Star Wars on blu-ray

[impala454]

So I thought there was already a thread on this but maybe not. Anyhow I noticed the press release:

Bring home the adventure and share Star Wars™ with your whole family – when STAR WARS: THE COMPLETE SAGA comes to Blu-ray Disc from Lucasfilm Ltd. and Twentieth Century Fox Home Entertainment! To be released beginning on September 12 internationally and on September 16 in North America, the nine-disc collection brings the wonder of the entire Saga direct to your living room, where you can revisit all of your favorite Star Wars moments – in gorgeous high definition and with pristine, 6.1 DTS Surround Sound. Dive deeper into the universe with an unprecedented 40+ hours of special features, highlighted by never-before-seen content sourced from the Lucasfilm archives.

DTS? Do they mean plain old DTS? Surely they'll be using DTS-HD MA?? Anyone have insight into this?

Also curious if anyone has heard if there might be some seamless branching used so we can watch the theatrical versions. I would kill to have that functionality with this thing, as I can't stand the muppet show musical garbage they added in and a few of the other oddities like the "Greedo shot first" thing.

[madmac]

Remember one thing. You cannot create HD audio content out of something that was not HD to begin with. You can play with it and re-master it with dubious results but that's the best of it really!.

[Ovation]

So I thought there was already a thread on this but maybe not. Anyhow I noticed the press release:



DTS? Do they mean plain old DTS? Surely they'll be using DTS-HD MA?? Anyone have insight into this?

Also curious if anyone has heard if there might be some seamless branching used so we can watch the theatrical versions. I would kill to have that functionality with this thing, as I can't stand the muppet show musical garbage they added in and a few of the other oddities like the "Greedo shot first" thing.

I'm sure it will be lossless (many press releases mess up details like this, especially so far in advance of the actual release). I'd bet six months salary, though, that there will NOT be ANY way to get the original cuts from this set. I'm not a huge fan (I was entertained by Star Wars, more so by the first one and its sequel, Empire Strikes Back than the others, but I don't yet own them in any format), so I'm not overwrought by this lack. However, I do empathize with those who wish to have the original cuts (there is one point on which I agree with the most fervent of fans of the original: Han shot first--it is the only thing that makes the rest of the character arc sensible).

[Kevin D]

Remember one thing. You cannot create HD audio content out of something that was not HD to begin with. You can play with it and re-master it with dubious results but that's the best of it really!.

HD audio in the form of Dolby True HD and DTS master audio means "same as the master tapes" with no compression. I'm pretty sure Lucas still has the high resolution master tapes and the high resolution cut made for the special editions.

I sat through a class with the guy that made the 7.1 channel mix for the new Sound of Music BR. They went used a combination of the original master tapes and even found then restored multi-track audio tapes originally for the music from the music studio.

Just like old TV shows and movies scanned to HD, most things recorded to analog still have a higher resolution then HD.

Kevin D.

[Chris D]

Here's hoping we get an awesome product this year, both picture and sound.

And we get LOTR in a few months too, in addition to SW.

[Kevin P]

Sweet! I've been waiting for an all-inclusive box set to come out before buying, and to get it on BD is icing on the cake!

[madmac]

HD audio in the form of Dolby True HD and DTS master audio means "same as the master tapes" with no compression. I'm pretty sure Lucas still has the high resolution master tapes and the high resolution cut made for the special editions.

I sat through a class with the guy that made the 7.1 channel mix for the new Sound of Music BR. They went used a combination of the original master tapes and even found then restored multi-track audio tapes originally for the music from the music studio.

Just like old TV shows and movies scanned to HD, most things recorded to analog still have a higher resolution then HD.

Kevin D.

True...well said.....I'll crawl back into my hole now........ ops:

[impala454]

I also wouldn't mind a seamless branching feature that let me somehow remove Jar Jar completely

Though I guess that's even more of a pie in the sky request than getting the theatrical cuts

[Kevin P]

I heard he's working on a Special Edition that has Jar Jar in every scene! 8O :rofl:

[impala454]

"Isa am a yo father!"

[George Bellefontaine]

I still have the laserdisc box set of the original theatrical versions of the first 3 and I have dvds of the revised versions, along with the prequels. As for blu-ray, well Georgie boy won't be getting any more money from me.

[Chris D]

"No-sa. Do or maybe doin' not. There-sa is'n no try, me thinks. Egads!"

Yeah, that doesn't sound nearly the same.

I did just notice that Amazon has updated the product listings for these with new cover pictures.

I think these are going to turn out big, so I apologize ahead of time. I personally have the third version (complete 6 films) already on order.

You don't seem to get anything different with the mega-set, than buying the two trilogies separate. Same # of discs, total of $90.

[Chris D]

Oh, and I remember talk about it coming out in 3D Blu-Ray. I guess that will be a later "take everybody's money all over again" release?

