Star Wars trilogy

[Tewligan]

Any chance of seeing the original versions of the trilogy without all of the extra crap added in?

I've seen them for sale on DVD where someone had ripped them from the Laserdisk - should be pretty easy to find them for sale at a con or online. I'm thinking of hunting them down myself.

 

[Orius]

Pretty much the only really egregious changes are both in the first film: Han steps on Jabba's tail (solved one visual problem, created another); and "Greedo shoots first."

And like you said, stepping on Jabba's tail was a way to solve a visual problem: when it was filmed, Han walked around behind the human actor who was filling in the Jabba role. Lucas decided to have Han step on Jabba in the SE, because the animators were having a difficult time with that particular sequence.

So yeah, while it may seem jarring, it was inclued for a a fairly good reason.

Now, I don't even want to get started on Greedo.

 

[Kesh]

And like you said, stepping on Jabba's tail was a way to solve a visual problem: when it was filmed, Han walked around behind the human actor who was filling in the Jabba role. Lucas decided to have Han step on Jabba in the SE, because the animators were having a difficult time with that particular sequence.

So yeah, while it may seem jarring, it was inclued for a a fairly good reason.

Now, I don't even want to get started on Greedo.

Except that it looks badly edited. They could've solved it better just by having Jabba curl his tail up. After all, at that point, we had only seen the animatronic Jabba. Letting him curl up a bit wouldn't have been too unusual.

 

[Ranger REG]

I can't understand why GL does not put the movies out in orginal form. The die hard fans will buy both versions, some will just buy the orginal, some will get the new version. No matter what, he makes his money. Why not make people happy?

Thought we answered this already. He's not satisfied with the original. But that's what you get when you have an artist who is his own worst critic. You'll have to convince George Lucas that his work the first time around is the best and remove his doubt.

 

[Cthulhudrew]

Jabba was effective because he hear about him in two movies and can appreciate just how dangerous he is... So much so that he's able to reach into the Rebel Alliance and almost assassinate/capture Solo between ANH and TESB. But never seeing him is important because it builds up his intensity as a great villain that we can't wait to eventually see. Meeting the Jabba in ANH, who is clearly not nearly as sinister as the Jabba in RotJ (because the writers were probably much different by the time we moved from IV to VI), is a let down in anticipation and doesn't convey as powerful a story.

Not to mention that the scene is redundant, with the Greedo scene already in place. The information conveyed in both scenes is identical- even the dialogue is almost verbatim. Have one, or have the other, don't need both. It was a good edit that should have stayed out (even if it was edited out for the wrong reason- ie, didn't have the ability to convey Jabba the way he wanted him to, rather than it being redundant information.)

The whole "Solo shoots first" is an example of this (although I've heard that some fans are also to blame). That single scene solidifies who and what Solo is: he's a self-centered, out for himself, pirate with a soft spot.

Exactly. And this changes by the end of the trilogy, when he has come to care about something more than himself, a cause, and people. He's experienced character growth visually, which is what film is supposed to do by the nature of its medium.

Besides, were there really people who thought, "Man, what a cold blooded killer that guy is?" when Han shot first? Or was Han always one of the most popular, and most romantic, sci-fi characters from the very release of ANH? Was GL really wringing his hands with guilt over this scene for so long that he had to change it?

 

[Ranger REG]

That depends. Back in '79, he was considered a rogue wildcard character who eventually chose to be on the good side. Almost the first model of an anti-hero.

But George Lucas want to portray a complex character that seems rogue but is a good guy with a conscience. I mean, what rogue character would choose to help a wookie escaped and make him his partner, especially when he was a former imperial officer (at least that's what the Star Wars bible say)?

 

[Welverin]

I can't understand why GL does not put the movies out in orginal form. The die hard fans will buy both versions, some will just buy the orginal, some will get the new version. No matter what, he makes his money. Why not make people happy?

I can't understand why George won't release any of the movies on DVD until after Ep3 comes out.

 

[Desdichado]

He's not doing these changes because he wants money, or because he's out to annoy the fans, or because he's out to ruin your childhood, its because HE wants to be satisfied with his own work.

Yeah, but I kinda like the theory that GL is personally out to take a crap on my childhood.

 

[mojo1701]

Yeah, but I kinda like the theory that GL is personally out to take a crap on my childhood.

Well, then:

 

[KenM]

I can't understand why George won't release any of the movies on DVD until after Ep3 comes out.

The relase date for the OT DVD's is like Sept. 21, next month.