CT Changes to the Original Trilogy

So, Han is so badass with poor weak Greedo....but wouldn't step on Jabba's tail?

Now who is destroying Han's credibility as the cool guy?

 

Why would Jabba tolerate Han doing it? Han is in trouble with Jabba as is isn't he? Best smuggler sure but that would seem pretty disrespectful to Jabba. Han is crazy alright. Wouldn't be him if he didn't but I just can't see Jabba letting it go. Maybe he likes bravery but that scene just seems off to me.

 

In the Han Solo trilogy book Rebel Dawn (written shortly after the Special Edition of ANH first came out) the author showed Han as very well liked by Jabba - to the point that when Han complains about the lack of a chair in the room, Jabba invites Han to sit down on him.

EU of course - but the notion that Jabba will put up with stuff from Han he simply won't tolerate from anyone else, might make that scene a little better.

Out of universe, I think the reason was that they'd used an ordinary actor - so they had to have Han walk around Jabba, hence they had to modify the walking-around-scene, and they thought the simplest modification was to have Han step on Jabba as he walks around, instead of cutting away and then cutting back.

 

Yeah a cut would have been so much harder...

 

More that it would have broken the momentum.

 

I just think it's funny.

 

Jabba tolerates it because he likes Han. The fact that ILM could have easily added an annoyed look to Jabba, since they gave him a surprised look, indicates that Jabba could tolerate Han's actions.

 

I don't think it is in Jabba's character to take this type of insult, let alone publicly.

He is a mob boss. He can't have some scumbag walk over him like he is a weakling.

 

I'm sure Lucas didn't give the Jabba scene much thought in 1976. He probably had ideas of the character being a repulsive mob type alien and everything, but it's hard for me to believe he shot that scene with much vision as to how he would modify it later. Hell, to get a sequel made was already a long shot at that point, and judging by the problematic shoot (sandstorms, technical difficulties, delays in SFX, etc.), I'm sure he compromised for money and logistics and quickly shot the scene in an existing set with an actor and that's it. The only thought he must've given to the whole thing is "I'm probably going to cut this scene anyway".

Sure there were intentions on using state of the art technology to "correct" this scene in the 80s for a re-release but that was after the film became succesful.

 

Well, that's the thing. Figuratively, Jabba doesn't which is why he puts the bounty on Han's head. Literally, that's a different matter.

 

HAN SHOT FIRST!

 

They did add an annoyed look to Jabba. In fact, Jabba looks very angry when Han does it and starts to clench his fist as if he wants to punch him, but then he quickly relaxes as Han starts talking about paying Jabba back plus extra. We're all talking about the 2004 version, right? The 1997 version looked pretty bad in general, and Jabba's reaction to having his tail stepped on wasn't very believable. The DVD updates were a massive improvement.

edit: Addressing the earlier discussion: To my eye, 2004 Jabba seems to have the same size and proportions as RotJ Jabba. Any differences between the two in that regard (if they exist) must be negligible.

 

As someone who loves the restored Jabba scene, I can say that he appears significantly darker in ANH than in ROTJ. A good part of his skin (mostly his sides and back) is a dark brown in ANH, where it's a darker green tone in ROTJ

 

Looks dark green to me? If anything, he's brighter than he is in RotJ, because there's a light patch extending down his belly that I don't think is there in RotJ.

But most of it comes down to different lighting conditions, I think.

 

The 2004 changes to the 1997 changes are indeed improvements (and in the case of Jabba, a significant improvement). I still think the coloring is a bit off, though. The model, as far as I know, is the TPM Jabba but with what appears to be more of a darkened look. I think the 2004 Jabba almost looks a bit too detailed compared to ROTJ Jabba. And again, a bit too dark. But, I'll certainly take that over what they did for the 1997 SE. The biggest thing that bugs me about the scene is his voice. They did a decent job of it for TPM, so I can't help but wonder why they didn't change it for ANH in 2004.

 

Yeah, looking at a bit closer, I'd agree that the coloring is off. Before I thought it was because of the dimmer lighting in the hangar, but really it looks like his belly and face just aren't orange enough. Same goes for his eyes. Odd decisions. I still think the greenish parts of his body are fine, though.

 

He does look different, but the dock is open to the sky, whereas the Palace is windowless. The only other reference left is the Sail Barge, which in spite of the blinds is fairly well dimmed.

Harrison looks fatter and his hair is poofier in Jedi. It's never been a great leap for my imagination to picture a slightly different Jabba.

 

I'd actually speed up the ANH duel or have Vader straight up execute Obi-Wan within seconds. Also, scrap Obi-Wan's appearance in RoTJ; Yoda can explain the history of Jedi Knight Anakin Skywalker to Luke. Was never too keen on these Force ghost scenes.

 

Well, if we're talking about changes we'd make to the originals...I'd edit back in the female Rebel pilots who were cut from RotJ. And I'd re-dub the dialogue of the one female pilot who did make it into the movie with a woman's voice rather than the male one that was dubbed during post-production.

 

Jabba puppet to cgi comparison. Another failure...

 

It's not really a failure. The puppet Jabba is made out of latex and rubber, and used paint that existed in 1982-83. CGI Jabba was designed to emulate the reptilian like skin that the Hutts have and the colors in the 04 DVD were based on what can be done on a computer.

 

Eh, the lighting was different. One's in a dank den of leisure, the other was an open docking bay. I just can't get myself upset over the color being slightly different.

 

The one on the left looks more "solid," it's true. But it's clearly a puppet made of rubber. And it can't move like the CGI Jabba can. There are tradeoffs for both techniques. You've just chosen to ignore the ones that exist for practical effects while exaggerating the ones that exist for digital effects.

 

And therein lies the guts of this discussion. Often times it's not a chosen exaggeration, but rather a case of the flaws which catch a particular eye in the most exaggerated way. The effects that the eye doesn't notice tend to be the ones which are seen as superior. For me, 'solidity' will always trump movement, but for others it's the reverse.