well, well, well

[spatch]

Saw this one when it was a "some guy told me some person from USA Today said that some LucasFilms dude said on the Internet" rumor type thing, but it appears to be official:

This September: Original Unaltered Trilogy on DVD
May 03, 2006

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

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

Now I'm not one of those rabid, idiotic "ZOMG GEORGE LUCAS RAPED MY CHILDHOOD BY MAKING GREEDO SHOOT FIRST" types, but I always did prefer the look of the original movies to the super-duper digitally-remastered "Let's put in all-new establishing shots with crazy farting CG animals, and shove Hayden Christiansen in as a blue glowie on Endor while we're at it" stuff. So honestly I gotta say this announcement makes me happy. Guess it also means I can finally stop lugging around those VHS tapes I recorded off the Sci-Fi Channel 15 years ago, when they ran all 3 of 'em back-to-back.

Comments

[hemlock-martini.livejournal.com]

Hooray! I get to buy the Trilogy again! If I don't do that at least once every three years, I start to question my own fandom, causing me to enter into an existential spiral of doubt and guilt from which it is impossible to escape. I call it "The Nerdlaac."

Seriously, though, I'm glad to hear this. I had always eyed those DVD copies of the Laserdisc edition that pop up on eBay, thinking "you know, I should really buy a set and bury them in an iron box in the backyard, just in case; so I'll have them," and now I won't have to deal with sub-par transfers and shady pseudo-pirates.

Reading the press release, though, you can almost hear the exasperation and rolled eyes on Lucasfilm's part. "Here, ya big dumb WHINER BABIES, have your stupid imperfect movies on DVD and don't come crying to us when your nostalgia doesn't hold up to the real thing." Each non-SE DVD will come with an alternate audio track of Lucas going "THBBBHBHTHTHHTTTT!" for two-and-a-half hours.