So....a blog refers to a blogthat refers to another blog? This is what passes for content these days?
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Once again, George has apparently added a few new "surprises" into these films. I don't know what they are and didn't get to see any of them on Friday, but I was assured that there will be "new things to notice" when we watch the films. I think we can safely assume that one of them will be the new all-digital Yoda in Episode I. Way back when Episode III was released on DVD, ILM digital effects supervisor Pablo Helman confirmed to me that the puppet Yoda in Episode I was replaced with a digital version to better match his appearance in Episodes II and III. In fact, the Episode III DVD extras includes a clip of the Episode I digital Yoda. However, this Blu-ray set is really the first opportunity we'll have to see it in full.First of all, I'm actually for the creepy Yoda puppet from Episode 1 getting replaced with a digital Yoda -- generally, I'm all for puppets over CG, but the Episode 1 Yoda puppet was terrible, and I think having one consistent Yoda for the prequel trilogy is the lesser of two evils here. Second, if it's any consolation, Bleeding Cool refuted the article, saying Lucasfilm told them there were no changes... but I trust Digital Bits over Bleeding Cool; plus, just because Lucasfilm denies it now hardly means it isn't true. I mean, when you weigh Lucasfilm's denial with, oh, everything George Lucas has done over the last 15 years, I think you realize the odds of some "surprises" showing up in the original trilogy are pretty damned high. (Via /Film)
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93 comments
This is why I bought the special edition DVDs that have both the original, and I do mean original, and the "update" (read: #$%^ed with) versions. Why can't they just take the original version they have on that dvd collection and "clean" (read don't #$%^ with) it a little bit? Don't enhance the colors, don't add another stupid animal in the background, just make the original shine.
Every time he messes with these films it reminds me of a line from Jurrasic Park (paraphrased): "You got so caught up in the science of if you could do it, that you never stopped to think if you should do it"
This asshole has been re-releasing and adding to the same three movies for like 30 years now. It's time he moves on. I'm sick of it.
AS long as the 'flipped/reverse' Boba Fett from the palace sequence at the beginning of ROTJ is fixed, all will be fine. It's the most glaring/clanging mistake in all of the films.
Give it another ten years or less, and he'll re-release the original trilogy with digital Yoda replacing puppet Yoda in those, too.
That's highly unlikely. The Yoda puppet looked bad in The Phantom Menace for a few reasons, but mainly it was because the Jedi Council chambers were so well lit as opposed to his swampy home from IV-VI that had concealing light, making the puppet more acceptable.
the yoda puppet in the first triology was fine for Lucas did not need to replace it with the cgi version from the other trilogy. kind of like Lucas is taking a light saber to frank oz contribution to the legacy of star wars though glad they fixed the wampa scene.
Eh... Wake me up when old Jorge has switched Luke for a CGI Howard the Duck (you know he'll do it if it get's him more ca$h) in the newst release.
Oh, and as for "new things to notice". I was so bummed out that i missed the "Special Edit." Trilogy in theaters back in the 90's, but after watching the "SE" Episodes on TV once or twice i think i was lucky. It is/was such a easy way to try out the CGI prepearing for the Prequels and make a quick buck. But most of the "new" stuff doesn't even mix good with the original scenery, creatures around Mos Eisley for example (Won't even talk about the shit ton of clones being CG in the big fight scenes in Episode II, made it look like a cut scene in a Videogame).
Will they change Ghost Anakin (Hayden) so he's wearing the Jedi attire he wore on screen in the prequels? Do ghosts get to pick which clothes they wear anyway?
Maybe this pass he'll fix the bloody, severed arm of Ponda Baba. Still don't know how he's made so many unnecessary "improvements", but still overlooked the fact that a Lightsaber cauterizes a wound instantly.
The legendary (in internet terms, anyway) Adywan edit of A New Hope fixes the bloody arm, as well as putting the correct hand on that arm. It really is as comprehensive and professional an edit as you'll ever find, and I didn't even mind the added content or Easter eggs since I hardly noticed them. His fix to the Obi-Wan/Vader duel is a bit jarring, but even if he'd gone overboard with it, his overall product is still better than the 2004 DVD editions. Until/if the blu-ray proves me wrong, Adywan's A New Hope: Revisited is my definitive version.
The Adywan version is pretty terrible.
