[Chefelf]

I would like to start out by saying that I am kind of annoyed when people complain about the prices of things. We all have the choice. Buy or do not buy. If you don't like the price, then make it yourself or just don't buy it. That being said, I am going to complain about the price of things. Enjoy.

I have, once again, purchased the Star Wars Trilogy. I have seriously lost count, at this point, of how many times I have done this. My father recorded the movies off of HBO in 1982 on a VHS tape. I purchased the three movies in the late 80's with From Star Wars to Jedi, I purchased the Faces release which promised to be the last version of the movies in unedited form. I purchased the Special Edition movies on VHS in the late 90's when they were released in theaters. I was fortunate enough to have a friend (civilian number two) send me the Special Edition DVDs a couple of years ago. Now, once again, they have been released and, stupidly, I have purchased them.

They are only available from StarWars.com for a pretty hefty sum of $59.99 (which they claim is $30 off of the suggested retail price -- of course, this holds little meaning to those of us that have ever been to a store that sells DVDs and have even a fragile grasp on simple mathematics). I was reluctant to purchase these DVDs for many reasons.

Firstly, They're just extremely expensive. I purchased the 8 DVD set of Brisco County Jr. for the same price and it's loaded with all sorts of really great fan related goodies.

Also, when I was ready to check out, I was further insulted by their shipping fee: $9.95. Holy crap. I was already annoyed by how overpriced the DVDs were so I really, strongly considered not buying them at all. Then, the little stupid voice inside of me, the one that has guided me through the last few trilogy purchases, told me that I needed to purchase this version of the trilogy to complete my collection. That's the same little voice that has been telling me to purchase this "last part of my collection" for the last decade with each new release of the Star Wars trilogy.

I can say with a decent degree of certainty that this will be the last purchase of the Star Wars trilogy that I will purchase. I am definitely not interested in the upcoming release of all six movies. I already own all six movies and I have no interest in any sort of digital retouching that goes on with the prequels.

[Vesuvius]

It's never ending Chefelf. It's going to keep going until every good thing that we knew is destroyed by the infamous George Lucas and his empire of Special Effects Wizards. I was planning on buying this release because I hear that there are no modifications. I'll let some people watch it first and if they say it is the exact original, then I may be influenced to shell out some money on it.

This is the way it has to be. Peter Jackson is doing the same thing. He's releasing LOTR again with the theatrical and the extended version in one box. Soon, Peter Jackson might even "alter and modify" some scenes that weren't even in the books. Who knows for sure how far the lust of money will take these people...

[StarWarsIsUs]

Chef, are you talking about the OOT/SE pack that is coming out on 9/12?

[Lefty]

SOME of us, after seeing "The Phantom Menace," decided no more money or eyes for anything new that comes out of any part of Lucas. We drew a line in the sand.

But then again that might just be me, because I hate sand. It's so rough, and it gets into everything.

This post has been edited by Lefty: 31 August 2006 - 05:42 PM

[Deepsycher]

I was looking on their site and wondering why that Hyperspace club costs $19 for international, $39 for United States and $49 for Canada. Why is it so much cheaper for International and the expensive shipping fees? So I sent them a message asking for which country manufactures their DVD copies of Star wars but still no reply. If you get the picture on what I see.

[Chefelf]

Chef, are you talking about the OOT/SE pack that is coming out on 9/12?

That is the one.

SOME of us, after seeing "The Phantom Menace," decided no more money or eyes for anything new that comes out of any part of Lucas. We drew a line in the sand.

But then again that might just be me, because I hate sand. It's so rough, and it gets into everything.

I would have taken that approach as well, had it not been for the "x number of reasons to hate..." approach. Much more costly in the end but very soul-cleansing.

[Despondent]

Flush, baby.

[KurganX]

That is the one.
I would have taken that approach as well, had it not been for the "x number of reasons to hate..." approach. Much more costly in the end but very soul-cleansing.

Chef, so I take it you PRE-ORDERED?

Cancel that sucker now, if you can! You just got ripped off...

