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I wouldn't mind a copy of the originals just for posterity and because that is what actually started it all. Of course I don't own any because my enjoyment of Star Wars doesn't make me buy every version of it. I also think all the prequels, even Revenge of the Sith, were just awful and hold up even worse than the original films.

Jedi were better as Samurai stand ins, no Wuxia leaping nancy boys.

I agree that some of the changes Lucas made were good. Like the more polished space battles, but all the unnecessary things like Greedo, random rocks, or stuff like that should get cut.

Does anyone have any of those books the theaters had that were sold during the original movie release?

Would it not be better to go back and fix the streaming pile of C%$p that are the prequals?

 Mr Morden wrote:
Would it not be better to go back and fix the streaming pile of C%$p that are the prequals?

Lets not poke that bear shall we

I've got the novelisation ghostwritten by Alan Dean Foster, based on not-quite-final scripts. I can't be bothered to go downstairs and look up the passage in question, though. I only got interested in that scene with Greedo when the internet started obsessing over it. I can't say I'd even noticed who shot who first before then.

The Special Wfitions could do with having Jabba in ANH, the pointless shots of Vader leaving Bespin in TESB and the celebration scenes at the end of TROTJ removed. Other than that, I don't think anything makes much difference. Not enough to buy them again, that's for sure.

I found the flow of the originals to be an excellent thing. The CGI looks so jarringly out of place next to the models, that I'll buy it for the consistency. It's kind of like the Lego movie shifting into real life, but without any scriptural explanation for the twist.

 cincydooley wrote:
I have no problem with the special editions.

I also think the adamant arguments about Han shot first are basically saying, "I'm okay with Han being a cold blooded murderer".

I care far less about whether Han fired first or second than about the fact that CGI-Bendy-Han just looks stupid.

I think one of the issues, besides tampering with history, is that part of what made the original films work was the collaboration between the cast and crew whereas the SE and prequels were all Turd Ferguson (GL) and a bunch of Yes Men.

Also the title of the original film is Star Wars and not Star Wars: Episode V: A New Hope. I've seen the posters, books, toys, and even the theater marquees and they just say Star Wars. THIS RETCONNING WILL NOT STAND

 Ahtman wrote:
Also the title of the original film is Star Wars and not Star Wars: Episode V: A New Hope. I've seen the posters, books, toys, and even the theater marquees and they just say Star Wars. THIS RETCONNING WILL NOT STAND

The posters may have originally just said 'Star Wars' but the 'Episode IV: A New Hope' bit was always there in the opening crawl.

 insaniak wrote:

 Ahtman wrote:
Also the title of the original film is Star Wars and not Star Wars: Episode V: A New Hope. I've seen the posters, books, toys, and even the theater marquees and they just say Star Wars. THIS RETCONNING WILL NOT STAND

The posters may have originally just said 'Star Wars' but the 'Episode IV: A New Hope' bit was always there in the opening crawl.

None of that changes that the actual title was/is just Star Wars. I never said it wasn't in the opening crawl, so it seems strange to argue that unless you just like to type to hear the sound of keys clacking.


In fact none of the films had 'episode X' anywhere in their original titles until cinematic abortions abortions were tossed onscreen almost two decades later.

 Mr Morden wrote:
Would it not be better to go back and fix the streaming pile of C%$p that are the prequals?

You cannot fix trash actors, terrible writing and poor timing with a few bandaid fixes.

The point was that Star Wars, Episode IV: A New Hope was the full title. They just didn't use the full title on the posters. Probably to avoid confusing people until they were already inside the cinema.


Automatically Appended Next Post:

 Sigvatr wrote:

You cannot fix trash actors, terrible writing and poor timing with a few bandaid fixes.

The actors weren't the problem. There was a lot of outstanding talent in that cast... But they can ultimately only be as good as the director allows them to be.

 insaniak wrote:
The point was that Star Wars, Episode IV: A New Hope was the full title. They just didn't use the full title on the posters. Probably to avoid confusing people until they were already inside the cinema.

All this willful naivety and retconning of history is hurting you. Why would you hurt yourself in such a fashion?

Here are the original titles as they appeared:

Star Wars
Star Wars: The Empire Strikes Back
Star Wars: Return of the Jedi


Adding "Episode X" to every item/art/toy/blu-ray/DVDs/poster didn't happen until the horror show that was the prequels. Up until that point it was just in the crawler, then later GL got full control and ignored Kirk Lazarus' advice.

 Ahtman wrote:

 insaniak wrote:
The point was that Star Wars, Episode IV: A New Hope was the full title. They just didn't use the full title on the posters. Probably to avoid confusing people until they were already inside the cinema.

All this willful naivety and retconning of history is hurting you. Why would you hurt yourself in such a fashion?

Here are the original titles as they appeared:

Star Wars
Star Wars: The Empire Strikes Back
Star Wars: Return of the Jedi


Adding "Episode X" to every item/art/toy/blu-ray/DVDs/poster didn't happen until the horror show that was the prequels. Up until that point it was just in the crawler, then later GL got full control and ignored Kirk Lazarus' advice.

LoL! That was subtle- and made me laugh much harder than just seeing the meme again would have.

 Sigvatr wrote:

 Mr Morden wrote:
Would it not be better to go back and fix the streaming pile of C%$p that are the prequals?

