The city planet of Coruscant was known as the capital of what was yet to become known as the “Old Republic”. The prequels play out over the backdrop of the falling of the Republic and the establishment of a new Empire, still controlled from Coruscant by Palpatine. In The Phantom Menace, however, these events are only starting to rear their heads as the bureaucrats and senators go about their busy lives, unaware of the plot that’s being hatched beneath their very noses. Our time on Coruscant in The Phantom Menace is relatively brief but does result in a few interesting bits that fall into the area of cut or altered scenes. Let’s take a look at some of these. Read More
Author: T-bone

Leaving Tatooine
New Hyperdrive? Check. Free slave who will grow up to be a Sith? Check. Step in icky icky goo? Check. Time to get off this dustbowl of a planet, but not without taking a few moments to say goodbye and clean up some loose ends. This page deals with departing that lovely yellow-orange planet we know and love: Tatooine.

The Pod Race
The Boonta Eve Podrace from Episode I is definitely a highlight of the film, especially after George Lucas decided to extend and improve it in the subsequent video releases. No matter how much he expands it, however, deleted shots remain. This page will cover any deleted/alternate scenes that take place directly before, during, and after the Podrace.

Welcome to Beautiful Mos Espa, Tatooine
Tatooine’s a big planet. Did you think Mos Eisley was the only town? Mos Espa is the home of the Boonta Eve Podrace, Watto’s Junkyard, and young Anakin Skywalker. The following scenes all take place in this fateful desert slave town. Read More

Jedi Diplomacy
The Trade Federation has stopped all shipping to and from the small planet of Naboo. Two Jedi have been dispatched at the request of Supreme Chancellor Valorum to help negotiate the matter. This section deals with some of the shots and scenes deleted and/or altered from the opening of The Phantom Menace. Read More

The Star Wars Saga on Blu-ray Disc
In true Lucasfilm fashion, the Star Wars Blu-ray collection was announced at the 2011 CES show by Twentieth Century Fox Home Entertainment President Mike Dunn and the Dark Lord himself, Vader (flanked by Stormtroopers, of course). I guess it’s always fun to see Vader out there mingling with the little people. We’ll see the set on sale (of course) late in 2011 to maximize those Holiday sales.
The announcements at the show and on the official Star Wars site were of course filled with the usual hyperbolic marketing nonsense. Phrases like “The most anticipated Blu-ray release ever” and “the most anticipated Blu-ray collection since the launch of the high-def format” were aplenty. There was much talk of “product” and “customers” and the usual marketing stats. That stuff does not concern me, however.
As a customer, what I’m interested in is the quality of the set. I’m not only referring to the visual quality. I’m sure that the transfers to Blu-ray have gone smoothly, especially after some of the backlash from the DVD sets that were released a few years back. It wasn’t major backlash (most of it had to do with color correction and other technical things), but hopefully someone at Lucasfilm heard the complaints and will make some corrections.
What I’m referring to is the quality of the set itself. Yes, we’ll get the films and they’ll look great. Even the crankiest of prequel haters will most likely find themselves hard pressed to complain while watching Episode III in high definition. I know I’m looking forward to it. But are we going to get a real bang for our bucks here?
When the set was announced by George Lucas a few months back, he shared a never-before-seen deleted scene from the opening of Return of the Jedi that made me feel like a little kid again. I mean, my Star Wars interest has definitely waned in the past few years but seeing that video clip really jazzed me. I hadn’t been that excited about something to do with Star Wars for years.
I can only hope that there are lots more of those types of scenes on this set. If they grace us with one or two from each film, I’ll be a little disappointed. I’ll still be happy, but a little let down at the same time. I’ve had a keen interest in deleted footage from the Star Wars films for a long time and those types of scenes really make re-buying the films worth it for me.
What else will we have on the sets? According to Starwars.com, the sets will include “…all six live-action Star Wars feature films utilizing the highest possible picture and audio presentation, along with three additional discs and more than 30 hours of extensive special features including never-before-seen deleted and alternate scenes, an exploration of the exclusive Star Wars archives, and much more.”
Now we have to take the marketing into account here. Usually when these sets boast some huge number of hours of bonus footage, it’s a bit of an exaggeration. What I’m wondering at the moment is how much of that 30 hours is stuff we’ve already seen. Lucasfilm has been known to duplicate documentaries on various sets. They’ll add web documentaries or other previously seen things and then total up the running times to be able to boast “hours” of additional footage. That’s not lying, mind you. It’s marketing.
Even if we get something like an hour of deleted footage from each of the six films (which I highly doubt there will be – unless some of the scenes are long and include perhaps some rough takes) that leaves another 24 or so hours of stuff. Does that include the commentaries? Each one would then be 2 hours or so each, totaling 12 hours. That’s assuming there’s only one per film. Hopefully there are individual George Lucas commentaries this time and not those chopped up commentaries by everyone else.
I’m not trying to get down on the set. I’m just trying to make sure that your expectations as a fan are not too high. Hopefully I’m wrong about some of this and the set is just right and loaded to the gills with really interesting stuff. Frankly, a tour of the Lucasfilm archives doesn’t interest me unless I’m… you know… there. Hopefully it’s not some 2 hour walk-around.
Anyhow – despite my skepticism, I’m totally stoked about getting this set and checking out what they’ve done to Star Wars this time around. I’m sure the next set we get will have the acronym “3D” in it somewhere so for now, let’s enjoy this set.
[mediacategories categories=”1″ ul_class=”gallerylist”]

