Star Wars unaltered

trekgeezer · May 04, 2006, 07:37:20 AM

Good news for you purists, Lucas has decided to release the unaltered versions of the original trilogy on DVD on Sept. 12. It will be a limited release, as they will be pulled from the market on Dec. 31.

Here are the details.

Mr_Vindictive · May 04, 2006, 08:11:03 AM

WHOOHOO!!!!

I knew there was a reason why I didn't buy the first set on DVD. This is gonna kick ass!

AndyC · May 04, 2006, 08:20:45 AM

No surprises there. Now that a lot of fans have bought the altered versions, he's releasing the originals for the purists. Many fans will end up buying it twice. The limited release is a nice touch, just to add a sense of urgency. I guess it works for Disney.

Still, something tells me this won't stay in the Lucasfilm vault for long if there are still people who want to buy it.

daveblackeye15 · May 04, 2006, 08:46:52 AM

Figures he'd just release it for a little bit, it's like "I can only bear to realease my god awful terrible self punishing original versions to the public for so long"

I'm buying them!

LH-C · May 04, 2006, 10:02:58 AM

Finally! And I seriously didn't think it would ever happen! The only added elements that I like about the SEs are the scenes that had originally been cut from the film in editing.

Derf · May 04, 2006, 11:00:21 AM

All right! I never saw the point in the added scenes, and despite being one of the biggest Star Wars dorks around (I even bought the Star Wars Iron-On Transfers to make my own t-shirts), I haven't bought the original trilogy dvds. Now maybe I will. Thanks for the news, trek_geezer!

dcjohnson · May 04, 2006, 11:10:56 AM

This is great news! Too bad it doesn't look like their will be any extras though if the 2-discs sets just include the original versions and the 2004 updates. I already have the 2004 set, but this is one of the very rare times that justifies double-dipping.

raj · May 04, 2006, 12:14:46 PM

Didn't Lucas say at one point that he couldn't release an unaltered Star Wars because the master had been lost?

And it is funny, usually I like the "extented director's platinum" edition, with deleted/alternata scenes. But with Star Wars, I just want the original, where Han shoots first.

ulthar · May 04, 2006, 12:37:38 PM

raj Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> But with Star Wars, I
> just want the original, where Han shoots first.

Did anybody like the remade version? The fan backlash on that was/is phenomenal.

I think having Greedo shoot first will go down in the annals of movie history as one of the most colossal mistakes ever made. It is just one of those "what was he THINKING?" things.

Glad to hear the original is coming out. I might just have to pick up the set (I've got 'em on VHS, but ESB is wearing out).

LH-C · May 04, 2006, 12:39:51 PM

Yeah, I made the mistake of not buying all of the original cuts of the movies when they were still in print on LaserDisc - only 'Star Wars'.

Alan Smithee · May 04, 2006, 02:13:55 PM

It would be nice if it had the original trailers, tv spots, and deleted scenes with it.

nobody · May 04, 2006, 02:42:25 PM

This would have been good news for me a few years ago, but now I just don't care. I won't bother to pick up the unaltered versions because I can't enjoy them anymore... I just think about how stupid and money hungry Lucas is every time I try.

BTW, nobody mentioned the spin Lucas Films tried to put on this whole garbage:

(From Scifi Wire:) This new set of DVDs does not constitute "George changing his mind," Lucasfilm's Jim Ward told USA Today. "What we've always said is George viewed the revised versions of the films as the definitive versions." The original films' video quality will not match up to that of the restored versions. "It is state of the art, as of 1993, and that's not as good as state of the art 2006," Ward said.

With a statement like that you can expect revisions to all six films from now until the day George dies. "This new set is state-of-the-art May 2025, which isn't as good as your current state-of-the-art January 2025. Buy your copies today!"

LH-C · May 04, 2006, 03:27:13 PM

Nobody - you bring up some excellent points. On one hand I love these movies, and I appreciate and admire the workmanship that went into making them. On the other hand, despite some excellent early productions, I think I may hate George Lucas, and I don't want him to get any more of my money.

Alan Smithee · May 04, 2006, 03:48:29 PM

What's wrong with capitalism? What's wrong with trying to make the most off of something? Lucas may be a multi-billionaire, but I don't begrudge him for that. If you don't want to make the man richer, don't buy the dvds. Lucas is a brilliant business man. Shrewd, maybe. I always felt he was going to release the original movies on dvd. If he had released the origianal versions BEFORE the SE dvds, not as many people would of bought the SE dvds. More power to Lucas. Now, if only if these dvds have extras like the original trailers, tv spots, and deleted scenes (i.e. Toshi Station, etc..).

LH-C · May 04, 2006, 04:57:15 PM

He can do what he wants, but I can react by not buying his products.