The “Star Wars” digital copies release on April 10, 2015, but I’m not sold!
I’m a HUGE Star Wars fan. Ever since I was a kid I’ve been watching the films and I’ve owned just about every release of the films since VHS. Now with the digital age comes a digital release of the six “Star Wars” films for a price between $90 and $100. Even with this being the first digital release, the question is, “Is this worth buying?” Here are my reasons why I think you should NOT buy this collection.
Han shot first, but not in this collection…
If you’re a true “Star Wars” fan then you know that Han Solo shot first in “A New Hope.” In the theatrical release of the “Star Wars IV: A New Hope,” the bounty hunter Greedo finds Han Solo in a Tatooine cantina. Attempting to collect the bounty on Han’s head, Greedo is unexpectedly shot and killed by Han. George Lucas changed his mind on this scene and later added in a moment that makes it seem as though Greedo shoots first to make Han Solo look more justified.
So what is the significance of this scene? This scene, like many others, were edited and/or remastered for later media releases. The most recent Blu-ray release of the “Star Wars” films included all of these changes yet despite the storage capacity, no option for viewing the original theatrical release. With that said, many were hoping that we would get the option of the original cut with the next release. Unfortunately it sounds like the digital release of the films won’t be the theatrical releases we’ve been anticipating. Badass Digest recently released an article expecting the theatrical edition of Han shooting first but just recanted that article confirming that the original cut will not be the digital films we will (or will not) be buying.
If you’re a fan of the current versions then this still may interest you but as for me, I’ve had the longing for the original cuts remastered for quite some time and I’m still waiting patiently.
You’re actually leasing not buying these films
There’s been much debate about the ownership of digital media. You’re paying for something that has no tangible existence yet you somehow own this item you’ve purchased. The question is, “Do you really own this item?” The legal answer is, “No you don’t.”
A few years ago The Guardian published an article on digital ownership. In particular they referenced case where Actor Bruce Willis had a lawsuit against Apple because he wanted to leave his digital music collection to his children in his will. Because his collection was a digital collection, Bruce Willis could not transfer ownership to someone else making this ownership more like a lease.
This is a drawback of “owning” digital files. There is no transfer of ownership (for most content) and you don’t have the right to sell that content like you could with other tangible assets. While I and many would not have the intentions of selling or transferring ownership of this “Star Wars” collection, the idea of paying $90 or even $100 for no tangible item troubles me. Sure I’ve purchased digital items in the past but never paid a price tag this high. If I’m paying the same amount of money that I paid for the Blu-ray collection then I want another set of discs and a digital copy like I get with most Blu-rays I buy. I want something that I actually own and the ability to have things in the cloud is just a bonus, not a selling point.
Click to the NEXT PAGE for the final reasons!
The bonus content is light
Despite the horrid additions to the film, there were a few things I liked about the “Star Wars” Blu-ray collection. One thing in particular was the amount of quality bonus content. The Blu-ray featurettes were awesome as well as the making of and standard deleted scenes.
If you look through the list of the “9-hours” of bonus content that they’re advertising with this digital collection you’ll find some new content but a majority of it is redundant. Things that we’ve already seen and known get a little bit more dialogue added to them but overall there is nothing that wows us like previous releases. I know that they can pull from different “secret vaults” but much of the content is just regurgitated rhetoric.
You probably already own all of this content already
This is an overall message that seems to seep its way into many of the points above. The fact of the matter is, we’re not getting anything different from what we already own. There will be no major changes to the hi-def films as they are currently and therefore nothing worth buying based on film content.
If they released both versions of the films then I may even renounce my take on buying a digital collection, but unfortunately we’re paying for the portability of a product we already own. To me, the luxury of having my current collection in the cloud is not worth the money to me. I’ll just take my discs with me if I want to watch them.
Overall though, if you want to still buy it then buy it. “Star Wars” has been milking the cash cow for quite some time and I’ve bought my fair share of merchandise, I have the lightsaber collection to prove it. If you want to have your collection preserved in the cloud and the price seems fair to you then don’t let me stop you. I just know that I won’t be paying that price anytime soon…unless they give me something worth buying.
View Comments (21)
Thanks for the clarification. If it had Han shooting first then I would have bought it for my kids to watch. As is, no go.
No problem. I'm a huge Star Wars fan myself so while I understand fans wanting to buy everything Star Wars, the cost of paying $90 for the convenience of portability only seems a bit much for me.
You could also digitize your blu-ray collection rather than paying for this version, then when the original original trilogy is released in digital form you wont' feel as bad about buying that one
You do too "own" digital media, to the same extent that you own software: in the form of a user license. Rights to pass physical media to survivors are worthless anyway when it comes to tapes & discs, because such media have a limited shelf life. It's not like your grandkids will be able to watch your movies on DVD 20 years after you're dead or something. And as for refusing to buy the new , updated versions as some form of protest , you're only cutting off your nose to spite your face because Lucas has seen to it the original versions will never again be released to consumers in any format .
Licensing cannot be defined as ownership as it is a child of ownership. Definitively licensing is an action that is permitted by an owner where they are permitting you to use said item.
You are right about the potential life of shelf copies though. While I don't see them vanishing as quickly as VHS to DVD (given that Blu-Ray players can read DVDs), technology tells us that we will see a change in the future.
This was not written as a form of protest, it was written as a statement of why I'm personally not buying them as a Star Wars fan. I even closed the post telling others to make their own decision.
I agree with all but your first point. I mean who cares who shot first, just be glad that Han is still shooting at all! I mean this is Disney we're talking about.
