Hou, TX Original Unaltered Trilogy on DVD Sept. 12

No, this is not a late April Fools gag. The official site posted the news this evening.

Let's get the bad news out of the way first. Only 2.0 audio. The transfers are reportedly inferior compared to the previous DVD release. And speaking of which, each movie will be a 2-disc set with one disc containing the original version and the other containing the 2004 SE. Also, they'll only be available for a limited time, but that won't really phase the diehard fans who'll be picking them up at midnight Sept. 12. And in case anyone cared, it's only being released on DVD, not HD-DVD or Blu-Ray(for now).

Ok, now the good news. THE FREAKING ORIGINAL UNMOLESTED HOLY TRILOGY ON DVD!!! FINALLY! And with the original opening crawl for Star Wars to boot. I can finally retire my Faces laserdiscs.

Just when I thought my interest in Star Wars was at an all-time low, Lucas pulls me back in!

 

Wow, this is great news, well aside from the whole "inferior print" business. So what, all the sudden Lucasfilm doesn't have the time or resources to polish a film print? I guess I'll at least have back ups for when my '95 Widescreen VHS box-set tapes deteriorate. I was begining to worry that Lucas would allow the original versions of the movies to vanish down the Memory Hole.

 

I already got 'em transferred off of good old "laser disc". Ah, ya gotta love those archaic, flash-in-the-pan AV formats!

That being said, I'll still prolly buy the set. Dang, I'm a sucker! lol!!

 

OK, Adam, you were right, I was wrong. I'll just go ahead and admit it.

The inferior print part doesn't worry me too much as long as its a good print. The color is so messed up in the 2004 that it ruins the otherwise awesome picture quality (well, at least for ANH), so I'd prefer a slightly lesser quality if the color is good. The dolby 2.0 does bother me, though. I've wanted an O-OT with 5.1 so badly for a long time. I'll buy these, but, no, the wait for me does not end in September.

 

Wow. I can't believe people are complaining about this.

For years, all everyone does is complain about not having the OT in it's original form. Every inch of tinkering that Lucas has done has caused a riot.

"Please give us the original trilogy untouched, exactly as it was released in the theater! Rabble Rabble Rabble Rabble Rabble!"

So, he caves and releases the original trilogy just as it was released in the theater and everyone bemoans the lack of better sound and picture quality.

How do we know that the poor quality of the print is not attributed to the lack of SE remastering? It's hard to compare this DVD to the SE DVD considering that a major purpose of the SE was to clean up the film.

 

I was just pointing out what Jim Ward of Lucasfilm stated. When he goes out of his way to mention that the transfers will be inferior("state of the art as of 1993" were his words), you can understand the fans being concerned that they'll just slap the Faces LD transfers on DVDs and release them to the public.

While I've been begging for a DVD version of the original Holy Trilogy for almost 10 years, I don't wanna end up getting the equivalent of a DVD bootleg that's been out there for ages(Stryphe knows exactly what I'm referring to).

I'm not gonna be pissed if the upcoming DVDs are inferior to the 2004 SEs. Those are among the best looking discs around. Empire has arguably one of the top 5 transfers ever on DVD. But I will be angry if they put zero effort into this. They should at least clean up the picture a little bit.

 

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The dolby 2.0 does bother me, though. I've wanted an O-OT with 5.1 so badly for a long time. I'll buy these, but, no, the wait for me does not end in September.

You DO know that there is no such thing as an Orginal OT with 5.1 right?[/color]

 

Queenie, I'm not complaining, I'm just saying I'm not going to be entirely satisfied with ESB/ROTJ* until it gets 5.1. He did it with the Jones movies, I don't see why he can't do it with SW. I imagine he will someday. My guess is in the next video format, whichever it is that wins the format wars.

merlin, there's original ET with 5.1, there is original Alien/s with 5.1, Raiders, there is... the list goes on.

But I know what you're trying to say. However, the idea that taking the original audio mixing the tracks to different speakers somehow makes it a special edition isn't held by anyone except the strictest film purists (like those who are mad because classic movies get cleaned up before release on DVD). It isn't held by the general public or by the average purist (such as myself). If someone want to be that picky, the original always wasn't video.

Some people probably would be mad if he released it in anything but 2.0 because it isn't truly original, but I doubt there would be many people at all (so far I've only found two, and they wouldn't be mad, they'd just prefer the 2.0). Adding a second 2.0 track for those people would be simple (like the mono track that came out on the latest Jaws release).

But I'm sure he will some day. Like I said, the next format, probably.


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(* You'll notice I excluded ANH, I'll gladly take a copy of the SW-1977 print in mono, scratchy picture on VHS if that's what it takes to get a real copy of 1977. For me, Sept. 12 is all about ANH, and if that's the only one I buy, it will still have been a worthwhile release)

 

I agree with Stryphe. First of all, Lucas could easily include both a remixed 5.1 track and the original 2.0 audio. Studios do it all the time with DVDs.

