# Star Wars coming to DVD!



## Chris Blount

Well, it looks like 2004 and 2005 will be great years for Star Wars fans. Episodes IV, V, and VI get released to DVD September 2004 and Episode III November 2005 (with a theatrical release in May 2005).

Read more about it here:

http://www.aintitcoolnews.com/display.cgi?id=16453


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## Mark Holtz

I hope that Lucas will release both the orignal versions as well as the special editions.


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## spanishannouncetable

Mark Holtz said:


> I hope that Lucas will release both the orignal versions as well as the special editions.


Don't waste time worrying about it. He has said many times that his "enhanced" versions are the only ones that will ever be released on video.

I, however, would be happy to make you a DVD copy of my UNenhanced letterbox Original Trilogy laserdiscs...

...if I had a DVD recorder


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## cnsf

How would you transfer the Dolby Digital? I have the LDs, original and SE versions and an optical out (but not AC-3). 

The only thing I can think of is to find an AC-3 LD player and get an audigy 2. But what software would you use to record/encode the D soundtrack?


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## jrjcd

i could live without the DD for the time being just to have the original films intact without the stupid special edition changes...


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## spanishannouncetable

cnsf said:


> How would you transfer the Dolby Digital? I have the LDs, original and SE versions and an optical out (but not AC-3).
> 
> The only thing I can think of is to find an AC-3 LD player and get an audigy 2. But what software would you use to record/encode the D soundtrack?


I couldn't. My LD player has no optical or AC3 out, and my original lbx LD's don't have the DD AC3 info on them anyway.

jrjcd, if you want old school Star Wars in the original glorious Dolby Surround sound, I got your old school Star Wars action at my house


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## cnsf

S-video, macrovision remover and RCA cables for audio......... stick it on MiniDV or straight to PC for capture......

Also, check eBay. I seem to remember a bunch of unauthorised copies on DVD being sold.


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## torque91

I am a huge Star Wars fan and I have to say that I probably will not buy the DVD's if the original versions are not available. That is how much I despise the special editions. The additions to the films range from being unnecessary to just plain stupid to actually degrading the original vision of the films. How scarey is Jabba in Return of the Jedi after the friendly banter exchanged in the inserted footage in A New Hope? Why does Luke have to scream like a little wussy as he falls down the shaft at cloud city? And the most baffling of all, why did "you're lucky you don't taste very good" need to be changed to "you're lucky you got out of there" after R2 is spit out of the swamp? Maybe Lucas will come to his senses like Spielberg did with the E.T. DVD and make sure the fans get what they want.


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## Cyclone

If you thought the 1997 changes where severe, you should see what is going on with the new DVDS.

http://cgi.theforce.net/theforce/tfn.cgi?storyID=22710

Lots of changes planned.


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## jrjcd

BTW....greedo did not shoot first!!!!!


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## BobMurdoch

Mark Holtz said:


> I hope that Lucas will release both the orignal versions as well as the special editions.


http://www.thedigitalbits.com/rumormill.html

Accordng to this site, George is tinkering with the original so that the second trilogy syncs up with it. He also plans on restoring the Han shoots Greedo first to its original state.

BTW, ignore the additional item about the Matrix Revolutions hitting DVD in January, ... they changed direction and pushed it back since they announced it on 11/20.


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## Chris Blount

Looks like the announcement is close:



> We've received information from a reliable source that an official announcement regarding the much rumored Trilogy DVD is expected soon. Our source says next Tuesday (2/10) will bring official word that the Special Edition versions of Star Wars: A New Hope, The Empire Strikes Back, and Return Of The Jedi will be released in a four disk set on September 21 of this year. No mention was made of additional footage, or the contents of the fourth disk, but more information will likely be known next week.


http://www.rebelscum.com/article.asp?i=46242


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## invaliduser88

jrjcd said:


> BTW....greedo did not shoot first!!!!!


Here here!!!:bonk1:


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## invaliduser88

According to http://thedigitalbits.com, this release will be the 1997 special editions.


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## Chris Blount

Yep, September 21st is when the DVD's drop:

http://www.starwars.com/episode-iv/news/2004/02/news20040210.html


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## BobMurdoch

invaliduser88 said:


> According to http://thedigitalbits.com, this release will be the 1997 special editions.


