Now that the originals are finally available on DVD, I took the opportunity to miss a Friday in the pub and watch them back-to-back. First time I've ever watched all 3 like that, and there's quite a bit to say, so I'm splitting this off from Currently Watching so as not to hijack that.
Overall Story
The Specials win hands down. There's still plot holes and places where you have to use you own imagination to cope with some of the twisty stuff, but the overall story arc and the continuity is miles better.
Technical Quality
The originals seem not to have been remastered. The colours are flat and washed, blacks (which there are a lot of) look dreadful, and there is some really creaky and obvious looking back-projection. Some of the stop motion is really jerky. At the same time, the lack of gratuitous use of bad 90s CGI stands in their favour, but that's only by comparison to the specials. If the specials had never been released, that would not have been a strength.
The specials are vibrant, rich, deep, and crystal clear, with excellent colours and astounding visual quality. Some of the CGI lets them down badly. Particularly in the first movie, it really stands out and looks too clean, too precise.
Star Wars
This one will be longer than the rest, because more was done to it in the special. My ideal version is the first half of the original with the second half of the special. In the first half, the special adds nothing aside from a few "look what I can with computers" effects. Mos Eisley comes across as a freakshow (the original goes to the other extreme and Mos Eisley is too empty - oh well). Han shoots first, yes, it does define the character better, next! I missed the Jabba scene. It was meant to be in the original and was only left out owing to time and budgetary constraints, so this is one part where the "original vision" argument is valid. A better CGI Jabba in the special wouldn't have gone amiss though.
There's not much to call on the Death Star Scenes, a few nips and tucks, a few more Stormtroopers.
And now the big one. The whole Yavin/Attack on the Death Star scene. This is just so so much BETTER in the special, that overall it makes the special a better movie. It flows better, there's more of a sense of urgency, scale and tension in there. The extra effects make it look better. The X-Wings swinging around the planet look positively iconic compared to the ham-fisted handling in the original. The exterior scenes on Yavin are better, the Biggs scene adds to the movie (particularly as he's mentioned earlier and later in the original). Here's where the idea of the special edition works, and works well.
Empire
The remastering adds to the special, but it would have added to the original too, if it had also been remastered. There's some neat stuff being done with lighting and colours, especially in the Bespin scenes. The exteriors on Bespin are nice to have. The new Emperor scene works better. I'd have marked the special down on the inclusion of 2 legged Walkers in the Snow Battle, but then found that they were also in the original! Overall, the differences in the special edition are not in the same order of magnitude as the first movie, and I'd declare the special the winner here.
Jedi
Not much to call. The absence of the awful shrieky band in Jabba's palace instantly puts the original ahead by a long way. There are a few other minor differences. The Sarlacc has no beak (another small thing I'd forgotten). The mid-section of the movie is much the same, with room for fairly extensive cuts in the Teddy Bear scenes. The ending is a funny one. The Teddy Bear's song in the original is quaint and dated, and having Hayden Christensen in the ghosts scene for the special was a nice touch that I approved of. The extended celebration on the special would need some trimming though. If I was making my own cut (cough cough DVD ripping software cough cough video editing software cough cough) I'd combine Jabba's palace/Sarlacc from the original with the rest from the special, and make those cuts to the Teddy Bears.
Star Wars - Original vs Special Editions
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weebleswobble
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I bought the special edition box set and while having a jawa thrown in the air by a beastie is not central to the plot they do look better than the originals.
Bl00dy extras were crap though.....
Bl00dy extras were crap though.....
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nick the stripper
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I prefer puppets to CGI. I think that says everything about which version I prefer.
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weebleswobble
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CBS Paramount Domestic Television is releasing digitally remastered episodes of the iconic 1960s STAR TREK sci-fi series, with all new special effects and music, to celebrate the groundbreaking series' 40th anniversary, it was announced today by John Nogawski, president of CBS Paramount Domestic Television.
The new episodes also mark the first time in 16 years that the original "Star Trek" series can be seen in broadcast syndication. The episodes will begin airing on the more than 200 stations that own the rights to the weekend broadcast syndication window starting Sept. 16 (check local listings for station and dates). All 79 episodes of the original "Star Trek" series will eventually be remastered, with the first batch of episodes chosen from a list of "Star Trek" fans' favorite shows.
The most noticeable change will be redoing many of the special effects, created with 1960s technology, with 21st century computer-generated imagery (CGI). That includes:
- Space ship exteriors -- The space ship Enterprise, as well as other Starships, will be replaced with state of the art CGI-created ships. The new computer-generated Enterprise is based on the exact measurements of the original model, which now rests in the Smithsonian Institution in Washington, D.C.
