Shannon Nutt

Consdiering the sound glitches on the A NEW HOPE DVD, does anyone else find the timing of this quite ironic?!

http://news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=stor...es_via_lucas_1

Neil S. Bulk

That's a disgrace.

Neil

Terrell

Yeah, we all know Lucas doesn't deserve this award nor the AFI award. Moving along. Nothing to see here.

Fok

Even though Lucas has fucked up star wars (Jar Jar still gets to me today), you gotta give the guy credit for bringing it to life in the first place.

Green Jello

When people in this forum start questioning Lucas' acheivements and contributions to the industry of film sound, it's obvious they have finally lost all reason and common sense.

PatrickMcCart

Yeah, what a disgrace...

The sound design in American Graffiti and the Star Wars films have had absolutely no impact on the way sound is mixed for films... and I know Star Wars, being the first film released with Dolby Stereo, had absolutely no impact on the popularity of stereo sound in movies. Oh yeah, let's not forget how useless THX has been.



I understand the hate for Lucas here, but you'd have to be deaf to not understand how much his films have changed sound design. But I guess minor mistakes in a VIDEO VERSION totally erases his work on the big screen.

Neil S. Bulk

That is no longer the "VIDEO VERSION". That new mix is considered THE mix for "A New Hope" now. The earlier, correct mixes are no longer part of that movie. So that early Dolby Stereo mix (it wasn't the first, since there were tests done before it) conceivably won't be heard anymore on the film.

American Graffiti had a mono mix in 1973, but in 1978 the film was slightly expanded and a new Dolby Stereo mix was made, so I'm not even sure what that original mix sounds like. I've never heard it.

THX 1138 had brilliant sound design, but do we expect any less from Walter Murch? Did the original mono track wind up on the DVD, or just the new mix?

The Phantom Menace was the first official EX release, but A Bugs Life was used as a test for the format.

So while I'm sure Lucas and his company have made many great advancements for sound, Lucas has also made many questionable decisions regarding the sound of his own movies that offsets the developments. That's why I don't think he should qualify for such an award.

Neil

Qui Gon Jim

Your nitpicky fanboyness is blinding you to what is obvious. While you may not like the changes to the trilogy (and believe me, you are in a miniscule minority), to say that Lucas deserves not nod in the arenas of sound or SFX is just unadulterated trolling. MOVE THE FUCK ON.

Neil S. Bulk

Thanks for the well informed rebuttal and convincing argument.

Neil

Shannon Nutt

It's funny how some posters jump to conclusions. I have been a long time Lucas SUPPORTER in these forums...I was mearly bringing it up because I thought the TIMING of the award was ironic considering all the hub-bub over the sound issues of the DVD set.

Qui Gon Jim

I would say that that comment could be directed at EVERY SINGLE SOLITARY post you have made on the topic of Star Wars.

Edited to add: Shannon, my comments were not really directed towards you. I do agree that with the technical snafus happening with the audio mix on the DVDs, this is an oddly timed announcement. However, the fact that there is a technical glitch on the DVD does not erase 25 years of the legacy that GL has brought forward. But I don't think that's what you were saying, anyway.

Neil S. Bulk

Now that's funny. For instance I said that Star Wars was not the first Dolby Stereo film. Lisztomania was in 1975. You said I was trolling. Interesting. I clearly don't know what I'm talking about and am just trying to start arguments amongst all of you. Or could it be I do know what I'm talking about and YOU just don't like what I have to say?

And I still think, depsite all of the developments that Lucas and his companies have made, they have systematically gone against all of the original goals. The current sound on "A New Hope" is a joke. The THX program for home video is a joke. Remember the first Highlander DVD or the initial Stargate laserdisc? Not catching the music error in the surrounds is just another mistake to add to the list. THX certified computer speakers? Am I really to believe they'll reproduce the sound of a dubbing stage?

So please explain to me why Lucas deserves this award, and please see if you can do so without cursing or resorting to the word "fanboy" because it isn't applicable in my instance.

