Could the original, unaltered STAR WARS be on its way to Blu-ray? (1 Viewer)

[TJPC]

Certain things I’m longing for seem never to happen. What about the world wide search for the original 2 part Taylor “Cleopatra”, or a more thorough search for the missing parts of Garland’s “A Star Is Born”?, not to mention the rest of “Gold Diggers Of Broadway”.

 

[Colin Jacobson]

Huh?? Did what? Wise has been dead for years and there’s still no Directors Cut on Blu.

I think Osato meant that Paramount waited until Wise died before they put out the theatrical "ST:TMP".

He seems to think that the two are related, like Wise stood in the way of a theatrical "ST:TMP" on BD.

Wise died in 2005, back before BD even existed as a consumer format.

It's most likely Paramount went theatrical for the 2009 BD for the reason Adam mentions: the SFX for the Director's Cut weren't "hi-def ready" and Paramount didn't want to pay to upgrade them.

Is it possible Wise influences them to upgrade the FX for a 2009 BD if he's alive? Sure, but it's not a done deal.

Anyway, comparisons between Wise's influence over "ST:TMP" releases and Lucas's influence over "Star Wars" don't work. Apples/oranges...

 

[Osato]

When Lucas dies they will be free to issue anything they want.

when Wise died they went back to the theatrical city of tmp. Wise has requested that the directors cut be the definitive version when it was released.

 

[Tino]

When Lucas dies they will be free to issue anything they want.

Sez who??

 

[Colin Jacobson]

When Lucas dies they will be free to issue anything they want.

when Wise died they went back to the theatrical city of tmp. Wise has requested that the directors cut be the definitive version when it was released.

You still work from the argument that Wise's death is the only reason "ST:TMP" on BD is theatrical.

You continue to ignore the fact that the DC of the film wasn't "hi-def ready"...

 

[DVBRD]

At least Paramount is open to the idea of a 4K Director's Cut of ST:TMP (or at least that's what the producers of that version say), whereas Disney has made it clear that the "Star Wars" Special Editions are the only cuts that will be available.

 

[Jeffrey D]

As long as Disney or Lucas keeps being stubborn about not releasing the unaltered versions of the original trilogy, I won’t buy or support the altered versions (I still have the laserdiscs of the original trilogy, and the last time I checked, my player still works).

 

[Adam Lenhardt]

I wouldn't be surprised if Lucas made his preferred versions of the original trilogy being the only versions released a stipulation in the terms of the sale of Lucasfilm to Disney.

 

[Tino]

I wouldn't be surprised if Lucas made his preferred versions of the original trilogy being the only versions released a stipulation in the terms of the sale of Lucasfilm to Disney.

Exactly my thought too.

 

[Lord Dalek]

I wouldn't be surprised if Lucas made his preferred versions of the original trilogy being the only versions released a stipulation in the terms of the sale of Lucasfilm to Disney.

That would be the correct answer.

 

[Josh Steinberg]

That doesn’t really seem enforceable longterm. I can sell you my house and request that you keep it as it was, but there’s nothing to stop the new owner from using the property as they see fit.

I think they’re going along with George’s wishes for sure (having his handpicked successor running the company helps), but I also think that Disney understands that the vast majority of Star Wars fans don’t care that much, that declining physical media sales mean it wouldn’t be an earth shattering release, and that the company is far more interested in pursuing new SW projects than jumping into this argument. If, hypothetically speaking, they were to put it out tomorrow, the complaints would still outweigh the positive comments. “Why this sound mix and not that one?”, “The color timing isn’t what I remember from a bootleg made from a stolen print,” etc etc

 

[Malcolm R]

Perhaps George destroyed the original masters, now the only ones that survive are the special editions.

 

[Josh Steinberg]

No, that’s been thoroughly debunked.

What he did do was to conform the original camera negatives to the SE versions in 1997. But there are numerous pre-print elements available that could easily be scanned, like an interpositive or internegative.

 

[ahollis]

I wouldn't be surprised if Lucas made his preferred versions of the original trilogy being the only versions released a stipulation in the terms of the sale of Lucasfilm to Disney.

Yes I agree. Move on there is nothing to see here.

 

[ahollis]

No, that’s been thoroughly debunked.

What he did do was to conform the original camera negatives to the SE versions in 1997. But there are numerous pre-print elements available that could easily be scanned, like an interpositive or internegative.

Yes, but he and Disney don’t want to do it. So “there is nothing to see here, move on.”

 

[ahollis]

This goes on and on. It’s not going to happen any more than we will never see a Blu-ray of SONG OF THE SOUTH.

 

[Josh Steinberg]

Yes, but he and Disney don’t want to do it. So “there is nothing to see here, move on.”

Agreed, absolutely. I just don’t quite understand why people search for elaborate explanations when the one given on record is simple and truthful. Lucas doesn’t like those versions and chose to retire them in 1997 (and stated so at the time), and Lucasfilm’s new management and ownership has no interest in going against George’s stated preferences on this topic at this time. Disney did not spend $4 billion dollars to purchase Lucasfilm to release a now-obscure version of a decades old film in a format (physical media) that is declining in popularity.

 

[Bryan^H]

I wouldn't be surprised if Lucas made his preferred versions of the original trilogy being the only versions released a stipulation in the terms of the sale of Lucasfilm to Disney.

And at this point it doesn't even matter anymore. The unaltered versions will become public domain in a few more decades. But the bottom line regarding the home video of what Disney has, or hasn't planned for the future none of us know. We can guess, and speculate. We know nothing.
We could get an an elaborate 4K Star Wars Blu-Ray set encompassing the 9 films of the Skywalker saga with a wealth of new special features including the unaltered trilogy just in time for Holiday 2020.
Or we could get nothing but streaming, digital purchase, and rental of what is currently offered.

Time will tell.

 

[WillG]

That doesn’t really seem enforceable longterm. I can sell you my house and request that you keep it as it was, but there’s nothing to stop the new owner from using the property as they see fit.

I think they’re going along with George’s wishes for sure (having his handpicked successor running the company helps), but I also think that Disney understands that the vast majority of Star Wars fans don’t care that much, that declining physical media sales mean it wouldn’t be an earth shattering release, and that the company is far more interested in pursuing new SW projects than jumping into this argument. If, hypothetically speaking, they were to put it out tomorrow, the complaints would still outweigh the positive comments. “Why this sound mix and not that one?”, “The color timing isn’t what I remember from a bootleg made from a stolen print,” etc etc

I agree, there isn’t as much demand as people like us tend to think there is. I also suspect a lot of us are aging out of the demographic that market research covets the most. Unless you’re selling Metamucil, it’s all about the Millennials. And they didn’t grow up with these films and have likely never seen the unaltered versions (and probably more relate to the PT).

Besides, it’s not as if you can’t find pretty good “fan project” recreations of the unaltered versions. Disney is also perfectly aware of that.

 

[TJPC]

I would buy the blu rays of the unaltered versions if they become available, but I do not long for them as some here do.

I saw each film on its theatrical release, but was really satisfied with the 1990’s re-dos, and happy to see these in the theatre and buy these on Blu-ray.

I found it fascinating to see what could be done with the clunky special effects of the originals. Some say these re-dos are also dated now, which is only an argument for a second update.

I also bought the DVD sets with the non anamorphic versions of the original cuts as extras. To me they are just a curiosity, like the extras often included with a recent restoration of a classic film, which show what the movie looked like before it was restored.