The original, uncut Star Wars

[OverCoronavirus Pressure]

I feel the same about the Old Looney Tune Cartoons.

I love the first batch of Bugs and Daffy cartoons, especially Daffy when all he did was run around fucking shit up.

Except the racism

 

[BEER]

Fuuuuck.
I was 11.
Still working?

Not even open, haha, so I hope so.

 

[blaseblah]

It doesn't bother me he made all those changes. But he's a prick for keeping the original movies from us. The right way to go about it is to release both.

 

[jlagman]

The un-fucked-with originals, that Lucas didn't tinker with.
Once he thought he had the equipment and tech, he started fucking around with the original trilogy and releasing them as such, special editions with a shit ton of CGI crap added in, creating controversy including the infamous Han shooting first and Luke screaming as he falls from Vader.

So today that is all you can get if you want copies. Unless you $pend to find copies on ebay.

Anybody else bothered by this as much as me?
Isn't that an obnoxious thing for a filmmaker to do?

There was a special DVD release in the mid 2000s where one of the special features was a "least molested version". I actually own it and prior to its release, I stuck with my VHS trilogy boxed set until such a thing existed.

 

[astrozician]

Google the "Despecialized" version. It's a version that has been restored piece by piece by fans to basically be the original version but in HD.
Or you can find Laserdisc rips on your favorite torrent site, though the quality isn't great.

+1. Get the Despecialized versions, you will be happy. The GOUT (George's Original Unaltered Trilogy) versions on DVD and Laserdiscs are non-anamorphic and have compression artifacts. Seriously, Despecialized is the way to go.

 

[Bob Gray]

The gal who runs the SW division at Disney has said they won't do it.
.

Really? Whats the reasoning?

 

[Bob Gray]

It doesn't bother me he made all those changes. But he's a prick for keeping the original movies from us. The right way to go about it is to release both.

Thats pretty much it in a nutshell, yeah. If he had just done his changes without depriving people of the originals, the backlash would be zero. Granted, fans might go a bit over the tope with how much they despise Lucas on a personal basis for the changes, but at the same time its a supremely arrogant and almost petty thing to do on his part.

 

[blaseblah]

Thats pretty much it in a nutshell, yeah. If he had just done his changes without depriving people of the originals, the backlash would be zero. Granted, fans might go a bit over the tope with how much they despise Lucas on a personal basis for the changes, but at the same time its a supremely arrogant and almost petty thing to do on his part.

He's fucking with history as well. He made the film. It's his right to go back and release his ultimate vision (the directors cut). But the Star Wars that came out in the 70s needs to be preserved. It's a part of film history.

 

[OverCoronavirus Pressure]

There was a special DVD release in the mid 2000s where one of the special features was a "least molested version". I actually own it and prior to its release, I stuck with my VHS trilogy boxed set until such a thing existed.

Yes, the aforementioned 2006 release that includes the original film as an extra. Yeeeeeesh. It makes me sad.

 

[OverCoronavirus Pressure]

Really? Whats the reasoning?

She said something like, "We'd never touch his original films".

 

[OverCoronavirus Pressure]

Thats pretty much it in a nutshell, yeah. If he had just done his changes without depriving people of the originals, the backlash would be zero. Granted, fans might go a bit over the tope with how much they despise Lucas on a personal basis for the changes, but at the same time its a supremely arrogant and almost petty thing to do on his part.

I recall at the time thinking that they were his to change, and he reasoned that the technology newly available allowed him to release the films as he originally wanted them to be seen.
I was alright with that.

Then we all saw what his grand vision had been, or what he said it was.
And it was just a bunch of cosmetic changes, often pointless, often simply jamming shit into every shot because he could, like a child without restraint.

 

[90 50]

I have the vhs still. Never getting rid of those.

 

[jefferz]

The only people who have ever seen the original cut of the film were ones that saw it in summer of 77. He changed every version after that--even the 78 release was different.

Heck the subtitle "A New Hope" wasn't even in the original release.

Team Negative One remastered the original theatrical version.

 

[Bob Gray]

She said something like, "We'd never touch his original films".

Well, fuck. I'll bet you any goddamn amount of money that was some sort of stipulation Lucas had when he sold the IP.

 

[minute bull]

FORESKIN STAR WARS FTW

 

[KONG-D'SNT-TAP]

How can anyone see that added in CGI Jabba The Hutt and not cringe out of horror.

 

[KONG-D'SNT-TAP]

She said something like, "We'd never touch his original films".

OP I think Lucas still owns the rights to a New Hope and Disney owns everything else. Or it's something like Fox still owns the rights to a new hope and they have a time limit on the other films. I think 2020

 

[chickenluver]

OP I think Lucas still owns the rights to a New Hope and Disney owns everything else. Or it's something like Fox still owns the rights to a new hope and they have a time limit on the other films. I think 2020

Fox owns distribution rights to Star Wars 1977. Not sure about a time limit. If the Disney takeover happens the rights will all be under the same roof.

 

[deviake]

I absolutely hate it. I hope Disney rectifies this. From a financial perspective - their language - it would make them a lot of greenbacks and endear them to fans. Re-release the first three films, completely unaltered. I don't see how that wouldn't be lucrative.

 

[deviake]

Fox owns distribution rights to Star Wars 1977. Not sure about a time limit. If the Disney takeover happens the rights will all be under the same roof.

OP I think Lucas still owns the rights to a New Hope and Disney owns everything else. Or it's something like Fox still owns the rights to a new hope and they have a time limit on the other films. I think 2020

Ah, I suspected something like that.