Star Wars and Indy Make Mania’s List of Films That Didn’t Live Up To The Hype
Mania.com recently posted a list of six films that, in their opinion, did not live up to their hype. Of course, The Phantom Menace made the list and even the most die hard fans would agree that the film was accompanied by a certain hype, the like we still have not seen again.
There was no way that film could have ever lived up to the hype but it fared well at the box office regardless and set the tone for what most feel is a lackluster trilogy, compared to the original three. I personally enjoyed the prequels but admit that they haven’t aged well with me, Episode III being the best of the bunch. In retrospect, I do feel Lucas went a little too far back and there probably was no need to show Anakin at 9 doing all those things he did. I don’t make the movies, however, and I digress.
The list also contains the last Indiana Jones flick which I enjoyed but thought had a less “organic” feel to it, for lack of a better term. I’m pretty much in agreement with the rest of their choices as well.
I did notice that they implied that “Episode IV” was part of the opening scroll in 1977. Of course, this is not true and a common journalistic error.

Star Wars In Concert

July 23, 2009 Star Wars: In Concert, a unique multi-media event featuring music from all six of John Williams epic Star Wars scores, begins its worldwide arena tour on October 1, 2009 at Honda Center in Anaheim, California.
Narrated live by Anthony Daniels (the actor who portrayed C-3PO in all six films), the production features a full symphony orchestra and choir, accompanied by specially edited footage from the films displayed on a three-story-tall, high-definition LED super-screen one of the largest ever put on tour. The live music and film elements are synchronized in order to create a full multi-media, one-of-kind Star Wars experience.
We’ve taken the key themes from the music and cut together all the images that fit with each theme, so you can really get a sense of how the music played into the images, said George Lucas, creator of the Star Wars Saga. The whole soundtrack is a testament to John Williams creativity and his extraordinary ability to enhance the emotional aspects of the films.
Creating the music for the Star Wars films has been an exciting and wonderful experience for me, and I therefore have derived particular pleasure in assembling a compendium of themes from all of the films to be presented in Star Wars in Concert, said Williams. The editors at Lucasfilm have created original film montages to accompany each of the musical selections, and in the process, I believe that a singular and unique Star Wars experience has been born.
This event has been crafted to present Star Wars from many points of view; for the first time, the full dramatic sweep of Williams iconic scores can be heard performed live in one evening, said Another Planet Touring Producer Spencer Churchill. The show is a new way of experiencing the epic scope of the saga.
Accompanying the concert is an exclusive exhibit of Star Wars costumes, props, artifacts, production artwork and specially created behind-the-scenes videos from the Lucasfilm Archives. Many of these pieces are leaving Skywalker Ranch for the first time. The exhibit features many classic fan favorite artifacts, as well as several new and never-before-seen items, including:
Full costumes for Jedi Masters Kit Fisto and Plo Koon will be on display.
For the first time ever, pages from John Williams’ original hand-written sheet music for Star Wars: Episode I The Phantom Menace will be exhibited for the public.
Also on display will be various never-before-seen props from the films, including blasters and helmets from Coruscant, Tatooine and other iconic Star Wars locations.
For more information, please visit www.StarWarsInConcert.com.
Star Wars: In Concert is produced by Another Planet Touring in association with Lucasfilm Ltd. Performances will be conducted by Dirk Brossé and the production is directed and designed by Steve Cohen. Star Wars in Concert had its world premiere at the 02 Arena in London on April 10 and 11, 2009.
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Lucasfilm, STAR WARS and related properties are trademarks and/or copyrights, in the United States and other countries, of Lucasfilm Ltd. and/or its affiliates. TM & © Lucasfilm Ltd. All rights reserved. All other trademarks and trade names are properties of their respective owners.

The Lost Cut of Star Wars
There are many phases associated with making a film. First there’s the preproduction phase, where much time needs to be invested otherwise you’re flying blind for the rest of the production. There’s the actual shooting of the live action, known as the production phase, which is where you capture your vision on film. Then there’s the postproduction phase, where everything comes together and you use your skills and talents to create an end result that’s pleasing to not only you but hopefully to everyone who sees it. In between those three phases, however, lie many sub-phases too numerous to mention here. From writing and casting to lighting and cinematography to editing and looping dialogue; the process can be very involved but it’s that end result, the zenith of the director’s vision and the crew’s hard work, which makes it all worth it. Getting to that point is the real challenge. Read More

The People vs. George Lucas is Coming Soon!

