I am so not getting these. I'd rather support real filmmakers.

http://www.thedigitalbits...mytwocents


MY TWO CENTS - 5/18/06 - by Digital Bits editor Bill Hunt




Well... it seems we've started a bit of a firestorm with this business we posted yesterday about the original versions of the Star Wars films on the forthcoming (9/12) DVD release being offered in non-anamorphic widescreen video only. So be it. Sometimes, you have to call it like you see it. The news is absolutely true by the way. We've confirmed it specifically with reps of both Lucasfilm and Fox. It is no rumor.

By the way, for those of you who don't know what anamorphic means on DVD, we refer you to our in-depth guide on the subject.

What you will, in fact, be getting on the second disc in each of these new 2-disc sets (unless something changes dramatically and soon) are transfers of the original films that were done for the 1993 "definitive collection" laserdisc box set release. (By way of confirmation, Lucasfilm's Jim Ward had this to say about the transfers in the recent USA Today story: "It is state of the art, as of 1993, and that's not as good as state of the art 2006.") Great. Thanks. Swell.

So the transfers, and the technology used to produce them, are MORE than a decade old. Of course, they're going to be digitally cleaned up a bit, and even a non-anamorphic transfer is going to look better in digital video on DVD than the same transfer would when presented on an analog laserdisc. Colors are going to bleed less, detail will be a little sharper. There's also apparently an additional bit of tweaking being done, because Episode IV will feature the original 1977 version of the opening crawl (sans the "Episode IV" text) which has NEVER been released on home video before, save for in excerpted form in the 2004 Empire of Dreams DVD documentary (which, we feel strangely compelled to point out, WAS ANAMORPHIC WIDESCREEN). In any case, the bottom line is that the transfers we're getting on DVD are old and they're non-anamorphic. The video resolution and quality is going to pale in comparison to the look of most other widescreen films on DVD.

A lot of people have been e-mailing us asking why Lucasfilm doesn't simply do new anamorphic, high-definition transfers of these versions of the films. Well... after confirming and posting the non-anamorphic information yesterday, we started making follow-up calls to various experts and industry insiders... you know, just to figure out what the hell was really going on. Were we crazy in feeling a little outraged about this? Was this really just a half-assed effort designed to milk Star Wars fans yet again? What was the real reason for the lack of new anamorphic transfers?

It's been reported previously that when Lucas went back to the original negatives of the Star Wars films in the mid 1990s, they were found to be in bad shape. Such bad shape, in fact, that had they not been restored immediately, the films could have been lost forever. So restoration is exactly what Lucas had done. Except that when he was creating the new 1997 Special Edition versions of the films... he cut the original negatives. So the original negatives of the theatrical versions no longer exist. Okay, we knew that. But what's the big deal? What about the original interpositive prints? What about high-quality release prints? Why can't Lucasfilm just use either of those elements to do a new transfer for DVD?

Well... at the same time as he was preparing the 1997 versions, Lucas apparently went on a little tear and recalled every release print of the theatrical versions that he could get his hands on, and he had them all destroyed. Which means that when Lucas said back in 1997 that the original theatrical versions of the Star Wars films no longer existed, he was serious. He apparently tried hard to make sure of it.

Nonetheless (and thankfully), we know for a FACT that beautiful dye transfer prints of the original versions of the films still exist in private hands, and that additional copies are preserved in a number of film archives around the world. What's more, Lucas would have been foolhardy if he didn't keep the original interpositives carefully stored in a climate-controlled vault for preservation's sake. Come on... of course he did. No one is THAT stupid that they'd just trash all the original elements of the films that made them rich beyond the dreams of avarice. In any case, neither the man himself nor senior Lucasfilm executives are willing to admit to that they exist, because as Lucas has said many times in the past, "They no longer exist."

So what are we left with? Either the films truly don't exist anymore, so it simply isn't possible to give them to you in state of the art quality (unlikely in the extreme, despite public and private statements to the contrary)... or Lucasfilm DOES have copies of the original versions in their vaults, and they're just unwilling (or too damn cheap) to spend the money to give them to you in state of the art quality... yet.

