Official DVD Thread #2 - Changes Discussion

I don't know if this has been mentioned but I also noticed these changes to the "A New Hope" DVD:

1.) When the Millenium Falcon is brought into the Death Star using the tractor beam, the voice over the intercom says different lines than before.

2.) Speaking about intecoms, duirng the rebel hanger scene when Luke and the other are preparing for the Battle of Yavin, the voice also says different lines.

3.) It may be me, but I think the took out the word "damn" when Han mentions his famous line to Obi-Wan: "Damn fool, I knew you were going to say that." This line occurs when our heros are hinding in the smuggling floors of the Millenium Falcon.

4.) I believe this has been pointed out before but I will mention it anyways, the red matte boxes around the TIE Fighters during the dogfight scene. This occurs when the Millenium Falcon escapes the Death Star and is pursued by four TIE Fighters.

 

You mean Red Leader no longer says,
"Watch it, you've got one on your tail!"?

What was wrong with THAT line, GL?

The line was removed for this edition because...

...they didn't have time to give the Rebel pilots CGI tails.

 

LLS: The line was removed for this edition because...

...they didn't have time to give the Rebel pilots CGI tails.

ROFLOL! Funny one, LLS!

 

I wish I had the time to do a shot-by-shot comparison between the O-OT and the DVD versions.

You people would be amazed at how many shots are unchanged from the originals. And amazed at how many more shots are huge improvements over the originals.

That would render an awful lot of arguments moot and make a lot of people look silly now, wouldn't it?

 

Is it just me, or was there more background action in the ANH space battle?

 

Is it just me, or was there more background action in the ANH space battle?

Yes, there was more action going on in the background, your not going insane...

 

sorry if i'm repeating whats been said before (sifting through 200+ pages of replies isn't what i had in mind), but i noticed quite a few subtle changes.

ANH

i may be crazy, but i swear the primany ignition & explosion of alderaan is sped up.

the room where han, luke, chewie, r2 & 3po are after ben leaves. when r2 is 'scanning' the system, the screen that shows the map seems more detailed and is now a bright green.

i've only watched the ANH dvd once, but i didn't notice the stormtrooper bumping his head on the door...i'm pretty sure i just missed it, but it may be gone.


ESB

when luke is attacked by the wampa and falls to the snow, i do not remember blood coming from lukes face at that moment and streaking the snow.

this one should be obvious. just before the special edition added scene of the cloud car flying around, then by the window with leia. just before that, there was a tibanna gas mining station to the left of the cloud city.


ROTJ

*these scenes have most likely always been in the film, but not seen in the vhs version, but are in the widescreen version of the dvds*

when vader arrives at the death star, you can see a lot more of the tie bomber in the loading dock & more detail

when lukes message is finished, you can actually see the holo flicker, then fizzle out before finally disappearing. in the vhs version, you can pretty much just see the edge of the holo coming from r2 fade out.

at jabba's palace, after han is unfrozen, there is a shot of the goons & whatnot behind leia & han. there is MUCH more detail now, as you can make out several goons (as opposed to the vhs version, where aside from a jawa & something else, its pretty much a blurry background)

when luke is fighting the rancor, same as above, you can see more goons cheering the fight on. after the rancor is killed & han, luke are before jabba, you can again see more goons & bodyguards standing around (look for dengar, hes there)

there is bound to be more i'm forgetting. if you pop on the vhs, then the dvds, you see "new" stuff like listed above all the time (if you have the widescreen version)

 

this one should be obvious. just before the special edition added scene of the cloud car flying around, then by the window with leia. just before that, there was a tibanna gas mining station to the left of the cloud city.

The mining station was in the special edition. Gives me flashbacks of Rogue Leader every time I see it.

 

When Vader sees the probe droid's video image of the power generator on Hoth he states that he is certain that Skywalker is there. Now, FFW to the Vader/Sidious scene: Palpatine refers to the son of Skywalker as the source of the grave disturbance in the Force. Vader's reply: How can this be?

What is the meaning of this reply? He is already looking for Skywalker. Could Vader be feigning naivety?

 

Do you guys think some of the changes you refer to are a result of a more true widescreen format the DVDs offer?

