Star Wars

[Jim]

When we watched Attack of the Clones Charlotte kept saying “it all looks so fake!”, it really hasn’t aged well from that point of view. I didn’t care for Sith first time round, and it hasn’t improved on another viewing.

Today in our Rebels watching we got to Jedi Night, an episode up there with Rogue One with its doom-laden atmosphere and heartbreaking ending. Genuinely feel a bit sad after that.

[Andy Turnbull]

Clones is the one where the last act is pretty much straight from the animatics. George doing next to no work.

[The Doctor]

Yes, I remember noticing that in the DVD Special Features back in the day.

-Ralph

[The Doctor]

Watched the 1977 film on Blu-Ray. HD is not kind to it. I think it strangely looked better in SD on DVD.

-Ralph

[Stomski]

[Pinwig]

Jul 3, 2020 9:19:24 GMT The Doctor said:

Watched the 1977 film on Blu-Ray. HD is not kind to it. I think it strangely looked better in SD on DVD.

-Ralph

I finished reading the novelisation yesterday, which is just fantastic. I have all of the films on blu-ray but I decided to watch the despecialized version of Star Wars to stick on my current path of cutting away all of the cluttered lore and backstory and just go from the start to enjoy the series as it was when I was a kid. So just the pure original, unchanged film as it was on release in 1977.

This was when I blew my mind with the discovery that C3P0 has a silver leg below the right knee. I've watched Star Wars countless times over the years, but I have never noticed that. My original C3P0 toy was all gold, I think that blinded me to the truth. I know the 40th Anniversary Black Series figure had a silver leg, but I remember looking at it at the time thinking, red arm, silver leg, why can't they just do it properly? I don't think I can cope with a silver legged C3P0. I've gone 40 years without him having a silver leg and I don't think I can change now. 

[The Doctor]

Where can the despecialised version be found?

-Ralph

[Pinwig]

I got it from a torrent in the end. It's a massive file (20GB) so it isn't easy to watch on a TV without a bit of messing around. I ended up spending three days off and on faffing around trying to get a copy and ended up with a bluray iso too, but I don't have a bluray burner.

There's another project too called 4K77 which is a very nicely cleaned up 4K scan of an original 35mm film print, so it's even closer to original than the despecialised version, but I can't find anywhere to easily get a copy. The problem is the files are so big.

[Jim]

I usually watch the versions that came on the bonus discs of those 2-disc DVD releases about, ooh, 15 years ago? They are not great quality, but for the original film at least it feels more right.

Didn't the director of Rogue One let slip that there is an official Lucasfilm 4K version of Star Wars back when he was working on the movie? I think people were hoping for a release for the 40th anniversary but it didn't happen. Weird how they continue to hang on the special edition even with Lucas no longer around.

[The Doctor]

I have never had a problem with the Special Editions existing (nor the subsequent tweaks to them). What has boiled my piss was the deletion of the originals, especially in the era of seamless branching on DVD: before we even got to the Blu Ray and streaming era!

I can watch both versions of Aliens in HD on commercial releases if I want or all 5 versions of Blade Runner, but not Star Wars.

-Ralph

[Jim]

I agree completely, there should be room for multiple versions to exist and be out there.

I wouldn't even mind them going further in some aspects with the special editions - when I watched Star Wars with my daughter she could tell immediately that some special effects were the really old practical ones while others were new(er) CGI stuff, and that always bothered me too. I'd prefer it to be consistent!

[Pinwig]

I was looking at that. I know some of the updated bits have been done and redone since 1997, but they all still seem really obvious by today's standards. I have a feeling the films have just been remastered again? People talk about 2019 Disney+ versions, but when you watch direct comparison videos like this one,



it really shows how the CGI is too clean for the 1977 film, yet well out of date by what we expect today. You'd think with today's technology they could redo the extra bits and make them much more sympathetic to the original film. I've no problem with special editions - I think in a modern context with nine films it's acceptable to tweak the older ones to make everything fit, but I would also like to be able to watch the films as they were when I was a kid. The Despecialised and 4K77 projects seem to do that really well.

