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post #31 of 433
9/12/06 at 12:26pm

Re: The ONE and ONLY *OFFICIAL* STAR WARS (Original Trilogy) DVD REVIEW THREAD!

Quote:
Originally Posted by TonyD
all the disney treasures are in tins.
none of the movies do though i dont thin k.

has anyone found all 3 prints

no Cc in my area delaware county pa and wilmington del have the Star Wars print.

Correct. It's the Disney Treasures that all came in "tins." I should have been more specific. Also that TERMINATOR 2 release has a metal slipcase. All of those "things" are piled up away from my DVDs - they're not "shelf-worthy".

Circuit City in Springfield, Delaware County had the lithograph prints. I just came from there and got all three. I DID have to ask for them at the checkout counter.

Harry
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post #32 of 433
9/12/06 at 12:51pm

Re: The ONE and ONLY *OFFICIAL* STAR WARS (Original Trilogy) DVD REVIEW THREAD!

TonyD,

I guess I take OOT to mean the "original" Original Trilogy. Maybe that's stupid. How about the UOT - Unaltered Original Trilogy?

Darren
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post #33 of 433
9/12/06 at 1:01pm

Re: The ONE and ONLY *OFFICIAL* STAR WARS (Original Trilogy) DVD REVIEW THREAD!

Quote:
Originally Posted by Darren_N
I guess I take OOT to mean the "original" Original Trilogy.

That's exactly what it means. When the special editions were released in 1997 and modified again in 2004 for the initial DVD release, that was how one could differentiate between the new versions of the OT and the Original OT. Now we're calling them the OUT (Original Unaltered Trilogy). I'll be hitting Circuit City tonight to grab my set.
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post #34 of 433
9/12/06 at 1:13pm

Re: The ONE and ONLY *OFFICIAL* STAR WARS (Original Trilogy) DVD REVIEW THREAD!

Got a question on the subtitles. I bought the DVDs today and watched the greedo scene. Unfortunately the subtitles are partially obscured on my screen because of the zoom.

However, it looks like these are NOT player generated subtitles but actually burned into the black area. Is this correct? The reason I'm asking is that in the other thread the concensus seemed to be that they were going to be player generated because of some of the screen caps that were showing up.

From what I've watched so far (just some of Star Wars), I've got to say this is definately better than nothing. I would prefer 16x9 enhanced but I can live with this.
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post #35 of 433
9/12/06 at 1:17pm

Re: The ONE and ONLY *OFFICIAL* STAR WARS (Original Trilogy) DVD REVIEW THREAD!

Quote:
Originally Posted by Bryan X
Got a question on the subtitles. I bought the DVDs today and watched the greedo scene. Unfortunately the subtitles are partially obscured on my screen because of the zoom.

However, it looks like these are NOT player generated subtitles but actually burned into the black area. Is this correct? The reason I'm asking is that in the other thread the concensus seemed to be that they were going to be player generated because of some of the screen caps that were showing up.
If they're obscured, they're burned in subtitles (just like the LDs). If they were player generated, they wouldn't be covered even on zoom.
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post #36 of 433
9/12/06 at 1:21pm

Re: The ONE and ONLY *OFFICIAL* STAR WARS (Original Trilogy) DVD REVIEW THREAD!

Quote:
Originally Posted by Harry-N
Correct. It's the Disney Treasures that all came in "tins." I should have been more specific. Also that TERMINATOR 2 release has a metal slipcase. All of those "things" are piled up away from my DVDs - they're not "shelf-worthy".

Circuit City in Springfield, Delaware County had the lithograph prints. I just came from there and got all three. I DID have to ask for them at the checkout counter.

Harry

ok that was the one i didnt check, maybe i'll take a ride over.

origional original trilogy.

wow, ok. From the dept of redundency, dept.

how about origional theatrical trilogy OTT
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post #37 of 433
9/12/06 at 2:12pm

Re: The ONE and ONLY *OFFICIAL* STAR WARS (Original Trilogy) DVD REVIEW THREAD!

Quote:
Originally Posted by TravisR
I'll take your word for it but how exactly was it debunked? It seems the only way to prove or disprove it would be to see one of the prints that played in those 32 theaters and what are the chances that those specific ones are in the hands of collectors (and is there a way that you could prove that it was a print that played on opening day).

Well, debunked as far as can be, given the lack of one shred of proof being found after many years of numerous "cutscenes" nutjobs like me looking for it. The burden of proof is upon the rumor's claim, not the reverse.
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post #38 of 433
9/12/06 at 2:39pm

Re: The ONE and ONLY *OFFICIAL* STAR WARS (Original Trilogy) DVD REVIEW THREAD!