BTW, the Digital Bits is my 3rd favorite website (After this site and Scott's.... which are tied for #1 with me......) Winning a free XMen Evolution and Superman: The Animated Adventures this week from them has NOTHING to do with that :lol:


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## Chris Blount

BobMurdoch said:


> BTW, the Digital Bits is my 3rd favorite website


I agree Bob. The Digital Bits is also one of my favs. Great source of info for DVD stuff.

Congrats on winning!


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## BobMurdoch

Thanks. This may finally get me to stop using my Laserdisc player. I've got about 60 discs, but the Star Wars Trilogy is the last one to still get played regularly. I've got a Pioneer DVL-919 that is a combination DVD/Laserdisc (It passes DTS and Dolby Digital as well to my Integra 9.1 receiver which has a built in RF Demodulator). No progressive scan, but my Sony TV has done a decent job of line doubling a decent picture. If I can find a good DVD recorder that ALSO plays multichannel DVD Audio and SACD, I'll probably jump.

The freebie DVDs was a nice surprise. I've entered about 100 of their contests, but my 9 year old son will be the happiest with this win. He loves the WB and FoxBox cartoons.


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## Mark Holtz

Uh, Bob, you may still want to keep your laserdiscs. These are the 1997 special editions, not the original versions.  Uh, George, can we have the original theatrical presentations?


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## BobMurdoch

Actually, "The Definitive Collection" that was released in 1993 (I think) with a hardcover book is in my father's hands (I gave it to him when I upgraded to the Special Edition in 1997). My son and his fellow Star Wars geek friend have frequently watched the Special Edition discs. I like the changes they made in Jedi (The celebrations at the end fit better than the 40 dancing teddy bears ending of the original) but agree that messing with Greedo and Jabba in IV was a bad idea (liked the expanded Death Star Battle scene though and the better Death Star explosions). I also had bought the Japanese import Laserdisc of the Phantom Menace JUST so I could get the sound in Dolby Digital (at the time it was only available on VHS (yuck)).

Sooooo, Do you think the guys dressed as Jedi are camping out at Best Buy yet?


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## Chris Blount

BobMurdoch said:


> I also had bought the Japanese import Laserdisc of the Phantom Menace JUST so I could get the sound in Dolby Digital (at the time it was only available on VHS (yuck)).


I remember that. I can't believe I paid $120 for that disc.

I also still have my RF output modified for Dolby Digital Pioneer laserdisc player. I got rid of the receiver though that can handle the RF input. I rarely watch laserdisc any more.

I guess I'm one of the few who actually enjoyed the Star Wars special editions. I don't know. The first movie just feels like it's complete now. It never really seemed like it was finished when I first saw it in the theaters way back when. Lucas was lucky it wasn't perceived as another "Buck Rogers" type movie.


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## BobMurdoch

Hey at the time we thought nothing of dropping $40-$100+ for "Special Edition" Discs.

Now, I get cranky if I have to spend more than $17 for a disc at Best Buy the week it drops.....

Ah, progress.

Laserdisc DID have it's advantages..... Being able to fast forward past the "don't copy this or we'll sue your tookus" warnings was the biggest.

One of the reasons I got the Integra 9.1 receiver was that it had an onboard RF Demodulator for the Dolby Digital feed. I still have the outboard Kenwood RF Demodulator if anyone needs one.......... (I know they stopped making the things in 1999 I believe)


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## spanishannouncetable

Mark Holtz said:


> I hope that Lucas will release both the orignal versions as well as the special editions.





spanishannouncetable said:


> Don't waste time worrying about it. He has said many times that his "enhanced" versions are the only ones that will ever be released on video.
> 
> I, however, would be happy to make you a DVD copy of my UNenhanced letterbox Original Trilogy laserdiscs...
> 
> ...if I had a DVD recorder


Just thought I'd bounce thread back up to report that I now, in fact, *HAVE* a DVD recorder.

And after some practice with the new hardware, STAR WARS was the first Laserdisc I copied to DVD.

And yes, it turned out great.

Carry on


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## retiredTech

First Look a the trilogy DVD packages.

http://www.starwars.com/episode-iv/news/2004/03/news20040322.html


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## invaliduser88

The Digital Bits is reporting that Lucas Films has confirmed that the Star Wars DVD's that will be released this September will NOT be the 1997 editions, but will have new scenes, updated effects and other changes.