If the former is true, there can be no future anamorphic release of the original versions on DVD, and there can be no high-def release on the new Blu-ray Disc or HD-DVD formats. Laserdisc is as good as it will ever get for those original theatrical cuts. If, on the other hand, the latter is true (and we believe it is)... Lucasfilm's greed is truly boundless.

Bottom line: This notion that Lucasfilm is doing the fans a favor by finally giving them the original versions on DVD in 2006... but in 1993 laserdisc quality... is baloney. In fact, it's unacceptable. Even though most of them probably don't even know what anamorphic means on DVD, or why they should care about it, the fact remains that the fans are getting bilked. We hate to say it, because we've known many of the folks at Lucasfilm for years now. But someone HAS to say it. It needs to be said. Lucasfilm can and should do better. Who knows? Maybe they're already planning to do better for the 30th Anniversary of the original Star Wars next year... and this is just one more bite at the pie in the meantime.

The strange thing is, Lucas himself doesn't seem to think the fans are even interested in the original theatrical versions of the films on DVD. Witness his comments in this recent interview at MTV.com: "It's just the original versions, as they were," Lucas said. "We didn't do anything to it at all. But we're not sure how many people want that." That's just an insane thing to say given how many Most Wanted DVD lists the original Star Wars films top around the Net, and the folks at Lucasfilm have to know it. So here's an unsettling thought... Lucas finally agrees to include the original versions on the new DVDs, but he won't pony up for new transfers. Do you suppose there's a deliberate reason for that? If people don't buy them because of the lack of quality, Lucas can simply say, "See? People didn't buy them. They don't want 'em." And if they do buy them, but in a year or two start asking for better quality, Lucas can say, "Gimme a break. I already gave them to you on DVD. Now quit bugging me about it." D'oh!

In any case, rest assured that we're as sick of talking about the Star Wars films on disc as you probably are of hearing it. But our motto here at The Bits is right up there in our logo: "Celebrating Film in the Digital Age." It's awfully damn hard to find anything worth celebrating about this. Which is a real shame... because it was pretty damn cool news there for a little while.

We'll be back with a new Bottom Shelf column from Adam Jahnke later today. Don't forget that Barrie Maxwell's latest edition of Classic Coming Attractions is up now, so be sure to check it out.

Stay tuned...
[Edited 5/18/06 5:51am]

interesting

What does anamorphic mean anyway?

HobbesLeCute said:

It means it is made to look good on high definition tvs. IF it's non-anamorphic no one will want to watch it once High Def is the standard. By making the old versions inferior, Lucas is ensuring his re-tooled versions will be the standard in the future. He sucks.

Its pretty obvious that Lucas is putting almost no work into these, as he is only releasing them on DVD to shut people up, and put a kibosh on further bootlegging of the laserdisc releases. Why this comes as a surprise to anyone is beyond me. Lucas didn't even want to do SW on DVD anyway, as he sees it as a format that will soon be obsolete.

Right now, Lucasfilm is basically waiting to see who wins the format war between Blu-Ray and HD-DVD. Whichever format comes out on top will get the definitive collection that is being worked on right now. Hopefully, the theatrical cuts will get proper treatment at that time (which is what I suspect is the case).

Destroyer Of Childhoods? That's a bit much, eh? Destroyer Of Wallets is more like it. And give me my grainy VHS versions any day. The force is just as strong on cassette to me.

JediMaster said:

What is the Definitive edition?


Sorry folks--Alien fan here.

INSATIABLE said:

Did you read the article? He is destroying the orignal copies of Star Wars.

u2prnce said:

...and you really believe that??? C'mon! You KNOW he has the original prints in a vault. He destroyed a few worn-out, crappy prints that were in circulation, big deal.

JediMaster said:

Maybe it was an artistic decision. You know, like when killed off Prince for good becuase he'd had a spiritual and artistic vision and wanted to finally create good music and give it away for free.

