George Lucas plans Star Wars in 3D

[TKA-001]

George Lucas plans Star Wars in 3D

Don't care. Already have the movies, & I don't buy a movie twice unless the first copy is damaged or lost. My surprise would be immense if any future edits to the films significantly improved the viewing experience.

 

Adywan fixed just about everything that was wrong with the horrible 2004 DVD release, and added several touches of his own. It took him about two years. He's putting the final touches on my beloved ESB as we speak.

 

I've always had a low opinion of fan edits, but this Adywan business is something else. Here's some of my favorite extracts from his list of changes to ANH:

 

3 - As the camera pans down to Tatooine you now see the 3 moons instead of just 2 (Yeah, it always bugged me how you couldn't see Tatooine's third moon)

11 - Re-coloured R2’s dome lights throughout the movie so they match closer to the rest of the saga. The front light now blinks from red to blue. (Looking at R2 without him blinking just made me shake my head and think "That's not R2, that's a prop")

17 - When Vader enters the Tantive IV a Stormtrooper lets go of the head of a dead trooper but that you can see that the actor slowly lowers his head. This has been fixed and the troopers head now drops at speed more like a dead body. (Because everyone's paying more attention to the extras than the huge ****ing dude in black walking thru the door with the dramatic music playing)

18 - Added blinking lights to Vader’s chest plate (A hugely important detail)

22 - Fixed the error in the scene where Vader is strangling Antilles the trooper in the background changes position in one shot. Originally his legs are closed and his blaster is in a totally different position. (That stormtrooper jumping all over the place made it impossible to follow the scene)

36 - Fixed a placement continuity error with the restraining bolt that the Jawas fix to R2 (Believe it or not that moved restraining bolt made me confused because I thought that R2 was a different droid after the bolt moved lol)

41 - When Beru calls to Luke as they are about to inspect the droids, bushes appear & disappear from shot to shot. Removed the bushes from the shots of Luke to fix this error. (Nice to see somebody doing something about those damned moving bushes

76 - Fixed the issues with Hans “wobbly” wrist as he fires (Glad to see this fixed, originally that wobbling wrist ruined the whole action scene for me)

95 - When Han, Luke & chewy wait at the elevator a trooper walks past them wearing a light coloured uniform but in the next shot it is a dark uniform. Re-coloured the light uniform to fix this. (An editing blunder of MST3K-level proportions)

125 - A lot of the Rebel pilots have Blue insignias on their helmets but there is no blue squadron in the final draft. Re-coloured all blue insignias to red. (Yeah, anyone with half a brain knows that the color of a little symbol on your helmet corresponds to the color of your squadron name in Star Wars)

136 - Fixed few flip shots of various pilots during the battle (the microphone keeps swapping sides) (This was such an enormous distraction when I was watching the movie as a kid that I forgot what was going on in that scene)

143 - When Vader fires at Luke and hits R2 he is actually firing beneath the X-wing but then next shot he hits R2 which would have been impossible. This issue has been fixed (Because it's impossible for Vader's aim to have changed since he fired his first shot)

155 - Chewie now gets a medal (Pissed me off since I first saw the movie when I was 6)

 

I don't know about the rest of you, but to me this looks like a truckload of overly meticulous fanwank. Does anyone care about these piddling details at all, other than Adywan and the other fans who go through the movie frame-by-frame in search of a stray pixel being in the wrong spot? Did anyone else even notice those errors while watching the movie normally? Seriously, even with the editing improvements and color corrections (which, unlike most of the other changes, not sillily nitpicky), does this edit really contribute anything of any significance to the viewing experience at all?

 

For ****'s sake, at the age of 16-1/2 I had seen the Star Wars movies enough times to never need or want to watch them again. I consider all six of the movies, in all of their forms (original and SE cuts), to be flawed in a variety of ways, and that's okay. I don't like Greedo shooting first, but I am not of the opinion that it stains the movie so badly that Lucas should be considered a sex offender for it. I don't like coloring mistakes in the OT movies, because they don't look good, but that's okay. Even the special effects corrections don't have much point to them. This movie came out in 1977. It looks like it was made in 1977, and that's okay. But evidently it was not only not okay, but so insufferable that someone needed to spend 2-1/2 years on "fixing" this movie.

 

In summary, I do not believe that it is healthy for anyone to care about the quality of any movie to the extent that Adywan does.

[Q]

Seriously, even with the editing improvements and color corrections (which, unlike most of the other changes, not sillily nitpicky), does this edit really contribute anything of any significance to the viewing experience at all?

