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Star Wars Prequels Media Movies

Star Wars Original Trilogy Gets DVD Release Date 432

Posted by CowboyNeal from the it's-about-time dept.
Angry Black Man writes "The Digital Bits is reporting that there is finally some official information from Lucasfilm regarding the release of the Star Wars OT (episodes IV, V, and VI) on DVD. The movies are coming to DVD in September of 2004. The animated series of Clone Wars shorts appearing soon on the Cartoon Network will also be released on DVD, possibly before the end of this year. The teaser campaign for Episode III will begin in January of 2005, leading up to the May theatrical release. Finally... Episode III will hit DVD in November of 2005."
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Star Wars Original Trilogy Gets DVD Release Date More

Star Wars Original Trilogy Gets DVD Release Date

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  • hmmm (Score:2, Interesting)

    by pizza_milkshake ( 580452 )
    the original trilogy i'll buy. that's all.

    • Re:hmmm (Score:2, Interesting)

      by Johnny O ( 22313 )
      MMMMmmmm!

      (* Still clinging to his THX Widescreen Dolby Digital 6.1 Special Edition Laserdiscs and strokes them gently *)

      I have the original THX edition (non-special edition) laserdisc boxed set too....

      I wonder WHICH will be on the DVDs? I do kinda like watching the original versions too.

    • Re:hmmm (Score:3, Interesting)

      by Keith Mickunas ( 460655 )
      Lot's of people are saying this, but I have no doubt this will be one of the biggest selling releases on DVD. Lucas is going to make millions off of this again, and probably a second time when he releases the super special edition of all six in one box. I doubt he's going to notice the few people who refuse to buy any version where Han doesn't shoot first. As much as I'd like to see that, I'm perfectly willing to accept whatever Lucas wants to sell.

  • Finally. (Score:5, Funny)

    by MicktheMech ( 697533 ) on Thursday November 06, 2003 @07:26PM (#7412869) Homepage
    I've been waiting for both this and Indy for a long time. I suppose good news comes in in waves. Or maybe it's just an apology for Episodes I and II.

    • Re:Finally. (Score:2, Funny)

      by WesG ( 589258 )
      Its almost like George wanted us to feel stranded without these DVD's.

      I wonder if this is how Luke felt when he wanted to go to Toshi Station and pick up some power converters... :-)

  • Nifty. (Score:5, Insightful)

    by kikensei ( 518689 ) <joshua@@@ingaugemedia...com> on Thursday November 06, 2003 @07:26PM (#7412871) Homepage
    About time. Too bad they'll likely never release the original theatrical release cut on DVD.

    • Re:Nifty. (Score:3, Informative)

      by realdpk ( 116490 )
      Yeah. I'm surprised the story didn't mention that. These are definitely not the original trilogy movies.

      • Sucks don't it? (Score:5, Interesting)

        by gilesjuk ( 604902 ) <giles DOT jones AT zen DOT co DOT uk> on Thursday November 06, 2003 @07:40PM (#7413000)
        DVD has the technology to allow you to watch the original cut of the film or the special edition yet Lucas will just say that the original cut wasn't his original vision for the film. Yeah right, the first film was nearly chopped around and turned into a TV series. The original Star Wars release doesn't have the Episode IV: A New Hope at the start either, that was slipped in later. The original versions need to be seen in the context of when they were made.

        • Re:Sucks don't it? (Score:5, Funny)

          by meta-monkey ( 321000 ) on Thursday November 06, 2003 @08:30PM (#7413334) Journal
          Indeed, but the original trilogy really WASN'T what Lucas intended, so that's not what you'll see. Finally, Lucas's vision of A New Hope, in which Luke was really Jar Jar's great-grand nephew, and the storm troopers were all ewoks, will FINALLY be seen. Damn, I gotta go start camping out in front of Best Buy right now so I can be the first in line for this!! ...

          gag.
        • Okay.. here's what we should do to resolve this when these DVD's come out. I say we can use the best of both to enjoy a better product than the current LD rips. 1) Use the DVD as a base. I would say that most of the changes don't matter much to the fans. The obvious scenes would need to be fixed. 2a) For the screwed up scenes do a high quality LD rip using the best image capture card and highest resolution available, then shrink each frame to to DVD image size. The rip needs to be high quality so it d

      • Re:Nifty. (Score:2, Insightful)

        by Anonymous Coward
        ...and so it goes. Hollywood releases a product that consumers don't want. Consumers go to video "pirates" to get what they want. Hollywood tries to shut down the "pirates" because they are supposedly selling cheap, poor-quality knock-offs.

