Entire Star Wars Saga to Be Released in 3-D

My first thought when I heard this news was that crappy movies in 3-D are still crappy movies. The only two films I would want to see again in any form, 3-D or not would be the original Star Wars (Episode 4) and The Empire Strikes Back. The rest of them aren’t really going to be improved by 3-D technology. They might look cool and all, but the films are still the films. That is my own personal (probably unpopular) opinion. I would imagine that 3-D technology might be edged forward slightly with Lucasfilm tipping their toe in.

Lucasfilm Ltd. announced today that the live-action Star Wars Saga will be converted to 3D! There are few movies that lend themselves more perfectly to 3D; from the Death Star trench run to the Tatooine Podrace, the Star Wars Saga has always delivered an entertainment experience that is completely immersive. Presented by Twentieth Century Fox and Lucasfilm Ltd., the cutting edge conversion will take that immersion to the next thrilling level, with Industrial Light & Magic supervising the project. Star Wars: Episode I The Phantom Menace is expected to be released theatrically in 2012. A release date has not yet been determined.

“Getting good results on a stereo conversion is a matter of taking the time and getting it right,” said John Knoll, Visual Effects Supervisor for Industrial Light & Magic. “It takes a critical and artistic eye along with an incredible attention to detail to be successful. It is not something that you can rush if you want to expect good results. For Star Wars we will take our time, applying everything we know both aesthetically and technically to bring audiences a fantastic new Star Wars experience.”

I was dazzled by Star Wars when I was a kid. The beauty of Lucas’ film was that he made it with enthralling special effects without the need for 3-D glasses. He and his effects team had to work harder to achieve similar results. When these films are changed to 3-D I’m sure they will be beautiful to look at.¬† It might be worth spending a few hours seeing what they’ve done.