NOOOOOOO!!!!! Why George Lucas? WHY?

[Red2111]

well episodes 1 - 3 will be easy to convert into #D seeing as it was filmed relatively near to the release of the 3D capabilitys. (wasnt episodes 1 - 3 filmed with HD cameras?)

 

 

the real teeth grinding, gut wrenching experience will be episodes 4 - 6; seeing as they were filmed in what, the 70s ... even the digitally remastered versions are gonna be grainy and not convert well imo.

 

 

kinda like hooking up your NES to and HDMI 50in TV ... not a good mix

 

 

 

I demand "The Muppets Movie" be made in 3D! You hear me!

 

 

 

you know, i went to Universal back in 96 and saw the Muppets in 3D. not bad at all

[Krakalakachkn]

May the Fourth be with you!

 

 

--------------------------------------------

 

Whoops. For the last few days, Lucasfilm had a teaser site which indicated an announcement of the details of their upcoming Blu-ray sets for the "Star Wars" films would be hitting today at 6am US-PST. The details were released, but the site obviously underestimated the interest factor for the sets as within a few minutes it crashed, the teaser site redirecting to foxmovies.com.

 

Still, before the announcement went tits-up, the key information was collected so lets get right to the important stuff. First, these are unsurprisingly only the special edition versions of the original saga so you'll get to see Greedo shoot first in high-def. The 2004 DVD box-set made further changes from the first 'Special Editions' in 1997 - best bet is the 2004 version is what will be used (though we won't know until the first reviews come in). All the films are in 1080p and with 6.1 DTS Surround Sound.

 

As previously reported there are three versions available - a 3-disc 'Prequel Trilogy' set, a 3-disc 'Original Trilogy' set, and a 9-disc 'Complete Saga' set. The latter includes both the aforementioned 3-disc sets combined with another three discs of special features. Here's the breakdown of the 9-disc set:

 

Disc 1: Star Wars: Episode I, The Phantom Menace

Audio Commentary with George Lucas, Rick McCallum, Ben Burtt, Rob Coleman, John Knoll, Dennis Muren and Scott Squires

Audio Commentary from Archival Interviews with Cast and Crew

 

Disc 2: Star Wars: Episode II, Attack of the Clones

Audio Commentary with George Lucas, Rick McCallum, Ben Burtt, Rob Coleman, Pablo Helman, John Knoll and Ben Snow

Audio Commentary from Archival Interviews with Cast and Crew

 

Disc 3: Star Wars: Episode III, Revenge of the Sith

Audio Commentary with George Lucas, Rick McCallum, Rob Coleman, John Knoll and Roger Guyett

Audio Commentary from Archival Interviews with Cast and Crew

 

Disc 4: Star Wars: Episode IV, A New Hope

Audio Commentary with George Lucas, Carrie Fisher, Ben Burtt and Dennis Muren

Audio Commentary from Archival Interviews with Cast and Crew

 

Disc 5: Star Wars: Episode V, The Empire Strikes Back

Audio Commentary with George Lucas, Irvin Kershner, Carrie Fisher, Ben Burtt and Dennis Muren

Audio Commentary from Archival Interviews with Cast and Crew

 

Disc 6: Star Wars: Episode VI: Return of the Jedi

Audio Commentary with George Lucas, Carrie Fisher, Ben Burtt and Dennis Muren

Audio Commentary from Archival Interviews with Cast and Crew

 

Disc 7: Star Wars Archives: Episodes I-III

Deleted, extended and alternate scenes

Prop, maquette and costume turnarounds

Matte paintings and concept art

Supplementary interviews with cast and crew

Flythrough of the Lucasfilm Archives

Additional Content

 

Disc 8: Star Wars Archives: Episodes IV-VI

Deleted, extended and alternate scenes

Prop, maquette and costume turnarounds

Matte paintings and concept art

Supplementary interviews with cast and crew

Flythrough of the Lucasfilm Archives

Additional Content

 

Disc 9: The Star Wars Documentaries

Star Warriors (2007, Apx. 84 Minutes): Some Star Wars fans want to collect action figures...these fans want to be action figures! A tribute to the 501st Legion, a global organization of Star Wars costume enthusiasts, this insightful documentary shows how the super-fan club promotes interest in the films through charity and volunteer work at fundraisers and high-profile special events around the world.

