Harmy's Star Wars Despecialized Edition Remastered MKV2.5 Now Available
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cmiller99
Super Freak
Yep, without doubt. He could have messed around with them all he wanted and there wouldn't have been complaining, as long as he kept the original versions available to us, and stopped acting like a child in regard to how he was changing the movies to fit his 'original vision'.
I'm sure this will be sacrilegious to the Harmy crowd but I'm actually finding that I quite like the current SE of ANH. Other than that damn Greedo scene and the changes to the first Old Ben scene (silly scream and silly rocks in front of R2) I quite enjoy the other changes in an "Extended Edition" kind of way. Because ANH is the only film of the OT that actually incorporates vintage footage (Han talking to Jabba and Biggs greeting Luke) into the Special Edition.
So for that alone I do appreciate watching the film from time to time. Harmy versions are still the preferred defaults for all three of course but nothing wrong with options.
So for that alone I do appreciate watching the film from time to time. Harmy versions are still the preferred defaults for all three of course but nothing wrong with options.
Darth Waller
Are you on the square?
Ha ha. Also ANH SE is the only one that doesn't have any PT elements retrofitted into it so you actually can watch ANH SE and then Harmy ESB and ROTJ and still feel like it's a self-contained trilogy. Just sayin'.
But yes, original/Harmy versions > SE's.
But yes, original/Harmy versions > SE's.
jimjimmyjones85
Super Freak
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Wow ! Bro you are the first one I know to like that horrible slithering Jabba in the Hanger scene ! 
:
Even for continuity sake the dialogue is rehashed from the Greedo discussion and timing wise is overtly redundant.
But.. to each their own.
:Even for continuity sake the dialogue is rehashed from the Greedo discussion and timing wise is overtly redundant.
But.. to each their own.
slackerboy
Super Freak
Centurion
Super Freak
Darth Waller
Are you on the square?
Wow ! Bro you are the first one I know to like that horrible slithering Jabba in the Hanger scene !
Yeah well I'm old school, even more than a lot of you "purists."
I was so fascinated by that scene from the "From Star Wars to Jedi, The Making of a Saga" VHS that showed Han talking to the fat Irish Jabba stand-in (years before the SE's were ever announced) that it just is cool to me to see that scene inserted into the finished film.Sure it's redundant. But Extended Editions often are. People worship the LOTR EE's but ROTK re-uses the same bloody gag of the Army of the Dead charging out from behind Aragorn, the FOTR EE includes a second scene of dialogue re-hashing the properties of Frodo's mithril shirt and the Two Towers EE has redundant dialogue about the Ents marching. That's just how it often goes but it can still be fun to see the extra footage.
I'm not talking about stuff like the new Wampa or Hayden ghost because those elements didn't exist when ESB and ROTJ were made. But the new Jabba sequence is vintage 1976 Harrison Ford which makes it cool. Same with Luke talking to Biggs. The SE's are inferior yes but I do think the animosity generated from not having the option to pick and choose (prior to Harmy) has caused a lot of people to throw the baby out with the bathwater.
Having said all that I still think that anyone new to the saga should always, always, always experience the Harmy versions first. It's important to keep all the "reveals" intact so Fett should be saved for ESB and Jabba ROTJ. But after the fact or maybe as a follow-up to the PT the OT SE's do have their place IMO.
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slackerboy
Super Freak
Yeah well I'm old school, even more than a lot of you "purists."
Sure it's redundant. But Extended Editions often are. People worship the LOTR EE's but ROTK re-uses the same bloody gag of the Army of the Dead charging out from behind Aragorn, the FOTR EE includes a second scene of dialogue re-hashing the properties of Frodo's mithril shirt and the Two Towers EE has redundant dialogue about the Ents marching. That's just how it often goes but it can still be fun to see the extra footage.
I'm not talking about stuff like the new Wampa or Hayden ghost because those elements didn't exist when ESB and ROTJ were made. But the new Jabba sequence is vintage 1976 Harrison Ford which makes it cool. The SE's are inferior yes but I do think the animosity generated from not having the option to pick and choose (prior to Harmy) has caused a lot of people to throw the baby out with the bathwater.
