Star Wars: From dream sci-fi bride to perfect Blu-ray wife

Here's a pun-splattered heads-up to all you Star Wars fans out there. In about two hours' time news will reach us from a secret server located on the distant planet Bespin that Maythe4thbewithyou will prove a good day for the Lucasian franchise. There's a countdown and everything! The gimmicky website created in honour of the …

[Mark C Casey]

Meh

So, it'll just be the crappy star wars prequels with the horribly redone originals?

You know fine, please clean up the image to correct for things like faded colour and damage to the film itself.

But, please.. don't re-edit the film or add bits. It's worst in the first film, where Lucas changed Han Solo's character by shooting after Greedo (yes I went there), adding a horribly done Jabba scene and the horrible, horrible cg bits or where the random droids move perfectly horizontally across the screen filling it as Luke and Obi Wan arrive at Mos Eisley.

Who am I joking, he'll just release the shitty versions. But, honestly I bought them once on VHS and that's enough. If they aren't the original versions, why bother?

[irish donkey]

Applause

just what I thought

[mafoo]

or..

...they are going to digitally replace all the characters with ewoks...

[WonkoTheSane]

@ Mark C Casey

The Jabba scene existed all along.

Under the CGI slug is a now deceased Irish actor named Declan Mulholland,

delivering the same lines that the subtitles showed, while wearing a hideous fur waistcoat.

It's Boba Fett who was never there. Proof? I gots proof:-

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=itWq71Y5-B4

(Mine's the one with a lighsabre in the pocket)

[NoneSuch]

@WonkoTheSane

If you are who I think you are then Shad says "Hi".

[Anonymous Coward]

@WonkoTheSane

yes the scene was there all along...

But, it was cut out because it didn't work, and it was then replaced with all of greedo's dialogue. Putting it back in just means Han gets told all the same stuff twice.

[Anonymous Coward]

I thought...

Lucas had said that the special editions (the ones with all the CGI buggeration) were the definitive versions of the movies and that the original ones would never be released?

[Ammaross Danan]

The real rip-off

Even though the originals were "digitally remastered" and had extra CGI and such, there's still one problem with the Blu-Ray version: the original film was still shot in crappy standard-def. The video recording sucked then and will still be like up-converting a VHS to 1080p. Fortunately, the new Eps 1-3 may actually come out in better quality, but die-hard "I must have a blu-ray player due to the superior image" people will be woefully disappointed when they realize if it wasn't shot in high-def, you don't get high-def quality automagically from Blu-ray.

[I am the Walrus]

RE: crappy standard-def

I think you'll find the originals were shot on 35mm film and that when digitized is 4k (i.e. 4096x4096 pixels) in size. Most likely at 32bit colour depth as well. Therefore there will be no issue with resolution or image quality when digitally remastering from the original stock. Especially when the target output is 1920x1080 pixels with H264 encoding for a TV (10bpc colour) or computer (8bpc colour) viewing.

Just my 2c.

[The Fuzzy Wotnot]

Give it rest George!

Anyone remember when the VHS boxsets came out? There was a gold and silver edition, FFS! Not to mention the Our Price (remember them? ) VHS boxset. How many DVD box sets have there been since then too?!

Give a rest George, you've got enough money, how about getting off your arse making some genuine original SciFi fare? Something genuinely new and exciting? If not, then how about remaking THX-1138? I don't like remakes as a rule but I reckon that could really benefit from the modern makeover.

[Jedit]

Gold and silver VHS

The gold and silver VHS Star Wars boxes weren't any kind of attempt to rip off the public. The gold box contained the original versions and the silver box contained the Special Editions. Of course if you wanted both you had to buy both, but it's not like they forced a double-dip on anyone (see: Rings, Lord of the).

Also, Lucasfilm cannot be blamed for the punny URL. The assemble fandom have unofficially been celebrating Star Wars Day on May the Fourth for a good few years now.

[markfiend]

Re: Gold and silver VHS

I thought one set was widescreen and the other set pan-and-scan?

[Si 1]

Gold and Silver

Wasn't Gold the Pan 'n' Scan version while the Silver were the Widescreen ones?

[Cunningly Linguistic]

Nope, other way round...

...Gold was widescreen, silver was pan & scan.

