No Bothans died to tell you this- Star Wars BR info

[JerryL]

It appears that our upset over "Greedo shooting first" has been for naught because in yet another change, it is reported (below), that George Lucas has redone the scene so both Greedo and Han fire simultaneously, thus restoring the latter's "scoundrel" status; which as you know he has to have otherwise how could he get all the ladies?

http://www.thedigitalbits.com/reviewshd/bdreviews091611.html

on the Blu-ray they {Greedo & HS- Jerry} now shoot simultaneously

 

[Mr.Poindexter]

Two wrongs don't make a right.

Maybe they can make a new version called the "fan's cut" where they don't jack everything up...

 

[JerryL]

I have two reactions to Mr. Lucas' changes:
1- Its his baby so he can do whatever he wants; and

2- The fans turned it into a phenomenon and therefore while #1 is of course true, there is some "ownership" of this in the fans hands and perhaps the fans desires should be better listened to/ represented.

 

[Mr.Poindexter]

I would absolutely LOVE to see the bluray release absolutely flop with dismal sales and massive refund requests.

This isn't like this is a first offense here. He changes this film every time, releases it then makes more changes and rereleases it, all the while denying access to the original version in the highest quality. It may be his baby, but if Leonardo da Vinci were alive today, would it be OK for him to repaint the Mona Lisa to make adjustments?

Hollywood wants complete and total control and ownership of their works, but with that comes a level of responsibility. I do not feel it is right for them to be able to alter things that are now part of societal culture. We have to deal with Lucas deciding that he can change history (even if it is a fictional history or a mythical place) as well as films just being pulled from the shelves (ever try to find a copy of Song of the South?).

I was able to pass on getting a copy of Avatar without any real loss. I can pass on Star Wars until the original movie is made available in the future.

 

[DigitalStudioWerks]

I would absolutely LOVE to see the bluray release absolutely flop with dismal sales and massive refund requests.

Over at [ame="http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B003ZSJ212/ref=s9_simh_bw_p74_d4_g74_i1?pf_rd_m=ATVPDKIKX0DER&pf_rd_s=center-2&pf_rd_r=18GYXBN9EJVTHTS4BXKW&pf_rd_t=101&pf_rd_p=1298803242&pf_rd_i=2901953011"]Amazon.com[/ame], it has received an average of 2 stars out of 1500+ reviews. That persuaded me not to purchase it.

We have to deal with Lucas deciding that he can change history (even if it is a fictional history or a mythical place) as well as films just being pulled from the shelves (ever try to find a copy of Song of the South?).

I was VERY fortunate in that my wife was able to secure a copy of Song of the South on DVD and gave it to me as a present last Christmas. I do have to say that the video quality is FANTASTIC. She will not tell me how she acquired it but if anyone is local and wants to view let me know. We can do a Song of the South viewing party.

 

[JerryL]

Nice. I did try to get a copy of Song of the South and I have the same problem.

As to Star Wars, I am sympathetic to your point of view but I don't share your level of passion for the original. Bill Hunt of the Digital Bits sums up my feelings well so Ill just post it here:

http://www.thedigitalbits.com/reviewshd/bdreviews091611.html

For my own part, I certainly went through my cycle of anger and outrage, and now I mostly just don't care anymore. I've come to expect changes every time these films are released and I've kept my original laserdisc copies. The strange thing is, I think most fans wouldn't mind the changes at all as long as the original versions were available on the Blu-rays as well (perhaps via seamless branching). But Lucas seems determined to erase them from history, going to far as to outright lie in claiming that the negatives were destroyed when he made the Special Editions - a claim so outrageous and blatantly false to anyone who understands how films are edited and preserved in the modern era that for me... well, that was the last straw.

For me its not quite a last straw moment- I got the BRs- I enjoy them. Its fun. But my opinion of Mr. Lucas as an artist has slipped; its now replaced with my opinion of him as a businessman and that is far better.

Btw- how come no Avatar? Don't like Viagra people?

 

[Transepoch]

My favorite comment in one of the reviews (I thought this one, but did not see it while skimming) was on his comments a long time ago in a galaxy far far away about the importance of film preservation.

 

[Mr.Poindexter]

Btw- how come no Avatar? Don't like Viagra people?

I think pastoral films like Avatar, Dances With Wolves and such present a skewed and romanticized view of "primitive" life compared to our modern society that ends up becoming the basis for so much of our environmental movement to the point where people think something natural is superior to something that has been directed by man. Anybody who has ever worked in ag will tell you that a tree will not produce good fruit or as much product unless you prune it and irrigate it. If left to be "all natural" then you will have marginal quality and little production.

As life becomes more and more modern and centralized in cities, people lose touch with nature and films that present a skewed view of nature end up giving a group of people who have a majority of the votes the ability to pass laws regulating industries that they simply don't understand.

On top of that, I found that the characters were not compelling and I actually already had this same film in animated format under the name "Fern Gulley" so there was no need to buy it again.

 

[AnOutsider]

Well, seems the BR set a new record in sales, so either a small minority are vocal or many complained but bought anyway (or didn't know before they bought).

To me it doesn't matter, but I can see how some might just want the original released as-is.

 

[JerryL]

I don't disagree with your criticism at all. But I enjoyed the movie enough to watch it a few times over. Very amusing about Fern Gulley.

 

[Joe]

Yeah, I guess I didn't have too deep a take on Avatar in terms of it's political messages. They are obvious. Bottom line for me - the film looks gorgeous, especially in Blu-Ray, so... As for the Star Wars BR, to me the Han Solo scene change isn't nearly as annoying as Darth Vadar screaming "No!, No!" before throwing Palpatine down the shaft. I mean, really? How silly!

 

[JerryL]

I read a review of the discs by Thomas J Norton in Home Theater magazine and he says the 6 movie story is really about Anakin, not Luke and it occurred to me thats really the problem because Luke is a likable character and frankly the way Anakin has been presented here- he's an annoying character.