I did some quick screenshots from Ep 4, the DC LD set. Now someone can do the same from the DVD's.










I think that the DC transfer is crap and I find it hard to believe that someone could have thinked this was a reference transfer in 1993. I have older b-horror movies on LD that looks better IMO.
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post #39 of 433
9/12/06 at 2:51pm

Re: The ONE and ONLY *OFFICIAL* STAR WARS (Original Trilogy) DVD REVIEW THREAD!

Well, if the subtitles are obscured after I zoom in, then that really blows. I use black mattes and I was under the impression that I might be able to lower the picture with my widescreen TV's settings to get the subtitles to appear within the picture. Now it looks like I won't even to be able to read some of them at all, even without the mattes. This really sucks.
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post #40 of 433
9/12/06 at 2:51pm

Re: The ONE and ONLY *OFFICIAL* STAR WARS (Original Trilogy) DVD REVIEW THREAD!

O.K.

How limited is this Original Trilogy actually going to be?

What are the odds of this being re-released in anamorphic shortly after the sales of this units have run its course?

I think the tin can version makes it a nice collectable, but thats asumming it actually becomes a prized collectable.

Ozzie
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post #41 of 433
9/12/06 at 2:55pm

Re: The ONE and ONLY *OFFICIAL* STAR WARS (Original Trilogy) DVD REVIEW THREAD!

.
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post #42 of 433
9/12/06 at 2:55pm

Re: The ONE and ONLY *OFFICIAL* STAR WARS (Original Trilogy) DVD REVIEW THREAD!

If someonecan confirm that this is indeed the case with the subs, please let me know. I was going to head to CC and pick up the lithos, but if its true about the subs being cut off on a widescreen tv, then you'll save me a trip. I'm really getting disgusted about this whole thing.
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post #43 of 433
9/12/06 at 3:01pm

Re: The ONE and ONLY *OFFICIAL* STAR WARS (Original Trilogy) DVD REVIEW THREAD!

They are cut off on my widescreen TV. And they do appear to be burned in. The font just looks too nice to be player generated. Player generated on my player always look blocky.
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post #44 of 433
9/12/06 at 3:16pm

Re: The ONE and ONLY *OFFICIAL* STAR WARS (Original Trilogy) DVD REVIEW THREAD!

Quote:
Originally Posted by Bryan X
They are cut off on my widescreen TV. And they do appear to be burned in. The font just looks too nice to be player generated. Player generated on my player always look blocky.

Yeah, the subs are cut off on my TV as well. Would it have killed them to have taken this into account? I guess so.
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post #45 of 433
9/12/06 at 3:29pm

Re: The ONE and ONLY *OFFICIAL* STAR WARS (Original Trilogy) DVD REVIEW THREAD!

Actually I prefer them cut off to player generated. But placing them burned into the image would have been the best solution -- especially since these are supposed to be what we saw in the theater.

But that's just a nitpick. I'm happy to have these.
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post #46 of 433
9/12/06 at 3:29pm

Re: The ONE and ONLY *OFFICIAL* STAR WARS (Original Trilogy) DVD REVIEW THREAD!

Quote:
Originally Posted by Britton
Yeah, the subs are cut off on my TV as well. Would it have killed them to have taken this into account? I guess so.


Maybe they just want to give you an extra reason to re-purchase them when they release a 30th anniversary edition next year?
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post #47 of 433
9/12/06 at 4:17pm

Re: The ONE and ONLY *OFFICIAL* STAR WARS (Original Trilogy) DVD REVIEW THREAD!

Mattias,

Thanks for the LD screencaps. It's getting late here so if no one has posted the DVD screencaps for comparison by the morning, I'll try and capture some myself.
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post #48 of 433
9/12/06 at 4:18pm

Re: The ONE and ONLY *OFFICIAL* STAR WARS (Original Trilogy) DVD REVIEW THREAD!

Quote:
Originally Posted by Robert Floto
Maybe they just want to give you an extra reason to re-purchase them when they release a 30th anniversary edition next year?

All they need to do is bait the hook with that reason and they can reel me in.
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post #49 of 433
9/12/06 at 4:18pm

Re: The ONE and ONLY *OFFICIAL* STAR WARS (Original Trilogy) DVD REVIEW THREAD!

Hi everyone - thought I'd add my impressions of the PAL release of the OOT DVD of Star Wars.

