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

[spwebdesign.livejournal.com]

Yay! I can put this on my wish list now.

[skatiemom.livejournal.com]

I can finally stop lugging around those VHS tapes

We have the original boxed set and have held onto our VCR just to be able to play those tapes. Which we never do because the VCR was unhooked from the TV to make room for other electronic devices.

Now we can hold onto those tapes, and the VCR, just for the nostalgia value. Or because we're packrats. But I prefer the first reason.

[tylerpistol.livejournal.com]

Way to punish the early adopters, Lucas-puke-as.

[spatch]

I do admit one of the best parts of the tapes I made off the Sci-Fi Channel is that while I was pausing between commercials as I watched, I had to leave near the end of Empire and so I left the VCR running. That means my copy of Return of the Jedi is chock-full of early 90s commercials and Sci-Fi promos. It's pretty cool. On the other hand, I had to use the EP speed on the VCR, so the quality of the recording is pretty low. But that's just pfiffling.

[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.

[sanspoof.livejournal.com]

Pfuh, I got someone's rip of the laserdiscs. Gout-Ridden Lucas (TM) gets none of my cash.

[dskasak.livejournal.com]

But there won't be any clips of super pornstar Biggs Darklighter in the original trilogy!

[zhym.livejournal.com]

YES YES YES YES YES YES YES.

Ahem. What I meant to say was, yay, I can finally buy Star Wars DVDs.

I have the laserdiscs, but my copy of _Empire_ suffered laser rot, and flipping discs is a pain, and and and.

[dogofthefuture.livejournal.com]

Not to belabor the point, but Han shooting first is kind of important to who his character is supposed to be, and makes his eventual redemption or turnaround or whatever you want to call it that much more powerful.

If you Disnify Han Solo... well, you just shouldn't, that's all.

[spatch]

Well, I agree with you on that. Han needs to shoot first, cause he's a cold-blooded scoundrel, etc. I've never liked the revisionist treatment given the scene, and yes, it cheapens the character.

But as I said 2 and a half years ago, I wasn't gonna let Greedo shooting first ruin my memories and childhood or whatever. It was that kind of reactionary hyperbole, really, I found the most distasteful.

[archangelsk.livejournal.com]

Whatever. No amount of digital rewriting is going to wipe Koo Stark from my circuits.