Will you be going to the 3D re-releases?

Underdraft

I won't.

I've contributed a bit to GL's fortune down the years but but I won't be bothering to see these versions. It's not out of protest or anything, I really just don't care to see them this time round.

TerrorFirmer

Sorry to say, both me and my sister will be going. We love Star Wars to death, regardless of whose pocket it enriches, we will be there.

Myrddin

No question, any opportunity to see Star Wars in its native habitat [cinema] is a no brainer. I'll be taking my 9 year old son to experience what it's like to see them on the big screen.

Outkast_IRE

I will wait and see if the 3d is actually well implemented and worth it and decide then , i have paid enough into the boxsets etc to be easily duped into parting with more cash

TheIrishGrover

I'm old enough (just about) to have seen the original Star wars and Empire Strikes Back when they were released as a double bill when Empire came out and, obviously Jedi too in the cinema; I bought the trilogy on VHS; I bought the remastered versions on VHS; I saw all three prequels in the cinema; I bought the original trilogy on DVD; I bought the six on DVD.

I'm not a purist, although, like everyone else, I abhor Greedo shooting first and the insert-Jabba-here scene in Star Wars. In general I liked the digital clean up they did with the original trilogy. I would have preferred a puppet Yoda in the prequels but I wasn't really too put out. I have seen the clips of the blinking Ewoks (creepy) and the terrible "no, NO" of the end of Jedi. I do believe that it is a director's right to be able to alter their movie if they choose to do so. Sometimes it works: Ridley Scott's cut of Bladerunner, Cameron Crowe's "Untitled" cut of Almost Famous (Leaving out Lord Of The Rings as the additions were never intended in general to be in the cinema cuts and were designed from the start to be in extended versions) and sometimes it doesn't (The Director's cut of Cinema Paradiso ruined it for me, seriously, don't watch it). But I also believe that the audience have the right to be able to watch the version they saw and loved initially and that both versions should be available. Let the viewer decide what they want to see.

I tried to give Lucas the benefit of the doubt initially. However once I heard about the upcoming 3D conversions a couple of years ago I had to come to the same conclusion that everybody else had come to so long ago: That these constant tweaks, and the constant rerelease of different versions over many formats and the calculated deletions of previous versions is purely a money-grabbing tactic. It's not that he hates the fans or that he has lost sight of what made the films so loved in the first place. It's PURELY a financial decision. If repackaging the movies every few years makes you another 250 million dollars in sales then why not? No, it's not that he's forgotten about the initial fans etc it's much worse than that: It's that to Lucasfilm Inc/20th Century Fox Corporation they simply do not register other than as a source of income.

So, sorry for the rant (That was not intended) NO, I won't be going to the 3D conversions and I won't be buying the Blu-Rays (Although I really would like to see them in HD. Ah well, life's tough). I've given Lucasarts inc /Fox enough of my money time and time and time again.

GastroBoy

I will be going to see them. However id rather just see the originals played again in the cinema, with no 3D jiggery-pokery. But if 3D they must be, so be it.

Underdraft

TheIrishGrover wrote: »

It's PURELY a financial decision.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IkS-ozZS_r4

This guy pretty much sums up where Star Wars is today. Nothing against the guy but I'm just using him by way of explanation. He's probably mid to late 20's (ie too young to have seen the movies first time around but still a big fan). He buys all the current era toys. He's the target market of Star Wars in 2012.

There was around 96 figures when I was a kid but today there's too many to keep track of or keep up with. It's kind of a flood of merchandise. But my issue is the amount of them that are some variety of "clone". It seems to me that about half of them fall under this description. Change the haircut or the paintjob and put them out there and certain people will just mindlessly hand over their money to get the experience. I think this is pretty much what is happening with the movies now too, change them a little bit an then sell them again and again.

It's kind of funny because if you watch THX-1138 there's a scene where the people of that world go to a shop and buy "product" (a sort of non-descript coloured shape like a cube) an then just throw the item into an incinerator right after purchase. What they were doing was to basically buy the experience of buying rather than to possess the item itself. Lucas included that scene as an extreme example of consumer culture. Funny that 40 years on and he's guilty of pretty much making that scene a reality.

Myrddin

GastroBoy wrote: »

I will be going to see them. However id rather just see the originals played again in the cinema, with no 3D jiggery-pokery. But if 3D they must be, so be it.

That's more or less exactly how I see it.

I'm not going because of the 3D, I'd prefer to see them in standard 2d...but such is life.

I AM going, because Star Wars on the big screen, is simply amazing :cool:

thegreengoblin

I will be going because I promised my five-year-old son I would take him. I probably would have gone anyway out of interest anyway.

But if there are people out there who are still undecided, this little baby below might just make up your mind....

Altogether now...Nooooooooooooooooooooooooo!!!!!

downwithpeace

No way, can't stand 3D.
I did see the remastered (Or whatever name they had) ones in the cinema, would love to see the originals on the big screen.

Lantus

I'm a huge fan of 4, 5 and 6 in their origonal formats without the 'extra' abominations that now adorn them like jewel encrusted t**ds.

The phantom menace is without a doubt one of the worst films ever made. It has a totally stupid plot that makes no sense and has more holes in it than a sieve. The characters are empty vessels and the script they spew out is awful.

What it does do though its ram scene after scene of action and stunning FX and battles and visual noise down your throat without pause or break. This has the effect of stunning you into submission without giving your brain time to realise it's all rubbish. Thats why so many people are wondering around with the nagging feeling that it 'isn't quite right' but haven't been able to determine why yet.

It's sad that children will be going to see this and having their brains effectively fused into 'dum' mode becuase unless we all stop and start to question what lucas has done then we are doomed to get more of the same or worse still the next generation will copy him in the belief it's 'good'

doubledown

I had the chance tonight to see Star Wars : Episode 1 - The Phantom Menace 3D in a packed theatre.

I guess most people will have two main questions about this retrofit 3D conversion...

- How does the movie hold up after 13 (13!!!) years?

- Was the 3D any good?

Well, firstly you need to understand where I'm coming from - I have been a huge Star Wars fan all my life. I saw the first one when I was four years old (in the cinema) and I was hooked from that moment on. I had all the toys (still do) and saw every subsequent film on its opening night. I even flew from Ireland to New York to see Episode 1 in 1999 with a couple of friends as we didn't want to wait the six weeks it would have taken for the film to reach our shores. I liked it then and I subsequently liked the rest of the prequels. But I'm not a Lucas apologist, blinded by my love of the franchise and I have no problem acknowledging that the prequel trilogy has many flaws.

And 13 years on, the flaws in The Phantom Menace are still glaringly obvious. Jar Jar still cloys. Much of the dialogue is weak. The plot doesn't make much sense. Some of the performances are just downright awful. The pacing is way off (many scenes are way too short and are over before you even realize they have begun). And Jake Lloyd is still way too cutesy.

But, on the plus side, the movie still LOOKS and SOUNDS amazing and it reminds us that Star Wars films are best enjoyed on the BIG SCREEN. The score is still incredible (happy birthday, John Williams). Darth Maul still kicks ass. Liam Neeson is very strong. Jar Jar LOOKS great. Digital Yoda (yes, I know we're already seen him on the Blu-ray release) looks photo-realistic. In fact, the vast majority of the special effects still look very good (I have seen films released in the last year with weaker effects than this.) And yes, this IS the extended cut, complete with the extra pod race introductions, longer race laps and the longer arrival on Coruscant). And the final duel is still the best in the trilogy (maybe even the saga).

Which brings me to the 3D conversion. Well, it's not great. It's not poor. It's just.......unnecessary. It was interesting seeing the Lucasfilm logo and the opening crawl in 3D at the start but once the film settled down I really didn't notice it much at all. Many shots that you would think would work very well in 3D just didn't. And some shots where you'd imagine 3D would not be called for, were in 3D! I'd say there were about 10 shots in the whole film where I genuinely thought to myself - "that looks cool." The rest were just...meh. And I'd say about a third of the shots were not even in 3D at all and I had to keep peering over my glasses to verify this. All in all I felt it added very little to the experience. I will be very interested to see how this fares commercially and whether Lucasfilm will go ahead with the planned conversions on the rest of the saga. To be honest I'd be happy if they just released the films theatrically on their 10, 20 or 30 year anniversaries. (AOTC is 10 years old this year!!!).

Another point to note is that this is a great opportunity for young kids to see Star Wars on the big screen. There hasn't been a proper Star Wars movie in theaters since ROTS in 2005 (I'm not counting The Clone Wars). About half of the audience I saw it with were under 12 and they seemed to lap it up. But I kept asking myself - would they still be here and would they still love it as much if it was in regular 2D? And I guess the answer is - yes. It really doesn't add anything new to the experience.

The bottom line is - if you didn't like this film to begin with then the 3D version will not change that. And if you're not sold on 3D then it won't change your mind about that either. But if you just want to see a damn Star Wars movie in a theatre again with your friends or family (or both) then don't miss it.

Humans eh!

In 1978 I was 10 years old.
Our school trip from Slane Co. Meath was to Star Wars
in The Carlton on O' Connell St. (big treat for culchie kids in '78)

The Imperial cruiser filling the screen changed my whole perspective of the world/universe/cinema we live in.

Even today at 43 the 20th Century Fox Intro is an aural foreplay.
then John Williams score kicks in...
And my heart still quickens.

George Lucas never once forced any person to buy a ticket/video/DVD/Blu-Ray/more tickets/toys etc etc we bought them because we loved it. Simple

I really can't understand why people gripe about re-releases and updates etc. If you think its just a money making enterprise then simply don't hand over your money and stfu.
Sit at home with your bubble gum cards reliving the sensual assault of the big screen.
Thanks Mr Lucas for stimulating my childhood my imagination and giving me so much pleasure over the years.

I will (hopefully) sit in the dark (with silly glasses on) and with the blast of trumpets, 33 years will fall away.
And my heart will quicken...

thegreengoblin

doubledown wrote: »

I had the chance tonight to see Star Wars : Episode 1 - The Phantom Menace 3D in a packed theatre.

I guess most people will have two main questions about this retrofit 3D conversion...

- How does the movie hold up after 13 (13!!!) years?

- Was the 3D any good?

Well, firstly you need to understand where I'm coming from - I have been a huge Star Wars fan all my life. I saw the first one when I was four years old (in the cinema) and I was hooked from that moment on. I had all the toys (still do) and saw every subsequent film on its opening night. I even flew from Ireland to New York to see Episode 1 in 1999 with a couple of friends as we didn't want to wait the six weeks it would have taken for the film to reach our shores. I liked it then and I subsequently liked the rest of the prequels. But I'm not a Lucas apologist, blinded by my love of the franchise and I have no problem acknowledging that the prequel trilogy has many flaws.

And 13 years on, the flaws in The Phantom Menace are still glaringly obvious. Jar Jar still cloys. Much of the dialogue is weak. The plot doesn't make much sense. Some of the performances are just downright awful. The pacing is way off (many scenes are way too short and are over before you even realize they have begun). And Jake Lloyd is still way too cutesy.

But, on the plus side, the movie still LOOKS and SOUNDS amazing and it reminds us that Star Wars films are best enjoyed on the BIG SCREEN. The score is still incredible (happy birthday, John Williams). Darth Maul still kicks ass. Liam Neeson is very strong. Jar Jar LOOKS great.

Do you honestly, really believe that? The very first time I saw the film I went bright red with embarrassment because I had been telling people how great it was going to be and then this abomination appeared on the screen. The CGI is appallingly bad and that accent is just shocking. And for me he is more than just cloying. He's not only the most annoying character to have appeared in the Star Wars films, I would extend that to nearly every film I have seen. It was Lucas and Rick McCallum trying to be funny and failing miserably.

I went last Thursday because it was a chance to see Star Wars in the cinema again and I walked out with the exact same feeling I had the first time I had seen it. There's something just not right about The Phantom Menace. I'm not a prequel hater either because I thought Ep 2 and 3 were really good but TPM just leaves me cold, apart from the lightsaber battle. Watto is also one of the few redeeming features while Palpatine at least gives it an air of foreboding.

As for the 3D.....it does little for the film but then again it wasn't meant to be in 3D in the first place.

Myrddin

Seen it on Sunday, the 3d is dire for 90% of it. I only went because I wanted to see it on the big screen.

With the exception of Duel of the Fates, the film is as broken as it always was really.

Chavways

I saw it last night.Dragged along by my brother and it was my first Star Wars film.

The 3d was almost non-existant.I was able to take off the glasses and the film was almost the exact same.There were so many moments thats they could have improved on but the 3d was very lazily done.

Most of the acting was so bad(especially Anikin) that it was laughable but after seeing this I was very confused and now I'm going to force myself to watch the other 5 to answer all the questions I have about it.

thegreengoblin

Chavways wrote: »

I saw it last night.Dragged along by my brother and it was my first Star Wars film.

The 3d was almost non-existant.I was able to take off the glasses and the film was almost the exact same.There were so many moments thats they could have improved on but the 3d was very lazily done.

Most of the acting was so bad(especially Anikin) that it was laughable but after seeing this I was very confused and now I'm going to force myself to watch the other 5 to answer all the questions I have about it.

Why are you confused? Maybe we can help you. We were meant to help you...:)

Myrddin

Chavways wrote: »

I was very confused and now I'm going to force myself to watch the other 5 to answer all the questions I have about it.

After the next one, your home free. I can't really ease your confusion without giving away the plot, so just bear with it.

Ep2 is an improvement over the first, but not as much as it should be. I found Ep3 really really good, & from there on out its vintage brilliance.

downwithpeace

Chavways wrote: »

Most of the acting was so bad(especially Anikin) that it was laughable but after seeing this I was very confused and now I'm going to force myself to watch the other 5 to answer all the questions I have about it.

The Phantom Menace isn't great, story wise it actually manages to make sense later more then it does while watching it. If you have a Blu-Ray player your better off watching the series on that but DVD works just as good, don't wait for the cinema releases.

Chavways

Maybe confused wasn't the correct word to use.It just didn't make sense that they could make a movie with such a terrible back story. Hopefully it will come together when I watch the other ones though.:o

thegreengoblin

EnterNow wrote: »

After the next one, your home free. I can't really ease your confusion without giving away the plot, so just bear with it.

Ep2 is an improvement over the first, but not as much as it should be. I found Ep3 really really good, & from there on out its vintage brilliance.

Eh....two words....yub nub!

Myrddin

Chavways wrote: »

Hopefully it will come together when I watch the other ones though.:o

It will, the problem is that Lucas took so long setting the backdrop, it took two films to do it. It's not until Ep3, that we finally see it all kicking off.

thegreengoblin wrote: »

Eh....two words....yub nub!

Compared to the Gungans & Jar Jar, the Ewoks are a cinematic masterpiece.

gremha

Just back from it. the 3D is almost non existent. Anything CGI looks great (Because I guess it's been re-rendered). Anything film is pretty crappy.

If anything, it's shown me how crappy TPM really is, although we had an eight year old boy with us & he loved every moment of it, so I'm thinking we're not the target audience.

Won't be going to the other five.

Myrddin

gremha wrote: »

Won't be going to the other five.

Then apart form the next one, that really is your loss. Unless they are showing elsewhere in standard format, you just don't get the chance to see Star Wars in the cinema often

gremha

No loss at all, Iver seen 4,5, & 6 on both first release & remaster in the cinema, I've seen 1 in original release & now 3D & Iver seen 2&3 in original release.

I've also seen 4,5 & 6 on VHS, DVD & Bluray, & 1,2 & 3 on DVD & Bluray. I think I've them plenty.

Myrddin

gremha wrote: »

No loss at all, Iver seen 4,5, & 6 on both first release & remaster in the cinema

I stand corrected

Chavways

So I just watched Episodes 2 and 3 and even though they were pretty good films I dont see what all the hype around the series is.There were a few plot holes but the fighting was good.I dont think I can push myself to watch the original 3 though...

downwithpeace

Chavways wrote: »

So I just watched Episodes 2 and 3 and even though they were pretty good films I dont see what all the hype around the series is.There were a few plot holes but the fighting was good.I dont think I can push myself to watch the original 3 though...

Keep in mind the majority of Star Wars fans saw the original movies first then the prequels so you could very well be thinking the same thing fans would if they watched in the same order.

It's only three movies, no harm in watching them

Chavways

downwithpeace wrote: »

Keep in mind the majority of Star Wars fans saw the original movies first then the prequels so you could very well be thinking the same thing fans would if they watched in the same order.

It's only three movies, no harm in watching them

But its so much effort.Maybe in a few weeks time I might watch them but as of now I'm burnt out on Star Wars.

thegreengoblin

The original trilogy are very different to the new ones in tone and style. It's all more natural and fluent whereas the new ones are more stilted and forced (no pun intended!).
If I had known you were going to see The Phantom Menace without having seen Episodes 4, 5 and 6 I would have said don't do it!