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Classic Sci-Fi on DVD

 
Sheriff
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The 1955 science fiction classic This Island Earth was finally re-released on DVD last week. This was briefly available on DVD years ago, and old copies were selling for exorbitant amounts on eBay and Amazon.

The geeks among us (I'm not naming names) might be interested to know that the animated Star Trek from the early 1970's is making it's DVD debut in November -- the same month a 2-disc "50th Anniversary Edition" of Forbidden Planet is due.

And, of course, Star Wars episodes IV-VI are being re-released this month as 2-disc editions, including -- for the first time on DVD -- the original versions as seen in theaters before Lucas "revised" them.
 
ranger
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For an even more esoteric DVD release. I got the complete first series of "Ultraman" on DVD from Fry's a couple weeks ago.

Mark
 
marc weber
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Originally posted by Mark Spritzler:
...I got the complete first series of "Ultraman" on DVD from Fry's a couple weeks ago...


That might be fun! My girlfriend's exasperation might even justify the purchase.

I haven't seen the animated Trek since it originally aired in the early 70's. I'm going to buy the DVD set as soon as it comes out, but I don't know whether I want it to be "good" (as in a continuation of the original series) or "bad" (as in Saturday morning scripts, terrible animation, and Shatneresque acting). I expect it will be a little of both. Of course, the "bad" would be in a "good" way -- kind of like the original series itself -- so I can't lose.
 
Wanderer
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[marc]: The geeks among us (I'm not naming names)

It would probably be quicker to just name the non-geeks among us.

Thanks for the heads-up about these, Marc. Netflix has an entry for This Island Earth, but it doesn't appear to be available there yet. Perhaps if more of you add it to your queue they will get on the stick and stock it. I don't see a listing yet for ST:TAS, but presumably it will show up eventually.

I'll be interested to hear what people think of the Star Wars original releases. Of course it will be nice to have Han shoot first, but I suspect the effects may look rather poor by current standards. As in, discolored boxes around the ships in space. But those weren't really visible in the original; they showed up in VHS releases due to the transfer process which altered the brightness levels and brought out some undesireable features. So maybe Lucasfilm will have found a more appropriate transfer process this time, while otherwise using an unaltered original print. That would be nice.

Then again, how many times should people really buy these things? I already know Han shot first, special edition be damned, so do I really need a DVD to prove it? I suppose those with children may need this though, to properly educate them on what really happened.
 
Sheriff
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Originally posted by Jim Yingst:
[b]Netflix has an entry for This Island Earth, but it doesn't appear to be available there yet. Perhaps if more of you add it to your queue they will get on the stick and stock it.



Done!

I'll be buying ST:TAS for my die-hard Trekkie room-mate for christmas.

I refuse to give Lucas any more of my $'s.
 
marc weber
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Originally posted by Jim Yingst:
...maybe Lucasfilm will have found a more appropriate transfer process this time, while otherwise using an unaltered original print...


Unfortunately, I doubt this will be the case. The "bonus" original versions in this DVD release are going to be letterboxed, but not anamorphic. I suspect they are just tossing them in without much effort to appease the purist fans among us. Maybe in 9 months or so, they will release clean anamorphic transfers so we can buy them again.

I just don't like the idea of revising classic films. I would like to view Star Wars as a milestone document of 1970's filmmaking. I found most of the computer-animated additions distasteful anyway, like graffiti tagged over a work of art. As long as Lucas owns the films, I guess that's his option, but I wish he had a little more respect for film as art, and film as history. And if revised versions are going to be marketed, I think keeping the originals available alongside them is important.

A clean DVD version of T H X 1138 would also be nice, but that's another rant. (Note: Had to add spaces to "T H X" to get past the abbreviation filter.)
 
marc weber
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Originally posted by Bear Bibeault:
...I refuse to give Lucas any more of my $'s.


Yeah, the greed factor is really perplexing. Talk about being seduced by the Dark Side.
 
Jim Yingst
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I also haven't seen ST:TAS since - well I guess it was late 70's for me. Maybe 1980 at the latest. I remember it being generally low quality (particularly the animation, but then again, the effects on TOS look pretty crappy too). But there was some good stuff along the way, and I wouldn't mind seeing some episodes again. "Yesteryear" was quite good, returning to the Guardian of Forever and giving us a nice look at Spock's childhood. (And note that sehlats were referenced in the last season of Enterprise; T'Pol too had one as a pet when she was a child.) The Tribble and Harry Mudd episodes were fun followups. The adaptation of Larry Niven's The Slaver Weapon was enjoyable. Too bad the Kzinti couldn't appear regularly in the Trek universe. All those have the benefit of being written by authors from the original series, except Niven of course but he has a legacy of his own. The other episodes - eh, I don't remember much about them. I'll check a few out, but I don't have high expectations.

[marc]: Maybe in 9 months or so, they will release clean anamorphic transfers so we can buy them again.

Yeah, probably. That could also be part of why this is a "limited release". Sigh.

I don't mind a lot of the CGI enhancements, but the story changes are annoying. I am glad that they're finally releasing the originals in some form, but at this point I'm not inclined to rush out and buy them. I did put "Star Wars: Episode IV: A New Hope: Original Theatrical Version" in my netflix queue though, I'll go that far. I note that the original theatrical version is neither "A New Hope" nor "Episode IV", so we'll see.
[ September 03, 2006: Message edited by: Jim Yingst ]
 
Jim Yingst
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[marc]: Had to add spaces to "T H X" to get past the abbreviation filter.)

Wimp. Real programmers can find other ways to write THX 1138.
 
marc weber
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Originally posted by Jim Yingst:
... Wimp. Real programmers can find other ways to write THX 1138.


Doh! I guess now I can write U.S. too.
 
marc weber
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These aren't sci-fi, but I'm still waiting for NTSC-formatted DVD versions of...
  • Rude Boy (the 1980 "Clash movie," currently available in PAL)
  • Documenting Icons (the Nick Broomfield boxed set, currently available in PAL)
  • Any Frederick Wiseman documentary, but especially High School, Juvenile Court, Basic Training, Missile, Hospital, Near Death, Law and Order, Welfare, and Public Housing
  • Greed (the 1924 Erich von Stroheim silent classic)
  • Flirt (the 1995 Hal Hartley film)
  • Heavy Petting (the 1989 documentary)

  • [ September 03, 2006: Message edited by: marc weber ]
     
    Jim Yingst
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    Wandering down memory lane, I came across this page, which includes links to the ST:TAS theme. Oddly, I remembered it as much closer to the original music; now it sounds very different to me. A strange bit of subjective memory, I guess.

    Also I now have a sound clip ready, just waiting for a useful application, here. I'm confident a use will present itself sooner rather than later.
     
    marc weber
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    Originally posted by Jim Yingst:
    Wandering down memory lane, I came across this page...


    Ah... Good stuff! I'm psyched now!

    (But I'm not a geek.)
     
    Jim Yingst
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    So, um, speaking of revised versions of science fiction classics...
     
    marc weber
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    Originally posted by Jim Yingst:
    So, um, speaking of revised versions of science fiction classics...


    Ouch! That is so wrong.
     
    Jim Yingst
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    I don't think so. Unlike Lucas on Star Wars, it doesn't sound like they're changing plot points at all, and the original versions remain fully available. I'm cautiously optimistic for the moment...
     
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