 

<<<<not reading 236 pages>
Just wondering... that scene in ANH where Luke ignites Anakin's lightsaber for the first time... If you notice, there's a brown cloak-thing hanging on the lower wall (behind Luke) in Ben's hut that just suddenly disappears for the scenes where Luke had the saber lit, and then it suddenly re-appears in the scenes after he turns it off. Does anyone think that ILM will be able to digitally fix that little problem, or is it just too subtle for them to notice/care? I mean, they did decide to fix the clouds during the sunset in ANH, but what about this?

 

Is it just me or the final part of Vader-Luke duel in ROTJ is accelerated?

It looks better, anyway.

 

ok the stormtrooper bumping his head is still there.


but i swear, unless there is confusion on the scene in ESB i'm talking about, there was no tibanna gas mine in the special edition. i went to the scene in the vhs and it was not there (though possible cut off because its not in widescreen).

 

Ok, so it appears that there is no conclusive answer with regard to the merit of retrospectively tweaking the SW films, or any films for that matter. GL is obviously resolved to the fact that doing so is indeed his right and maybe even his duty. My question is, putting all theory aside for a sec, how happy do you think he is with the actual execution thereof? In other words, does he realize/care for instance that in the new ROTJ ending, HC doesn't even look at OB1? Old friends reconciled, redeemed, and not even a glance? What about the supposedly fixed sabers in ANH where the metal poles are still visible during the OB1/Vader confrontation? He may feel that he has the right or obligation to go back and "update" these movies (which I'm not totally against), but damnit why doesn't he do the job right when he endeavors to do so?

 

As you aready know, the Emperor now tells Vader that he has no doubt "the young rebel who destroyed the Death Star" is the offspring of Anakin Skywalker, to which Vader replies "How is that possible?" That doesn't seem to make sense, because we know that Vader is aware of who Luke is from dialogue earlier in the film ("That's it. The Rebels are there. And I'm sure Skywalker is with them."). I suspect, however, that we'll find out in Episode III that Anakin DOES learn of Luke's existence as an infant, and he hides this knowledge from the Emperor. What that would mean is that Vader's been waiting all these years to find Luke as an adult and turn him to the Dark Side so that they can overthrow the Emperor together - a plot Vader ultimately confesses to Luke at the end of Empire. We'll have to wait for Episode III to see how this new bit of dialogue fits in. DO you agree?

 

Well, I haven't seen the DVDs myself, but I guess Vader lies to Palps because he wants to overthrow Palps and take Luke as his apprentice. Thing is, this little plot of Vader's to overthrow the emporer seems to kindov be erased in ROTJ, so that line could confuse people. I don't know though, haven't seen the scene, I could be utterly wrong.

 

maybe george lucas wanted to screw up his movies so badly that the fans would finally dismiss them and he could remake 4-6 with new space-age technology.
they already remade dawn of the dead

 

Yep, Vader's lying to Palpatine - ever since he found out his son was alive and with the Rebellion, he was plotting to otherthrow Palpatine, using Luke. The last thing he wanted was for Palpatine to find out about it as well.

I've noticed a couple of other things that I don't think have been mentioned. Firstly, in the very first shot of Chapter 11, the shot of the giant Executor bridge, there used to be a weird transparancy effect, where the glow of the engines of the background SDs could just about be seen THROUGH the bridge - this has now been removed.
Also, as far as I can tell, the Hayden Anakin at the end of RotJ does not have the scar above his eye that we've seen in all the production shots of RotS - this is an Anakin completely without injuries, returned to the innocence and goodness of his spirit. Darth Vader is truly gone. If anyone has spotted the scar, well done, because I can't see it.

EDIT: Thing is, this little plot of Vader's to overthrow the emporer seems to kindov be erased in ROTJ, so that line could confuse people.

It's not really erased on RotJ, it just takes new twists. At the end of ESB, Vader realises that he alone won't be able to turn Luke to the Dark Side - he needs Palpatine's help (Palpatine is the master of converting people, having done it to both Dooku and Anakin himself). His plan then is, once Luke has turned, to again plead with Luke to help him kill the Emperor, so they can rule the galaxy together. The reason Vader says "I must obey my master" is because Palpatine is more powerful than Vader, and Vader knows Palpatine can kill him - but he still hasn't given up hope that Luke will turn and then kill Palpatine for him. But of course, the Emperor is the ultimate puppet-master, and he has it all under control for the most part - he forces Luke and Vader to fight each other, in the hope that Luke will use the Dark Side to kill Vader, and then join him. But of course, Luke doesn't - he's able to throw down his lightsaber. The reason Vader stops Luke from killing the Emperor at the start of the duel is that Luke hasn't turned to the Dark Side yet - he's still on the good side, and once he's killed the Emperor, Vader knows Luke could kill him, too. Vader needs Luke to be killing the Emperor for the same cause as himself. The interesting irony is that Vader is not able to kill the Emperor using the Dark Side - but Anakin IS able to kill the Emperor through love of his son. That's what's so powerful about it to me.

