Star Wars: a brief history of the original trilogy on video (1 Viewer)

[bujaki]

Hmm. For most people, if they see something 3 times, they liked it.

Fanaticism is fanaticism, what can I say.

 

[Dave Moritz]

Not able to see the new movie yet but in about two weeks I will see it even if it is at a theater that is just ok. I would love to go to the Disney theater El Capitan on Hollywood Blvd in Hollywood. Still have the last two movies in the storyline to watch before going to see the movie after the next paycheck.

 

[DVBRD]

Hmm. For most people, if they see something 3 times, they liked it.

There was one guy interviewed in that one doc, The People vs. George Lucas, who went to see Phantom Menace a few more times after he first saw it, hoping that the next time he saw it, he would actually like it.

Yep, the SW fanbase are that passionate.

 

[Neil S. Bulk]

Not able to see the new movie yet but in about two weeks I will see it even if it is at a theater that is just ok. I would love to go to the Disney theater El Capitan on Hollywood Blvd in Hollywood. Still have the last two movies in the storyline to watch before going to see the movie after the next paycheck.

If you're going to see it in LA, I recommend the Village in Westwood. It's a THX Ultimate Cinema certified theater with Atmos. A friend of mine saw it at the El Cap and didn't like the presentation.

https://regencymovies.com/main.php?theaterId=27

 

[Jeffrey D]

The original "Star Wars", "ESB" and "ROTJ" widescreen LDs were $70 each.

I used to join the Columbia House LD club, get those 3 as my "free" initial choices, and then trade 'em in for store credit at Tower.

I funded years of LD purchases that way!

Yes I did the same thing as you to get those faces Laserdiscs- I paid less than $10 for all 3.
I still have those, and it wasn’t too long ago that I watched the first 2. Will have to fire up my laserdisc player again in the near future to watch Jedi. BTW, what are the differences between the original and altered versions of Empire Strikes Back? Thanks for any responses.

 

[Worth]

?..BTW, what are the differences between the original and altered versions of Empire Strikes Back? Thanks for any responses.

https://thedigitalbits.com/featured/articles/sw-empire-disneyplus-4k-2019

 

[Jeffrey D]

https://thedigitalbits.com/featured/articles/sw-empire-disneyplus-4k-2019

Thanks for the link. I went through the comparisons in Empire, and then looked at the comparisons in A New Hope. I’m going to assume Lucas didn’t alter the narrative or create new scenes from existing deleted scenes in Empire like he did in A New Hope.

 

[Colin Jacobson]

Thanks for the link. I went through the comparisons in Empire, and then looked at the comparisons in A New Hope. I’m going to assume Lucas didn’t alter the narrative or create new scenes from existing deleted scenes in Empire like he did in A New Hope.

George is altering the film. Pray he doesn't alter it any further!

 

[Lord Dalek]

Proving once again that even the "despecialized editions" aren't 100% accurate due to the sheer amount of subtle changes even theu couldn't catch.

 

[Stephen_J_H]

I currently have the following:

• The Faces Widescreen VHS box;
• The SE Widescreen VHS box;
• The SE DVDs, which I hemmed and hawed over for a few years before finally caving; and
• The 6-film BD set, comprising 9 discs

When I was a kid around 1978-79 or so, my parents bought a Super8 projector at Sears, which came with the Ken Films Star Wars "selected scenes" reel. I think it was the 8 minute reel, as it only contained the scene wher Obi-Wan gives Luke his father's lightsabre and the escape from the Death Star. I was already hooked at this point.

I would love to own a copy of the original films as they appeared in 1977, 1980 and 1983, but even in the "original versions" there are discrepancies. Stereo vs. mono, 35 vs. 70mm, etc. It's hard to know which is the "original version". I was a member of originaltrilogy.com for years but finally just lost interest, because it was making me lose interest in Star Wars generally. I'm in a much happier place re: the franchise now.

 

[Colin Jacobson]

When I was a kid around 1978-79 or so, my parents bought a Super8 projector at Sears, which came with the Ken Films Star Wars "selected scenes" reel. I think it was the 8 minute reel, as it only contained the scene wher Obi-Wan gives Luke his father's lightsabre and the escape from the Death Star.

