Disney/Fox/Lucasfilm should release the original versions of the old SW trilogy on BD

[JakeSully]

Now that Lucas has thankfully retired and no longer in charge of his studio with someone else now in charge.

Let's hope one day Disney/Fox/Lucasfilm do a deal together to release the original unbastardnized and unedited theatrical cuts of the old school trilogy on blu-ray that were locked in the Lucasfilm vaults for a long time and could use 4K restoration, they can have our money.

[TheSkeletonMan939]

No one likes keeping stuff 'in the vault' more than Disney.

Don't expect the original versions to be released any time soon.

[Candy Kappa]

It will never happen.

[Andrew NDB]

Yeah. Can't wait to see that lady pretending to be the Emperor in the Empire Strikes Back again that's not Ian McDiarmid hologram. Or all those matte boxes around the TIE Fighters, or the lame Death Star explosions.

I've never understood the need for this. The Special Editions and the Blu-Ray versions are far better than whatever people seem to remember in their memories of the "Original OT." Go buy those on VHS (or actually I think George actually did re-release the unaltered versions of the OT on DVD in limited edition) and pop them in and relive whatever weird retro hipster world you're living in and leave the rest of us alone.

[Candy Kappa]

Not a fan of the fx addition like extra creatures, Jar Jar's voice and replacing Vader's spirit visage. But updating the actual effects isn't a bad thing, although it would have been nice with a "The Star Wars theatrical version" as a bonus feature for a box set.

[sdp]

What a great idea OP, I don't know why no one has ever mentioned.

[ToTheNines]

Originally Posted by Andrew NDB

Yeah. Can't wait to see that lady pretending to be the Emperor in the Empire Strikes Back again that's not Ian McDiarmid hologram. Or all those matte boxes around the TIE Fighters, or the lame Death Star explosions.

Ok, for those three improvements you listed there's countless pointless ones and a good handful of egregious and completely unforgivable changes.

Vader screaming "No", Greedo, that stupid Jabba scene, THAT FUGGING JEDI ROCKS SONG.

I haven't seen the blu ray versions of the prequel trilogy though, and I always hated the Yoda puppet in TPM. How did the CGI change turn out?

[TMNT_Guy]

Originally Posted by Andrew NDB

(or actually I think George actually did re-release the unaltered versions of the OT on DVD in limited edition)

Kind of. It's nothing more then a rip of the laserDisc release, so it's not even in it's proper widescreen resolution.

I personally don't think we'll ever see the originals officially released, the original films have mostly deteriorated(Many scenes from the Special Edition versions had to be reconstructed from various sources.) and it would take too much time, effort and money to bring the the quality of the film into modern expectations...and that's assuming they can find a copy of the film still intact.

If you really, really want to see the original films as they were originally presented, your best bet is to get Harmy's STAR WARS Despecialized Edition.Like with the Special Edition versions, various sources are taken to make the movies look and sound how they did back in the 70s. He's done this for all three of the movies.

One of these days I should watch the original Star Wars films. I've seen bits and parts of the original trilogy while channel surfing, but I've never actually seen them all the way through.

[Bry]

Originally Posted by ToTheNines

Ok, for those three improvements you listed there's countless pointless ones and a good handful of egregious and completely unforgivable changes.

Vader screaming "No", Greedo, that stupid Jabba scene, THAT FUGGING JEDI ROCKS SONG.

Exactly. Nobody's saying you can't touch up some legitimate problems with the picture/effects/whatever, they're just saying don't screw around with the actual filmed story content. They're classic, culturally-significant films that deserve to be preserved unaltered. At least as an option.

The market will definitely support Original Cut and Special Edition releases -- just do them right. When Lucas re-released the original versions as bonus discs on DVD, he specifically released the worst-looking version possible, in non-anamorphic widescreen, with no restoration whatsoever.

Originally Posted by TMNT_Guy

If you really, really want to see the original films as they were originally presented, your best bet is to get Harmy's STAR WARS Despecialized Edition.Like with the Special Edition versions, various sources are taken to make the movies look and sound how they did back in the 70s. He's done this for all three of the movies.

I can vouch for this. Maybe not Blu-Ray quality exactly, but they look fantastic. If a fan was able to do that, then there's no reason LucasFilm shouldn't able to handle an even better restoration of the original versions. And they would sell.

[Andrew NDB]

Originally Posted by ToTheNines

I haven't seen the blu ray versions of the prequel trilogy though, and I always hated the Yoda puppet in TPM. How did the CGI change turn out?

I prefer the puppet but it does make Yoda more consistent with his look in Episode II and III.

[TheSkeletonMan939]

Adywan's 'Revisited' version of the film is in my eyes the 'definitive' edit of the film.

[pennydreadful]

Originally Posted by ToTheNines

Ok, for those three improvements you listed there's countless pointless ones and a good handful of egregious and completely unforgivable changes.

Vader screaming "No", Greedo, that stupid Jabba scene, THAT FUGGING JEDI ROCKS SONG.

If this post were a person, I would anoint it with fragrant oils and hand-feed it grapes.

[Allio]

Originally Posted by Andrew NDB

Yeah. Can't wait to see that lady pretending to be the Emperor in the Empire Strikes Back again that's not Ian McDiarmid hologram. Or all those matte boxes around the TIE Fighters, or the lame Death Star explosions.

but that what makes it great, the cheesiness of it's era.

[CyberCubed]

I have no desire to watch the original versions again. The only thing I wish was different was removing Anakin from the ghost scene in episode 6, and that's the only thing that truly bothered me.

I don't give a damn that, "Han shot first." Nerds need to get over themselves.

[TigerClaw]

Originally Posted by CyberCubed

I have no desire to watch the original versions again. The only thing I wish was different was removing Anakin from the ghost scene in episode 6, and that's the only thing that truly bothered me.

I don't give a damn that, "Han shot first." Nerds need to get over themselves.

Yeah, I don't care for the original versions, The Special Editions did fix some things that made the movie better for me, If you watch Episode 4, the Death Star attack scenes is much better with the extra footage.

[NinjaPug]

My only problem with the Special Editions is the song/dance number at Jabba's palace in ROTJ. Terrible.

[Leo656]

In the Newest New versions, that little "flash" that happens every time two lightsabers connect is really distracting and annoying, mostly in A New Hope. That wasn't necessary.

I'm pretty okay otherwise. A lot of it was unnecessary but a lot of it was. "Good with the bad" and all that.

[TigerClaw]

What I liked about the Special Edition of a New Hope was, When you see the Death Star battle, the extra footage they added matches the older footage, so you couldn't tell some of those shots were CGI, cause they made the FX look like it was done in the 70s.

[CyberCubed]

Aren't Star Wars fans the people who started the, "They're ruining my childhood!" meme?

I mean I'm pretty sure they're the first group of fans to start that, since George Lucas altered their Star Wars trilogy in 1997 and again in 2004. Back then there also weren't many remakes of old cartoons or movies yet...so I'm pretty sure Star Wars fans were the first ones to coin the "ruined childhood" of manchildren everywhere.

[Andrew NDB]

Originally Posted by CyberCubed

I have no desire to watch the original versions again. The only thing I wish was different was removing Anakin from the ghost scene in episode 6, and that's the only thing that truly bothered me.

It's a little offputting... I'm not adverse to it entirely, but I think they should have at least "aged" Hayden a bit for the Force ghost bit. Because whether he went Dark or not, it is sort of a ****** hand that Obi-Wan still doesn't get to look like Ewan McGregor in the hereafter while Anakin -- who actually went evil -- gets to re-live his 20s forever.