[Private Zod]

I was thinking about htis over the weekend during the flood of promotions for the release of teh original trilogy on DVD. I have stated often on this board how much I think he screwed up the prequels royally and beleive he has lost alot on his fastball with his overreliance on CGI over sets and stories. That being said, I am thinking the criticism over his changes on the rerelease borders on nitpickig fanatacism.

The changes he made are minor in the grand scheme of things. The Jabba scene in ANH looks better, the Greddo-Han scene is annoying, but it is not detrimental to the plot. If he had cgi'd Jar-Jar, or had Han say to Leia's "I Love YOU" in ESB, "I Love YOu too and May the Force be With YOU", then I would admit to being outraged. When and if I have kids and show them the original, these little things will not make the film worse in anyone's eyes who will be sing it for the first time.

In hindsight, Star Wars being made in 1977 was a no-brainer, but think about the times in which it was released and what a gamble it was. You hadfilms like "Taxi Driver", "Mean Streets", "The Godfathers", "Apocalypse Now" and "Dog Day Afternoon" defining the genre and the times where things were harsh. Inflation, the aftermath of Vietnam and Watergate, NYC was a hellhole, lot of nbegative things gong on. Lucas had an idea for a movie that had robots, walking dogs, corny concepts like teh force and a walking trash can in Vader. The British production team were laughing their asses off that this film was a joke. The Movie Studio thought this was going to be a bomb. What happens, was that is instead became the best selling movie ever...I think that is why Lucas has a chip on his shoulder when it comes to changes he makes.

Does this excuse his poor and narrow-minded directions and storytelling on the prequels? hell no.

[Helena]

It's not as bad as I thought it would be, certainly. Only a few of the changes are really terrible, like redubbing Bobba Fett's dialogue and adding in Hayden Christensen at the end.

[Chefelf]

The changes he made are minor in the grand scheme of things. The Jabba scene in ANH looks better, the Greddo-Han scene is annoying, but it is not detrimental to the plot.

I agree that they are minor, however, that begs the question: Why do them at all?

civilian_number_two made an excellent point the other day about how most of the changes ONLY affect the continuity and plot. They aren't actually the things that Lucas always claims he wanted to do but didnt' have the technology available to him. (See civilian's post here). Put simply, he DID have the technology to have Greedo shoot first. His original vision was to have Han be a scoundrel who would kill Greedo as he did. He then decided he wanted to have Han act in self defense but the only way to do so was the most inexcusably bad bit of aiming in a trilogy loaded with aim-challenged stormtroopers.

The best reasoning I've seen for Greedo's accuracy is explained in this short story from 2002 called: The Passions of Greedo.

[barend]

so in 1977 he wanted Boba Fett to be a Maurie but couldn't afford it so he got Jerremy Bullock who sounded cool to fill in untill Temura Morrisen was old enough to replace him. Why even do that... Janga died when Boba was a boy, so someone else would have raised him and we would have lost the kiwi accent anyway, making this change lame!!!

it in no way makes up this ' i had a dream' bullshit, nor does it even remotley improve continuity...

i love Morrisen, but this the lamest thing anyone has ever done!!!!

LAME!!!

if anything our "nitpickin" is actually UNDERREACTING!!!!

[jariten]

I agree that Lucas` vision is probably as subject to change as the OT is now. but the continuity changes I accept and welcome, if it helps to bring the two trilogies together.

[barend]

he has no vision...

anything that changes that often is not a vision...

it's a desperate cry for help.

he can defend his changes all he wants... but this is three times so far he's changed them, 4 if you include the only justifiable one (the THX upgrade)...

no, this man can justify nothing, he's just clawing at cash making oportunitites, make no mistake Jar... he's after your money, and these SW remixes are a cheap attapmt at getting it....

this is not ART!!!

[jariten]

so what are you opposed to? the DVDs being released at all? the new changes? or is it that Lucasfilm is daring to ask people to actually pay money for a product they`ve made?

honestly though, apart from seeing the films at the cinema (once every 3 years) and buying these DVDs i cant think of anything else SW related i`ve bought

[J m HofMarN]

Who actually did raise Boba Fett? I mean the Jedi seem to have taken over the planet after killing Jango. Maybe Mace Windu is his father? Or maybe, and Goddess forbid I'm right, Lucas somehow puts in something about Jabba taking the boy in...

[Xombie]

Let me tell you what my objection is, Jariten.

But first let me state that I probably have a singular outlook here. Most people here, I've gathered, have fond memories of the OT and feel in some way betrayed or angry with Lucas's trashing of their childhood memories.
I,on the other hand, have never liked Star Wars. I didn't like the original movie and I didn't like the original trilogy. I have a variety of reasons for my distaste, some trivial and some serious. I think Star Wars played a serious role in destroying the last golden age of moviemaking (an era that gave us the extraordinary films Private Zod mentioned) and I found the redemption of Vader in RotJ to me one of the most morally repugnant things ever to be put on film (especially in a movie, as Lucas would claim, for children).
So I have no reason to be upset with Lucas's admittedly minor updates and changes to his films. What I object to his idea that this new film IS the old film and no one should ever be able to see the 1977 version. This sets a horrible precedent as film enters the fully digital age. Film is not just commercial ephemeral. It is part of our cultural memory. Lucas is seeking to control the cinematic past in a manner similar to the way the Soviets tried to control the political past. Instead of airbrushing out politburo members who have fallen from favor, Lucas adds a digital bantha and says "the digital bantha has always been here." And generations to come will believe it.
Or as Orwell might put it: "We have always been at war with Oceania."

[jariten]

yes, thats a good point that I agree with. also, adding a bit more fuel to that fire is the apparant lack of comment about the changes by Lucas on the DVD- presumably hoping that, in time, the fact that he made changes at all will be gradually forgotten.

which is a fruitless and pointless attempt on his part (if indeed thats his purpose). i dount his tinkering will ever be forgotten.

and why wont he release both versions? god knows.

[barend]

even though i liked SW:OT, i agree with everything Xombie just said...

those films sparked so much in my imagination as a child, the changes destroy that...

SW wasn't just a set of films i loved but it inspired me to ask questions about how things were done in filmmaking... he tried alot of things that hadn't been done before, but now i realize that so little of SW:OT was actually Lucas...

and now he's like a mad pirate sailing the seven seas drunk on rum and by himself, cause he accused everyone else of mutiny and fucked them off... and no one man can run a whole ship....

but mostly it's this pathetic attemp to erase history , which is only made more pathetic by the fact he's going to get away with it....

the originals as they were were a superior product hands down...

[Paladin]

I don't really care about the DVD edition. I've changed my mind about buying it and went back to my 'original' plan of just buying the Star Wars Prequels on DVD, having a Star Wars watching marathon, then shelving them forever and ever.

[Just your average movie goer]

I think there needs to be something like the World Heritage List for films. And the original version of the classic Star Wars trilogy needs to be on that list.

[barend]

so what are you opposed to? the DVDs being released at all? the new changes? or is it that Lucasfilm is daring to ask people to actually pay money for a product they`ve made?

what kind of lame jab is that...

i'm happy to pay for a quality product.

but, if i have to answer that question again, i'm going to break something!!!

re-read everything everyone has said!!!

these DVDs are lame and what no one wanted...
he's telling people what the're going to get. he's trying to change history, it sucks, these DVDs are an insult to my childhood, an insult to filmmaking, and another notch of on the bel of the corporate heart of the art and morality killing machine...


FSW

[Laura]

What I'm opposed to is not NECESSARILY that these DVDs are being released (although they annoy me), but that original movies we all knew and loved once are NOT being released.