«

The Force is Back - 12:01am
After years of waiting, hype and hope, the rumors can at last be laid to
rest: the holy grail of DVD will finally be released this September. Yes, it
is the original Star Wars trilogy: Episodes IV: A New Hope, Episode V: The
Empire Strikes Back (which many regard as the best in the series) and
Episode VI: Return of the Jedi.

While a full press release has yet to be issued, both Lucasfilm and Fox Home
Entertainment confirmed today that the trilogy will touch down on September
21st as a four-disc set, available in both anamorphic widescreen and full
screen versions, containing the three films plus a bonus fourth disc with
extras, a la the top-selling Adventures of Indiana Jones set released late
last year. The films will not be sold separately, at least initially,
according to Fox representatives.

While the long-held rumor was that George Lucas would wait until the
completion of Star Wars Episode III, due in theaters in May 2005, to release
the original trilogy on DVD, Lucasfilm VP of Market Jim Ward revealed today
that Lucas "found some time" in his schedule and "was willing and eager to
make it happen."

Today's announcement came early and without finalized specs due in part to
the intense anticipation amongst consumers for the titles. "We are currently
in the process of restoring and remastering all three titles for the DVD
release, so we're still working on details of the marketing strategy,"
revealed Ward, not before adding with knowing understatement, "but I believe
that it is safe to say that it will receive tremendous exposure across all
media."

According to Fox Home Entertainment president Mike Dunn, both the studio and
Lucasfilm arrived at the September 21st date to gain maximum exposure during
the holiday season: "We sold about 17 million VHS 'Star Wars' units during
two fall release periods in '95 and '97," he explained. "With that in mind,
we designed our release strategy to pick the best release date that had the
most gentle sales curve decline on home video."

While the full details on what extras will be included in the set are still
pending, Ward promises that Lucasfilm "are creating added-value material
that gets inside the creation of the 'Star Wars' films in a fresh and fun
way. We want watching this DVD collection to be as memorable as seeing the
movies for the first time." He also confirmed that rumors that Lucas would
not contribute new audio commentaries to the set are false, although there
are as of yet no exact details on which films will receive commentary
tracks, and who will be among the participants.

Of course, the big question mark amongst fans has always been whether Lucas
would allow the original, unaltered original editions of the trilogy to also
be released on DVD. Not possible, said Ward, who confirmed that the upcoming
set will feature only the 1997 Special Edition versions of each film. "What
George did in 1997," Ward explains, "was [to] make the movie he originally
wanted to make."

So what are the faithful to do if they don't want to watch the altered 1997
editions of the trilogy? Either give in, or don't buy. "We realize there's a
lot of debate out there," says Ward. "But this is not a democracy. We love
our fans, but this is about art and filmmaking. [George] has decided that
the sole version he wants available is this one."

With no press release due for at least several weeks, watch this space for
further updates as September 21st approaches. We'll keep you posted, and as
always.... May the Force Be With You.

On Tue, 10 Feb 2004 11:56:51 GMT, "Bill" <> wrote:

>The Force is Back - 12:01am
>After years of waiting, hype and hope, the rumors can at last be laid to
>rest: the holy grail of DVD will finally be released this September. Yes, it
>is the original Star Wars trilogy: Episodes IV: A New Hope, Episode V: The
>Empire Strikes Back (which many regard as the best in the series) and
>Episode VI: Return of the Jedi.
>
....
>
>So what are the faithful to do if they don't want to watch the altered 1997
>editions of the trilogy? Either give in, or don't buy. "We realize there's a
>lot of debate out there," says Ward. "But this is not a democracy. We love
>our fans, but this is about art and filmmaking. [George] has decided that
>the sole version he wants available is this one."
>
>With no press release due for at least several weeks, watch this space for
>further updates as September 21st approaches. We'll keep you posted, and as
>always.... May the Force Be With You.
>


This is a non-event for me. If it's not the original trilogy, I'm not
buying.

Peter Koenig


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"Bill" <> writes:

> Of course, the big question mark amongst fans has always been whether Lucas
> would allow the original, unaltered original editions of the trilogy to also
> be released on DVD. Not possible, said Ward, who confirmed that the upcoming
> set will feature only the 1997 Special Edition versions of each film. "What
> George did in 1997," Ward explains, "was [to] make the movie he originally
> wanted to make."
>
> So what are the faithful to do if they don't want to watch the altered 1997
> editions of the trilogy? Either give in, or don't buy. "We realize there's a
> lot of debate out there," says Ward. "But this is not a democracy. We love
> our fans, but this is about art and filmmaking. [George] has decided that
> the sole version he wants available is this one."

