Star Wars.com wrote:Fans can look forward to a September filled with classic Star Wars nostalgia, led by the premiere of LEGO Star Wars II: The Original Trilogy video game and the long-awaited DVD release of the original theatrical incarnations of the classic Star Wars trilogy.
In response to overwhelming demand, Lucasfilm Ltd. and Twentieth Century Fox Home Entertainment will release attractively priced individual two-disc releases of Star Wars, The Empire Strikes Back and Return of the Jedi. Each release includes the 2004 digitally remastered version of the movie and, as bonus material, the theatrical edition of the film. That means you'll be able to enjoy Star Wars as it first appeared in 1977, Empire in 1980, and Jedi in 1983.
This release will only be available for a limited time: from September 12th to December 31st. International release will follow on or about the same day. Each original theatrical version will feature Dolby 2.0 Surround sound, close-captioning, and subtitles in English, French and Spanish for their U.S. release. International sound and subtitling vary by territory.
"Over the years, a truly countless number of fans have told us that they would love to see and own the original version that they remember experiencing in theaters," said Jim Ward, President of LucasArts and Senior Vice President of Lucasfilm Ltd. "We returned to the Lucasfilm Archives to search exhaustively for source material that could be presented on DVD. This is something that we're very excited to be able to give to fans in response to their continuing enthusiasm for Star Wars. Topping it off with a new interactive adventure makes September 12 a red-letter day for Star Wars fans."
That's also the day fans will be able to experience the LEGO Star Wars II: The Original Trilogy video game, the action-packed sequel -- filled with tongue-in-cheek humor -- to one of the best selling video games of 2005. To see the trailer to the new game from LucasArts and TT Games, click here!
Click here to order your copy today.
2004 remastered version? Eh? I didnt know there were other versions as well as the 1997 SE's.
GAH... I will HAVE to get this, I want to see the end of the story, even though I know it
When I saw Episode III I was praying for some things not to happen, even though I knew they would happen.
Considering Lucas has said on many occasions it's one film NOT six I find it really odd no uber box set has been announced.
Will it be a 6 or 7 disc box set though? Will the Exlusive fourth extras disc make an appearence? I can live with sellling/trading my current box set but will be really peaved if I have to own both to keep the extras.
Why only DD2.0??? The DD5.1 soundtrack from the Laserdisc is really old now though, they need to create a new one.
It gets even odder when you consider no box set seems to be coming just individual releases.
grim_tales wrote:2004 remastered version? Eh? I didnt know there were other versions as well as the 1997 SE's.
Oh Grim think before you post . When was the DVD box set released? It's different again.
WTF? You mean the bit at the end of Jedi (I think) with Vader's/Anakin's ghost?
Brad they seem to be only seperate 2 discers, rather than a set. I must say 2.0 only seems odd to me as well - surely 5.1 would be better? I know the films are old but still.
Because Lucas always said that he will never re-release the films in their original form. He did all the re-mastering jobs for the titles he re-released in 1997, because, according to the man himself, he hated the way his films looked when he compared them to what is possible these days.
That's the reason why I bought the boxset. I remember how there were millions of flame wars at Star Wars forums and tons of emails and signed petitions being sent to Lucas to which he only replied that he didn't care as the films were still his films and that he would decide what happened to them.
As for DD2.0... I don't want a single fecker to moan about that. People wanted the films in their original forms and now they'll have to accept it that way.
gasteropod wrote:Yeah, Grim, the worst thing about the 2004 version is replacing Anakin at the end with the stupid new Anakin from the latest film...
:shock:
Man that looks so stupid.
I doubt I'll bother with this unless it does have DD5.1. The Theatrical Cuts are definitely the best but not if I have to watch them in Stereo.
grim_tales wrote:Brad they seem to be only seperate 2 discers, rather than a set. I must say 2.0 only seems odd to me as well - surely 5.1 would be better? I know the films are old but still.
A 6 track master was created at the time so DD5.1 wouldn't be a remix per say.
Grim wrote:2004 remastered version? Eh? I didnt know there were other versions as well as the 1997 SE's.
The emperor hologram in TESB has been modified.
Jabba in ANH has been improved.
Anakin Skywalker has been replaced by that annoying kid at the end of ROTJ.
The lightsabers have been improved.
Each original theatrical version will feature Dolby 2.0 Surround sound
That sounds almost too good to be true. A non-remixed Star Wars ?!
HELL YES !!