I watched it on a 76" LCD projector using component connections. Whilst the quality is not up to a modern anamorphic presentation, I have to agree with others here that it wasn't quite as bad as I was expecting at all. In fact it's pretty acceptable. I own the 'Faces' laserdiscs, and again I have to say this release blows them away, not really surprising when you consider it's one step closer to the mastertape than any LD transfer could hope to be. It should also be noted that some at Lucasfilm have at least tried their best to give the LD transfer it's best chance to shine by giving it the full dual-layer DVD-9 treatment which automatically puts it a few steps ahead of most fan preservations.

True, there is ALOT of film grain present, but I don't really mind this - it recreates the authentic feeling of seeing it back at the flicks when they first came out. More disturbing is the 1993-era DNR created grain which brings down the picture quality in some scenes - most notably the Tatooine segments of the film. Overall though I was surprised at the detail levels, and the black and white levels were spot on unlike the 2004 editions.... The colours are very washed out in some scenes - again mostly the Tatooine segments of the picture - but this is undoubtedly due to the film print used. I'd still have the colours in this print though than the horrible artificial mess of the 2004 DVDs. The Bonus Edition DVDs look organic and real in comparision.

It was such a relief to see the ORIGINAL again on a big screen - I'd not realised how much I'd gotten used to bracing myself for the annoying CGI distractions, and poor music editing of the Special Editions. It was like having an old friend back again.

I did notice some obvious haloing effects in several scenes which detracted from the presentation a little - computer read outs make this especially visible. I'm wondering if these are present in the NTSC version of the DVDs or whether they're part of the D1 master? I'd be grateful if someone could let me know as if not I may order the other two as NTSC discs. I also prefer having the sound run at the original speed rather than the 4% PAL speed up. Having said that the soundtrack was glorius, and possessed of a perfect balance between dialogue, music and sound FX - again unlike the Special Editions. Bass had real punch as well. As has been mentioned elsewhere, the soundtrack is actually the 1993 mix, so it can't strictly speaking be called the 'Original Theatrical Edition'!!! Still overall I reckon it's the best mix of the soundtrack available, give or take a few missed lines. No problems with the force theme being heard over the end battle this time :-)

My MAJOR gripe about these discs though is the menus are anamorphic, and yet when the film is zoomed in to be used on a 16:9 projector, or 16:9 TV (and I use both) the subtitles disappear off the bottom of the screen. This is an unforgiveable oversight - no excuses for this... Do the NTSC versions suffer from this as well?

Overall then, I'd give picture quality a 6 out of 10, and sound 8. Much better than I expected, though it's still a crime that we are not getting anamorphic transfers, and that they've screwed up the subtitles for those using 16:9 displays. BUT I reckon it's the best we'll have them for the forseable future until the price of film scanners goes down enough to warrant a full fan-funded transfer ;o)

Cheers,

- John
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post #50 of 433
9/12/06 at 4:28pm

Re: The ONE and ONLY *OFFICIAL* STAR WARS (Original Trilogy) DVD REVIEW THREAD!

Are they not just Lucasfilm's version of the fan LD rips with a DD2.0 track? Im asking because if they are the subs will be identical to the LD version
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post #51 of 433
9/12/06 at 4:31pm

Re: The ONE and ONLY *OFFICIAL* STAR WARS (Original Trilogy) DVD REVIEW THREAD!

Quote:
Actually I prefer them cut off to player generated. But placing them burned into the image would have been the best solution -- especially since these are supposed to be what we saw in the theater.

But that's just a nitpick. I'm happy to have these.

Well, it's more than a nitpick to me. Whether animorphic or not. These are widescreen movies. I have a widescreen tv. I cannot view the movies on my widescreen tv without cutting off subtitles (that should appear within the picture). There is no excuse for this and I find it totally unacceptable.

Thanks for the reviews and info guys. I'm passing after all. I'm disgusted with the whole mess.
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post #52 of 433
9/12/06 at 4:32pm

Re: The ONE and ONLY *OFFICIAL* STAR WARS (Original Trilogy) DVD REVIEW THREAD!

I guess strictly speaking they are. However they are using the LD mastertape so they're one step closer to the original print than the fan efforts. They also have superior DVD cuthoring equipment and have given the original versions of Star Wars a full dual layer (DVD-9) transfer which - again - puts it ahead of most fan efforts.

The subs definately appear to be player-generated on my PAL DVD. They are burned in on the 'Faces' LD I own.
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post #53 of 433
9/12/06 at 4:33pm

Re: The ONE and ONLY *OFFICIAL* STAR WARS (Original Trilogy) DVD REVIEW THREAD!

Quote:
Originally Posted by TonyD
Originally Posted by Harry-N
Correct. It's the Disney Treasures that all came in "tins." I should have been more specific. Also that TERMINATOR 2 release has a metal slipcase. All of those "things" are piled up away from my DVDs - they're not "shelf-worthy".

