Star Wars: Special Edition
Chris Hozian
Has anyone seen Star Wars: Special Edition?
And if so, was it a lot better than the original?
It was sold out in Huntsville for the whole weekend. So I didn't go to see
it. I wouldn't of had time anyways, but if I did I would have went.
Chris Hozian DragNet 1@1205902 VampNet 1@1205101
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David E. Merchant
Back in 1977 when it first came out, we saw it at the theater 3 or 4
times; bought it blackmarket on Beta tape; then with friends and family
always wanting to watch it, I quit counting how many times I've watched
it after the 77th viewing. But I was bored Saturday and went to see it
on the big screen at Hollywood, figuring that film quality is always
better than video.
Display:
Man, was I ever wrong. Hollywood has a nasty habit of ALWAYS showing
movies slightly out of focus which is irritating enough by itself. Star
Wars Special Edition was an extremely poor quality showing being out of
focus and at the same time, film of poor quality.
Sound, advertised as DTS, was acceptable only, if a bit loud.
Content:
I noticed a few minute differences between this version and the
original, mostly having to do with animated creature effects. Two of
the space-based explosions were slightly better than the original.
Summary:
Even if you're bored, don't bother with this one. My wife's opinion is
pretty much the same.
David
jam...@www.hsv.mindspring.com
Chris Hozian wrote:
>
> Has anyone seen Star Wars: Special Edition?
> And if so, was it a lot better than the original?
>
> It was sold out in Huntsville for the whole weekend.
I've already seen it twice, and it's *spectacular.* I think you'll most enjoy the new
scenes in Mos Eisley Spaceport, the town where the famous canteena scene occurs. Lucas
has added lots of new creatures and robots to the streets around the canteena.
The new Jabba the Hutt scene is very well animated, and the same goes for the new Death
Star battle footage.
Lucas has also added two new jokes to Luke and Han's adventures inside the Death Star
(although you probably won't notice the jokes are new unless you're a diehard "Star
Wars" fan who has seen the movie 21 times, like me).
There are several more new images, more fun and a bit more drama, but I don't want to
give anything away for you. I have minor criticisms of two scenes, but praises for
dozens of others. I would give the film four and a half stars on a five-star scale. It
makes "Star Wars" look far less "low budget" by current standards.
You'll enjoy the movie most if you've recently watched the original version. Then you'll
notice the changes faster, and you'll appreciate them more.
jam...@www.hsv.mindspring.com
David E. Merchant wrote:
> Hollywood has a nasty habit of ALWAYS showing
> movies slightly out of focus which is irritating enough by itself. Star
> Wars Special Edition was an extremely poor quality showing being out of
> focus and at the same time, film of poor quality.
> Sound, advertised as DTS, was acceptable only, if a bit loud.
I think there were simply some technical difficulties during the showing you attended.
I've seen the Star Wars Special Edition twice. The second time, which was Saturday
night, the theater seemed to be having trouble with its sound system, and the picture
did flicker a few times.
But whether or not there were technical problems during your showing, remember that most
of this film was made with 1970s technology. Lucas was able to add new footage, and
to enhance old footage, but there was still a limit to what he could do.
Computers can only sharpen a picture so much before distorting it, unless artists
manually draw new detail on every frame of film. Audio taped during the 1970s can be
re-mastered and re-mixed, but some sounds will still be a bit hollow by modern
standards. Nonetheless, I applaud Lucas for his mere effort.
Overall, it's a great movie. The new footage is very good. The big-screen experience is
also magnificent for someone who has never seen the movie on the large screen. I saw the
movie on the big screen for the first time at 1 p.m. Friday. I was amazed at how 3-D the
opening titles looked, how huge and realistic the Imperial Star Destroyers were, and how
truly claustrophobic the trash compactor scene is.
The trash-compactor scene gets corny on video after awhile, but if you sit in the very
front rows of the theater, the walls of the trash compactor look like the walls of the
theater itself, and you imagine them closing in on you.
Further, if you sit in the front rows, Darth Vader seems to glare down at you when he
first walks on screen.
