From IMDB:

 

 

Despite earlier reports that Lucasfilm would be re-releasing the original unedited theatrical versions of the first three Star Wars movies on DVD, it now turns out that they will be copied from the laserdiscs of the films released in the mid'90s, formatted for the conventional TV screen and not wide-screen "letterbox" versions. The revelation has provoked anger among Star Wars fans, expressed on such Internet sites as www.thedigitalbits.com, and www.hometheaterforum.com. VideoBusiness.com quoted Lucasfilm spokesman John Singh as saying, "We hoped that by releasing the original movies as a bonus disc, it would be a way to give the fans something that is fun. We certainly didn't want to be become a source of frustration for fans."

 

 

I love how the Lucasfilm rep completely flips it on the fans for being unhappy with an inferior product after being dicked around for years over the orginal trilogy being released on DVD unfucked-with.

 

I mean, who could have guessed that fuckin' STAR WARS fans would be upset over crappy rehashed laserdisc versions squished to fullscreen?

Priceless. I guess I don't need to worry about double-dipping. I think Lucas enjoys this.

I'm enjoying the irony of my DVD transfers of the laserdiscs being better quality than the offical Lucasfilms releases will be.

I'm pretty sure that article is wrong, or at the very least, misinformed.

 

Everything I've read indicates that the original theatrical versions will indeed be presented in widescreen (and only in widescreen). However, it won't be an anamorphic transfer. The upcoming DVDs are going to be promoted as the first time that the OT will be sold separately, with the unaltered versions being exclusive bonus material.

 

There will be separate widescreen and fullscreen versions of the upcoming DVDs, but that only applies to the "enhanced trilogy" SE versions. The original versions will be presented in non-anamorphic widescreen, regardless if you buy the WS or FS version.

 

Basically, it goes like this:

 

Star Wars Episode IV: A New Hope - Limited Edition (Widescreen)

- "Enhanced Trilogy" SE version (widescreen)

- original unaltered version (non-anamorphic widescreen presentation)

 

Star Wars Episode IV: A New Hope - Limited Edition (Full Screen)

- "Enhanced Trilogy" SE version (full screen)

- original unaltered version (non-anamorphic widescreen presentation)

Star Wars fans save your money for the Blu-Ray or HD-DVD release.

You know, with as many Star Wars fans as there are, they should consider releasing the first three original movies to the big screen so the kids can see them the way they were meant to be seen. I bet they'd still make a bundle with 'em too. There's just nothing like watching them in the movie theater.

Nah; they're gonna make the movies all 3D and release THOSE to theaters.

 

I sincerely doubt the original versions of the original trilogy will ever be seen in theaters ever again.

Lucas seems to take an almost sexual glee in jerking his most hardcore fans around, but you'd think someone who loves money as much as he does would have released a mega six film box set by now with theatrical versions of all the movies.

 

You know that'd sell enough to soothe Lucas's claims of the SE versions being "his vision" by allowing him to have a swimming pool full of money ala Scrooge McDuck.

Interesting story:

 

Driving Darth Vader: How CNY put a star back in his race

Tuesday, July 25, 2006

By Pam Greene

Staff writer

 

Hayden Christensen probably wishes he had a space ship to take him from Syracuse to Toronto Saturday night when his Ferrari broke down on North Salina Street.

 

Instead, the 25-year-old actor who played Anakin Skywalker in the last two "Star Wars" movies, spent eight hours in a flat bed truck with an Oswego County tow truck operator.

 

Christensen was driving in Bullrun 2006, an invitation-only, cross-country tour from New York to Los Angeles. The week-long tour costs $14,000 to enter and features 100 of the most exclusive cars in the world. Christensen was driving a $125,000, 1999 Ferrari with only 6,000 miles on it. At about 6 p.m. Saturday, his transmission broke down while driving on Interstate 81 in Syracuse. He pulled off the highway onto North Salina Street, near St. Joseph's Hospital, to call a tow company.

 

Steve Burdick, who owns AAAA Burdick Discount Towing, was probably the first guy Christensen found in the phone book. Burdick didn't know Christensen was famous when he pulled up to the scene.

 

"I just thought he had a rich daddy," Burdick said. "I asked him what he does for a living and he said he was studying to become an actor, so I didn't think much of it. I asked him if he knows Tom Cruise and he said he did."

 

The pair spent more than an hour trying to figure out how to load the Ferrari onto the truck. It was stuck in second gear, Burdick said, and wouldn't start. Finally, Burdick ran to a convenience store, bought a bottle of Wesson cooking oil and lubed the tires so they'd slide onto the flat bed.

 

"I've never hooked up a Ferrari before," he said. "It took some fancy maneuvering to hook it up to the truck."

 

The tow to Toronto was going to cost $1,000: $3.95 per mile plus a $75 hook-up, Burdick said. Christensen agreed and they began the roughly 240-mile journey into Canada. Burdick still didn't know his companion was the young Darth Vader.

 

Burdick told Christensen that he was a born again Christian and asked him if he had given his life to the Lord, he said. Hayden told Burdick that he believed "people came from monkeys," Burdick said. The conversation got a bit deep and heated at times, Burdick said.

 

They listened to cassettes called, "A View from the Top" by born-again Christian motivational speaker Zig Ziglar. They stopped for gas in Rochester and Christensen bought Burdick a Burger King Whopper, he said.

 

It wasn't until about 10 p.m., when they were about to cross the Canadian border in Niagara Falls, that Burdick finally realized his passenger wasn't just the son of some rich guy.

 

Christensen joked nervously that Burdick should pray for him that there would be no paperwork issues to delay them at Customs as they crossed the border. The Ferrari dealership employees were waiting for them in Toronto, he said. But there were no paperwork delays whatsoever.

 

"The girls at the border knew him," Burdick said. "Two of them got his autograph. . . . That's when he told me about "Star Wars.' "

 

Burdick immediately called his children, who own the "Star Wars" DVDs. They took turns talking on the phone with Christensen. "He was a real normal joe," Burdick said.

 

By 1 a.m., they pulled into the Hilton Hotel in Toronto, Burdick said. The Ferrari people and Christensen's parents were waiting for him in the parking lot. So were a crowd of fans.

 

"Everyone wanted his picture and autograph," Burdick said.

 

As Burdick said his good-byes to Christensen, the actor's father insisted on paying for his son's tow from Syracuse to Toronto. Burdick said he hopes to stay in touch with the young celebrity and plans on sending him a gift: a Zig Ziglar disc set.

 

Burdick drove back to Syracuse and spent the next day watching his kids' "Star Wars" DVDs.

 

"He seemed like such a nice fellow," Burdick said. "So down to earth. . . . When I shook hands with him, I could feel the warmth."

That story totally put the image of Freakshow from Harold & Kumar Go to White Castle in my mind.

God, he meets a celebrity and all he can do is try to push his religion and hawk Zig Ziglar tapes.

God told him that nobody should be left behind.

I'm betting Hayden was probably contemplating just how much it would hurt to leap from a moving vehicle.