Instead of a small band of rebels attacking the Death Star, like all 37 ships are seen. The visual language is wrong. It looks like the rebels aren't outgunned at all. Instead of fixing the audio to say they count 5 ships or whatever, he ruins the visual language of the piece. Adywan's versions do more harm to the story poetically and visually than anything Lucas ever did.
Also, did you see when he made a lizard have 3 eyes in Empire? What a fuckface.
I think George was so busy copying the scene from Yojimbo that he didn't even think to exclude the blood.
At least no one's trying to update "A Fistful of Dollars" for the umpteenth time. 50 years from now, we'll have a completely different set of movies.
Lucas Is @#$%ing with the Star Wars Films Again (Maybe [Probably (Almost Certainly)]))You closed 1 ) too much :P
I think Yoda being replaced is true. I was at the Star Wars Blu-Ray website and there you get to see some of the most highly anticipated scenes. One of them is a scene that is tagged from Episode I and it features the newer Yoda. Check it out!
Sigh. Someone out there once said that the Sar Wars movies are George Lucas' personal "works of art". And if he felt that they aren't finished and he wanted to keep adding things, that we are wrong to be upset.That someone is a cunt.
While we're on this, can we get rid of Boba Fett in this? Yes, he's popular - but it doesn't make sense. He's a bounty hunter - hired by the Empire in ESB, not a Jabba employee. He was only inserted there for the fanboys to go "Hey look! It's Boba Fett! AWESOME!!!11!!!"
You mean the "greatest bounty hunter in the galaxy" doesn't hang around Jabba and tag along with him to bitch at his underperforming smugglers? Are you saying if anyone should be added to that scene, it should be ROTJ underlings like Bib Fortuna, Ree Yees or Gammorean Guards?
WHY YOU HATE THE FETT SO MUCH?
I will be getting these for two things: better picture quality, and the deleted scenes from the original trilogy. The deleted scenes make me feel like a kid again. Yep, seen them on the web already. Don't care - these were the Holy Grails from back in the day, and I get to be 15 again. Would I only get the original trilogy on Blu if I could get the deleted scenes with them? You bet. Is Lucas making me buy all the damn movies just for those deleted scenes? You bet your ass he is, and yes I resent it. But I wonder if he really thinks *we* want to see "new things" since were going to buy the movies in a new format yet again. I don't think he understands people don't mind re-purchasing the movies in a superior format, and we don't need the movies tweaked. Yes, he's canny in getting us to purchase the prequels, but I also think he's clueless in what people want. His biggest problem is he has had no one to repeatedly tell him, "George, that's stupid!" since he and Gary Kurtz parted company.
Yes he has. He has had millions of fanboys scream, "George, that's stupid!" Only, he doesn't believe it any more. Perhaps he never did.
Just don't think it has the same impact on him. Maybe nothing would these days, but - and I'm probably just a naive nerd - I would like to think someone in the profession could sway him sometimes.
I wish that I still had the energy to get angry over every little act of cinematic mutilation Lucas performs upon his own work.
Nah... just kidding. The day I stop hating on bullshit is the day I lay down and die.
What about the lighsabers casting visible shadows on the floor in the Luke-Vader ROTJ fight? Lucas is so keen on adding new CGI muppetry, why can't he have ILM fix that?
So when can we expect Yoda to be returned to his original purple color?
Lucas keeps pulling this shit because people keep buying it.
this blu ray set sounds frigging awesome...can't wait to see the little fixes and issues resolved.
I bet the films will look spectacular. I'm also glad GL added a few things here and there, that's fine by me.
Fixes in technicalities does not bug me. Replacing a puppet, cleaning up the look of lightsabers, and basic housecleaning of audio and FX is what I would expect before a new release on a new media. What I don't want are changes to the story. No Han punching Greedo out at the bar, no Luke uses the force to put the Wampa to sleep, and no ghostly Obi-wan (Ewan), Anakin (age 8), and 6 foot tall Yoda.
However if he did want to re-due episodes I,II, and III where in the first Anakin is already a jedi in his 20's, the second Anakin turns to the dark side, and in the third he hunts adult Jedi down I would be more receptive.
