I wonder how long it will be before someone complains that, 'I grew up watching those P&S Video tapes, and that's how I want the originals, but on DVD....'

Considering all the aspects of this to complain about, this one's inevitable:D

Which reminds me ... let's all be glad, at least that this isn't a Universal DVD-18 flipper release.

Or would it be too early to complain about that if that were what they were doing?

Or he'll just release the movies with shitty transfers and then release remastered versions 2 years down the road once he sells as many of these as he can.

Wow,i actually was ignoring this thread since i figured it was a pile of crap but im very suprised in reading that the original movies that i saw in the theatre as a kid will finally be on dvd.This is indeed good news and now i can finally toss my VHS set out,now if i could just get the same deal for Bladerunner i could then be videotape free ;)

yeah i hate those black bars!!!!!

Can anyone confirm there was a glitch in the sound for the Star Wars SE.

Yeah, but most of that stuff is fairly minor, compared to a big (as was described recently) "tentpole release". Lucasland has a history of putting out a major product each Fall/Christmas, which gets a huge push at retail, and which everything else kind of supports:

Fall 2006: Original Trilogy DVD (Lego Star Wars II)
Fall 2005: Episode III DVD (Clone Wars V2 DVD, Battlefront II, Trilogy DVD rerelease)
Fall 2004: 2004 Trilogy DVD
Fall 2002: Episode II DVD
Fall 2001: Episode I DVD
Fall 2000: SE Trilogy VHS rerelease
Fall 1997: SE Trilogy VHS
Fall 1996: Shadows of the Empire N64 game
Fall 1995: THX/Faces VHS

I'm curious to see what they've got scheduled for the next couple of years. One would have to assume that at least some new re-release of Phantom Menace is on the way (with the new CGI Yoda and all)--and there's got to be some sort of six-film, saga collection scheduled at some point. (And man, if people are pissed about the recent news, could you imagine how pissed everybody would be if, instead of individual releases, he put them out as part of a "complete saga" box only?)

People who would consider $17.98 too high haven't new DVD releases lately.

Over at DDD:
Family Stone: $18.18
Last Holiday: $19.95
Hoodwinked: $18.18
Bachelor Party Vegas: $18.36

...and the list goes on.

Don't want the included SE disc? Throw it away. Give it away. Even at $17.98 (or $18.18) for a single disc of the original theatrical releases is worth it.


Do you have a link to an exact quote where he said that the original theatrical cuts no longer exist?

The people complaining about "using a laserdisc transfer" are not trying to be "helpful" by trying to prevent that from actually happening. They are using it as a club. They're using it to back away from their claim that if Lucas would just release the OT, then they'd be happy. Well... they lied. None of the people complaining about this release of the OT ever mentioned and stipulations for buying it. They just said that they would.

How ironic that those calling Lucas a liar are themselves being less than truthful.

Here's what I'm gunna do:
Gladly place the new Original Trilogy next to my other Star Wars DVDs.

Then I'll have the entire 6 part series that Lucas wanted and THE Star Wars Trilogy right next to it. And I'll be proud to own both. :D

I'll throw out a Thank You to George. Thanks for giving me some viewing pleasure for all these many years, thank you for providing me with both your favorite version and mine on DVD. :beer2:

let me be the first to say... George Lucas raped my childhood!!

Exactly. I'm gonna wait to see what exactly gets released before I decide what to do. Yes, I own the SE's.

And people bitching about him going back on his word? Well, I'm GLAD he did. Estatic, actually :D

I'm not so sure. Lucas has been so adamant for nearly ten years that the original OT would never again see the light of day.

I agree it's a bit of a money grab in the way they are forcing some people to buy the SEs again. However, I really believe that Lucas reached his breaking point and couldn't stand hearing screaming and complaining for these anymore. I don't think he's necessarily doing it out of nobility or as a thank you to his fans. I think the most die-hard film purists who wanted this finally won a very long battle of determination with him! The internet is full of people who defended Lucas for years, but those people need to acknowledge that our griping and whining since 1997 finally paid off.

So by releasing the OT on DVD, he's not making the fans happy? Okay!

:lol: Except many of these same people are still griping and whining. So it didn't stop the whining. As for the whining paying off, I'm more inclined to believe Lucas was talked into by Ward, and realized he'd make a ton of money, which I see nothing wrong with. Knowing Lucas, he'll use the money to help fund the TV series.

George Lucas should be charged with 1st degree rape!