Hi folks! You may or may not have heard of the film, “The People vs. George Lucas” but uh…you will now!
THE PEOPLE vs. GEORGE LUCAS is a no-holds-barred, no stone unturned, completely uncensored, yet balanced cultural examination of the conflicted dynamic between the great George Lucas and his fans over the past three decades. Chock-full of impassioned interviews, stop-motion and 3D animation, Super 8 action figure films, puppet rants and many other surprises, this unique participatory doc is the ultimate expression of the fans’ obsession for a man and a universe that defined an entire generation.
It’s a fun and interesting take on George Lucas, Star Wars, and the wide mix of fans that either love the whole thing, hate the whole thing, or are somewhat unsure what to believe. Some think Lucas has lost his mind and refuse to forgive him for raping their childhood, others can’t fault the guy for following his vision, and yet others remain ambivalent.
This film documents all of the above in a fun way, without taking sides, and will hopefully be entertaining. It’s well shot, has some budget behind it, and is going for a worldwide theatrical release, starting this year at SXSW in Texas as a headliner. (See the info/press release below)
I was contacted by the producers a while back (going on two years now I suppose) and was asked to be interviewed for the film. I agreed and I believe some of that footage has made it into the final film. It’ll probably just be a few seconds here or there so keep your eyes open for the old T-bone!
*** *** ***
FILM INFO
Revered by some, feared and demonized by others, George Lucas is undoubtedly one of the most passionately debated and vilified filmmakers in movie history. Why have so many of his original fans turned against him to decry the release of the Special Editions and the Prequel Trilogy? Why is he still the recurring target of bloggers, critics and self-proclaimed devotees? And why are millions of others staunchly prepared to defend him in the face of innumerable allegations?
THE PEOPLE vs. GEORGE LUCAS explores the titanic struggle between a Godlike filmmaker and his legions of fans over the most popular franchise in movie history. The film combines key testimonies from the likes of Gary Kurtz (Producer of AMERICAN GRAFITTI, STAR WARS and THE EMPIRE STRIKES BACK), Neil Gaiman (THE SANDMAN, AMERICAN GODS), Dave Prowse (aka Darth Vader), Anthony Waye (Executive Producer of the BOND franchise), and Dale Pollock (George Lucas’s Biographer, Author of SKYWALKING) with fan footage from around the globe, and impassioned testimonies from George’s staunchest fans and foes.
A tribute to the YouTube generation, this unique participatory documentary examines and articulates the many contentious issues that have become an integral part of the Star Wars mystique, and deconstructs George Lucas’s cultural legacy through the prism of his fans. Fundamentally, THE PEOPLE vs. GEORGE LUCAS is about how new media interacts with old media, as well as ownership and copyright in the digital age.
Production Notes
Genesis of the Project
As an ardent Star Wars fan and collector, Film Director Alexandre O. Philippe has found himself engaged in numerous debates about George Lucas’s legacy and the cultural relevance of the many debates surrounding the Star Wars franchise. While enjoying a crew meal on location in Waco, TX, for a commercial shoot, Philippe found himself in another impassioned debate with Robert Muratore, Director of Photography. “I had the title in my head for years,” recollects Alexandre, “but it really came to life during the summer of 2007. Robert seemed really enthusiastic about making this film, and he’s the one who convinced me to move forward with it.”
Documenting the single most peculiar relationship between a popular artist and his fans called for a participatory approach. We are talking about a dominant cultural debate that refuses to die, and about one of the most powerful and influential filmmakers in the history of our medium—a man who defied the system against all odds and revolutionized the industry. The project’s open call for contributions led to thousands of fan emails and submissions, including puppet skits, 3D animation, claymation, grindhouse commercials, vintage 8mm films, hours and hours of webcam rants, fanedits, fan vids, and even kids’ drawings.
Filming
Nearly three years in the making, and 63,686 frequent flier miles, 634 hours of footage, 14TB of drive space, 126 interviews, thousands of fan emails and submissions, and only three death threats later… THE PEOPLE vs. GEORGE LUCAS has been an odyssey in documentary filmmaking.
Principal Photography began in early 2008, and has spanned three continents. Additionally, fan submissions poured in from every corner of the globe, including Brazil, Poland, Germany, Spain, Canada, Mexico, Australia, Sweden, France, Japan, Antarctica, and more!
Post Production
The sheer amount of both original and submitted footage (634 hours total) led to months of painstaking logging work. Many impassioned fan submissions were several hours in length. Out of respect for the fans and the participatory process, we ensured that every frame was considered.
The eclectic mix of formats, frame rates and production qualities led to technical challenges that required innovative techniques and solutions from our editing team. An estimated 30 weeks of actual editing time were required to complete the project for our World Premiere at South by Southwest in March 2010.
Key Contributors
Gary Kurtz (Producer of AMERICAN GRAFITTI, STAR WARS and THE EMPIRE STRIKES BACK)
Neil Gaiman (THE SANDMAN, AMERICAN GODS)
David Brin (Author, THE POSTMAN, STAR WARS ON TRIAL)
David Prowse (aka Darth Vader)
Anthony Waye (Executive Producer of the BOND franchise)
Dale Pollock (George Lucas’s Biographer, Author of SKYWALKING)
Wendy Ide (Film Critic, THE TIMES)
Sandy Lieberson (Former Head of Production at 20th Century Fox)
Ian Freer (EMPIRE MAGAZINE)
Todd Hansen (THE ONION)
Glenn Kenny (Film critic and author, A GALAXY NOT SO FAR AWAY)
Joe Leydon (Film critic, VARIETY contributor)
Jeff Bond (Editor-In-Chief, GEEK MONTHLY)
Jonathon London (Geekscape.net)
Eric Stough (Director of Animator, SOUTH PARK)
Chris Gore (FILMTHREAT)
Daryl G. Frazetti (Cultural Anthropologist)
Tony Millionaire (Cartoonist, SOCKY MONKEY, MAAKIES)
Chris Stompolos (Producer, RAIDERS OF THE LOST ARK: THE ADAPTATION)
Joe Nussbaum (Director, GEORGE LUCAS IN LOVE)
Kevin Rubio (Director, TROOPS)
Casey Pugh (Creator, STAR WARS UNCUT)
Paul Yates (Director, THE TRIAL OF HAN SOLO)
Festivals and Awards
THE PEOPLE vs. GEORGE LUCAS will World Premiere in the prestigious Spotlight Premieres section at the South By Southwest (SXSW) Film Festival in Austin, Texas, which runs from March 12th to 21st 2010.
Further screenings at worldwide festivals will be announced on www.peoplevsgeorge.com.