> When asked if the forthcoming DVDs would feature the original theatrical release versions of the trilogy or the Special Editions, Sansweet answered that the films contained on the discs would be the incarnations of the films "as George Lucas sees them today." He reminded people of the 1995 video release of the trilogy that hailed itself as the last time the original theatrical cuts would ever be available. "They weren't kidding," Sansweet noted.


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## invaliduser88

This was up on Aintitcool.com.


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## Mark Holtz

:new_cussi Sigh... we have the tools to complete restore films if we want, and fix some unavoidable errors in the films (i.e. snake reflection on glass, animation errors). But this is getting rediculous.

I can understand improvements in some instances. The director had to cut a film to a certain length in order to fit a certain running time, but then the director was then able to produce a definitive cut of his film which, in some cases, added to the film. Take _Legend_. It's an average film, but it's also a cult favorite. We got to see both the US version as well as a better Director's cut with better music.

For _Doctor Who_, each episode has been restored by dedicated fans of the show. For the Jon Pertwee episodes, the episodes were transferred to B&W film for overseas syndication as well as color videotape. Because of BBC actions at that time regarding old shows, many episodes from the first three Doctors were destroyed. Some Jon Pertwee episodes only existed as B&W duplications, and they were able to restore the color from video tape copies make in the US. In addition, they developed a technique to restore the "video" look in certain scenes. See http://www.restoration-team.co.uk/

The folks who restored _Citizen Kane_ even admitted that they could have restored the beginning portion of the film, including pulling out the faces and removing all the scratches, but elected not to in order to maintain the integrity of the film.

Lord of the Rings? At least New Line was up front in saying that there would be two releases: A theatrical release as well as an extended release. How many of us purchased both?

But, what George has done leaves me scratching my head. We _grew up_ on these films. I can understand making some improvements in order to clean up the films. And _Star Wars_ may be the most successful independent film series of all time (Lucasfilm owns EVERYTHING Star Wars-related, but had an agreement for 20th Century Fox to distribute the films). But, we grew up on these films, and like the imperfections. Go ahead, clean up what was badly executed because that was the best you had available. But don't make wholesale changes to what we got used to.


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## Cyclone

I don't like the change in the Cantina scene where instead of Obi-Wan cutting the Monster's arm off with the light saber, he just "bonks" him on the head and the monster apologizes and buys Luke an ice cream sunday. (Made with Blue Milk of course)


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## spanishannouncetable

invaliduser88 said:


> This was up on Aintitcool.com.


After seeing that pic, I don't know whether to laugh or cry :nono2:

(looks at UNenhanced Original Trilogy LDs & DVDs sitting on shelf, feels better)


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## Orcatek

Actually I don't mind the changes. If I want to see the old way, I still have it on VHS and Chinese DVD.

If Lucas feels changes are needed - I'll trust him. Some things he wants to change he couldn't do originally. Sure it changes a classic, but that doesn't mean its worse. People tend to dislike change - especially to things that to which they have strong ties.

I still remember seeing the openning scene on the huge curved screen for the first time. No other film ever had that impact - not even the future episodes. Real world - most people don't know the film well enough to even be aware of the changes. 

Its like a cover version of your favorite song. Usually you don't like it as much. Of course then sometimes you find out that the popular version you like is actually a cover of the original that never quite made it. My kids played a cover of Satisfaction that they like - boy that hurt. I made them listen to the Stones and they still felt theirs was better.

My kids will surely enjoy the new edits for Star Wars because to them - it will be fun movie. Me it will bring back memories - as I try to spot what's new.


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## invaliduser88

Everybody together:

HAN FIRED FIRST! HAN FIRED FIRST!


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## Mark Holtz

DVD Series Trailer:
High Bandwidth Trailer
Low Bandwidth Trailer
Uses Windows Media Player Codecs


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## Cyclone

Boy, that trailer was of excellent quality. Neat to see those few EP3 peaks too.


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## Chris Blount

Mark Holtz said:


> DVD Series Trailer:
> High Bandwidth Trailer
> Low Bandwidth Trailer
> Uses Windows Media Player Codecs


Thanks for posting that Mark. Great info.


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## TNGTony

So the new release will be the "super-special, I really screwed up the back-story, you'll never see the originals again to check on me, George Lucas" Edition? YUK! I bet he adds Jar-Jar bnks to all the scenes in "A New Hope" 

See ya
Tony


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## BobMurdoch

Anyone DESPERATE to see the original versions? I've got the Black "Definitive Collection" Laserdisc box set with the book that was sold back in the early 90's.

