Quote:
Originally posted by InsaneSith
he has no obligation to do anything he doesn't wish to do. He gave us movies of his own mental creation, and nearly suffered a heart attack to do so. He gave us hours of entertainment, often having to spend his own money to do so. If anything we owe him. If he hadn't spent his own money on empire, we'd be nowhere but with just ANH. He doesn't owe us anything. I for one don't see why everyone thinks he's some money hungry feind.
|
He may not be a "money hungry feind" but he is pretty rich, and his wealth is primarily due to the shrewd deals he made with the Star Wars franchise, his cash cow.
He's used the VHS re-releases and the SE's to raise money and keep Star Wars in the public eye to finance the prequels. And there's the action figure sales of which he gets a tidy sum (re-re-re-releases). There's nothing wrong with being a smart businessman, no, not at all.
But it's the idea that the originals "no longer exist" and he wants to keep revising them that has people irked. If his goal is money he stands to make even more this way, but he (for once) chooses to pass up the opportunity.
"We owe him"? Well, going by the logic used, no, we don't owe him anything. As consumers we pay for what we want, so we're even (unless you're out there stealing from him somehow). We have no obligation to buy or like anything he's ever made. It's purely our choice.
Rather, he owes it (perhaps morally, not legally of course) to the cinematic community, to history, to preserve these works of art he's created.
Some famous author declared that his work should ALL be destroyed upon his death, but somebody disobeyed his dying wish and now it's a respected part of literature.
Unfortunately the name escapes me, but while I respect artistic integrity, there is a certain loss to society when somebody refuses to make their work available.
Lucas is being stubborn and he's still alive and listening (even if he doesn't always do what his fans want), so we're LETTING HIM KNOW. The people saying "shut up, leave Lucas alone!" well, they're entitled to their opinion too, but he can speak for himself. ; )
Since no one can force him to do anything (certainly not a rich guy like Lucas), the best we can do is try to convince him. Spread the word, support public petitions, vote with your wallets.
Quote:
|
He's just trying to share his stories. So he makes some money doing it, so what. He gave all he had into these movies, he still didn't get all he wanted in it.
|
Granted, and more power to him. Nothing wrong with that. I never said Lucas should work for free. ; )
But he turns around and says to his fans "Oh, you know that art of mine you like so much that you've been eating up all these years? Well it doesn't exist anymore, sorry. But can I interest you in this other piece of art that's sort of like it? In stores now!"
People defend Lucas's "original vision" and his rights as an artist till the cows come home, but really, he loses nothing by not releasing the Original Versions on DVD.
He even said "if you want the originals, you can get them on VHS."
Heh, right. You mean we can go on ebay and try to get one. And he knows as well as anyone that it's not the same. VHS tapes don't last, and they're inferior quality to DVD. He's got a full digital master of the three films, via his restoration work on the Trilogy.
He's got some nerve saying that after all his blustering about "no Star Wars DVD's until 2005" announcements. Lucas the THX man telling us to be happy with inferior quality. Or does he think that since the OT is now garbage ("no longer exists") that he doesn't care if it rots away on this crappy format. Um, no. The fans asked for Star Wars on DVD. After hemming and hawing for seven years he gives us another re-worked Special Edition with minimal extras (compared to what he could have given us, just look at all the documentaries, interviews and deleted scenes out there) and half of those extras aren't even about the movies themselves!
Lucas the stickler for quality should know that his fans won't be satisfied with fading VHS tapes of his movies. Hopefully he'll come around sooner or later. And he claimed he released these NOW because he was afraid of losing all the potential money to pirates. Hello, Lucas! People are bootlegging the OT right now, precisely because there's a market for the unmodified trilogy on dvd format! Get in there and grab the pie before it's all gone indeed...
Quote:
|
That's why he decided to go ahead and do special editions, to try and complete his vision. He owes us nothing more than a thank you for enjoying my movies and buying them.
|
Mr. Lucas is that you??? J/K, I'm sure you meant "
his movies and buying them." ; )
The Special Editions were made to get people thinking about Star Wars again (and see how marketable the movies were in theaters) and make money for the prequels. It's the same reason why the DVD's are being released.
His "original vision" could have been updated anytime, but he waited so long to do it, and (dare I say) only did it half-way.
Ask anyone who has the DVD's and has actually watched them. There's numerous flaws in the films that have been there since the films were released and have not been fixed. Were these flaws part of his "original vision"?
Why did he spend the money changing the stories and characters he created and ignore the goofs he made?
Clearly Lucas is making it up as he goes along (the Star Wars saga) and revising it as he sees fit. That's not wrong either, it's the fools he's taking us for that it was "always intended" this way and that WE'RE the "Indian Givers" (note: this is just an expression, an old but apt one) for not accepting it over the Originals.
And he has nothing to complain about either. He'll clean up on this DVD release just like he has everything else Star Wars related (except perhaps the prequels). He'll be laughing about this one all the way to the bank.
; )
Thanks George but let's see the Originals sometime huh? That'll shut up the fanboys, won't it?
Where to find VHS Trilogy!
Linear Mode
