George Lucas Wants More of Your Money: Star Wars Set for Blu-ray Release
If your DVD copies of Star Wars just don't look that good on your Playstation 3, some happy news: George Lucas has announced that all six Star Wars films will be released on Blu-ray sometime in 2011. Though if you were hoping to see Han Solo shoot first, you're not going to be that happy.
Only the 1997 special editions of the original trilogy -- the one's that added such unnecessary things as Greedo shooting first -- will get the Blu-ray transfer. The reason? Because Lucas really didn't feel like doing anything with the originals.
"[It would be] kind of an oxymoron because the quality of the original is not very good."
"You have to go through and do a whole restoration on it, and you have to do that digitally," he added. "It's a very, very expensive process to do it. So when we did the transfer to digital, we only transferred really the upgraded version."
And a nation of Star Wars nerds grits their collective teeth. No word yet on whether the six films will be available individually, though considering it's doubtful many people would buy one of the prequels on Blu-ray if they didn't have to, they probably won't be. In the meantime, watch Han shoot first below. You're welcome.
· 'Star Wars' Films Coming to Blu-ray Next Year [NYT/ArtsBeat]
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Comments
Is it wrong that I got happy for a moment reading that headline? Because I felt shame immediately afterward, I swear.
Thank God I still have the originals on laser disc. Now I just need to get my player fixed. Should be about as easy as pulling the ears off a Gundark.
I've got a bad feeling about this.
I don't give a rat's ass if it's the new versions. So long as he cuts out that crappy scene with Jabba. Not only does the digital Jabba look terrible, not only is the scene unnecessary -- but the whole point was that in the original trilogy he functioned a bit like Harry Lime: He's talked up for the first 2 parts, and THEN we finally see him.
No price on pristine perfect wonderment of un-colorized, un-dubbed un-edited for content and to run in time allotted..., un-updated, un-P-C'd, un-altered, un-fiddled with, un-self-second-guessing-post release-directorial-flim-flamness, un-CGI'd, un-butchered, un-mangled memories of my 7 year old self.
There are six movies? Not three? I don't watch $h!++y movies, so I wouldn't know.
The saw the first three when I was a kid, then rented the first on a lark five years after they had been released to video stores (which should tell you how unimportant they are to me).
After watching "Star Wars", I half-seriously asked the video store for my money back. If it weren't for the hype surrounding them, they would be B-movies on anyone's list. All of Lucas's movies are sh!+.
"You can write this sh!+, George, but you can't say it!"
- allegedly said by Harrison Ford during filming of "Star Wars"
Agreed. The originals are classics, but far exaggerated in importance by legions of pimply fan boys who in turn got to Lucas' head and inspired him to out-do himself with crappiness.
I wonder why films like Star Wars inspire massive cults, but great examples of sci fi like Alien and 2001 don't draw salivating fanboys in droves.
I wonder who will shot 1st this time.
Geez, just check out the dozens of essays, theses written on the Star Wars trilogy. They are hero myth, good versus evil, mass appeal movies, while Alien is a horror, spook-house movie, and 2001 is a decent real science fiction movie with a trippy ending.
I find your lack of faith disturbing.
so George... doing a digital transfer of the original Star Wars is TOO expensive?! Really... blu-ray rubbish versions no thank you. do it right, fans will cover the cost.
2011, huh?
right, and (because we've seen this all before) when can we expect the "real" collectors editions, which will undoubtedly follow shortly afterwards?
you know, when they re-release these in color...