Also, remember that Palpatine, after ESB, KNOWS about Luke - Cloud City was Vader's big chance to convert Luke to his side, and he blew it. Palpatine now also has it in his mind to convert Luke - it would be very difficult for Vader to do after that.

 

Ok.. finally watched them. Here's my overall review:

Box Art: A+ The McQuarrie art is very cool.
Box: F This is the lowest quality cheapest piece of junk for a box. It is flimsy, thin and just extremely cheap. Worthy of a B movie collection set, not SW, not even Star Trek for that matter. Cheap.

Disk&Cover art: C The disk art is great, but the inserts are flimsy, unattractive and uninteresting; and worse, they clash with everything else. Nice to see consistency in the cover design from prequel to original, but nothing about them stands out or makes me hold them and go, "Man, these are sweet." Perhaps it was the plastic box which every $7 DVD comes in or the artwork is just a bit TOO different from the Disk Art. No magic - an 'average' job.

Bonus Materials: B+ The documentaries are great. I couldn't stop watching once I got started. The featurettes are fantastic as well. A lot of new material with some of old interviews mixed in (and ones I'm glad to have). The ROTS preview was very satisfying as was the game preview. Teaser trailers were cool. The production photo collection is enormous, very very cool. Deleted scenes would be nice.

Commentary: C Although I haven't listened to much, I just did not care at all for what I've heard. It was so unmoving that I couldn't stand it more than a few minutes. I'd flunk it - but that wouldn't be fair having not listened to it fully.

DVD Menus: A+ Whoever did these menus deserves a raise and a promotion. These things were PERFECT. Each of the many is true to the heart of that particular film and just plain fun... LOT OF MAGIC GOING ON!

Return of the Jedi: No review. Haven't watched yet. I have seen parts, and what I've seen look phenomenal, and sounds good too.

Empire Strikes Back: A I've never seen Empire look so good. The new Emp footage was fine by me. The quality of the picture and the sound was top notch. Very pleased. The Fett change is a minor itch but more because Temuera's poor delivery. Yet, every single shot in this movie was sharp and more beautiful than ever before. Many of the previously obvious matte paintings appeared much more realistic. I'm totally blown away by this version.

A New Hope: D On the flip side, "A New Hope" looks on the whole worse than ever before. And SOUNDS worse. On the good side, all the Special Edition material/changes are better (Jabba, Greedo) and the Battle of Yavin looks better than ever - so I can't flunk it. BUT, the first half of the movie is god awful. and here's just a few things...

- Who can't keep their fingers off the "contrast"? Whoa, I'm blinded by the sharp overstatement of so many colors. Cranking Saturation and Contrast up to the max is just nerve-wracking and makes the film look very unreal.

- Why the heck is Luke's saber green, and the next shot, the saber looks completely untouched?

- When did R2 get that funky and blinding obnoxious blue color? And in all of the films no less? Terrible.

- Whoever took the "haze" out of the air for Vader's first screen appearance where he comes aboard the Tantive IV ripped the mystique and beauty right out of this shot. It is so sanitized now that it is just flat and well... sucks.

And for that matter, so much cleaning was done to areas that were out of focus, that "A New Hope" has this sanitized feel to it that TOTALLY SUCKS. Many of the Tunisia shots look CGI and completely fake. I watched ANH dozens of times in the last six months, and this ground my last nerves. I can't say a single moment of the first half of this film was enjoyable. So many things should have been left out of focus from a stylistic perspective. I'm not happy with the SE skies or the new altered sunset. And worse, whoever cranked up the contrast completely magnified the problem.

And the sound. Blah. Leave the music alone. Turn it back up. Trust me, it beats the whizzes and blurps. Good job

 

but i swear, unless there is confusion on the scene in ESB i'm talking about, there was no tibanna gas mine in the special edition. i went to the scene in the vhs and it was not there (though possible cut off because its not in widescreen).

Is it this scene?

