Original SW Restored... but what's the big deal on this?

[starmanmm]

Ok, I have just been reading that for some reason, the original version of SW could only be restored by the fans.

http://www.cnn.com/2016/02/18/entertain ... =obnetwork

http://io9.gizmodo.com/an-original-film ... 1759904328

I really don't understand why the fans had to find the original and restore it; not Disney? I figure that it would be a money maker for them?

Why is there now a hard-to-find original film as it was seen in 1977 not available in this day and age? Wasn't it released in that box set a few years back?

What am I not understanding in all of this?

[Todd P.]

I think the last official release of the original version of the three Star Wars films was on VHS in the early to mid-'90s, before the Special Editions were released. I dunno, maybe there was a DVD release too; I didn't have a DVD player yet.

In fact, I remember the ad campaign saying something like "buy the original versions for the last time."

Although, it probably wasn't really the original version of Star Wars because the 1977 theatrical release didn't have the weak "Episode IV: A New Hope" subtitle.

I haven't tried to keep up with it all, but I know George Lucas irritated a great many fans with his constant tweaking of the movies. I just never bought them myself. Toward the end, I was under the impression that he wanted the original versions erased from the public memory, to be replaced by whatever his latest vision was. That led to some fans putting together a high-quality version of the movie that was as close to the original as they could get. This predates Disney's ownership.

I think.

[Todd P.]

Huh ... Looks like what you see is yet another fan effort, based on an actual print of the movie. I dunno why they bothered, but perhaps they didn't want to wait for Disney to move on such a project.

[the Baron]

...I dunno, maybe there was a DVD release too; I didn't have a DVD player yet.

There is a two-disc DVD release that contains both the original theatrical release and the version in which George Lucas says, "Wait, there's a bunch of stuff I forgot to tell you when I first told you the story." I have it. It's irritating when I plop the "director's cut" version in by mistake.

[Kitzilla]

The main issue at hand is rights issues. Despite Disney "owning" Star Wars now, they only own the concept of Star Wars. So they own the story, characters, designs, dialogue, etc etc. What they don't own are the original physical films. So while they could make whatever they want with characters and designs from the original films, they don't actually own the original movies themselves.

20th Century Fox still has all rights to Empire and Jedi until 2020. I'm sure Disney will buy those up come 2020, but the thing really throwing a wrench into the works is that Fox owns the original film, Star Wars, in perpetuity. So unless they choose to sell it, they own it forever. So we won't see any traction on the issue for at least four years from now, but even then, the original uncut film probably won't be seeing an official release anytime soon.

[temperflash]

If its anything like the Star Trek TOS episodes the revamped eps used CGI to supposedly improve the special effects but most including myself find the original effects far more artistic.

[Zombie_61]

The main issue at hand is rights issues. Despite Disney "owning" Star Wars now, they only own the concept of Star Wars. So they own the story, characters, designs, dialogue, etc etc. What they don't own are the original physical films. So while they could make whatever they want with characters and designs from the original films, they don't actually own the original movies themselves.

20th Century Fox still has all rights to Empire and Jedi until 2020. I'm sure Disney will buy those up come 2020, but the thing really throwing a wrench into the works is that Fox owns the original film, Star Wars, in perpetuity. So unless they choose to sell it, they own it forever. So we won't see any traction on the issue for at least four years from now, but even then, the original uncut film probably won't be seeing an official release anytime soon.

As I've heard from people who are far more knowledgeable about these things than I am, in 2020 legal ownership of The Empire Strikes Back and Return of the Jedi would have reverted to George Lucas and Lucasfilm with no "buy those up" involved, but now the ownership will revert to Disney. But, yes, Fox retains ownership of Star Wars (Episode IV, A New Hope, whateveryoucallit) until they decide to sell it. Surely Disney will want to own all of the movies, so it'll be interesting to see what happens.

As for restoring the Original Trilogy movies to their original theatrical versions, there's nothing but speculation at this point. George Lucas swears those versions no longer exist, but at some point he and Lucasfilm had to transfer them to digital media in order for him to create his not-so-special-editions. So unless he or someone under his employ deliberately deleted those files, they must exist somewhere. Even if they don't, surely Disney would have the resources to obtain clean copies and transfer them to digital media themselves. I mean, if a few fans can do it...

The real fly in this ointment can be summed up in two words: "demand" and "money". Everyone involved knows there is a percentage of fans who want to see these movies restored to their original theatrical glory. The question is, are there enough of them (us) to generate enough sales of DVDs and Blu-rays to cover the cost of such restorations? Rumor has it that the "experts" have told The Suits at Disney an emphatic "no". Their analysis shows that those of us who want the original versions of these movies is actually a rather small percentage of the fanbase--fans who saw them when they were originally released and who are now 33-39 years older, looking down the barrel of retirement, and generally less willing to turn loose of their hard-earned dollars for luxuries like entertainment media. Also, contrary to our beliefs, a lot of Star Wars fans like the not-so-special-edition versions, and don't care about the original theatrical versions.

So, yeah, there are some serious obstacles to overcome. And many people are saying we'll never see a proper release of the theatrical versions on DVD or Blu-ray because there won't be enough return on Disney's investment for them to do such a thing. I hope they're wrong, but I'm not holding my breath.