Imago said:

I don't believe anything Lucas says now. He just cares about wringing every penny out of Star Wars that he can because he has no new ideas.

u2prnce said:

u2prnce said:

INSATIABLE said:

I like Indiana Jones better anyways. Of course, Lucas is helping out on the sequel for that, too. I don't know why anyone would doubt the veracity of this article. It's on the top dvd site and it's not in the rumors section.

u2prnce said:

Even the article expressed doubt that this was true, so yeah, I doubt the veracity of the claim.

All you have to do is not buy it if you don't want it. It really is that simple. To claim that he destroyed your childhood is just plain silly.

Personally, I doubt I'll bother to pick these up. I like the idea of the original cuts being preserved, but I have no interest in them beyond the archival aspect. I hope for a proper release in one of the HD formats down the road.

JediMaster said:

The subject line was OTT on purpose. Duh. At best, Lucas is only a henchman for the Devil.

People wanted the original trilogy on DVD, and when it first came out people bitched cuz all that was offered were the 'special' editions'

Now that the original trilogy is coming out in it's original form and in all it's (compared to now) lo-fi glory, people are bitching.


At least Han shoots first, which is as it should be.

You're right. Lucas is infallible. I also believe all future cds should be remastered from eight tracks. People should be happy with what they are given. Don't ask questions. Pay no attention to the man behind the curtain.

Imago said:

Lucasfilm is said to be working on a high-def set of the films. Details are pretty sketchy, but it is rumoured that new versions of the films are being struck (yes, further new scenes and effects for the OT, as well as for the PT). One bit floating around is that restored, anamorphic versions of the theatrical cuts are going to be included in that set. This, basically, is why Lucas isn't bothering with going all out for THIS set. The HD version will have this, along with the long sought-after deleted scenes (at least, that is what is rumoured at this point. You have to take these things with a grain of salt). Hopefully, they will also include footage from the original, rejected cut that was unearthed a few years back (unfortunately, this is all in b&w, and missing the soundtrack. Still, it could be an interesting piece of SW history).

As for the story that Lucas rounded up and destroyed all the prints of the film in circulation, I have heard this before, but most believe it isn't entirely true. Most fans think he got rid of some old, decaying prints to make sure that sub-standard versions of the films didn't continue to be passed around. This doesn't mean he destroyed or altered his masters. I suspect Mr. Lucas has them stashed away in a climate controlled vault after their restoration in 1997.

Nikster said:

bingo..and im tired of folks complaining about being robbed....if you dont want the crap, dont buy its..its not like its a new prince cd were you have to purchase it to find out if you like it or not...you now know whats going to be on these dvd's...if you dont want em....DONT F "IN BUY THEM!!!

case closed...

u2prnce said:

Who said he was infallible? I've bitched forever about Greedo shooting first and other such nonsense. The fact that he cast two horrible actors to play Anakin in the prequels pretty well proves that the man is less that perfect. However, your rant smacks of over-reaction. Is Lucas money-hungry? Sure. Does that mean that he is doing this only to milk the fans and screw them over? Not quite. Yes, it would be great if he released pristine, anamorphic widescreen editions of the unaltered trilogy on DVD, but he's never viewed DVD as an optimal format anyway. For a long while, he said he had no intention of releasing DVDs of the Star Wars films, because he said he felt a better format was on the horizon. He finally caved, and people bitched that he didn't release the original versions. Now he's releasing them, which is basically to shut people up, and they're continuing to bitch. Sure, he wants to make money off the release, I won't deny it. He isn't going to put a whole lot of work into this set because A) he'll be putting the work into an HD version and B) he knows most people will buy these anyway.

In many ways it would have been best if Lucas had stuck to his guns and not released the OT on DVD at all, simply holding out until the next format was established. It was pretty clear that the fans didn't want to wait that long. Still, no one is holding a gun to your head, forcing you to buy these.

sosgemini said:

JediMaster said:

I love this excuse. As long as no one's holding a gun to my head, I guess nothing should ever bother me. Case is so not closed.

INSATIABLE said:

INSATIABLE said:

u2prnce said:

Nikster said:

Hello, kitty.

Nikster said: