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Original vs. Special Edition version of the "Lock S-foils" scene. Is this true everyone? Does the original version look significantly less dated?

Original vs. Special Edition version of the "Lock S-foils" scene. Is this true everyone? Does the original version look significantly less dated?

25,597 Aufrufe

You'll often hear it asserted that the digital shots George Lucas added to the Death Star battle for the Special Edition of A New Hope, ironically, actually look inferior to the original shots, and blend less seamlessly with the footage of live actors. Is this true? You could say it's subjective, but let's take a look anyway. Compare these two versions of the iconic shot(s) of the Rebel starfighters gathered in formation on approach to the Death Star. The Special Edition is on the left and the original version is on the right. Is the Special Edition version actually so incredibly ugly? Is it actually less credible than the original version? Is it actually less dramatically effective? The answer to all these questions, I think, is clearly no. It is obvious why Lucas was not satisfied with the effects in the original pair of shots, and it is obvious that the new (combined) shot is closer to the image he had in his head in 1977. Anyone who tries to tell you the original shots do not look jarringly dated (which is not the case for many of the shots in this sequence, which were not replaced) is not engaging rationally. They either do not really remember what the original version looked like, because they have not actually watched it in years, or they are the victim of Lucas Derangement Syndrome.

You'll often hear it asserted that the digital shots George Lucas added to the Death Star battle for the Special Edition of A New Hope, ironically, actually look inferior to the original shots, and blend less seamlessly with the footage of live actors. Is this true? You could say it's subjective, but let's take a look anyway. Compare these two versions of the iconic shot(s) of the Rebel starfighters gathered in formation on approach to the Death Star. The Special Edition is on the left and the original version is on the right. Is the Special Edition version actually so incredibly ugly? Is it actually less credible than the original version? Is it actually less dramatically effective? The answer to all these questions, I think, is clearly no. It is obvious why Lucas was not satisfied with the effects in the original pair of shots, and it is obvious that the new (combined) shot is closer to the image he had in his head in 1977. Anyone who tries to tell you the original shots do not look jarringly dated (which is not the case for many of the shots in this sequence, which were not replaced) is not engaging rationally. They either do not really remember what the original version looked like, because they have not actually watched it in years, or they are the victim of Lucas Derangement Syndrome.

18,430 Aufrufe

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In this scene from Crystal Skull where Indy is informed he's lost his teaching job, there's a gag in the background where his students are so interested in what's going on with him that they try to eavesdrop on his conversation with the dean, and the two of them have to move down the hallway for some privacy. This is one of the losses Indy sustains at the beginning of the film, which he mentions alongside the loss of his father and Marcus. It's a real loss, because he loves his job and his students still clearly adore him. Of course by the end of the film, Indy has regained his job (and been promoted to associate dean), which we learn about moments before he marries Marion, with his son standing next to him as his best man. James Mangold apparently did not find any of this satisfying or realistic, and so in Dial of Destiny, Indy's students are bored and apathetic and no longer pay attention to him. An exhausted Indy decides to retire from teaching, an occupation which obviously no longer brings him much joy. Aside from a small office party put on mostly by older colleagues (some of whom are shortly to be brutally murdered), the impression is given that few people care very much that Indy is going away. It's just another way the world has left Indy behind, and another way Indy has decided to give up. By the end of the film there is of course no restoration of Indy's pride as a teacher, just as there can be no restoration of his dead son.

In this scene from Crystal Skull where Indy is informed he's lost his teaching job, there's a gag in the background where his students are so interested in what's going on with him that they try to eavesdrop on his conversation with the dean, and the two of them have to move down the hallway for some privacy. This is one of the losses Indy sustains at the beginning of the film, which he mentions alongside the loss of his father and Marcus. It's a real loss, because he loves his job and his students still clearly adore him. Of course by the end of the film, Indy has regained his job (and been promoted to associate dean), which we learn about moments before he marries Marion, with his son standing next to him as his best man. James Mangold apparently did not find any of this satisfying or realistic, and so in Dial of Destiny, Indy's students are bored and apathetic and no longer pay attention to him. An exhausted Indy decides to retire from teaching, an occupation which obviously no longer brings him much joy. Aside from a small office party put on mostly by older colleagues (some of whom are shortly to be brutally murdered), the impression is given that few people care very much that Indy is going away. It's just another way the world has left Indy behind, and another way Indy has decided to give up. By the end of the film there is of course no restoration of Indy's pride as a teacher, just as there can be no restoration of his dead son.

