Lucasfilm waiting for HD-DVD for original SW trilogy (1 Viewer)

[Richard Kim]

Since the SE is supposed to be closer to his "Original Creative Vision", he probably considers the SEs definitive.

Not quite. Lucas is filming extra scenes for the OT that will tie into the prequel trilogy better, supposedly called "The Archival Editions", which would superscede the SEs as being definitve in Lucas' eyes.

Still, I wouldn't lose all hope for seeing the original versions of Eps 4-6 on DVD, perhaps through seamless branching. As evidenced by the TPM DVD petitions, and the AOTC script, it would seem that Lucasfilm is starting to take fan input more seriously.

 

[Richard Fairbrother]

Here goes,

When I was last at the Ranch, I was privy to some research being done for the DVDs. And no, I doubt you will ever see the original prints (even the ones without the title A New Hope)of the trilogy on DVD.

When Lucas speaks about his archival editions, does anyone remember the book Star Wars Chronicles? It's the bible for modeling and costuming refernces for the trilogy. I use it often for references and it's a huge hardcover book detailing tons of stuff. Well, to costumers. prop-lovers and convention fans, it's the essential guide to anything we want to replicate. There hasn't been a book like it since.

Now, take the varied interests of the Star Wars fans. Movie lovers, prop lovers, costume lovers, and toy lovers. Part of the reason Lucas was and is looking into blue laser technology is that his DVDs are likely to be his last stamp on the series. Now, what could make EVERYONE happy? Well done versions of his movie (YES that means whatever he thought and will film to make it so, even if it's a stark change), tons of storyboards, articles, pictures, and so forth. Take every resource known to man and throw themn in the DVDs.

That is ONE possible aspect to which they are leaning. For all the uses and extras people can think of and ask for, this is supposed to be the first real representation of reference. I mean, when is the last timeI looked at a cast bio and stills from production? Never, but make it Star Wars and I'm there with a fine tooth comb for cosutme details.

If only you could have seen the piles of reference articles on the Library desk....sheesh.

Anyway, this is what I am comfortable saying. As to my credentials, well, I got lucky a few times. I am not the end all person with knowledge, but I can say this is accurate up to this point. Lucas has a vision for his DVDs and if it means changing the means to achieve that end, well he will.

Rich

 

[WoodyH]

Holy mackeral - I gotta say, Richard, not having heard of it before - that's some book!
At this point, the mental picture I'm getting is something like the old CD-ROM of the Star Trek Omnipedia, only much more so, and with the movies included in some sort of 'final' form (whatever that might eventually mean).
Hmm...it'll be a long wait, but if they can pull it off, the end result just might be worth it.
That doesn't stop me from wishing they'd put out bare-bones editions now just to tide us over, though...

 

[Eric Paddon]

To be perfectly honest, I could care less about the volume of extras in any SW Trilogy DVD set if the one extra I want most, the ability to see what for me are the superior cuts of the films that I enjoyed for more than 20 years before Lucas made them worse is denied to us forever.

 

[Richard Fairbrother]

Eric,
Two points. One, I agree about the original cut. I want it too, for the purists, but then I guess we shouldn't complain about it being only in stereo and not 50.1 Second, Star Wars has become much more than the presentation of a movie. He is trying to cater to ALL the different masses through DVD. It will simply sell more DVDs. And DVD is a medium through which to do so. Imagine everytime you wanted to get a reference picture of a costume, and lo and behold, you can show the movie off to whatever audience you have. It is, I suppose, all in one marketing.
None of this has come to fruition yet, and I'm sure the game plan will change, but there is a larger scope of fandom than just the movie purists. I think these things are two separate issues, original vs. Lucasvision, and extras and who they cater to.
All in all, when they do come out, we're in for some fantastic surprises.
Rich

 

[Mark_TS]

Three things Mr. Lucas NEVER worries about:
1) Money-he bathes in it...
2) Bootlegs of the SW Trilogy- .00000000000000000001% of lost revenue.
3) That we will never see the Original versions of the SW Trilogy again.
(possible subheading:3a): Releasing the Revamped Trilogy on DVD....
(if he really is waiting for HD)

 

[MikeM]

I hear that Indiana Jones himself led the expedition to unearth that ancient article.

