main
side
curve
  1. In Memory of LAJ_FETT: Please share your remembrances and condolences HERE

CT This is an outrage [now that I'm experiencing it too]

Discussion in 'Classic Trilogy' started by Star Wars age 9, Dec 4, 2012.

  1. Star Wars age 9

    Star Wars age 9 Jedi Padawan star 1

    Registered:
    Nov 29, 2012
    I read all the complaints years ago about the 2004 bonus discs that weren't Anamorph... anamamor... a-morph. Something. Anamorphic. Had no idea what people were on about :D

    They looked fine on my old 3:4 telly. Quite happy to watch them and forget the SE discs/coasters.

    Well, recently my wife and I entered the 21st century and bough a modern telly. I was really looking forward to watching the DVD of Ep.4 when I had the night to myself.

    OH - MY - EFFING - GOD. What the hell is this?

    The picture was either a wee little letterbox strip in the middle of the screen - like watching a movie on a website or something - or stretched full width and squashed vertically so the actors looked like Wiley Coyote after having an anvil dropped on him. So this is what they've all been complaining about for years!

    I ended up having to look at the Special Editions instead - and felt absolutely cheated.

    You know, someone should start a petition or something... :b
     
  2. Darth_Nub

    Darth_Nub Manager Emeritus star 5 VIP - Former Mod/RSA

    Registered:
    Apr 26, 2009
    OK, for a start, it's 4:3, not 3:4.

    It is possible to watch it full screen in the correct aspect ratio by using the 'zoom' function on your TV, rather than 'full screen'.

    Problem there, however, is that you're enlarging the picture, and the poor quality of it becomes even more apparent - that's what everyone's complaining about. It's like watching a VHS tape, because the master tapes that these DVDs were made from were created back in the early 1990s - for VHS & laserdisc, not DVD or Blu-Ray, which didn't exist yet.

    Don't get me wrong, I can't stand the ridiculous demands that AV nerds make about the latest releases, when 9 out of ten people can't tell the difference, let alone care (check out the old Blu-Ray thread on the Saga forum and cringe) - but the supposed OOT released in 2004 was far below what was expected of a DVD release, and it's even worse now, with everyone upgrading their televisions to HD.

    Zero effort was put into that release that GL claims was giving all the old-schoolers what they were after. Not good enough, not even close. TBH, he shouldn't have even bothered, it comes across as a bit of an insult.
     
  3. Lars_Muul

    Lars_Muul Jedi Grand Master star 6

    Registered:
    Oct 2, 2000
    I still don't understand why people complain. There are fan restorations in HD out there. Watch those!





    "I don't understand"
    /LM
     
  4. Poor Greedo

    Poor Greedo Jedi Master star 2

    Registered:
    Nov 6, 2012
    w/e dude its still STAR WARS ;)
     
    Jarren_Lee-Saber likes this.
  5. Cantina Bassist

    Cantina Bassist Jedi Knight star 2

    Registered:
    Nov 5, 2012
    That doesn't automatically make everything awesome. That only gives it the potential to be awesome.
     
  6. Star Wars age 9

    Star Wars age 9 Jedi Padawan star 1

    Registered:
    Nov 29, 2012
    I was indeed tempted to ask where I could get a good quality 'original' version online... :)

    But didn't think that'd be cocher - here.
     
  7. DarthBoba

    DarthBoba Manager Emeritus star 9 VIP - Former Mod/RSA

    Registered:
    Jun 29, 2000
    Not so much, no. :p
     
  8. Heero_Yuy

    Heero_Yuy Jedi Grand Master star 4

    Registered:
    Nov 28, 2000
    Believe me I do. It's just a shame that Lucas forces his fans to resort to that.
     
  9. Lars_Muul

    Lars_Muul Jedi Grand Master star 6

    Registered:
    Oct 2, 2000
    I can understand that feeling, of course - even though I understand and support GL's stance, too.