Tim Dry Presents: Continuum
English mime, musician, photographer and actor Tim Dry was featured as J’Quille the Whiphid and a Mon Calamari Officer in Star Wars Episode VI: Return Of The Jedi.
These are his honest, amusing, irreverent and very often surreal recollections of being in the movie and of his subsequent appearances twenty years later at Star Wars Conventions all over the world in the years following.
For more, check out his site at: http://www.starwarscontinuum.com/

The Original, Original Star Wars Trilogy on DVD
(Original Posting: May 23, 2006)
* Some of the following editorial contains hearsay, heavy speculation, and rumor. This article is not meant to trash anyone’s name or state absolute facts. It’s merely an “educated opinion” piece. While some of the things below are indeed factual—mostly the technical bits—I won’t vouch for the authenticity of certain other parts. I have done my best to label the text clearly. Nothing has been fact-checked or confirmed with Lucasfilm. *
(Original Posting: May 23, 2006)
THEY’RE HERE…
Ever since the DVD format decided it was going to stick around for a while, people have been hounding the powers that be at Lucasfilm Ltd. to release the Star Wars Trilogy. At first, George Lucas was quite reluctant, willing only to re-release it on VHS “one last time” in order to, we assume, start prepping for DVD technology. Then, in 1997 Lucas released his Special Editions of the films which were marketed as his “definitive visions” of the classic trilogy. This was later debunked in a way, since he made even more changes down the road. It eventually got to the point where people started saying, “Enough, already.” The fact that Lucas continually tinkers with the films is no longer looked upon as an artist tweaking his much-valued piece of work, but as a joke and a new way to make money out of something old—or at least that’s how it’s been perceived by many long time fans.
Flashback with me to February 6th, 2003: George Lucas makes an announcement at an “ILM & Skywalker Sound Tribute” in California stating that the original, pre-Special Edition versions of the three original films will not be released on DVD at all – ever. We will get the Special Editions in all their newly enhanced glory as soon as Episode III is in the can and there’s time to perfect and release them. Of course, Lucas released the 2004 DVD set well before Episode III was in theaters, but some felt there were too many mistakes made in the process, resulting in the 1997 editions now being replaced. It wasn’t that the process used to clean and transfer the films was bad, it was just severely rushed and there didn’t seem to be a lot of QA done. This led to color correction problems/mistakes and all sorts of other issues. In short, fans were happy to have the set on DVD, but were not necessarily tickled pink—as Vader’s lightsaber ended up in the new transfers.
Flashback again with me to May 03, 2006: Starwars.com announces that the original trilogy DVDs in fact will be coming to DVD in September 2006, despite what Lucas said a few years earlier. It pains me to say it, but you can pretty much take anything Lucas says with a grain of salt these days. Always in motion is the future. Look back to all of his quotes on how many episodes there were supposed to be in Star Wars over the years and you’ll see what I mean. I hate to add fuel to a fire that I believe has long gone out, but what about the possibility of Episodes 7, 8, and 9? Lucas had sworn up and down that these films would never happen and there were only six films in total from the get-go. Gary Kurtz has gone on record many times in disagreement—and he was there from the beginning. There was talk of things that happened after what would become Return of the Jedi, but they never made it to the concept stage and we can therefore surmise that they only exist in outline form. Yet, they did exist.
At first, there was elation after the DVD announcement article on Starwars.com. Everyone was jumping for joy looking at the headline in disbelief. Then they started to read a little deeper and the smiles flattened out, lips slightly pursed. There was some confusion, the details were vague, the sound bytes were carefully worded with just the right spin… something was amiss.
I noticed that Starwars.com changed their original post on the web site the day after the posting. They usually update at night some time and those updates then appear to be fresh to the morning crowd. Somewhere between May 3rd and May 4th, the following paragraph disappeared from the posting:
“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.”
Later the next day, however, the text reappeared. Perhaps they spoke too soon and one (or more) of the facts had changed? It was probably an innocent thing and not worth going on about. They still say that you’ll be able to see the films as they were seen in 1977, 1980, and 1983 and that would mean that the title A New Hope wouldn’t be there since it was actually added in 1981.
I actually knew about this a good week or two before the announcement was made. A friend of mine in the industry shared a few rumors with me about the decision to release this particular set at this particular time, so I’m openly labeling them as such. With that disclaimer firmly in place, I’ll continue.
MARCIA MARCIA MARCIA
What on Earth does George Lucas’s ex-wife Marcia Lucas have to do with any of this? When they divorced, George Lucas was quite wealthy and Lucasfilm was doing well. As with any divorce, there was the issue of how to split up the money. Without getting into details, it’s safe to assume that Marcia Lucas is compensated whenever the original Star Wars films are re-released or aired. I am told by a friend in the industry, however, that because the Special Editions are altered and therefore not the originals, Marcia either does not receive money, or she gets very little. I’m not 100% sure, of course.
