TPM dvd reviews are coming in..Lucas pulled a great fast one

[foxdvd]

Read this..we all knew that they had deleted scenes with finished special effects as extras, what we did not know was he would put 3 of these into the actual movie iteself, and that 2 of them add a lot to the movie, in fact, making the Pod race even better. In talking to one guy who went to Lucas Ranch, and a person who would not call the movie a great one, he admits the pod race is much better..here is part of one review..

"One thing that George felt about this DVD release was to include some of his favorite scenes that had to be removed for time constraints or that they didn't fit in as a whole. What ILM have done is to go back and actually finish the effects for the scene as if they had been done and removed. There are 7 deleted scenes altogether and they are the Complete Pod Race Grid Sequence, Extended Podrace Lap Two, The Waterfall sequence, The Air Taxi Sequence, Dawn before the race, Anakin's scuffle with Greedo and Farewell to Jira. The interesting thing here is that complete pod race, extended podrace lap two and the air taxi sequence have been added back into the movie with the former 2 making that sequence look and feel so much more complete and compelling, especially with respect to Anakins darker side when he tussles with Sebulba. With the former as well, it is more like 80-90% of the deleted scene added back in throughout the sequence."


SWEET!

[Darth23]

Anybody hear anythign about the OT dvds?

I think I read a rumor somewhere they there might be an official announcement soon.

[buffjedi]

but will the cut footage of the Dual be added?? thats what I want :)


buffjedi/wookieboy

[imported_QuiGonJ]

http://www.thedigitalbits.com/articles/starwars1dvd/index.html

No OT DVDs till after the prequels are done, but the Ep2 DVD will be out late next year.

[ReaperFett]

No fused saber

No extended dual

No Gui Gon knocking Maul of the ship

The three I wanted most. Not there :(

[BUFFJEDI]

Man that SUCKS!!!! I so wanted the extended Dual and to see Maul fall from the ships ramp :(


hey Reaper, whats the Fused Saber scene ?where Obiwan gets it wet on Naboo ? Either way I wanted to see that as well :(

[ReaperFett]

yeah, fused saber = wet saber

[foxdvd]

I guess the best time to fight Jedi is in the rain!

[ReaperFett]

rain wouldn't affect it as such, it needs lots of water

[Jedi Master Carr]

I don't really care about when scene where the lightsaber gets wet, I just don't see it impacting the story that much besides I heard it makes Obi-Wan looks really stupid and that is probably why it was not included. As far as Darth Maul-Qui-Gon fight in the desert, I have no clue why that scene was left out. That was one scene I was hoping would be on the disk. The only thing I can think of is that it looks really bad and they were unable to get to work at all. The rest of the scenes all sound cool, isn't the Air taxi sequence involving R2 falling off and using his rocket jets to get back on the ramp? Also I think that Farwell to Jira scene has a really important thing in it too, I think it shows Qui-Gon encountering one of the probe Droids and slicing it in half explaining why they are running in the desert before Maul shows up.

[ReaperFett]

I think R2 falling was at a different time. Unless they splice a few small extras with a crrent scene to make a large one.

But the Saber scene showed not only that Obi is still learning, but shows sabers don't work in water :)

[Darth23]

...which could effect events in Ep. 2.

:p

In the interviews they said they only added scenes that were about a minute long or longer, so no dice on those shorter cut scenes.

[Jedieb]

I wish those scenes had been kept out of the movie. Even if they improve the movie, you're still changing the movie we all saw in theaters. I've always thought that releasing movies on video the way they were shown in theaters serves a historical purpose. Alternate versions are fine as long as the original is still available. You're kind of cheating history by adding things to films. The VHS copy now becomes the only copy of the film that we saw in theaters. That movie isn't on the DVD. I guess it's just the historian in me. But added scenes aren't that different from deleted scenes. I want to see the version I saw in theaters. Give a second version with all the bells and whistles you want to add, but have at least one version of the original there for posterity's sake.

[JonathanLB]

I don't agree with that. I really am anxious to see the version with the changes! It's going to be awesome. The new scenes from Coruscant look absolutely sweet. The movie is going to be even better this way. Star Wars is an evolving saga where we only get to see little pieces of the universe and now we get to see just that much more. It's great.

[Jedi Master Carr]

Of course it all depends on how it is presented on the DVD. If it is like ID4 where they give you both options then it is a non issue. Still I think it is only one scene the rest are going to be on the second disk so it shouldn't affect the movie that much.

