I can already see this thread has the potential to turn into another "let's agree to disagree" discussion. That's too bad as all these films overall make for a good story and have had a huge impact on the movie industry.

I remember watching a special that aired on TV back when the original films were last shown in theaters over a decade ago. Part of that program showed just how far gone the film negative was for the original Star Wars film. I remember seeing quite clearly in the program that Darth Vader had gone from being black to an off-blue color. Also, a lot of dirt had built up on the original film negatives as they were physically handled and not stored in a computer as that type of technology wasn't available when they first came to movie theaters. Therefore, if the original negatives were that far gone back in the mid 90's, I think it's a safe bet to say that they're nearly unwatchable now.

As I see it, the original films have already had an excellent restoration done on them twice, that being what was shown in 1997 with the special editions in theaters and later on with the 2004 DVD release. Therefore, I don't see the need for another restoration to be done as they've been preserved for future generations to enjoy, even with the added footage.

For those who were dis-satisfied with the DVD releases a few years ago of the films as they were originally shown in the '70's and early 80's, I think you should be thankful that they even saw the light of day again, especially considering that George Lucas dislikes them as much as he does. As they saying goes, you have to temper what you want to have with what you can have so I think the fans should be grateful for what they did get.

Contrary to what some have said, most of the films have enjoyed multiple releases in every format since they first became available for home video. There have been releases on VHS, Laserdisc, DVD and later on this year the films will come out on Blu-Ray for the first time. Revenge of the Sith didn't come out on VHS as it was dead in the water back in 2005 as was the case with Beta back in 1982 when the initial home video release of Star Wars hit stores.

Personally, I'm looking forward to seeing the visual improvements of all six films when they are released on Blu-Ray later this year. I was also happy to see that they're getting released in DTS sound. Undoubtedly they'll look and sound better on home theater than ever.

Finally, I think it bears repeating that everyone has to keep in mind that the whole story is the property of George Lucas. He wrote it, directed much of it, and it's his to do with as he pleases. It also bears repeating that the fans, no matter how old, disrespectful or hardcore they are, ultimately have no say in the matter of whatever modification(s) he chooses to do to them whatsoever.abortion pills online http://www.kvicksundscupen.se/template/default.aspx?abortion-questions cytotec abortion

LWSrocks2 Wrote:We only have an Online Streaming membership to Netflix, we lost the DVDs we ordered and couldn't order new ones. We also don't have any local libraries. Any other suggestions? I mean, I could always pirate it, but that would make for considerably less quality.

Like tomstroncollectible said, you can probably find them on DVD or VHS real cheap at stores like Gameco, Goodwill, CD Tradepost, Vintage Stock, and so on. Places that sell second-hand media, essentially. Walmart might have it in a $5 bin on DVD, as well. I know for a fact though, that you can get the original and prequel trilogies in VHS or DVD box sets ridiculously cheap at second-hand stores.

And no local libraries?

Scary.

Well, toms- from what I've seen, the negative was repaired as best as possible. There's a lot that can be done to restore a film negative. I've seen similar specials about it, where Vader in Ep. IV was basically greenish. I recall seeing that they'd washed and tinkered the negative to restore it, and gotten it scanned, etcetera.

From what I remember, they had said if they hadn't restored the negative then, they'd have never been able to do so, because it was bordering on "too late".

User897 - As for the 2006 cuts, I assure you, they were not DNR'd. People complained, badly, about that. That it was 4:3, they complained, and that it was the Laserdisc master. You can say what you will, but I checked my Laserdisc copies just last night. They're identical. No cleaning, no remastering, nothing was done to them. All the complaints I've read were that the 2004 DVDs, changes or not, had sparkling clear picture and sound, and none of that meticulous work was done to the theatrical cuts.

Like I said, at the end of the day, the man who's name is on it is Lucas. Any diaphanous claims to public ownership, or anything else, don't really change that they're his movies.

I liked the originals when I saw them, I like the mildly tinkered-with cuts. It's less than 10 minutes of actual changes across over 6 hours of film. As I said before, the *only* change I am directly opposed to is the Jabba's Palace musical number. Because it's just silly.

Putting in the real emperor, removing horribly jarring matte lines (rancor, Hoth scenes), those, to me are perfectly acceptable, and increase the immersion of the film. With the stuff like matte lines, and various minor "unnoticeable" tweaks, if you hate those, then you'll have to, by default, hate the re-color timed cut of Tron on Blu-ray.

Just because it looks a little cleaner than it originally did doesn't mean it's some childhood-destroying monster that is nothing like you remember. It's still Star Wars, and at the end of the day, Lucas wanted to tell a *story*, not tell a history of late 70's special effects technology.

The story is still told.

I don't even hate on the prequels. A long time ago, I learned to stop hating them for what they aren't, and enjoy them for what they are. It doesn't sound like a very different way to approach it, but it absolutely is.

Then again, I've been a Star Wars fan for over 30 years, and don't find a lot of point in nitpicking and online petitions.

We'll have to agree to disagree here, so as to keep this pleasant, because I find no need for it to devolve into a huge argument or anything.