 

A Conversation with the Masters: The Empire Strikes Back 30 Years Later (2010, Apx. 25 Minutes): George Lucas, Irvin Kershner, Lawrence Kasdan and John Williams look back on the making of The Empire Strikes Back in this in-depth retrospective from Lucasfilm created to help commemorate the 30th anniversary of the movie. The masters discuss and reminisce about one of the most beloved films of all time.

 

Star Wars Spoofs (2011, Apx. 91 Minutes): The farce is strong with this one! Enjoy a hilarious collection of Star Wars spoofs and parodies that have been created over the years, including outrageous clips from Family Guy, The Simpsons, How I Met Your Mother and more — and don't miss "Weird Al" Yankovic's one-of-a-kind music video tribute to The Phantom Menace!

 

The Making of Star Wars (1977, Apx. 49 Minutes): Learn the incredible behind-the-scenes story of how the original Star Wars movie was brought to the big screen in this fascinating documentary hosted by C-3PO and R2-D2. Includes interviews with George Lucas and appearances by Mark Hamill, Harrison Ford and Carrie Fisher.

 

The Empire Strikes Back: SPFX (1980, Apx. 48 Minutes): Learn the secrets of making movies in a galaxy far, far away. Hosted by Mark Hamill, this revealing documentary offers behind-the-scenes glimpses into the amazing special effects that transformed George Lucas' vision for Star Wars and The Empire Strikes Back into reality!

 

Classic Creatures: Return of the Jedi (1983, Apx. 48 Minutes): Go behind the scenes — and into the costumes — as production footage from Return of the Jedi is interspersed with vintage monster movie clips in this in-depth exploration of the painstaking techniques utilized by George Lucas to create the classic creatures and characters seen in the film. Hosted and narrated by Carrie Fisher and Billie Dee Williams.

 

Anatomy of a Dewback (1997, Apx. 26 Minutes): See how some of the special effects in Star Wars became even more special two decades later! George Lucas explains and demonstrates how his team transformed the original dewback creatures from immovable rubber puppets (in the original 1977 release) to seemingly living, breathing creatures for the Star Wars 1997 Special Edition update.

 

Star Wars Tech (2007, Apx. 46 Minutes): Exploring the technical aspects of Star Wars vehicles, weapons and gadgetry, Star Wars Tech consults leading scientists in the fields of physics, prosthetics, lasers, engineering and astronomy to examine the plausibility of Star Wars technology based on science as we know it today. We will continue to update this news post with more details as they become available.

[Summer]

Uncle George needs to realize that I've already paid for his car, and he needs to stop putting out things that I'm obviously going to buy.

[Krakalakachkn]

I just peed my pants. A lot.

 

 

The "Star Wars: The Complete Saga" Blu-ray set in mid-September is arguably the biggest single Blu-ray release of this year.

 

Now, Fox Home Entertainment have released a new viral promo clip containing never before seen deleted scenes from the original trilogy.

 

The minute-long clip is just a glimpse at the more than forty hours of extras on the disc set which will include quite a few more scenes like this.

 

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eCzKA7cjFLY&feature=player_embedded

[Quazie89]

I love Star Wars, but I'm not a big fan of 3D, so I'm not too thrilled about this news, either. I love the covers on the seperate Blu-ray editions, though. They almost make me wish I had a Blu-ray!

[Dewairah]

A sadly true statement.  George Lucas has always been overexcited about special effects, and of course 3D is the mother of all special effects.

 

probably because since the original trilogy he hasnt written/produced/directed anything worth watching or reading. he needs the eyecandy - its all he has.

[brujah]

I think only certain movies are worth making them 3D. Avatar was the PERFECT 3D movie. Remaking old movies for 3D doesnt interest me. Avatar pulled it off because a lot of the movie is this vibrant, alien atmosphere that you get to see and explore for the first time along with the main character. It makes sense because of all the colors and because the setting itself is so important. The only scenes in Star Wars that I think 3D could or would enhance are the Dagobah System. Even the space scenes wouldnt benefit from 3D imo. A lot of people think 3D means they constantly see items or objects "coming at them." Avatar 3d was more about making the planet seem alive, and making you feel that you were actually in the forest. Light Sabres and lasers from space ships coming at me in 3D doesnt really do it for me.