I'd agree with most of that. Being older than dirt, I had also seen the original version of the Jabba scene. I thought it would've been nice for them to do something with like Peter Jackson did with the spider scene from the original King Kong. Finish the scene, put Jabba in, and have it as a bonus. Since DVD wasn't around at the time of the Special Editions (debuting just after ROTJ hit the theaters), I was pretty excited when the Special Editions first came out. I liked seeing the improved effects in the Death Star battle and it was fun to see some new things. I see where you're coming from. Star Wars is closest to just adding deleted scenes into the movie. It gives you a chance to see more of Biggs (although without the missing Toshe Station scene from the beginning, we still don't care that much about him) and you get to see Jabba (interesting, but not that great because it ruins the reveal in ROTJ). The animosity over a lack of choice is very real from where I'm sitting, though. If he had just used the technology to improve effect shots and not tinkered with characters and music, I might've been ok with that. Taking those original films away and pretending they don't exist is heinous though.
And that, I do not forgive.
Attachments
Agreed, but even that is easier to stomach knowing that Star Wars no longer "belongs" to Lucas anymore. He's just a glorified Richard Marquand now so who cares what he says.
slackerboy
Super Freak
Agreed, but even that is easier to stomach knowing that Star Wars no longer "belongs" to Lucas anymore. He's just a glorified Richard Marquand now.
Although that is a bit of an insult to Richard Marquand. I'm personally thinking more like Uwe Boll.
To me you can just apply the "Return of the Jedi Factor" to the SE's. What's the ROTJ Factor? It's a subpar SW experience that is still a lot of fun to watch from time to time. We all accept ROTJ even though we all know deep down that it was a pretty big drop in quality compared to the first two films of the OT. But we watch it. At any given time that we have two hours to watch a SW film common sense as it relates to film quality would dictate that we should either choose ANH or ESB. Every time. But we don't always pick those two films every time. Sometimes we grab ROTJ because despite its shortcomings it has fun things not included in the other films.
I can't imagine that there have ever been many people who've gone out and bought ANH and ESB and passed on ROTJ because it wasn't a great film. It's SW, is an important piece of the saga, has it's really cool moments and so we give it a pass. Owning it or watching it in no way tells the world that you think it's on par with ESB. It's just another option when you're in the mood for something SW.
And sometimes I just get in SE mode. I still can't quite stomach ESB SE (the original version really IS perfect to me) but I can have fun with ANH and ROTJ SE. Sure the original theatrical releases will always be the best but I remember an old episode of "At the Movies" where Gene Siskel told Roger Ebert "I don't recommend this movie because there are better ones to see instead." And Ebert said, "Well if we're just going to ignore movies that are lesser than others how about we just throw out several thousand movies that we both own at home and do nothing but watch Citizen Kane from here on out?" I thought that was a pretty brilliant response.
Like my preferences for movies in general I guess my Star Wars inclinations are somewhat cyclical. I'll watch nothing but the Harmys' for months or even years and then I just get in the mood to change it up. Go back to the prequels, be reminded of elements that are actually pretty decent, scratch that "itch," watch a little bit of the SE's and then do Harmy again and go "ah yeah, the pure unadulterated classics...." To me it really isn't any different than having an affinity for any film that isn't Citizen Kane or The Godfather.
Jagjaguwar
Super Freak
So, I bought tickets to the 7 film marathon that starts at 2am at my local theater. Should be fun.
But now I'm wondering how I might be able to convince the projector operator to swap the Harmys for whatever newfangled version of the OT they'll be playing...
..maybe I should just apply for the job
But now I'm wondering how I might be able to convince the projector operator to swap the Harmys for whatever newfangled version of the OT they'll be playing...
..maybe I should just apply for the job
slackerboy
Super Freak
So, I bought tickets to the 7 film marathon that starts at 2am at my local theater. Should be fun.
But now I'm wondering how I might be able to convince the projector operator to swap the Harmys for whatever newfangled version of the OT they'll be playing...
..maybe I should just apply for the job
If you could do that, people would flip the **** out!
slackerboy
Super Freak
To me you can just apply the "Return of the Jedi Factor" to the SE's. What's the ROTJ Factor? It's a subpar SW experience that is still a lot of fun to watch from time to time. We all accept ROTJ even though we all know deep down that it was a pretty big drop in quality compared to the first two films of the OT. But we watch it. At any given time that we have two hours to watch a SW film common sense as it relates to film quality would dictate that we should either choose ANH or ESB. Every time. But we don't always pick those two films every time. Sometimes we grab ROTJ because despite its shortcomings it has fun things not included in the other films.
