Star Wars

[Dr Maturin]

Please don't take this as an attack, Z'Dweller. However, Z'Dweller presents another facet of Star Wars' consumers.

I think you're ignorantly, completely, and unequivocally wrong, kind sir. While being one of the most knowledgeable persons on Star Wars in the world, I am also one of its biggest critics, primarily in the realm of Lucas's Special Editions and prequel films. I have not, do not, and will not buy every version that the company puts out. As I mentioned before, I found the first release of the trilogy on DVD to be an outstanding buy. Three movies, one feature-length documentary and plenty of special features...that's a bargain. I never bought the THX and other releases of VHS as I was happy with my aforementioned ownership of the letterbox edition from 1989.

But there are people who will buy multiple versions -- even at full SRP -- and they should be looked at apathetically. Who cares how they spend their cash? Unless I am familiar with these people, that is. Even my direct family members aren't as fiscal-minded as myself, so I of course would suggest to them an alternative place of purchase for their desired goods. There were people who bought the LOTR DVDs right away because they wanted to watch the movie in their homes. They also wanted the newer editions for cut scenes and the like.

Business POV: Release as many versions to satisfy a very diverse group of consumers.

Come on, let's be honest. It's more like "Release as many versions to make all the cash we can by draining the wallets of our fan base."

And that's fine. Like you said...it's business, plain and simple.

[Ranger1]

Im like that with B5 and to some degree Star Wars (never owned SW on VHS, used to have copies that my friends made for me since i was a kid), im pretty sure ill buy B5 HD's when they will come out IF they will fix that ratio thingy, boy that sucked.

When The Gathering first came out i got it, but now i have the special edition that comes with the movies pack, from my POV its terrific.

[Jan]

See, the thing is, as long as these movies sell in sufficient quantities this company will continue selling "new" or "updated" versions of their movies. It's business, plain & simple.

Frustrating to some, and satisfying to others.

Oh yeah, I don't own ANY Star Wars movie.

Nor do I but I'm likely to buy this latest set just for comparison purposes.

As to the multiple releases of things and those who buy them, I think there are different dynamics at work that cause people to buy different releases.

One major one that the studios caught on to most noticeably when DVDs were becoming popular was to add perceived value to the new release. This can take the form of better quality, commentaries and interviews, lost scenes, bloopers, you name it. This approach would reach people who are into having the latest and greatest as well as the fans who want more insight or like behind-the-scenes glimpses of the movie/show they like.

Another dynamic is the collector impulse. The collector will pick up every version and limited edition and super remastered version just because they're different. The perceived value is in their differentness. This would also reach the fans who want to show support for their show in hopes of something new being made.

Personally, I can't see doing it for Star Wars but then I look around the house and see my B5 tapes right next to my B5 DVDs and then the script collection across the room from the script books and I know that if JMS announced a novelization of the show tomorrow, I'd be the first one standing in line as soon as the bookstore opened on the day the first book came out. And yeah, I've got all of the novels and movie novelizations, too, so I can sympathize/empathize with those whose prefered universe is different.

Would I buy another set of B5 DVDs or whatever the next technology upgrade is? I dunno. Guess it depends on what's different about them.

Jan

[manwithnoname]

I watched my letterbox edition of the trilogy from 1990 on my 52" HDTV. Looked great. The DVDs will be fine. I'll buy them and HD or Blu-ray whenever they come out, too.

Please don't take this as an attack, Z'Dweller. However, Z'Dweller presents another facet of Star Wars' consumers. Star Wars' fans, not all, will buy every version the company puts out. This is by no means is a bad thing. Consumers have different likes/dislikes or needs/wants, however one chooses to...view it.

I worked at Blockbuster (many years ago; I hated it). I saw many customers pay full retail (they could've went across the street, literally, to Circuit City and paid less) for different versions of the Lord of the Rings trilogy: theatrical version, collector's edition, and extended-cut version. The customer admitting they owned all versions of the same movie.

Business POV: Release as many versions to satisfy a very diverse group of consumers.

Consumer base #1 POV: "I will buy it all. No problem."

Consumer base #2 POV: "You're driving me crazy. Stop re-releasing, re-packaging, re-editing, and /or re-special editionalizing my movie(s). All you're doing is trying to bleed me dry. Stop re-reaming me! Aaaargh!"

And so on...

See, the thing is, as long as these movies sell in sufficient quantities this company will continue selling "new" or "updated" versions of their movies. It's business, plain & simple.

Frustrating to some, and satisfying to others.

Oh yeah, I don't own ANY Star Wars movie.

