Just noticed the line here was changed from you don't taste very good to you're lucky to get out of there. Wondering what the need to do that was. My only guess is that the original line could be viewed as a bit of a sexual innuendo in a way if put in a different context. Can't think of any other reason why it would need to be changed.
This comes up now & then - while restoring the films for the 1997 Special Editions, they had to go back to original audio material, and in this case it had degraded to the point where it wasn't really useable. Rather than go with sub-standard audio (which does get noticed in a cinema screening), they used a different take and line. Technical decision, not a creative one, it would have been left alone otherwise. Apparently there's a few others - I've heard that the removal of "Bring my shuttle" was initially for the same reason, but they went a bit further with the change.
Exactly. I'll take a low-quality recording of a good line over a high-quality recording of a boring line without a nanosecond of hesitation. Also, couldn't they have gotten Hamill to re-record the line?
That would have been a waste of time since there were alternate takes available. And it's generally only good practice to use the best quality audio, which is why when movies were being remastered, studios went looking for the best quality possible. Most of the time they've been successful.
It wasn't really that funny, anyway. "You're lucky you don't taste very good" is like the most cliched thing to say after somebody almost gets eaten. And it's not like ESB coined that particular phrase. I guess the new line is still a bit blander, but really....it's not a big deal.
It's a change for which I'm rather indifferent. I don't see reason for me to personally prefer one over the other
You'd be surprised how quickly some noticeably poor audio can drag you out of a film, even more so than vision. Restoring films is about just that - restoring them to the quality they were at when they were originally released. Besides, fiddling with the audio on SW has been ongoing since 1977. Aunt Beru's voice was redubbed, "Blast it Biggs where are you?" was replaced with "Blast it Wedge, where are you?" then changed back, some of C-3PO's dialogue was apparently changed to different takes of the same lines, sound effects were changed, I've lost track of which versions have "Close the blast doors!" and which don't - and that was between 1977 & 1993, forget the Special Editions. Like we say at work: "Audio - 10% of the medium, 90% of the problem." Say that to an audio engineer - and duck.
It's really noticeable when ADR on certain films prior to 1999 really stood out. A lot of movies would have dialogue that sounded like it was added later, rather than being more organic. Like a really bad dub. Those would always get your attention. Starting in 1999, digital sound equipment has effectively ended that.
I could swear there's a version of "Star Wars" that doesn't have Threepio's whole "disrupting the tractor beam power at several locations will allow the ship to leave" line. If you notice when you watch it, his voice sounds different when he says it, not as high-pitched as Threepio is in most of the movie. Sounds like a years-later redub ala "Alert my Star Destroyer to prepare for my arrival" from ESB.
Yep, that line's been back and forth a few times over the years, like "Close the blast doors". IIRC, the 1995 version doesn't have it at all. I think it's always been original 1977 audio when it was included, though.
Depends how attached you are to "bad" GL dialogue. Take it out and someone is unhappy, leave it in someone else is happy.
I definitely have a VHS copy of "Star Wars", non-special edition, that doesn't have the Threepio tractor-beam line at all, because I distinctly remember just hearing the clicking noise of the Death Star plans flashing by. I think it's on this bad boy from 1990:
Yeah that C-3PO line isn't in the 1995 THX "One Last Time" edition. I didn't notice until I watched the Special Edition, and then I went back to my Disney Channel recording from 1990 and heard the line. Right now I can't remember if it's in the original theatrical version on the "Bonus Disc".
One day there will be an ultimate archive edition which will have every version available in a mix and match and you can choose your own version to watch.
Well, that's just speculative. Leaving aside Lucas's comments about them no longer working by the OT, Artoo doesn't have enough time to activate them before he's dropped into the bog. By which point they could have been damaged by the water.
Does that ever actually happen with real swamps? I was under the impression they were far too damp to burn much, and that pockets of marsh gas dense enough to ignite tend to be very small.
If there was flammable swamp gas in any quantity it surely was burned off by the X-wing's engines. Luke didn't seem to have any issue breathing and was ready to fire his blaster.
Agree 100%. Sound is extremely important in film; I would argue that it's equally as important as the PQ (picture quality). Re: the "You're lucky you don't taste very good" line replacement, I would much rather hear the more ordinary line with good sound quality than the slightly more interesting original line with sub-par sound quality. I saw the OT SE's numerous times in the theaters from January - March 1997, and the first time I saw ANH was in a theater with Dolby Digital (or possibly THX?!) sound - truly amazing, and I specifically remember the Trash compactor scene - you could literally hear every drop of water splashing...Excellent. If the sound hadn't been that great re: the ESB line, we definitely would have noticed...