[Zara Drecker]

To be honest, I'll stick with Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon. I dont really see the point of the TPM DVD, it's just not compelling enough to get

[JonathanLB]

Yeah whatever. You are free to spend your money as you please.

It's not problem if you don't want to own what everyone in the industry agrees is the best DVD ever. That's to say nothing of the fact that it's also the best movie ever, but even if it was a decent movie the DVD is still worth owning.

DVDFile.com's reviewer didn't like the movie all that much but he still said it was the best DVD ever, which is just a testament to how awesome it is.

[Zara Drecker]

I would dispute it is the best movie ever, far from it. The Empire Strikes Back is far superior in my eyes for one. I personally rate TPM on the bottom of the Star wars moives and I have seen it many, many times. I do find TPM enjoyable, just not something that rates as a must have anymore.

My point is, even with these new scences and extras, I am not compelled to buy it. I dont see the value in it for me. what we enjoy is a subjective thing and there are few movies I see as must haves. TPM is certainly not one of them.

I do believe, for an example, the main fight in Crouching Tiger is far superior to TPM, especially in a techincal sense. That for me was a reason to accquire Crouching Tiger.

What do I see as a reason to buy TPM DVD?

To be honest, the fact that I could shuffle out of scences that frankly annoy me badly.

[JonathanLB]

Believe what you want to believe.

Star Wars is not about "cool fighting," though. I prefer the final duel in TPM to anything in Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon, but that's because it's Star Wars. On a technical level, the battle in the dojo in CTHD is better and longer than the duel in TPM, but who cares? Star Wars wasn't trying to become the greatest Hong Kong action movie ever, lol. It's not about that. It's not about having the best effects, or having the best fight, or anything like that. That's all very nice, but it's still superficial and unimportant compared to the story and the dialogue, which is the essence of Star Wars.

The coolest single moves are still in TPM, though. I'm a HUGE Hong Kong action fan, but most of those movies can never focus as well on such awesome moves, for instance, like when QGJ has died and Obi-Wan makes a downward cutting motion with his saber as Maul is spinning and blocks in the middle of the spin. That is the best one or two seconds of fighting around. On a second-by-second basis, TPM still wins, but it's just not that long and intense, whereas Once Upon A Time in China II (a superior film to CTHD even) has great, very long martial arts sequences and LOTS of them (about five great ones and I mean "great," not just "good").

[Jedieb]

Originally posted by Jedi Master Carr
Of course it all depends on how it is presented on the DVD. If it is like ID4 where they give you both options then it is a non issue. Still I think it is only one scene the rest are going to be on the second disk so it shouldn't affect the movie that much.

I like the ID4 presentation. To me, a change is a change, whether it's an addition or deletion of a scene. Think of the Godfather films. They're coming out on DVD now. Imagine if Coppola decided that he wanted to change a few things around to make things flow a little better. These movies have been around for close to 3 decades. Imagine putting in your DVD and seeing scenes altered. I'd bet more than a few Godfather fans would be put off by seeing one of their favorite movies altered. Again, I don't see anything wrong with SEs or added scenes, but the original should still be offered.

Zara, I can see your point about TPM. If you had problems with it then you may not get much out of the DVD. I rank it at the bottom of SW films also, but I still want to get a look at those deleted scenes and the documentary. Plus, the ability to skip to scenes I did love is too much of a bonus to pass up! As for CTHD, I just rented that DVD this past weekend. It was a gorgeous looking film. The rooftop leaps were a bit annoying to me, but the swordplay was first rate. That ending was bittersweet also. Ling did a great job of incorporating a love story without letting it drag on the film.

[Jedi Master Carr]

Think of the Godfather films. They're coming out on DVD now. Imagine if Coppola decided that he wanted to change a few things around to make things flow a little better. These movies have been around for close to 3 decades. Imagine putting in your DVD and seeing scenes altered. I'd bet more than a few Godfather fans would be put off by seeing one of their favorite movies altered

I agree with you Jedieb somewhat and it is interesting that you bring up The Godfather because there is another version of that film "The Godfather Saga which puts the films in Chronological order and adds scenes. I am not cetain if this version has been released on tape, it may have, but I know its been on TV several times. Now Coppola may decide that this version is the one he wants for the DVD or he may go with the ID4 approach which to me should be the approach all films on DVD go with when dealing with added scenes.

