Fuck Star Wars: Unaltered OT on DVD this September

Fans can look forward to a September filled with classic Star Wars nostalgia, led by the premiere of LEGO Star Wars II: The Original Trilogy video game and the long-awaited DVD release of the original theatrical incarnations of the classic Star Wars trilogy.

In response to overwhelming demand, Lucasfilm Ltd. and Twentieth Century Fox Home Entertainment will release attractively priced individual two-disc releases of Star Wars, The Empire Strikes Back and Return of the Jedi. Each release includes the 2004 digitally remastered version of the movie, as well as the original theatrical edition of the film. That means you’ll be able to enjoy Star Wars as it first appeared in 1977, Empire in 1980, and Jedi in 1983.

See the title crawl to Star Wars before it was known as Episode IV; see the pioneering, if dated, motion control model work on the attack on the Death Star; groove to Lapti Nek or the Ewok Celebration song like you did when you were a kid; and yes, see Han Solo shoot first.

This release will only be available for a limited time: from September 12th to December 31st. International release will follow on or about the same day. Each original theatrical version will feature Dolby 2.0 Surround sound, close-captioning, and subtitles in English, French and Spanish for their U.S. release. International sound and subtitling vary by territory.

“Over the years, a truly countless number of fans have told us that they would love to see and own the original version that they remember experiencing in theaters,” said Jim Ward, President of LucasArts and Senior Vice President of Lucasfilm Ltd. “We returned to the Lucasfilm Archives to search exhaustively for source material that could be presented on DVD. This is something that we’re very excited to be able to give to fans in response to their continuing enthusiasm for Star Wars. Topping it off with a new interactive adventure makes September 12 a red-letter day for Star Wars fans.”

I’ll also add that this is effectively the third release of the OT on DVD (the four-disc boxed set, the three-disc set minus the bonus disc, and now this). It took them long enough to release it but they sure are making up for lost time.

Butt…

Fuck…

Me…

I can’t imagine how long it will take to get it on Blu-ray.

Wow I can’t believe Lucas caved on this. He pretty much said the fans can go fuck themselves as he was not going to release the original cuts on DVD - I think his words were along the lines of “if the fans want to see the original cuts, there’s always VHS”.

Anyway it doesn’t matter, Lucas is hack and Serenity/Firefly shits all over StarWars.

Fuck EA.

Why make it a limited release? So they can do it in again in 5 years?

Bingo! You win the prize!

So awesome we get the unaltered version but no 5.1!

You want the original versions in 5.1?

5.1 sound wouldn’t fit the whole “original theatrical incarnations” theme, since there were no 5.1 mixes until the SEs. There were 6-channel mixes done for the 70mm versions, but those can’t be directly carried over because they had different channel assignments (left, left-center, center, right-center, right, and an LFE). That said, it’s common for 6-track 70mm to be remixed as 4.0 or 4.1 tracks for DVD, but I guess they decided to go for purity over quality.

5.1 sound wouldn’t fit the whole “original theatrical incarnations” theme, since there were no 5.1 mixes until the SEs. The 70mm versions had six-track audio, but that can’t be carried over directly those tracks had different channel assignments (left, left-center, center, right-center, right, and a “baby boom” channel similar to an LFE). That said, it’s common for six-track 70mm to be replicated as 4.0 or 4.1 tracks for DVD by throwing out the two unusable channels, but I guess they decided to go for purity over quality. Either that or they’re saving them for the next re-release.

5.1 sound wouldn’t fit the whole “original theatrical incarnations” theme, since there were no 5.1 mixes until the SEs. The 70mm versions had six-track audio, but that can’t be carried over as a 5.1 track because they had different channel assignments (left, center, right, a mono surround channel, and two “baby boom” channels similar to an LFE). That said, it’s common for six-track 70mm to be replicated as 4.0 or 4.1 tracks for DVD by either dropping the baby boom channels or combining them into a single LFE channel, but I guess they decided to go for purity over quality. Either that or they’re saving them for the next re-release.

The devil just called, he was wondering WTF was with all the snow.

I somehow feel vindicated for not buying the SEs on DVD. I can’t wait to pick these up.

I’m pumped.

Thanks bob I get it now!

I kinda figured that but still I loves me some 5.1.

Can’t wait to hear the bitching, “OMFG THERES BOXES AROUND THE TIE FIGHTERS”

Did they even remove the matte boxes from the 2004 version? I remember watching it with a friend and both of us were surprised they were still visible. Seems weird they couldn’t/wouldn’t remove them, considering all the other changes.

The Dolby Pro Logic track on the Indiana Jones DVDs is actually really good. Hopefully whatever they do it sounds at least that good.

Holy f*ck.

And there will be signs in the sun, in the moon, and in the stars; (Luke 21:25) Check.

Next comes the raining of frogs. Then the worldwide government and the seven-year plan for peace.

The Dolby Pro Logic track on the Indiana Jones DVDs is actually really good. Hopefully whatever they do it sounds at least that good.

The tracks on the Indiana Jones movies were new 5.1 mixes done especially for the DVDs. ~25-year-old Dolby Stereo mixes (or ~15-year-old Dolby Surround mixes if they use the laserdisc tracks, which were remixed but stuck fairly close to the theatrical soundtracks) can’t reasonably be expected to sound as dynamic. The best they could do without doing a brand-new 5.1 mix (which would no longer reflect the “original theatrical version” and defeat the purpose of this release) is to go back to the 70mm mixes I mentioned earlier, but I’ve seen posts at other forums claiming Lucas wasn’t happy with those mixes in the first place and preferred the stereo versions.

There were new 5.1 mixes, but there were also DPL tracks on the Indy discs which sounded really good.