Indi, IN No original 'classic trilogy' on DVD

When asked about the possible inclusion of the original versions of Star Wars: A New Hope, The Empire Strikes Back, and Return of the Jedi on future DVD releases Lucas said, "I don't think so. I think of the film as the Special Edition, I don't think of it as the early version, any more than I would put early rough cuts on. I could put four or five rough cuts onto the thing and say, 'This is how it advanced.' I consider the Special Edition as being the final version at this point. I don't even worry about the other ones, because it went through a lot of incarnations to get to the final stage." - George Lucas

Coming from Lucas I'm not surprised. Still, I think that kinda sucks...what do you think?

Source - http://filmforce.ign.com/starwars/articles/361/361025p1.html

 

I don't know if I would say that "sucks". I enjoy the fact that George is getting to further his vision of the epic, however I do see where this could be construed as a marketing ploy simply to make him even more money. I don't believe this to be the reason for the "uber editions", but critics will.
I think (in a way) we are getting to see the rough cuts of the films as he does more and more things to them. I find that interesting, except I think they could be "improved" to death - I give you the Greedo scene.
I guess the best we can do is "trust in George", let him tell the stories the way he envisions them and see what happens. I do wish the originals would be released on DVD simply because of the attachment I have to them. My life changed, as a kid, sitting in a drive-in watching the old versions, but that's my personal memories and have nothing to do with Uncle George and his vision. That's my opinion.

 

His story, his way. It's that simple.

 

I'm still lookin' for reasons to "trust in George" and this just isn't one of them.

 

Here's my reasons to trust George:

Episode 1
Episode 2
Episode 4
Episode 5
Episode 6
*save a spot for a 6th reason

It's his treehouse, I'm just happy he drops the rope ladder down to let me up.

 

If you're that nuts for them, you could get 1.0 versions of the OT on DVD right now (mastered from laserdisc, but still better than VHS).

So long as you aren't looking tons of (read: ANY) supplimental content and don't mind Chinees subtitles.

(note to LFL and the mods: I'm certainly not saying you should, I'm just pointing out the existance of the virgin OT on something other than VHS)

 

Yes, I'm well aware of the Laserdisc to DVD transfers out there.

Yes, it's his world, and sure, let him change it all, but where does it end? How many different copies of the same movie does he really expect us to buy?

 

None. He doesn't care which versions you buy. He makes these for himself.

 

Like it would kill Lucas to put the original versions on the DvD for the old school fans. He has no respect for the people who made him a Gazillionaire. I think the Emperor is his alter ego and not Luke....LoL.

 

I read about this in the Insider. I'm a bit dissapointed about it. But hey I'm still hyped to see what GL plans to add to the DVD versions. Pending of course that the Padme in ROTJ rumor is false.

 

And the old school fans have no respect for the fact that he is an artist and is completing them the way he wants them to be seen.

He has every right to put forth only the version he considers complete. You don't have to buy it.

People need to stop thinking he owes us anything. Sure we made his movies popular but he was already a millionaire many times over before Star Wars came along. I just want to hear someone tell me that if Greedo had been the one to shoot first in 1977 they would have walked out of the theater and not gone back. That if Jabba had appeared in such a manner they wouldn't love Star Wars. Especially someone on a SW board.

Get some perspective. These are not your films no matter how much you love them.

 

i DO have the laserdisc versions... on laserdisc. i also have a laserdisc player. sure i have to change discs, but it's still letterbox (with no subtitles other than a greedo here & a jabba there).




hokey dialogue and ancient slapstick are no match for a good sight gag on your side...

 

I don't think its a matter of how many copies of the same movie we will buy, I think that he just keeps improving it and wants to share it with the world. It's us who keep buying everything that says Lucas on it.

Gregg

 

I disagree. I don't think I would find myself buying the HOward the Duck SE DVD anytime at all, but that's just me.