        Meanwhile, in the real world, consumers continue to be willing to spend more than the cost of the "official" DVD to get the "good" DVD.

        Sad, really.

        Uh, incidentally. Anyone know where I can buy a DVD copy of something that's out there on laserdisc? Nothing particul

    • Re:Nifty. (Score:5, Insightful)

      by Liselle ( 684663 ) <slashdotNO@SPAMliselle.net> on Thursday November 06, 2003 @07:36PM (#7412970) Journal
      Have people forgotten how George Lucas works? How many VHS releases of the flipping original trilogy did we have? Keep an eye out for endless special editions and reworks until the day you die, conveniently spaced out and with enough extra materials to keep you coming back every time.

      On another note, I'm glad to hear he finally buried the hatchet over that damned Laserdisc business.

      • Re:Nifty. (Score:3, Informative)

        by timeOday ( 582209 )
        Not to mention that originally the VHS cost around $100. I don't remember the exact price, but it was horribly steep.
      • Hatchet? Laserdisc? Please elaborate.

        • Re:Nifty. (Score:4, Interesting)

          by Liselle ( 684663 ) <slashdotNO@SPAMliselle.net> on Thursday November 06, 2003 @08:55PM (#7413538) Journal
          Bad wording on my part (it made sense in my head). The reason we hear from George Lucas why the DVD releases for the original trilogy were taking forever is that he doesn't have the time/materials to put together a collection like he can for the new prequels (except he dragged his feet on those, too, remember the net' campaign to get Episode 1 out on DVD before the heat death of universe?) They had a smaller budget, fewer behind the scenes things (because folks weren't concerned about it back then), etc etc.

          However, considering the massive fan base that the original trilogy has (screw special features, give us the movie)... many have speculated that he's dragging his feet because he was a big supporter of Laserdisc, and not DVD. Bitter? It's possibly hogwash, but I've grown tired of hearing the conspiracy, and I'm glad he's at least sort of answering the cries of the fans who want their high-quality DVDs.

          • Re:Nifty. (Score:5, Informative)

            by asparagus ( 29121 ) <koonce@gma[ ]com ['il.' in gap]> on Thursday November 06, 2003 @10:39PM (#7414175) Homepage Journal
            Slightly simpler than that. An old friend of Lucas', first name Stevie, had an investment in an alternate dvd standard known as Divx, which died a slow, horrible death. Stevie, not wanting to kill his own tech, never released his male-Lara Croft movies on DVD, and got his good pal Georgie to keep his space opera off as well.

            That is, until recently, when Stevie finally saw the writing on the wall and said "#(*$ it."

            Which results in nifty new merchandise for you, the loyal consumer. Go forth! Buy shiny round things!

            • Re:Nifty. (Score:5, Insightful)

              by Mark_in_Brazil ( 537925 ) on Friday November 07, 2003 @06:07AM (#7415526)
              Stevie, not wanting to kill his own tech, never released his male-Lara Croft movies on DVD, and got his good pal Georgie to keep his space opera off as well.

              Setting aside the lameness of trying to look cool by calling Spielberg "Stevie" and referring to the Indiana Jones movies as "male-Lara (sic) Croft movies," there's still a big hole in this theory: the Indiana Jones movies were a joint project between Lucas and Spielberg, and were more Lucas's than they were Spielberg's.
              All three films were written by Lucas (and others, but not Spielberg) and directed by Spielberg, with Lucas as executive producer and as an uncredited editor. If you consider the original Star Wars trilogy to be Lucas's, it's not that hard to consider the Indiana Jones series his too, since 2/3 of the original Star Wars trilogy had non-Lucas directors. As with the Star Wars movies, Lucas was the main creative force behind the Indiana Jones movies. He just used a director for the Indiana Jones movies who is more famous than Kershner and Marquand and, much as it pains me to say it, is a better director than Lucas (but is still highly overrated).
              Maybe you noticed that Lucasfilm's logo appears at the beginning of the movies, but Amblin Entertainments's does not (nor does that of Dreamworks SKG). That's because the Indiana Jones movies were Lucasfilm productions and Spielberg was only involved as the director. That's why George Lucas had the rights to make The Young Indiana Jones Chronicles (released on VHS as The Adventures of Young Indiana Jones) without Spielberg. It's also why Lucasfilm made a deal with Disney to develop the "Indiana Jones Adventure" attraction (and "Star Tours--" I believe it was a single deal for developing attractions based on both the Star Wars movies and the Indiana Jones movies) without Spielberg being involved.
              Anyway, getting back to the point, it seems to me the decision about the release of the Indiana Jones movies would be at least as much Lucas's as Spielberg's, and probably a lot more. So that kinda blows away the theory that Spielberg was holding off the release of "his" Indiana Jones movies on DVD because of a large investment in a rival compact videodisc standard.