    "Good is a point of view, Anakin
    /LM
     
  10. Star Wars age 9

    Star Wars age 9 Jedi Padawan star 1

    Registered:
    Nov 29, 2012
    Well, hopefully Disney can talk Fox into releasing an OOT - of sorts. I mean the work has largely been done anyway.
    John
     
  11. Blur

    Blur Jedi Grand Master star 4

    Registered:
    Aug 11, 1999
    Yes, if you watch the 2006 OOT Bonus DVD's on a widescreen TV/Monitor, the non-anamorphic aspect of the films are painfully apparent; as you said, the film is a small rectangular image in the middle of a larger screen - extremely sub-par.

    Back in the '90's when I first saw the widescreen laser disks of the OOT (I believe the 2006 DVD prints were ripped from these laser disks), it was on a regular cathode ray tube TV and there were only black lines on the top & bottom of the screen. That being said, even at the time I knew there was something off with the prints: for example, I specifically remember that in the throne room celebration scene in ANH, the right side of the screen was obviously cropped...
     
  12. Deputy Rick Grimes

    Deputy Rick Grimes Jedi Grand Master star 6

    Registered:
    Sep 3, 2012
    Maybe it's ur TV bro :p
     
  13. Darth_Nub

    Darth_Nub Manager Emeritus star 5 VIP - Former Mod/RSA

    Registered:
    Apr 26, 2009
    You have to wonder what sort of condition the scenes that are no longer included are in, though. If you look at the Luke/Biggs reunion in the deleted scenes of the Blu-Ray set, there's a filthy rough splice where they added someone walking past to mask cutting out Red Leader's line about Luke's father for the 1997 SE. Who knows what's happened to all the original space scenes that were replaced with CGI?

    It's not as easy as just striking a bunch of Blu-Rays from some pristine copy of the OOT that LFL has sitting on a shelf.
     
    TreborSabreon likes this.
  14. Bobatron

    Bobatron Jedi Master star 4

    Registered:
    Sep 3, 2012
    I experienced this when I got an HDTV two years ago. Before that, after viewing the movies on my 27" tube TV, I thought all the complaints I'd read about the "Bonus Discs" were exaggerated. Use your TV's zoom feature if it has one. Mine zooms without cutting anything off. Still, the colors and definition leave something to be desired, so I switch the discs while watching the films. Much of the TESB and ROTJ altered versions are unmolested, so for example, with ROTJ, I will switch from the original version to the newer version after the Tatooine sequence and watch it all the way until the Death Star explodes, then switch back to the original version for the original ending.
     
  15. Star Wars age 9

    Star Wars age 9 Jedi Padawan star 1

    Registered:
    Nov 29, 2012
    I suppose if we knew how, we could easily edit together our preferred version.
     
  16. Jarren_Lee-Saber

    Jarren_Lee-Saber Jedi Grand Master star 4

    Registered:
    Apr 16, 2008
    LOL I find it hilarious that you guys are talking about the unedited OOT DVD releases as "sub-par". Well duh! The OOT IS sub-par! You're asking for Lucas to make something spectacular out of something relatively terrible. You want good OT? Watch the new Blu-ray SE!!

    Those 2004 DVDs were exactly what you deserved!
     
  17. Darth_Nub

    Darth_Nub Manager Emeritus star 5 VIP - Former Mod/RSA

    Registered:
    Apr 26, 2009
    "Relatively terrible"? What the hell does that even mean? Relative to what?

    As for it being 'sub-par' - that's just downright idiotic. The film was released in 1977. It was well above par & blew the world away, hence its annihilation of every box-office record in history, the collection of a heap of Academy Awards, and the launch of a devoted fan culture which remains healthy thirty-five years later.

    You might as well call Nosferatu, Metropolis and Georges Melies' A Trip to the Moon 'sub-par' for not including sound, full colour or 3-D. How about slagging off The Seven Samuari for not being in English while you're at it?

    Unbelievable.
     
  18. Bazinga'd

    Bazinga'd Saga / WNU Manager - Knights of LAJ star 7 Staff Member Manager

    Registered:
    Nov 1, 2012
    Which begs this perhaps stupid question, do different DVD utilize different aspect rations in differnt regions?
     