[Benn]

I don't agree with changing films, I like them as a snapshot of the time they were made. Especially when the biggest change needed in Star Wars (dial back the accidental incest, if only to stop the internet making snarky jokes) can't be done.

[Pinwig]

Still reliving Star Wars from the start. I'm thoroughly enjoying reading Han Solo at Star's End at the moment and have now sourced 4K and 1080p versions of the 4K77 project. It feels more real than the despecialised version because it's a remastered scan of an actual 1977 35mm film print. It isn't as clean as the blurays but is much better for it. Stills from the 4k version look like photos, it's just so natural. The problem is the file sizes, the 1080p version is 40GB and the 4K one nearly 50! I need a blu-ray burner.

[Andy Turnbull]

Finally got Rise of Skywalker on Blu-Ray, might watch it today.

[The Doctor]

I keep forgetting that film exists.

-Ralph

[Andy Turnbull]

I still overall enjoyed it, but wish they'd kept have the plot in. As an old hand with the classic Star Wars EU it was easy to follow, but for anyone who only watches the films they must have been scratching their heads.

Andy

[Stomski]

Sept 20, 2020 16:14:56 GMT The Doctor said:

I keep forgetting that film exists.

I keep trying to forget that film exists.

[The Doctor]

Going by recent comments, it doesn't look like John Boyega had a good time on it!

-Ralph

[The Doctor]

Documentary about the Holiday Special in production.

io9.gizmodo.com/see-how-the-star-wars-holiday-special-came-to-be-in-a-b-1845691562

-Ralph

[Shockprowl]

[The Doctor]

NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!

-Ralph

[Shockprowl]

And he 'saw' it about to happen. He 'saw' it. Premonition, like. just watch Obi Wan just before it happens.

[Stomski]

This is tense!

Phantom Menace with Gungans replaced with a less annoying race and not have them abused and sacrificed by Amidala, a better space battle, no introduction of R2 and C3PO and no mention of Medichlorians and it'd be great. Oh and a first act that doesn't just rush through establishing the setup would be appreciated too. Still best of the prequels tho.

[Shockprowl]

The Prequels are bags of wank. There are 'pockets' of fun actiony stuff: lightsabre fights, battles, Dooku, Obi-Wan- that I enjoy watching. But they fundamentally messed up the basic story-line. It doesn't fit with the original films, and is CGI'd to hell.



I like the lightsabre fights though.

[Benn]

I like the bit where he swings at Maul and nicks the back of his leg. You can hear the blade connect and Maul bunny hops off a couple of paces.

[The Doctor]

I look more kindly on the Prequels now we have the Sequels. They are more cohesive and distinctive.

And episode 9 was a bag of wank.

-Ralph

[Jim]

Episode 9 seems all the more abominable given how good The Mandalorian is - there really are people at Disney who still get it*!

The prequels are ok, really, but one of the best things to come out of them is Clone Wars from which there's a clear line through Rebels to The Mandalorian, thanks in large part to Filoni. There's some world class worldbuilding around Mandalorian society, and some amazing visual design to go with it - the original CW Mandalorian episodes were beautiful.

* to be fair, I think Rian Johnson also gets it, and I would have liked to have seen what he would have done with the trilogy he was originally going to be developing divorced of any obligation to the "Skywalker Saga" (which reached a satisfying end with ROTJ in my view)

[Shockprowl]

Nov 23, 2020 21:02:28 GMT The Doctor said:

I look more kindly on the Prequels now we have the Sequels. They are more cohesive and distinctive.

-Ralph

You're not wrong there Doc', actually. You're not wrong at all.

[Fortmax2020]

For clarity I'm sure Shockprowl was only meaning Ralph's particular opinions on this topic and not universally.

RotJ definitely ends the Skywalker stuff on screen well. No need for it after that. Not everything or everyone has to be connected in a galaxy wide saga.