 

[Devon Miller]

I wonder if it ever occured to George and the powers that be at Skywalker Ranch that if the only DVD they ever release of the OT is a 10-disc box set for $200, the majority of the movie-buying public will not be able to afford it. For those of us that are passionate about the film and the medium, we don't mind waiting (although 4-5 more years is ridiculous). But the average movie fan is going to be perfectly happy with whatever version they could put together right now that simply includes the movies and a few extras that are already produced and available. Not to mention that all of us HT geeks would buy that version now and then also buy the works editions when it comes out later. Seems to me they are leaving a lot of money on the table and that is not at all like the folks at LucasFilm.

 

[Bill J]

I haven't been paying attention to the news much, so could someone please give me a simple estimate of when we will be seeing HD-DVD?

 

[Richard Fairbrother]

You'd be surprised how many people spend $200 on DVDs. I also work part time at FYE in the video department for fun and to know what's going on from a chain point of view.

Say all you want, if that box set came out for $200, people would pick it up in droves. And even Joe 6pack with his wife and ignorant friends.

Richard

 

[todd stone]

hd-dvd ? good grief

 

[Devon Miller]

I don't doubt for a second that people would pick up the OT in droves no matter what the format is or how much it costs. Millions of copies would be sold if they priced it at $500 but the fact is, the higher the price, the fewer units they will sell. All I was saying is that the casual movie buyer who is not a hard-core enthusiast is probably not going to want to pay much more than $60-70 for the trilogy. If the only version they offer is out of the price range of the average DVD buyer, they will not sell nearly as many copies as if they produced a stripped-down version for those who simply want to own the movie but do not dedicate a portion of their monthly income to their DVD collection.

 

[Jeremy Jones]

What is really silly is that Lucas could easily fund Episode III from a dvd release of the ORIGINAL trilogy. Sell it as a box set, all three movies with extras that are already out there (From Star Wars to Jedi documentary, the CBS Making of Star Wars with C3PO and R2D2, and others), trailers, and everything from the definitive edition laserdiscs. Heck, just put out the Definitive Edition laserdiscs as DVDs!! Price the set at $50, and he'd sell the fool out of them. In fact, I'd bet it would EASILY be the best selling dvd in history. Think, George. Satisfy the fans. Make HUGE bucks. And then make more bucks when the Archival editions come out. You win 3 times, pal!

 

[Dave H]

I hate to say it, but I would pay as much as $200.00 for the original triliogy IF done correctly.

 

[DarrylWHarrisJr]

what?... georgy who only directed 4 films in his 30 years!!! he must love making films!
he should release the OT on dvd and use the cash to finance ep3 (and buy a good storyteller for the script cuz let's face ep1 sucked...ie.boring!)

 

[Aaron Silverman]

Frankly, I'd be perfectly happy with minor changes to the "Special" editions. . .fix the Greedo scene, maybe lose the Jabba chat, the Screaming Stubby Skywalker from Empire. . .the other changes don't really mess with the content and don't bother me so much.

Hey George, could we maybe meet somewhere in the middle? PLEASE???

 

[Thomas Newton]

If this thing is supposed to be an uber-edition of Star Wars, and Lucas wants to be a completist on all of the encyclopedia-type stuff, and he also wants to have the Special Edition as standard ...

... then what's the problem with ALSO putting original versions of Star Wars Episodes IV through VII in there, either through extra discs, or through the DVD feature called "seamless branching"?

No matter what it says on the cover, it's not going to really be COMPLETE unless the original films are inside.

Whether the original films are the default playback choice or not is considerably less important than whether they are there, with decent picture and sound quality.

 

[Jeff]

This was a very popular topic back in '99. A lot of things have changed since then. Episode 1 being on DVD, for one.

 

[JohnJB]

I love the fact that George plays the marter during the extras on Ep. 1 saying how they re-released the original trilogy at the cinema to fund Ep. 1, implying this was to avoid studio ruining his film (like he needed any help!) but I have another theory, he did not want studios to put the money up because he wants to keep every single penny of profit for himself, but what I cannot understand is that he has more money than he or his kids could ever realistically spend, so why does he not make great films so people respect him instead of playing to the lowest common denominator to maximise his profits, for what???

 

[mark_d]

so why does he not make great films

Last time I checked with me, he still did. I can't get enough of TPM and am so hyped for AOTC it's almost painful having to wait.

Nuts. I've just gotten involved in a Lucas bash...

Mark