What I Intend to Do about Getting the Original Versions of the OT on DVD

I'm scared to death.

VCR tapes deteriorate after about 15-20 years, no matter how few times they are viewed.

GL has indicated about zero interest in making sure that the original versions of the OT are available in perpetuity.

This is, quite simply, intolerable.

Instead of merely gripe, I'm going to do what I can to change GL's attitude. Monday morning I'm going to mail a letter to GL that goes something like this:

Dear George Lucas:
Thank you for your wonderful Star Wars saga. I understand that sometime after 2005 you are going to release the entire saga on DVD. I hope that, along with the Special Editions, you also make available the original versions on DVD. While the Special Editions are indeed closer to your original vision, the old versions of the films are a part of moviemaking history; and as such deserve to be forever available to film students and movie aficionados.

What do you think? Any suggestions on changes of wording?

Lastly, AND MOST IMPORTANTLY, I strongly encourage fellow fans to write similar letters to GL. I intend to write these letters periodically, and I hope that with the help of fellow Star Wars fans, we can keep the original editions forever available.

 

Hopefully he'll do the smart thing and put both versions of each movie on the same DVD. It was done with The Abyss.

 

Binary

A friend of mine has just got the OT bootleg DVDs that are copied from (I presume) the 1995 definitive Laserdisc, complete with pretty good extras to boot. I watched the (ahem) Star Wars disc last week and the quality is a definite step up from VHS.

I would try and get hold of one of them if I were you. He paid a wallet friendly £2 ($3 ish) for each film whilst on holiday in Thailand. There are loads of variations out there and I while I understand that the cover art isn't necessarily consistent with the version on the disc, this particular disc is labelled as SW EpIV "THE" New Hope and has two bizarre looking ships (not in the films) under a picture of Darth Vader's mask. I can truthfully say that I thought of you while I was watching it by the way.

A friend of a friend is going over there in a couple of months and he's under strict orders to get me both OT and SE trilogies.

I don't condone piracy by the way, I'll buy the official DVDs regardless of any bootleg I acquire in the meantime but Binary's right about the original theatrical releases, particularly Star Wars. They are cinema legend and should be made available on DVD (be it sooner or later, I can wait) in the original form for that reason.

PM me if you like.

 

I'm with you Binary!

I put my wish list for the DVDs in the thread about which SW version you prefer.

 

i'm 100% agree with you Binary. i own the original versions on video, and i know they'll become unwatchable in a few years. i sincerly hope that Lucas puts both versions on DVD. i'm huge fan of the SE, (which is why i created the se defense force) but i'm also a huge fan of the originals, since that how i was intoduced to Star Wars. i sure hope Lucas listens to his fans. if he's doing the prequel trilogy for the fans, then it wouldn't kill him to but both versions of the films on one DVD that i enjoy so much.

 

I hope that this thread has merely been overlooked. I hope that most Star Wars fans aren't unconcerned about there being no more copies of the original version of the OT available in another 10-15 years.

Please say it isn't so.

In another 10-15 years, all the videotapes will have deteriorated. The only option will be bootlegs. We have to convince Lucas to save his original work. That means DVDs.

 

I have the same worries as you, Binary. While I don't have a *huge* problem with the SEs, I would hate to not have the original versions of the films on DVD. Han shooting first, Luke NOT screaming during his fall, etc. My tapes from 1995 won't hold up forever

 

I Completely agree. While some of the features of the SE are okay I disagree with the overwhelming majority. I miss the line "You're lucky you don't taste very good!" If my originals fade out and there is no hope for a replacement, my heart will just break...

Edit: Harabec, I totally agree with you about the sound effects on Luke's fall. WHAT WERE THEY THINKING?!?

 

maybe it would be cool to have them both on a single DVD, so you can compare easier

 

Anyone out there got a DVD burner by chance?

 

Thing is, if they tried to put both the original version and SE of ANH in one release, they wouldn't be able to do it the same way as with, say, the Terminator 2 UE. Lucasfilm went back and changed so much with ANH; so many scenes have new effects and characters tossed in, so seamless branching doesn't work well in this case. And I don't want a worthless double-sided disc. I want my disc art!

 

here is a very simple solution: the original version on disc 1, & the SE on disc 2.

 

Well, I have my letter to George Lucas all ready to go. Does anyone know the best mailing address for it? Where exactly should I mail it?

Please, fellow fans, write similar letters to Lucas! It only takes about 10 minutes of your time. Whether you love or hate (or are somewhere in between) the SE's, I think we can all agree that the originals need to be saved.

 

I think TFN has an address book for that sort of thing somewhere...

