I want to re-watch the original movies before the new ones hit the theaters but I am not sure which ones to get. I am not thrilled about the changes I have heard about. Which set should I buy or am i just over reacting?
What version of the original trilogy to buy
If you can find them, watch the originals, the Special Editions are better than not watching them at all.
Maybe someone took the latest ones and edited them to be like the older ones?
You want the ones called "Star wars", "Empire strikes back" and "Return of the Jedi"
Laserdisc. The last version published before Lucas altered the deal.
There is still a chance that Fox, who own the distribution rights in perpetuity, will be smart and sell the original cut on blu-ray just prior to the release of VII.
The older you can find the better
At some point they added the blank face that plays anikan into rotj at endor
Are they not releasing the original movies in bluray (non special edition)? Those would be the ones I want
Before the sale to Disney, Lucas was the block. He refused to release the original versions because in his mind, there was no such thing; the Special Editions were his versions of the films as he wanted them.
Now, the problem is that even though Disney owns the franchise, FOX still owns the distribution rights to Star Wars (the first film). Any release of the original theatrical version would have to go through them. They know this, and could ask the moon of Disney for the rights.
That said, I think it's just a matter of time before Disney works something out with FOX and we see the OT on Blu-ray. Maybe something in time for the 40th anniversary in two years.
Until then, your best bet is to try and track down the final DVD release of the special editions. They had the theatrical versions as features on a bonus disc. They're not remastered or given any kind of clean-up at all, but it's Star Wars with no "Episode IV: A New Hope" at the beginning and it looks plenty fine to me.
Edited by DailyRichHow long before Disney does a pre-sequels re-release?
And what are the odds they'll give us an original theatrical cut?
The older you can find the better
At some point they added the blank face that plays anikan into rotj at endor
This was the exact answer and reason I was going to give. It's especially tasteless since the actor who originally played Anakin has passed away.
Surely he won't protest if we retcon him out of all his roles...
If you can find it, there was a widescreen collectors edition of the OT on vhs that was released just before the Special Editions. It was remastered and enhanced, so it's really the best version available. I have it, but I'm missing Episode IV, but I have a standard TV screen version of that one (You can't see the Stormtrooper bump his head on the door in that one).
I thought I read something about Disney planning to rerelease the unedited TO. Was that just a rumor?
Buy a Laserdisc player. You can get a decent one for $80 off eBay. The non-special edition box set from 1993(?) should be 50-60 bucks. The picture on laserdiscs is somewhere between VHS and DVD, with this box set looking pretty good for a Laserdisc actually. Animated stuff, Toy Story, old pre-40's movies, and movies made in the last few years of laserdisc production are approaching or equal to DVD in video quality, while late 70's and early 80's stuff is probably equal to a more recent higher quality VHS recording.
Yeah, the special editions are on laserdisc too, make sure you don't get that box set. If you do, something has gone terribly wrong with your life and there is no point in living anymore.
Haven't Disney already announced they will be releasing the 70's/80's original cut on blu-ray either later this year or early 16
Haven't Disney already announced they will be releasing the 70's/80's original cut on blu-ray either later this year or early 16
Yes, they are working on them. Cleaning them up.
For A New Hope, get any version and then download Adywan's Star Wars Revisited
https://swrevisited.wordpress.com/about-revisited/
Its an outstanding fan edit that fixes all the stuff that sucked about the special editions and leaves the good stuff.
For the other 2, I'm going to break with what everyone else is saying and recommend the original DVD release. The Laser disc versions look hideously dated and faded at this point. The color restoration, clarity and the good additions more than make up for the bad stuff in the Special Editions of ESB and RotJ (most of the really egregious special edition problems are in ANH).
Haven't Disney already announced they will be releasing the 70's/80's original cut on blu-ray either later this year or early 16
Yes, they are working on them. Cleaning them up.
I've only seen rumors, nothing recent. Is there a link you can share?
The original re-release (unedited) is just rumors, and is unlikely to happen due to licensing issues (Disney doesn't actually have the rights to the original trilogy, Lucas still does, and Lucas is a fan of the Lucas-recut Lucas-remastered Lucas-reissued trilogy, for Lucas reasons).
Whenever I put the movie for people that havent seen the movie ever before I put the original versions. They have poor quality of sound and image but at least everything "fits" within itself.
I remember I showed the Bluray edition once to some friends and the contrast between CG effects but 70s style of film was weird for them. The languaje, the acting, the design of control panels and robots are from the 70s. When you put those next to 90s or 00s special effects everything else becomes somehow cheesy and old.
If you watch it all as a 70s movie everything balances out and it doesnt feel stupid.
For myself I watch Adywan's edition.
The Despecialised Editions are the best versions out there. Essentially these are a combination of Bluray, German HDTV broadcast and other sources, edited to exclude the CGI additions but with original version colours and sound effects (because folks often forget that the films have been colour graded and the soundtrack altered).
Edited by redxavierSearch Amazon for "star wars theatrical dvd" - you will find the DVD's released a few years ago with the actual theatrical version as an extra on the 2nd disc. Just like I remembered! And not Thousands... but they are getting more and more rare...
http://www.cinemablend.com/new/Disney-Might-Reissue-Star-Wars-Movies-Here-Evidence-67604.html
Haven't Disney already announced they will be releasing the 70's/80's original cut on blu-ray either later this year or early 16
Yes, they are working on them. Cleaning them up.
I've only seen rumors, nothing recent. Is there a link you can share?
Open up that Disney Vault!!
The Despecialised Editions are the best versions out there. Essentially these are a combination of Bluray, German HDTV broadcast and other sources, edited to exclude the CGI additions but with original version colours and sound effects (because folks often forget that the films have been colour graded and the soundtrack altered).
Apart from the Han Shoots First thing and Vader's dialogue I'm not sure what the problem is. They made Yavin and Hoth look so much better.
and the got rid of the freakish monkey emperor in ESB so that's a good thing too
My biggest complaints are Han and 'Jedi Rocks' (shudder)