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The Toninator

The Toninator

Muffin
Jul 6, 2001
5,436
17
High(ts) Htown
Own it! I really dont like the changes he made (although i have not seen them) that asshole should just leave the movies alone.

anyhoo cant wait till this weekend when i get to see them. might do a little sampling later today here at work.
 
SkaredShtles

SkaredShtles

Michael Bolton
Sep 21, 2003
67,815
14,159
In a van.... down by the river
Are these changes more than the ones he made to the films that were "re-released" a few years ago? I ask because most of the changes he made to those films were fairly innocuous and done pretty well.

Don't get me started on the travesties known as EpI & EpII. :rolleyes:

-S.S.-
 
Westy

Westy

the teste
Nov 22, 2002
55,991
22,028
Sleazattle
Ridemonkey said:
Natalie naked is the only thing that could save the series at this point.
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I've read that all she wears are pasties with clothes that are just airbrushed on.
 
The Toninator

The Toninator

Muffin
Jul 6, 2001
5,436
17
High(ts) Htown
SkaredShtles said:
Are these changes more than the ones he made to the films that were "re-released" a few years ago? I ask because most of the changes he made to those films were fairly innocuous and done pretty well.

Don't get me started on the travesties known as EpI & EpII. :rolleyes:

-S.S.-
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well he actually put anakin in one of the 4-6 epi's dont know which one off hand. there's a site out there that lists all the changes.


oh wait

CHANGES MADE FOR THE DVD EDITIONS OF THE STAR WARS TRILOGY:

A NEW HOPE (original):
*First of all, Greedo still shoots first (groan). But there will supposedly be better editing to make it look as if the shots were almost fired at the same time.
*Trash pit monster now appears more snakelike and "realistic"
*Jabba scene with Han Solo still included, and looks much better
*Death Star "jail corridor" is deeper
*Various visual effect cleanups to make them look less obvious

EMPIRE STRIKES BACK:
*Biggest change- scene with Vader and the Emperor reshot with current actor Ian Mcdiarmand, new dialogue referring to Luke as Anakin's son
*Boba Fett's dialogue redubbed by Temuera Morrison (Jango Fett)
*Han Solo's black jacket "erased" due to accidental "cuts"
*Luke's "scream" (presumably in reference to Vader's identity) has been removed (it was added for the 1997 release)

RETURN OF THE JEDI
*The big one: Current Anakin actor Hayden Christensen now plays the Anakin ghost (along with Yoda, etc) in the movie's final moments
*Anakin's face when revealed under the mask has NOT been changed substantially, but the eyebrows are now gone and the eyes are blue to match Hayden's
*Digital cleanup in the Rancor scene
*Modern trilogy venues such as Naboo seen in planet montages
 
The Toninator

The Toninator

Muffin
Jul 6, 2001
5,436
17
High(ts) Htown
ahahah classic

"Fisher says she signed away her likeness as Leia for the merchandising Lucas shrewdly controlled. "So when I look in the mirror, I have to pay George a couple of bucks."


http://www.chron.com/cs/CDA/ssistory.mpl/front/2805494

Sept. 21, 2004, 11:35AM


George Lucas makes digital revisions to original trilogy on new DVDs
--------------------------------------------------------------------

By BRUCE WESTBROOK
Copyright 2004 Houston Chronicle

After decades of megahits and Wookiee fever, the Force of George Lucas'
Star Wars universe remains elusive. Is it spirituality? Karma? Magic?


But the force behind the films' recent incarnations is clear: Lucas has made a deal with the digital devil.

Digital effects now dictate his visions rather than serve them. Lucas'
over-reliance on flashy effects has consumed his prequel trilogy, which lacks the lively plotting and engaging characters of the original movies that make their long-awaited DVD debut today.

The first films aren't immune to digital dust-offs, either. Having markedly changed them for 1997's Special Editions, Lucas has tweaked them yet again for the four-disc DVD set, which includes a bonus disc of extra features.

Changes pop up in each film: 1977's Star Wars, 1980's The Empire Strikes Back and 1983's Return of the Jedi. Some are subtle visual enhancements; others betray Lucas' galling uncertainty.

Take the cantina scene in the original Star Wars. Accosted by bounty hunter Greedo, Han Solo (Harrison Ford) sneakily shoots him from beneath a table, which underscores his mercenary character.

In 1997's Special Edition, Lucas turned touchy-feely, revamping the scene to have Greedo shoot first and Solo fire back in self-defense.
Perhaps acceding to fans' protests, on the new DVD he has Solo and Greedo fire almost simultaneously.