[Krakalakachkn]

The fanboys may have gotten into a huge uproar over the further alterations made by George Lucas, but that didn't stop either them or mainstream audiences from grabbing the recent Blu-ray release of the entire "Star Wars" saga on Blu-ray.

 

According to a press release, Fox and Lucasfilm have raked in $84 million globally from the nine-disc box-set since its launch on September 16th - selling over a million units with just over half (515,000) sold within North America. This makes it the number one pre-order and 'catalog title' since the launch of the Blu-ray format in 2006.

 

Despite the grumbles over the changes made not just before this edition but for earlier versions, reviews for the set were strong with the transfers for the classic trilogy and the final prequel 'Revenge of the Sith' scoring good marks. The transfer for the first prequel 'The Phantom Menace' however scored numerous criticisms.

[Krakalakachkn]

Here's a review of the box set:

 

 

Arguably the most heavily-requested title of the high-definition age, Star Wars' appearance on BD will be a fascinating litmus test as to the viability and marketplace presence of Blu-ray as a format: If this things sells like hotcakes, high-def discs just might make it out alive. If it doesn't, though - if loyal fans turn out in week one then don't really come back for more - we'll be left with a sobering vision of the streaming beast looming ahead of us.

 

Basically, if Star Wars can't get 'em to go Blu, it's likely that nothing will.

 

I bring this up because Star Wars: The Complete Saga is a heavily imperfect release - it's not the kind of quintessential utilization of the format that will get viewers clamoring for more. No, as wonderful as even these chopped-up and altered Star Wars movies continue to be, The Complete Saga on Blu-ray provides cursory up-front fun - boy, it's great to see Grand Moff Tarkin in high-def - but as a collection, a historical document of the cultural entity that is Star Wars, it's pretty much a turkey.

 

This is blasphemy, I know - to be perfectly honest, I can't believe I'm actually typing it. Do these movies look better than they have before? Sure. Even mediocre 1080p transfers and DTS-HD Master Audio sound mixes could accomplish that. But is this a must-have set? Something that fans young and old will savor and enjoy for years to come? No way.

 

Compare this Complete Saga set with last year's Alien Anthology. That collection housed movies both good and bad - the same could be said of Star Wars as a franchise - but the interface on Sigourney's Blu-ray edition is state-of-the-art (even a year later!): It's completely advanced compared to any other edition we've seen on the format. The biggest advent is that with various branching options included, we have options on the Alien Anthology. You want the old version? You got it. You want a reinterpreted one? It's here, too. And thanks to that MU-TH-UR mode, we are able to spelunk the films with unprecedented ease and fluidity.

 

What's interesting is that as much of a techno-guru as Lucas and his company claim to be, this Star Wars set isn't the perfect exploitation of Blu-ray high-definition potential. Going through the archives on the discs here provides investigative fun, but our worst fears have been realized: Not only is this not an encyclopedic collection, but what really smarts on The Complete Saga is just how much ISN'T here. The extensive documentaries, featurettes and other bonus material that previous excellent DVD releases offered are nowhere to be found here.

 

Mr. Lucas hopes that a documentary about folks who dress up like Star Wars characters will be enough to keep us interested. No sale.

 

We're all curious about this Star Wars set, and most of us will probably buy it (I sure as Hell ain't letting my copy go anywhere), but it's not a legitimately solid Blu-ray edition. Even with Greedo shooting first (and other plugged-in horrors), the nostalgic wonder of the movies can't be snuffed completely - we know this for a fact because Lucas and company continues to try and do so with alarming, disappointing regularity.

 

This Star Wars: The Complete Saga Blu-ray set is just another example of that.

 

Video: How Do the Discs Look?

 

It's a mixed bag, folks. The good news is that across the board, A New Hope, Empire Strikes Back and Return of the Jedi look sensational. Color quality is stunning - light sabers literally pop off the screen - and detail is significantly cleaner than it ever was on DVD. The relatively new CGI stuff (that's you, New Hope Jabba the Hutt) still looks terrible, but that's no fault of the teams who put these transfers together. What's intriguing, though, is that Phantom Menace and Attack of the Clones don't impress the way the other pictures here do (Revenge of the Sith is as reference-quality as they get). It comes down to consistency: Some sequences have as much clarity and zip as the other pictures here, and some don't. It's that cut and dry. There is no denying that these six films have never looked this strong in the home theater age, but they're not perfect.

