Special Edition Likes & Dislikes

[AlanRJ]

When George Lucas went back and modified the Original Trilogy, did you like it? or would you have preferred it to have stayed as it was? What scenes from the Special Edition did you enjoy and which did you hate?

So, which should it be, Original Trilogy Versus the Special Edition. Well, lets me see what I liked and disliked about the Special Edition.

The best parts that the Special Edition brought was the cleaning up of the film (ie the see through roosterpit in the battle of Hoth), the meeting of Jabba and definitely the scenes of Bespin.

The worst parts that the Special Edition brought was the music at the end of Return of the Jedi, I much preferred the Original Trilogy version. The annoying Stormtrooper in A New Hope who says close the blastdoor and then another one saying open it. The new part where Greedo takes a few shots at Solo's head, I mean, at that range even I could hit Han and I've never held a weapon before. The part where Han runs round the corner to see a CGI person gone mad with how many Stormtroopers he can fill a screen with.

Well, as you can see, I much rather preferred the Original Trilogy.

What about you? And if there is anyone who can make a poll out of this then I'd be very interested to see the result.

[Count Dooku]

I like the Special Edition, although the OT are classics i'd like to see some new scenes that were never shown, if I'am correct did they specialize the effects?

[threeP0]

I like the OT better just because of the vintage look and feel toward it. Most of the Special Edition scenes were alright, the only one I had a problem with was the Han meeting Jabba in ANH. The CGI Jabba was terrible, it looked like a walking piece of poop!

[DanielSkywalker]

I like the Special Editions, it had to be done to tie it together with the PT (which is the main reason why Mr. Lucas decided to add stuff in them in the first place). I think there are some things that still need to be added to the OT; I'd like to see more of Coruscant, Palpatine, and Alderaan. Anyways, scenes I didn't like from the Special Editions were: Greedo shooting first, Luke screeming as he fell off that ledge on Bespin, and whereas I do like the new ending to ROTJ, I miss the original Ewok celebration music. I loved the new Battle of Yavin, the Jabba and Han sequence in ANH (and a nice cameo of Boba Fett), the Wampa scene, the new ending of ROTJ (upon seeing Coruscant for the first time, I almost peed my pants), the new Tattooine footage, and pretty much all the others too. The Special Editions (as a whole) made the OT better films.

[NelsonCoressel]

I like the SE better. I now find the original editions to be impossible to watch. I love all the extra stuff in Mos Eisley and Cloud City. Although some people disagree with me, I thought the new effects mixed with the old during the Death Star battle in ANH went together perfectly. I love the ring effect when Alderaan and the Death Stars blow up. And I really love the new ending of ROTJ. It feels much more like the a real ending to the story. I'll take the new Jabba's palace song and the new ending music over "lapti nek" and "yub yub" any day.

The only change I'm not crazy about is Greedo shooting first just because I'm tired of hearing people argue about it.

AlanRJ said: The annoying Stormtrooper in A New Hope who says close the blastdoor and then another one saying open it.
Actually the "close the blast doors" line followed by "open the blast doors" was in the original release of Star Wars in 1977. "Open..." became one of those odd missing dialogue tracks that was found or re-recorded and restored for the SE.

[RollaFett]

Don't know which I prefer because there are items in the SE's that I didn't like.

ANH
-Greedo shooting first.
-Jabba. I appreciate the effort, but the end result was disappointing.

ESB
-Luke's scream as he falls.
-Vader as he is leaving Bespin, "Alert the Star Destroyer to prepare for my arrival." Sure didn't sound like James Earl Jones to me.

ROTJ
-The new song in Jabba's palace, ugh!

Everything else about the SE's I liked. A little more Boba Fett never hurt anybody if you ask me.

[darthwicker]

I totally see where you're coming from GollaFett,
ANH - I dont' know anybody who likes Greedo shooting first, I think that's just an unfortunate sign of the times.
The Jabba section could of been fantastic, but it just looks like Han has thrown a hydro-spanner in Jabba's bottom, I hate the face he pulls. I'm cringing thinking about it.
I've got to be honest, I do like all the cgi stormtroopers on Tatooine and the Death Star.
Mos Eisley looks great but I'm not really into the look of Luke's landspeeder as it enters.
I like it when the Falcon blasts out and I think the battle of Yavin looks great.
TESB - I think all the Wampa additions are great.
Luke's scream, now what's going on there I don't know.
I scream over the top of it just so I can't hear it.
It's the Emperors' scream from Jedi isnt' it?
Vader leaving Cloud City, as far as I know it is J.E.Jones but its's obviously been freshly recorded and does not match Vader's tone at all throughout the rest of the film.
ROTJ - I like the little additions to Jabba's palace, except the new song, I thought the old one was alot more funky, and the also the little additions to the Sarlacc pit I think are cool.
I think the new song at the end of the film though is absolutely amazing and sets a mood of finality so much better.
There's a much bigger sense of hope and dreams of the future in it.
I used to hate the old one, sorry but I did. As a piece of music I think it's wonderful, but it never moved me like every other piece of SW music does.
The first time I watched the SE-ROTJ and the new final tune started, hearing it mixed in with the new scenes of Tatooine, Cloud City and Coruscant, I felt myself gripping the arms of the chair I was sat in so much tighter, for me it was very emotional. John Williams will always be my maestro, he is the lightning to George Lucas's Frankenstein.
Although I'm sure those new scenes at the end would look so much better if George Lucas re-did them again now.
Please George - can we have some more.......