Shifting into speculative territory, one could assume that some time in the late 1990s, when it was clear that VHS was on the way out, the stars aligned and George Lucas must have realized that if he made altered versions of the films and released them, he wouldn’t have to give Marcia as much money. Add to that the marketing value of re-releasing the original films with added/altered footage before releasing the prequels to keep Star Wars in the public eye and you’ve got a good plan.
One wonders if Lucas believed that the fans would love and unconditionally accept the Special Editions as superior, not caring if the old films were ever put back out again. When the “final” VHS set was released, containing the pre-special edition versions, it was marketed as the last time you could get the originals. Lucasfilm then said many times that the originals would never, ever be released on DVD… until now. So what changed? If the plan was to never release the originals on DVD because of Marcia’s profiting from them, then why did he finally agree to release them?
A friend of mine in the industry believes the answer may be this: If the original versions of the films are released as Bonus Features, then that would nullify most if not all monetary obligations to Marcia. I was told this was going to happen a while back and wrote it off, but then I saw a public ad that confirmed it. It read: “DVDs include special bonus material – the original theatrical movies from 1977, 1980, & 1983!” Then I was sent a sales ad distributed to retailers and other salespeople that read: “These are the DVDs fans have been demanding – Huge sales potential for new and core fans!”
Of course this could mean nothing at all, but it could also mean that Lucasfilm went to some effort to make sure Marcia Lucas didn’t get more Star Wars money.
LET’S TALK TRANSFER
Another thing I heard from my friend in the industry is that Lucasfilm is allegedly not going to use the original masters (film) for these transfers to DVD. It will instead be a straight video transfer—D2 tapes, we could assume. I was surprised and disappointed to learn this.
For the Special Edition work in the late 1990s, there was a complete restoration of the films done utilizing the original film masters which were cleaned up and had new material added. Before this, there was a previous transfer done for the “Definitive Edition” Laserdisc collection. This transfer used a kind of “automatic” cleaning process called DVNR or Digital Video Noise Reduction. While it looked great for 1993, some people felt that the set was over-enhanced a bit too much. Everyone who bought into the Laserdisc phenomenon was glad to have it, though.
What I’m trying to get at is that the older video transfer used to make the laserdiscs in 1993 is allegedly the master they’re going to use to make the new DVDs. To avoid confusion, the 2004 Special Editions included in these limited edition sets will be the same ones available now. I’m talking specifically about the original films added as bonus features. They are not re-transferring from film according to what I’m hearing. Let me say that again. Instead of using today’s industry standard and doing a film-to-anamorphic DVD transfer, these classic films in their original states are going to be transferred to DVD using an outdated video master and using outdated technology not up to today’s minimum standards for release with acceptable quality.
These masters from the laserdiscs, mind you, are in 4×3 ratio, letterboxed. This means they’re formatted for your television. In this format, you should see black bars at the top and bottom of the screen and the movie is essentially using half of the frame, or 200 lines on the screen. This would make it virtually equivalent to VHS quality. By comparison, on an anamorphically transferred DVD, the film uses roughly 75-85% of the frame so there’s considerably higher quality involved. Real widescreen of today’s standards is in 16×9 anamorphic (almost all video transfers today are anamorphic) but to give the original films the best quality, you’d have to go back to the actual films and re-transfer them so they look right.
There are mainly two ways to do video transfers these days: the old and the new. The old way is to transfer a film from 2.35:1 aspect ratio to 4×3 with some black at the top and the bottom to make the film retain its 2.35:1 aspect in the middle of that 4×3 screen. At some point, people realized that this black space was really just a waste so the new way of transferring video was born: anamorphic. What happens during the anamorphic transfer process is that the film is transferred in a “squeezed” state so that more of the image is actually in the video frame. Then, on a 16:9 screen, the squeezed frame is stretched back out to fill it all up resulting in more picture information and higher quality.
Creating an anamorphic transfer from the 4×3 laserdisc master is really just blowing up some scan lines without enhancing the image at all. It’s just a fancy form of “zooming in.” So, if the rumors I’m hearing are true, and Lucasfilm does the transfer the old way, the best they can do is take the 4×3 video transfers, blow them up to 16×9, and hope they look good enough. You wouldn’t gain any quality, however. The result would be a sub-standard DVD product, which I feel is a poor choice for these classic films. They might not even take this step, though. They could just do a straight transfer from 4×3 letterbox master to 4×3 letterbox DVD and call it a day.