 

Just thought I'd chime in with what I would like to see: a 3 disc set for each film.

While I also like the idea of having both versions available, I want my bonus material as well, and I am positive there is TONS of it for each film. While I am aware of the amazing storage capacity of a single DVD, the thing to keep in mind is that TPM is a 2 disc set, and as you are aware, that is only 1 movie.
I am sure if both versions were available, they would also have multiple soundtrack formats on each disc, taking up much of the available space, thus creating the need for at least a 3 disc set.

I guess that's all I really wanted to say, nothing really important, but it would indeed be pretty damn cool!

 

Some of you more well-paid members can look into a Laserdisc player and Apple G4 computer with DVD burner. I have read reports from people that have transferred their LDs to their computers and burned DVDs for themselves of the original editions (they also refuse to acknowledge any requests so as not to get into trouble)

But if you got the dough...

 

I agree that we need the original version of the OT on DVD, and I like the idea of a 2 or 3 disk set. I don't see how GL, the marketing guru he is, could turn down an opportunity like this. Just imagine it: a 3 disk set could bring in about $25-$30 a piece. Now mulitply that by 3, and you have something in the neighborhood of $80. Multiply that by the millions of copies it would sell, and you have a new record for the highest selling DVD ever, as well as tons of money and a renewed public interest in the OT.

I don't see how he couldn't do it.

 

"I'm with you too."

It would probably be best if we worked together as a community and sent them all to the same address- where did you send yours, BS?

 

Sound good Binary_Sunset! I'm with you on wanting to preserve the original version of the Classic Trilogy; as well as SE.
Please express to Mr. Lucas that 20th Century Fox has experience with producing a quality DVD 2-disc with both theatrical and special edition as well as special features. Just look at what "Independence Day" did with their DVD.

 

I mailed my letter to:

Lucasfilm Ltd.
P. O. Box 2009
San Rafael, CA 94912

I don't know if that is where I should have sent it to. If any fellow fans know a better address, I'll write another letter and send it off.

Thanks to all who have written or intend to write letters soon.

I would like to make the following suggestions on our letters:

1. Don't copy mine word-for-word.
2. Hand-write (don't type) the letter.
3. Make sure the handwriting is neat.
4. Make the letter short and to-the-point.
5. Most importantly, don't bash TPM, the SE's, or anything else in the letter.

 

Here's my letter;

Dear George Lucas,
Firstly, I would like to thank you for the Star Wars saga. From watching the original Star Wars films on video at 6am on Saturday mornings when I was younger (I was born in 1977, and I've been a fan for literally as long as I can remember) to enjoying the Phantom Menace and Special Editions in the cinema in recent years, to watching and discussing the films with friends, I couldn't possibly count the number of hours enjoyment these films have given me.

I know from the time and money you have put into restoring the original trilogy for the special editions that you want these films to live on, and I understand that you plan to release them on DVD when your work on the prequels is finished.
However, I am hoping that as well as the Special Editions, you will be making the original presentation of the films available. Although I own the pre-Special Edition VHS tapes, they are clearly physically deteriorating already. I remember only too well the trouble I had getting hold of the original trilogy in ANY form around the time of Episode 1's release, and I am hoping that you will be making the original releases available in a lasting format for future viewers. I would hate to imagine not being able to show the same films I grew up with to my own children one day!

Many thanks,



Here's my worry;

When Lucas made the Special Editions, he did so by going right back to the original prints. All sorts of effects etc. were re-done. It's possible that by making the Special Editions, he destroyed the original release. If it was the case that to release the originals, he would have to literally re-make them, then would he bother? The very fact that the Special Editions exist would suggest that he's not happy with the original release of the film- with that in mind, would he want to put the money and time into restoring the original original trilogy?
On the other hand, with the amount of digital work that went into it, maybe the cleaned, original print from before they started adding bits is on a hard drive somewhere in the Ranch... just waiting to be converted to MPEG-4...

Man, I hope so!

 

Scott3eyez, thank you very much for writing a letter to George Lucas. We have the ball rolling now.

Your worry is deeply disturbing. It never even occurred to me that the originals might be destroyed. If that is so, it is the worst news I've had all year. Here's hoping that the originals still survive and will always do so!

 

Note to letter-writers: hand write your letters. That shows individual concern, as opposed to typing, which could easily be a copy of a form letter. I intend to do the same.

 

Good advice, and good to have you aboard, Obi-Ewan!

 

I don't see why you're all afraid...It's obvious that they'll be preserved on DVD. It won't require the time it takes to write a letter and use 34 cents.

Seems like you're fearful of a phantom menace...