Guess I'll be holding onto my bootlegs of the REAL Star Wars movies.

--
Scott Streeter

http://www.wpi.edu/~ss/

On Tue, 10 Feb 2004 07:45:34 -0600, Peter Koenig <>
wrote:

>This is a non-event for me. If it's not the original trilogy, I'm not
>buying.
>
Same here.

Mischa

Peter Koenig wrote on [Tue, 10 Feb 2004 07:45:34 -0600]:
> On Tue, 10 Feb 2004 11:56:51 GMT, "Bill" <> wrote:
>
>>So what are the faithful to do if they don't want to watch the altered 1997
>>editions of the trilogy? Either give in, or don't buy. "We realize there's a
>>lot of debate out there," says Ward. "But this is not a democracy. We love
>>our fans, but this is about art and filmmaking. [George] has decided that
>>the sole version he wants available is this one."
>>
>>With no press release due for at least several weeks, watch this space for
>>further updates as September 21st approaches. We'll keep you posted, and as
>>always.... May the Force Be With You.
>>
>
>
> This is a non-event for me. If it's not the original trilogy, I'm not
> buying.
>

Same here. Of course, even if they put out the original trilogy I'm not
sure I'd buy now that the franchise has been ruined by Episode 1 and 2

"Roger Zoul" <> wrote in message
news:c0apjs$149pj9$...
> Justin wrote:
> :: Peter Koenig wrote on [Tue, 10 Feb 2004 07:45:34 -0600]:
> ::: On Tue, 10 Feb 2004 11:56:51 GMT, "Bill" <> wrote:
> :::
> :::: So what are the faithful to do if they don't want to watch the
> :::: altered 1997 editions of the trilogy? Either give in, or don't
> :::: buy. "We realize there's a lot of debate out there," says Ward.
> :::: "But this is not a democracy. We love our fans, but this is about
> :::: art and filmmaking. [George] has decided that the sole version he
> :::: wants available is this one."
> ::::
> :::: With no press release due for at least several weeks, watch this
> :::: space for further updates as September 21st approaches. We'll keep
> :::: you posted, and as always.... May the Force Be With You.
> ::::
> :::
> :::
> ::: This is a non-event for me. If it's not the original trilogy, I'm
> ::: not buying.
> :::
> ::
> :: Same here. Of course, even if they put out the original trilogy I'm
> :: not sure I'd buy now that the franchise has been ruined by Episode 1
> :: and 2
>
> Well, I'm buying it.

I'm not. Then again, I won't buy it in any carnation it may or may not
come. Star Wars=Zzzzzzzzz...

Justin wrote:
:: Peter Koenig wrote on [Tue, 10 Feb 2004 07:45:34 -0600]:
::: On Tue, 10 Feb 2004 11:56:51 GMT, "Bill" <> wrote:
:::
:::: So what are the faithful to do if they don't want to watch the
:::: altered 1997 editions of the trilogy? Either give in, or don't
:::: buy. "We realize there's a lot of debate out there," says Ward.
:::: "But this is not a democracy. We love our fans, but this is about
:::: art and filmmaking. [George] has decided that the sole version he
:::: wants available is this one."
::::
:::: With no press release due for at least several weeks, watch this
:::: space for further updates as September 21st approaches. We'll keep
:::: you posted, and as always.... May the Force Be With You.
::::
:::
:::
::: This is a non-event for me. If it's not the original trilogy, I'm
::: not buying.
:::
::
:: Same here. Of course, even if they put out the original trilogy I'm
:: not sure I'd buy now that the franchise has been ruined by Episode 1
:: and 2

Well, I'm buying it.

"Peter Koenig" <> wrote in message
news:...

> This is a non-event for me. If it's not the original trilogy, I'm not
> buying.

I might have agreed once, but now the movies have been reduced from their
once-high status as important milestones in American cinema to just an other
entertainment franchise.

As such, I'll buy the set if it looks like I'll get my money's worth in
entertainment value. The revised versions are still at least as entertaining
as most of today's sf action-adventure fare.

Of course, this is easy for me to say. I still have my "Definitive
Collection" laserdiscs, which I've long since digitized and burned to DVD
for my personal convenience. I can still watch them if I want to go into
"film historian" mode.

RichC

Lucasfilm did put out a press release about it today - but the details just
arent in yet. I'm betting on the SE's with even more changes... maybe not
that many tho...