[image=http://s02.imagehost.org/0263/Bespin-Widescreen.jpg]

Cuz if so, that's a screenshot from the widescreen version of the Special Edition.

I know a lot of people (myself included) have mistake "additions" to the films because the stupid "Pan & Scan" version cuts so much out of the films. This scene usually looks like this:

[image=http://s02.imagehost.org/0264/Bespin-Fullscreen.jpg]

On TV and VHS...

 

I really like the Jabba scene now. Before I could give or take it.

"Lapti Nek" sucked, it was toooo disco. It sounds very dated and in fact sounded dated in 1983, as disco was dead by then. The main problem with "Jedi Rocks" isn't the tune, it the CGI characters getting up in the camera. I do wish they'd cut that.

The "Yub-Yub" song was worse than "Lapti Nek", if that's possible. The new celebration music is much more somber and fitting.

I could care less about what they did with Boba's voice. Continunity is more important than a minor character who ended up as a Sarlacc snack maintaining some kind of mystique. Plus the old Fett made Vader look weak by backtalking him in front of Imperials and Lando to boot. Screw that.

 

I have to agree that even though the box art was top notch, the box itself sucked like hell. Way too flimsy and cheap. Use a real frickin box!!!!

The covers of the individual dvds sucked for TESB and ROTJ, though I did love how they were consistent with the PT covers. The cover art for ANH was great. For the disk art, I wished they had used something more consistent with the PT disc art. Something more simple.

The menus were great, but one thing I found irritating is how the SW logos on the menus were gold while they are silver on the covers. Im obssessive compulsive, so things like that just drive me insane. I like the idea of them being silver instead of gold to differ a little from the PT, but please be consistent!!!

Watching ANH is the funnest for me because it is the most improved by far. My favorite improvement was Vader's voice. It sounds MUCH better and MUCH deeper. Much more menacing. In fact, in some ways his ANH voice now sounds better than it does in TESB and ROTJ. I personally like the color saturation. It makes the movie look like it was made yesterday but at the same time the enviornments, ships, and droids dont lose that "old" quality that the OT is supposed to have. C3P0 looks much better but at the same time you can still tell that his gold plating is rusty. The only thing I didnt like is that the sound effects do tend to override the music, atleast during the death star battle, which I actually consider to be a lot worse of a change than "Greedo shoots first" ever was. But that one thing isnt enought to make me hate the ANH dvd. Overall, ANH is vastly improved.

I loved TESB and the change to Boba Fett's voice. I like the new emperor scene, but I dont like the way McDiarmid looks. Was that a mask he was wearing??? Why GL why?? I hope to God this isnt what he is going to look like in ROTS.

Both TESB and ROTJ look stunning. But I dont see as much of a seperation in picture quality from those two and a ANH as a lot of other people do.

The extras were great, but I must be the only one who was underwhelmed by the episode 3 preview. The Back in Black video does THE DUEL a lot more justice than that crappy preview did.

Overall I was a little disappointed with the commentaries. GL just didnt have as many interesting things to say as he did on the PT commentaries, atleast where the story is concerned. (Although his commentary during the Dagobah cave scene was excellent).


Overall, I have to give this set an A. I never believed the OT would ever look THIS good, and now it does. Lowry Digital, THX, and ILM should be very proud of themselves.

 

I love the DVD's. Great picture and sound, and great packaging.

Love the new Jabba in ANH, and love the new Emperor in ESB

As for ROTJ, I am left with half of what I was hoping for. With all due respect to Sebastian Shaw and his many fans, I was disappointed that a heavily made up Hayden was not under the mask. I see where people are coming from on the topic of replacing Shaw, but at the end of the day is it any different from replacing the weird looking Emperor in ESB? Monkey woman might feel a bit cheated!

I was pleased to see Hayden at the end but I don't understand why Lucas changes one and not the other. It makes absolutely no sense to me at all. Also, when Shaw played the force ghost Anakin he was old, so Hayden made up to look older would have made more sense to me too.

Overall, I think I felt robbed of a nice feeling of continuity. Hayden under the mask is a missed opportunity for me.

 

I noticed something today when I was watching ESB. When the Falcon leaves the trail of junk left from the Star Destroyer, Boba Fett's Slave I is in hot pusuit. But they added a sound effect. If you listen carefully, they added an engine noise to the ship that they used in AOTC.

 

Yeah - I caught that Slave1 sound too, it was a nice touch.