              Did I just fall for a troll? I hope not.

              --Mark

    • Re:Nifty. (Score:5, Interesting)

      by ajax0187 ( 615355 ) on Thursday November 06, 2003 @07:39PM (#7412994)
      I'm just surprised it took Lucas this long to release the original movies on DVD in the first place. It's easy money - we'd all like to get the original movies on a nice digital format. Instead they wait nearly a decade before they rerelease. With a track record for milking franchises like LucasArts has, this seems to be a rather foolish missed opportunity.
    • There are bootleg DVDs around, encoded from the widescreen LaserDisc versions of the original trilogy. They're actually quite good, all things considered, and cheap. I got all three for about the price of a light lunch about two years ago.

      Check eBay, look around the 'net. Maybe if "unofficial" sales of the original version outnumber sales of the special edition DVDs, Lucas will develop sense and release the proper, original films.

      • or Malaysia (Score:4, Informative)

        by WiseWeasel ( 92224 ) on Thursday November 06, 2003 @07:52PM (#7413112)
        I got the set from dvdmoviebox.com, Fed-Exed from Malaysia for about $30. Unfortunately, the quality isn't so hot, definitely not your standard DVD quality. There does appear to be surround sound, however, the image is interlaced, and the transfer and encoding are less than professional grade. They arrived in a flat document mailer, with the DVD sleeves and discs in a flat plastic sleeve, so you'll have to get your own DVD case. The image format is 4x3 letterboxed. The region is 0 (region free), and there is no CSS encryption (a sign of quality). In short, you get what you pay for, but I'll probably have to get the official set when that's released, just for the full DVD resolution and progressive image quality.
        • It seems the dvdmoviebox.com address isn't working at the moment, hewever, you can use vcdmoviebox.com as well, and that seems to be working.

        • Re:or Malaysia (Score:5, Insightful)

          by Chasing Amy ( 450778 ) <asdfijoaisdf@askdfjpasodf.com> on Thursday November 06, 2003 @08:52PM (#7413517) Homepage
          There are many different pirated versions. The best one is available for free over USENET or P2P, and has very nice cover artwork as an optional download.

          Piracy isn't nice--but for people who want the un-fucked-around-with versions of classics, it can be a necessity. The *original* SW trilogy will probably never make it to official DVD. Politically incorrect films and cartoons that we remember from our youth (*Song of the South*, some WW2 era cartoons including some classic Bugs Bunny, even some "too violent" now-edited Tom & Jerry and others) will likely never make it to DVD. Many TV shows are also never making it to DVD in their full and original versions due to music licensing issues and RIAA greed.

          It seems like the content industry promotes piracy by not just offering to sell us what we want, at equitable market rates.
      • ...enter the light lunch.
    • I hate the stupid edited ones :(

    • Re:Nifty. (Score:3, Informative)

      by LordBodak ( 561365 )
      Although it won't be enough to make any difference I'm sure, if they don't release the original they won't be seeing any of my money.

      I hope Lucas is paying attention to the upcoming Alien Quadrilogy box set. All four movies, original cuts and extended cuts, each on a separate DVD, plus a bonus disc-- 9 DVD box set for a retail of $99.95. I'll be buying that and if Lucas does Star Wars like that they will sell tons and tons. Although they probably will anyway.

  • Remastered? (Score:2, Interesting)

    by typobox43 ( 677545 )
    Will these be the remastered versions of the original trilogy that were released in the 90s, or will these be the "true" originals?

