rgray_69

Why don't people wait untill they see the finished product before they complain about it. All these comments suggesting that it won't look any better than an old vhs tape are not true. A letterbox film looks way better on Laser disc than on VHS. When they convert the laserdisc MASTER to DVD it will benefit from the higher resolution of the DVD. So you should end up with a better version of the Laserdisc.

Terrell

Star Wars on TV is the absolute worst idea ever. Star Wars does not belong on TV. But Lucas can't let it go. He's trapped by it like a crack addict. Lucas will never be able to let this franchise ride off into the sunset. He should have put a 10 year moratorium on everything Star Wars after ROTS.

Giles

it's just the notion or idea that Lucas in all his infinite wisdom, decides that with the majority of widescreen tv/monitor's on the market, the original films shouldn't make use of anamorphic capabilities or the screen size for that matters.

Paul Arnette

But, but, but, I'm going to make independent films. I'm going to make Red Tails. Blah, blah, blah. All he's going to do is continue to drive Star Wars and soon Indiana Jones into the ground.

djtoell

They will be from the same master as the LDs, but will not be literally sourced directly from the LDs. None of the problems you mention will be present.

DJ

Terrell

Well, he is currently in the middle of the Red Tails story, and is about to pass it on to a screenwriter. We'll see what happens. Personally, I'd like to see him go back to THX1138 and American Graffiti style of filmmaking.

Egon's Ghost

Or he should have let Star Wars end with Jedi. I really see no reason for the prequels to the exist. They have absolutely nothing to contribute to human culture.

Franky, I hope he doesn't direct and write again. He's shite at it.

milo bloom

I hear this argument so much, but I just can't buy into it. These items are not sold at cost, there is profit made. Lucas has taken his share of the profit and created an independent studio for himself, so as not to be beholden to any studio*. Yes we got to see our movie, read our novel and watch our movie, but people have to know that money is not spent in a vacuum. Haven't you ever heard of people boycotting certain companies because they don't like their social practices? They realize that their money just doesn't go to make that product, but that somebody gets a paycheck from that and they do things with that money like support certain political parties and whatnot.
I don't understand why people can't see the other side of that coin; we may not have a legal right to stand outside the Ranch with a receipt demanding free DVDs, but I don't think it's too crazy to ask that George consider the fans for just a moment. We are saying, "please let us give you money for a quality product" and we're being told to piss off. Does that not sound crazy to anyone else?


*speaking of studios, I'll bet Fox is might pissed right now. They'd have no issues about paying for new transfers and selling these as a separate set.

milo bloom

Actually, laserdiscs were capable of having chapter stops.


Though the bitter, cynical fanboy in me would die laughing if LFL did exactly that and sourced these from a set of LDs just laying around the ranch. Would serve anybody right for not protesting this shoddy treatment, IMHO.

Fok

I think Lucas has to be raped, then he'll realise that we need decent DVD releases

Giles

I am surprised that Spielberg has the bigger balls here, and had the decency and common sense to release the original unaltered E.T on DVD, but his friend Lucas, give us fans the royal runaround - what a greedy thankless putz.

djtoell

Right; like I said, none of those problems would be present.

DJ

mythmaker18

Although I'm with the majority of folks here who think he shoud've gone anamorphic, I'm just curious about the above comment you made.

I think you'll likely find that the MAJORITY of Americans are still using square TVs, due to the ultra-high prices on the wide-boys. That's certainly kept me from buying one. Most Americans (i.e. non-cinephiles) tend to keep their TV until it either a). wears out or b). until the "nicer "models break through the "enthusiast" price barrier and start retailing at a "sell-through" price. And if the prices don't drop before the government makes good on its "HD signals only" mandate, I'd say a large percentage of people are going to be getting those little adapter boxes to receive/convert the HD signals on their old TVs.

I don't think high def televisions have reached a price point that most consumers are willing to pay for just yet.

Still doesn't mean that Lucas shouldn't have went anamorphic, though. Most people will eventually be buying HD sets and will probably have some sort of player to view their legacy "standard def" DVDs on.

digitalfreaknyc

What's "ultra-high" in your world?

Rogue588

I'm sure he's not going to want to buy a low end (read: Panaphonics, Magnetbox or Sorny). Personally...though they have come down in price, $2000 upwards (for the something that's good quality) is a lil too pricey. Heck, i'm not sure I could (or would want to do) $1000 for a TV. Though, that's what I paid for my last one (which retailed for $2000, but I was able to knock off a grand thanks to the fine folks here).

Unless it has cup holders..

digitalfreaknyc

Sorry...mine is Toshiba and looks great to me. That was about $1300.