 

Audio: How Do the Discs Sound?

 

This section is pretty easy to write: These are pristine, spit-polished tracks, all of reference quality. Star Wars - as presented via these DTS-HD 6.1 Master Audio sound mixes - is one of the best-designed and -sounding movies to have ever been made, and the lossless upgrade of these presentations is quite simply sublime. Staggering fidelity, swirling surround presence, enveloping atmospherics, some of the best movie music you'll ever find: If there's one element of this Complete Saga set that sets the bar, it's sound quality. These are gold standards.

 

Spanish, French and Portuguese Dolby Digital 5.1 sound mixes are included, as are a French DTS 5.1 track, and English SDH, French, Spanish and Portuguese subtitles.

 

Supplements: What Goodies Are There?

 

The six movie discs here only house a pair of screen-specific audio commentaries as bonuses. We get the full-length tracks that appeared on the DVD editions of the films, as well as what's touted as an 'archival' track, which is a collection of interview snippets with various Star Wars participants. A lot of this stuff has been ported over from the tracks that were included on the original trilogy's LaserDisc edition.

 

Then on disc seven, we enter the serious bonus content of this release.

 

The disc housing the prequel trilogy supplements is first. For The Phantom Menace, we get a bunch of short featurettes (Naboo Overview (5:00), an interview with Liam Neeson (2:00), Tatooine Overview (4:00), two interviews with producer Rick McCallum (4:00 total), Coruscant Overview (4:00) and an interview with Lucas (3:00)), a big slate of deleted scenes, and a feature entitled The Collection, which offers up 360-degree presentations of models, puppets and costumes used in the film, along with video commentary. Thorough stills galleries are also included for each of the six films.

 

Attack of the Clonesbrings more featurettes (Coruscant Overview (4:00), an interview with Ewan McGregor (1:00), Naboo Overview (3:00), Tatooine Overview (4:00, Geonosis Overview (4:00), and an interview with Hayden Christensen (1:00)), as well as more deleted scenes and another installment of The Collection.

 

With Revenge of the Sith, we get featurettes (Coruscant Interview (5:00), an interview with Samuel L. Jackson (2:00), Utapau Overview (5:00), Mustafar Overview (5:00), an interview with Natalie Portman (2:00), Kashyyyk and Order 66 Overview (6:00)), deleted scenes and another Collection inclusion.

 

Disc eight takes us to our beloved original trilogy.

 

On A New Hope, we get featurettes (Tatooine Overview (4:00), interviews with Mark Hamill (2:00) and Anthony Daniels (1:00), Aboard the Death Star Overview (6:00), an interview with Carrie Fisher (2:00), and Battle of Yavin Overview (5:00)), as well as the real meat on this bonus slate, a collection of long-lost deleted scenes (I must admit - they're pretty interesting). There are stills galleries and installments of The Collection for all three films here, as well.

 

Onto Empire First up are featurettes (Hoth Overview (3:00), interviews with Lucas (4:00) and director Irvin Kershner (3:00), Dagobah Overview (5:00), another talk with Lucas (5:00), Pursued by the Imperial Fleet Overview (3:00), and Cloud City Overview (3:00)), and another cool set of deleted scenes.

 

Finally, there's Return of the Jedi. In addition to some featurettes (Tatooine Overview (5:00), Endor Overview (5:00), an interview with Harrison Ford (1:00), and Death Star II Space Battle Overview (4:00)), and one last nifty deleted scenes slate.

 

Disc nine of this set houses some longer yet less enjoyable documentaries and featurettes. Star Wars Spoofs (97:00) is a collection of goofy but forgettable send-ups of the series, focusing more on newer material from Robot Chicken, That 70s Show and even last year's Volkswagen TV commercials. A Conversation with the Masters: The Empire Strikes Back 30 Years Later (25:00) is a woefully short talk with Lucas, Kershner, Lawrence Kasdan and John Williams about their collaboration on the film (it's easily the best thing here). Star Wars Tech (45:00) is kind of a what-if? collection of interviews with scientists about the believability of the Star Wars universe. Star Warriors (84:00) is a waste of space here, a long documentary about the 501st Legion, a bunch of folks who dress up like Star Wars characters a lot.