Hmm... I can't remember... did Han shoot first?

:P

[Kevin P]

Q. How come the padawan flunked out of Jedi training?
A. Because he could only master the Threese.

(Just came up with this one....)

[Isaac]

I still only have the original 3 Star Wars films on VHS (THX Widescreen Edition set). Have to pull out my VCR to watch them. But, have the newer films on DVD. Will be nice to finally have them all on Bluray.

[impala454]

So it officially comes out this Friday. Anyone biting? I probably will, but I still hate that there will not be a theatrical option. And supposedly Lucas has added even a few more stupid changes lately.

[George Bellefontaine]

So it officially comes out this Friday. Anyone biting?

Mr. Lucas has all the Star Wars money from me he is ever going to get.

[impala454]

Here's a pretty concise list of the more major changes:

http://www.movieweb.com/news/star-wars-the-complete-saga-blu-ray-changes-revealed

[P-Dub]

No....

Noooooooooo......

[aud19]

Mr. Lucas has all the Star Wars money from me he is ever going to get.

Ditto

[maseline_98]

So it officially comes out this Friday. Anyone biting? I probably will, but I still hate that there will not be a theatrical option. And supposedly Lucas has added even a few more stupid changes lately.

I bite on this(my bought it for me for my bday). The question is, "What order should I have her watch them?". She has never seem any of them.

I was thinking IV, V, I, II, III, VI

Any suggestions?

[Kevin P]

Why not in episode order... I, II, III, IV, V, VI? Then everything occurs in chronological sequence instead of starting in the middle and then jumping to the beginning.

If she's never seen any of them, she's not going to have an initial preference of the "original trilogy" or the prequels, so chronologically would make the most sense. Would you watch the Lord Of The Rings movies out of sequence?

[maseline_98]

Why not in episode order... I, II, III, IV, V, VI? Then everything occurs in chronological sequence instead of starting in the middle and then jumping to the beginning.

If she's never seen any of them, she's not going to have an initial preference of the "original trilogy" or the prequels, so chronologically would make the most sense. Would you watch the Lord Of The Rings movies out of sequence?

Well...I guess the there are plot elements like vader being luke's father, luke and leia being brother/sister....yoda being a jedi master(but she probably knows that already anyway), etc....

I would think that these would be ruined by watching them in episode order, but she's probably not going to pay attention anyway...lol

[Chris D]

I did a pre-order on Amazon, and it just arrived today. I sat my daughter down, and we watched Episode I. BEAUTIFUL, BEAUTIFUL on 1080p BD, with nice colors, on large projection screen. I only wished I had a nicer projector (i.e. D-ILA JVC) to really do it full justice.

Yes, the elements of Episode I that we all didn't like are still there. (stunted dialogue, Jar Jar, etc) Matter of fact, I didn't notice any new elements in Episode I at all. Maybe I missed it. And I still think Ray Parks as Darth Maul is the SHIZNIT.

Great sound. Full, robust sound and music through the best parts, with dramatic development. Not just strong bass, the rest was good too. I still got goose bumps when Darth Maul fires his dual-blade light sabre, just like the stir in the crowd when seeing it for the first time.

Overall, I like how Ep I turned out. I hope the rest is good too. I think the real test is going to be the original trilogy, so we'll see.

Of course, I HAD to crank up the intro 20th Century Fox screen and scroll fanfare explosion to earsplitting levels. (John Williams, you are a musical GOD!) My daughter was looking at me in horror, her hands clasped on her ears, saying "daddy, why is it SO LOUD?"

IMHO, there is NO better start to any other movie. In history. EVER.

[impala454]

One interesting aspect of never seeing them and deciding on order would be that the "I am your father" moment (arguably the most shocking moment of the entire saga) loses its punch if you watch them in order 1-6. Not to mention the part where you find out about Leia as well.

Chris, thanks for the review, I still haven't bitten on these yet and am interested to hear your reviews of the rest.

[Ovation]

I would watch in production order so as to best recreate the viewing experience of "seeing it all for the first time". YMMV

[Chris D]

Actually, I stopped by the BD review on AVS Forum after posting this, and saw that they thought Episode I was fairly good quality, but not as good as II and III. So it should get even better!

Yes, I decided to do 1-6 in numerical order to show my daughter that doesn't have the history. Thought it would be best that way for her. Chuck, you're right that the Ep V father reveal will not be as shocking. But isn't it then MORE shocking that Luke and Leia kissed?

Oh, and yes, Ep I had DTS-MA 6.1. Interesting that it was 6.1. A couple fly-over scenes were pretty dramatic, like when the droid tank at the beginning runs over Qui-Gon and Jar-Jar. (Why, oh why, couldn't Jar Jar get smushed?)