CKMorpheus

I'm not a Star Wars fan nor was I planning on buying these anyway, but even I'M irked at this announcement. I mean come on, from what I understand the process of making original prints anamorphic is just a check of a box in the program that telecine's it. No one's asking Lucas to clean up the print and get rid of every single nick and scratch and hair, but come on, how much effort would it have been?

Egon's Ghost

Exactly, and Fox has treated most of their catalog very well (French Connection comes to mind). Lucas is a perfect example of why I'm thankful that almost all films remain in the hands of a studio or company. There are many rights holders that do more harm than good, of course. The majors, with exceptions like MGM (which isn't a studio, just a brand, and the story of that back catalog is too labyrinthine), and sure, Universal has given many films shoddy treatment, but usually if studios/publishers let a director muck about with a film they'll still have the original cinema cut available. Exceptions being some Michael Mann films (a sore point for me). As someone posted above, Spielberg's E.T. was released with old and new versions. Most people would agree that that was wise. Perhaps Universal wouldn't allow only his new futzed-with version. Also, I seem to remember Spielberg saying in interviews that people could always have the original. I'm glad he had that much sense. Now what about the original Nov. 1977 cut of Close Encounters...

Terrell

But Spielberg doesn't own those films. However, I doubt the releases would have been any different if he did.

Of course you have the right to boycott Lucas' films and his DVDs. You have a right to boycott everything he does from here on out. That doesn't mean he owes fans anything simply because they spent money on his products, nor more than it means Bill Gates owe us a particular OS simply because we bought his products before. Simply being a consumer of something does not mean you are owed anything from it's creator.

That's not the same thing as saying Lucas owes us. Lucas should try and please fans, while also trying to please himself as well. But that's not a right, they Star Wars fans seem to think they're owed.

Josh-da-man

I have to disagree here.

I believe that television, in the past few years, has been producing material that far superior to what the cinema is offering.

"Battlestar Galactica," "Lost," "Nip/Tuck," "Deadwood," and "Carnivale," are far superior to 99% of what passes for big budget movies these days. Television is now emerging as a serious storytelling medium while film has been turning into spectacle with little substance.

I would welcome "Star Wars" on television as long as its done right.

eddiemunster

That's a really good point. It would be cool to have the original version of Close Encounters on DVD, but Spielberg's definitive cut is quite good and doesn't really take anything away from the original version or have any unnecessary changes. I would say that this is probably the version of choice for most Close Encounters fans, myself included. On the other hand, there are a good number of Star Wars fans (again, myself included) that feel like the 1997 and 2004 releases took something away from the experience of the films and changed them for the worse. If the changes Lucas made had been kept to a minimum and been limited only to what was necessary, I don't think there would be as much of a fervor or demand for the original versions to be released. That's just a comment on the demand and fan reactions, not the ethics of film preservation. I'm a total believer in preserving history, so regardless of the quaility I think the original cuts should be saved. And I would love to have the original cut of Close Encounters on DVD. Maybe one day it will be re-released with the original cut included as a bonus feature.

Lt Ripley

True, but it sure would be nice for him to say a simple "thanks", and do the right thing with this release

Lt Ripley

Quit shoping in Beverly Hills. I bought a Pioneer Elite HD530 (53") about 3 years ago for $1,700 plus tax. That was from an Electronics express. Sure I haggled with the guy for a while, but still. I have people who come over who have new DLP sets that say my Elite's picture quality is better than on their new DLP sets.

emhello

What's wrong with Beverly Hills? We do the majority of our shopping there.

Lt Ripley

You mean with the big bully robot, and the stupid jawa falling off of his dinosaur. I agree totally. It is like Suckass wanted to make the movie more child friendly. Those additions were not needed at all. A couple of years ago, I was babysitting my friends' son, Tyler, and I was watching my laserdisc version of Star Wars (unaltered). Now this kid was only two and a half years old. He never stopped moving, quite a pain in the neck. He came in from playing in the back yard (it is fenced in and I could monitor him through the window), walked into the middle of the room and froze. It was during the cantina scene when he walked in. He NEVER moved. He stood in the same spot until the movie was over. I don't think he ever blinked. I had the biggest grin on my face watching him. When the movie was over, he turned to me and said "agin" (His version of again). I just laughed and put on Empire. His father showed up about half way through Empire and wanted to leave. No way that was happening, Tyler started screaming when his dad said it was time to go. The next time he came over he watched all three of them in a row.
I guess what I am saying is, kids LOVED Star Wars before the retarded Romper Room edits Suckass made to them.