I just received a lovely copy of Star Wars: The Definitive Collection from a seller on ebay, and I was floored by how big and impressive the set was. I think this set is my favorite by a long shot simply because of the production value they put into this set. It was clearly a labor of love for those who were involved. I also have the Faces CLV set, and the Special Edition Trilogy box set. I still have to hunt down the Japan Definitive Collector's set with the 3 additional specials, as well as the Saga Collector's set and the 2000 Japan box set. Which of all of the pressings is your personal favorite?

i like the first pressings with the cover art from the posters.
i had the faces covers and decided to sell them since at the time i would get more money for them than the older set and i didn't think there was that much difference in picture quality.

I think the 1997 SE is sharper and has lower noise than the Definitive or Faces. I don't like any of the US releasings of SW. Look at other sci-fi epics and their cover arts. 2001, Blade Runner, Alien to name a few. their cover art is almost their trade mark, doesnt change from one release to other(or format to other) you always have that space station in 2001 or Deckard with future LA in background, the cracked alien egg. Its very funny SW has far more memorible scenes in them but they always pic the worst ones to put on cover art. I see some more imagination and creativity in Japanese laserdisc editions. the bluray boxset is another nightmare story..its terrible terrible terrible.

I most certainly have a 2001 MGM pressing that does not have the space station on it! Besides, I can't remember the last time I picked up a set simply because of its awesome artwork. I pick these sets up for their extras, visual quality, and completeness.

yes, but for me the faces covers didn't give me enough reason to keep them over the older pressings i had for years.

if i had a box set then it would have been a different story, but i'm not really one to upgrade too much, the extras have to be a lot and it has to be cheap enough for me

Best Star Wars box set right now to me look like the 2nd pressing of the Definitive Collection out of Japan. I feel like we got cheated with all of the US releases

Though I've seen most issues via fan comparisons/transfers etc. and know of all their downsides I still can't help but want to collect all the various issues on LD. None will compare image-wise to the 2006 DVD release because that came straight from the Definitive Collection master tape.
I only own the Faces ROTJ and the 97 SE box. I've seen a bit of someone else's Def. Collection before too. The SE box looks best because of the 1997 pressing date, but the films were restored and look different to the previous editions.
My personal favorite video version of the original film is the one I'm currently trying to track down. This pressing is different to other in both cropping and color depth. I'm referring to the Technidisc pressing of the Fox WS disc just before the Def. Collection came out. From fan comparisons and screencaps, this disc just has a warmth to the image which I haven't glimpsed really on any other transfer. The sound mix is the 1985 stereo remix which adds in 3P0's tractor beam line and is very close to the theatrical stereo.
Now if only I can find one for myself...

Episode I is another I'd love to own. Theatrical cut of a decent film, with the original thunderous DD EX 5.1 track.

Track down Episode 1 as fast as you can. It's not only gorgeous, but has the best 5.1 Laserdisc AC-3 track I have ever heard

i have a question this disc has been confirmed as time compressed: Star Wars: A New Hope (1977) [5651-80]

so is this one time compressed too? Star Wars: A New Hope (CBS) (1977) [1130-80]
it doesn't say say but it says its a minute shorter, so it must be time compressed right?

also this one: Star Wars: The Empire Strikes Back (1980) [5652-80]

versus this one: Star Wars: The Empire Strikes Back (1980) [1425-80]

both time compressed?

It sure looks like it. Star Wars should be 121 minutes in length. Another give-away is that the movie is presented on 2 sides of one disc, instead of 3 sides of 2 discs like the later releases.

i wish they hadn't done that to star wars and battlestar galactica.. i wouldnt have minded if they had cut out 2 minutes of people picking their noses but no instead they sped up the movies..

I own this LD of Star Wars ESB signed by Hamill and Ford: http://img593.imageshack.us/img593/2126/img1519d.jpg

Of course it is Foolscreen but since I don't watch LDs that is a moot point for me. Cover art wise the P&S LD releases of Star Wars are actually the best.

On another note, If I am not mistaken the best US versions of Star Wars on LD are the faces releases. They also have less sides than the definitive releases. They were the best way to view non SE'd versions of Star Wars till the 2006 DVD double sets which contain the originals in non-anamorphic and the 2004 SE DVD releases in anamorphic. I own the 2006 double sets of each one.

I refused to buy the blu ray set. Darth Vader yelling "noooo" at the end was the last straw for me.

A great bit of memorabilia!

I mute on that scene

The best laserdisc of Battlestar is the original MCA DiscoVision version... It's not time compressed, nor does it suffer from the picture degrading effects of the time compression system used back then. Plus, MCA used a beautiful 35mm print and a good pressing looks amazing.

If you want a non-time compressed pan and scan version of Star Wars, you need to get the original Japanese release in the Magnetic Video jacket. It's a 2 disc set and except for the subtitles, looks as sounds great for the time.

Ty C.

The problem with the Definitive Collection and the 95 Faces discs are that the transfers are riddled with digital video noise reduction and thus have awful motion smearing.

All full screen CLV editions of "Star Wars" and "Empire Strikes Back" issued in the US are time compressed. The only Full Frame edtions which is not time compressed are the 5-sided CAV editions. If you can take subtitles, all of the Japanese editions are also not time compressed.

Why would anyone want any P&S version of Star Wars? And how can any P&S version of Star Wars "look" good?

I would agree that the faces editions are the best way to watch the original three.