As for the OT, other than missing Carrie adjusting herself coming out of the trash compactor I don't think that there would be any missing of those versions for me. The fact that I have watched both those versions and the SEs SOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOo many times it really is irrelevant. Plus my kids have grown up on the SEs and I think would question why certain thing weren't in the original OT versions ( I have three sets of them so it's not like I couldn't watch them)

ANd I say let's forget the Natalie rumors and such and just move on to E7. THat would do nicely for me.

 

Ah Yodafett, forever will you be played by Lucases Jedi mind tricks.

If you're content with forking over cash and approving what Lucas dishes out blindly...well, that's your choice and I wish you well.

However, Lucas has said many times that he doesn't care or listen to the fans of his work. That's just sad. Putting the original movies that people fell in love with in the first place on DVD isn't a tall order.

Additions to his work just seem to dilute the whole saga, not make it better. Lucas is caught up in the special effects, and isn't out to make his story better. I just see so much lost potential in the star wars saga overall. It's a decent story, but spotty, but loved. Personally, I would have liked to see the 'classic trilogy' untouched, and Lucas could have easily done that.

 

YodaFett..... Lucas owes everything he has to the original star wars fans. Do you think his fortune was obtained by American Graffiti and Howard the Duck? Gimme a break with this "artist" crap. The Star Wars movies are just 50's B-Movies with million dollar effects. It just so happens that those "abandoned" versions have an extremely special place in the hearts of those of us who saw them when they first came out and we would like to have dvd copies of them. Lucas's "artist integrity" didn't stop him from reissuing the original trilogy a gazillion times on VHS and milking every penny he could from devoted fans. So YES he does owe us something.

 

I would like to see the original OT on DVD w/ no extras. Just the movie. A lot of DVDs are like that w/ basically just the movie. How hard could it be just to conver the originals over to digital?

When the Special, Super-Duper, Directors' Cut, Limited and Final Edition is released, I would expect it to have all the goodies.

 

I also would be really dissapointed if we cant get the untouchec OT on DVD at some point. I find myself watching the original OT more than the special editions these days. Yes, the effects were improved and I love the improved visuals, but I would throw out the improved effects if it meant not having to watch greedo shoot first, the horrible ANH jabba scene, and I love the closing music in ROTJ so much more than the special edition. With the special editions, I dont think he did anything to improve the story, he just threw in some improved visuals. Not all of which were really an improvement if you ask me. I think it's weird that he is still so interested in going back and taking whats wrong with the prequels and stirring it into the originals. I would think that at this point in his career, he would focus on starting new with the PT, millions love the originals, he never even needed to touch them. Besides, he talks about wanting to make films other than star wars, could have fooled me, sounds like after ep3 is done, he will spend years continually "improving" the OT. The man is in denial of the fact that the films aren't new. They are timless movies that millions love, he doesnt need to make them "relevant". Oh well, end rant.

 

First of all, I follow no one blindly. I'd like to see any evidence whatsoever that he forced any person on this board to buy any version of his film during a rerelease.

Second, you're right. He doesn't care. These movies are for him, not you. I'm an artist and I do the same thing. Screw the audience. I make the movies I want to see. Why do you think Hitchcock and DeMille remade several of their films? Because they couldn't go back and retouch them up the way Lucas did so they had to start them over from scratch. They both wanted to make them best film that they could and later in their life they thought they had found a better way. Lucas is the same way. He saw improvements that could be made and he had the opportunity to make them. This is nothing new. The fact that you think it's for the worse is your problem, not his.

Sure, he could release the originals on the DVDs, but it comes down to what he feels is the best representation of HIS films. Obviously he feels that is the Special Editions or, probably by the time we get to them, it will be the Ultimate Editions.