I'm gonna miss the music bit at the end of Jedi, though.
The real question is:
Are they going to release it uncensored ?
The Special Edition was heavily cut for violence (blaster impacts mostly).
I used to be "the man who loves the movies you hate".
Now I'm just "that weird french guy with a cat avatar who comes to BnB once a year for no reason and then disappears again".
Parts of the Special Edtions are definitvely better and parts of the theatrical cuts are improved. Overall the theatrical cuts are better. The fact is they didn't need fixing.
That Jabba scene looked awful in the 1997 cut. It looks much better now but still looks silly.
What would the point be releasing a third alternate cut?
I'm just gonna take the 2004 editions and:
-Replace the Greedo scene with the original one.
-Replace the Anakin ghost shot at the end of Jedi with the original one.
Mad DVD authoring skillz !
I used to be "the man who loves the movies you hate".
Now I'm just "that weird french guy with a cat avatar who comes to BnB once a year for no reason and then disappears again".
Tom2681 wrote:I'm just gonna take the 2004 editions and:
-Replace the Greedo scene with the original one.
-Replace the Anakin ghost shot at the end of Jedi with the original one.
Agreed and the Jabba balls up.
That Greedo scene worked so much better before he changed it and then changed it again. We all know Solo is a bit of a slug/rebel so shooting first made much more sense.
Tom if the original 1977-83 TC's are being released, it must be uncesnored.
How is the emperor in TESB changed? Tom for ROTJ I presume you mean the end with Darth Vader/Anakin's ghost in the original, Christ knows why they had to use the new Anakin. (I've seen the 1997 SE of Jedi).
Perhaps the TC's will get 5.1 at least, its bloody stupid if the "remastered" editions have 5.1 and the TC's don't. Although of course DD was inevnted back in the 70's so it "would" be a remix (well sort of).
The hologram has been reshot with Ian Whatshisname (the guy who plays Palpatine in the new trilogy).
Also, a couple of lines have been added (about Luke being Vader's son IIRC) in that scene.
I used to be "the man who loves the movies you hate".
Now I'm just "that weird french guy with a cat avatar who comes to BnB once a year for no reason and then disappears again".
OK.
Maybe the specs will change then. It almost sounds as if theyre really planning to release the 2004 versions but have thrown in the TC's as "extras" to sweeten the deal. But at least they're there (the original originals).
But they've re-done it to make him look how he does now not 20 odd years ago.
Further info from an official Fox UK Press Release:
"In response to overwhelming demand from Star Wars fans, Lucasfilm Ltd. and Twentieth Century Fox Home Entertainment will unveil attractively priced individual two-disc DVD sets of Star Wars: Episode IV A New Hope, Episode V The Empire Strikes Back and Episode VI Return of the Jedi. Making these DVDs truly special is the inclusion, as special bonus material, of the original versions of the movies as seen in theaters in 1977, 1980 and 1983, respectively.
Paired with the spectacular digitally restored and re-mastered movies, these versions will be available on DVD for a very limited time beginning 11th September. On Dec. 31, the original movies will be returned to the Lucasfilm Archives. Also included on each two-disc DVD set is commentary by George Lucas and key cast and crew members.
"Over the years, a truly countless number of fans have told us that they would love to see and own the original versions that they remember experiencing in theaters," said Jim Ward, President of LucasArts and Senior Vice President of Lucasfilm Ltd. "We returned to the Lucasfilm Archives to search exhaustively for source material that could be presented on DVD. This is something that we’re very excited to be able to give to fans in response to their continuing enthusiasm for Star Wars. Topping it off with a new interactive adventure makes 11th September a red-letter day for Star Wars fans."
The original versions of the Star Wars Trilogy movies feature Dolby 2.0 Surround sound, while the digitally restored films are presented in Dolby Digital 5.1 Surround. All three films, both in their original and restored versions, are closed-captioned and subtitled in English, Swedish, Norwegian, Finnish and Danish."
What a piss poor effort IMO. We finally get the original cuts and only in fucking Stereo :shock: . I definitely won't be bothering, after hearing it in glorious 5.1 I couldn't go back to 2.0.
I'd still get them, we've been asking for the unaltered originals for years and now we've got them. Besides it says "2.0 Surround" not "Stereo" - better than nothing I guess...
It keeps everyone happy. I seriously doubt no remastering will be done, just they wont look quite as good as the 2004 editions. eg I'd expect an anmorphic transfer at least.