[Chris D]

Watched Episode II tonight. The AVS Forum review was right--II was even better BD quality than I! Very fine detail, looked great. So great, in fact, that some CGI parts actually looked LESS realistic and more like CGI. (i.e. the first time you see the Camino platforms in the ocean)

Two scenes in Ep II I think are reference quality that I would use for demo material--the asteroid chase scene with sonic charges, and the light saber battle between Dooku and Anakin. (with the very dark shading, faces glowing from the light sabers, foreshadowing the Luke/Vader saber battle in Ep IV) Very poetic.

LOTS of bass in this one to really give your sub a run for the money. And don't forget to look at the THX trailer, which for some reason Lucas put at the END of the credits on the BD!

[Chris D]

Ep III tonight. Being that my daughter's only 7, and Ep III is (right, IMHO) the only SW movie rated PG-13, we decided not to let her watch this one.

The AVS Forum review got it right again. Even BETTER quality of a disc production. This really is what modern movies should look like on BD. Absolutely gorgeous detail in so many scenes, and the color really popped, even on my 4-year-old projector. I can only imagine how it would look on a cutting-edge display today.

There were a few scenes I didn't quite remember from the first run of Ep II and Ep III, but I'm not sure if they were added/changed or not by Lucas.

And yes, the "Buzz Lightyear NOOOOOOO" is still there.

[impala454]

That makes me more inclined to actually pick up this set. I might actually sit and watch them on my IPS monitor (I was blown away when I "accidentally" watched my Avatar BD on it )

[Chris D]

Ep IV tonight. Wow, for a 34 year old movie, it was looking and sounding GREAT! Somehow, several things about the movie that really shouted "1970's" before, like the Tupperware in the Tattoine home, even looked better and gelled more.

Not 100% positive, but I don't think I saw many content differences from the remastered DVD's. I'd have to cross-reference with my DVD's, but a few things looked updated, but not huge content changes. Like with split-second timing, it looked to me like Han and Greedo actually shoot at the same time now.

There were two very noticeable quality changes I noticed with this release, though. The first was a VERY nice update of the sound. Even in the DVD re-release, there would be all sorts of "live" sound with background noises when characters talk, then it would drop back to mastered digital background noise when their spoken line was over. (reference Owen and Beru's conversation after Luke leaves the room) Now there's a LOT more smoothness and uniformity to the sound.

The second thing I noticed was even better video remastering. On the DVD's, there were still parts that were washed out. And when the gang escapes the Death Star in the Millenium Falcon for the first time and get attacked by pursuing Tie Fighters, as the Tie Fighters rolled in, on the DVD's you could lightly see a black box around the fighters. Now it's a lot smoother, and colors are rich and full. Nice job.

I swung by Wal-Mart today, and also picked this up. For those that haven't seen it on the Cartoon Network, it's a short film made with Lego Star Wars characters. Absolutely awesome, with lots and lots of little jokes in it. Being a Lego fan as well as SW, it's a must for me. Just as good of quality as the new SW saga BD's, too, even with DTS-MA 5.1.

[Chris D]

This was pretty much me this week...

hahahaahaa

[youtube]pCjMGOvMghY[/youtube]

[JonMarsh]

Thanks for all the comments and feedback.

I'm probably classified as a moderately big fan; at least literary, having read pretty much all the novels based on this universe starting with Timothy Zahn's first ones many many years ago- IMO, that's the best follow up that Lucas Arts has done from the original movies.

Now, I suspect these sets are something I'll need to treat myself to this Christmas; who knows, maybe I can even find some time to watch them? Flawed, yes, but also essential to my movie collection.

[Chris D]

I think you'll like them, Jon. I guess I never did post my thoughts above on Ep V and VI. They're also well done, IMHO. I noticed a few content "revisions", like the addition of Vader saying "Noooo...." as Luke's being zapped by the Emporer in Ep VI. But nothing huge that I noticed. Very nice improvements in audio and video quality.

IMHO, I think it's a set that most people will be happy with. Now, if you're all into 3D, then it might get your goat that these do NOT have 3D, meaning Lucas will almost certainly re-release them as such in the future. I'm not big on 3D still, though, so these are good for me.

I'm working my way through all the discs with extras now. Some good stuff on there.

I don't think I ever mentioned that I really like the DVD packaging. It's book-like, reminiscent of how LOTR was done. But instead of the book continually unfolding into a big strip, each book page is a thick carboard sheet with a disc in it. I like it, although the disc is a bit difficult to get out sometimes.

[impala454]

Timothy Zahn's first ones many many years ago- IMO, that's the best follow up that Lucas Arts has done from the original movies.

Agreed 1,000,000% I love the first "Zahn Trilogy". (for those that don't know, Heir to the Empire, Dark Force Rising, and The Last Command).

Btw Chris, hilarious video! I passed it around to all my fellow SW nerds at work