The Mighty Dud Bolt

218,114 Aufrufe • vor 1 Monat

I know some people are never going to be okay with it, but Lucas simply liked this scene (sans the performance of the original Jabba actor), and he wanted to establish Han and Jabba's relationship as part of a subplot that would develop across the next two films (sorry, he didn't care about a Big Jabba Reveal). These are his openly stated reasons for restoring the scene. In order for the scene to be restored, Han simply *has* to step on Jabba's tail (all proposed alternatives are either even sillier or unworkable editorially). The question is: can you sell it? Because it is a little outrageous. I think the animators do a good job in the final version, because they actually integrate it into the core dynamic of the scene. Han (obviously) pisses off Jabba by stepping on his tail; if you notice, Han has, in fact, been deliberately provoking Jabba this entire time, because he's actually calling his bluff and daring Jabba to kill him right then and there, gambling that he won't actually do it, which will then force Jabba to negotiate. Jabba, as you would expect, gets very mad, clenches his fist, and looks like he probably *is* about to kill Han. But then Han immediately starts sweet-talking him and even offers to pay Jabba back, "plus a little extra." Jabba then relaxes with an "Oh Han, you impudent scamp" look on his face and decides to play ball, because Han is "[his] boy" and "[he's] the best." If Jabba can't bring himself to kill Han now, Jabba has to acknowledge to himself that he doesn't actually want to kill him, and so he'll stop waffling on the issue by sending bounty hunters with deliberately ambiguous instructions, and he'll negotiate. So Han's ploy worked. Of course, in order to accept all this, you have to grant that it's a good character scene (despite its partial redundancy) that's worth restoring in the first place. For various reasons, that is something that many people are radically against accepting. But if you start with the premise that it's a good scene, Han stepping on Jabba's tail is not that hard to justify. It is, in fact, part of establishing what Han and Jabba's relationship actually is at this point in time. It is not necessarily the same as it is in Return of the Jedi. Actually, it is obviously quite different. I don't think that is obviously a bad thing. I'm not sure what the point of including the scene would be if their relationship were portrayed as exactly the same.

I know some people are never going to be okay with it, but Lucas simply liked this scene (sans the performance of the original Jabba actor), and he wanted to establish Han and Jabba's relationship as part of a subplot that would develop across the next two films (sorry, he didn't care about a Big Jabba Reveal). These are his openly stated reasons for restoring the scene. In order for the scene to be restored, Han simply has to step on Jabba's tail (all proposed alternatives are either even sillier or unworkable editorially). The question is: can you sell it? Because it is a little outrageous. I think the animators do a good job in the final version, because they actually integrate it into the core dynamic of the scene. Han (obviously) pisses off Jabba by stepping on his tail; if you notice, Han has, in fact, been deliberately provoking Jabba this entire time, because he's actually calling his bluff and daring Jabba to kill him right then and there, gambling that he won't actually do it, which will then force Jabba to negotiate. Jabba, as you would expect, gets very mad, clenches his fist, and looks like he probably is about to kill Han. But then Han immediately starts sweet-talking him and even offers to pay Jabba back, "plus a little extra." Jabba then relaxes with an "Oh Han, you impudent scamp" look on his face and decides to play ball, because Han is "[his] boy" and "[he's] the best." If Jabba can't bring himself to kill Han now, Jabba has to acknowledge to himself that he doesn't actually want to kill him, and so he'll stop waffling on the issue by sending bounty hunters with deliberately ambiguous instructions, and he'll negotiate. So Han's ploy worked. Of course, in order to accept all this, you have to grant that it's a good character scene (despite its partial redundancy) that's worth restoring in the first place. For various reasons, that is something that many people are radically against accepting. But if you start with the premise that it's a good scene, Han stepping on Jabba's tail is not that hard to justify. It is, in fact, part of establishing what Han and Jabba's relationship actually is at this point in time. It is not necessarily the same as it is in Return of the Jedi. Actually, it is obviously quite different. I don't think that is obviously a bad thing. I'm not sure what the point of including the scene would be if their relationship were portrayed as exactly the same.

The Mighty Dud Bolt

170,715 Aufrufe • vor 1 Monat

Yeah, who the hell even remembers ...uh..."Count Dooku" (?) in 2026?

Yeah, who the hell even remembers ...uh..."Count Dooku" (?) in 2026?

The Mighty Dud Bolt

359,061 Aufrufe • vor 5 Monaten

This is another scene trafficking in boring clichés: The camera slowly swoops around Syril, as he gazes with wet eyes upon scenes of generic carnage, to the accompaniment of maudlin string music. Syril is experiencing Profound Moral Feelings. Everything he believed in was a lie?? This goes on for some time. I can already predict the responses to this. But I am completely serious. What is actually interesting about this? This is just not remarkable at all. Gilroy is going through the motions of a totally predictable story in a totally pedestrian way. And that is a consistent failing of the series.

This is another scene trafficking in boring clichés: The camera slowly swoops around Syril, as he gazes with wet eyes upon scenes of generic carnage, to the accompaniment of maudlin string music. Syril is experiencing Profound Moral Feelings. Everything he believed in was a lie?? This goes on for some time. I can already predict the responses to this. But I am completely serious. What is actually interesting about this? This is just not remarkable at all. Gilroy is going through the motions of a totally predictable story in a totally pedestrian way. And that is a consistent failing of the series.

