The recent Star Wars DVD release
Sep. 16th, 2006 12:00 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
xiphiasSo, we picked up the three Star Wars movies, released in "their original form."
A lot has been written on this release, so let me just summarize:
It's not hi-def. They didn't clean up the print, so the film quality is pretty bad. And it's widescreen, but not anamorphic. That means that, on a regular TV like ours, it's got the black bars so it is in the proper aspect ratio, but, on a widescreen TV like our downstairs neighbor's, it still has the black bars. An "anamorphic" DVD can tell whether it's being played on a widescreen or regular TV, and either put in the black bars or not, as appropriate. This one can't.
So, if you've got a really good system, one with hi-resolution, and widescreen, and surround sound, and all that -- this release is not for you.
But for us, it's perfect.
'Cause we've got a crappy TV, and a crappy DVD player, and it's just right.
The important thing?
It's got the RIGHT scrolling words. The ones that DON'T say "EPISODE IV: A NEW HOPE" at the top.
When Lis watches "Star Wars", she likes to be able to pretend that all five other movies don't exist. Because Star Wars is a better movie standing alone than as part of a trilogy, and a VASTLY better movie than as "part four of six."
Try watching "Star Wars" sometime while blocking out all knowledge of everything else that you know about the universe. The movie holds together much better. When you allow yourself to think about everything else you know about the Star Wars universe, the movie actually falls completely apart. Because Lucas hadn't made up the rest of the universe when he filmed Star Wars. But, on its own, it's a great film, combining a lot of the fun of Westerns, samurai movies, and pulps all in one.
For me, the grainy quality of the film helps. "Star Wars" just doesn't work for me on a clean print. I don't know why.
But, for all that Lucasfilms apparently was trying to sabotage this DVD release, doing everything wrong, they came up with the release that is perfect for me.
A lot has been written on this release, so let me just summarize:
It's not hi-def. They didn't clean up the print, so the film quality is pretty bad. And it's widescreen, but not anamorphic. That means that, on a regular TV like ours, it's got the black bars so it is in the proper aspect ratio, but, on a widescreen TV like our downstairs neighbor's, it still has the black bars. An "anamorphic" DVD can tell whether it's being played on a widescreen or regular TV, and either put in the black bars or not, as appropriate. This one can't.
So, if you've got a really good system, one with hi-resolution, and widescreen, and surround sound, and all that -- this release is not for you.
But for us, it's perfect.
'Cause we've got a crappy TV, and a crappy DVD player, and it's just right.
The important thing?
It's got the RIGHT scrolling words. The ones that DON'T say "EPISODE IV: A NEW HOPE" at the top.
When Lis watches "Star Wars", she likes to be able to pretend that all five other movies don't exist. Because Star Wars is a better movie standing alone than as part of a trilogy, and a VASTLY better movie than as "part four of six."
Try watching "Star Wars" sometime while blocking out all knowledge of everything else that you know about the universe. The movie holds together much better. When you allow yourself to think about everything else you know about the Star Wars universe, the movie actually falls completely apart. Because Lucas hadn't made up the rest of the universe when he filmed Star Wars. But, on its own, it's a great film, combining a lot of the fun of Westerns, samurai movies, and pulps all in one.
For me, the grainy quality of the film helps. "Star Wars" just doesn't work for me on a clean print. I don't know why.
But, for all that Lucasfilms apparently was trying to sabotage this DVD release, doing everything wrong, they came up with the release that is perfect for me.