Basically what I’m saying here is: in order to do it right, you need to do a completely new transfer but for some reason, probably budget related, Lucasfilm appears to not want to do this. These original films are probably not a priority to Lucas and he’s spent enough time and money on restoring them already. The only real reason not to do a new transfer, in my opinion, would be if the company simply couldn’t afford it, but certainly Lucasfilm has a few extra bucks to spare. I’m not sure of the actual costs, but it can’t be unaffordable. We’re not talking millions here. So a multi-million dollar company is going to forego this process because it’s cheaper to use the old Laserdisc masters? In order for me to have these versions I now have to repurchase the set I already own. They’re going to be transferred from a substandard master, which is most definitely not state of the art. They’re going to look and sound inferior to even the crappiest of crappy films that comes out today on DVD. I can’t get too excited, especially since I already own at least 3 sets of bootlegs, most likely made from the laserdisc versions anyhow. I mean, even the trailers for the Star Wars films located on the 4th bonus disc of the 2004 set are in 16:9 anamorphic.
In my opinion, the whole thing reeks of sloppiness, laziness, and quick-and-dirty marketing to capitalize on sales for what’s probably going to be a really slow holiday season for the Star Wars brand since we’re “in between” movies. I’m glad to have them, but I’m disappointed with the way they’ll be represented on screen. It seems they’re choosing the “quick and easy path” when they should really just bite the bullet and go for quality. The old way of releasing 4×3 letterboxed transfers has been dead for a while now. When DVDs first came out, it was acceptable, but now there are other options. We are guaranteed unacceptable quality for today’s standards.
Lucasfilm’s Jim Ward publicly admitted that the original films’ quality on video will not compare to that of the 2004 restored versions. “It is state of the art, as of 1993, and that’s not as good as state of the art 2006,” he told the USA TODAY. George Lucas himself then went public to MTV.com saying this: “It’s just the original versions, as they were. We didn’t do anything to it at all. But we’re not sure how many people want that. Now we’ll find out whether they really wanted the original or whether they wanted the improved versions. It’ll all come out in the end.”
So the question is: Will Lucasfilm actually create new anamorphic transfers of the original versions at some point in the future and market those to us too? Will they finally do it the right way? Well, if the whole (alleged) Marcia thing can be resolved somehow, then perhaps. However, it just feels like we’re being set up for another “double-dip” situation in order to make sure we buy these films again and again and again.
WHAT’S THE DAMAGE?
The May 3, 2006 article at Starwars.com is pretty vague. It doesn’t mention price, although the sales ad I mentioned gives an S.R.P. (Suggested Retail Price) of $29.98 each with an M.A.P. (Minimum Advertised Price) of $19.95. Sales will be in effect I’m sure, but what this means is that fans like me are going to have to dish out approximately another $60-$90 to buy these films again. Something tells me this won’t be the last time we’ll be buying them either. More limited runs? Perhaps. New formats? On the way. 3-D versions? They’re coming to theaters eventually, so will DVDs follow in 3-D? Will he tinker more and more for each version, essentially “forcing” you to buy them all if you want all the changes?
From a certain point of view, they really screwed up this whole DVD thing. I thought Star Wars was always supposed to be on the cutting edge of technology and pushing the envelope, but it took them a long time to release Episode I, even though Episodes II and III had a “normal” release schedule. They put out what some feel is a substandard Original Trilogy set that was rushed without proper care and quality assurance, not to mention the lame packaging. Then they released the same 2004 set with better cover art but without the bonus disc. Now they’re re-releasing the same 2004 set again but with the unaltered original versions as bonus features in a substandard format. When will they finally start treating these original versions of the films with the respect they deserve?
So we’re back to waiting for something we’ll probably never get, at least not any time soon: a high quality anamorphic DVD transfer with a nice 5.1 surround sound mix. Instead we’re getting what’s probably going to amount to a nice laserdisc transfer with Dolby 2.0 sound. There’s probably some kooky reason for all this but what it is, I’m not 100% sure—though I can speculate…
Lucas had already sunk a ton of money into reworking the Star Wars films between 1996 and 2004, regardless of how well you feel that money was spent. I mean, I still see the matte boxes around the TIE fighters in many of the scenes and it drives me nuts. They spent all that time jerking around with Greedo, but no one cleaned up the effects that were screaming “Clean me!” like the finger-written text you see on a very dirty car. Lucas was pretty dead set against releasing those original films. Speculatively, he could have just been trying to keep more money out of Marcia’s pockets. That said, one thing Lucas is probably not going to do is throw more money into the original versions of the films, especially if Marcia stands to benefit from them. So it looks to me like everyone came up with a way to make all the parties happy. They’ll stick the originals out there as bonus features for this limited run and market them as, “Buy the Star Wars films on DVD now and as a special bonus, see the films the way they were originally released in theaters!”
WHY NOW?
Why release this now? I have a few speculative reasons.
