me in addition to collecting DVDs.

Really? I thought all major DVD copies were from the Definitive.

I have seen the DVD 'backups' of the faces LD and pretty much convinced myself that if I bought them then I could use SVHS outs from the player to surpass the quailty presented.

There was a page at originaltrilogy.com that posted some screen caps or varipus 'backups', and they a good attmept but were less than impressive. I sure hope these discs I picked up off ebay sure kick ass.

Is Ebay the only place to pick up the 97 and 99? What other LD ar eworth grabbing? I figure Jaws for the 2 hour documentary and maybe a few disney titles (Song of the South?).

-T

I am very sorry to report that the lack of an original trilogy DVD has forced me to resort to the bootleg market. Laserdiscs prices, not surprisingly, are soaring, and you can now expect to pay $150 and up for a set of "Faces" or "Definitive Collection" discs. I'm hoping to save some $ buying a bootleg DVDr instead. I really just want to watch the movies, don't care if I have the source LDs.

This is really, really a sad state of affairs that Mr. Lucas has left us in with his refusal to make the original films available. I absolutely cannot tolerate watching the souped up, CGI-laced versions that were just released.

If I can't afford that BMW that I want, should I resort to the black market and have someone steal it for me from someone else who can? Can't pay the price, perhaps you shouldn't try to own it.

Don't blame Mr. Lucas for forcing you to buy a bootleg. He doesn't have a gun to your head and you sure as hell have a choice.

Lucas is absolutely responsible for the blackmarket prices. He could easily release the original versions, but since he won't the law of supply and demand kicks in...and there is a big demand for the originals. I don't want to pay $150 for the LDs, so it's off to the bootleggers I go.

Some of my favorites include the theatrical versions of Close Encounters of the Third Kind, Last of the Mohicans, and Bladerunner. (Only director's cuts are available on DVD.) There's also some highly desired films only available on laserdisc like the Godfather Trilogy (which is all three films reedited chronologically into one movie) and Robinson Crusoe on Mars. The longer European cut of One Million Years B.C.

I could go on, and on.

You can check this thread on movies not yet released on DVD:

http://www.dvdtalk.com/forum/showthr...=silver+streak

Chances are, it is already on laserdisc. You can verify it by checking LDDB.com which has the best database anywhere on all known laserdiscs.

And abbatazappa - I felt the exact same way. But since there were plenty of other movies on LD I was interested in owning, I decided to opt for buying a laserdisc player instead. I surely wouldn't recommend it, however, for just three movies.

Watching the original versions....the last time I watched the trilogy in one sitting was the VHS SE '97 release. At that time, I remember reacting to every little new thing..."that wasn't there before"..."what happened to..." etc. Viewing the original theatrical cuts today, however, was like visiting an old friend. I actually enjoyed the films much more than the SE versions, mainly because I was not distracted by all the changes. I simply watched the films and was drawn into the Star Wars universe, circa 1977, all over again. After the final Ewok drum song, and Sebastian Shaw's ghost faded, all was good. I did not hate George Lucas.

I think which version you prefer comes down to when you saw the films for the first time. For those of us who saw them in their original theatrical runs, I think a sentimental attachment will always remain for those versions. I am sure I will eventually watch the '04 DVD versions (when I find them used in six months or a year from now)...but it is a real shame that the original versions have been disowned by Lucas.

Careful Zappa, we aren't allowed to discuss the quality of bootlegs here, for some reason. Just a heads up.