You are right, the "Greedo/Han Cantina" scene is a minor bit of editing that is hardly noticeable. The reference to that scene was more in reference to the changes overall like Vader screaming "NOOOO" in ROTJ, the replacement of Sebastian Shaw as Anakin's ghost with Hayden Christensen, etc.
Well, even those changes while unnecessary you can still understand the Lucas' reasoning.
The Vader yelling "No", while not necessary makes sense, it's what any person would react. However, the change itself would have made more sense if Lucas had shown Vader remembering Padme on Mustafar when she told Anakin that he was breaking her heart, then there is a context for his yelling "No". Vader had failed in protecting Padme in the past, he wasn't going to fail her again by allowing the Emperor to kill their son.
Then with changing the Force Ghost of Anakin, again unnecessary, but Lucas' reasoning was that when Vader saved Luke he became Anakin again and he hadn't been Anakin since he betrayed the Jedi and cut off Mace Windu's arm. Thus, Anakin's Force Ghost appears the way Anakin appeared when he was last a Jedi.
Again, as I said they were unnecessary changes, but it isn't impossible to understand what Lucas was thinking when he made those changes. A lot of fans seemed to have gotten the notion that because they loved Star Wars so much that it "belonged" to them. However, prior to selling Lucasfilm to Disney, George Lucas was both the creator and owner of Star Wars. As such it was his right as creator and owner to make whatever changes to HIS franchise as he saw fit. Now that's not to say fans have to be happy about those changes, but fans do have to respect that it was George's right to make those changes regardless.
This was his response to me after I called him out on his bull shit: "I didn't say anything about one's preference for aspects of the film determining your "true fan status." The only thing I said about "true" fans is that they know the original cut had Han shooting first.
I'm a die hard fan and I still find redeeming qualities when watching the prequels. There are also a lot of other things I like that others do not.
The whole point of this article was to bring it to attention of fans that you're paying for a digital copy of something you may already own." Don't bother with this idiot dude. He back tracking. He should just admit he hates Lucas. These kinds of people like him who call Lucas fans not real fans, are the real not true Star Wars fans.
I think he can read my response to you above.
Couldn't agree with you more! $100 to be able to stream something you probably already own, with no ability for resale, with no additional features, and apparently no true ownership even... this is a betrayal to consumers saying, "You are all fools who will buy whatever we sell you!" Sadly, they are probably selling loads of them, so I have my doubts we will get anything better... Great article tho!
"True" Star Wars fan? Well then I guess I better throw all my Star Wars items away cause I'm not a true fan because I like the special editons and the unaltered editions. Thanks for showing me that being a true star wars fan doesn't come from the heart but from being a butt hurt whiny little bitch ass fan tard.
I didn't say anything about one's preference for aspects of the film determining your "true fan status." The only thing I said about "true" fans is that they know the original cut had Han shooting first.
I'm a die hard fan and I still find redeeming qualities when watching the prequels. There are also a lot of other things I like that others do not.
The whole point of this article was to bring it to attention of fans that you're paying for a digital copy of something you may already own.
If you’re a true “Star Wars” fan then you know that Han Solo shot first in “A New Hope.” In the theatrical release of the “Star Wars IV: A New Hope,” the bounty hunter Greedo finds Han Solo in a Tatooine cantina. If you’re a true “Star Wars” fan then you know that Han Solo shot first. If you’re a true “Star Wars” fan. Stop making excuses. We all know what you said. Shut up and own up to it. You're only making yourself look much much worse.
Haha, what are you even talking about right now? Did you read this article or just skim it?
Nervouse laughter. Own up to it. What? Are you starting to regret your comment?
First off, you're trolling and I don't know why I'm "feeding the troll." Your responses are incoherent ramblings and I cannot make sense of any point that you may be trying to make.
It sounds like you're agreeing with me that Han shot first (which he did) based on your response above but you also are insinuating that there's something that I need to "own up to."
The article has not changed, the words are the same, and there's not one comment I regret. I would love to address whatever point you're trying to make but the biggest struggle I'm having at the moment is translating your grammar and verbiage into some sort of logical, contextual thought.
No amount of you being butt hurt is going to change the fact that you have convinced yourself that only fans of the unaltered trilogy are the true fans. You said that. Remember. And no. I'm not trolling. Your tiny irrational mind is trying to make sense of your own stupidity by saying I'm "Trolling". I'm not. I'm calling you out on your retarded belief that every true star wars fan know's that Han shot first. You don't get it, do you? And you wrote the fucking thing.
Haha, once again I never said that nor have I convinced myself of "true fans" having a preference for the unaltered trilogy. I myself like some of the post work done on the films.
I'm not "butt hurt" in the least and in fact, it seems quite the opposite. The word "true" was used loosely in this article as a means of identifying the common argument of "Han shot first" rather than expanding upon its backstory. The definition of "true fans" is subjective in any context and its use in this article is not pertinent other than to point out a scene that a majority of fans want to see in its original form.
To dissect this article and relegate it to this one point just shows that you're triggered (or butt hurt) over some underlying, misinterpreted context that was never present in the first place.
I am not one to define someone's love or level of "fandom" for something, nor do I pretend to be. I'm also not going to let someone define my love for something. But it's obvious that somehow you've let my words trigger you into feeling a bit unsure of yourself and that's not my problem, it's a personal problem.
Soooooooooo, who shot first? Kappa
Soooooooooooooooooo, who shot first? Kappa