  • Official? (Score:5, Interesting)

    by Anonymous Coward on Thursday November 06, 2003 @07:27PM (#7412882)
    The "official information" is from an anonymous source on Aint It Cool News.

  • Please, please please please . . . (Score:4, Insightful)

    by Momomoto ( 118483 ) on Thursday November 06, 2003 @07:27PM (#7412883) Homepage
    Tell me that Han shoots first in the new DVD.

    • Wouldn't want send the wrong message (Score:5, Funny)

      by IthnkImParanoid ( 410494 ) on Thursday November 06, 2003 @07:42PM (#7413016)
      Actually, he won't even shoot at all. Greedo will instead be killed by his own shot reflecting back at him. Every time Han gets in a fire fight, or is otherwise in danger, he will escape only through dumb luck and ingenuity cleverly disguised as incompetence. It will also be revealed that he is related to Jar Jar Binks from the later triology, a scene which was unfortunately left on the cutting room floor, but was always intended to be a major part of the story. Han Solo has always been related to Jar Jar Binks; Lucas definetly did not make that up later.

      This is how he was meant to be portrayed all those years ago, but the technology just wasn't there. Han was never a greedy, violent outlaw. That simply wasn't the case. The audience just mis-interpreted the character. In fact, Han's original signature costume was a pink jumpsuit with bunny ears and gumdrops affixed across the chest to create a rainbow smile, a technology that didn't exist in the 70's. Now, with CG fairies buzzing around him, singing a merry tune throughout the entire film, George Lucas will finally be able to realize his perfect vision of the Han Solo character.

    • Re:Please, please please please . . . (Score:5, Funny)

      by PoisonousPhat ( 673225 ) <foblich@NOspAm.netscape.net> on Thursday November 06, 2003 @07:49PM (#7413074)
      No, unfortunately, Greedo and Han will each have their blaster replaced by a device that looks like a high-tech walkie talkie.
    • Quite honestly, I like many of the new changes in the "Special Edition". For example, I liked the addition of windows in the Cloud City scenes. It really did open it up and make it feel more like it was... well, a cloud city! The battle scene was also well done at the end of Star Wars. These changes I can see being justified by the "we could not afford them at the time" excuse.

      However, there were two scenes that bothered me greatly: the aforementioned Guido scene (shudder) and the new musical number

  • DVD (Score:3, Insightful)

    by Delphix ( 571159 ) * on Thursday November 06, 2003 @07:28PM (#7412890)
    Is this going to be the special edition versions or the original?

    Having seen the original release in the theaters as a kid, I would love to have a copy of them on DVD, my VHS ones are starting to give up.

    Heck, I wouldn't mind a six disc set with both. I think there's still a lot of people out there who like them in their original form.

    • Re:DVD (Score:2, Informative)

      by Johnathon_Dough ( 719310 )
      The problem with the original form, is that Lucas has stated, over and over again, that they will not be seen that way. Lucas considers the current "Special Editions" to be the definitive version.
      Supposedly he has even gone so far as to petition the Directors Guild for co-direction credits on Return of the Jedi based on the changes he has made to this film.
      I still love the films, although many of the changes i find annoying. But Lucas is not going to change his views now, he has proven time and again th
    • "Is this going to be the special edition versions or the original?"

      I'd like a blend in between. I'd like the cleaned up matte lines, the windows at the Bespin city, and the celebration after Death Star 2 exploded. All this and Han Solo shoots first.
  • Any word on wether its the ORIGINAL trilogy, or the one with the dinosaurs all over the place?

    Because, as far as I'm concerned, Han shot first, and I'm not paying to be told otherwise.

  • ANTICIPATION (Score:2, Insightful)

    by andyring ( 100627 )
    I'm willing to bet that this will be one of the most hotly desired DVD releases in the history of DVDs, and movie releases in general.

    Time to start checking Amazon for pre-orders!

    • Re:ANTICIPATION (Score:5, Insightful)

      by WankersRevenge ( 452399 ) on Thursday November 06, 2003 @07:43PM (#7413029)
      yeah ... until the next big thing comes out, or a new viewing medium is invented.

      Yeah, i know this is star wars and this is the first time it is gracing this new playback medium and everyone is throwing flowers. Dancing in the streets. But look, its just a dvd. I mean, better quality sure. But the still same-old same-old.

