Return to a time long ago with "Star Wars: Unaltered"
posted by Tygrrius @ 5:33 AM
The "unaltered," original theatrical versions of Star Wars, The Empire Strikes Back, and Return of the Jedi are available starting today as bonus features on DVD. The main feature on each two-DVD set is the 2004 special edition of the same film.
This marks the first time that the unaltered versions are available on DVD, and the first time that the 2004 editions are released as separate DVDs rather than as a trilogy set.
"See the title crawl to Star Wars before it was known as Episode IV," states a Lucasfilm press release—a 1981 change which even pre-dated the Special Edition changes.
Due to the costs involved in enhancing the films for widescreen 16x9 televisions, the unaltered versions are presented in a non-anamorphic, widescreen format.
The 2004 editions are still presented in anamorphic widescreen, a higher quality process that utilizes more screen resolution for the actual picture.
"The negatives of the (original) movies were permanently altered for the creation of the Special Editions (in 1997 and 2004), and existing prints of the first versions are in poor condition," said Lynn Hale, a representative of Lucasfilm's publicity department.
"Since these (versions of the) movies do not represent George (Lucas)'s artistic vision, we could not put the extraordinary time and resources into this project as we did the Special Editions. The 1993 Laserdisc masters represented the best source for providing the original versions as DVD bonus material. Although these are non-anamorphic versions, they do preserve the original widescreen composition of the movies," she said.
The unaltered versions feature a Dolby 2.0 soundtrack, while the 2004 editions include a Dolby Digital 5.1 Surround soundtrack.
The limited edition DVDs will be available until December 31. Also released today is the Lego Star Wars II: The Original Trilogy video game.
Related Film Frontier articles and commentary
Film Frontier rounds up Star Wars: Unaltered retail bonus items
EDITORIAL: The Power of the (Unaltered) Force
Lucasfilm releases Star Wars: Unaltered screen caps
Lucasfilm to release Star Wars: Unaltered DVDs in September
This marks the first time that the unaltered versions are available on DVD, and the first time that the 2004 editions are released as separate DVDs rather than as a trilogy set.
"See the title crawl to Star Wars before it was known as Episode IV," states a Lucasfilm press release—a 1981 change which even pre-dated the Special Edition changes.
Due to the costs involved in enhancing the films for widescreen 16x9 televisions, the unaltered versions are presented in a non-anamorphic, widescreen format.
The 2004 editions are still presented in anamorphic widescreen, a higher quality process that utilizes more screen resolution for the actual picture.
"The negatives of the (original) movies were permanently altered for the creation of the Special Editions (in 1997 and 2004), and existing prints of the first versions are in poor condition," said Lynn Hale, a representative of Lucasfilm's publicity department.
"Since these (versions of the) movies do not represent George (Lucas)'s artistic vision, we could not put the extraordinary time and resources into this project as we did the Special Editions. The 1993 Laserdisc masters represented the best source for providing the original versions as DVD bonus material. Although these are non-anamorphic versions, they do preserve the original widescreen composition of the movies," she said.
The unaltered versions feature a Dolby 2.0 soundtrack, while the 2004 editions include a Dolby Digital 5.1 Surround soundtrack.
The limited edition DVDs will be available until December 31. Also released today is the Lego Star Wars II: The Original Trilogy video game.
Related Film Frontier articles and commentary
Film Frontier rounds up Star Wars: Unaltered retail bonus items
EDITORIAL: The Power of the (Unaltered) Force
Lucasfilm releases Star Wars: Unaltered screen caps
Lucasfilm to release Star Wars: Unaltered DVDs in September
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