SW Trilogy VHS aspect ratio? (1 Viewer)

[AdrianOC]

I have this set which was the last original trilogy release before the "special edition" trilogy.
I did buy the Special edition trilogy but got my money back when I saw it was cropped. When I go to buy widescreen, I expect widescreen!
Guess I'll have to wait a few years before I get to see the full 2.35 image.
Also on another note, I may be mistaken but I think I just hit 500 posts!

 

[Gruson]

I am pretty sure we will never see the original versions on DVD. Lucas and John Williams have stated that they have alerady added scenes and new music for ANH for a later release (DVD or rerelease who knows). We will now hear The Imperial March in Episode 4, ANH. We will also see an older Bail Organa (Jimmy Smits) on Alderaan before it gets destroyed.

I personally HATE the SEs and of course this new news.

I am glad I own a LD player because the SW LDs will be the only way to watch the original versions.

Don't waste your time with VHS. Get a LD player (under $200) and the widescreen THX remasters from 1997 (around $60).

Enjoy the original trilogy the best way you can!

 

[David Lambert]

Wow, that's neat-looking! I presume that's a UK-only release, since I've never seen it (nor heard of it) in the US...and I have a friend who's VERY into SW and I thought had kept me apprised of all the variations. Not that I recall the details of the supplments and all (for all I recall, what I'm getting has the same stuff, but I doubt it...I'm sure what I bought doesn't even have the trailers). But I'm sure I would recall the lightsabers!
Slick, slick, slick!

 

[AdrianOC]

Yeah, it was a UK/Ireland only thing (I think).

Its a brilliant set especially with the hours & hours of behind the scenes stuff.

I know a friend of mine was trying to get rid of his... Don't know if he still has it.

 

[David Lambert]

PAL, though. :frowning:

 

[John Berggren]

That set is pretty sweet. I just have the first SE Widescreen release and the set that David just bid on and won. If the original trilogy (ORIGINAL) is not released on DVD, I may indeed have to grab a laserdisc player and a set of SW LDs. I didn't think they were as inexpensive as $60 though.

 

[Jeremy Jones]

Wanna know the scary thing? I have 3 sets of pan and scan trilogies, 2 sets of widescreen trilogies (se and original) and the definitive laserdisc set. And, of course, I have the widescreen Phantom Menace VHS and dvd. Still, I want the original trilogy on dvd, along with an archival edition. I didn't know my letterbox vhs tapes were going for so much, though. I only paid $75 for my definitive edition lasers. Might have to put them on ebay...um, nah!

 

[AdrianOC]

I bought the trilogy on fullscreen when it was released. Then widescreen. Then digitally remastered widescreen. The THX digitally remastered widescreen. Then that big box!

Hey, I'm a star wars collector.

 

[David Von Pein]

Can somebody answer this that has BOTH the 1997 VHS Star Wars SEs and the November 2000 editions......
Does the 2000 release contain any bonus material OTHER than the 10 minutes of stuff advertising Episode 2?
I have the '97 SW SE VHS P&S version of the Trilogy, and it contains some nice interviews with Lucas at the start of each tape regarding the making of the Special Editions. I was wondering if the 2000 release also had these supplements, in addition to the Ep. II trailers, et al?
Thanks for any info.

 

[Geoff_D]

Bought the widescreen vhs SEs, sold 'em. Bought the PAL SE Laserdiscs, sold 'em. Bought the original movies on NTSC LD (for ten bucks a pop!) from Ken Cranes. Finally got the AC3 NTSC versions after years of wanting them. And I've just spent £130 on a SEALED Executor vhs box set (the one Adrian has) on ebay. Lovely Jubbly!!

 

[Jeffrey Gray]

You know, am I the only one who notices that every widescreen tape of Star Wars is slightly cropped on the top and bottom. Even on the SE versions that were cropped to 2.20:1, the tops of heads get dangerously close to the top of the Panavision frame. Why is it that the widescreen versions are slightly cropped on the top and bottom, yet all vertical information can be seen in the full-frame tapes?

 

[Brian L]

The only extra on the 2000 WS SE's is the EP2 stuff that you mentioned (before A New Hope).

The other two films have no extras other than a commercial for starwars.com.

BL

 

[David Von Pein]

The only extra on the 2000 WS SE's is the EP2 stuff that you mentioned

Thanks very much, Brian L.!!

That's what I needed to know.

That makes the 1997 versions better in content than the newer versions! Odd!

 

[Jeffrey Gray]

As I said a few posts up, am I the only one who notices that every widescreen tape of Star Wars (at least the first one; dunno about ESB or ROTJ) is slightly cropped on the top and bottom, yet all full-frame tapes have full vertical information (at least for what shows up in the transfer)?

 

[David Von Pein]

Beats me, Jeff.....I've never ever even seen a WS copy of SW! :frowning:

 

[greg_t]

David,

If you need to go with VHS, that's fine, but get these in Widescreen! You will never want to see the pan and scam versions again after it. There is so much information lost in the full screen. The widescreen looks much more natural. As Brian L stated, there are no extras on the latest trilogy set other than the 10min. Episode 2 bit. I myself am not a big fan of the special editions, but do have one of these sets in widescreen. The transfer and sound are very good. I know that the lastest trilogy set was rereleased with Episode 2, but I have not seen a single set in Widescreen, they are all pan and scan. I got mine when they first came out.

The best advice is to get a laserdisc player and get the LD of the original trilogy. This is what I eventually did, and the laserdiscs are much better than the VHS. However you do it, widescreen is a must.

 

[Mike Miskulin]

Not that I personally advocate the practice, but there are tons of bootlegs of Star Wars DVDs out there, and some say the quality is decent on some of the more recent endeavors.

mike.

 

[greg_t]

I've seen them and the quality is poor. Go with VHS before you buy these illegal versions.

 

[David Von Pein]

However you do it, widescreen is a must.

Thanks, Greg T., for that input.
Yes, I agree, that Widescreen IS the way to go! (I'd better say that within the walls of this great website, or live in constant fear of being tarred-and-feathered, huh? ) j/k
Anyway...I do agree that Widescreen is so much better than P&S. Hard to find the Star Wars Trilogy in WS though.
But I see that moviesunlimited does seem to have it in stock. Perhaps I'll try them.
May The Force Be With Widescreen!

 

[Brian L]

Jeff,

I have not compared WS Star Wars films w/P&S Star Wars films, so I too can't comment on your observation (I am not enough of a SW Geek to really notice, anyway!).

I have seen other titles (Air Force One comes to mind) where this is very noticeble, but if memory serves, the "P&S" version of AF1 is not truely P&S, and is in fact just open mat.

The WS version is simply a matted version of the full frame.

I have heard other's discuss a film process called Super 35 (James CAmeron is known for this) where the entire frame is shot and protected (by that I mean no mic booms or other thinags are allowed in the full frame area), however, the shot is composed for 2.35:1 display. As such, when the film is transferred to video for TV purposes, no Panning and Scanning is needed....they just transfer the full frame.

DISCLAIMER: What I just typed was barfed up from things I have read. I may or may not have this 100% right. Others more knowledgable about film can chime in at any time!

As for the topic at hand, I don't know anything about how SW was filmed, as such can not hazard a guess as to why you are seeing what you are seeing.

BL