Circuit City in Springfield, Delaware County had the lithograph prints. I just came from there and got all three. I DID have to ask for them at the checkout counter.

Harry

ok that was the one i didnt check, maybe i'll take a ride over.

origional original trilogy.

wow, ok. From the dept of redundency, dept.

how about origional theatrical trilogy OTT


as soon as i walked into the CC in sprinfield del county pa i new why it had been years since i was in there.
3 words
cluttered, dirty and disorganized.

the dvd section is so small it is nearly worthless.
they have new releases over close to the front door.

the lithos were behind the cs area as they were in the other 2 CC i was in today.
she was about to hand me one that was bent in half so i asked for another.
'"they're all that way, oh here's one."

barely glanced at me as she rang up the transaction.

this is why i barely go into CC.
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post #54 of 433
9/12/06 at 4:48pm

Re: The ONE and ONLY *OFFICIAL* STAR WARS (Original Trilogy) DVD REVIEW THREAD!

The subtitles are definitely player-generated -- I was able to turn them completely off using the subtitle function.
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post #55 of 433
9/12/06 at 5:01pm

Re: The ONE and ONLY *OFFICIAL* STAR WARS (Original Trilogy) DVD REVIEW THREAD!

You're right. I tried it and could turn them off too.
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post #56 of 433
9/12/06 at 5:05pm

Re: The ONE and ONLY *OFFICIAL* STAR WARS (Original Trilogy) DVD REVIEW THREAD!

Quote:
Originally Posted by Ric Easton
Well, it's more than a nitpick to me. Whether animorphic or not. These are widescreen movies. I have a widescreen tv. I cannot view the movies on my widescreen tv without cutting off subtitles (that should appear within the picture). There is no excuse for this and I find it totally unacceptable.

And you're surprised? It was pretty apparent this was going to happen as soon as it was announced these weren't gonna be anamorphic cos it's exactly what happens with the VHS and laserdisc editions.

I did flag up the issue several weeks (months?) ago but, as usual, nobody seemed to care because they were "only subtitles". Sigh...

John
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post #57 of 433
9/12/06 at 5:46pm

Re: The ONE and ONLY *OFFICIAL* STAR WARS (Original Trilogy) DVD REVIEW THREAD!

I bought all 3 for 12.99 each, thanks to Nebraska Furniture Mart Ad, and have
watched a litte of Episode 4, and I found it quite watchable and enjoyable.
It's the movie I saw when it first came out and I prefer it to the other revisions overall. Even though its not 16X9, it looked pretty good to me.
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post #58 of 433
9/12/06 at 5:53pm

Re: The ONE and ONLY *OFFICIAL* STAR WARS (Original Trilogy) DVD REVIEW THREAD!

The subtitles do indeed fall off the bottom of the screen when expanded through the zoom function on my TV. You get the first line but not any more than that. Really, for the number of times we've all seen these movies, who needs the subtitles anyway? By default, you get Subtitle set 2, the English option that translates the alien languages. Set 1 is full English subtitles.

The image looks better than I expected, but not as good as the upgraded editions. I suspect that I'll hang onto these as the best possible archival versions of the originals, but when it comes time to watch the movies, I'll probably opt for the (IMHO) better-quality SE versions.

Harry
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post #59 of 433
9/12/06 at 6:26pm

Re: The ONE and ONLY *OFFICIAL* STAR WARS (Original Trilogy) DVD REVIEW THREAD!

Quote:
And you're surprised? It was pretty apparent this was going to happen as soon as it was announced these weren't gonna be anamorphic cos it's exactly what happens with the VHS and laserdisc editions.

No, I'm not surprised. Just greatly disappointed. By the way the lasers were at least able to fit the dialog on one line, not two. And with a font that was a lot less intrusive. So, there's a difference with the LDs right there.

Quote:
who needs the subtitles anyway? By default, you get Subtitle set 2, the English option that translates the alien languages. Set 1 is full English subtitles.

I'm not talking about regular language subtitles (for the hearing impared). I'm talking about when Greedo or Jabba talks and the translations that appeared on the screen.

Oh, and btw John, you may have flagged this issue several weeks or months ago. It's been an issue of mine since 2003
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post #60 of 433
9/12/06 at 6:39pm

Re: The ONE and ONLY *OFFICIAL* STAR WARS (Original Trilogy) DVD REVIEW THREAD!

Maybe I'll pick these up used. Not going to give Lucas any of my money but I would be curious as to how much better they look than the (horrible) laserdiscs I own.
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