The Digitalbits reviews the Star Wars DVDs

trubluluc

Just picked up a copy.
WS versions are going fast so don't delay.

-Luc

Ron-P

I went into Best Buy 45 minutes after they opened and 1/2 of their floor displays were already gone. They had 8 reggies open and lines in all with just about everyone buying.

MAP1911

I bought mine at Toys_r_Us. Stopped home for lunch and had a quick preview. PQ on A New Hope look great. SQ was not as good. just MHO.

Mike

Tour2ma

So Ron, has your life come to this. Photojournaling DVD buys???

Strong Bad

Snatched them up on my way home from work.

Jumped through ANH & ESB.

WOW!!! The new audio mixes are awesome. I found some of the spots with dropped down audio, but IMO, it really wasn't a big deal since they were quick dialogue pieces. When you pop in ANH and the opening scene with the ships flying in overhead comes into play...FORGET ABOUT IT! I never could have imagined the serious lowend rumble that it has. Thats how I always imagined the Star Destroyer to sound and now it does. After the Rebel ship gets captured and just before the door gets blown open, feel the quick serious lowend rumble of them locking into place. The Millenium Falcon now has a sweet lowend to its engines.

Also, when R2 gets blasted by the Jawas and falls face first, crank those subs up and feel when he hits the ground. Kind of a "Ring Drop" THUMP!

The picture quality is total perfection! What a damn fine job they did with these. The Rebel assault on the Death Star is unbelievable. The picture quality of ESB is equally amazing. The color saturation is a video freaks dream!

Hard to believe these movies are that old.

I give Lucasfilm 2 BIG thumbs up for these works of art!


John

Demiurge

I honestly wish these were the unbutchered versions.

Shizelbs

I thought the transition between the different dialogue qualities, whatever, was really apperent through my mediocre system. I really didn't care for it.

shack

Originally posted by Demiurge
I honestly wish these were the unbutchered versions.

I like the changes. I've seen the original LOTS of times and it was nice to have a few suprises. The new audio mix was excellent and yes...there were a couple of "glitches"...but very minor...and you really had to look hard to find them. Picture quality was supurb! Lucas and the whole crew did this right. I will agree that turning down the music during the Death Star attack would not have been my choice but it is only a minor issue. I did have one layer change that froze for about a second....when the Millineum Falcon comes out of light speed into the debris field of the destroyed planet. It was really the only glitch I noticed without having to look hard. The cross of the surrounds was not an issue for me. It reminded me of a lot of MC SACD tracks I've heard where you are "enveloped" in the music...as if it is coming from all around you. Not necessarily my choice for music...but for a movie it was ok...and I really had to make and effort to notice it. A New Hope is still a great and fun movie...now with improved picture and sound and a few suprises too. Great job Lucas!

Ron-P

Watched A New Hope, wow, most impressive! Hands down the most impressive older films to hit dvd. Thanks Lucas!

The video quality is next to perfect and the new 5.1 track is excellent as well.

I noticed a few glitches (only because I read about them first so I knew they were coming). I could not be happier with these.

The people who complain about these disks just do not know how to kick back and enjoy a movie but rather sit back and pick out the smallest of details to find something to **** about.

The rear surround issue, is not an issue.

landry_p2000

It was pretty good to me also. I think the p.q. was very good, but the sound didn't blow me away or anthing but it was damn good for a movie from the 70's. I tell you what. If you want to hear terrible sound on an older movie remastered, just watch Scarface and it will make you appreciate George Lucas' effort a whole lot more. I saw A New Hope last night and was very pleased. I will check out The Empire Strikes Back tonight. I also own this trilogy on vhs and have watched it in dolby pro-logic II. It is worth owning also for the true Star Wars fans. By the way, the LFE channel didn't bass out all that great either.

Dr. Spec

Thanks for the general votes of confidence, guys. I was on the fence reading the myriad slams from all the Star Wars nerds, but you restored my faith. I can live with a few minor glitches.....

shack

Originally posted by Ron-P
The people who complain about these disks just do not know how to kick back and enjoy a movie but rather sit back and pick out the smallest of details to find something to **** about.

Very well said!

Demiurge

The people who complain about these disks just do not know how to kick back and enjoy a movie but rather sit back and pick out the smallest of details to find something to **** about.

Please don't speak for me. I like 98% of the movies I watch. I know when to leave my brain at the door, ect. I've always loved movies, despite SQ or PQ, those are always the last thing I notice.

I'm a fan of the ORIGINAL Star-Wars trilogy as they were when they were released in the theatres. They were butchered a long time ago, and they put the butchered ones on DVD. I don't like that knowing that I like the ORIGINALS better.