[Garibaldi's Hair]

So let me get this straight ... they are now going to release the original versions in 2-disk sets that also include the SEs? Woo-Hoo.



That choice was all I ever really wanted in the first place, so maybe I will finally take the plunge and buy SW on DVD after all.

[Dr Maturin]

Me? I'm thrilled. No more Greedo shoots first, rediculous amount of windows in Cloud City, stupid firerings (ripped off from Star Trek 6) when Alderaan and the Death Stars explode, crap CG Jabba, etc...

Oh, man...this is making me hot. I want those DVDs now!

[frulad]

If you have the VHS why you wanna buy this version of the movies? they are not as high quality as the remastered SE's dvd's, as much as i understand they are presented in 2.0 Dolby only.... better stick to your VHS and wait for the HD version.

I'm not really sure where this whole "they're going to look crappy" meme originated, but I find it hard to believe. Remember that the films' original negatives were painstakenly restored prior to work on the Special Editions. I'm assuming that these are the ones they'll go to for the transfer. As for the audio being only 2.0? That's what the audio was originally anyway!

Me? I'm thrilled. No more Greedo shoots first, rediculous amount of windows in Cloud City, stupid firerings (ripped off from Star Trek 6) when Alderaan and the Death Stars explode, crap CG Jabba, etc...

[Dr Maturin]

If you have the VHS why you wanna buy this version of the movies? they are not as high quality as the remastered SE's dvd's, as much as i understand they are presented in 2.0 Dolby only.... better stick to your VHS and wait for the HD version.

I watched my letterbox edition of the trilogy from 1990 on my 52" HDTV. Looked great. The DVDs will be fine. I'll buy them and HD or Blu-ray whenever they come out, too.

[Ranger1]

If you have the VHS why you wanna buy this version of the movies? they are not as high quality as the remastered SE's dvd's, as much as i understand they are presented in 2.0 Dolby only.... better stick to your VHS and wait for the HD version.

[Dr Maturin]

ZHD, as I said on the other board: I know this is Lucas just raping the consumer out of more money

More power to him and to Exxon.

but in this case, he's only sticking it to me once, because I REFUSED to buy the DVDs of that Special Edition bullshit. So this will be me buying the original Star Wars trilogy, in their original form, for the first time. I loved the ORIGINAL versions of the ORIGINAL trilogy. I got no problem spending money on that.

And I thoroughly enjoyed the documentary on the 4th disc of the SpecEd set. Very cheap for what I got, so I am not complaining. I am not in the business of making sure Lucas doesn't make too much money; I am out to make myself happy.

[Karachi Vyce]

ZHD, as I said on the other board: I know this is Lucas just raping the consumer out of more money, but in this case, he's only sticking it to me once, because I REFUSED to buy the DVDs of that Special Edition bullshit. So this will be me buying the original Star Wars trilogy, in their original form, for the first time.

I loved the ORIGINAL versions of the ORIGINAL trilogy. I got no problem spending money on that.

[Ranger1]

Yeah saw it last night on SW official site.... not my thing really, already have the DVD's (SE's)... will probably wait for the HD version when they will come out.

[Dr Maturin]

Original Star Wars Comes To DVD

Fox will release the original unaltered theatrical versions of the first three Star Wars movies on DVD on Sept. 12, despite statements by series creator George Lucas, USA Today reported.

Lucas had adamantly declared that 2004's digitally restored Star Wars Trilogy DVDs were the definitive versions of his movies. But fans have held out hope for DVDs of the originals, and it appears that Lucasfilm is responding, the newspaper reported.

Fox will release new two-disc DVDs, priced at $30 each, of Star Wars, The Empire Strikes Back and Return of the Jedi that will feature the films as they first appeared in theaters, along with the new, restored versions (now available in the four-disc $70 Star Wars Trilogy). The individual DVDs will be taken off the market on Dec. 31, a strategy that Disney uses on many of its classic releases.

This new set of DVDs does not constitute "George changing his mind," Lucasfilm's Jim Ward told USA Today. "What we've always said is George viewed the revised versions of the films as the definitive versions."

The original films' video quality will not match up to that of the restored versions. "It is state of the art, as of 1993, and that's not as good as state of the art 2006," Ward said.

http://www.scifi.com/scifiwire/index...ory=0&id=35855

!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[Ranger1]

LOL and
"Damn Natalie, youre a crazy chick"
"Yo shut the fu** up and su** my di**"

This is so crazy, really kicks ass.


Thats what you get when living in Jerusalem LOL :P


Check this out: http://www.dailysixer.com/portmon.shtml

[Dr Maturin]

Ha, did you hear her say "all my Jews?"