Third, Lucas was a multi-millionaire by the age of 30 thanks to American Graffiti's success. Sure, he wasn't a billionaire, but he was able to start his company and help a lot of people who helped him along the way. He didn't think Star Wars would do anything and was prepared make small, experimental films for the rest of his life. To his great surprise his movie was embraced and it made him an extremely wealthy man. He spent day after day working on that script, alone. He had to fight to get it made since no one had any faith in him. He had problem after problem on a long shoot. He had to build the effects from the ground up. I'd say he earned every cent he made for giving us something that makes us talk about it 25 years later. Do not mistake his appreciation for anything other than appreciation. He owes us nothing. It all came from him. It's like saying your particular deity owes you a trip to heaven because you enjoy this planet and you spread the word about them. It doesn't work that way.

Regardless of whether you agree with him or not you can't argue his right to do it and make sense. He has every right to do whatever he chooses. You don't have to buy it.

 

*sigh*

Lucas started making the movies with the hope he'd make enough to make the next one. In that line of thinking he was depending on the audience to buy enough tickets to make him enough money to do it. Through Star Wars and his companies he's been able to do that. Now, it's pretty obvious he doesn't need the audience, but I think he should show his fans some gratitude for giving him enough cash to make his own dreams come true.

If it wasn't for millions falling in love with his original work as it was, he wouldn't be where he is today. Now that he has power he's just abusing it.

I understand I don't have to buy it, and I don't. But sometimes classics are classics because they are remained untouch.

I guess to the artist or creator of a work, this might not make much sence. There's always an aire of noncompleteness and disatisfaction with ones work. You're always trying to make your stuff better and improve. For others however, they tinker with it until it's ready to be released. Then once it's released it's judged for what it is and unchanged making it a classic if liked. The 'classic trilogy' was fine the way it was.

I'm just saying two things. One, that if you're anal like Lucas is, you'll never be satisfied and keep tinkering with your work forever. Two, Lucas is doing a suck ass thing by not at least releasing the 'classic trilogy' on DVD as it was when most Star Wars fans fell in love with it. Lucas did not get to where he is on his own.

You're right when you say he can do whatever he wants with it. He's old, he's lost his mind, and he's a millionare. But I think you're dead wrong when you say he doesn't owe his fans something. Without us he'd be nothing. All he wants to do is tell his story and doesn't care about how he does it.

 

I would lkie to see the originals on DVD. & yes partly for my child hood nastalgia. In college we studied the concept of public domain. The fact that when a movie is released it ceases to be yours and becomes part of the collective conciousness of the viewers, non more so than SW. But, I realize all the B**tchin' in the world won't change the fact that they are his to do with as he pleases.

But mostly so they original version will be preserved for posterity. So historically you can see & study the evolution of his "original vision"

 

"He's old, he's lost his mind, and he's a millionare."

Your opinion. I find him to be completely fine. Just because you were disappointed with the Special Editions and TPM don't tell anyone else that they were or tell us how to view George Lucas. I like them both just fine

"The 'classic trilogy' was fine the way it was."

Again, your opinion. George didn't hold it and his opinion is the only one that matters.

"if you're anal like Lucas is, you'll never be satisfied and keep tinkering with your work forever"

You've just described every writer and director I've ever known. We don't ever think it's complete. Most of us are just not in a position to go back and constantly fix the little things that get on our nerves, due to lack of money or time or a combination of both.

"All he wants to do is tell his story and doesn't care about how he does it."

That's every true artist I know. He is doing it his way, as he should be.

You're also quite wrong if you think he was hoping for sequels. When he was writing he had the general idea for sequels but he never thought he would get the chance to make them. While he and Spielberg were on the beach in Hawaii coming up with Indiana Jones he still felt that the movie was going to bomb big time. It wasn't until he got back that he understood what had happened.

You can keep believing that he owes you something and you will continue to be wrong. Well, scratch that. He owes you the chance to view HIS movies the way HE wants them viewed. This is just like that whole 4-6 then 1-3 crap for our kids. That's not how it's intended to be viewed and that's not how it should be viewed. You hold onto this nostalgia like it was your child. Get over it. These aren't your films. Continue to watch your VHS copies of the original trilogy and be content that you can watch a subpar version any time you like.

I'll choose George's vision in the best possible format any day of the week.