Ha - I had that same Super8 reel! It was awesome to watch some of "Star Wars" at home, even though we didn't have a sound projector!

 

[Rodney]

I've been waiting for @Fritz Nilsen to join in this discussion, as he has a wonderful website devoted to Star Wars on Video.

 

[Museum Pieces]

I can't believe this is $25. I just ordered it. Surely Amazon got the price wrong. It's a reprint of the previous release, right?

$25.00!

See on Amazon

Here's the previous release. It's the same book, right?

See on Amazon

 

[MarkantonyII]

I can't believe this is $25. I just ordered it. Surely Amazon got the price wrong. It's a reprint of the previous release, right?

$25.00!

See on Amazon

Here's the previous release. It's the same book, right?

See on Amazon

It is but in a much smaller format, the book size is on the Taschen website

 

[Osato]

I can't believe this is $25. I just ordered it. Surely Amazon got the price wrong. It's a reprint of the previous release, right?

$25.00!

See on Amazon

Here's the previous release. It's the same book, right?

See on Amazon

It’s on my list for holidays too. I got an email from eBay about 2 copies going for $38. I’m glad I researched it a bit to know this is a smaller version.
I’m ok with the size and the much more economical price of $25.

 

[Vern Dias]

I would love to own a copy of the original films as they appeared in 1977, 1980 and 1983, but even in the "original versions" there are discrepancies. Stereo vs. mono, 35 vs. 70mm, etc.

The original release prints of the first trilogy were all available in Dolby Stereo.
However, at that time Dolby Stereo was relatively new, so some theatres may not have installed the required equipment to reproduce it.
Yes there were 70mm releases in certain areas, but these came from the 35mm source material.
The main reason for the 70mm release of films shot in 35 mm was that 70mm had more surface area which could handle the increased heat from the higher wattage lamps requires for theatres with very large screens.
6 track magnetic sound on 70mm was another advantage, but you should be aware that for many of the 70mm releases (including the trilogy), there were only 3 of the 5 screen channels being used (Left, Center, Right) for full range audio channels. The Left-Center and Right-Center (which were called baby booms) were only used for bass enhancement.
For some later 70mm releases, the LC and RC were re-purposed for split (left & right) surrounds.

 

[DVBRD]

The original release prints of the first trilogy were all available in Dolby Stereo.
However, at that time Dolby Stereo was relatively new, so some theatres may not have installed the required equipment to reproduce it.
Yes there were 70mm releases in certain areas, but these came from the 35mm source material.
The main reason for the 70mm release of films shot in 35 mm was that 70mm had more surface area which could handle the increased heat from the higher wattage lamps requires for theatres with very large screens.
6 track magnetic sound on 70mm was another advantage, but you should be aware that for many of the 70mm releases (including the trilogy), there were only 3 of the 5 screen channels being used (Left, Center, Right) for full range audio channels. The Left-Center and Right-Center (which were called baby booms) were only used for bass enhancement.
For some later 70mm releases, the LC and RC were re-purposed for split (left & right) surrounds.

The initial engagements of "Empire" in 70mm had its ending slightly altered for its general release in 35mm.

Empire at 40 | Some Last-Minute Magic: Changes to the Original Ending of Star Wars: The Empire Strikes Back

Learn the story behind some lesser-known additions that came within weeks of Empire’s first release.

www.starwars.com

 

[Tom St Jones]

I don’t think George necessarily grew tired of Star Wars or filmmaking. I think he grew tired of the unhealthy and nearly unprecedented level of vitriol being thrown his way every time he did something.

Not to be political in the least, and I mean this in a very general sense: Lucas may as well have been President of the USA.. Outside of a few clear differences, by most "survivors'" accounts, the job description & experience is quite similar to the above.
And now back to our regularly-scheduled argument...

 

[Museum Pieces]

It’s on my list for holidays too. I got an email from eBay about 2 copies going for $38. I’m glad I researched it a bit to know this is a smaller version.
I’m ok with the size and the much more economical price of $25.

Me too. But I'm glad I found out about the size difference BEFORE it arrived. That probably would have been a disappointment. But being prepared, not at all. Especially since I have never seen the big one in its full glory.