ALT.SF4M == STAR WARS: Special Edition == • g*****o@****.net 13/01/1997 00:00:000 UTC Just saw an ad on Fox-5 about the January 31st release of the Star Wars Special Edition. It looks like they added several new scenes and re-vamped all the special effects. So.....who's going? :) --Glen • s******j@**.com 05/02/1997 00:00:000 UTC I agree with most of Gorno's comments. Seeing the film with a matinee house full of teenagers enhances the experience greatly. For those not in the know: Jabba was originally supposed to be a big fat human guy. The book refers to him as such, and early "making of" documentaries showed the Jabba scene "as is" with a human actor (a chubby guy with an irish accent, in furs) and with no pretense that Lucas intended to superimpose a worm-like Jabba over him. (Hence the necessity for the "walking on Jabba's tail" effect.) The Greedo scene, which was cleaned up* for the new edition, does a far better job of setting up Han as a wanted man. Jabba changed much later on. His absence in the original cut was a result of * good editing* . What really surprised me about the film was how utterly cheesy some of the sets looked. I remember being utterly thrilled and delighted at the high- tech look of the Death Star and courier ship interiors, but today they look really crappy. I guess the state of the art has advanced a bit. --Stefan * For CRIPES SAKE, having Han shoot Greedo -- a clearly threatening menace -- under the table was a hilarious comuppance. -- +-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-+ ***@***.com ~ s*****s@a*****.***u.edu ~ s******j@**.com http://www.ini.cmu.edu/~sjones/ CHARGES APPLIED FOR UNSOLICITED COMMERCIAL EMAIL! • g*****o@****.net 14/01/1997 00:00:000 UTC The Red-Headed Gal (R*******A@s*****t.com) wrote: : Dude, where ya been! :-> (just joshin' ya) I thought I lost you forever..... B) : LucasFilm was at a convention here in St. Louis and showed us a lot of : the new stuff; it's sharp! They've also had an IMAX show called : "Special Effects" at the local science museum which also shows off : the new stuff and how they did it. Trust me, they added and re-did : _a_lot!_ : And if you think Jan 31 is a magic date, try out Mid-February (forgot : the date, when they release the re-vamped Empire Strikes Back. : And then there's March 7th, when they release Return of the Jedi. I can't wait till they all come out. Just like you said, they added a whole lot more special effects and scenes. I like the explosion ring that formed around the Death Star when it blew up. I loved it when the Jawa fell off that creature in the city. I personally can't wait for The Empire Strikes Back. It was my favorite and the release date is right around my birthday! Thanks for the present LucasFilm! --Glen • r*******a@s*****t.com 13/01/1997 00:00:000 UTC On 13 Jan 1997 12:56:38 GMT, g*****o@****.net (Glen) wrote: >Just saw an ad on Fox-5 about the January 31st release of the Star Wars >Special Edition. It looks like they added several new scenes and >re-vamped all the special effects. So.....who's going? :) >--Glen Dude, where ya been! :-> (just joshin' ya) LucasFilm was at a convention here in St. Louis and showed us a lot of the new stuff; it's sharp! They've also had an IMAX show called "Special Effects" at the local science museum which also shows off the new stuff and how they did it. Trust me, they added and re-did _a_lot!_ And if you think Jan 31 is a magic date, try out Mid-February (forgot the date, when they release the re-vamped Empire Strikes Back. And then there's March 7th, when they release Return of the Jedi. • j********o@***.com 05/02/1997 00:00:000 UTC I just saw the re-release: thank God Lucas didn't ruin it! (I must say that I've seen it too many times: the thrill is almost gone). The CG animals were goofy and unconvincing, especially compared to the made-up Banthas, etc. (I think the better effects get, the stupider he makes the critters!) The human riders of stop-motion/CG beasts never move right (e.g., Empire Strikes Back, Dragonslayer). It's funny that some of the remixes previewed weren't used: most notably the redone opening battle, with the intercepting blaster bolts and spherical blast waves (and a yucky colored nebula whose absence I was grateful for). The Jabba bit doesn't make much sense since Greedo said that the bounty had already been posted, plus he wasn't very convincing, nor was the CG effect of Han Solo walking up over his tail. I didn't like the inclusion of Boba Fett in Jabba's entourage: he was recruited by the Empire in the second movie... too much Star Trek Babies syndrome (to borrow Toast (TM)'s phrase). I really liked the extra scene with Biggs Darklighter. Strangely, they don't seem to have done much for the Light Sabers, which frequently suck, and the print I saw was quite spotty. Could have used more work. Still a great movie: lots of neat nuance in the minor characters. Each movie has a slightly different feel and take on the milieu: my favorite has always been the first, when the Empire was simply a big authoritarian bureaucracy, rather than a vehicle of a Force-using Emperer (I still miss Grand Moff Tarkin and his friendly relationship with a subordinate Vader). And of course, Luke shouldn't be Vader's son, and Leia sure as Hell shouldn't be his daughter! Gorno Ach der lieber! • f*******e@n*****t.com 14/01/1997 00:00:000 UTC There's a scene added where Han Solo meets Jaba. However, a number of years ago when they showed Star Wars on tv and then a behind the scenes loof at Return of the Jedi, when they were talking about Jaba, they showed that scene in Star Wars which was cut, and Jaba was "human". Don't remember why they said they cut the scene out. Jerry