I can't imagine that there have ever been many people who've gone out and bought ANH and ESB and passed on ROTJ because it wasn't a great film. It's SW, is an important piece of the saga, has it's really cool moments and so we give it a pass. Owning it or watching it in no way tells the world that you think it's on par with ESB. It's just another option when you're in the mood for something SW.
And sometimes I just get in SE mode. I still can't quite stomach ESB SE (the original version really IS perfect to me) but I can have fun with ANH and ROTJ SE. Sure the original theatrical releases will always be the best but I remember an old episode of "At the Movies" where Gene Siskel told Roger Ebert "I don't recommend this movie because there are better ones to see instead." And Ebert said, "Well if we're just going to ignore movies that are lesser than others how about we just throw out several thousand movies that we both own at home and do nothing but watch Citizen Kane from here on out?" I thought that was a pretty brilliant response.
Like my preferences for movies in general I guess my Star Wars inclinations are somewhat cyclical. I'll watch nothing but the Harmys' for months or even years and then I just get in the mood to change it up. Go back to the prequels, be reminded of elements that are actually pretty decent, scratch that "itch," watch a little bit of the SE's and then do Harmy again and go "ah yeah, the pure unadulterated classics...." To me it really isn't any different than having an affinity for any film that isn't Citizen Kane or The Godfather.
Better ROTJ than Godfather 3.
Yeah, you have to take the bad (SE) to appreciate the good (Harmy).
Watched Harmy ESB with the kids today as part of the buildup to The Force Awakens and I was shocked to notice two things in the film, arguably my favorite movie of all time, that I never noticed once in over 35 years of viewing.
And those were:
1. In the scene where General Veers goes to Vader's Meditation Chamber to advise the Dark Lord of the Hoth energy field Vader is not wearing his cape! He sits there and has an entire conversation with Veers and I think because of the new HT figure I kind of paid a little closer attention to how his breast plate and shoulder armor were arranged and then it hit me that while he was sitting there he had no cape at all. Right there in plain site all these years an entire scene with a capeless Vader.
2. In the scene where Leia says "Asteroids" to Han as he rushes to the cockpit of the Falcon I also noticed for the first time ever that the Falcon has two upward pointing handlebars! And that Leia was holding them in that scene! While Han was dinking around underneath the floor asking Chewie to get the hydrospanner my daughter asked who was flying the ship and I said, "No one I think, or maybe Leia is I guess." And so I made sure to pay attention to what she was doing moments later and there once again in plain site are the Falcon's handlebar steering wheel or whatever you call it and Leia doing her best to control it as they approach the asteroids. Again, mind blown!
I never really "got" how the Falcon was maneuvered especially on account of scenes like when Han says "Well we can still outmaneuver them" and then he seems to just put his hands on the dash and push some buttons or whatever causing all these amazing barrel rolls. I can't believe I can still discover things about these movies so many decades and viewings later.
And those were:
1. In the scene where General Veers goes to Vader's Meditation Chamber to advise the Dark Lord of the Hoth energy field Vader is not wearing his cape! He sits there and has an entire conversation with Veers and I think because of the new HT figure I kind of paid a little closer attention to how his breast plate and shoulder armor were arranged and then it hit me that while he was sitting there he had no cape at all. Right there in plain site all these years an entire scene with a capeless Vader.
2. In the scene where Leia says "Asteroids" to Han as he rushes to the cockpit of the Falcon I also noticed for the first time ever that the Falcon has two upward pointing handlebars! And that Leia was holding them in that scene! While Han was dinking around underneath the floor asking Chewie to get the hydrospanner my daughter asked who was flying the ship and I said, "No one I think, or maybe Leia is I guess." And so I made sure to pay attention to what she was doing moments later and there once again in plain site are the Falcon's handlebar steering wheel or whatever you call it and Leia doing her best to control it as they approach the asteroids. Again, mind blown!
I never really "got" how the Falcon was maneuvered especially on account of scenes like when Han says "Well we can still outmaneuver them" and then he seems to just put his hands on the dash and push some buttons or whatever causing all these amazing barrel rolls.
I can't believe I can still discover things about these movies so many decades and viewings later.
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Yeah i have always liked the pace of ESB, it's got a lot of memorable scenes with han.
Centurion
Super Freak
ESB for the win. I love it just as much as ANH. Easily at the top among the six episodes.
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