Which print/release is the ultimate Star Wars ld/s to own? I hear faces editions are close to enough to theatricals and do not have mastering issues. Definitive editions are in CAV with different extras. Older CBS/Fox prints are again close enough to theatricals but has shrinking aspect ratio issue. There are corrected versions of these I believe. How about none-us prints? Any has better picture, less or no mastering issues/defetcs? more extras?

I own two copies of the Special Edition release on LaserDisc as well. The reasoning was it was dirt-cheap and in great condition. Plus it comes with a nice little booklet. Second, as others have mentioned, it's the only way to watch the theatrical versions of the special edition (besides VHS) since the 2004 DVD releases once again edited and changed some things (for better & worse).



The Definitive (CAV) editions has the best bonus features. The 'Faces' set has nothing except for an interview with George Lucas (which is also on the VHS release). These features were also released on a very limited VHS set with a metal tin and a bunch of other items. The 'Faces' set is pretty good. Sure you don't have the frame by frame option as the CAV set, but I watch this one mainly, and it looks great. The older CBS/Fox releases may not look as nice as the 'Faces' set, plus in some instances the aspect ration or the black bars (or sometimes the whole picture) was positioned oddly, I think this was on Return of the Jedi. Either way if you can find 'Faces' and the CAV set cheap get them, it's worth having both of them. Also it's good to note the 2006 DVD releases (non-special/altered editions) were mastered from the LaserDisc. I own these too. But it's a bit more fun to flip a disc... sometimes.

I have the Star Wars Trilogy: Special Edition (1997) [PILF-2860] which I hear is similar to the 'Faces' set. The 2000 release of the Trilogy in japan Star Wars Trilogy: Collector's Set [PILF-2070] Also has an 11 minute Episode 11 sneak peak, which was also on the U.S. VHS re-release and the Malaisia VCD set.

I've got the Faces editions plus the Malaysian VCDs you just mentioned. The preview of Attack of the Clones is interesting, it seems to have been made by 20th Century Fox Australia so mainly features on the two Australian actors playing Uncle Owen and Aunt Beru.

As a longtime member of originaltrilogy.com, I know all of the in/outs and flaws of the Definitive Collection...but I still want one!
Firstly, one has to get the second pressing for the missing 7 seconds in ESB. Then try and find a box without rot or scaling lines. The Faces discs have none of these problems and are the exact same transfer on standalone CLV. There might have been some slight processing or tweaking for the THX process, but this has never been confirmed. I have the Faces of ROTJ and it looks and sounds fine.
The 97SE box can usually be had nowadays cheaper than the Def. Collection. The image quality and sound is fantastic and indeed the best official source for the 97 version as it has never again been released. The Japanese version is supposed to feature slightly better video.
If you are looking for the easiest to obtain and best versions closest to the original theatrical edition then the 2006 DVD bonus discs are your best friend. These are sourced from the LD masters and blow them out of the water. However, they are non-anamorphic letterbox and magnify all of the problems with the outdated transfer. Primarily, the extreme use of digital video noise reduction. This alone makes the films very washed out and smeary, and combined with a worn IP source-it is really not what we should be forced to watch.
Lastly, the 1993 transfers are slightly edited (audio track is recreated) and not the theatrical editions. Close but not the real thing. You have to go to older editions to get closer and each other edition has its own unique set of problems.

I just recieved my Japanese definitive collection boxset. I found it on ebay and paid 50 dollars for it, including postage to The Netherlands.
It is a nice set, in excellent condition, except for some damage on the bottom of the lid of the box. It has been a long time since I saw Han shot first .

Nice buy ! I got one of the definitive collections a little while back. Got it for a great deal, however the hard cover book was missing.

Bought my at MVC mid 90's for £250.00 ouch.

Guess i'll be looking for the US version as well, since the Japanese version replaced the hardcover book for 2 discs with 3 'making off' features.

I was lucky, because I wasn't planning on buying the SE LD set when it was released, but then one night I walked into my local Suncoast store and they had 3 copies of the SE LaserDisc box set, all priced at $29.95 each. Well, I couldn't afford not to pick up a copy then. The sales guy told me they had several more copies in the back but just hadn't put them all out due to the shelf space they took up. While he was ringing it up I was afraid the register would come back with the actual price and I'd be told "sorry, its a price misprint", but it wasn't and the sales guy said they had sold several others at that price over the past few days. I wish I had bought out their stock to resell for a "discount" of only $60 or so on the newsgroups. I don't believe I had heard of eBay yet - or if I had, I didn't know anything about it.

I honestly do not know how rare the Definitive Star Wars box set was but I did hear that some collectors paid up to £400 for the privilege of owning this Special Box with the Hardback Book of George Lucas early directing career including the Star Wars franchise.

I paid around £150 approx for 1 of my Definitive box Sets and around £10 for another that came as a job lot of around 100 LD'S and A Pioneer CLD-99 Laserdisc Player from a friend who moved to Spain.