Has nothing to do with nit-picking about the details, because what WAS one thing is now something DIFFERENT. That's my beef. Sheesh, didn't know this was the kiss Lucas' **** thread. I didn't say these weren't good DVDs (don't own them yet) but I am expressing DISSAPOINTMENT. Big difference.

I know for sure I'm not the only one who feels this way, but I've learned not to listen to movie reviews with too much faith in what people say around here because all the majority talks about is PQ and SQ. That's fine, this being an A/V board and all, but there is way more to movies than those 2 things. Amazing how almost anything that doesn't sound and look great almost instantly sucks.

PolkThug

Originally posted by Demiurge
Has nothing to do with nit-picking about the details, because what WAS one thing is now something DIFFERENT. That's my beef.

I agree Demi. This is a 'must buy' for me, however, I felt my stomach bottom out when I saw an animated Jabba the Hut in an "extra special scene." It looked so fake, compared to the life-size Jabba they built for the original scenes.

Regards,
PolkThug

landry_p2000

Yeah, that Jabba did SUCK! I thought I was going crazy when I saw Jabba and Han Solo talking before he flew off in the Falcon. Thanks for clearing that up P.T. I still Love these movies! I liked when he stepped on his fat **** tail.:D

avelanchefan

I just find it funny how people went out to get copies yesterday and they were almost gone....me I walked into Walmart today and they had hundreds if not a thousand copies at 37.99. Don't know why people were so scared of shortages.

jgido759

As a "casual" Star Wars fan (ANH was released when I was a senior in HS), I probably have not seen these in over 15 years. I have not kept up with all of the "improved" releases that followed the original. I was, however, one of the first in my area to pick up this box set at Walmart at midnight.

I have been keeping up with all of the threads on various boards pertaining to the "drastic changes" made to the original prints and all of the purists displeasure with them.

Having said all that, I was completely blown away by the DVD presentations of both ANH & TESB. Not having a reference, it was like I was experiencing these films for the first time and both my wife (who is NOT a Star Wars fan at all) and I totally enjoyed ourselves. Both picture & sound were incredible. We are looking foward to watching ROTJ tonight.

I, for one, am tired of hearing all of the complaints about how Lucas f**ked up these films by making changes to the prints originally release to the theaters in the late 70's and early 80's. Lucas is happy with the finished product, why shouldn't we be. This is the best these films have ever looked & sounded. And, according to him, these are the films he wanted to make originally but was limited by the technology of the time.

Why are we not using Windows 3.11? It was a great product in its day. But times have changed, technology has improved. We have moved on.

Just enjoy the DVDs.

Strong Bad

Well said jgido759!

This is not meant as a stab at anyone in particular so please don't take offense.

For all the purists screaming for the originals, how about just going back to the original VHS copies and watching them. When Lucas set out to do the special editions, not only did he add CGI effects, but he remastered the audio and video, thus altering them from their original form.

You would therefore have to go back to the VHS versions from mid 90's on back to get their unaltered "Original" form. No CGI, no remastered video, no remixed audio...no nothing but the original.

I'm enjoying the living hell out of these new DVD's!!! I'm not kissing Lucas' ****. I'm just appreciative of what he created.


John

Demiurge

It's Lucas' right to do whatever he pleases. He is the artist. He made the changes a he saw fit. I really don't think that anyone that's dissapointed with the changes is trying to refute that fact. I wish they were never played with and I don't like how it was done.

Will I buy these DVDs? Yes, I will. I would love to see them on DVD and so I will purchase them. There are some positives to the DVD format and there are negatives. This isn't just a case of better SQ and PQ. There were a lot of other elements that just didn't need to be screwed with, IMO, and in the opinion of lots of others. One of those things is mentioned above. I'm not here trying to disagree with those of you who love what you got. I'm here defending my right to be dissapointed with the material. It's not nit-picking at all.

It's like the Led Zeppelin DVD that came out last year. What if they added a bunch of stuff to the songs and put other un-needed stuff into it? I'd be just as disapointed...it changes the original feeling of the art. It's their right, but it's also my right to be dissapointed. Why is this such a hard concept to grasp?

Do you like remakes of old movies? Sometimes? They're not always the same are they? Even if they're better looking and sounding....there's just something about the original, isn't there?

kberg

Seems like a win-lose situation no matter how you look at it. I mean, what if Lucas had just kept the originals in tact and provided none of the new enhancements/additional scenes, etc. on the DVD's? My guess is that there would be just as many (perhaps more, or a LOT more) SW fans out there bitching about that decision.

