The Force is Strong on Blu-ray: Star Wars Saga Breaks Global Sales (1 Viewer)

[Douglas Monce]

Considering the global recognition and the very broad demographic appeal of Star Wars, it is of no surprise whatsoever that it is having the highest sales. The very heavy marketing of this release also didn't hurt either. Now, all that's left to wonder is if sales would have been higher or lower if the unaltered originally trilogy had been given such a treatment, the only glaring flaw in the release as far as I'm concerned

I don't think the vast majority of people care if its the original cuts of the films or not. Doug

 

[Robert Crawford]

Originally Posted by eric scott richard

Glad they are doing well. Just finished the PT and they all three look beautfiul. Can't wait to show Episode IV on a 20ft. screen on Saturday night...expecting about fifty people!

I had the complete saga all week and haven't even broken plastic wrap yet. I was in college when the first film came out so I'm an original fanboy, but today, it's just another BRD release.







Crawdaddy

 

[Edwin-S]

I don't see this as rubbing anyone's nose in something. However, I do see this as a small dose of reality to that small segment of so-called movie buffs that seem to feel Blu-ray is somehow supposed to be perfect all the time. Not that this will mean anything to them. For them, it will just give them someone to look down their collective noses at, that is, everyone that thinks this is a premium product.

It's really nice that you are satisfied with Lucas's middling release, but apparently now anyone who thinks the release is substandard is now just a "so-called movie buff". Personally, I didn't buy this release because it isn't the film that I saw in 1977 in the best quality possible. All I want is the first one unmolested by Lucas's "improvements" and in the best quality possible. But I guess I'm not a movie buff because I think these molestations have been given a less than "perfect" release because Lucas thinks his fanbase are clods who will buy anything that he releases. Too bad the last choice has the words "resist temptation" in it. I picked it, but I haven't even been slightly tempted to buy Lucas's offal.

 

[montrealfilmguy]

( Ben looks up the word offal on the net,and smiles. ) Thank you for that Edwin-S. can we actually say Lucas and his awful offal ? And i have the exact same reason. Star wars,it ain't. The mona Lisa now wears a leather jacket. Vermeer's milkmaid is now pouring Red bull. Van Gogh's starry night has become afternoon delight.. The saddest part is that,for those who bought it,the set of 6 films should now be a kind of Baraka-type reference disc collection. And from the last months,it seems to be far far from it. Because you know,as some people love to point out to us non-buying non-renting uncultivated, uncultured, uneducated, unrefined louts and yahoos, Hey ! It's Star wars !

 

[johnSM]

I'm amazed at the amount of people who seem to have a problem with those who demand the VERY best from this release. It seems that people are willing to lower their usually high standards just because 'it's Star Wars in HD'. The whole reason many of us ARE on this forum is because we demand the best from Bluray/Home Theatre. We're not merely casual viewers. If something isn't entirely up to scratch it deserves to be called out for it, especially a company like Lucasfilm that USED to pride itself at being at the fore-front of technology across the board, and now think it's OK to market 7 year old HD transfers (in the case of the Original Trilogy) with only minor colour & gamma tweaking. Frozen grain and some out of focus shots. And more silly new changes, and old faults still not dealt with professionally! I want Star Wars treated like Ben Hur. No more, no less. These films positively demand state of the art transfers, not 'good enough' transfers. I got my Laserdisc player up and running today - of course the picture was extremely low-res compared to even DVD. BUTTT the lightsabers were actually RED! A real eye-catching/pleasing vibrant blood red. Looked fantastic! None of this pink or faded nonsense which resulted from the 2004 digital dirt removal, and sharpening tools being used too aggressively... Even the 1997 Special Edition laserdisc looked like a FILM instead of the pumped up cartoon colours which now represent the originals movies. And again the sabers were all present/correct/as they should be (though Star Wars has always had variable quality sabers of course!). My point being, good enough is NOT good enough for this set. It's not particularly cheap either. Criterion routinely release amazing looking transfers on bluray, and they must have a mere fraction of the money or technology that Lucasfilm have. Why can Lucasfilm not lead the pack in terms of quality as they used to? Let's not lower our standards just because Star Wars now looks better/sharper than it did on DVD!!! It needs to look THE BEST it possibly can by TODAY'S state of the art HD standards. Good on those that have called this release out, and those that have stayed true to their word and not purchased this half-arsed set...