[LuMan]

Nope, not silver.

My copy says it's actually Platinum, widescreen. The gold versions were 4:3 IIRC.

I've got the original widescreen (individual) videos, which are noted as being in 'Letterbox' format!

[Stevie]

Hiss Whoosh Hiss Whoosh

I find your lack of faith disturbing.

[Goat Jam]

THX-1138 Makeover

Hasn't he already done that? It was his first attempt at doing a CGI makeover.

See the "Directors Cut" DVD

http://www.dvdtalk.com/dvdsavant/s3295thx.html

[Arctic fox]

I'll get the three original movies on blu-ray but.....

.........Darth Lucas can get stuffed if I am parting with a penny piece for those three abortions/computer game advertisements he called prequals.

[Ken Hagan]

The 4th isn't with me...

Doesn't render properly on Opera 11.10. (The countdown is not centered and so the left-hand side is clipped by the browser window.)

[The Dark Lord]

I've already bought the first three twice

... and that's enough, thanks.

The more I watch them, the more I come round to Alec Guinness's way of thinking.

[sebacoustic]

worth it?

I've made it to 43 and i am a techie of sorts, but I gave watching the Star Wars films a miss so far.

One attempt at doing so, during university-pals' all-night video session, failed at the "too-stoned-to-keep-awake" hurdle.

I guess it only appeals to to the under-12s or those who want to re-live being under 12.

[Stef 4]

Seriously

You belittle Star Wars fans as 12 year olds, and then say you never got round to watching them because you spent your university years in a drug induced coma? That's a real mature approach.

[Destroy All Monsters]

Well...

But you have to admit that seeing the original Star Wars [aka. Episode IV] in a lousy 70's movie theatre on a Saturday afternoon while being < 10 (though under adult supervision) was PRETTY FRACKING COOL.

I didn't understand the story though. Didn't matter.

[Elsie]

Gotta agree with the others

Lucas has had money out of my wallet at the box office and through video and DVD sales. He can stuff a Rancor where the sun don't shine if he thinks I'm coughing up again.

[Spotfist]

Blaaah

" If not, then how about remaking THX-1138?"

He already did, the copy I bought last year has been CGI'd to the max! not that there was much to add really... perhaps a THX-1137 needs to be released as a prequel, maybe add some comedy to the mix... someone with big ears and an annoying voice? I making gold right here BABY!

Also I REALLY hope George isn't reading this post :( If you are George then... It's a joke right, It would suck big time so stop thinking about it!

[Wize]

Thought they had already been remastered to blu-ray

And there was talk of 3D version coming next (may already be out) which left me wondering how they were going to 3D the sections that were done from a single camera on a set.

[Dayjo]

Hayden Christenshite

Will it be the version that made me shout at the tv at the end of ROTJ?

[Captain Save-a-ho]

Shouty, shouty, shouty

No DOUBT! By far, the BIGGEST travesty in all the special editions. Why didn't he just map Hayden Christenshite over David Prowse when they removed Vader's helmet?

Shame on all you sheeple that will purchase this rereremake shite.

[defiler]

Milked this one dry, methinks...

It's been years since I've watched Star Wars. Used to love it, but it's been ridden roughshod over so many times in an attempt to squeeze every last penny from its value. I honestly think Lucasfilm sees the movies' fans as piggy banks to get shaken up every time they need a quick cash injection.

I for one will not partake, *unless* there's an option for the original unadulterated versions to be shown. I want "A New Hope", "The Empire Strikes Back" and "Return of The Jedi". I want them cleaned up, but unedited from their original cinema releases. I don't want spurious CGI. I don't want "deleted scenes". I don't want "extra footage", "extra action", Jar Jar Binks, Greedo shooting first or *any* of that shit. Clean it, give me a DTS soundtrack, and leave the rest of it the hell alone. That's the only way any of my money will go anywhere the shrivelled teat of Star Wars now.

[IsJustabloke]

I refuse to enoble a simple forum post!

You can stop calling it a "A new Hope" for a start.

Its "Star Wars" geddit?

[Thomas 18]

Reclaim your dignity George

Add an option to play the original cinematic version of the original 3. Oh wait that would be like admitting failure wouldn't it.

