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New 'Star Wars' changes don't surprise old fans of the series
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The subtle changes to the "Star Wars" franchise for its latest Blu-ray re-release have certainly made headlines -- one site proclaims, "George Lucas feels the force of angry fans!" Fans have certainly reacted, but anger may be a bit of a stretch.With a few lines of dialogue changed - including adding in a cry of outrage from one Darth Vader - some feel it's a ploy to get fans who already own the series to make another purchase.
"This might work for Bieber 3D movies, but I think Star Wars fans are smarter than that. I'll stick to the originals, thanks," writes one fan.
Other reactions have been more mellow. One Zap2it reader wrote, "Now, if they can make Jar Jar Binks go away all will be perfect in the Star Wars world."
In actuality, "Star Wars" fans may simply be accustomed to the changes -- one reader refers to it as "Lucas-itis." There's an entire Wikipedia page devoted to the slight alterations to the series made since its original release, ranging from dialogue changes to color corrections, tweaked special effects to added musical score.
The complete "Star Wars" re-release box set hits stores on Sept. 16 for an average retail price of $139.99.
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I feel the same way about Peter Jackson's "Special Edition" of The Lord of the Rings. With the exception of the inclusion of a few scenes spread over the three discs, most of the inserted scenes do nothing to improve the story, and actually slow it down (and, as he has rewritten Tolkien in places, some of these scenes fall under that category too.) Why mess with a good thing? Simply an exercise in ego massaging and greed?
Lucas and Jackson made good movies because they cared about the quality of what they were doing. They continue to care and to try to improve the product.
The added scenes in Lord of the Rings actually add a lot from the books. I am guessing you never read them though. They were already filmed, but weren't included in the theatrical release because the run time would have been too long.
It's absolutely nothing like what Lucas is doing to a 30-year old classic.
I think that Lucas has forgotten that he was an artist first, and became this mega-conglomerate that we now know as Lucas Films by accident. An artist always looks back at his finished work and wishes that they could tweak it here or there, yet when they do, they fail to realise that the reason the art is considered to be wonderful or a masterpiece is because of the perceived imperfections that are contained with in the art itself. If these directors and producers remember this, then they would understand why a classic is a classic, instead of a re-release, and would leave their masterpieces alone.
The changes don't bother me at all. SW belongs to Lucas and he can do whatever he wants with the movies. I find complaints about it ludicrous.
On September 2, 2011 9:38 AM,
Lee wrote:
"Lucas and Jackson made good movies because they cared about the quality of what they were doing. They continue to care and to try to improve the product."
Oh for crying out loud, is this guy kidding? Prior to Star Wars' release, George Lucas panned the movie as "...just a 'shoot 'em up with rayguns'" in a Newsweek article on the forthcoming Summer releases in '77. Of course now, it was all a part of some grander, perfect vision... after he started making money on the franchising.
On September 2, 2011 9:38 AM,
Lee wrote:
"Lucas and Jackson made good movies because they cared about the quality of what they were doing. They continue to care and to try to improve the product."
Oh for crying out loud, is this guy kidding? Prior to Star Wars' release, George Lucas panned the movie as "...just a 'shoot 'em up with rayguns'" in a Newsweek article on the forthcoming Summer releases in '77. Of course now, it was all a part of some grander, perfect vision... after he started making money on the franchising.