I think it does. The SE is ****. This isn't.

 

You forgot to mention that Adywan cleaned up all of the garbage mattes around the ship models and re-rotoscoped the lightsabers, things that Lucasfilm/ILM were too ****ing sorry to do because they were too busy adding inane BS and screwing up the colors. All of that silly nit-pickyness makes for a far better movie.

 

Just download the damn thing and watch it. You'll never watch the SE version again.

[TKA-001]

I think it does. The SE is ****. This isn't.

Oh, come on. It isn't possible for the quality difference to be that huge.

 

You forgot to mention that Adywan cleaned up all of the garbage mattes around the ship models and re-rotoscoped the lightsabers, things that Lucasfilm/ILM were too ****ing sorry to do because they were too busy adding inane BS and screwing up the colors. All of that silly nit-pickyness makes for a far better movie.

The SE is a stone's throw away from the original editions. So what if the Revisited visuals are improved? It's still the same damn movie.

 

Just download the damn thing and watch it. You'll never watch the SE version again.

For the record, I actually did watch most of it on YouTube (I'm not storing an entire movie on my HD) to see what all the fuss was about when I heard about it. It's negligibly better in some ways (I found myself dissatisfied by a number of the editing changes, but there's no point in listing them), but more than anything else, I found the actual viewing experience is just different, not better, and not even worse. As for your guarantee that I'll never watch the SE again, I'll never watch the movies again, period, because you can only watch the same movie so many times before it becomes an obsession.

 

The train of thought which Adywan follows is the same train followed by the people who (for example) revile the prequels primarily because they personally were not consulted when making the story (such people tend to have formed their own ideas for what the story "should" have been before the movies came out, optionally having written sprawling fan fiction sagas corresponding to those ideas), saying things like "They should have had the clones in the Clone War be the enemies because prior EU established that and Anakin should've had have a red lightsaber after turning evil and Yoda shouldn't have had a lightsaber and Obi-Wan should've been Owen's brother" (rather than more legitimate criticisms, such as personal dissatisfaction with the cast's acting talent, and the like). It's basically the act of rendering oneself unable to enjoy a movie (or whatever) without it being exactly as they want it. A fan who views what they are a fan of in that way is not a good fan.

 

Seriously, anyone who came up with the idea of replacing that interrogation droid's needle with a ****ing lightsaber syringe cannot be mentally balanced.

[Q]

^The version I have doesn't have the ****ing lightsaber syringe. He took that out because people griped about it.

Oh, come on. It isn't possible for the quality difference to be that huge.

OK, I exaggerated, but it is better. Those garbage mattes really got on my nerves.

 

In the end, I'm thankful that there is a kook as anal as Adywan who was willing to do this, though I probably wouldn't want to know the guy IRL.

[Ghost]

wow, this is really turned into a heated discussion.

[Jae Onasi]

76 - Fixed the issues with Hans “wobbly” wrist as he fires (Glad to see this fixed, originally that wobbling wrist ruined the whole action scene for me)

Well, you know how it is with those wobbly wrists. We couldn't have that now, could we?

[Tobias Reiper]

Look, it was hard to focus on the OT when you re-did it and added all the extra **** in there Prequel Style, GL, the last thing we need is for it to seem like Blaster Bolts are flying at us to distract us from the story.

[Jae Onasi]

Yep, because we do know there's not much story there to begin with (much as I love the film), and distracting from what little there is would be A Bad Thing.

[VarsityPuppet]

Oooh, you know what pissed me off the most?

 

Show spoiler

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There's no way I want a young Anakin in my living room.

[Endorenna]

Oooh, you know what pissed me off the most?

 

Show spoiler

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There's no way I want a young Anakin in my living room.

 

I personally liked that change. It makes more sense than having the Darth Vadered version of Anakin standing there.

 

If it had been the AotC version of Anakin, however, I really wouldn't have cared that it made more sense, 'cuz I despise Anakin's appearance and character in AotC.

[Totenkopf]

I personally liked that change. It makes more sense than having the Darth Vadered version of Anakin standing there.

 

Actually, I'd have to disagree. The older version makes more sense b/c that is closer to what the charachters looked like at the time of their passing over to the force/dying.

[Qui-Gon Glenn]

Actually, I'd have to disagree. The older version makes more sense b/c that is closer to what the charachters looked like at the time of their passing over to the force/dying.

Yeah... I have had this argument with myself a time or two.

 

I ultimately gave GL a pass on this one, as I found a justification I could accept - the last time Anakin was a good guy, a Jedi, was when he was young and looked like Hayden. Weak as it is, I can swallow it without projectile vomiting.