Jabba the Hutt also gets a makeover. The sluglike gangster, who first appeared in 1983's Jedi and then was woven into Star Wars' Special Edition, now looks like the digital Jabba created for 1999's The Phantom Menace.

New actors also invade. In Empire, an uncredited actress appeared as the hooded emperor, with voice-overs by Clive Revill. But Ian McDiarmid played the emperor in Jedi as well as the recent prequels, so Lucas shot new footage of him and plopped it into Empire, for consistency's sake.

He also rewrote his dialogue with Darth Vader. The emperor now informs Vader that Luke Skywalker is "the offspring of Anakin Skywalker," soon before Vader makes that revelation to Luke (Mark Hamill). Happily, Lucas omitted the fearful scream he gave a falling Luke at Empire's end in '97, restoring the characters' willful self-sacrifice in the original film.

Sebastian Shaw, who appeared briefly in Jedi as pale, bald Vader beneath his helmet, gets his eyebrows plucked for the DVD -- then is plucked entirely from the film. When Vader reappears at film's end in spirit form, he's played by young Hayden Christensen, the prequels'
Anakin/Vader.

Fans have mixed feelings about such tinkering, says Houstonian Scott Chitwood, a founder of pre-eminent Star Wars fan Web site theforce.net.

"Some changes make sense for the sake of consistency," he said. "But changing Vader's dialogue -- I don't know."

Lucas' meddling is nothing new.

"He was retrofitting even back in 1981, when Star Wars was reissued and had a new opening title: Episode IV: A New Hope."

In '97, older fans resisted Special Edition changes more than younger fans, who delighted in seeing the films on the big screen for the first time.

"Those same young fans now consider the '97 versions as definitive,"
Chitwood said. "So now they're defending them the way older fans defended the original versions (when they were changed) in '97."

Though the DVDs have hours of bonus material, Chitwood calls it "the tip of the iceberg. There are no deleted scenes, no old making-of TV specials, no merchandising commercials."

Indeed, VH1's recent Star Wars special was more lively and entertaining than anything here.

That includes documentarian Ken Burns' 2 1/2-hour Empire of Dreams, which anchors the bonus-feature disc. (A&E is airing a 90-minute
version.) Its fact-filled overview of the films' creation underscores Lucas' status as the ultimate Hollywood outsider who changed the rules of the game.

Among new interviews of Lucas, Ford, Hamill, Carrie Fisher (Princess
Leia) and many others, Burns sprinkles never-seen footage from Lucas'
vaults.

We see Kurt Russell auditioning for the role of Solo, alongside William Katt (Carrie) as Luke. Reading for Leia are Cindy Williams (American
Graffiti) and Teri Nunn, later the lead singer for rock group Berlin.

Comments by newsmen Walker Cronkite and Bill Moyers lend heft to the huzzahs about Lucas' genius. Cronkite says Star Wars "lifted us out of our depression of the '70s" after Watergate, Vietnam and gas shortages.

Fisher is playfully irreverent, saying of her outfits, "There is no underwear in space." In Empire's commentary track, she reveals she'd partied with the Rolling Stones the night before one shoot, and her altered consciousness shows on screen.

Fisher says she signed away her likeness as Leia for the merchandising Lucas shrewdly controlled. "So when I look in the mirror, I have to pay George a couple of bucks."

Dreams also has some fun shots of the cast clowning around, but you can see still more in a hidden "easter egg" blooper reel.

To find it, access the bonus disc's Video Games and Still Galleries menu, then key in the numbers "1138" and hit "enter" in various sequences. Some DVD players respond to "11," "enter," "3," "enter,"
"8," "enter," but it depends on your player.

Among featurettes, The Characters of Star Wars reveals Solo was conceived as a green-skinned, gilled alien. The Birth of the Lightsaber shows that a camera's flash attachment formed the first weapon's base.
In The Force Is With Them, directors trumpet Star Wars' influence.
Ridley Scott says his gritty Alien owed its "used future" look to Star Wars' lived-in universe.

Return of Darth Vader, though billed as a "preview" of Episode III:
Revenge of the Sith, has no finished footage. But it does show Christensen and Ewan McGregor (the younger Obi-Wan) fighting with lightsabers against green screens, before backgrounds are digitally added.