Downside..... Standard speed disc mean you have to flip the discs (unless you have auto reverse) every 30 minutes. Upside, Dolby Digital 5.1 sound and none of the "enhancements" that purists seem to hate.

I know this won't appeal to most unless you have a laserdisc player, but it is just sitting on my shelf and I actually LIKE the Special Editions (everything except the Han Solo/Jabba scene that is all out of scale compared to Jabba's size in Jedi.... unless he was doing his Pizza the Hut impersonation and ate his way to that size).

Ditto for the Japanese Import Laserdisc version of the Phantom Menace, but I figured there would be much less demand for that. Anyone interested should PM me.....


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## ypsiguy

Orcatek said:


> Actually I don't mind the changes. If I want to see the old way, I still have it on VHS and Chinese DVD.
> 
> If Lucas feels changes are needed - I'll trust him. Some things he wants to change he couldn't do originally. Sure it changes a classic, but that doesn't mean its worse. People tend to dislike change - especially to things that to which they have strong ties.
> 
> I still remember seeing the openning scene on the huge curved screen for the first time. No other film ever had that impact - not even the future episodes. Real world - most people don't know the film well enough to even be aware of the changes.
> 
> Its like a cover version of your favorite song. Usually you don't like it as much. Of course then sometimes you find out that the popular version you like is actually a cover of the original that never quite made it. My kids played a cover of Satisfaction that they like - boy that hurt. I made them listen to the Stones and they still felt theirs was better.
> 
> My kids will surely enjoy the new edits for Star Wars because to them - it will be fun movie. Me it will bring back memories - as I try to spot what's new.


I agree. Lucas has said there was a lot he couldn't do originally because the technology wasn't there yet. Same went for "Lord of the Rings". It is said that the Tolkien estate waited until they felt technology was available, such that the trilogy would be accurate and breathtaking. If Lucas wants to bring the 6 movies into sync and give us more scenes, I am all for it.


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## iKwak

Nice. This will be in my DVD collection.


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## Danny R

_I agree. Lucas has said there was a lot he couldn't do originally because the technology wasn't there yet. _

Wondering what technology was needed for Greedo to shoot first.


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## Orcatek

Danny R said:


> _I agree. Lucas has said there was a lot he couldn't do originally because the technology wasn't there yet. _
> 
> Wondering what technology was needed for Greedo to shoot first.


A time machine


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## djlong

The Tolkien estate has *nothing* to do with the timing of the movies.

Saul Zaentz owned the rights - you see his name in the opening credits of Ralph Bakshi's animated 'Lord of the Rings". You'll also see Saul's name in the fine print of MANY things from Peter Jackson's version.

Christopher Tolkien came out and said he didn't like Jackson't movie (only the first one had been released at the time) and then, when the news went worldwide, said he never said it.

The Professor sold the movie rights to Lord of the Rings over 30 years ago for 100,000 pounds sterling. Christopher (head of the estate company that has disowned a relative who said he liked the film and has refused to allow Peter Jacson to build a "Rings" museum in New Zealand) had been a vulture on his father's estate, selling every scrap of paper and unfinished note that J. R. R. ever wrote and saved. He was ticked at the movies Peter made because he's not seeing ONE PENNY from it. (Except in increased book sales)


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## invaliduser88

The first reviews of the Star Wars DVD set are starting to come out.

Here's one over at the Digital Bits: http://www.thedigitalbits.com/reviews3/starwarstrilogy.html


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## BFG

So I guess George doesn't use DTS on his discs? That's a shame...


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## jrjcd

i bet lucas is glad sebastian shaw has gone to the great jedi council in the sky, or he could be facing a lawsuit for that monkeying around...lol


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## hdtvfan0001

BFG said:


> So I guess George doesn't use DTS on his discs? That's a shame...


The high quality video and DD 5.1 audio remastering of this 25+ year old film (the actual films were in very shaky condition, according to Lucas's video guy) is nothing shy of miraculous. It'll give generations the ability to see a materpiece that has stood the test of time.

Yeah, DTS would have been nice, but the fact that we now have "classics" on a media that is 25 years newer is quite an accomplishment. The detailed reviews give the Box Sets high marks for audio and video.


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## invaliduser88

I'm sure 1977 audio sounds virtually the same in DD as DTS...


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## jrjcd

oh, did anyone mention????GREEDO DID NOT SHOOT FIRST!!!!!!!

(...not that I'm obsessed or anything....)


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