[century]

My problem with the Jabba scene in ANH is that I feel like Lucas added Greedo in later after he couldn't pull off Jabba - then Han wound up having the exact same dialgue in both scenes. I found that pretty annoying.

[RollaFett]

century- Haven't watched ANH:SE in a while, so please explain just what you mean by your last post. It confused the hell out of me! style_emoticons/<#EMO_DIR#>/eh.gif

darthwicker- I don't remeber any cgi stormtroopers from the DS. Where were they?
Concerning J.E. Jones, I suppose it could've been him, and the older Jones just didn't match. But damn, couldn't they have spent a little more time on it to get it right? Oh, and you're right about Luke's landspeeder entering Mos Eisley, it looked way too fake.
I also liked the new ending to ROTJ, the less Ewoks, the better, IMO. Plus, I really liked how more of the galaxy was tied into everything that had just happened. I had only read about Coruscant (see, I told you that i read some of the EU style_emoticons/<#EMO_DIR#>/wink.gif ), so actually seeing it was cool.

[darthwicker]

The cgi troopers are in ANH when Han and Chewie split up from Luke and Leia in the Death Star.
Han runs ahead of Chewie round a corner and in the original I think there was only a handful of Stormtroopers, but in the SE there was loads of them.
I think?
I'm not 100% sure but in the credits at the end of ROTJ, doesn't it mention something about J.E.Jones re-recording something.
I honestly can't remember man, I'm gonna have to check later.

[darthfool]

I like the Special Editions better than the original versions.
With the exception of Greedo shooting first I liked all the changes made.
I had no problem with the SE Jabba until I saw TPM where he's looking all a bit like he does in ROTJ. This guy's weight fluctuates an awful lot don't you think?

[RollaFett]

Darthfool- I don't mind his weight fluctuating as much as I mind his overall appearance changing.

Darthwicker- Interesting, I'll have to pay closer attention in that DS scene next time I'm watching. The same goes with the credits for J.E. Jones. Thanks for the heads up.

[tunafishman]

Overall, I prefer the SE to the original's. I agree with most people here about the Greedo shot and Luke's scream. I also think the new sarlacc pit looks kind of stupid. I always thought the scary part of the sarlacc was what happened after you fell into it. When they added the beak thing, it just took away from the whole "digested over a 1000 years" thing. One scene I wish GL had added into the SE was a scene early on in ANH where Biggs and Luke run into each other and talk about the academy and the rebellion. I think it would have added more to the part where they run into each other on Yavin. I was never sure why GL didn't insert it like the scene with Jabba. Anyone know? ???

[century]

Golla Fett - I was refering to the "Even I get boarded sometimes..." bit. He says the exact same lines to Jabba as he does to Greedo - I just find it annoying. I suppose on further examination Jabba does mention Han "frying" greedo, I just don't think both parts are neccessary.

Yeah, and the CGI Jabba left a little to be desired as well.

[darthwicker]

I also like it when Obi1 gives Luke the lightsaber for the first time. It seems to reflect in Luke's eyes alot more in the SE.

[RollaFett]

Tunafishman- I totally agree with you about thta Biggs scene, I've seen it at it's quite good. GL apparently thought that that scene messed up the pacing of the story on Tatooine too much, hence, the cut. Load of crap, if you ask me!
Nothing new there, though. GL cut several scenes from AOTC that sound as though they should've definately been in the film. I don't know how to provide a link, but there is a thread in the Prequel spoilers section that deals with it.

[Darth Whaler]

For me, I prefer the special editions but like everyone, I had problems with a few things. To beat a dead horse, the greedo thing and the way Jabba looked.

One thing I did not like, and it may seem kind of insignificant, is Han's new line when he's about to save Lando.

I prefer "It's all right, trust me." to "It's all right, I can see a lot better." I think it fits better because the last time Han saw him, Lando kind of sold him out. Now he's asking him to be trusting. It also seems a bit more arrogant...appropriate for Han's character.

[tpete]

Related question: *Do you think Lucas will release the Original on DVD, the SE, or both? *I think it would be a great option to run it with or without SE as the viewer chooses.

[Darth Whaler]

tpete-that would be really cool. This way you could watch it either way you choose. Definitely a possibility considering Lucas certainly didn't skimp on the bonus material for TPM.

[darthfool]

It would be cool to see the original versions on DVD but it isn't going to happen. In fact we're not even getting the special editions.
I'll skip over the all important Lucas quotes cus they've been covered elsewhere but what we're going to get in the end is the special editions with extra scenes added.
That's why we've been hearing talk of Natalie, Jimmy Smits and Ian McDiamid being in talks for other Star Wars themed filming.