 

Anatomy of a Dewback(26:00) analyzes the move from puppets to CGI machinery with our beloved Tatooine elephants, and Classic Creatures: Return of the Jedi (48:00) rounds up some of the cooler critters from the third Star Wars flick (Salacious Crumb!). Finally, we get two vintage featurettes - The Empire Strikes Back: SPFX (48:00) and The Making of Star Wars (50:00) - that offer intriguing (if EPK-grade) looks at those films' productions.

 

Final Thoughts:

 

Interest in Star Wars: The Complete Saga is off the charts, but it remains to be seen just how many $100 copies the thing actually sells. This much can be said of this collection: It houses probably the best sound mixes you're ever likely to hear on Blu-ray. They're stunning. But bonus material here is flat, needlessly complex (clicking through featurettes that barely run for five minutes gets tiresome after a while), and aside from updated interfaces, the supplements here pale in comparison to previous editions (I honestly can't imagine why Empire of Dreams, that wonderful doc from the original trilogy's DVD box set, isn't included). We don't even get the original Revenge of the Jedi trailer.

 

I guarantee you'll get a fun weekend's worth of entertainment out of this box set, but as a fully-formed Blu-ray package, Star Wars: The Complete Saga is disappointingly middle-of-the-road.

 

[Nolder]

I feel this is somehow relevant

http://starwars.wikia.com/wiki/George_R._Binks

 

"George R. Binks was born in Otoh Gunga on Naboo some time prior to the fall of the Galactic Republic, to a family of whalers. The Binks family had practiced the whaler profession for centuries, and he was no exception to that tradition. As a mere youth, he commanded his own gang of fishermen in his home town. At some point, he decided to join the family business, the Binks & Son Whaling Company.

 

On a whaling trip with his wife and son in the southernmost seas of Naboo, Binks happened upon a large whale. His initial attempt at harpooning the creature was unsuccessful, and in the ensuing fight the whale got caught in the rigging of Binks's ship. He issued a series of commands to Jar Jar to take the wheel and maneuver clear of the situation, but his son was unable to comply. As a result, the ship sank, and the Binks family was forced to seek refuge on a barren island.[1]

 

A month later, Binks and his family were still stranded on the island, which he christened "Binks's Woe." He grew increasingly annoyed by his son's antics, so that when Jar Jar offered to swim for help—a suicidal task due to the treacherous seas as well the distance involved—Binks encouraged the boy. However, this attempt at getting Jar Jar killed was cut short when his wife intervened. Overcome with feelings, he drew a gun and shot himself in the head. "

 

I cannot stop wtfing at this article

[Krakalakachkn]

I feel this is somehow relevant

http://starwars.wikia.com/wiki/George_R._Binks

 

"George R. Binks was born in Otoh Gunga on Naboo some time prior to the fall of the Galactic Republic, to a family of whalers. The Binks family had practiced the whaler profession for centuries, and he was no exception to that tradition. As a mere youth, he commanded his own gang of fishermen in his home town. At some point, he decided to join the family business, the Binks & Son Whaling Company.

 

On a whaling trip with his wife and son in the southernmost seas of Naboo, Binks happened upon a large whale. His initial attempt at harpooning the creature was unsuccessful, and in the ensuing fight the whale got caught in the rigging of Binks's ship. He issued a series of commands to Jar Jar to take the wheel and maneuver clear of the situation, but his son was unable to comply. As a result, the ship sank, and the Binks family was forced to seek refuge on a barren island.[1]

 

A month later, Binks and his family were still stranded on the island, which he christened "Binks's Woe." He grew increasingly annoyed by his son's antics, so that when Jar Jar offered to swim for help—a suicidal task due to the treacherous seas as well the distance involved—Binks encouraged the boy. However, this attempt at getting Jar Jar killed was cut short when his wife intervened. Overcome with feelings, he drew a gun and shot himself in the head. "

 

I cannot stop wtfing at this article

 

Wha?