DVD roundup

Now that the dust of the Limited Edition DVD release earlier this week has settled a bit, here’s a few of the many reviews, opinions, and other media detris:

Time Out Movie Blog: An interview with Warwick Davis, who says: “Everybody wanted to see these versions.”

The Denver Post: The purists strike back. I know I’ve been in fandom too long when ‘puists’ means ‘people who whine about the EU,’ not people who hate the Special Edition changes.

The London Free Press: Star Wars DVD is overpriced. I don’t think anyone is actually paying $24.99. At least not this week.

The Salt Lake Tribune: 5 reasons this set goes to the dark side. Yeah, yeah, we know. Geez.

More such…
Toledo Free Press
The Crimson White
Cinema Blend
Detroit Free Press
Pittsburgh Post-Gazette

And course, there’s always Starwars.com’s complete coverage…

From the Blogside

Apparently some other space franchise is 40 years old this week. Pablo has some thoughts on Star Trek, the mother of modern fandom.

JawaJoey considers the upcoming DVD release and reaction. I’m gearing up for the flood of disappointed/overblown/smug blog and forum posts myself…

Nar Cranor has advice for folks wanting to start a fansite. He has some good points, but it seems to me there’s a lot more to it than just finding something new… You have to do it well. Or at least, better than anyone else doing the same thing. And don’t start a forum (or a group blog…) unless you’re pretty sure you can bring in enough folks to populate it properly.

Reviews: RJ Peters on Bloodlines, and Suzanne takes on both Betrayal and Bloodlines.

Whine season opens early this year

No review copies of the new DVDs? The ‘piracy’ excuse seems kind of silly – there’s little (reported) that hasn’t been seen before, and has probably been illegally avaliable via all the usual suspects for years.

Of course, savvy fans – apparently not the bloggers at EW, at least before the fanboy hoards got to them – already know the transfers of the ‘originals’ are straight from the ’93 laserdisc masters and thus not going to be as good as the 2004 editions.

Popwatch’s second point/theory is something to ponder – are these stopgap DVDs? We do have that 2007 box set rumor.

Or, y’know, they’re just doing this on the cheap. It does seem strange seeing how much LFL loves to court publicity. And it makes me wonder if there’s something else on the discs. (Damn that Kool-Aid!) A preview of the animated TV show? The box set? Jar Jar in carbonite? Only LFL knows for sure… But don’t hold your breath.

This week on StarWars.com

Another exhaustive look at the differences between the original movie and the 2004 DVDs, this time focusing on Empire Strikes Back. Also check out 1980: The Empire Theatrical Experience.

Artist Lawrence Noble is profiled. I want that ESB fan club poster!

New stuff from Hasbro, including a really cool Sith Starfighter I can’t recall ever seeing before.

What’s the Story, Round 6
Road Trip in Seattle
Original Trilogy Lenticular Posters
Drawing LEGO Lando and Chewbacca
New VIP blog: Mike Quinn