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Will Disney Remaster the Star Wars OT?

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Fudgepuppy

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When Disney bought the rights, this was my first thought.

Disney have always been good at supplying demand like with the Disney Blu-rays and such, so is it that far-fetched of them to remaster the original unaltered trilogy and sell it for a ton of cash?

It would certainly be profitable.
 
It is going to be interesting to see if they do anything with that, or which version they will use going forward as the OT.

My guess is that they can't go back. Somehow Lucas found a way to work that into the contract, screw us from the grave.
 
I would be surprised if they didn't. Those four billion dollars aren't going to recoup themselves!
 
nemss said:
Doesn't Fox technically own the licensing rights to the OT?
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They own the first one indefinitely, and the second two until 2020ish I think. That's what I remember reading anyway.

I guess if Disney and Fox wanted to hammer out a deal they could, but I don't know how likely something like that is.
 
I can't believe there would be enough people that care. But, I guess I should never underestimate the willingness of nerds to throw money in a nostalgia pit.
 
I would give them a lot of money for this.

I was hoping this would happen ever since I heard about the sale and I am more excited about this than whatever shitty sequels they pump out.
 
Quackula said:
They own the first one indefinitely, and the second two until 2020ish I think. That's what I remember reading anyway.

I guess if Disney and Fox wanted to hammer out a deal they could, but I don't know how likely something like that is.
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So what are the agreements behind the first one, Fox own it indefinitely but when 202X comes around and 5/6 go to Disney could they just buy ANH off them anyway? I can't imagine them not wanting to own them all, and it if Disney ever want to release a Ultra HD on whatever format we are using by then I would assume they wouldn't want to share.
 
JimtotheHum said:
A man can dream.

Special Edition Return of the Jedi is the worst of all of them. Almost unwatchable.
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When I watched it with my friends, I had to pause the movie and explain everytime something awful happened because of the alterations. "So he's actually not saying no here, because Darth Vader is silent and not a stupid idiot".
 
I just had a premonition of us all old in a nursing home complaining about the original trilogy and HL3.

These are our war stories.
 
I don't want to see the CG that's out of place from the movies. I tried watching The New Hope, but Jabba the Hut does not look right. There seem to be a lot more noise because of the CG "enhancements". Am I the only one who thinks this way?
 
threetri333 said:
I don't want to see the CG that's out of place from the movies. I tried watching The New Hope, but Jabba the Hut does not look right. There seem to be a lot more noise because of the CG "enhancements". Am I the only one who thinks this way?
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No, it's one of the most common complaints.

I don't have that much of a problem with the special effects, but stuff like Jabba and Jedi Rocks really grinds my gears.
 
I still only let my girls watch my old THX VHS tapes for Star Wars. There are no DVD or BluRay copies in my home. They will learn the movies without the extra stuff if I have anything to say about it.
 
Fox owns the distribution rights to "Star Wars." And their deal for the distribution to "Empire" & "Jedi" runs out in 2020.

The question of whether Disney would release the originals comes down to whether they believe they'll get enough money in return, because in order to release the Original Trilogy anytime soon:

1) They'll have to strike a deal with Fox.
2) They'll have to either re-composite the effects shots, or use computer imagery to de-Special Edition-ize the existing footage. Either option will cost a considerable amount of time and money for a home video release.

Consider that blu-ray, while popular(ish) isn't as big as DVD was, and will likely never be that big, while DVD has plateaued and is likely on it's slide down to obsolescence.

All those things factor into whether Disney will want to spend the money to release, yet again, the Star Wars Trilogy on a home video format.
 
Quackula said:
That terrible CG musical number that was completely changed from the original is so obnoxious.
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Yes. Of all the many, many sins the SE committed, the musical number is the worst of all of them. By far.

It's a musical number. In a Star Wars movie. Dammit, George.


Askani said:
I still only let my girls watch my old THX VHS tapes for Star Wars. There are no DVD or BluRay copies in my home. They will learn the movies without the extra stuff if I have anything to say about it.
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I only show my daughter Harmy's Despecialized Edition.
 
FatboyRoberts said:
2) They'll have to either re-composite the effects shots, or use computer imagery to de-Special Edition-ize the existing footage. Either option will cost a considerable amount of time and money for a home video release.
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A single fan did it himself for free in like one year

Don't believe George's bullshit. It's not that expensive or time consuming in the grand scheme of things. If they wanted to make it happen, they'd make it happen.

Problem is, no one really cares about the original, unaltered trilogy. As long as the original trilogy is there at all, it's enough for most fans.
 
I sort of really hate the stupid horse dinosaurs they stuck into every mos eisley scene. Would pay for remasters. Will never pay for a version that includes the more dreadful special edition changes.
 