- Show opening -- The Enterprise and planets seen in the main title sequence will be redone, giving them depth and dimension for the first time.
- Galaxy shots -- All the graphics of the galaxy, so frequently seen through the window on the Enterprise's bridge, will be redone.
- Exteriors -- The battle scenes, planets and ships from other cultures (notably the Romulan Bird of Prey and Klingon Battle Cruisers) will be updated.
- Background scenes -- Some of the iconic, yet flat, matte paintings used as backdrops for the strange, new worlds explored by the Enterprise crew will get a CGI face-lift, adding atmosphere and lighting.
The refurbished episodes also feature higher quality sound for the famous opening theme. The original score by Emmy Award-winning composer Alexander Courage has been re-recorded in state-of-the-art digital stereo audio with an orchestra and a female singer belting out the famous vocals. A digitally remastered version of William Shatner's classic original recording of the 38-word "Space, the final frontier…" monologue continues to open each episode.
The remastered episodes have been converted from the original film into a High-Definition format, which gives viewers a clearer, crisper, more vibrant picture than before, even when viewed in standard definition. Once stations upgrade and start broadcasting HD signals, the episodes will be all ready for viewers to enjoy in HD."
The new episodes also mark the first time in 16 years that the original "Star Trek" series can be seen in broadcast syndication. The episodes will begin airing on the more than 200 stations that own the rights to the weekend broadcast syndication window starting Sept. 16 (check local listings for station and dates). All 79 episodes of the original "Star Trek" series will eventually be remastered, with the first batch of episodes chosen from a list of "Star Trek" fans' favorite shows.
The most noticeable change will be redoing many of the special effects, created with 1960s technology, with 21st century computer-generated imagery (CGI). That includes:
- Space ship exteriors -- The space ship Enterprise, as well as other Starships, will be replaced with state of the art CGI-created ships. The new computer-generated Enterprise is based on the exact measurements of the original model, which now rests in the Smithsonian Institution in Washington, D.C.
- Show opening -- The Enterprise and planets seen in the main title sequence will be redone, giving them depth and dimension for the first time.
- Galaxy shots -- All the graphics of the galaxy, so frequently seen through the window on the Enterprise's bridge, will be redone.
- Exteriors -- The battle scenes, planets and ships from other cultures (notably the Romulan Bird of Prey and Klingon Battle Cruisers) will be updated.
- Background scenes -- Some of the iconic, yet flat, matte paintings used as backdrops for the strange, new worlds explored by the Enterprise crew will get a CGI face-lift, adding atmosphere and lighting.
The refurbished episodes also feature higher quality sound for the famous opening theme. The original score by Emmy Award-winning composer Alexander Courage has been re-recorded in state-of-the-art digital stereo audio with an orchestra and a female singer belting out the famous vocals. A digitally remastered version of William Shatner's classic original recording of the 38-word "Space, the final frontier…" monologue continues to open each episode.
The remastered episodes have been converted from the original film into a High-Definition format, which gives viewers a clearer, crisper, more vibrant picture than before, even when viewed in standard definition. Once stations upgrade and start broadcasting HD signals, the episodes will be all ready for viewers to enjoy in HD."
‎"We will wear some very loud shirts. We will wear some very wrong trousers."
Me too, although CGI can be excellent for backgrounds and the like, which is where my preference for the 2nd half of the 1st likely comes from.nick the stripper wrote:I prefer puppets to CGI.
If I told them once, I told them a hundred times to put 'Spinal Tap' first and 'Puppet Show' last.
David lynch - anyone?
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nick the stripper
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stefan moermans
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beam me up scotty. Aah would love to see the star trek originals again 
MUSICA È
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James Blast
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Mah crystals couldnae tak it!stefanmoermans wrote:beam me up scotty. Aah would love to see the star trek originals again
"And when you start to think about death, you start to think about what's after it. And then you start hoping there is a God. For me, it's a frightening thought to go nowhere".
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~ Peter Steele
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Izzy HaveMercy
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Nah, that would sound more like Carry me oop the fookin staers, ya lazy bastid!Dark wrote:Mag'rit!stefanmoermans wrote:beam me up scotty.
IZ.
?? what, Mags has suddenly got an Otley accent..................she's fi GreenockIzzy HaveMercy wrote:Nah, that would sound more like Carry me oop the fookin staers, ya lazy bastid!Dark wrote:Mag'rit!stefanmoermans wrote:beam me up scotty.
IZ.
Being brave is coming home at 2am half drunk, smelling of perfume, climbing into bed, slapping the wife on the arse and saying,"right fatty, you're next!!"
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Izzy HaveMercy
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So I can do an Otley accent without me knowing it?
Cool!
IZ.
Cool!
IZ.