1. There’s nothing to sell this holiday season with a Star Wars logo on it. The Episode III hype is over and the prequels have been released. There isn’t much else out there film-wise they can release to get those coveted 4th quarter sales, so here we are with a marketing blitz that’s starting in May, will run slowly through the summer, pick up steam in September and then climax in December with ads screaming about the “limited time offer” and what not. This release fills a void. They could always release the 1978 Holiday Special, but Lucas has said he hates it and it’ll never happen. Then again, what Lucas says and what Lucas does are sometimes two separate things.
2. It helps to stop bootleggers. Recently, Lucasfilm has become quite vocal in the fight against piracy. The digital age has made piracy a lot easier and Lucasfilm has taken a beating, missing out on all that money that he (and Marcia!) could have been making with the original versions of the films. People wanted them so bad they were willing to resort to bootlegs, mostly made from the laserdisc transfers. I own about 3 sets of them myself.
3. It quiets the fans. Star Wars fans, like any other collection of people, are a diverse group. They can be very cool, insanely demanding, fickle, or highly unforgiving at times. They are a smart bunch, so it’s best to never underestimate them. If you give them something substandard, they’re going to complain about it and not just guzzle it down. The varied commentary about this DVD release is evidence of this. Everyone was immediately all over the map on whether or not this release was good or bad or somewhere in between. Their attitudes stem from years of learning how to wait patiently for things and having to buy different versions of the same films. Star Wars fans are patient but that patience can wear thin at times, especially when the end result doesn’t prove itself worthy. So in Lucasfilm’s eyes, this will sate some fan appetites, but will it spark a different debate over quality?
FINAL THOUGHTS
In the end, I don’t know what to think. I’ll give you my honest opinion as a fan and you can take it or leave it. All that stuff up there about Marcia Lucas doesn’t bother me. I sure hope that Lucas doesn’t make all of his artistic decisions based on money, but my sources tell me that this stuff about Marcia has some truth to it.
A transfer from the laserdisc masters to DVD might look better than the laserdiscs that came out in 1993, but it still doesn’t give us a quality product worthy of watching in 2006. As a fan, all I’ve ever wanted on DVD was the original versions of the films with a really clean and spectacular transfer, along with the good state of the art audio mix it deserves. You can “clean” all you want, just don’t alter the scenes. For example, remove the garbage matte lines from the dogfight scenes but don’t alter the actual shots. Don’t drop in new shots of CG ships (or anything else for that matter.) Scrub, clean, wipe it dry and transfer it over. Don’t go overboard with color correction; just make the old films look nice and clean and give them the authentic love they deserve.
So like many fans, I’m happy and ticked off all at the same time. I’m glad that they’re doing this but something in my gut tells me that it’s for all the wrong reasons and really has little to do with making the fans happy since they’ve been asking for this for years now. I think that the general public will sort of shy away from this release since many already have the current box set. Sadly, many of them don’t even know anything’s different. Then again, ignorance is bliss sometimes. Of course, I could be wrong about all this, but where there’s smoke there’s fire, I always say. Having heard a few things about the goings on at Lucasfilm, I see smoke, and occasionally some mirrors.
Let’s hope for the best, though, shall we? Something tells me that the best is yet to come. 2007 brings us to the 30th anniversary of the release of the original Star Wars. You can bet your bottom dollar (literally) that the marketing machine is already thinking about what they’re going to do then. Then again in 2010, and again in 2013…
UPDATE
Since so many fans have written in, it appears that Lucasfilm’s publicity department has drafted a sterile form letter to send to certain disappointed fans. Here’s what they said:I wanted you to know how much we appreciate the passion and enthusiasm you have for Star Wars, and thank you for sharing your concerns about our upcoming DVD release.
The DVDs being released in September will contain two versions of Star Wars: Episodes IV, V and VI – the Special Editions (which represent George’s vision of the movies) and the first versions, which will be included as bonus material. We hoped that releasing those “original” movies on a bonus disc would be a way to have some additional fun with the debut of the movies as individual DVDs. We certainly did not want it to become a source of concern or frustration for any of our fans.
As you may know, an enormous amount of effort was put into digitally restoring the negatives for the Special Editions. In one scene alone, nearly 1 million pieces of dirt had to be removed, and the Special Editions were created through a frame-by-frame digital restoration. The negatives of the movies were permanently altered for the creation of the Special Editions, and existing prints of the first versions are in poor condition.
So many fans have requested the original movies, we wanted to find a way to bring them to you. But since these movies do not represent George’s artistic vision, we could not put the extraordinary time and resources into this project as we did with the Special Editions. The 1993 Laserdisc masters represented the best source for providing the original versions as DVD bonus material. Although these are non-anamorphic versions, they do preserve the original widescreen composition of the movies.
We want you to be aware that we have no plans – now or in the future – to restore the earlier versions.
We hope you will understand our decision and, again, want to let you know how much we appreciate your interest and enthusiasm.
Sincerely,
Lynne Hale
publicity@lucasfilm.com
(Original Posting: May 23, 2006)