Demiurge

Originally posted by kberg
Seems like a win-lose situation no matter how you look at it. I mean, what if Lucas had just kept the originals in tact and provided none of the new enhancements/additional scenes, etc. on the DVD's? My guess is that there would be just as many (perhaps more, or a LOT more) SW fans out there bitching about that decision.

What if? How many movies get reworked to this extent just for DVD? Not a whole lot. What about the fact that the changes people are 'bitching' about were made on the last set of VHS movies?! He made a decison that pissed a lot of people off. That's his right as it's his intellectual property and he owns it. He made a lot of people happy too. That's the chance you take when you change something. Not everyone sees it for the better.

I mean....if he didn't make the enhancements, ect....there would be nothing to compare it to anyways....so I don't understand your point.

It would be one thing if these were all small details. Then I could see people getting pissed at those 'bitching' about them, but they aren't small details for a lot of people. The conventional wisdom has always been that these NEVER should have been 'effed with to begin with.....not whether he had a right to do so.

Glad you like them though!

jdhdiggs

Originally posted by kberg
Seems like a win-lose situation no matter how you look at it. I mean, what if Lucas had just kept the originals in tact and provided none of the new enhancements/additional scenes, etc. on the DVD's? My guess is that there would be just as many (perhaps more, or a LOT more) SW fans out there bitching about that decision.

Nope, just release the definative collection from the laser disk master with some enhanced 5.1 info and the full treatment on the new makes and everyone wins... (especially lucas)

landry_p2000

Hell fellas, I like the movies both ways, but I do understand both sides. Some people wouldn't care whether or not Lucas changed, added, deleted or enhanced the scenes in these movies. Some people just don't like change. Me personally, I like the fact that I have them on both DVD and VHS. If I want to watch both versions, then so be it. Either way I am glad to get these films on DVD finally!:D

Ron-P

Demiurge, chill dude, I was referring to the A/V not the original vr the SE's.

We have the best format available to view movies at home. Yet, people find the slightest little quirk, blurb, audio drop, a spec of dust, digital artifact, a voice not sounding "just" right for an instant and complaining about it. That is where I was coming from.

It's as if people look for these mistakes instead of enjoying the film which is presented to us in the best format we have ever had.

I guess for some, the better things get, the more there is to complain about. Remember, it's dvd, not dvp (digital video perfection).

dorokusai

I just watched ANH and liked it very much, best DVD purchase I have made in a few months. Have fun guys

Demiurge

Originally posted by Ron-P
Demiurge, chill dude, I was referring to the A/V not the original vr the SE's.

We have the best format available to view movies at home. Yet, people find the slightest little quirk, blurb, audio drop, a spec of dust, digital artifact, a voice not sounding "just" right for an instant and complaining about it. That is where I was coming from.

It's as if people look for these mistakes instead of enjoying the film which is presented to us in the best format we have ever had.

I guess for some, the better things get, the more there is to complain about. Remember, it's dvd, not dvp (digital video perfection).

I'll chill, sorry, Ron.

I just get upset when I get the "You're just being a whiny ****," label slapped on for no reason. I felt the need to explain my position in full.

The majority of the time I'd agree with you on what you're saying. If you don't like it, don't buy it. No need to ****. I think the Star Wars thing is just a bigger deal. There were other options out there and Lucas alienated a lot of demand. People are just frustrated.

Strong Bad

Would love to do a side by side comparison of a set of VHS movies from the late 80's/early 90's and compare them with the DVD's.

Hey, just for **** and giggles, thats all. Just to see how far the audio/video experience has come since then.

I read on 1 website that somewhere in the neighborhood of 10 million artifacts (dust, scratches, etc...) were removed from all 3 films. They used 600 Powermac G5 computers with 4 gb of RAM each to accomplish this.

Thats some serious tedious work there! Would make me nuts!!!

fireshoes

I went to Walmart this morning before work, but they were sold out of widescreen copies. They had a cube with one empty side for widescreen and 3 full sides of fullscreens. Dumbasses, when will they learn?

Emlyn

Originally posted by fireshoes
I went to Walmart this morning before work, but they were sold out of widescreen copies. They had a cube with one empty side for widescreen and 3 full sides of fullscreens. Dumbasses, when will they learn?

In about 10 years when most TVs are widescreen probably, but not until then. I had a similar experience at my neighborhood Walmart but did find a widescreen copy there yesterday. I have VHS copies of the movies and they looked horrible on a big screen TV the last time I watched them about three years ago.

Can't say I care one way or another about the subtle changes made to the movies. I've been getting a few chuckles at sites like Home Theater Forum where the disputes are quite hot. I imagine the reactions of some members there look a little like this...

TheReaper

Ah yes, the best thing about the original Star Wars trilogy. They inspired Space Balls, one of the greatest movies of all time.