The State of Star Wars Address... Posted by: Ric Nimrod 4-25-01 12:01pm The age-old question: WHERE THE HELL ARE MY DVDs! As promised in my last column (it was my FIRST column to generate hate mail. I say keep it coming but have the decency to send it to ME rather then Bill C. I mean COME ON... my e-mail address is included on the page and I think I deserve my own hate mail instead of sending it to Bill) where was I... OH YEAH... last time I promised a DVD rant so HERE IT IS. What can I say about the DVD situation that has not been said? Not much but let me recap the general feeling with MOST SW fans. As we know, there are no OFFICIAL DVDs of ANY Star Wars film. Shit, at this point we would probably be happy with the Holiday Special or one of the Ewoks TV movies. OR EVEN THE DAMN DROIDS CARTOON. King George claims he wants to release the "definitive" collection eventually but that he is far to busy working on these little independent films he has been writing and directing to put the needed time into the DVDs. Many in the Star Wars community would gladly pay for bare bones versions NOW and the "bells & whistles" edition later. And I have a feeling that is what will happen. As many of you know, we WILL see Star Wars: Episode One: TPM this year on DVD. I thought it would be in the spring, but it looks to be in the fall instead... no matter really, because IT IS COMING (Although I am going to lose a bet I made that it WOULD be released in the spring of '01... DOH). No "official" announcement has been made BUT as we all know, LucasFilm announces things at their leisure. The facts are this: the disc has been being worked on for some time (as I suspect the original trilogy is being worked on DESPITE what Lucas and his lackeys say) and the EP1 disc is actually FINISHED and just awaiting a green light for pressing and distribution. BUT WE DO NOT REALLY WANT PHANTOM MENACE ON DVD... I mean, we will GLADLY take it BUT what we really want is the Holy Trilogy. Well, I have got the 411 fo' y'all. I am talking about BOOTLEGS. LET IT BE KNOWN THAT I DO NOT sell illegal DVDs BUT could probably point you in the right direction ;-) I have had several different versions of Star Wars on bootleg DVDs and I am going to give you the details on the best versions I have owned. First of all, there are many versions of EP1 out there, but there is really no reason to buy any of them BECAUSE we will get an official release this year. The only real reason to buy one of these is if you find a seller that will put the disc into a deal with the other three. The BEST looking and sounding versions of the SW story on DVD are, unfortunately, also the Special Editions and bundled with subtitles that can not be turned off. I do not understand WHY the people who bootlegged these did not find a way to turn the titles off. The subtitles are in the black bar (all the films are in widescreen) so they are not so obtrusive. These discs are ports of the Laser Discs and have no real extras except for the same stuff that came on the SE home release in 1997. (Basically just small "making of the SE's" pieces) You can find these out in the world for about $100 (this price actually includes shipping as well as a disc of TPM as well, so it is about $25 a disc). The discs are ALL in digital sound and really look and sound great with the only down side being that they have the subtitles that you can not remove. The other discs I would recommend are actual Laser Disc ports of the ORIGINAL trilogy on DVD. THAT IS RIGHT! Greedo dies like the dog he is... WITHOUT the chance to shoot at Solo. These discs are really nice and come with a TON of extras including ORIGINAL trailers (including a REVENGE of the Jedi trailer), interviews, making of segments, a storyboard comparison and an original Sy Snoodles video. It sounds too good to be true doesn't it? Well it kind of is. The downside its this: There is a MAJOR sound glitch on ESB (starts in Cloud City) and a very minor one on ROTJ (only the films have glitches, the extras are fine). HOWEVER the DVD of A New Hope is freakin' FLAWLESS! Not one damn problem and it looks & sounds GREAT. These bootlegs are a cost of $50 plus $15 shipping (although they come with DVD cases, unlike the SE counterparts). I actually LOVE these versions BECAUSE they are the original releases in widescreen HOWEVER you are really only getting ANH with a TON of extras (included in these extras are flawed versions of ESB & ROTJ). To me, it is well worth it to have a DVD copy of ANH in its original wide screen presentation (something I doubt Lucas will EVER allow to be released as he has claimed the SE's are now the version he prefers). This is a FINE set but unfortunately the sound delays on ESB & ROTJ tarnish it a little BUT I look at it like this: GREEDO DOES NOT SHOOT FIRST on my PERFECT DIGITAL COPY OF STAR WARS WITH GREAT DIGITAL SOUND, It is my opinion that this alone is worth $50, the rest is just gravy. This is the bootleg info, use it as you will. HOWEVER next year not only brings us EP2 BUT it brings the 25 anniversary of ANH. This could be when King George releases a DVD of Star Wars. (Though it will be the SE). I have to believe that with DVD players selling like there is no tomorrow, King George has to know that there is big $$ in releasing the films sooner then later (and then LATER again;-). I mean come on DUDE... Mr. Digital Revolutionary is breaking new ground with his DIGITAL effects and is filming a his new film DIGITALLY so that it can be easier to do his DIGITAL effects and hopefully be presented in a DIGITAL theater. YET he does not release his films on the DIGITAL home format. It reminds me of a preacher who would DENY his flock bibles, a mechanic who says "I have the tools to fix this hot rod but I have decided to wait a few years to see what the roads are like" or a Dr. with the cure to AIDS saying "I have the cure BUT will wait to see if it turns out to really be a plague". IT DOES NOT MAKE ANY SENSE TO NOT RELEASE THESE FILMS NOW! Here is my jack-ass column for the week, I know it ain't that funny BUT so what... it has been pretty informative if you want SW on DVD RIGHT NOW! Peace Out, Nimrod