Maybe you're right, maybe I can't understand because I do constantly want to go back and fix little things in the films I've shot or written. That's just the way it goes so maybe I can understand him more. I also know that while I love the OT without the Special Editions, I also love it with the Special Editions and have no problems spending the rest of my life watching George's movies.

Now, do I think it kind of sucks that he's not releasing the original versions on DVD? I honestly don't care. I grew up on the original versions and I've been watching the Special Editions for the last 5 years. Either one is fine with me but I can see why George would want to go with the SE versions. He is trying to set up continuity between the OT and the PT, that's an incredibly hard thing to do. Especially when there is going to end up being 28 years between the first and last made of the series. Adding sequences that tie everything together is great and I can't wait for them.

Some people are just going to have to reconcile themselves to the fact that this is how George wants you to see them. If you don't want to watch what he's selling then stick with your subpar VHS copies and cry on your pillow at night.

"Without us he'd be nothing"

Wrong. He'd be a filmmaker living his life in Northern California. Oh, that's right, that's what he is right now.

 

Heavens! Such passion surrounding exactly how your 14th copy of Star Wars will be delivered.

I was thinking about this even before this thread went to hell with everyone's very very intellectual opinions. . .

I think that and untouched version will be delivered to the public eventually by Lucasfilm. This will not, however, be some sort of payoff to they loyal fans who made Lucas, Star Wars, Large Banks, and Santa Clause the great institutions they are today (do we weigh our votes by the number of lunch boxes and Lando figures we own? I LOVE IT!!).

Eventually, I think the VOT (Virgin Original Trilogy) will be sought not because everyone hates what that selfish GL did with his new-fangled computers and Faustian pactmaking, but because they will contain some genuine cultural/historic value.

People tend to freak out when you tell them that something they had is gone forever (case in point--this thread). I respect George's desire to finish what he started and look forward to his finished product. A place will be made, however, to archive the product that launched one of the biggest franchises in the world.

 

Let me clear up some things that I think have been over looked here. First, George doesn?t own ANH. It is owned by 20th Century Fox. George makes his money from ANH licensing, not the film itself. The special editions came about when it was decided to re-release Star Wars for it?s 20th anniversary. Much of the added/enhanced footage was done, in part, because George wanted to test the bounds of the technology for making TPM, and of course because of his desire to fix what he perceived as wrong with it.

The idea to make SE?s of Empire and Jedi came after they saw what they could do with ANH.

One of the things that I found interesting is that SW was going to be given a G rating initially, but Lucas convinced the ratings board to give it a PG rating. The SE was facing a PG-13 rating unless Lucas edited some of the scenes. Watch the first detention block shoot-out in both editions and you?ll see that in the SE, you never see a laser bolt make contact with the Imperials (they cut back to the shooter). You do see them make contact in the originals. I have to wonder if this also played a role in showing Greedo firing first. Lucas has said that he ?wanted to show that Han was defending his life.?

That said, I would like to see the originals released to DVD, with the original opening scroll and order of the ?Come on R2, we?re going,? scene. By the time Lucas plans to release the OT to DVD, we?ll have HDTV closer to being the standard and probably a new format for watching movies on it. It doesn?t bother me too much; I?ve got the originals on LaserDisc and CED (what does that say about me?). Heck I?ve even got the Ewok movies on LaserDisc. Now who?s up for starting a thread about getting the Ewok?s and Droid?s cartoons on DVD?

 

"...Maybe you're right, maybe I can't understand..."

Yodafett, that's the most intelligent thing you've said in these posts. This forum by definition is a ground for everyones opinions. There's no need for you to point out what my opinions are. I think that's pretty obivous to myself, and anyone who posts on a forum.

You're quite free to buy into Lucas and whatever "Holiday Special-like" crap he serves you with or without your thanks. I for one am disapointed about not getting some type of official 'classic trilogy' on DVD and by the look of the other posts in this thread, it looks like I'm in good company on that point.

In the end that's what matters here.