[Tom 13]

There seems to be a theme here.

But I'll join in anyway: If Mr. Lucas releases the first three as originally seen in theaters, I'll buy the set. Otherwise, no dice.

[MJI]

They are late

14:00 BST it starts - it is 13 hours late

[Shaun 2]

lol

well that appears to have died within the first two minutes :)

[K]

FAIL...

may the 503 Error be with you aswell Mr Lucas!

[Rostron]

Meh

So the countdown finished and the website promptly collapsed with a bang. Less than stellar.

[TheresaJayne]

well this is what i got

Warning: mysql_connect() [function.mysql-connect]: Host 'domU-12-31-39-16-C1-2C.compute-1.internal' is blocked because of many connection errors; unblock with 'mysqladmin flush-hosts' in /afs/foxfilm.com/content2/maythe4th.starwars.com/html/includes/connect.php on line 25

Did not connect to host. Sorry, you can tell them it was error: Host 'domU-12-31-39-16-C1-2C.compute-1.internal' is blocked because of many connection errors; unblock with 'mysqladmin flush-hosts'

[Destroy All Monsters]

Do people still remember the DEC WARS spoof?

"You've had your chance, Vadic. Now I would like the princess to witness the test that will make this workstation fully operational. Today we enable the -r beam option, and we've chosen the princess' $HOME of /usr/alderaan as the primary target."

"No! You can't! /usr/alderaan is a public account, with no restricted permissions. We have no backup tapes! You can't..."

"Then name the rebel inode!" Tarchive snapped.

A voice announced over a hidden speaker that they had arrived in /usr.

"1248," she whispered, "They're on /dev/rm3. Inode 1248, /mnt/dantooine." She turned away.

Tarchive sighed with satisfaction. "There, you see, Lord Vadic? She can be reasonable. Proceed with the operation."

It took several clock ticks for the words to penetrate. "What!" _LPA0: gasped.

"/dev/rm3 is not a public filesystem," Tarchive explained. "We require a more visible subject to demonstrate the power of the Are-Em Star workstation. We will mount an attack on /mnt/dantooine as soon as possible."

As the princess watched, Tarchive reached over and typed "ls" on a nearby terminal. There was a brief pause (there being only one processor on board) and the viewscreen showed, ".: not found." The princess suddenly double- spaced and went off-line.

[Anonymous Coward]

Lucas fails.

And, on the appointed hour, did the website joyously known as MayThe4th FAIL at even being up when the deadline was reached... and there was much griping on the interwebs.

[Ben Naylor]

Clever marketing...

All it does is redirect to the main Fox site, with no mention of Star Wars at all.

That's if it loads at all....

[The Commenter formally known as Matt]

Wasn't expecting that

A few mysql connection errors, then forwarded to http://www.foxmovies.com/?CO=uk-en with a big xmen advert.

Was not what I was expecting!

[Anonymous Coward]

Wow!

Oooh! Now it excitingly redirects to the fox movies home page. Thrilled, not am I (or some such pseudo Yoda nonsense).

Thanks for nothing George (again).

[StuCom]

It's broken! Wah!

I think someone pulled the plug. The domain is currently redirecting to fox movies.

But who would have anticipated the high demand?

It's not as if star wars is popular, is it?

[NightFox]

Note to Self

Don't use data centres on Alderaan

[Eponymous Retard]

Back in the day...

...I remember going to see all three movies (the good ones, not the shit ones) as a blissfully happy 8-ish year old with a mate and his Gran (Gawd bless her, probably not quite as much fun for her).

In order to relive the halcyon days of my not-misspent-enough youth, I would like to add myself to the increasingly long list of people who would actually pay for a minimally interfered with copy of the original cinematic releases.

Don't make us beg, George.

[Mike Hanna]

@NightFox

Haha

Sworking again

[The last doughnut]

Someone had to say it ...

These aren't the DVD's you're looking for.

[jai]

exactly how many...

...Bothan's died to bring us this news?

[Adrian Jones]

Almost working

It's got as far as 38% and is now frozen.

A countdown, followed by a countup. Amazing the creative talents at Fox and Lucasfilms these days.