      I'm just so burnt out on marketing speak these days. Anticipated DVDs. Box office smashers. Its all just talk to push product. And at the end of the day, it's all pointless.

      Yes - I'm having server problems today.
      • I mean, better quality sure. But the still same-old same-old.

        I second your blase attitude - my laserdiscs still play, better than DVD quality (sans film restoration) and it's the real version of the movie. :)
    • I'm willing to bet that this will be one of the most hotly desired DVD releases in the history of DVDs, and movie releases in general.

      I know now how the people in the former soviet union felt when they stood in front of the empty shelves. What again was the reason they didn't release it earlier? According to the laws of free market, there must have been no demand for it... Otherwise somebody would have delivered. But on the other hand, if somebody had a monopoly... a monopoly granted by the state... then

  • What's wrong Ben? (Score:5, Funny)

    by dswensen ( 252552 ) * on Thursday November 06, 2003 @07:30PM (#7412912) Homepage
    I just felt as great disturbance in the Force, as if millions of Star Wars fans cried out in protest, and then suddenly stopped whining about "when is the Star Wars OT DVD coming out?"

    Ahhh.

    Now if only Lucas would truly take advantage of the DVD format and include both the original and "Special Editions" on the discs. But I'm not idealistic enough to actually hope for that.

  • Let's just hope... (Score:5, Funny)

    by Bendebecker ( 633126 ) on Thursday November 06, 2003 @07:31PM (#7412917) Journal
    George Lucas doesn't try to re-edit them. Hans Solo would look stupid waving a walkie talkie around.
    • "George Lucas doesn't try to re-edit them. Hans Solo would look stupid waving a walkie talkie around."

      I just had this image of Greedo putting a walkie talkie to his ear and dying of cell phone radiation poisoning.

  • Note to Mr. Lucas (Score:5, Funny)

    by Dark Paladin ( 116525 ) * <jhummel&johnhummel,net> on Thursday November 06, 2003 @07:31PM (#7412921) Homepage
    I do hope that you're planning on including both the "old" and the "new" versions of the original trilogy.

    Why, you ask? For one simple reason, and I'm going to type this very, very slowly to make sure you don't mess this up:

    Han shoots Guido first.

    Ah! No, I don't want to hear how Han isn't a bad man. Shut it, George - you made some good movies, but I don't want to hear it.

    "Yes, I bet you have." BLAM! That's it - one shot. Deal with it.

    And if you plan on including any new scenes, I will pound you. I don't want to see this:

    Jar-Jar: No, it'sa not true! Messa is you father!
    Chewbacca: Aaaarrrghhhghg!

    Don't make us get the South Park kids to protect your own movies from yourself.

  • Bonus disk & outtakes (Score:5, Interesting)

    by RobertB-DC ( 622190 ) * on Thursday November 06, 2003 @07:34PM (#7412937) Homepage Journal
    From a bit further down the page [thedigitalbits.com]:
    Also, Lucasfilm has said in the past that there aren't a lot of behind-the-scenes materials available for the original films, so having a single bonus disc of extras (as opposed to three) would make life easier for them.

    I thought I remembered quite a bit of info on various "making-of" shows that showed the original models, how they did cutting-edge special effects on a shoestring budget, and the occasional flaws that made it through (like a TIE fighter shadow where the fighter itself had been removed).

    Of course, nowadays I guess we expect someone to be filming the entire filmaking process for the express purpose of creating the ultimate making-of special. When even a film like Monsters, Inc., where every frame requires painstaking design and hours of rendering time, has "outtakes", "deleted scenes", and "goofs". Soon, we'll have cameramen following the cameramen, so we can see "The Making Of 'The Making Of "Star Wars VII: Attack Of The Menacing Phantom Jedi Clone Empire"'"

    You know... maybe, just maybe, Lucas & co. should spend more time telling a coherent story with believable characters, and less time worrying about how he'll look in the outtakes?
    • Maybe the bonus disc will have the Holiday Special and we can laugh with glee at such gems of humor and "It will be delievered by hand, solo." Oh, how we laughed with glee and mirth.

      Excuse me. I think i need to trow up now.
    • You know... maybe, just maybe, Lucas & co. should spend more time telling a coherent story with believable characters, and less time worrying about how he'll look in the outtakes?