[darthfool]

Additional:
I was watching A New Hope(SE) earlier and the CGI Jabba wasn't quite as good as I remembered. Oh well.

[RollaFett]

That's why we've been hearing talk of Natalie, Jimmy Smits and Ian McDiamid being in talks for other Star Wars themed filming.

Interesting Darthfool. I've read about the Portman talk, but not Smits and McDiamid.

[darthfool]

Smits mentioned it in an interview with Maxim. Apparantly it'd be a scene just before Alderaan gets blown up.
I can't really remember about McDiamid.
I pretty sure the information was from him, just something simple like "George also want's me to film some more scenes to put into the original trilogy".
I do remember though that I heard about it before the news of *Smits and Mrs darthfool.
Anyone remember what I half-remeber?

[DanielSkywalker]

No, I had only heard of Natalie (Mrs. DanielSkywalker :p) signing on for additional footage to be included in the OT. But, it does make sense to include Bail And Palpatine in ANH; it always bothered me that The Emperor was nowhere to be found, and we never got to see Alderaan before it was destroyed. I am sure that one of the main locales for EPIII will be Alderaan, so including it in ANH will be appropriate methinks.

[Darth Jesus]

I remember quite a bit about what you half-remember, Darthfool. So far, the rumors/facts (a mix of both) I've heard include:

-No OT DVD until all six movies are done, and then all six will be released as a massive box set, rumored to be called the Archival Edition (AE).

-By the time the AE is done, all the OT films will be transferred to digital (like Ep. 1-3). Expect massive OT changes above and beyond what was done in the SE.

-New scenes rumored to be added include:
ANH: The Emperor disbanding the Galactic Senate.
ESB: The Emperor and Vader meeting in the ruins of the Jedi Temple on Coruscant
ROTJ: Possibly a flashback scene involving Amidala and a young Leia? (Pure speculation based on Portman's rumored involvement.)

-Ep. 1-3 characters who may appear in the OT AE are rumored to include:
ANH: Bail Organa (in a scene or scenes before Alderaan gets blown up). Also, Jar Jar Binks (if he does, I'd guess he'll either be in the rumored Galactic Senate scene or living with the Organas on Alderaan - ick, to think that Leia might have had to put up with that thing while she was growing up).
ROTJ: Amidala (if she does, I would imagine it would be a Leia flashback, or as a Force ghostie at the end).

If Lucas is transferring the OT to digital, I hope he decides to make all the space scenes CGI. I know it's anti-purist, but imagine how cool those battles could be if redone using the technology Lucasfilm has now. We'll see.

Also, I hope he speeds Obi-Wan up while he's running around the Death Star halls (the way he and Qui-Gon move in Ep. 1).

And yeah, Greedo shooting first is an insult to all of ours' intelligence -- it has to go. And I have two reasons for not liking the ANH Jabba scene. First, as others have mentioned, Jabba looks sickly and pale, and very CGI. Secondly, it's a scene showing Han Solo stepping on the tail of the most feared crimelord on Tatooine -- one to whom Han owes a great deal of money, no less! Exactly why wouldn't Jabba have Han shot dead for that?

Other than those two scenes, the SEs are good in my book. Hopefully, the AEs will be even better, and Lucas will fix those two ugly errors.

[NelsonCoressel]

If Lucas is transferring the OT to digital, I hope he decides to make all the space scenes CGI.

I don't think he'll have to do that. There are plenty of space scenes even in TPM and AOTC that are not "all CGI." Some of the scenes are simply composited using a mix of miniatures and CGI. *In the SE, all they had to do was digitally clean up a few matte lines around some of the ships. *I'd like to see them do a little more of that rather than re-do every shot. Not for purist reasons, but just because it would probably take too much time to re-do every single shot.

[Darth Jesus]

Ahh...but according to reports, they've been working on the digitization/"specializing" of the OT since '97, when the SEs were released. In fact, the SEs were originally supposed to be just a digitally remasterd, SE version of Star Wars. When Fox saw what Lucas was doing with that film, they asked him to spruce up all 3 OTs for new theatrical runs. Lucas agreed, though this meant he wasn't able to put as much time as he wanted into the Star Wars SE (or any of them, for that matter), so he's had a Lucasfilm crew working on them continuously from that point on in preparation of the AE in 2006/7.

9-10 years of tinkering is plenty of time for them to swap out all the "outside" special effects shots with newer versions (whether CGI or models).

[NelsonCoressel]

What people don't quite get though is that it's not "CGI vs Models." They even now still use both models and CGI to create special effects. In both TPM and AOTC there are shots that are done exactly as they were done 25 years ago, it's just easier now to digitally composite a motion-control shot of a ship with a star field, instead of the old way of layering film upon film.

I can see them re-compositing some or even all shots, but re-doing everything would be a waste of time. I spoke to someone who once worked for ILM who explained all of that to me.

[RollaFett]

Besides, the ROTJ space battle was pretty damn good in its own right (apart from the Executor crashing into the DS. never liked how that scene looked.).

[NelsonCoressel]

I never liked that shot either. That's one I wouldn't mind if they completely did over again.