Book Review: Droidmaker
There are countless books out there about George Lucas and his rise from film school know-it-all to cultural icon, and even more books about how Lucasfilm came to be and how it changed the world of filmmaking. I’ve read a good number of these books and then stopped reading them because they seemed to paint the same picture with a slightly different brush. All the main points were there and while some of the small details were different, something was always missing from these books. I could never quite figure out what it was, but they left me with more questions than answers more times than not. I think it might have been the fact that they focused so much on Lucas himself and that all the bit players who made things happen never got the recognition they deserved. Their importance cannot be understated. Without each and every Lucasfilm employee, especially in the early days, the company would not be where it is today. Read More

Remembering Michael Sheard
I was all of 10 years old when The Empire Strikes Back was released and due to the profound effect that Star Wars had on me three years prior, I was looking forward to it very much. I loved everything about the film but I always had fond memories of the array of Imperial Officers that peppered both films, even the ones who went nameless for years afterwards. I remembered admiral Ozzel as that pompous bad guy who felt his authority was undermined by an underling. I loved how he tried to talk sense to Darth Vader but Vader would overrode him at every turn. Vader was correct, of course, although Ozzel couldn’t see it. Then there was that fabulous death scene. Poor Ozzel never saw it coming. He was mid-sentence when Vader reached out through the Force and cut off his oxygen supply while at the same time promoting captain Piett to the rank of admiral. Ozzel’s choking death was perfectly done in one take. The way he slumped to the ground was morbidly grand. That actor was Michael Sheard. Living in the USA, we weren’t privy to certain shows like Grange Hill, so Michael might not have been as well known here until The Empire Strikes Back was released, but his list of credits is astounding. The man never stopped acting. In fact, the last time I spoke to him in May of 2005 at Star Wars Celebration III, he spoke to me of going upstairs to his room to read the script for his next job.
Little did I know that 20+ years down the road, I’d be maintaining Michael’s official website. I first met him many years ago on the convention circuit and offered him some help in making a website and getting an online presence. He, of course, was very receptive and wanted to proceed, knowing that I had worked on Dave Prowse’s website. I threw together a design and he approved it. The next day the website was online. From that day on, he thanked me in every e-mail. He was the most appreciative person I’d ever worked with. He knew that I was there for him and could help him out with his site, e-mail, or whatever else he needed on the web. We’d meet at the occasional convention but mostly stayed in touch electronically since he lived “across the pond” as he’d put it. Over the years (we registered his site in 2000) I felt a real relationship developed and there was a great mutual respect. He never felt I was some random Star Wars fan, but instead, a friend. He was always open and honest, endlessly telling me how much everyone loved the site. The truth is, I was glad to provide it. I hosted his site, maintained it for him, and did whatever else he needed and never charged him a dime—nor would I.
That’s the nature of Michael Sheard. This was a man who was so gracious and so wonderful that you would give him your 110% willingly and not feel a need to ask for anything in return. I thought of him as a wonderful friend; someone to respect and look up to. He was someone who decided early on what he wanted to do in life and did it well, enjoying his great success. That’s something to be admired.
Michael left me with a lot of fond memories. He never stopped talking about his family, especially his “Dearly Beloved” Ros, his “bum actor” friends, and all the fans whom he affectionately called his “chums.” I’ll never forget how excited he was to learn that there was going to be an Admiral Ozzel action figure made. I could feel his excitement from across the ocean. He absolutely loved the toy and was always happy to sign them for fans who came to see him. I don’t think I’ll ever forget his trademark “uniform” that he’d wear to almost every convention he attended. He wore this suit jacket with an extensive array of buttons and pins all over the lapels and to top it off, a bow tie. In fact, one time that I bumped into him (I don’t remember which convention it was) he didn’t have the tie on and it took me by surprise. He was out of uniform! He was indeed a colorful character whose colors bled into everyone else’s lives that he touched. I can still hear his booming voice calling out to me in that UK (not quite Scottish, not quite British) accent, “Hello, my dear boy!” when I’d finally see him at a convention somewhere. He was such a joy to talk to; always upbeat, always charming, always funny and witty.
The last time we met up in person, at Star Wars Celebration III in May 2005, we had a great time. Although he was ill, he showed no signs but a few shed pounds. I was actually quite surprised to learn through the media that he had cancer. He mentioned often enough that he was ill and in and out of hospitals but I didn’t ask him why out of respect. I don’t think he meant to avoid the subject, it just never came up in conversation other than me wishing him well. When I saw him, he seemed like the same person so I thought nothing more of it. It’s best to be positive as possible in those circumstances anyhow. I’m sure he wouldn’t want everyone making a fuss over him. The cancer that took him from us didn’t destroy his way of life and he was a positive force to the end. I have great memories of those few hours we spent together at Celebration III. I caught up with him the last full day of the show because his table always had a huge line. When I finally got to him he said, “My dear lad, it’s been three days! Where have you been?” in that commanding voice.
We talked, took a few photos, and met up later that night at the big party in the hotel. Michael was having a drink when I found him at the party but had a quizzical look on his face. He ordered a drink of some sorts—a whiskey drink, I believe—and what he got wasn’t very recognizable. I found him, he said hello, and then asked me to have a sip of his drink to verify that it was what it was! I actually couldn’t tell either and he dumped it. From the party, we made our way out into the lobby area. It seemed like every three steps we stopped to talk to fans who wanted to say hello to Michael or get an autograph or take a photo or do a short video interview, and you would think from his reaction that it was the first time he was recognized. He greeted every one of the fans with enthusiasm and granted their every wish, never complaining that he was tired or ill or hungry, though I know he was quite hungry at the time. We were on our way to find some food. Michael would never turn down a fan request—that was the man he was. Everyone who talked to him was absolutely thrilled and it was great to stand there and respectfully take it all in.
We finally sat, and along the way I gathered a few of my friends to join us at the table. Michael grabbed a slice of pizza, talking to every fan along the way. He finally brought it back and ate some of it until he could eat no more. Then he insisted that I have the rest. I didn’t think of it at the time, but looking back, it was probably the medicine and the sickness that was bothering him, though I couldn’t tell. He only ate a few bites and I finished the rest. He entertained the entire table that night, telling stories and jokes and talking to the fans who came over. He loved being among the crowd and didn’t want to be considered a “star” who hid from people or avoided the cliché questions fans like to ask. He got a little tired and told me he needed to turn in for the night, but not before reading a script he had brought with him. We said our goodbyes fondly and he went off to his room to sleep. I didn’t know it at the time, but thatt would be the last time I’d see him in person.
The news came on August 31, 2005. Michael had passed on. I talked to his son who gave me a few small instructions for what to post on the site and I gave his family my sincere condolences. Since then, the outpouring of emotion and messages from all over the world has been astounding. Michael surely touched a lot of lives over the years and I’m proud to have been associated with him in my small way. I’ll surely miss those e-mails (or E’s, as he’d call them) all signed in his traditional way: “Yours Aye, Michael.”
He once told me in an interview, “Actors are like soldiers, they never die, they only fade away.”
Michael was a great man and a true friend. I will miss him dearly.
I want to send out my true, heartfelt condolences to Michael’s family and friends at this time. To his “kids” as he always referred to them, though they’re hardly the little tikes he will always fondly remember, I send you my positive thoughts, prayers and best wishes. I’d like to send an especially warm and tender hug and kiss from myself to Michael’s “Dearly Beloved” wife, Ros Sheard, whom I’ve never had to pleasure to meet, but feel like I’ve known for years. I can only imagine what it must be like to lose half of yourself, your life, your love. You are in my thoughts and prayers.