I think if George Lucas really appreciated me and the bazillion others that gave him all his money, he would have put the original theatrical releases with the Blu-ray discs. I wonder why he pretends that the originals don't even exist? I have pled (and will continue to plead) with the nerd gods that George will one day at least acknowledge that there are those that want quality versions of the originals, that there are those that love what he created but hate he is currently doing. The argument that they are his creations and can therefore do what he pleases with them is the most infuriating of all of those championing his bastardizations. They are his, yes, but then he gave them to me, so they are also mine. So I will ever understand why. And it continues, something I shouldn't let phase me, because honestly he has been tinkering since he went and added "A New Hope" back in 1981, but that is minor compared to his decision to give Darth Vader another line in Return of the Jedi's blu-ray version... [tangent eminent] ... it needs to be said that the silence of Vader's sacrifice was part of the poignancy of his action. Adding an awkward scream for no real reason (see video below) seems absurd ... and that is the problem I have with the tinkering, that there is no real reason for loads of the alterations. If they were somehow justified, or even remotely understandable then perhaps, JUST perhaps they would be more palatable. But I doubt it.
In summation: if there is sandwich that has a little bit of poop on it, and a sandwich with a lot of poop on it, I don't want either of them. A little poop isn't more desirable. I prefer no poop.
I believe I've made my feelings on this point quite clear: once that story is out there, once it's been given to the public (i.e. to me), that's it. It's mine. It no longer "belongs" to the creator, the story belongs to me. We can call that the gift and the sacrifice of the writer, or whatever. I agree, what he's done is not fair. At least with a book you can just try to ignore what an author tries to shove into the story. My advice: go with the VHS.
There's a quote from a book, I Capture the Castle, that reads a little like this (loosely): I read a book with so much imagination, I practically write it myself.
I am with you on hating the latter-day sins of Lucas, you know this. However, I do feel that he is directly aware of the wealth of hatred leveled against him, and being the savvy marketer that he is, will use this to his full capital advantage.
For example--knowing that there are countless "true" fans dying for the theatrical versions, would it make sense for Lucas to comprehensively package all possible versions into one handy (albeit expensive) blu-ray release? Absolutely not. I guarantee that there are pricing models/market analyses that tell Lucas: if you release your bastardized versions in blu-ray first, then wait a couple years and release the theatricals, you stand to make 35% more (and piss off 80% more people).
So, Hound, of you and I, master Yoda might say that the "boy[s] [have] no patience." I really feel that holding out will work. So what if we can't yet see in hyper-detail ever crease in Han's forehead or ever spittle-flurry from Salacious B. Crumb. The theatricals on DVD still render incredibly well through a blu-ray player with an HDMI connection.
I believe I've made my feelings on this point quite clear: once that story is out there, once it's been given to the public (i.e. to me), that's it. It's mine. It no longer "belongs" to the creator, the story belongs to me. We can call that the gift and the sacrifice of the writer, or whatever.
ReplyDeleteI agree, what he's done is not fair. At least with a book you can just try to ignore what an author tries to shove into the story. My advice: go with the VHS.
There's a quote from a book, I Capture the Castle, that reads a little like this (loosely): I read a book with so much imagination, I practically write it myself.
I am with you on hating the latter-day sins of Lucas, you know this. However, I do feel that he is directly aware of the wealth of hatred leveled against him, and being the savvy marketer that he is, will use this to his full capital advantage.
ReplyDeleteFor example--knowing that there are countless "true" fans dying for the theatrical versions, would it make sense for Lucas to comprehensively package all possible versions into one handy (albeit expensive) blu-ray release? Absolutely not. I guarantee that there are pricing models/market analyses that tell Lucas: if you release your bastardized versions in blu-ray first, then wait a couple years and release the theatricals, you stand to make 35% more (and piss off 80% more people).
So, Hound, of you and I, master Yoda might say that the "boy[s] [have] no patience." I really feel that holding out will work. So what if we can't yet see in hyper-detail ever crease in Han's forehead or ever spittle-flurry from Salacious B. Crumb. The theatricals on DVD still render incredibly well through a blu-ray player with an HDMI connection.