Arrrrrchhh! They are going to do it with Raiders of the Lost Ark too! (1 Viewer)

[Sam Davatchi]

http://www.dreamworksfansite.com/edi...Review_Two.php
Kennedy and Marshall just mentioned they are considering to ... Raiders of the Lost Ark. I’m sorry my English vocabulary is not great. What appropriate word can we use there! I can only come up with “F..K UP Raiders of the Lost Ark”!

 

[Tino]

How about, as the article says, "spiff" up the effects. I think F**k up is a bit harsh.
I am curious to se how E.T's makeover looks. BTW, that article still lists the incorrect information that the removal of the "terrorist" line is a recent occurrence, when in fact, it was removed
years ago and hasn't been heard since ET's last theatrical run.

 

[Rain]

This is sick. But not surprising coming from Spielberg.

You know, even though they promised the original version of E.T. on DVD, I don't believe it is going to happen. I'm willing to bet the "original" version will still contain censored dialogue.

Sick. Just sick.

 

[Tom-G]

The special effects don't need fixing, do they? It's fine with me that the FX will be "spiffed up" but since we are going to get the original theatrical version of E.T. on DVD, I'm sure that the Raiders of the Lost Ark DVD will be no different.

 

[JonZ]

I dont know why this is suprising. They did it to the Star Wars Trilogy and ET(although I hate the movie, I still dont like the idea).Of course they cant to get their paws on Indiana Jonesand The Raiders Of The Lost Ark.
I just hope the rumor we heard about them adding to the FX in Blade Runner NEVER happens. I wont be responsible for my actions.
Really this is just silly-do the limited special effects used in Raiders REALLY need to be messed with. I can see a touch up here and there(dont like that idea either but...),but not altering or adding,

 

[Walter Kittel]

Warning: Extreme Sarcasm Ahead
Yeah, I'm really looking forward to Indy going into bullet time.
- Walter.

 

[Julie K]

I'm just waiting for the scene with Indy and the swordsman and Indy pulling out a walky-talky.

 

[Tom-G]

Yeah, I'm really looking forward to Indy going into bullet time

Good one, Walter!
I really have no problems with Special Editions of any movie. If the special effects are altered, or new footage is incorporated, I'm fine with it. All I ask is that when the DVD is released that I have access to the original theatrical version.
Since Raiders hasn't been released on DVD, I'm not going to go into a paroxysm of curse words (same thing applies to Star Wars).

 

[Rain]

...but since we are going to get the original theatrical version of E.T. on DVD...

I would be interested to know how many people actually believe that is going to happen vs. how many are just really hoping it's true.

As I said, I'm betting the "original theatrical version" will still have censored dialogue (ie. the terrorist line).

Something tells me we will never again see the true original theatrical version.

 

[Craig S]

There are a couple of reviews up on AICN of the premiere of the E.T. special edition in Salt Lake City this week (tied in with the Olympics). Both were very complementary, and said the redone effects were seamless and restrained. As far as "censored" lines, "terrorist" has been changed to "hippie" (as Tino points out this is NOT new), but despite earlier reports "penis breath" remains in the film!
This is just to point out that these things can be done right. The Raiders thing is in the early stages at this point. Maybe we should wait & see what's really going to happen before going ballistic?

 

[Chuck C]

Man, who cares...I am so pumped to see E.T. for the first time with great sound, widescreen, and the big screen (sorry, couldn't make it to the show in '82, I was still teething). The day I was about to see E.T. for the first time (on video), I was just a little kid who didn't understand why the video stores were selling out in one hour on the day of it's release. Then I saw it, and I cried. From that day foward, E.T. has held a place in my top ten all-time favs list, and I have a feeling that come this March, it's gonna be #1.

 

[Tom-G]

Link Removed has made mention of this as well:

Following a screening of a restored and digitally "tweaked" 20th Anniversary Special Edition: E.T. -- The Extra-Terrestrial in Salt Lake City, Frank Marshall, who co-produced the film with his wife, Kathleen Kennedy Marshall , indicated that plans are afoot to similarly renew the Indiana Jones movies, which the Marshalls also co-produced, according to an article appearing on the DreamWorks' fan website (http://dreamworksfansite.com/editori..._20_Review.php). "We're thinking about doing this with Indy," Marshall was quoted as saying, "bringing it back and spiffing up the effects. Before seeing the new E.T., we would have had mixed feelings about seeing Raiders [of the Lost Ark] touched in any way. Now the prospect is mouth watering."