He said there was no plan to release it, and even if he did say never, people can change their mind. Star Wars has been on DVD twice now while we are already on 3 and 4 releases for films that didn't deserve one. Its funny, when he releases something he's greedy, and when he doesn't he's a prick. Star Wars fans have it made, we get lots of cool stuff and you don't have to buy it. Lucas could have released this many more times and hasn't, so all of you who say its money grab, your arguement just doesn't have anything to back it up.

You can fill in Indiana Jones Widescreen VHS boxset for Fall 1999 and Indiana Jones DVD box set for 2003.

For the life of me I can't think of what they might have had going on in 1998. Maybe Rogue Leader for N64?

I expect we'll get the Young Indy DVD's either the fall before or the fall after Indy 4 comes out.

Good call. I was thinking more on a SW-only basis, but yeah, those Indy sets were definitely big deals from Lucasland when they came out.

Yeah, that's the only real thing I can think of, too. There was the Episode I teaser which came out, which obviously didn't make any money for them, but did hype the new film quite a bit. And Hasbro made a pretty big push for the Episode I tie-ins, too, wish the Flashback POTF2 figs, the Sneak Preview STAP, and the mail-away Sneak Preview Mace Windu. But those were relatively minor things compared to the marketing blitzes that some of the bigger video releases have gotten.

Huge fan, but I couldn't care less about this.

Anybody who is bitching about the $29.99 retail price tag just because it includes a 2nd disc they don't want, must never buy stuff like foriegn films or anime, where $30 retail for a single disc is quite common.

Holly Hell -- can we stop?

He doesn't release them, and he's a greedy bastard. He does release them, and he's a greedy bastard.

He says they're never coming out, and people call for his head. He relents and puts them out, and people call for his head.

Un-be-fucking-leav-able.


Here's a news flash -- EVERY FUCKING DVD EVER RELEASED was (in one way or another) put out for... wait for it... greed. Otherwise, they'd give them away. That doesn't make Lucas unique.

Wonder if he'll include a rebate with a proof of purchase from the 1994 set. Would that make everyone happy?

bonus material?
 

Has anyone heard if there will be the bonus features that were in the 2004 box set? In other words - is it safe to get rid of the 2004 box set?

Great news. Not because I give a fuck about SE vs. non-SE, but because I'll be able to get one of the trillion used boxed sets that you people are planning to dump for like, 9 bucks. Glad I never got around to picking it up.

-JP

Ok, seriously...no one saw this coming? I see a lot of posts on here that make this sound like it's beyond logical reasoning that Lucas would take another shot at making more money off the same three movies. I'm just as big of a fan as the next guy (probably more so), but I can't say that this is really a shocking move here. The man is a genius in the simple fact that he already suckered me into buying the same movies three times on VHS and he's about to do it all over again with DVD. Next will be the HD-DVD. Then it will be whatever follows that. Everyone buying the boxed set had to know that he would release two-disc SE's somewhere down the line. Here's another shocker...ready?...he'll do something different for the 30th anniversary of ANH next year. Call me psychic, but does anyone think he'll pass on the opportunity to make even more money with a milestone like that? Hmm, four-disc Collector's Edition? And you know what? I'll have to have that, too, just because I've fallen for all the other tricks so far. I think if anyone wanted to capitalize off of this they should start a support group for Star Wars Anonymous. My wife would have an intervention the moment that started.

So, based on your opinion, everybody should stop complaining? Gotcha.

The wording varies ... here's a link where he says these are the only versions, the theatricals will only be on VHS, and that he doesn't actually care what fans say so they might as well get used to it...
http://www.movieweb.com/dvd/news/32/5232.php

I don't see how you could read an interview like that -- basically repeated anywhere and everywhere he gave an interview to -- and not think "Gee, people who bought this DVD thinking that he would never release it again are getting kinda suckered into buying it twice."

You seem to have a bizarrely agressive interpretation of these attacks on Lucas. I didn't realize it was such a complex conspiracy.

What's funny is, you think that people are lying ... because they're not actually 'Star Wars' fans, even though they want proper releases of the original 'Star Wars' ... so they're making up complaints to have about the release not because they could be potentially legitimate complaints, but *only* because it's George Lucas.

I'm sensing a bit of a persecution complex coming from you, and it creeps me out a little bit.

Your post is making me sad. You just keep going "but you said! You said!" I don't know where people said these things, but let me ask you something ...

Did people generally stipulate "widescreen"? If he were releasing it fullscreen only, would you be saying "You said! You said!" Or would you then think people have a point? Do you have a sliding scale, or is it just whatever Lucas puts out, you'll gobble up and anybody who suggests that maybe Mr. Lucas might be making a mistake is met with instant hostility?

I also think it's amazing the things you accuse people of lying about and for ... were you the one who also said that everybody who said they hadn't bought the SE trilogy was lying?