Secondly, the only time I really get bothered with 5.1 remixes is when they use entirely new sound FX essentially creating a brand new soundtrack for the movie. The worst examples are The Terminator(which thankfully included the original mono), Jaws(the 30th anniversary disc has the mono track), Vertigo(the re-release has the mono track), and Superman: The Movie(current DVD only has the remix, but the re-release in the fall hopefully rectifies this).

 

[color=663300]Well, I think the whole point of putting these versions on DVD is to have an "unaltered" version. I totally agree that there "could" be a 5.1 remix and most people wouldn't think twice. I wish he had released original versions WITH the last release, but maybe George wants us to experience something else. Maybe he wants a history lesson for the young ones out there who started their Star Wars voyage with Episode I or later. If people buy these DVDs and watch them, they will be watching something that a LOT of people have never experienced.

It's like reading a book. You cannot get the same experience from watching the movie or reading the Cliffs Notes. George probably wants every Star Wars fanatic out there to experience the Original Trilogy the way it was made. The way he made it. [/color]

 

I would love the crappy sound, more retro that way...

 

Merlin, based on GL's recent quote, that would seem to be the case, He wants the completely unaltered cuts. Fair enough, but I still am looking forward to 5.1 cuts being released some day.

News on the DVD front (Adam, duct tape your head before reading further). The DVDs will not be anamphoric. This means if you are watching them on a 16:9 screen they will loose quality. Honestly, I don't understand this. That has nothing to do with altered vs. unaltered.

So, at this point I am planning on buying two copies of ANH and none of ESB and ROTJ. He simply isn't offering me any reason to buy those two. But, as I said before, I'll buy the 1977 in any format. Heck, I'd get a beta player if there was a beta 1977.

 

I saw that news on all the DVD forums today. This is a load of bullcrap. A non-anamorphic DVD in 2006 is inexcusable, especially for a high-profile release such as this one.

I'm seriously considering passing on these titles. My interest in Star Wars is almost non-existant these days thanks to the disappointment of ROTS, and this is like a slap in the face from Lucas. Honestly, what's the point in getting these if I already have the Faces LDs?

 

I'll stick to my DVDR transfers I did of my THX version triolgy vhs tapes (still look pretty decent).

 

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Honestly, what's the point in getting these if I already have the Faces LDs?

There isn't a reason, but for those of us that don't have Laser Discs, the DVD versions will be MUCH better than our old worn out tapes.

In any case, I think people are forgetting that the unaltered OT is being released as a "special feature" on the DVDs. This isn't really something that is dedicated to releasing a super-awesome-quality version of the original trilogy. It's a gimmick to make some money and an opportunity for some of us to have the OT as it was.

After this release, and then the release of the 3D versions, and maybe even an ultimate-something-or-other release of the entire saga, Lucas will surely release a cleaned-up, anamorphic widescreen version of the OT with 6.1 Dolby Digital. And we'll all buy those too.
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I don't really look at it as a gimmick... a lot of people have been screaming for them, so he's finally putting them out. I think he's got more of a "You want it, you got it" attitude. It's a gift to the fans to satisfy them. He's not doing it for furthering his vision of the story, so he's not putting a lot of effort into it, which is understandable in my book.

 

Sorry, DB, but I must disagree. I hold LFL to a level of excellence they have proven themselves capable of, nothing more, nothing less. That's not too much to ask, and I don't understand the mentallity of "yes, it is too much to ask, so stop asking for it" that I get from so many of the fans. Remember, the OE is the selling point of this DVD. If you don't want the OE, it makes the most sense to get the cheaper box sets previously released. And, these new discs aren't cheap. $90 for all three is above average price. If we're going to pay above normal market value, all the more reason to get the best.

Again, we have the ET-OE DVD as a benchmark for how this can and has been done

 

Good Lord, $90? That's what they're saying they're going to charge? Where is that from?

Man, that's hard to believe. I thought they were selling each film separately. No way they'll be charging $30 each when it's all said and done.

 

I believe $30 each is the MSRP, which is what ROTS was as well, if I remember correctly. But in truth, we just go to Wal-Mart and pick it up for $14. I'm not 100% on this though. Now I do agree that if we end up paying a premium for less value, then yeah, I'm with you on that Stryphe.

 

This was posted in CT. Interesting.

 

Wait, so no 1977 SW now? An LD transfer of ANH would ammount to the E4 version, not the 1977 version. This deal is getting worse and worse all the time.

Queenie, yeah, they're listing at $30. Sure, they'll likely sell cheaper, but still $25 a piece for discounted version only to end up with laser discs (I already own a Star Wars laser disc set, I bought a laser disc player just for Star Wars, in fact) and 2004s (which I don't want) isn't very encouraging.

So basically, for $30 I no longer have to worry about my laser disc player breaking down. Well, I suppose that is worth something.

 

Lucasfilm is using A Jedi mind trick on us. I do not know what to do. I might not have enough gas in my truck at this rate to even afford them.

 

I agree with Merlin, that Lucas will most likely release a "super deluxe edition" with all sorts of stuff as extras, etc. (sometime in the future).