 

[Robert George]

Originally Posted by Edwin-S



It's really nice that you are satisfied with Lucas's middling release, but apparently now anyone who thinks the release is substandard is now just a "so-called movie buff".

I didn't say that, but okay.


As for this not being the movie you saw in 1977, well, yeah. This isn't 1977. You aren't the person you were then either. This has been debated to death over the years, but the simple fact is, these are George Lucas' movies. If he wants to change them, that's his privilege. If one is a film historian, I suppose having access to the movie as released originally is important, but the constant whining about adding some CGI and the addition of a few short scenes, something that happens to a lot of movies, somehow makes this something other than Star Wars is just silly. Hey, I think trying to make it out that Greedo shot first is stupid revisionism too, but I can still enjoy the movie.


So, yeah. Someone calls them self a fan of the Star Wars movies but doesn't buy the movies on Blu-ray because the HD transfers aren't brand new, or because Lucas changed a few things? Really?

 

[TravisR]

I'm amazed at the amount of people who seem to have a problem with those who demand the VERY best from this release.

Just out of curiosity, can you quote some of these posts? Outside of one person who was just desperate for attention, I don't recall anyone who has had an actual problem with anyone abstaining from this release. They might say that they don't see a problem with the transfers or whatever but I don't remember anyone with the attitude of "You should be happy that you get anything!". On the other hand, I've noticed a distinct level of snobbery and imagined persecution from some of those who haven't bought it.

 

[robbbb1138]

Much of this Star Wars Blu-Ray affair has reminded me of the classic South Park episode where the school is holding an election between a turd and a douche. You can either get this set or not have Star Wars on Blu-Ray. For me, that would mean not watching Star Wars anymore, which I like to do a few times a year (I'm one of those guys with a basement full of action figures and vehicles), because I can't stand to watch DVDs anymore. My daughter's also starting to get into Star Wars and she could care less about everything we bicker about online (her favorites are TPM and ROTJ). While I am almost completely happy with the set, I would definitely be happier if those of you who have not bought it for various reasons would have gotten things your way. If the sales continue as they have though (as someone else said earlier, it's all about re-orders in the long run), I don't see that happening anytime soon.

 

[johnSM]

Just out of curiosity, can you quote some of these posts? Outside of one person who was just desperate for attention, I don't recall anyone who has had an actual problem with anyone abstaining from this release. They might say that they don't see a problem with the transfers or whatever but I don't remember anyone with the attitude of "You should be happy that you get anything!". On the other hand, I've noticed a distinct level of snobbery and imagined persecution from some of those who haven't bought it.

There are only so many hours in the day Travis, and I'm not going to go through all the threads (how many are there now?!) just to list all the quotes to satisfy your curiosity. If you want to call passion for demanding the best of Star Wars on bluray (rather than settling for second-best - again!) as snobbery or some kind of persecution complex, that is of course your perogative. I like to see my favourite films get treated correctly - that's why I'm here. It just happens to be Star Wars that isn't being given the treatment it richly deserves. The words Star Wars unfortunately carry a stigma these days, which makes things harder for those with genuine complaints about the release, as opposed to whining for the sake of it. Good enough is just not good enough for a title as prestigious as this one...

 

[David Wilkins]

What's the real difference between poll questions 2 and 3? There should have been more and/or better questions. I've resisted so far, after initially placing a pre-order for the full set, wanting instead to read a few reliable verdicts. After plenty of thought, I'll most likely buy the original trilogy only, and after the "trigger" sale price is reached...which is undetermined at this time.

 

[TravisR]

If you want to call passion for demanding the best of Star Wars on bluray (rather than settling for second-best - again!) as snobbery or some kind of persecution complex, that is of course your perogative.