Mindlog said:
If it has a beak. It has an anus. Fett lives.
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The anus isn't used for a thousand years. So ten centuries later there may be a set of sweet Mandalorian armor for the taking a few hundred meters under the sand, but the guy who was wearing it hasn't used it in quite some time.
 
Lucas originally planned on converting the rest of the saga to 3D after Episode I 3D came out. Disney stepping up with plans for Episode VII nixed that.

This makes me really sad. Even if post-conversions aren't ideal, having the original SW trilogy in 3D would have been pretty awesome.
 
Anth0ny said:
A single fan did it himself for free in like one year

Don't believe George's bullshit. It's not that expensive or time consuming in the grand scheme of things. If they wanted to make it happen, they'd make it happen.

Problem is, no one really cares about the original, unaltered trilogy. As long as the original trilogy is there at all, it's enough for most fans.
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I know all about the Despecialized editions. And yeah, they look great.

Disney can't just slap up a 720p Frankenstein monster AVC file created out of the DVDs, the LDs, the Blu-Rays, and some HD broadcasts, and then upload the file to a bunch of torrent sites. If they're going to put out the product, they have to either hire a company (probably Lowry) to go in and re-remaster the footage, or they have to work from Lowry's original digital captures, and re-composite the effects work, or digitally re-create the original effects work. then they have to produce, design, package, and advertise this new product.

It's not a case of "believing George's bullshit," because this isn't George's call anymore. The reality of the situation is that Disney can, could (and should, in my personal opinion) pursue this avenue, but it IS going to cost money, and they have to know whether or not that expenditure and effort is going to be worth it.

They also have to deal with Fox, as has been mentioned, unless they want to wait for 2020 so the deal they make is SOLELY for Star Wars, and not the 2/3ds of the trilogy that will revert back to them. At which point, who knows what home video will look like, and at what resolution we'll "need" our Star Wars to be in, in order to deem the effort "worthy." At that point, a 720p frankenstein's monster, even one as pretty as Harmy's Despecialized edition, is definitely not gonna cut it.
 
I just want them to move forward with the franchise.

The best thing to come out in the Star Wars universe since the original movies was the Clone Wars cartoon miniseries. It was very well done, should a very large scope of what happened during the clone wars, was not made specifically for children, and filled major gaps between movies. It was very good. If you enjoy Star Wars at all, you should check it out.

The second, is the 3D animated show. To be honest, the first season is awful, the movie was awful, and the first few episodes of season 2 are not great. After that, though, for the remaining number of season, it's very good. They pretty much took the show from one meant for children, and made it for teenagers/adults.

The entire set of episodes revolving around the Duchess of Mandalore/Obi-wan and the politics of the war, were very good. It had better dialogue and theme then most shows that win emmy's, funny enough.

I hope Disney can now movie forward with a mature, live action TV show, and JJ-ABRAM can bring back the magic with the movies. Episode 3 was ALMOST good, and the end (outside of NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO) was probably the best part of all three movies, but it still fell short.

So, if you enjoy star wars. I suggest checking out the animated miniseries from 2003, and gutting it out past the first season of the 3D clone Wars show.

The Star Wars universe is SO much better than the shit they put in the movies. Even the first three, that it's a shame more people don't realize it.
 
A remaster of the OT unaltered is such a stupid easy way to make money and get hype that there is no chance that Disney won't do it. I expect it to be released during the buildup to Episode VII or sometime shortly thereafter.
 
It would be great if they did. I would love to watch Star Wars OT on Blu Ray. I refuse to buy them as is, I own the original VHS copies and still watch those if I have a hankering.
 
Fudgepuppy said:
I really doubt the original negatives are destroyed or in a condition where it's physically impossible to remaster them.
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I'm sure there's a couple people here (it's come up on this forum before, I know, and I was taught a thing or two - XiaNaphrys, I believe, and TAJ? Maybe?) who can more clearly explain it, but as I understand - the negative that they'd be working from would be the 97 Special Editions, which have newer effects layered over the top of the original footage. The good news is, those effects changes account for like, 5% of the film's total runtime, and the original optical elements DO still exist at Lucasfilm. Meaning if Disney did want to restore the original effects, they could do so - they'd just have to recomposite them.

so far as the remake thing goes? Watch it happen in the next 10-15 years. I can't imagine it won't. These spinoff movies (especially "Young Han Solo") can be seen as, essentially, backdoor pilots for a new take on the Original Trilogy. And the Prequels can be completely rewritten from the ground up.
 
They probably won't do it until ep 7 and 8 are hits.

Then they can cash in by releasing the OT a while before ep 9 and again once all three trilogies are on dvd
 
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