Neil

PatrickMcCart

Ok, so some THX Certified DVD's are lousy. However, for every Highlander, there's Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs, American Graffiti, THX 1138, The Day the Earth Stood Still, Moulin Rouge!, and the Indiana Jones Trilogy.

I mean, Criterion released some really awful DVD's like Seven Samurai, Yojimbo, the Samurai I-III films, but that doesn't mean Criterion isn't invalidated from being a quality label.

Well, despite Lucasfilm saying the audio changes were deliberate, people keep saying they're mistakes. Since I've only heard the Star Wars films in plain stereo on VHS, I'd rather take their word for it. Especially since people like George Lucas and Ben Burtt have better judgement on how the films should sound. Besides, Burtt has supervised every remix.

As for the computer speakers, I don't see why they shouldn't be THX certified if they had better materials, better shielding, better reproduction, etc. Not to mention that a lot of people (like me) who watch a lot of films on a computer. If the computer speakers qualify under the THX Certification guidelines, why not give the seal?

I think that sums it all up.

If we went by how some feel about Lucas...

Then, Charlie Chaplin didn't deserve his 1972 Oscar for Limelight because he cut out a scene. He also didn't deserve his honorary Oscar because he altered The Circus, The Kid, The Gold Rush, Modern Times, and his First National films in terms of sound and editorial decisions after release. After all, it's not like Chaplin deserved it since his creative decisions outweighed his impact on cinema.

Terrell

Give me a break. That's not at all why you don't think he should qualify. We all know he should qualify. Common sense tells us that. You're just a fanboy who is pissed at Lucas because the Star Wars DVDs and the prequels are not exactly what you wanted. I've seen your anti-Lucas antics at HTF. You'd have to be blind to not recognize Lucas' achievements and impact on cinema.

Tell me about it. But this is all you'll get out of Neil when it comes to discussions about Lucas. He also conveniently forgets THX was started to better the sound in theaters, and Lucas' creation of Skywalker Sound has done wonders for film soundtracks and surround mixes.

Next time, maybe the anti-Lucas fanboys ought to actually read the article.

"Org cited Lucas for "consistently innovative and groundbreaking use of sound technology in his films, and for the enormous contributions he has made to advancing the state of sound in the moviegoing experience."


"It is appropriate that the man who gave us 'Star Wars' and THX sound will be the first person to receive the award," the group said in a statement. "Many of our members are where they are because of what he has done for us both artistically and technically."


In 1983, Lucas hired Tomlinson Holman to head a new division of Lucasfilm, named THX in homage to his first film, "THX 1138" and as an acronym for the Tomlinson Holman Experiment. In 1987, Lucas founded Skywalker Sound, which has won 17 Oscars (news - web sites) for sound and sound editing."

Neil S. Bulk

Patrick, thank you for taking the high road and presenting a well thought out perspective, as opposed to throwing around a word like "fanboy".

Neil

The Cow

His post was right on.

And it doesn't take a "well thought out" post to agree that Lucas is deserving. Mr. Obvious was all over this.

Feel free to throw out a more deserving name to argue with, to make this thread worthwhile...

Terrell

Whatever!

Qui Gon Jim

When it comes to this guy,



This says it best.

Dazed

I think its well deserved, Star Wars was groundbreaking for its time (and this is from someone who thinks Lucas has completely lost his mind )

BananaMan

He also set up ILM which help revolutionise the visual fx industry in Hollywood. Lucas may be hated by some but he's given us so much. I think the prequels are OK but not in the same league as the OT. Everyone is entitled to gripe about how bad a movie is or how good it is but it seems many have added a few extra leaves to the tree and used their dislike for the prequels to bash a man (labelling him talentless, a hack etc.) who has practically put things in place that revolutionised the whole theatre experience.

List of things Lucas created:

Pixar (which he later sold)
THX (stellar audio and visual standard)
Skywalker Sound
ILM (say what you want about Weta this company started the whole shebang off)

These are not just greedy corporations. These companies have changed the way we look at movies and the motion picture industry in general.

I take it none of the haters have watched The Empire of Dreams. Everything is explained in great detail.