I should take delivery of the Japanese version before the years out, which is currently reserved with a seller.

It would be interesting to know how many were produced thou, just out of interest.

Regards to all

Yep, The Definitive Collection was one of those LaserDisc sets that tended to take your breath away when you first saw the price. I got my original copy of it for $199 by pre-ordering from Ken Crane's - that's the edition with the too-tight disc jackets and glue that makes them come apart - and the missing 7 seconds of ESB. Oh, and unless your TV is calibrated perfectly, you'll see hum-bars rolling up the screen during dark scenes - and the Closed Captions are spotty - they work great with some players and TV's or with lots of gibberish or not at all with other LaserDisc player/TV combinations. The Mitsubishi VS-4501R rear projection set I had at the time didn't have a built in CC decoder since that didn't become a law until 1993 or 94, so I didn't know about the CC problems until much later. A few years ago I was given a sealed copy of the DC and its a later pressing with better video quality and good, strong CC's and no missing footage from ESB. Neither set has rot or any video noise.

To all forum members reading this, do you think the Definitive Collection LD or the later SE box (or both) are LaserVision Landmarks and deserve special coverage on my website? Or do you think they are just standard releases and really shouldn't be covered in-depth?

THX addendum: as some of you know, THX used the awful Panasonic Prism LX-1000 player to QC the DC's discs - it's a good thing the DC was CAV because the vast majority of LX-1000's couldn't play CLV discs without major crosstalk. I've never found out why, but THX loved Panasonic for some reason because the THX LaserDisc Player Certification standards were initially developed using the excellent LX-900 as the 'reference' player, with the final Runco LJR-II's performance being used to "lock-in" the standards. And the goal of the THX player standards was to approach, as closely as possible, the combined performance of a late-model 1-inch C-Format VTR with a state-of-the-art TBC (the 1-inch C-format required a TBC to meet broadcast standards) and the composite digital D-2 VCR format, such as a Video S/N of at least 53db for composite out (I got this info from someone who was involved in having the Runco player THX certified, but I can't reveal who it was because they signed a non-disclosure agreement with THX and they still work in the industry). It really is a shame Pioneer never had a player THX certified because I'd have liked to see what they did with it - like would they have used a red laser to cut down on video noise and improve tracking? Would they have used a Hi-Vision player (with the Hi-Vision circuits removed or disabled)? It could have been really neat. EAD submitted the TheaterVision for THX certification, and it passed certification with no circuit changes. EAD didn't go ahead with the certification however due to the high per-unit cost THX charged, which apparently depended upon the price the unit was to sell for - in other words it was "how much have you got in your wallet?" But, after initial certification, no changes were made so the EAD (and Faroudja LD1000) can be considered to be essentially THX certified. I assume Faroudja didn't go ahead with it because their 'Flying P" logo was their own THX equivalent - not too many DVD players or processors received the Flying-P logo.

It's a shame the hardback book is such a sophomore effort, with content quality that would suggest it was originally written to sell at discount book stores.

In terms of rarity, the Definitive Collection, at least the US version, was repressed several times - at least 3 times that I know of - to fix various errors and such, but none of the sets is without flaws, so its not like there are "perfect" sets out there - again, speaking of the US set only. So the US version isn't all that rare. Kinda like the CAV Fantasia.

that happened to me once at sam goody, they had the criterion Spartacus for the $44.95 price of the regular edition.
but when they scanned it the price came to the 124.95, the cashier had to get the manager, he said it was a mistake
but since it was a printed sticker of the price that they would honor that lower price.

Not a whole can be done for a quickie video without the camera adding in noise from the CRT. But while playing a few scene sound highlight moments well the whole film is magnificent.

The whole scene is pressing on my body, rumbles the seats.

https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?v=10 ... =2&theater

to be honnest

that specific box set is one of those "so called rarities" that everyone ownes
Been buying collections for many years and more than 9 of those came along here.
I've kept the best pressing around some years ago. Got in in mint condition. it's a nice boxset but rare

What is " rare" anyway, something is rare until the day you own it
wouldn't spend too much money on it... can be found very cheap

I don't have any missing scenes and this was brought up two years ago.

Mine are spot on. or RARE.

Rare comparing to dvd and bluray editions probably. Not so rare if you compare to other laserdisc releases. Due to its size and weigh,at least shipping makes it out of the dollar bin item. Not as rare as jurassic park laserdisc in my opinion

Ghosting princess? That has to be rare. So you can see by frame count Come play your laserdisc on your end and take pictures videos lets see.



Short video you need to focus your eyes.
https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?v=10 ... =2&theater

Great info on THX as far as the certification for the LD players.

This is only a guess, but maybe THX liked working with Panasonic because of their expertise in creating video formats like M-1, M-2, D-3 and D-5 as well as creating their own LD players (quality LD players, unlike Sony!)

Rare for one that isn't madly expensive and even rarer to find a complete set from the later pressing without the missing Leia welding scene and rot-free.