Lots of places to read about it but:
http://www.starwars.com/episode-iv/n...s20040210.html

--

Steve Jackson
The DVD Cyber Center
http://www.dvdcc.com


"Bill" <> wrote in message
news:7G3Wb.22378$ link.net...
> The Force is Back - 12:01am
> After years of waiting, hype and hope, the rumors can at last be laid to
> rest: the holy grail of DVD will finally be released this September. Yes,
it
> is the original Star Wars trilogy: Episodes IV: A New Hope, Episode V: The
> Empire Strikes Back (which many regard as the best in the series) and
> Episode VI: Return of the Jedi.
>
> While a full press release has yet to be issued, both Lucasfilm and Fox
Home
> Entertainment confirmed today that the trilogy will touch down on
September
> 21st as a four-disc set, available in both anamorphic widescreen and full
> screen versions, containing the three films plus a bonus fourth disc with
> extras, a la the top-selling Adventures of Indiana Jones set released late
> last year. The films will not be sold separately, at least initially,
> according to Fox representatives.
>
> While the long-held rumor was that George Lucas would wait until the
> completion of Star Wars Episode III, due in theaters in May 2005, to
release
> the original trilogy on DVD, Lucasfilm VP of Market Jim Ward revealed
today
> that Lucas "found some time" in his schedule and "was willing and eager to
> make it happen."
>
> Today's announcement came early and without finalized specs due in part to
> the intense anticipation amongst consumers for the titles. "We are
currently
> in the process of restoring and remastering all three titles for the DVD
> release, so we're still working on details of the marketing strategy,"
> revealed Ward, not before adding with knowing understatement, "but I
believe
> that it is safe to say that it will receive tremendous exposure across all
> media."
>
> According to Fox Home Entertainment president Mike Dunn, both the studio
and
> Lucasfilm arrived at the September 21st date to gain maximum exposure
during
> the holiday season: "We sold about 17 million VHS 'Star Wars' units during
> two fall release periods in '95 and '97," he explained. "With that in
mind,
> we designed our release strategy to pick the best release date that had
the
> most gentle sales curve decline on home video."
>
> While the full details on what extras will be included in the set are
still
> pending, Ward promises that Lucasfilm "are creating added-value material
> that gets inside the creation of the 'Star Wars' films in a fresh and fun
> way. We want watching this DVD collection to be as memorable as seeing the
> movies for the first time." He also confirmed that rumors that Lucas would
> not contribute new audio commentaries to the set are false, although there
> are as of yet no exact details on which films will receive commentary
> tracks, and who will be among the participants.
>
> Of course, the big question mark amongst fans has always been whether
Lucas
> would allow the original, unaltered original editions of the trilogy to
also
> be released on DVD. Not possible, said Ward, who confirmed that the
upcoming
> set will feature only the 1997 Special Edition versions of each film.
"What
> George did in 1997," Ward explains, "was [to] make the movie he originally
> wanted to make."
>
> So what are the faithful to do if they don't want to watch the altered
1997
> editions of the trilogy? Either give in, or don't buy. "We realize there's
a
> lot of debate out there," says Ward. "But this is not a democracy. We love
> our fans, but this is about art and filmmaking. [George] has decided that
> the sole version he wants available is this one."
>
> With no press release due for at least several weeks, watch this space for
> further updates as September 21st approaches. We'll keep you posted, and
as
> always.... May the Force Be With You.
>
>

"Bill" <> wrote in message
news:7G3Wb.22378$ link.net...
@(^_^)@ Of course, the big question mark amongst fans has always been
whether Lucas would allow the original, unaltered original editions of
the trilogy to also be released on DVD. Not possible, said Ward, who
confirmed that the upcoming set will feature only the 1997 Special
Edition versions of each film. "What George did in 1997," Ward explains,
"was [to] make the movie he originally wanted to make." @(^_^)@

@(^_^)@ So what are the faithful to do if they don't want to watch the
altered 1997 editions of the trilogy? Either give in, or don't buy. "We
realize there's a lot of debate out there," says Ward. "But this is not
a democracy. We love our fans, but this is about art and filmmaking.
[George] has decided that the sole version he wants available is this
one." @(^_^)@


George Lucas isn't worried about lost sales. The purists who refuse to
buy these altered versions of the original episodes will be more than
offset by those who will buy the "fullscreen" versions. George Lucas has
all the money he needs. What he craves now is power -- the power to
screw over all fans of the original Star Wars movies.

And you know what else? Carrie Fisher doesn't posses the rights her own
image. Every time she looks into a mirror, she has to send George Lucas
a check. Now that's power, and George is loving every minute of it!

Oh well. In the context of intergalactic events, this is a non-issue.
Five years from now, nobody will give a ****.

May the farce be with you.

Princess "George Cries All The Way To The Bank" Leia

@(^_~)@