Now the iconic opening scene of A New Hope will be preceded by a long conversation between an aged Bail Organa and a hologram of Leia discussing the current political state and the need for the stolen Death Star plans to shift the outcome, only to be interrupted by a blast, and Leia saying "Vader has caught up with us! What do we do?" At this point it is revealed that it was Jimmy Smits all along who told Leia to place the plans in an R2 unit and send it to the nearby system of Tatooine!!!
This is the least devastating news about SW on bluray yet. I just hope the "surprises" dont give me a heartattack.
Holy crap, how many "lightsaber fixes" do we need? We all accept the fact that the movie was made in 1977- we don't need Lucas "updating" it every few years with new technology.Why do we let Lucas get away with it just because it's his movie? What if Spielburg wanted to update the original Jaws as much as Lucas? What if Francis Ford Coppola kept updating The Godfather?
Y'know, I think it's messed up that despite all the extra shit they've crammed into the original trilogy, they haven't fixed two glaring problems.
First, the Failing Kenobi lightsaber during his duel with Darth. No matter how many times They mention it in special features and the like, it's never been properly fixed....it can't be that hard...
And even more annoying to me is when Luke escapes the Wampa cave, they make the audio cue of Luke turning off his Lightsaber, but it isn't retracting. Yet another easy fix....either remove the audio cue, or make the blade disappear.
You can keep your digital Yodas and musical numbers Lucas, just fix those two glaring Lightsaber problems....
You know, these movies were so flawed to begin with, they must have actually been utter crap when they were released.
1. I'm glad they're replacing the puppet. It was terrible.
2. The best version of ANH is Adywan's "Revisited" fan edit version, which actually does use a lot of the new fixes from the Special Edition, but also tones down the unnecessary CGI effects and additions to make a perfect balance between old and new. It's truly the best version of ANH out there. Get it if you can.
3. Whine all you want. Lucas is the artist. You're free to watch, or not watch. Purchase, or not purchase. Nobody is forcing you to watch Star Wars. Personally, I like ALL versions of Star Wars (ANH) for what they are. I have a fondness for the original mono theatrical release with all its flaws, but I also like the Special Edition because it has some cool ideas that have become great parts of Star Wars canon. The movie has entertained me WAY more than some other movies have, and for that I'll always be grateful to Lucas and respect him (and all the people at Lucasfilm).
4. Lucas-hating is old. Really. Get over it.
I wanna hear you Lucas non-haters when Episodes IV - VI 3d have Ambassador and then Rebel Leader Jar Jar digitally inserted...
Jar Jar replaces R2-D2 in the X-Wing. First thing when Luke crashes on Dagobah, Jar Jar steps in some animal poop.
Not attacking you, but you know what's never helped anyone get over anything, ever? Telling them to get over it.
Thank you, Artist. Thank you. (APPLAUDS)
George Lucas Haters too often remind me of fundamentalists; not all of them, but a lot.
Yeah screw people who just want to enjoy the exact movie they saw when they were a kid! How dare they want unaltered versions!
In fact I think we need more unnecessary changes to classic movies!
Star Trek 3: Spock's Revenge: Spock is now a zombie who hunts down the crew members on planet Genesis! Only after he eats the living can he grow to his true form and his rightful place back on the Enterprise!
I heard they added a scene where Jar Jar throws himself in front of Greedo's shot. Han then kills Greedo to avenge this selfless stranger who just saved him. As Jar Jar dies in Han's arms he says "Meesa done good Mister Han?" "Yeah" Hans says "You done good". He then closes Jar Jar's eyes and the scene continues from the point he tosses the bartender a quarter and leaves.
Funny thing is, that would be better than what Lucas did in Special Edition, and not because you get to see Jar Jar die.
It would be better because it would actually give Greedo a reason to miss.
Greedo shot first was bad for two reasons. First, because of Lucas deciding to change Han's personality (deciding that Han is a good guy, so Han can't be allowed to shoot first, thus Greedo has to shoot first.) Second, because Greedo badly missed a non-moving human-sized target that was three feet away while himself not moving and having plenty of time to aim. Yes, blasters in the Star Wars universe are really freaking inaccurate (Obi Wan recognizes the attack on the Jawa was done by Stormtroopers because the shots were too precise, yet the movies show that Stormtroopers miss around 99% of their shots), but for Greedo to miss under those circumstances?
So what you're saying is that Han was NOT able to dislocate his neck and then snap it right back at will?