On to the TPM debate I personally don't rank it near the bottom, its weird for me the weakest SW movie was the first one, it could be that I have just seen it too many times lol, but I rank them ESB, TPM and ROTJ are about tied and ANH. But of course that is just my opinion, I still think the DVD is a worthy addition to anybody's collection, and even if you didn't like it, that doesn't mean the DVD isn't worth it. For example I didn't think Fight Club was anything special but I the DVD is awesome and is a must own for anybody who has a DVD and I think the TPM DVD will be the same way.

[Jedieb]

I haven't seen the Godfather saga you're referring to. That would be quite interesting to watch. Although I'd have no use for anything in Godfather III. That was just a mess; George Hamilton replaces Robert Duval and Sophia Copola takes Winona Ryder's place. It was doomed from the start.

[Jedi Master Carr]

I've seen it on TV a couple of times I think they mostly add scenes that dealt with how Don Correlone came to America, its been a while since I've seen it. I agree mostly about Godfather 3, it had some good moments Andy Garcia was terrific as Michael's nephew and Pacino was great as always but it is still a much inferior film to the first two.

[Doc Milo]

The Godfather saga, if I remember correctly, also splits up the scenes in the films for purposes of the chronological order -- taking flashbacks and putting them in the beginning, etc...

So what you have is scenes from GF 2, then 1, then 2, etc, as all the scenes are put chronologically rather than how they were originally filmed. I believe that version is on tape, too, but I'm not sure. I haven't seen that version. I'd rather stick with the originals.

[JonathanLB]

I agree with your ranking ANH at the bottom, but I LOVE ANH. It's one of the greatest movies ever made, or really, it is the greatest, just happens to be tied with three other greats :)

Still, my list is TPM, ESB, ROTJ, then ANH. That is not because I think ANH is a worse movie, ha, not even close, but my personal tastes lead me to rank it fourth, even though I think they are all equal in quality.

For instance, I may rate both The Matrix and The Phantom Menace perfect 100/100's, but that does not mean that The Matrix was even CLOSE to as good as TPM (or the other Star Wars films). So, for me there can be a tie in quality and a difference in my rankings.

ANH is awesome and I love watching it every time. I just love all of the early scenes on Tatooine, I love the Cantina, I love the battle at the end, I love Han's back-and-forth banter with everyone, Chewie, Leia, Luke, even Obi-Wan. I just happen to prefer the other Star Wars films on some other level.

I believe one thing that makes me rank ESB second is that the scenes on cloud city are stunning and I love the Battle of Hoth. Plus, first time we see Yoda in the OT, so that's awesome. It's the superficial things that place one movie above another on my favorites, while they are not obviously the most important to the saga.

For instance, if you consider the locations, ANH has Tatooine (didn't used to like it as much, now I love it for sure), the inside of the Death Star, and sort of Yavin 4. TPM has Naboo, Tatooine, and Coruscant. I like Naboo far better than I like the death star. Far, far better. It's prettier, more elaborate, more pleasant to see. Tatooine and Tatooine cancel out (I like each movie's Tatooine scenes for different reasons; TPM is more exciting because of the pod race, but ANH's Tatooine scenes are very important too). Then, Coruscant versus Yavin 4 and more exterior shots of the Death Star, I think I'll take Coruscant!

I think ANH's imagery is purposely more drab than the other films, but that's just my view. It doesn't make it a lesser movie because it's actually very appropriate. I think it should be just the way it is, but TPM is meant to be a bright, somewhat happy, uplifting film on a *superficial level*, when really beneath the surface it is a very dark film. There's nothing happy about what really is happening in TPM, but on the outside all is well, Naboo is free, good guys win, yay, everyone's happy. We only know because of the context that all is not well. With just TPM and no other films, we would assume TPM had a very happy ending.

This is what makes me wonder how any intelligent fan could call TPM a happy movie. If they've seen the other films or know anything about Star Wars, they know it is NOT a happy film whatsoever and that's just a truth. There are not TWO truths or many right answers, there is ONE absolute truth. I'm sick of relativism when we're talking about obvious matters like this. I mean, TPM is not a happy, wonderful film where the good guys win and the galaxy is well. It's a film where, underneath the surface, you can see the forces of evil eating away at the forces of good and the Dark Side beginning to take its grasp. To be fair, I think most of the "bashers" understand this, but some of them honestly don't... Makes you wonder!