The Mighty Dud Bolt

388,000 Aufrufe • vor 6 Monaten

These character scenes between Indy and Mutt were the best and most interesting part of Crystal Skull. If George Lucas hadn't rejected Frank Darabont's script, the movie would have just been another Raiders clone, where the emotional core of the film would have been Indy and Marion once again reuniting after being estranged. Indy had no child in that draft. I'm sure a lot of people would have loved that, but Lucas has absolutely never had any interest in rehashing his old material. Lucas wanted the film's emotional core to be about Indy discovering he had a child, and having to figure out how to relate to him despite their generational differences, the same way his own father had to do with him. If I have one criticism of the film, it's that I would have liked to have seen a little bit more of this dynamic. But we did see a fair bit of it nonetheless, and I personally thought it was quite interesting, and that Harrison Ford and Shia LaBeouf had the exact kind of chemistry required to sell that kind of relationship. I don't think Crystal Skull should be immune from criticism, but I do think that the two most interesting aspects of the film were the flying saucer angle and the specific characterization of Mutt. And these were the two core ideas contributed by Lucas. As much as they complained, it didn't seem as if Spielberg or Ford had any better ideas of their own. So I think it is true that Crystal Skull does at least deserve to be reevaluated, and that the consensus that it was George Lucas who was holding the film back is completely backwards.

These character scenes between Indy and Mutt were the best and most interesting part of Crystal Skull. If George Lucas hadn't rejected Frank Darabont's script, the movie would have just been another Raiders clone, where the emotional core of the film would have been Indy and Marion once again reuniting after being estranged. Indy had no child in that draft. I'm sure a lot of people would have loved that, but Lucas has absolutely never had any interest in rehashing his old material. Lucas wanted the film's emotional core to be about Indy discovering he had a child, and having to figure out how to relate to him despite their generational differences, the same way his own father had to do with him. If I have one criticism of the film, it's that I would have liked to have seen a little bit more of this dynamic. But we did see a fair bit of it nonetheless, and I personally thought it was quite interesting, and that Harrison Ford and Shia LaBeouf had the exact kind of chemistry required to sell that kind of relationship. I don't think Crystal Skull should be immune from criticism, but I do think that the two most interesting aspects of the film were the flying saucer angle and the specific characterization of Mutt. And these were the two core ideas contributed by Lucas. As much as they complained, it didn't seem as if Spielberg or Ford had any better ideas of their own. So I think it is true that Crystal Skull does at least deserve to be reevaluated, and that the consensus that it was George Lucas who was holding the film back is completely backwards.

The Mighty Dud Bolt

65,109 Aufrufe • vor 1 Monat

Behold, the great Jabba reveal! He just pops up on screen like any other character, because in the Star Wars universe he's just a fat gangster and everyone knows what a Hutt looks like. It's not some mystery.

Behold, the great Jabba reveal! He just pops up on screen like any other character, because in the Star Wars universe he's just a fat gangster and everyone knows what a Hutt looks like. It's not some mystery.

The Mighty Dud Bolt

408,300 Aufrufe • vor 8 Monaten

Here, Tony Gilroy is asked yet again whether he actually likes Star Wars. To what I'm sure is all of our shock and surprise, he stumbles through an entire minute-long answer without once indicating that he likes any Star Wars other than Andor, the show he made. Gilroy: "I didn't have the energy to invest... It couldn't ever get outside of my five-year block [of Andor]. So those five years is like, I know everything. I'm a fan of those five years. It's what's after and what's before [i.e. every single one of George Lucas's Star Wars films] that either confuses me or it's not worth my while to get involved in it..."

Here, Tony Gilroy is asked yet again whether he actually likes Star Wars. To what I'm sure is all of our shock and surprise, he stumbles through an entire minute-long answer without once indicating that he likes any Star Wars other than Andor, the show he made. Gilroy: "I didn't have the energy to invest... It couldn't ever get outside of my five-year block [of Andor]. So those five years is like, I know everything. I'm a fan of those five years. It's what's after and what's before [i.e. every single one of George Lucas's Star Wars films] that either confuses me or it's not worth my while to get involved in it..."

The Mighty Dud Bolt

57,233 Aufrufe • vor 5 Monaten

This scene is a prime example of my problem with the writing in Andor and why I think it's overrated: Our heroine awakes suddenly in the night. She walks to the main room, and finds her torturer standing there, glibly taunting her! Then, a hand on her shoulder! Relief; it's her lover's. It was only a nightmare--a manifestation of her trauma, and her guilt over something or other. "Breathe," he tells her. These are all horrible clichés. There's nothing compelling or original about this scene at all. All stories make use of clichés to some extent, but that can't be all there is. This scene isn't executed in a particularly interesting way. It's just boring. So much of the show's writing is like this, but people eat it up because it has a prestige television patina.

This scene is a prime example of my problem with the writing in Andor and why I think it's overrated: Our heroine awakes suddenly in the night. She walks to the main room, and finds her torturer standing there, glibly taunting her! Then, a hand on her shoulder! Relief; it's her lover's. It was only a nightmare--a manifestation of her trauma, and her guilt over something or other. "Breathe," he tells her. These are all horrible clichés. There's nothing compelling or original about this scene at all. All stories make use of clichés to some extent, but that can't be all there is. This scene isn't executed in a particularly interesting way. It's just boring. So much of the show's writing is like this, but people eat it up because it has a prestige television patina.

The Mighty Dud Bolt

13,578 Aufrufe • vor 6 Monaten

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