Club Jade

I’m surprised that there were club and dance and versions of the original Jabba’s Palace song from Return of the Jedi (isn’t ’83 a bit late for disco?) Not shocking at all is that someone on Youtube has edited the Special Edition version of the scene to the original music.

An in-depth look by The Secret History of Star Wars’ Michael Kaminski of the processes undergone to restore the films for their 1997 re-releases. (via)

David Prowse can sometimes be a bit of a curmudgeon when it comes to Lucasfilm, so I’m not sure if it’s worth taking this report – that he got no money for the Return of the Jedi Special Edition because it didn’t make a profit – entirely seriously. In any case, Lucasfilm disagrees, and says that Prowse’s claim is “not accurate.” (Thanks to Diane – and her father – for the tip!)

Den of Geek’s top fifty movie special effects shots is a hell of a list. It willingly embraces all eras, movies that you might not expect (Hitchcock?!?) and hell, I think I learned a thing or two. (And all the scenes have a video. That’s some serious dedication.) It probably goes without saying that A New Hope and Return of the Jedi get entries.

Plus I’ll take any excuse to lead off with Harryhausen.

They also have a list of the 24 worst special effects of all time, which includes that horrible Special Edition Jabba scene. (Which I still hold is worse than Han shooting first.)

Drew Struzan’s greatest hits, with commentary from the artist himself (including the Special Editions, above) in Time:

While they fit together perfectly in a triptych, they were never painted side by side. I basically had a week to finish each. I put a black border around each one and had everything breaking out of the frame to make it look grander than it actually was. George liked it so much that he wanted the rest of the Star Wars posters to match that. So, on Episode I, and II, and III, I repeated that concept. George has a wonderful screening room at Skywalker Ranch, and there’s this big wall with all six paintings lined up in order. It’s one big movie.

(via)

Every Siskel & Ebert Show is now online. It’s like my childhood in video form! (Random Thought: Can I attribute my +5 Fanboy Resistance to having grown up watching two men occasionally fight tooth and nail over movies?)

A search for Star Wars brings up five reviews – the Special Editions, Attack of the Clones, and Revenge of the Sith. (I’m not sure where The Phantom Menace is, but it may be it never appeared on the show, given Siskel’s death in February 1999.)

And while Ebert is made of win, I really do miss Siskel. While Roeper was the most palatable of the replacements they tried after his death (a lineup which included Harry Knowles) it’s just not the same.

Yesterday was the 10th anniversary of the release date of Return of the Jedi: Special Edition! My Theater Edition Luke still remains safe somewhere in my closet.

Ten years ago today, Greedo shot first for the first time – that is, on January 31st 1997, the A New Hope Special Edition was released, ushering us into the a new era of Star Wars fandom. A kinda scary era where it seemed everyone on the internet was obsessed with Han’s blaster and prequel spoilers and the ethics of CGIing twenty-year-old films.

Seriously though, for some of us the ANH SE was the first chance to wait in line and see (at least so we’d remember) Star Wars on the big screen. I can’t recall ever waiting in line for a movie before this – my friends and I rushed to the theater right after school to be first in line for the 6pm show, playing Egyptian Ratscrew for hours.

What’s your ANH SE story?

Wil Wheaton writes about Star Wars figures. Reportedly, this account made one Club Jader (not me) cry.

Lord Noctifer on Hegemony and Resistance in a Galaxy Far, Far Away

The Infinite Force pits the unaltered trilogy vs. the 2004 Special Edition.

PadmeSkywalker77 explores anger and the Skywalker men.

Twitch Guru looks at CGI Gone Awry: The Worst Special Effects of the Computer-Generated Era. Among the honored: The Hulk, Van Helsing, Wild Wild West, and the ’97 Jabba from the ANH Special Edition. I agree, and to up the odds: CGI Jabba was way, way worse than Han shooting first. Discuss.