I'm all for passion but I don't recall anyone- besides one troll who seems to have left the discussion- taking any kind of shot at anyone that didn't buy the set but you keep bringing it up as if any time a person says that they didn't buy the set, they're being mocked. Like you said, there's multiple threads and some of them are very large but I don't remember seeing anything like that.

 

[montrealfilmguy]

I was going to answer that poll up there,but the only choice i could pick included the words resisted the temptation which is absolutely wrong to begin with. There is no resistance,as more and more info became available on the faulty technical aspects,let alone the contemptible changes. And Travis,i mention being mocked because there is a whole world out there besides the HTF forum,you know.. At this point in time,i think most of us all made our choice.Those who bought it and those who didn't,that's it. Or is there a third party now,those who did buy it but regret or have begun to doubt their 80 dollar purchase. I think i'm done with debating my decisions because when i do it,it simply feels like we're running in circles and potential for another darn Star wars thread or imprecise poll. In my view,it is a subpar product and for the same price, i'm buying Ben-Hur and Citizen Kane which have been getting stellar reviews. Both being cinematic classics in which ownership (by studio,entity,or conglomerate ) isn't used as a way to justify making arbitrary revisions,alterations or modifications. Wait, I'm debating aren't i ?

 

[David Deeb]

What's supposed to be the difference in the poll's 2nd & 3rd choice? Enthusiasm? Thing is, the answer is still yes.

 

[Ethan Riley]

I don't even see why anyone's the slightest bit upset. You know he's redoing the whole series for 3D, right? And in doing so, he's going to have to scan the whole series in at least 4000K and remaster the crap out of everything, yet again. And at some future date, he'll start putting out the 3D versions on blu-ray. And while he's at it, he'll probably offer the original versions on blu-ray as well. I see no further reason to beat this dead horse and complain that the current version is not what some people want or need. He re-releases these films all the time, in different versions. The versions you want are on their way.

 

[Jeff F.]

We were recently with a group of kids - all 16 and under - and one of them actually started talking about how excited he was that Star Wars was finally released on BD. I asked him and the other kids which of the six films were their favorites, and to my shock - and dismay - they unanimously chose the prequels. Only their parents agreed with me that the originals were best. I think Lucas knows this, and this is why he keeps messing with the originals to make them look like the prequels. If this is the case, it would be nice if he could appease his older fan base and give us the originals one last time to relive the magic of those films we saw as kids on pristine BD.

 

[Cactus]

I don't even see why anyone's the slightest bit upset. You know he's redoing the whole series for 3D, right? And in doing so, he's going to have to scan the whole series in at least 4000K and remaster the crap out of everything, yet again. And at some future date, he'll start putting out the 3D versions on blu-ray. And while he's at it, he'll probably offer the original versions on blu-ray as well. I see no further reason to beat this dead horse and complain that the current version is not what some people want or need. He re-releases these films all the time, in different versions. The versions you want are on their way.

There is nothing - not one single thing - that points to this happening. Ever.

 

[SamT]

Yes, he will release the original versions when the 3Ds comes out, only by originals he would mean releasing all 6 in 2D!

 

[Douglas Monce]

We were recently with a group of kids - all 16 and under - and one of them actually started talking about how excited he was that Star Wars was finally released on BD. I asked him and the other kids which of the six films were their favorites, and to my shock - and dismay - they unanimously chose the prequels. Only their parents agreed with me that the originals were best. I think Lucas knows this, and this is why he keeps messing with the originals to make them look like the prequels. If this is the case, it would be nice if he could appease his older fan base and give us the originals one last time to relive the magic of those films we saw as kids on pristine BD.

That has generally been my experience with teenagers and 20 somethings, They think the original films are okay, but to them the prequels ARE Star Wars. Doug

 

[SamT]

Kids love any "crap". With time, they will change their mind.

 

[Coressel]

I asked him and the other kids which of the six films were their favorites, and to my shock - and dismay - they unanimously chose the prequels. .

So kids today aren't allowed to have their own opinions?