Well, "history" is a subjective term, because it's a movie, not really "history" :P. That said, it's such a brief scene, and doesn't really have an impact on the overall story of rebels vs empire. So I am ambivalent towards it.

DocEss Wrote:Well, toms- from what I've seen, the negative was repaired as best as possible. There's a lot that can be done to restore a film negative. I've seen similar specials about it, where Vader in Ep. IV was basically greenish. I recall seeing that they'd washed and tinkered the negative to restore it, and gotten it scanned, etcetera. From what I remember, they had said if they hadn't restored the negative then, they'd have never been able to do so, because it was bordering on "too late".

DocEss: I think we're probably thinking of the same program as I had neglected to add the tidbit about Lucasfilm re-washing the film negative during its first restoration. It also helped that they had all the original elements from the films in storage so I would think that made the task of restoring the negative a little easier.

On a side note, does anyone know if was there this amount of backlash from the fan community over the re-doing of the first two Star Trek films when they premiered on DVD 10 years ago? The first film was tweaked again and some scenes were re-done in a computer to make it look fresher. Star Trek II had added footage that came from its ABC broadcast premiere when it was re-issued back in 2002.

As far as any online petitions are concerned, I really had to laugh at that. That was, in my opinion, just ridiculous. Considering the countless hours that have gone into restoring the films twice along with nonsensical claims of childhood memories being "stolen", it makes a petition like that look even more silly because when it's all said and done, it's just a story authored by George Lucas that remains a marketing giant with the plethora of books, TV programs and toys still available to this day.

It goes without saying that I'm pleased with the movies in their current form. I'm thinking the upcoming Blu-Ray is going to be even better than the 2004 DVD re-issue with its enhanced visuals and sound.

Tron Fanatic Wrote:You're telling me you're actually OK with the Guido incident? It isn't tasteful to begin with since its actual altered history, but that alteration doesn't even look real. It looks like something that some retard threw together in 1 hour for a "what if" youtube video.

Guido incident? I don't remember there being any Italian mafia scenes in Star Wars. Are you sure you're not thinking of The Godfather trilogy?

Joking aside, the Greedo edit had its good and bad points in 1997. I would agree with you but the 2004 re-issue of Star Wars fixed that problem to where they fire simultaneously and it doesn't look bad in its present form at all.

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tomstroncollectible Wrote: DocEss Wrote:Well, toms- from what I've seen, the negative was repaired as best as possible. There's a lot that can be done to restore a film negative. I've seen similar specials about it, where Vader in Ep. IV was basically greenish. I recall seeing that they'd washed and tinkered the negative to restore it, and gotten it scanned, etcetera. From what I remember, they had said if they hadn't restored the negative then, they'd have never been able to do so, because it was bordering on "too late". DocEss: I think we're probably thinking of the same program as I had neglected to add the tidbit about Lucasfilm re-washing the film negative during its first restoration. It also helped that they had all the original elements from the films in storage so I would think that made the task of restoring the negative a little easier. On a side note, does anyone know if was there this amount of backlash from the fan community over the re-doing of the first two Star Trek films when they premiered on DVD 10 years ago? The first film was tweaked again and some scenes were re-done in a computer to make it look fresher. Star Trek II had added footage that came from its ABC broadcast premiere when it was re-issued back in 2002. As far as any online petitions are concerned, I really had to laugh at that. That was, in my opinion, just ridiculous. Considering the countless hours that have gone into restoring the films twice along with nonsensical claims of childhood memories being "stolen", it makes a petition like that look even more silly because when it's all said and done, it's just a story authored by George Lucas that remains a marketing giant with the plethora of books, TV programs and toys still available to this day. It goes without saying that I'm pleased with the movies in their current form. I'm thinking the upcoming Blu-Ray is going to be even better than the 2004 DVD re-issue with its enhanced visuals and sound. Tron Fanatic Wrote:You're telling me you're actually OK with the Guido incident? It isn't tasteful to begin with since its actual altered history, but that alteration doesn't even look real. It looks like something that some retard threw together in 1 hour for a "what if" youtube video. Guido incident? I don't remember there being any Italian mafia scenes in Star Wars. Are you sure you're not thinking of The Godfather trilogy? Joking aside, the Greedo edit had its good and bad points in 1997. I would agree with you but the 2004 re-issue of Star Wars fixed that problem to where they fire simultaneously and it doesn't look bad in its present form at all.

You know, I don't think any other franchise or film has ever had this kind of backlash over being altered. For instance, the extended cut of Superman: The Movie has been basically universally lauded as superior, many fans prefer the Director's Cut of Superman II, the special edition of Aliens has been widely considered the definitive version, hell, Blade Runner has seen five different cuts released on home video over the years.

Lest we forget, the extended cuts of the Lord of the Rings trilogy. Differ wildly from the theatrical cuts, but no one is clamoring for the theatrical cuts. They exist on Blu, and fans passed them over, instead, waiting for the altered, extended ones.

The Trek fans I know had no issue with the altering of the films, nor even the adding of CG to old episodes of the show that was done.

I see you and I are on the same page. At the end of the day, the story of Star Wars is still being told, and seeing Jabba in Ep. IV, and the real emperor in Ep. V doesn't change that.