EDIT: After reading IMDB's report, it looks as if it's taken right from the link that Sam provided.

 

[Rain]

This is just to point out that these things can be done right.

I disagree.

Why "fix" what isn't broken in the first place? This is no different than colourizing Casablanca, in my opinion.

It is even worse if the true original version is never made available only to be lost forever due to some silly PC hangup.

I guess I will have to wait and see about whether we do end up getting the true original on DVD. If I end up buying it and the terrorist line has indeed been censored, I will be demanding my money back.

 

[Mike Broadman]

Here's a question: has anyone ever heard anyone say that they wanted these movies to be "fixed up?" My understanding is that this is being done to make the movies look better- but no one wants them to! Everyone wants to see the movie they know and love. People understand that technology was not as advanced then. They don't care. Sure, we might make fun of it, but it's all in good fun.

It would be like Jimmy Page re-recording a guitar solo to take out the mistakes, and releasing the Special Edition of Led Zeppelin II. We want the mistakes.

 

[Dave H]

I warned people a couple years ago that Raiders was not immune to CGI. All I have to say is that when the DVD is released, the original version better be present!

 

[Jonathan Perregaux]

Now imagine going back and filling in the transparent Macaw eye in Citizen Kane. It was an obvious mistake, one that should have been fixed in 1940 but wasn't... yet to fix that one little shot now would take something away from this unique film. Sure, we could digitally enchance Orson Welles' bald cap so it wouldn't be so apparent and use a CGI model of Xanadu for added realism. But it would be WRONG and would totally violate the spirit of the original creative effort.
It would be the equivalent of cinematic blasphemy.
So why isn't a movie like E.T. treated any differently?
Like the already butchered Star Wars before it, E.T.—The Extra-Terrestrial is a noted presence on the A.F.I.'s list of top 100 American movies of all time. Why is there no appreciable effort being made to prevent classic films like these from being artistically raped by needless, greed-driven, revisionist marketing tactics? And where does it end?
The addition of Raiders of the Lost Ark (another A.F.I. golden nugget) to this sad list of profaned films only throws another log on the fire. In my opinion, this cinematic tinkering only typifies the modern values of our market-driven, "plastic surgery fixes everything" society. Here's hoping that we grow out of this very disturbing phase.

 

[Rain]

Excellent post, Jonathan.

Someone will now undoubtedly present the argument that this is different since Spielberg made the film and therefore has the right to make these changes.

This of course is nonsense.

Spielberg was indeed the original filmaker responsible for E.T., but existentially is NOT the same person (obviously) that he was in 1982. He, like every other human on the planet, has changed and has different sensibilities now.

This would be comparable Chaplin recutting his films in his golden (and possibly somewhat senile) years. As a result, any hopes for a decent presentation of the original The Gold Rush are probably lost forever.

If Spielberg wants to create a "new" E.T. that's fine, though I won't financially support it, so long as they are true to their word of providing us with the true original theatrical version (and that includes ALL original dialogue intact) for posterity.

 

[Carlo_M]

Just as long as Indy still shoots first.

Ouch! Hey! Stop that! Get off me!

 

[Tom Ryan]

It would be like Jimmy Page re-recording a guitar solo to take out the mistakes, and releasing the Special Edition of Led Zeppelin II. We want the mistakes.

Do you mean something like re-recording the Heartbreaker solo, which, because it was by itself and on a different guitar, was a quarter step off from the rest of the track? Hee hee, that is such a cool solo.....I'm really glad that musicians don't use the same type of tactics that Lucas and Spielberg have been using.

-Tom

 

[Mike Broadman]

Tom,

Yeah, that's basically my analogy. I know a lot more about music than movies, so it grounds me. Page, like so many other musicians, made lots of mistakes, but it's part of their personalities, the character of the music. Likewise, "cleaning up" movies takes away from their spirit.