My Star Wars War

[Susan Arendt]

My Star Wars War

It's not an overstatement to say that Star Wars played a major role in making Susan Arendt who she is today. It also eventually led her to commit a crime.

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[sammyfreak]

I cannot help but to notice that your writings seem to contain a unusually large amount of references to your childhood. If I felt so inclined I might draw certain...Freudian conclusions.

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Tell me about your father.

 

[fix-the-spade]

Time for a stupid question:

If you buy a faked copy of a product that is out of production. Who are you stealing from and does it count as piracy?

If the original manufacturers/creators no longer make it then presumably there is nothing left in it for them to enforce copyright. They've already sold all (or most of) the units they made.

 

[The_root_of_all_evil]

Totally agree. What Lucas did to those films is nothing short of abuse.

Were the originals to be released today, the sales would easily top those of the ridiculous 'improved' version.

Let's face it, Lucas may have been the creator, but he's still wrong on this. So dreadfully wrong.

 

[BobIsTheBob]

Uh. OK then. You just keep on whining there. I'm sure Mr. Lucas is in a corner crying because you were so offended. Frankly I loved all the movies, and enjoyed even the digital remasterings. I didn't agree with the whole Greedo shot first thing, but meh, it's his film, he can do whatever he wants with it. It certainly didn't make me angry, I just thought "wow, that's a little cheesy" and went on with my enjoyment of the films. Why people cling to their childhood with such a zealotry that would make suicide bombers question their faith is beyond me.

Anyway, someone really needs to gather up a life and live it and stop writing incredibly pointless articles.

 

[zoozilla]

While I agree that some of the alterations are not the greatest, I still think it's better than what Spielberg did to E.T. I mean, come on; a director as talented as he should know that replacing guns with walkie-talkies is stupid and will never look right.

 

[Severus Ape]

Your bootleg copy is also anamorphic, isn't it? The originals on the 2006 DVDs, which I did buy, are 4:3 letterboxed. Even if you aren't a huge Star Wars fan, you can still understand why that's kind of a kick in the teeth... So I downloaded the laserdisc versions.

 

[Geoffrey42]

...it's his film, he can do whatever he wants with it.

People like you make the world a worse place to live in.

@Author: I fully condone what you did. It is unfortunate that someone other than the copyright holder profited from the situation, but I blame that entirely on the copyright holder.

Personally, I'm holding out hope for a Blu Ray set (the masters magically turn up unharmed?) with all 6 films, including both options for the original trilogy. I would very much like to buy his movies once more (after buying the Specials on VHS when they came out) and never, ever, buy them again.

 

[7Zark7]

Uh. OK then. You just keep on whining there. I'm sure Mr. Lucas is in a corner crying because you were so offended. Frankly I loved all the movies, and enjoyed even the digital remasterings. I didn't agree with the whole Greedo shot first thing, but meh, it's his film, he can do whatever he wants with it. It certainly didn't make me angry, I just thought "wow, that's a little cheesy" and went on with my enjoyment of the films. Why people cling to their childhood with such a zealotry that would make suicide bombers question their faith is beyond me.

Anyway, someone really needs to gather up a life and live it and stop writing incredibly pointless articles.

You're complaining about someone else whining? Did you fail Irony 1101? Or wasn't that course offered at Malcontent U.?

No doubt you've grown acclimated to the miasma of your own opinion from years of living with comprehensive over-appraisal of an ostensibly nimble, though inwardly shallow intellect. Erudition without restraint or compassion is neither admirable nor sophisticated, sweetie, so why not go back to school and learn how to act like a human being?

People like you make me yearn for the good old days, when you could bust a bully in the chops and he'd get the message.

 

[Susan Arendt]

I cannot help but to notice that your writings seem to contain a unusually large amount of references to your childhood. If I felt so inclined I might draw certain...Freudian conclusions.

The ones about Star Wars and Superheroes do, yes, but my Booty Call, Psycho Poker *****, and Ninja Gaiden articles are fairly free from childhood references.

@Bob -- if the new versions work for you, that's great. I certainly don't think you should be denied access to them simply because I don't like them. That was my whole point all along. If Lucas wanted to put out his Special version, that's fine, just let me have the option to watch the originals if that's what I'd prefer.

 

[th15]

... it's his film, he can do whatever he wants with it.

I wonder about this sometimes. What really is his? At some point, the fans of a product begin to outstrip the creator in terms of the amount of time, love and attention given to the lore. Our conception of physical property can't simply be transposed onto intellectual property. They're not the same things. Even in the context of physical property, don't you think that the natives who tend and till a land have some right to ownership of the land that they cultivate?

The difference is that ideas are what make human civilization truly amazing. The knowledge of generations past are our common birthright.

If the creator loves his work less than enthusiasts, does he really deserve to own it then? If it were the norm for any great thinker to clutch his ideas and knowledge close to his breast because of some selfish notion of ownership where would we be today? Where would we be without Newton's works? Without Einstein's musings made public, shared, discussed, enhanced by others?

This is the Information Age. It should be an age of sharing and enlightenment, why is the world dominated by selfish bickering over intellectual property and copyrights. We now have the technology and tools to share, collaborate and bring to life some of our wildest and most fantastic dreams. So let's start doing that.

 

[bustns]

i know exactly where your coming from, though i saw star wars on vhs in the early 80s. sadly i wasnt born in 77 and never saw the originals in the theater. the new star wars edits bugged the crap out of me and an older friend of mine had the lazer disk and he kindly made me a burned copy of his lazerdisks and thus i was happy.

 

[sammyfreak]

I cannot help but to notice that your writings seem to contain a unusually large amount of references to your childhood. If I felt so inclined I might draw certain...Freudian conclusions.