      Uh, this is George Lucas you're talking about. We'll all be playing Duke Nukem Forever while we are driven to work by robotic hover car before he puts time into creating believable characters.

    • SW misquotes (Score:4, Funny)

      by QEDog ( 610238 ) on Thursday November 06, 2003 @10:19PM (#7414050)
      You know... maybe, just maybe, Lucas & co. should spend more time telling a coherent story with believable characters, and less time worrying about how he'll look in the outtakes?

      George Solo: Coherent story and believable character are no match for a good Bonus DVD at your side, kid.

      New Fan: How did the original trilogy die?
      Oldi-Fan: An old director, who was a pupil of mine until he turned to evil, helped the Empire edit and destroy the original trilogy. He betrayed and murdered your trilogy.

      Darth Lucas: The ability to write SW-OT is insignificant next to the suckiness of the New Trilogy

      Fan: What a piece of junk!
      George Solo: She'll make point five past a gazillion dollars. She may not look like much but she's got it where it counts, kid. I've made a lot of special CG modifications myself.

      SWFAN-3PO: We seem to be made to suffer. It's our lot in life.

      Fan: Never. I'll never like the new trilogy. You've failed, your highness. I am a true fan, like my father before me.
      Emperor Lucastine: So be it... fan.



      I love SW... I just hate the terrible scripts of Epi1 and Epi2.

    • The Making Of... (Score:4, Interesting)

      by GuyMannDude ( 574364 ) on Thursday November 06, 2003 @11:00PM (#7414288) Journal

      I thought I remembered quite a bit of info on various "making-of" shows that showed the original models, how they did cutting-edge special effects on a shoestring budget, and the occasional flaws that made it through (like a TIE fighter shadow where the fighter itself had been removed).

      I remember watching those when I was a kid. The one on The Empire Strikes Back clearly sticks out in my mind. I was about 11 or 12 then and this was the first time I had ever gotten a chance to see movie magic in the making. I remember being stunned at the painstaking process of stop-motion animation that was used to animate the AT-ATs. The fact that they actually built a full-scale X-wing fighter that was lifted by a crane to simulate Yoda lifting the fighter out of the Degoba swamp. The Degoba sound stage, incidently, was the largest indoor stage in the world at that time. The rebel fighters who formed the ground forces on Hoth were actually Norwegian (or Scandanavian) people who didn't understand a lot of the english instructions being called out by the director.

      I also remember fondly The Making of Return of the Jedi. They showed how some poor linguist sap had to don a giant Admiral Ackbar arm puppet and control his lips to match the sounds without being able to see Ackbar's mouth! I could go on and on. Those shows were great!

      Does anyone have any idea how I can get copies of these? If there was any legal way of obtaining them, I'd gladly pay for them. However, as with so many things these days, they have disappeared into the ether because of the neglect of the copyright owners so I assume that I will have to rely on bootlegs. Please, any help would be appreciated.

      And, oh yeah, what the fuck is wrong with you Lucas? What are you trying to pull with this "there aren't a lot of behind-the-scenes materials available for the original films" bullshit? Christ, at least you could have said that whatever stuff you did have all rotted because of failure to preserve it. To say there weren't a lot of behind-the-scenes materials shot is an obvious lie.

      GMD

  • 2005!? (Score:2, Funny)

    by Qui-Gon ( 62090 )
    The teaser campaign for Episode III will begin in January of 2005, leading up to the May theatrical release. Finally... Episode III will hit DVD in November of 2005.

    Wow... Only 2 years away! Thanks for the heads up.

  • great! (Score:2, Funny)

    by GoatPigSheep ( 525460 )
    I can't wait to download proper dvd-rips off kazaa of the first three movies...

    Fuck the MPAA!
  • The guy's description of the Episode III footage sounds like something a fanboy would dream up.

    Then again, this is George Luca$ we're talking about.

  • At one stage, I was all for buying the original Star Wars trilogy on DVD, when it was eventually released. Unfortunately now, due to the near complete cock-ups that have been Episodes I and II, my attitude to Star Wars has cooled tremendously. I just can't view Star Wars with the same excitement that I originally did.