[Q]

Adywan will probably put Shaw back in that scene where he belongs.

[Bob Lion54]

I don't have a problem with Hayden at the end in principle, but it's that look he gives that bugs me. Maybe it's just the way the ghost effect flickers, but it's really creepy. Like he is undressing Luke with his eyes or something...

 

Shaw looked very fatherly and you believed he had been redeemed. It was a touching moment and Shaw seemed very warm. Hayden looked like he was angry he just found out he was beat out for the role of The Joker.

[Totenkopf]

Yeah... I have had this argument with myself a time or two.

 

I ultimately gave GL a pass on this one, as I found a justification I could accept - the last time Anakin was a good guy, a Jedi, was when he was young and looked like Hayden. Weak as it is, I can swallow it without projectile vomiting.

 

I figure that's the rationalization GL used. It doesn't completely bother me, but I still prefer the original to the revision.

[mimartin]

projectile vomiting.

Now there is visual for your 3D experience.

 

Perhaps the George can insert the Sarlacc projectile vomiting up Boba Fett into the 3D Edition.

[Jae Onasi]

Now there is visual for your 3D experience.

 

Perhaps the George can insert the Sarlacc projectile vomiting up Boba Fett into the 3D Edition.

 

Ewwww--I was eating breakfast when reading this! Blech.

[Ztalker]

This idea is the most stupid since the Borat man-string.

 

Leave it alone George. Or create a new trilogy with this technology. Don't ruin our memories.

[adamqd]

well for a start this whole thing is BS, he will release in Blue-ray, in between making cartoons for 3 year olds... thats it, there wont be a new trilogy either. Oh, and I buy the Hayden Ghost thing, never even questioned it tbh.

[Prime]

OK, I'm struggling here. How does making these films 3D all of a sudden make them terrible? So racing down the DS trench just wrecks the moment for everyone? Seriously?

 

Or are people just mad that Lucas isn't immediately heeding their demands to release movies they downright loath on Blu-ray?

[mimartin]

No, I don’t believe releasing the movie in 3D would ruin it. I’d actually like to see the entire series on the big screen again be it in 3D or not. I also don’t have a problem with the Special Edition beyond the Han, Greedo scene and that is just a minor annoyance. I even don’t have a problem with Lucas releasing the series in multiple formats; I’ve purchased the original trilogy now on VHS, Laser Disc and DVD. I’d much rather spend my money on movies that I know I will watch twice a year than some of the current Hollywood stuff that I will watch once and hope that I can permanently forget it.

 

That said, I really don’t care about 3D, I’ll watch it, but I don’t believe it will add to my Star Wars experience. 3D can make a mediocre movie watchable, but I don’t consider the Star Wars saga mediocre. Sure some of the dialog and the acting is average, but the story makes up for that for me. I do however want some of my favorite movies on Blu-ray which includes the Star Wars movies.

 

I just hope in making the 3D Edition Lucas does not decide to do any more revisionist history to his classics. Unless he decides to make Han shot first, again.

[Q]

OK, I'm struggling here. How does making these films 3D all of a sudden make them terrible?

It wouldn't. It's just that this whole beating a dead horse/milking the cash cow dry thing is getting more than a little old and clichéd.

So racing down the DS trench just wrecks the moment for everyone? Seriously?

Yes, it would be cool. The obligatory wave of cheesy and idiotic revisionism that is sure to be included with it won't be, and everyone will have to sit through it in order to get to the cool parts. I'm also pretty sure that, once completed and run through the theaters, they'll be the only versions that we'll ever get on Blu-ray.

Or are people just mad that Lucas isn't immediately heeding their demands to release movies they downright loath on Blu-ray?

I never said that I'd be buying the PT on Blu-ray. I don't even own it on DVD, or on any format, because doing so would seriously get in the way of my pretending that it doesn't exist.

[RedHawke]

QFT! And I'll add another...

 

[VarsityPuppet]

Maybe it's just the way the ghost effect flickers, but it's really creepy. Like he is undressing Luke with his eyes or something...

 

ROFL

 

 

I just hope in making the 3D Edition Lucas does not decide to do any more revisionist history to his classics. Unless he decides to make Han shot first, again.

 

It all wouldn't be so bad if they would just allow the other versions to be released too. You know, back in the days when Han shot first?

 

That way, I guess we could make our choice... you'd think that would garner more monetary gain for the Lucas companies.

[LordOfTheFish]

I try and look at like this-

 

It's more Star Wars...