  19. Star Wars age 9

    Star Wars age 9 Jedi Padawan star 1

    Registered:
    Nov 29, 2012
    I don't know about that. I watched the OOT on Betamax around 1999 and it was great. If it was the OOT, that is.

    I've watched Metropolis many times - much of it is in shreds with missing scenes - and it's still brilliant.
     
  20. Star Wars age 9

    Star Wars age 9 Jedi Padawan star 1

    Registered:
    Nov 29, 2012
    It's 3:4 if you're watching it lying on your side in hospital with only 9 days to live.
     
  21. Jarren_Lee-Saber

    Jarren_Lee-Saber Jedi Grand Master star 4

    Registered:
    Apr 16, 2008
    What was "groundbreaking" in 1977 is a joke today. I was wondering how the OT managed to remain so high quality and relatively (it still has some glaring graphical errors, and the claymation & puppetry are still cringe worthy) high tech today - and then I saw the OOT! Then I realized that actually it hadn't aged well at ALL, but that George Lucus in his intelligent brain brought it up to at least late 80s/early 90s level with his SE and further changes afterwards. And that is why you can still show them to new generations without them laughing at you (which they will do if you show them Tron or the original Alien or a myriad of 70s & 80s sci-fi).

    Sigh, the usual way those unwilling to change and upgrade make mountains out of molehills - nobody is even talking about 3D. I haven't seen A Trip to the Moon, but I'm guessing that just like the awful Nosferatu (and to a lesser degree Metropolis), It probably has not aged well! The silly thing is that you want technological upgrade (the OOT in HD blu-ray) but then slam other technological upgrades like "color" and "realistic CGI". *facepalm so hard!*

    Now you're REALLY going bonkers! Since when does the language affect the quality of the film? Unbelievable!
     
  22. Darth_Nub

    Darth_Nub Manager Emeritus star 5 VIP - Former Mod/RSA

    Registered:
    Apr 26, 2009
    Wow. Just wow.
     
    Star Wars age 9 likes this.
  23. DarthButt

    DarthButt Manager Emeritus star 5 VIP - Former Mod/RSA

    Registered:
    Jun 11, 2003
    Ugh. I modded this forum during that time, and it was a nightmare with this discussion. I do see the points that they had about feeling cheated. However, at the time, most people hadn't transitioned to HD TV's yet, so the biggest complaints were from the OOT (the OOT ackronym was invented just for this very discussion lol. ORIGINAL Original Trilogy... really?) guys seemed to be from CT purists which hated the SE's more than anything else, and used this as a platform to get into the CT vs. SE debate one more time, and wanted vendication because Lucas "raped their childhood" with the SE's lol.

    Again I do see this as somewhat of an issue that LucasFilm should just put to bed already. They've made their point with the SE's, and with the ST coming out... why not? Star Wars will live on, regardless.

    But then I can also see it as something like "That 70's Show" did. They purposely never went to 16:9 aspect ratio because back in the 70's, there was no such thing. Back in the 70's and early 80's, there was no such thing as high definition television, and if you want to get snooty about it, this is as hi-def as it gets and still being true to the time.

    They look perfectly fantastic on classic tube television. ;)
     
  24. _Catherine_

    _Catherine_ Jedi Grand Master star 4

    Registered:
    Jun 16, 2007
    Exactly, it doesn't suck because it's in Japanese, it just sucks because it doesn't fit the style and sensibilities of the current decade. Why would Wes Anderson make Fantastic Mr. Fox with those horrible stop-motion puppets when he could have just done the whole thing in CGI? Unbelievable!

    Pretty sure the version people saw in theaters were higher quality than the DVD releases. Unless no movie should ever be made available in better quality than that of its original home video release?
     
  25. DarthButt

    DarthButt Manager Emeritus star 5 VIP - Former Mod/RSA

    Registered:
    Jun 11, 2003
    That's not what I'm saying. What I'm saying is that it is the best of what they had at the time for home veiwing.