The ones about Star Wars and Superheroes do, yes, but my Booty Call, Psycho Poker *****, and Ninja Gaiden articles are fairly free from childhood references.

Or are they? I am never the one to let a reference to the master of the world slide.

 

[Echolocating]

It bothered me as well that Lucas didn't offer up the original version until it was way too late. Personally, Lucas pretty much destroyed all the love I had for Star Wars and by the time he gave me want I wanted... I didn't want it anymore. All that's left is fond memories and the hope that he'll relinquish creative control of the Star Wars universe to more talented and capable hands in the near future.

Bioware did more justice to the Star Wars universe than Lucas ever did... and that's kind of wrong on some important level, don't you think?

 

[mshcherbatskaya]

I don't think it's piracy if you did actually pay for the original and now need a different format. I own Pink Floyd's "The Wall" on cassette tape but no longer own a cassette player, so I downloaded it off the internet without a pang of guilt. It may seem odd to call as my example one of the most fanatical anti-piracy corporations in the world, but my right to use my Microsoft software is not tied to possession of the disk. If I bust or lose my disk, I can call and get a replacement disk without having to pay for the full copy of the software again. If I purchased a movie on VHS and can no longer play it because the technology is obsolete or the tape has worn thin, I feel I still have the license to watch that movie. This is doubly the case when the movie in question is no longer available.

 

[Fire Daemon]

I agree with this article to a degree however I don't know what it is like to be dissapointed by Star Wars as when I first I saw the remastered version I could see no difference between them and the originals. I never noticed that Han dodged a shot by standing still or the extra ring on the explosion, I didn't notice anything they added to the movie.

Maybe I'm not such a die hard fan as others but I like the remakes. The movies are still Star Wars and Star Wars still is good.

However I do not think the Lucas should twist his movies so much. When a movie is released to the public it becomes something that is beyond control by the creators, I suppose you could say that it becomes part of the public because it lives in the hearts of the people who watch it. You can't change peoples hearts.

 

[Cousin_IT]

I still always miss the fact that Greedo shoots first & dont mind the explosive ring (its what all films seem to have these days so it didnt strike me). THe added Jabba scene is unnecessary, & pretty ugly (watch Han walk over Jabbas tail) but I find it ignorable. Ultimately its just the price that has to be paid with an insecure director trying to perfect the masterpiece he'll be remembered for. (though personally, ill remember him for the monstrosity that was Revenge of the Sith)

 

[Geoffrey42]

I don't think it's piracy if you did actually pay for the original and now need a different format. I own Pink Floyd's "The Wall" on cassette tape but no longer own a cassette player, so I downloaded it off the internet without a pang of guilt. It may seem odd to call as my example one of the most fanatical anti-piracy corporations in the world, but my right to use my Microsoft software is not tied to possession of the disk. If I bust or lose my disk, I can call and get a replacement disk without having to pay for the full copy of the software again. If I purchased a movie on VHS and can no longer play it because the technology is obsolete or the tape has worn thin, I feel I still have the license to watch that movie. This is doubly the case when the movie in question is no longer available.

I'm sort of half with you here. When whoever owns the rights to "The Wall" decided to do a re-release on CD, did they just record the tapes to the CDs, or did they take the masters and do a higher quality release on CDs? When they do the transfer to DVD, (depending on the movie) they often do a higher quality transfer. They actually put resources and talent into making it a higher quality of release. If I have purchased a lo-fi copy of something, and wish for a hi-fi copy of said thing, I do not consider myself entitled to it. So that's the one half.

The other half is where I disagree with the industry. If I have purchased a hi-fi copy of something, and wish for a lo-fi copy of said thing, I consider myself 110% entitled to it. To some extent, it is because all of the information in the lo-fi copy is present in the hi-fi copy, and me, on my own, minus draconian DRM restrictions on my software/hardware, could get a reasonable facsimile of the lo-fi version being sold elsewhere. The same is not true of me, the owner of the lo-fi, gaining access to the hi-fi.

Example for clarity: I own LotR on DVD (480i resolution, 5.1 sound mix). When they are released on Blu Ray, I do not consider myself entitled to the 1080p, up-to-7.1 sound mix. But, when my LotR DVDs die, I consider myself wholly entitled to go torrent new copies of the DVD versions, or, if I'm forward planning enough, to produce backups (ignoring DMCA restrictions against my doing so). If I owned a PMP, and wanted to watch LotR on those, I consider myself wholly entitled to make a copy of my DVDs, shrink and compress them to a resolution and sound-mix apppropriate to the device, without paying Apple, or the media company holding the rights, again.

Ugh, I need to practice my brevity. Wit, that I've got in spades... brevity, notsomuch.
*EDIT* Sentence out of order.

 

[Eagle Est1986]

I didn't notice anything they added to the movie.

Really? Not even that Hayden Christensen is at the end of Return of the Jedi? You could be the least observant person ever, not offense intended mind you, I'm just suprised.

 

[SilentHunter7]

...it's his film, he can do whatever he wants with it.

People like you make the world a worse place to live in.

Why? Because you don't agree with him?

I don't see what the big deal is, personally. The man wanted to remake his movies, so he did, and if you don't like the changes it's not like the originals are gone forever. You can still get them. Even if it is on bitTorrent. If all else fails, you can be like me and pretend it never happened. You people make the guy out to be the devil for doing what he wanted in the first place. Just because Lucas only wanted to re-release the version he thought was superior, doesn't mean he's the spiteful jackass some of you would make him out to be. Honestly, if your favorite Fictitious Universe getting a bad RetCon is the worst thing that ever happens to you, you live a very charmed life. In my opinion, there's too many Shenanigans to get pissed off about in this universe to be getting angry about others.

That said, having Greedo shoot first was a terrible idea.