Star Wars Blu Ray

[Jendo7]

Noooooooooooooooo!

[Marth8880]

My response to this.

[Marvel4]

I don't see why the originals couldn't have been released before.

They have been released on DVD...
http://www.amazon.com/dp/B001EN71DG

[THEWULFMAN]

I don't see why the originals couldn't have been released before.

They have been released on DVD...
http://www.amazon.com/dp/B001EN71DG

Yes, if you don't care about having them in anamorphic, go ahead and buy those. But if you do want them in anamorphic, you're out of luck. Plus, the sound is 2.0, not 5.1.

Apparently a lot of people complain about not having anamorphic and 5.1 sound, so to them he still has not released them properly.

[Twilight_Warrior]

This is a very interesting article for everyone that is arguing about how silly (or not) the changes are
http://clubjade.net/?p=30219

Hidden/Spoiler:

So last week, it was leaked, and then substantiated that the Blu-ray edition of Return of the Jedi would contain a change that set the fan world into a buzz: As Palpatine zaps Luke Skywalker, Darth Vader would now say “Nooooooooooooo!” as he decides to shaft the Emperor.

Many fans were taken aback by this change by George Lucas – not only does it feed into one of the most laughed-at lines from Revenge of the Sith, it changes the tone of the scene, from Vader as the silent man of action, to him giving voice to his emotional turmoil. Some fans bemoaned the general state of constant changes with each re-release of the movies, while others felt that it is fine for the creator to update his work to help tie the saga all together. Celebrity fan Simon Pegg called it a “clueless revision” – but was it really clueless?

Consider this: Most of the Blu-ray sneak peeks we had been getting in the weeks prior were carefully executed media releases, primarily centering on the technical aspects and special features, and getting covered by the Blu-ray home theater and Star Wars fan sites. Then with about 2 weeks to go to the Blu-ray release date, rumors of some of the changes get released — and what was just a niche news item now gets national coverage. The confirmation of the changes doesn’t get announced on a video aficionado site, but the New York Times. News of Darth Vader’s changes become one of the top articles on Yahoo! front page. Websites that have little to do with home video or sci-fi are now covering the news, adding their own two cents on the change, and many metropolitan newspapers have their own pop culture bloggers and editorials commenting on the subject.

In short, it’s a ton of free publicity that reminds people: “Hey, Star Wars is coming out on Blu-ray.” While many fans are riled up, chances are, they were already going to buy it (and many are likely to have already pre-ordered it), or they don’t have Blu-ray players and weren’t going to buy it. As for the general public, is a change like this really going to deter them from purchase? Nope. It’s Star Wars, and small changes are going to slide past them. In ten years, most casual viewers won’t remember that Ewoks used to not blink, just like we’re used to the shock ring around Alderaan’s explosion from the special editions.

Like the changes when the DVD versions were released that had Hayden Christensen replace Sebastian Shaw as the ghost of Anakin Skywalker after the Battle of Endor, this change gets the fan community riled up, but it also creates a lot of marketing buzz for the movies. Consider that most Star Wars fans fall into two groups:

- A: Will buy every Star Wars release just to have it because it is Star Wars – or for the giant pile of special features that are new to this release
- B: Ultra-purist OT fans, who won’t buy it because it’s not the theatrical version of the films
Both these groups already have their minds more or less set. Changing the tone of Vader’s character through this one scene is not going to significantly change either group’s mind. The enthusiastic and cost-conscious A’s will have already pre-ordered it anyway.

The real market here is not just the serious fan, but the entire home video watching public. And since the regular public doesn’t stay abreast of Star Wars news, Lucasfilm needs to publicize the Blu-ray release to them – and what is more effective at creating overall buzz than introducing controversy that gets covered by the major media. Bad news travels faster and farther than a ho-hum reminder.

So in the end, a few fans riled up, but a lot of people aware of the product. And that’s a win for sales. By the holiday season, when the younglings wants Star Wars for Life Day, are the parents going to care (or even remember) that there was some change to the film again? Nah, but they’ll know it’s out there again, this time on Blu-ray.

How’s this a win for Star Wars fandom? More fans now and another generation of fans knowing and sharing their love of things that happened a long time ago, in a galaxy far, far away.

[EraOfDesann]

If true, all that proves is that Lucas is strictly motivated by money nowadays. However, such a move may have backfired given the number of fans who've already cancelled their BluRay orders. We shall see. Personally I hope the sales underperform just to show Lucas that most fans aren't happy with the way he does business.

[THEWULFMAN]

To be honest, I don't think George is in it for the money. Fans have been saying for years they want the originals, so if he wanted the big bucks he would just release those. Instead he spends tons of money to change all this stuff. Plus he gives tons of hos money away to charity, it's not like he hoards it all. The truth is he just wants full control over the movies, if he wants to change something, he will.

The Blu Ray version of the Death Star Council in A New Hope.

[keenmike]

He can do what ever he wants for what ever reasons he has how I feel.

[EraOfDesann]

Even more changes have been revealed:

Hidden/Spoiler:

[AQT]

I didn't get it at first for a few seconds, but now I do!

[Nova Hawk]

I didn't get it at first for a few seconds, but now I do!

Lol, same. So I guess the debate is now did the Alderaan shoot first and the Death Star shot in self defense? We will see...

[THEWULFMAN]

I didn't get it at first for a few seconds, but now I do!

Lol, same. So I guess the debate is now did the Alderaan shoot first and the Death Star shot in self defense? We will see...

Given that it takes a few seconds to fire the superlaser, they had to be starting up the fire sequence before Alderaan shot first. So not really self defense.

[keenmike]

Who can say if they started the fire sequence as a self defense measure.

[THEWULFMAN]

Who can say if they started the fire sequence as a self defense measure.

When you start the fire sequence, it's not like you're cocking a gun, it's going to fire. It just takes a few moments to charge the superlaser and locking on to the target. Are we reading to much into this? Yes.

[Teancum]

Really? We're arguing over dynamics of an outright joke?

[Fiodis]

So wait, Lucas himself is replacing Phil Brown as Uncle Owen?

[Eaol]

So wait, Lucas himself is replacing Phil Brown as Uncle Owen?

Really? We're arguing over dynamics of an outright joke?

I'm tempted.

[Eggman]

Five Stages of Star Wars Revisionism Fan Grief

^This is amusing, and relevant, so I figured I'd post it here. Kind of scary how accurate it is.

[minilogoguy18]

I would get the blu rays if...

Hayden's gay Diet Dr. Pepper wasn't in RotJ as a ghost.

Vader quits acting like a Diet Dr. Pepper yelling NOOOOOOOOOOOO!

The return the original Emperor scene in ESB.

VHS box set ftw. The prequels aren't good enough in terms of their plot as movies to be owned. I may watch if they come on TV with commercials so I can take a break from them just to not get mad at them. I wish that horrible CW series would go away too, show is cornier than bird Diet Dr. Pepper.

[Marvel4]

The return the original Emperor scene in ESB.

WTF? Seriously? Palpatine looked so fake in that scene.