You cannot fix trash actors, terrible writing and poor timing with a few bandaid fixes.

The actors weren't bad. It was bad directing, horrible scripts, and generally forcing them to try and act on sets which were nothing more than green rooms.

 Mr Morden wrote:
Would it not be better to go back and fix the streaming pile of C%$p that are the prequals?

I thought JJ Abrams was already doing that by giving us new movies to help us forget the prequels?

The sad part about the prequels is that you can see the good story in there that George wrote, but it's lost under his horrible scriptwriting, poor character direction, and his decision to also make them into hours-long commercials for Skywalker Sound and Industrial Light and Magic by focusing more on the shiny and less on the substance.

I smell a deal with Fox over this.

Since it is THEY who still OWN the release rights to the original trilogy (until 2020) and to ep4 until they wish to relinquish them (perpetuity).

 Mr Morden wrote:
Would it not be better to go back and fix the streaming pile of C%$p that are the prequals?

Nah, the prequels aren't as bad as the original trilogy. The original trilogy movies are boring, the plot is cheap, overused and predictable, Luke Skywalker is one of the most awful protagonists ever, scenes that are supposed to be epic feel anticlimactic and everything has horrible, fake-looking special effects. Just compare the fight between Obi-Wan and Anakin in Revenge of the Sith with the fight between Obi-Wan and Darth Vader in A New Hope. The first one is epic, the second is like two rheumatic old men pushing their walking canes together, which is horrible for something that is supposed to be such a climactic event. The Original Trilogy may have been really good back in the prehistoric times of the '70s and '80s, but it has not aged well. They are not bad movies, even now, but they do fall short in many ways when compared to modern movies.
You guys are have grown too old and nostalgic about it to see

I wonder to what extent it is possible to update the Original Trilogy with shiny new effects...

 Iron_Captain wrote:

 Mr Morden wrote:
Would it not be better to go back and fix the streaming pile of C%$p that are the prequals?

Nah, the prequels aren't as bad as the original trilogy. The original trilogy movies are boring, the plot is cheap, overused and predictable, Luke Skywalker is one of the most awful protagonists ever, scenes that are supposed to be epic feel anticlimactic and everything has horrible, fake-looking special effects. Just compare the fight between Obi-Wan and Anakin in Revenge of the Sith with the fight between Obi-Wan and Darth Vader in A New Hope. The first one is epic, the second is like two rheumatic old men pushing their walking canes together, which is horrible for something that is supposed to be such a climactic event. The Original Trilogy may have been really good back in the prehistoric times of the '70s and '80s, but it has not aged well. They are not bad movies, even now, but they do fall short in many ways when compared to modern movies.
You guys are have grown too old and nostalgic about it to see

I wonder to what extent it is possible to update the Original Trilogy with shiny new effects...

The Original had more realistic swordfights.

 Grey Templar wrote:

 DarkLink wrote:

 Orlanth wrote:

 Jimsolo wrote:

Han shot first.

Han shot.

Someone actually found a copy of the script they used while filming, apparently, and it backs up Lucas's revision. Don't quote me on that, though.

I think it was the opposite actually. It proved that Han indeed shot first.

Lucas seemed to decide a lot of his "original intent" years after the fact.

I have the orginal trilogy, uncut and "remastered by THX" on VHS. That's all I'll ever need.

Lucas can say what he wants, the way Harrison acts out that scene is absolutely with the knowledge he is about to shot Greedo in the face before he gets a chance to fire.

It's never felt right since he changed it.

 insaniak wrote:

 Ahtman wrote:
Also the title of the original film is Star Wars and not Star Wars: Episode V: A New Hope. I've seen the posters, books, toys, and even the theater marquees and they just say Star Wars. THIS RETCONNING WILL NOT STAND

The posters may have originally just said 'Star Wars' but the 'Episode IV: A New Hope' bit was always there in the opening crawl.

I thought I heard that was added shortly after the first theatrical release, maybe for the second or third, once it was clear the movie had legs.

Star Wars came back into theaters pretty regularly back in those days before home media.

I thought at first it was just New Hope and the episode numbers only got added later?

 Grey Templar wrote:
I thought at first it was just New Hope and the episode numbers only got added later?

The episode number was always in the crawler because the idea was to emulate old serial films and to make it seem as if they were starting past the first part. I don't recall the episode being added to the titles of the film until much later.

 Grey Templar wrote:
I thought at first it was just New Hope and the episode numbers only got added later?

According to Wikipedia, neither were there initially... They were added in for the first cinema re-release in 1981.

So there you go, then.

Honestly, its so confusing with how many different versions there have been.

Maybe its like a Stand-Alone complex where there is no original

 insaniak wrote:

 Ahtman wrote:
Also the title of the original film is Star Wars and not Star Wars: Episode V: A New Hope. I've seen the posters, books, toys, and even the theater marquees and they just say Star Wars. THIS RETCONNING WILL NOT STAND

The posters may have originally just said 'Star Wars' but the 'Episode IV: A New Hope' bit was always there in the opening crawl.

I remember it not being there when I saw the film on first release in 1977, but this may be false memory syndrome.

 cincydooley wrote:


I also think the adamant arguments about Han shot first are basically saying, "I'm okay with Han being a cold blooded murderer".

Pft. Lucas' childish morality.

Greedo was going to shoot Han and we all know it! A preemptive strike was prudent and necessary