People who saw the movie 100 times on the big screen 20 years ago are probably
desensitived to such things now, but if you've only seen the movie on video -- and
especially if you've seen it dozens of times -- you'll love the big screen experience
and all the new enhancements.
Morganna
On Sun, 02 Feb 1997 09:32:48 -0800, "David E. Merchant"
<dmer...@mail.HiWAAY.net.stopjunk> wrote:
>Chris Hozian wrote:
>>
>> Has anyone seen Star Wars: Special Edition?
>> And if so, was it a lot better than the original?
>>
>> It was sold out in Huntsville for the whole weekend. So I didn't go to see
>> it. I wouldn't of had time anyways, but if I did I would have went.
>>
>> Chris Hozian DragNet 1@1205902 VampNet 1@1205101
>> BBS (205)-880-1774, Voice (205)-881-9558
>>
>> VBBS 7 Rev 2 | 24 Hours/7 Days | 33,600 Bps V.34 | DragNet @1205902
>> --(205)-880-1774--|----------The-Slaughter-House----------|--Huntsville,-AL--
>> VampNet @1205101 | DM/F! Files | Reg'ed Door Games | 1.6 GB Harddrive
>
>Back in 1977 when it first came out, we saw it at the theater 3 or 4
>times; bought it blackmarket on Beta tape; then with friends and family
>always wanting to watch it, I quit counting how many times I've watched
>it after the 77th viewing. But I was bored Saturday and went to see it
>on the big screen at Hollywood, figuring that film quality is always
>better than video.
>
>Display:
>Man, was I ever wrong. Hollywood has a nasty habit of ALWAYS showing
>movies slightly out of focus which is irritating enough by itself. Star
>Wars Special Edition was an extremely poor quality showing being out of
>focus and at the same time, film of poor quality.
>Sound, advertised as DTS, was acceptable only, if a bit loud.
>
The focus was probably a problem with your theater, not the movie. I
saw it twice of Friday at my local theater in DC, and the picture was
clean and sharp. Absolutely beautiful!
DTS sound just sucked, though. I saw it once in DTS and once in THX,
and the THX made all the difference in the world. If you get the
chance, see it in THX, you won't be dissapionted.
>Content:
>I noticed a few minute differences between this version and the
>original, mostly having to do with animated creature effects. Two of
>the space-based explosions were slightly better than the original.
>
And there were two entire new scenes, the one with Han and Jabba, and
the one with Luke and Biggs. I wouldn't call that minute. The
Han/Jabba scene was interesting, although Jabba did look _very_
computer animated in some shots. But I thought the Luke/Biggs scene
really added new emotion to the Battle of Yavin. A character that
you've been introduced to died, where before, a bunch of random pilots
died. It had a whole new feeling.
I was very happy with all the added scenes, and all the snippets of
effects that were tossed in. Mos Eisely was just amazing! I couldn't
be happier.
>Summary:
>Even if you're bored, don't bother with this one. My wife's opinion is
>pretty much the same.
>
>David
I have to disagree! After a lifetime of watching it on TV, seeing it
on the big screen is just amazing! I've seen it hundreds of times on
video, but I noticed things on the big screen that I had never noticed
before (aside from the new scenes, of course) It's definately worth
the $7.50!
Morganna
Geralyn M. Hollerman
Morganna (morg...@dragonfyre.com) wrote:
: And there were two entire new scenes, the one with Han and Jabba, and
: the one with Luke and Biggs. I wouldn't call that minute. The
: Han/Jabba scene was interesting, although Jabba did look _very_
: computer animated in some shots. But I thought the Luke/Biggs scene
: really added new emotion to the Battle of Yavin. A character that
: you've been introduced to died, where before, a bunch of random pilots
: died. It had a whole new feeling.
Read the books for that "whole new feeling" - actually, when I first saw
the movie in 1977 I was always wondering where Biggs was...I thought that
would've made for a more interesting storyline...glad Hollywood finally
agreed!
Lynn.
(gmho...@hiwaay.net)