[Reading Your E-mail]

You didn't miss much

I got the page in plain text before the redirect kicked in, it said there were 9 or 10 discs in the collection, the first 6 are easy to figure out, then you had making ofs the originals with interviews, then assorted junk include parodies (but not family guy) and other stuff, bit of an anti climax really.

[Ken Hagan]

Has Lucas milked this cow enough yet?

I'd say not. Let's face it, if George had done a Carrie Fisher, then someone else would have made the three prequels and someone else would have re-issued the films (with slight tweaks, just to tease) each time the industry had a new format to sell. That's how Hollywood works and plenty of other film franchises have been spoiled by someone less talented than the original director being given the job of doing a remake or a sequel.

With Lucas himself behind all these derived works, at least you can tell yourself that it isn't some talentless nobody basking in the reflected glory of a true artist. Quite what you *do* tell yourself is up to you. I still haven't seen the prequels in a cinema, but I have all six on DVD and that's enough for my kids to understand where all the merchandising came from. One of these days I'll get the Indiana Jones films and then they'll understand *that* too.

[Magnus_Pym]

Ok in their day...

... but man, have they aged badly. Like an ageing Hollywood heartthrob still trying to play the romantic lead through all the cosmetic surgery, panstick and soft focus these things should be retired. Let us remember the them the way they were and how they fitted into the history of cinema at there release not turned into embarrassing parodies of themselves.

[NoneSuch]

It isn't the "Complete Saga"

...until they make the last three films.

GL was ambling on about there being nine films in the series for almost twenty years . Then he said after the first six there will be no more films until piracy was under control. Next he says that he was "mis-quoted" and there never were going to be more than six.

We do have memories George. You will never have a perfect distribution system and there will always be pirates. They are in the minority and you will only lose a bit of money on the films and lets be fair, you made enough from just the Jar-Jar merchandise to cover those losses.

You don't need to do it yourself, but it would be nice if you chose just one director to do it for you. Yes a trilogy would be hard work. However, that Peter Jackson bloke seems to be doing OK after making Lord of the Rings. I heard he made a few bucks too even in this world of pirates.

Sources: http://www0.epinions.com/content_4057571460

http://www.movieweb.com/news/lucasfilm-denies-rumors-of-9-star-wars-films

*spoiler link* http://www.filmjunk.com/2010/10/25/george-lucas-starting-work-on-a-brand-new-star-wars-trilogy/

[Stevie]

Bah!

The only lasersword movie I want to see is the one where Peter Sellars and Burt Kwouk attack each other with those Kendo-ready lightsabers SW cosplay enthusiasts build, and as a result demolish the Clouseau residence (again) in "The Pink Panther: Once More Unto The Breach".

Now *there* was a franchise...

8o(

[Ben Lambert]

What a bunch of complainers....

Could you people bitch and moan any more? I agree with some of the points, but really, you aren't mature enough to just sit and watch the movies and enjoy the story line?

My 5 year old called Jar-Jar annoying....but really, it's not that big a deal. The special edition for the originals...could have been better, but that was waaaay back when now? (excepting the greedo thing....that was just stupid).

I enjoy the story, it's good, all 6 of them. I take it how it was presented to me, not how it might be better or what might have been. For me, the biggest travesty of the whole thing was Hayden Christenson, he DESTROYED 2&3 with his terrible acting.

If you don't want to buy it, then don't. It's pretty simple. There's no need to complain about it.

[Rattus Rattus]

The final nail in the Star Wars coffin

for me, was Mass Effect. Similar feeling setting, but much better characterisation, story and technology. I'll still watch the Star Wars films on occasion, but they no longer hold my interest for long.

[Richard Jukes]

heh

George Lucas + Dead donkey + Whip * Fanboys = $$

[Eponymous Cowherd]

Meh

So its Star Wars on Blu Ray?

Damn, that cow has been milked so hard and so often its tits must be red-raw......

[Ray 8]

instead of blasters..

George will have them airbrushed and replaced with walkie talkies as shown in E.T

[Anonymous Coward]

George Lucas has let us all down... suppost to be 3 trilogies!

Hi, I was a the opening of Star Wars in the seventies. George Lucas announced there would be Star Wars triology and then a triology 50 years before Star Wars(he did it) and one 50 years after(no word about this anymore) George, we want to see the 3rd triology please.