Hello, I am looking at a CED player and 50 ish discs for $50 on Marketplace, I an interested in the format and have a small laserdisc collection, I know CEDs are lower resolution and most discs only have mono audio but I like oddball stuff like that. The seller did not mention if anything works but replacement belts seem fairly inexpensive though a replacement sytlus is pretty spendy if needed. Any advice you could give would be appreciated. Thanks.

  • ᴇᴍᴘᴇʀᴏʀ 帝MAEnglish
    2·
    9 months ago

    By the time the VHS copies were released George Lucas had already altered them…

    I think one of tyr early DVD boxsets includes the theatrical versions. Or at least a friend claims to have them and I did some research at the time which suggested they weren’t pulling my leg.

    I am boycotting the Blu-rays until they include the theatrical version - take that Disney!

    • UKFilmNerdMEnglish
      2·
      8 months ago

      The bonus DVDs were non-anamorphic copies of the old masters that were last used for the laserdiscs. Wow! Thanks, George.

      Oh, Hello 4K(Year Number) gang!

      • ᴇᴍᴘᴇʀᴏʀ 帝MAEnglish
        1·
        8 months ago

        The bonus DVDs were non-anamorphic copies of the old masters that were last used for the laserdiscs. Wow! Thanks, George.

        Yea, really only good for oneupmanship rather than capturing the full experience of seeing them in the cinema. He does seem oddly precious about the original prints, it’s one thing not letting us see it but not lodging a copy with the Library of Congress feels weird.

        • UKFilmNerdMEnglish
          1·
          8 months ago

          I thought they had a copy, I’m sure some kind of library had a print. I remember at the time of the Special Editions, George says that they cut up and used the original print of Star Wars as it’s source, so it was now impossible to create a transfer of the original untouched film ever again.

          George is a known pack rat, he keeps everything. For example, did you know there’s a version of Star Wars where all the land speeder and Falcon scenes were done using rear projection, just like the car traveling scenes in all those 70s TV shows.

          He has copies of everything I’m sure.

          • ᴇᴍᴘᴇʀᴏʀ 帝MAEnglish
            2·
            8 months ago

            I thought they had a copy, I’m sure some kind of library had a print.

            The situation is complicated, some sources say they have a copy, others suggest it’s the special edition. The most direct information I have comes from 2010 but I am not aware of any subsequent changes:

            The following is the response from the Library of Congress’ librarian Zoran Sinobad:

            "While both STAR WARS (1977) and THE EMPIRE STRIKES BACK (1980) are on the National Film Registry, the Library has not yet acquired new prints of either one. When the request was made for STAR WARS, Lucasfilm offered us the Special Edition version. The offer was declined as this was obviously not the version that had been selected for the Registry. We have not yet requested a print of THE EMPIRE STRIKES BACK, added to the Registry late last year.

            The Library of Congress does hold the original release versions of STAR WARS, THE EMPIRE STRIKES BACK and RETURN OF THE JEDI, but these 35mm prints were acquired as copyright deposits in March 1978, October 1980, and June 1983 respectively. All three are classified as archival masters and as such cannot be accessed for viewing/research. The existing condition reports for STAR WARS and THE EMPIRE STRIKES BACK (there is no report for RETURN OF THE JEDI) indicate that the former has minor scratches but is in good shape overall, while the latter has extreme color fading. We also have an additional 35mm print of the original STAR WARS (received June 1979) with English subtitles for the deaf.

            If you have any further questions, you are welcome to contact Lynanne Schweighofer, our Preservation Specialist and in-house Star Wars expert, at < mailto:lysc@loc.gov >.

            Sincerely,

            Zoran Sinobad Reference Librarian Moving Image Section Library of Congress"

            There’s a lot more in there about the originals, although quite a lot is unsubstantiated rumours. It does sound like there are other copies around but collectors aren’t going to reveal they have them because they could be seized.