Because Amazon.com is selling the packs for $17.87 each (for a grand total of $53.61), and since it's "FREE Super Saver Shipping" on orders over $25, the shipping should be free.

Save yourself $16.33...

They will be selling this thing for 80 days (from Sept 12 to Dec 31). If you wait, the price might go down as they try to sell off the last remaining copies (or they might raise the price, who knows, but if they really have to pull them from shelves they'll lower it to clear them, then again, this may be overblown... has any DVD producer EVER actually pulled copies from shelves after a "Limited Edition" run ends?).


From what I gather, these are the same as what we saw on LaserDisc in 1993.

Btw, you'll be happy to know that the space taken up on the OOT disc (labelled "bonus disc" btw, how respectful!) is well spent... you'll get an Xbox only Demo of LEGO Star Wars II, and a trailer for LEGO Star Wars II for the Xbox!

Good thing they didn't use that space for something silly, like deleted scenes, or an anamorphic transfer, or even 5.1 (to simulate the 6 track stereo 70mm setup that the movies had in select theaters back in the day!).

This post has been edited by KurganX: 06 September 2006 - 01:41 AM

[Chefelf]

Yeah, I totally got ripped off. I just cancelled my order. Thanks, KurganX!

[KurganX]

No prob man.

[Vesuvius]

Btw, you'll be happy to know that the space taken up on the OOT disc (labelled "bonus disc" btw, how respectful!) is well spent... you'll get an Xbox only Demo of LEGO Star Wars II, and a trailer for LEGO Star Wars II for the Xbox!

Good thing they didn't use that space for something silly, like deleted scenes, or an anamorphic transfer, or even 5.1 (to simulate the 6 track stereo 70mm setup that the movies had in select theaters back in the day!).

That's it!? Friggin' Lego Star Wars II!? That's stupid! They wasted a "bonus disk" on a crappy interactive commercial! I really don't feel like buying this now.

[Gobbler]

I'm glad I didn't in the first place.

[KurganX]

Well, Starwars.com has now claimed repeatedly (see their "what has changed" articles on each of the three movies) that this is the "first and only time" that the "original unaltered" "theatrical versions" of the "original trilogy" will be released on DVD.

So Dec 31st, that's it.

Now I know, there will surely be copies left over and on ebay, etc. But they CLAIM they are serious. Let's see, come Sept 12th if they are still saying that...

They could still release them on BluRay/HD-DVD and claim to be sticking to their guns.

Promises, promises....!


Anyway, if I didn't own any of the DVD's yet, and wanted the movies, I'd get the 2006 set as cheaply as I possibly could and then just buy any of prequels I wanted (they are pretty cheap now). Or I'd just rent 'em all first and see if I thought it was worth it to own them.

The 2007 set will be FURTHER altered, than what we already have out there, and thus potentially worse (though I'm sure the quality of Episode I will be better visually, barring any "deliberate creative decisions" of course... the movie itself won't be any better of a movie for it).

[darth_paul]

Well, it's Monday Sept. 11, 2006… and tonight I am working from 7pm to 12 am at my part time job at my local Wal-Mart. Come Midnight I will be putting out these re-releases of the OT for any rabid customers who want them. Even though I get a 10% discount (Whoopid-ee-doo!) I will not be purchasing these. I am going to rent them first before I decide if I want to yet again purchase something that I already have on perfectly good copies of VHS. It will be interesting to see how well these sell. We just got the LOTR re-releases and nobody is touching them.

[KurganX]

Well, our university store didn't have it today, but I wouldn't have expected them to (and their DVDs are always way overpriced anyway).

If I do buy it, I'll probably have to order it, because most of the retail stores are just out of reach unless I have time to take the bus over the weekend (and I wouldn't want to pay a lot for it... I will NOT pay a lot for this Star Wars DVD! say it again louder with feeling, says George Foreman).

But thanks for the feedback reports. Anybody else who gets it, please share your thoughts!

This post has been edited by KurganX: 12 September 2006 - 11:32 AM