I just watched original theatrical Empire Strikes Back

[Khev]

And it was like being reunited with an old friend. My four week old daughter was fussing in the middle of the night on Saturday so I picked her up and took her out to the family room to give my wife a break. At 3:50 am. Just for about 20-30 minutes I thought. Enough time to "sample" the new ESB DVD I had bought earlier that day to go with the ROTJ DVD given to me by my wife for Christmas. I didn't go back to bed until I had watched the entire movie, including credits.

I expanded the picture to fill my 32" LCD flat panel which didn't flatter the picture quality but that didn't stop every single frame from looking better than any Special Edition ever released. Yep. Every single frame. I can't say enough how much the original colors contribute to the "magic" of these movies, colors that for whatever reason were lost when the films were updated.

Seeing Dagobah with its proper browns, greys, and greens recalled the wonder I used to feel when watching this movie. Wonder that I *thought* I still experienced with the SE. Not to this level at least. I thought the new "tint" was part of the restoration and that that must have been how it was really supposed to look. No way. Not after seeing the original theatrical version in its entirety.

I still love the prequels. I still like the idea behind updating the OT. I even like some of the updates. But for ESB, I don't see any further SE as being anything other than a novelty that takes a back seat to the original.

"You're lucky you don't taste very good."
"Bring my shuttle."
Boba Fett's original voice.
The frenetic pacing of the Falcon escaping Bespin unbroken by a shuttle docking sequence.
Most importantly: Those colors.

I don't know if any film has had as big an impact on my life as The Empire Strikes Back. I'm so glad that its finally back.

 

[tomandshell]

How funny--I just watched the theatrical Return of the Jedi with my son so he could hear "Lapti Nek" instead of "Jedi Rocks" at least once in his life. No Sly Snootles shoving her big CGI lips into the camera!!

And of course, the original Ewok victory song brought back memories.

I did miss the plant from Little Shop of Horrors coming out of the Sarlacc pit. (Just kidding.)

Unfortunately, my current setup via the VGA connector doesn't allow me to stretch the image, so I had to watch it with black bars on all four sides, but it was a small price to pay.

But now you make me want to go watch the original Empire Strikes Back!

 

[The ill Jedi]

The Original 'Empire' is my favorite movie of ALL TIME. I get those nostaglic feelings everytime I see it.

 

[Darth Caedus]

The Original 'Empire' is my favorite movie of ALL TIME. I get those nostaglic feelings everytime I see it.

Can't agree more with you. Original ESB is and will forever be my favorite.

 

[dr2red]

I used a gift card from Christmas to pick up all three dvd of the original trilogy
with the theatrical releases. They were sold separately and the girl at the store kept trying to sell me a boxed set. I asked her if they had the original theatrical versions?
She looked clueless so I bought them as singles. Can't wait to watch them and see them as they were when I first watched them in the theatre many years ago. I saw them first run so you get the idea I am as old as dirt.

 

[Shai]

ESB sure is the best SW film of the franchise.

 

[bcm77]

Even though I liked some of the changes made to ESB in the SE and DVD versions like the new Wampa and Ian McDiarmid as Palpatine there's nothing to beat the original versions of the OT films. It's a shame that George Lucas can't seem to grasp this fact and leave them alone instead of constantly buggering about with them.

 

[Darth Madden]

I agree totaly. I am so happy to finaly have "my" movies back. The ones I grew up with and the ones that made me a Star Wars fan. Most of the changes in the SE's I really don't mind but there are 2-3 in each movie just make me cringe every time I see them.

 

[denger4000]

Out of all the SE's I like Empire the most. the Jedi updates don't do anything for me, the ANH ones are alright, but for the most part I think the Empire updates are great, sorry, I just do. The extended wampa scene is great!

 

[Captain Faramir]

I agree. Of all the films, Empire needed the fewest changes, yet those changes were the best executed and best integrated. It really is the most seamlessly beautiful of all the Star Wars films (maybe because Uncle George wasn't directing..........).

 

[Darth Madden]

I agree. Of all the films, Empire needed the fewest changes, yet those changes were the best executed and best integrated. It really is the most seamlessly beautiful of all the Star Wars films (maybe because Uncle George wasn't directing..........).

Except for Fett's voice. George killed the 2nd coolest voice in the movies.

 

[Khev]

But now you make me want to go watch the original Empire Strikes Back!

You won't regret it tom. I can't remember the last time I watched this great film and didn't once have to brace myself for an alteration I didn't like. Even worse were the SE induced continuity errors (like the sound of Luke's saber turning off in the wampa cave while it was still lit or the "now you see them now you don't" windows and elevators in Cloud City.)

I thought "well at least they didn't change Dagobah." But after seeing what its supposed to look like with the original color palette I now realize how wrong I was.

 

[Gruson]

Yep,

Original Empire is just magic.



They screwed it up with the SE.

Horrible changes.

 

[Amanaman]

In 20 years, this thread will be bumped up by the grown-up prequel generation to discuss the pure blissful magic of AOTC.

 

[Bannister]

I have a serious question Khev. When you watch Return of the Jedi, do you ignore the parts with Leia in the metal Bikini?

 

[Xander]

The biggest kicker for me and the SE of ESB, is the voice of Boba Fett! "What if he doesn't survive? He's worth a lot to me!" Is one of my favorite lines from the series, and the Jango voice kinda kills it in a way. Yeah, there's the whole clone thing going on, but I really liked the original better! It sounds much more mechanical in a way and really gave him a creepier edge.

I pray that they don't ever go back and re-do the Stromies voices, but I'd imagine they are all from a different host....Or so I hope!

 

[KitFisto]

Yep,

Original Empire is just magic.



They screwed it up with the SE.

Horrible changes.

Totally disagree. Empire has my favorite changes of all the SE's. They are small changes here and there. Not like the atrocity that is "Jedi Rocks". The rubber doll or whatever that was that equaled Palpatine NEEDED to be changed. The Wampa scene was a decent update too IMO.

The one change that I could do with or without was the Vader shuttle scene.

 

[bcm77]

Boba Fett's voice is probably my most hated change of them all and he went from sounding badass to lameass
I know it makes sense in the larger story as Boba is revealed to be a clone in AOTC,but I think the PT should have been made to fit the OT better instead of constantly reworking parts of the OT to try and tie it in with the PT .
How long will it be before all the Stormroopers voices are changed and they are digitally recolored so they have all the different variants under the sun as with the ROTS Clones?