Should BTTF Be re-mastered, Effects wise for a DVD release? (1 Viewer)

[DeathStar1]

I'm watching the film on Encore right now, and I've forgotten how obvious some of the special effects are, compared to films of today. Some, when the BTTF Delorean car is in the shot itself, arn't so bad. Like when the underside of the car is spotted lifting Marty on the Hoverboard over Biffs car.

But others....., like when Doc and Marty are in the Delorean, just starting to fly over Biff and the Almanac, look really bad. They could also improve the lightning effects of the storm, to make it look even more feirce, and actually have lightning in the background, rather than just flashes.

There's no way they'd be able to make all these improvments for the July release, but it would be a nice touch...

 

[Vince Maskeeper]

No.

 

[David Lambert]

I understand where you're coming from, BUT...

Why mess with success? The effects, like the movie, are a product of their time. Same as with E.T., even putting aside the guns-to-walkie-talkies thing. Why go for the revisionist history?

I say leave it the way it is.

Final word on this from me, food-for-thought for you and supporters of this idea: The FX in both War Of The Worlds and 2001: A Space Odyssey are pretty obvious by today's standards. Should we touch them up, too?

I say leave 'em alone. If you want to remake the entire movie, fine. But leave the original as we saw it in theaters, okay? THANK YOU!

 

[LukeB]

Let me answer for the next 10 posters: No.

 

[DeathStar1]

I understand where you guys are coming from. Heck, I wish that there could be a DVD release of the Star Wars films where there's a five disc set. The Last two discs containing the original broadcast of the films before the Special Edition. But let me ask you this..

What about other movies that improved unfinished Special Effects, where the original crew was involved, like Star Trek:TMP? Or, if the Director of the BTTF movies felt they where incomplete and wanted to go back and improve them?

Would you guys mind as much then, so long as both versions where included on extra discs?

 

[greg_t]

NO

 

[HenrikTull]

*Getting ready to be flamed*

YES! But, they should include both versions via seamless branching.

I was watching Part II not many nights ago, and the FX shots really looks bad, and detracts from the movie.

 

[Britton]

The effects in 2001 still look very good to me today. In fact, I don't find them obvious at all.

I just say they should leave BTTF the way it is. I don't want to wait any longer for the DVDs.

 

[JeremySt]

No.

 

[Jim_K]

Yes! Yes! Yes!
Redone digital effects & they should also digitally erase those terrorists from the film. Bring in George Lucus to consult on how to improve this film.
I can wait a few more years.

 

[GuruAskew]

In the immortal words of mothers everywhere, "'N'-'O' spells 'NO!'"

 

[Steve Felix]

LukeB answered for me. And I would mind almost entirely as much if there were 2 versions on the disc. I think aged optical effects are more charming and more "real" than CG.

 

[Michael Sliger]

There are only a handful of situations where I think that redoing the SFX of a film are a good idea. Star Trek: TMP was the best example since a large amount of that stuff wasn't finished in the first place. BTTF and the sequels would be closer to the Star Wars situation. Some scenes might look a little sharper with new CGI sequences, but the films won't be significantly enhanced by the work (and could lose some of its charm). I would be interested in seeing something like this in a seamless branching format (like BBC Video is doing with the upcoming Doctor Who: The Ark in Space DVD in Region 2) as long as the original films can be viewed untouched. But at this timeframe, I think most of us are sick and tired of waiting for these movies. Universal, please just make the best transfers possible and get the disks out to us ASAP.

 

[Dharmesh C]

NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!!
f/x don't date!
I agree with the f/x consultant on my website:
A good special effect will always look good, a bad one will always look bad.
In the case of BTTF, a new transfer should solve any problems where opticals have faded. I don't remember seeing any bad shots. If there were any, all that was required was to redo them in post production, but I guess money and time are major issues :frowning:

 

[Kyle McKnight]

Who cares if the SFX look "dated". They look the same way they looked to me when I first saw them. The magic is still there. I don't watch a movie to critique how things are done, especially movies I love. I watch to be taken into a different world for a short relief period.

 

[Bob_L]

The recent "director's cut" of Star Trek:TMP is a NEW MOVIE!!!!! Re-edited. Retouched. Redone. It's a wonderful addition to the original theatrical release of ST:TMP that I own on laserdisc.

I like NEW MOVIES.

I HATE "touching up" great old movies when those revisions supplant the original version and renders it "extinct." And I DESPISE it when it is done for no better reason that a shift in social climate, such as removing the guns in E.T.

I own two or more versions of lots of movies: Oklahoma, ST:TMP, Close Encounters, Superman, Blade Runner, The Frighteners, Touch of Evil, The Big Sleep, The Godfather, Apocalypse Now/Redux, and so on. Thrilled to have them.

My answer to retouching movies is NOT IF IT MEANS LOSING THE ORIGINAL, UNALTERED THEATRICAL VERSION. NO, NO WAY, NICHTS, NULLA, NIENTE.

If I can still have access to the original version, then, heck, go for it, guy.

 

[Jonathan Perregaux]

Well, obviously someone (maybe George Lucas?) has already gone back in time and altered Back to the Future Part II because Biff shoots first!

 

[Lane F.]

NO!

 

[DeathStar1]

And another little bit I wanted to point out. I wasn't talking about altering the rest of the film, like Lucas did with Greedo Shooting First, or Speilburg is doing with the guns in ET. That's just PC Correctness gone bad. I was talking about just re-hashing the effects to make them run a little smoother, like they did with ST:TMP. For example, in another shot, the Delorean is a little lighter than it should be, making it look clearly like an SFX shot...it dosn't blend in with the rest of the lighting background.

Just create a new model of the BTTF car, wether in 3D, or minature, and re-photograph the shots to match the original. It'll just look much smoother than it did in the original, in terms of transition, i.e. model car going behind pole, real car landing on other side...

 

[StevenA]

In the name of God, NOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!!!!!
(Now if only I believed in God , but my answer is still NOOOOOOOOOO!!!!!!!! )