The prequel finale hits theaters May 25. Until then you can savor the first films' exquisite picture and sound quality on DVD -- and give the digital devil his due. Star Wars may be compromised, but it's never looked better than this.

bruce.westbrook@chron.com *


Brought to you by the HoustonChronicle.com
 
The Toninator

The Toninator

Muffin
Jul 6, 2001
5,436
17
High(ts) Htown
BikeGeek said:
Speaking of dorks, Darth Vader was standing in the checkout line at Best Buy with the DVDs and a scary plastic light saber. :rolleyes:
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oh so you got your's too?

we had chewy and vader none of the chic's could pull off leia and thankfully didnt try :p
 
BikeGeek

BikeGeek

BrewMonkey
Jul 2, 2001
4,577
277
Hershey, PA
The Toninator said:
oh so you got your's too?

we had chewy and vader none of the chic's could pull off leia and thankfully didnt try :p
Click to expand...
No, I went in for a dual 12v power outlet that I thought they may have with their car audio or cell phone stuff. I was wrong.
 
stosh

stosh

Darth Bailer
Jul 20, 2001
22,248
408
NY
Ridemonkey said:
Natalie naked is the only thing that could save the series at this point.
Click to expand...
It's like putting heather locklear in a TV show.....
 
J

JRB

Guest
stosh said:
It's like putting heather locklear in a TV show.....
Click to expand...

That didn't help that show dude. She looks 50 to me now. Not hot. Much better options out there.
 
stosh

stosh

Darth Bailer
Jul 20, 2001
22,248
408
NY
loco-gringo said:
That didn't help that show dude. She looks 50 to me now. Not hot. Much better options out there.
Click to expand...
well I didn't say it was going to help..... I just said it's like doing the same thing. It's a last ditch effort.
 
Skookum

Skookum

bikey's is cool
Jul 26, 2002
10,184
0
in a bear cave
math2014 said:
I just saw new hope from the DVD, they did an awesome job remastering it.... well done.
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i briefly looked at the major changes and well i like it as well. i read in my local newspaper and this guy was pathetically whining over the changes. boo frikkin hoo, people cry over Star Wars like it was actually really super awesome to begin with. It was innovative and we grew up with it adding a sentimentality that makes it fun to revisit. But go back and watch the original trilogy with a critical eye and you realize "the movies aren't really that good."
i can't wait for Episode 3, and i don't care what George Lucas does to his story, and everybody who whines about it is gonna go to the theater and see it too, and buy the dvd....... or steal em.....
 
towelie

towelie

Monkey
May 14, 2003
140
0
Santa Barbara county
I'm not sure if I'll get it. I was really hoping that when it was released on DVD you'd have the option of watching the original version or the remastered version. I know on one DVD (T2 I think) you could watch the movie with the deleted scenes spliced in, so this seems like a doable thing.

Also, High-Def video discs will be coming out in a few years. I'm trying to taper back my DVD purchasing until then. Of course, on the other hand, Star Wars didn't even come out on VHS until, what, 1997 or so? And not on DVD until today! It'll probably be 10 years until it is out on high def, eh?
 
SkaredShtles

SkaredShtles

Michael Bolton
Sep 21, 2003
67,815
14,159
In a van.... down by the river
Skookum said:
<snip> everybody who whines about it is gonna go to the theater and see it too, and buy the dvd....... or steal em.....
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This is what I object to most, I think. The EpI & EpII were truly awful movies, but I'll still be there next May/June to watch Ep III on the big screen.

<sigh> I'm a retard :(

-S.S.-
 
reflux

reflux

Turbo Monkey
Mar 18, 2002
4,617
2
G14 Classified
TRIUMPH the Dog!!! or whatever his name is. That skit that was done on Conan for the release of Star Wars was f'n classic.

"Ahh, so this is what a nerd circle jerk looks like. Tell me something, what arcade are the lucky newlyweds going to have their reception at?"
 
The Toninator

The Toninator

Muffin
Jul 6, 2001
5,436
17
High(ts) Htown
SkaredShtles said:
But that was solely Mark Hamill's fault. :D

[whine]"But I was going into Toshi station to get some power converters!"[/whine]

-S.S.-
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Sorry took me a while to get back to this BUT a TRUE fan has been identified. Stand up and take the recognition you deserve :p
 
Skookum

Skookum

bikey's is cool
Jul 26, 2002
10,184
0
in a bear cave
meh your only a true geek if you knew of the existance of the infamous C3-P...oh!..... card.

my pal owns it i've wanted one but i don't go to enough geeky conventions to get my hands on it..... :p






huh huh huh i said get my hands on it...........
 
SkaredShtles

SkaredShtles

Michael Bolton
Sep 21, 2003
67,815
14,159
In a van.... down by the river
The Toninator said:
Sorry took me a while to get back to this BUT a TRUE fan has been identified. Stand up and take the recognition you deserve :p
Click to expand...
<bows low> Thank you. Thank you very much.

But I have to had it to Morryjg for trumping me - he actually has a larger-than-life Yoda in his basement.......... :D

-S.S.-
 
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