new Star Wars original DVDs

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[chaossphere]

So, who's gonna shell out for these?

I admit i'm a sucker haha.. I picked up the first one today. It's actually quite a good transfer, but it's 4x3 letterboxe and not 16x9 enhanced, so if you own a widescreen TV, it'll have to be zoomed in and you'll lose a lot of clarity. Overall, it looks quite clean aside from occasional bursts of film artefects (you know, those little black or white dots which appear for single frames in various places.. there's a HUGE one on Darth Vader during a closeup in the Death Star command centre conference, for example).


The major thing you'll notice, especially if you haven't seen these since you were a kid, or only watched them on VHS on a small screen, is how incredibly dated the effects look. Composite shots of characters against a starry backdrop (especially the space-view shots in the Millenium Falcon and Vader in his tie fighter) look extremely faded and flat, the fighters have hugely visible square mattes around them... there's a few other examples, the sort of things you'd never have noticed as an engrossed child, but in the stark light of adulthood and with DVD clarity, they're almost comically obvious. Still, it's the original versions on DVD. Han shoots first, there's no poxy CGI ANYWHERE, no "Episode IV" in the opening crawl, no extra Jabba scene.. and later on, no CGI snow monster, no "Little Shop Of Horrors" phallic CGI sock-puppet Sarlaac, no crappy new band in Jabba's palace... I could go on

[MetalCrypt]

I'll probably pick them up this week or next.

[Lars]

I work for an online store, and they're selling like hotcakes. Definately a must purchase.

[SoulcrusheR]

I have the enhanced versions but it was a matter of time before the originals where released. I just hate it when they do this because now I have to shell out more dough for the same movies I already own. I guess Lucas needed the money..lol
I'm a sucker too. I must own the originals.

[MetalCrypt]

I have the enhanced versions but it was a matter of time before the originals where released. I just hate it when they do this because now I have to shell out more dough for the same movies I already own. I guess Lucas needed the money..lol
I'm a sucker too. I must own the originals.

Well, consider that the fucker once said that they original versions had been "lost".  That's why I got the box set last year, I figured the real ones would never be released on DVD.

[Lars]

Well, consider that the fucker once said that they original versions had been "lost".  That's why I got the box set last year, I figured the real ones would never be released on DVD.

Heheh, yeah me too. I went out and got the box for the same reasons.  Lucas also came out and said that the full 6 film set won't be release until there is a newer format (blu-ray and the like).

So I guess that'll be coming out Christmas on normal DVD then... 

[MetalCrypt]

Heheh, yeah me too. I went out and got the box for the same reasons.  Lucas also came out and said that the full 6 film set won't be release until there is a newer format (blu-ray and the like).

So I guess that'll be coming out Christmas on normal DVD then... 

Sounds about right.

I just wish those DVDs were priced more cheaply.

[Ulysses]

I have the originals on VHS - So it's all good.

[chaossphere]

I have the originals on VHS - So it's all good.

No it isn't. VHS is so insanely inferior to DVD it's not funny. Oh, and if you have butchered full-screen versions, you're missing 45% of the picture. Hell, the pan'n'scan versions are so crappy that you can't even read the opening crawl until it gets halfway up the screen 

Anyway, this is certainly Lucas double-dipping, but he wasn't lying when he said the original reels were gone. He chopped them up to make the special editions. These new DVDs were taken from a cleaned-up digital Laserdisc master from the early 90s, not original film reels, which is why the picture is significantly less clean than the SE versions.

[Ulysses]

No it isn't. VHS is so insanely inferior to DVD it's not funny. Oh, and if you have butchered full-screen versions, you're missing 45% of the picture. Hell, the pan'n'scan versions are so crappy that you can't even read the opening crawl until it gets halfway up the screen 

Anyway, this is certainly Lucas double-dipping, but he wasn't lying when he said the original reels were gone. He chopped them up to make the special editions. These new DVDs were taken from a cleaned-up digital Laserdisc master from the early 90s, not original film reels, which is why the picture is significantly less clean than the SE versions.

Yeah, but I got them all for 7$. I hear the DVDs are 26$ bucks each, lots of money there.

[MetalCrypt]

No it isn't. VHS is so insanely inferior to DVD it's not funny. Oh, and if you have butchered full-screen versions, you're missing 45% of the picture. Hell, the pan'n'scan versions are so crappy that you can't even read the opening crawl until it gets halfway up the screen 

Anyway, this is certainly Lucas double-dipping, but he wasn't lying when he said the original reels were gone. He chopped them up to make the special editions. These new DVDs were taken from a cleaned-up digital Laserdisc master from the early 90s, not original film reels, which is why the picture is significantly less clean than the SE versions.

Hmmm.. I'm starting to wonder if this is worth the dough.

[chaossphere]

Oh they're worth it...  The picture is MUCH better than VHS or laserdisc, it's just not the same as the crystalline restored perfection of the 2004 DVD version. Those are pretty much reference quality, these are normal non-16:9 enhanced DVDs. As long as you're not watching them on a 42" LCD TV, they'll look perfectly fine.


The vast majority of old films on DVD aren't cleaned up or remastered. These look like just any other film from the late 70's/early 80's, whereas the SE discs looked like they were filmed last week because of the remastering... the level of which was among the most thorough which has been applied to anything. The OT Star Wars discs are at the same quality level as the majority of older movies on DVD.

[Sargon the Terrible]

And the award for Giant Star Wars Video Geek goes to...

[chaossphere]

I'm a giant movie geek in general, not just Star Wars

[MetalCrypt]

Alright.


So...

yeah...

Georgie got his money.