    The irony of the whole situation is that, had Lucas released the original trilogy on DVD a few years ago, they would certainly have been part of my collection. Thanks Mr. Lucas. You've kil
  • If you read the actual report, they only say that "the original trilogy is due for release"... they don't specify whether it's a theatrical or DVD release. Knowing Lucas, I wouldn't put it past them to try to milk the original trilogy in the theaters one more time to cap off the prequel trilogy.

  • Star Wars was ok for the time, but talk about people ignoring bad acting for special effects. Now the special effects are the bad kind of "special" and the bad acting ruins the show. I bought the last re-re-release, and watched it once, I can't believe how un-entertaining it is. I mean, people whine about Jar-Jar and there you have Luke freakin Skywalker barely remembering his lines.

    The best things to come out of Star Wars are the Star Wars kid, and the Star Wars rap.

    Mmmmm that's a mighty fine Gin 'n To

  • Weren't they already released... a long time ago in a galxy far, far away? Before the dark times, before Jar Jar!
  • But when are they going to release the Star Wars Holidy Special on DVD??
  • but is it going to be the one where Han shoots first, and we see Jabba the Hutt, or is it going to be the actual original?

    i don't know that i want the stupid redited 20 years later versions. it's probably stupid but i want to watch the movies the way i remember them, not the way they were remade.
  • ... and Episode III will not be one tenth as cool as The Matrix Revolutions. Sorry, George. You blew it the second time around. If only you could have realized that while you are a visionary and perhaps even a decent writer, you are a lousy director.

  • From the article:

    the final battle takes place on a lava planet, and at one point the two are hoping back and forth on hovercrafts floating over the lava.

    Coming soon to a theater near you, STAR WARS: EPISODE III "LETHAL LAVA LAND"

  • This is rumor, and should be treated as such. (Score:3, Insightful)

    by Dunkelzahn ( 106055 ) on Thursday November 06, 2003 @08:02PM (#7413180) Homepage
    The source of this is Aint-It-Cool-News, which has been a major source of false rumors since the prequels began to come out.

    Aint-It-Cool-News is the source of such things as the Grando Calrissian rumors... entertaining, and surely a contribution to Star Wars fandom, but hardly a source of definitive reporting.

    I would suggest that the editors do not place such things on the front page until they are confirmed from such places at the Official Site [starwars.com].

    I am taking this story with a grain of salt.
  • Please tell me it won't be the special edition...
  • Hoping, am I that OT stand for "Original Theatrical" . Not for "Odious Trilogy" - aka lame-o Lucas "Greedo shoots first" special edition historical revisionism.
  • the digital crap they added in many years later.
    I saw the revised editions and I was not at all impressed or pleased with them.

    Leave things alone. I want the original, unedited, as released to the theatre in 1977.

    I do *NOT* like digital effects. They look crappy and they detract from the original work and concept.

    LEAVE IT ALONE!

    If it's without the added scenes, I'll buy it.
    If the digital scenes are added in, I will *NOT* buy it..

  • Got them in Vietnam for nothing. Probably fed a few people though as I'm sure I paid more than the natives would, and that's OK with me. Of course I will have to buy the "American" ones next year if only to hear Lucas interviews on how Episodes 1,2,3 were botched. Ahh, at least Return of the King is almost upon us.
  • Its really pathetic when you think how well the Rings and Matrix trilogy turned out when compared to the ass load of time its taking lucas to do 1 film.

    Absolutely pathetic.

  • Possible DVD features? (Score:5, Informative)

    by Anonymous Coward on Thursday November 06, 2003 @08:32PM (#7413349)
    These were listed on the Star Wars Galaxies forums, so take them as you will. The guy who posted 'em swore they were legit, but we all know how that goes.

    Got this off of a site that talks about movies, 411mania.com. I kept in the post the actual site they got their info from. Sounds good...and bad......the endings of Return of the Jedi I'm sure you'll hate now. Anyways, here it is:

    CREDIT: AICN news

    Episode IV: A New Hope

    01. The Imperial March has been added to Darth Vader's first appearance on Princess Leia's ship.
    02. When Obi-Wan is talking to Luke about his father Anakin's Theme plays in the background and then it turns into the Imperial March as he talks about Vader.
    03. The lightsaber effects have been redone and the frame jumps of lightsabers being turned on has been removed.
    04. There's a new scene which has been shot during the filming of Episode III in which the Emperor dissolves the Senate.
    05. In the Cantina, the Duros(green aliens guys) have been replaced with Neimoidians and some aliens from the prequels have been added.
    06. The bleeding arm on the floor in the Cantina has been replaced with a non-bleeding arm because it's now canon that lightsabers cauterize wounds.
    07. The original shooting scene between Han and Greedo has been restored.
    08. Jabba the Hutt has been given a makeover and Han no longer steps on his tale.
    09. In place of R2 wobbling down the stairs to the Falcon's hangar, a CG R2 navigating the stairs like he does in Attack of the Clones was added.
    10. The white boxes around space ships have been removed and new CG shots have been added.
    11. The scene of the Falcon being chased by the two Star Destroyers was modified. The Falcon now does spinning moves, avoiding the Star Destroyers' fire.
    12. When the Death Star destroys Alderaan there's a new scene of Yoda's reaction to the disturbance in the Force that is created by all those deaths and then it cuts to Obi-Wan reacting to it as well.
    13. The Dianoga has gotten a CG makeover and were are now able to see more of the creature.
    14. The Death Star's paneling and computers have been slightly altered to show similar displays to those in the prequels.
    15. The words "Tractor Beam" with Aurebesh lettering.
    16. More stormtroopers have been added to the Death Star.
    17. Temuera Morrison's voice is being recorded for use with all the stormtroopers.
    18. The Obi-Wan/Vader duel has been spruced up. It is much more epic and there is much more movement. A modified version of Duel of the Fates is being considered for the scene.
    19. The Death Star plans that are taken from R2 have been updated. When the Rebels are reviewing the Death Star plans they look similar to the plans we see in Attack of the Clones.
    20. The Death Star battle is much more epic with more Tie Fighters and more Rebels being blown to bits. We get to see old Naboo starfighters being used by the Rebels.
    21. There's a new scene(shot during Episode III) where Darth Vader goes to Coruscant and lands his ship in the same building Count Dooku does at the end of Attack of the Clones. Except now the building is all fixed up and it is now Palpatine's palace. He meets with Palpatine to ask for forgiveness for his failure and inform him of a new potential who is strong in the Force.
    22. Chewbacca now gets a medal.

    Episode V: The Empire Strikes Back

    01. The taun-tauns are now CG.
    02. The battle of Hoth is much more epic. We see the Imperial ships land on Hoth and release AT-ATs. The AT-ATs have been sped up a bit. There's a ground battle between the Rebel soldiers and stormtroopers featuring new ships and vehicles.
    03. Temuera Morrison's voice is being recorded for the older Boba Fett and all the stormtroopers.
    04. The white boxes around space ships have been removed.
    05. The slug monster is CG.
    06. Ian McDiarmid has refilmed scenes as the Emperor. The conversations between Vader and Palpatine is now longer and features a few connections to the prequels.
    07. Yoda's face is

  • Thank you! (Score:3, Funny)

    by tchdab1 ( 164848 ) on Thursday November 06, 2003 @08:36PM (#7413381) Homepage
    This is important information that all of us need, and I for one wish to thank you for providing it in a timely manner.

    And don't for a minute think I'm joking.

  • Now I can show my kids... (Score:4, Funny)

    by AvantLegion ( 595806 ) on Thursday November 06, 2003 @09:14PM (#7413677) Journal
    ... that Star Wars hasn't always sucked.

  • Petition Online For Original Trilogy (Score:4, Interesting)

    by DeadBugs ( 546475 ) on Thursday November 06, 2003 @11:12PM (#7414354) Homepage
    There is a petition online [originaltrilogy.com] to try and gain mass support to get the oringinal trilogy published on DVD. They have almost 45,000 digital signatures. Let's slashdot that number up to 100k.

  • George Lucas..... (Score:3, Insightful)

    by methangel ( 191461 ) on Thursday November 06, 2003 @11:17PM (#7414381)
    Is a cock. Why the hell has he waited so long to release the original DVDs of the movies that made him a demi-God to the geeks?

    I know that there was a laser-disc edition released a while-back. Was he waiting for the DVD standard to die??

    George Lucas has really made me a sad geek with his last two Starwars episodes. I think for a lot of people when I say that they should never have been made.

    Yes, George Lucas is a cock.

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