Star Wars Saga -- All Six Films [HDRips.4.iPod] -- VoV

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The Star Wars Saga

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Common File Information

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Source / Type........: 1080p HD Rips (by sk8flawzz)

Platforms............: All iPods & iPhones / Zune / AppleTV / X-Box 360 / PS3 / Etc.

Video Format.........: H.264

Video Resolution.....: 853x362 (640 x 362 Container, Explained Below)

Video Frames/Second..: 25.00 (E1 & EIII are 23.98)

Audio Format.........: AAC-LC

Audio Bitrate........: 160 (ABR)

Audio Sampling.......: 48kHz

Audio Channels.......: Stereo (2)

Genre................: Science Fiction > Space Opera > Adventure

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For those who haven’t ever seen a Star Wars film, but consider themselves film aficionados, or even just movie fans ... you’re lying to yourselves. The Star Wars films have been more influential on the film industry since 1977 than any other group of films to date. This is not an opinion of just one person, but the collected and majority opinion and analysis of hundreds of true experts of business, film, history, and science. Nearly all experts also agree that without two films of the mid-1970s, the film industry of Hollywood was due for financial ruin. These two films are Steven Spielberg's "Jaws" and George Lucas's "Star Wars".



Where the summers of the 1970’s leading up to 1975 were filled with both lackluster films and poor business, in 1975, "Jaws" had the theaters full of eager movie-goers. Then again in 1977, "Star Wars", a film most theaters were forced into buying prints of by 20th Century Fox, had the theaters packed and the streets lined with people waiting to get in. "Star Wars" is not just a science fiction story, nor is it just a "Space Opera" as coined by a famous film critic. "Star Wars" is a phenomenon and part of movie history. Without seeing these films, how can you see other films which parody and reference it?



http://i120.photobucket.com/albums/o168/VixenofVenus/ScreenShots/StarWars/originals.jpg




I converted these using XviD4PSP to first convert them to HD MP4s because FFmpeg doesn't deal well with the WMV format in my experience. Then I used a special FFmpeg formula to squeeze the extra pixels into the 640x container. Then I used AtomicParsley to apply the 5G UUID iPod Atom, and tagged them with Tagger (which technically also uses AtomicParsley). In my opinion, these are the best standard-definition copies of the Star Wars films available. They are all converted at 1250kbps, 852x362 REAL Resolution, 25 or 23.98 frames-per-second, with 160kbps stereo sound @48kHz. As you can see listed above, the source was the 1080p High Definition .wmv's uploaded by my fellow uploader sk8flawzz. You can find those torrents still well seeded and active here on Demonoid.





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So ... you may actually be seeing this and wondering, didn't VoV already upload these films converted from the same source files!?



-- The answer ... yes, I did. But these ones are BETTER!



Here's just a quick example of how much better these new conversions look:



http://i120.photobucket.com/albums/o168/VixenofVenus/ScreenShots/StarWars/swqualitycomparison.jpg




Really close observers will notice the quality is actually BETTER, but I used a lower bitrate, I didn't compromise the framerate, and the file sizes are about 10% smaller. The previous torrent was a grand total of 8.92 GB for all six films in what I would now call "GOOD" quality, these new conversions add up to just 7.76.



Saving over 1GB of space for better quality? Can it get any better? :D





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Star Wars - Episode I: The Phantom Menace

Poster Art: http://i120.photobucket.com/albums/o168/VixenofVenus/ScreenShots/StarWars/pstarwarsei-thephantommenace.jpg


IMDB Link:

http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0120915/




The first in the saga, the first prequel, yet the fourth film ... The Phantom Menace is probably the least favorite of fans due to several factors, yet the film is still a great film. The action is fantastic, and the pod-racing scenes are a nostalgic nod to Lucas's own past and previous film "American Graffiti". While the film is not the best in the saga, it contains many important parts of the overall story, and it allows the viewer to see that Darth Vader was once a young innocent boy named Anakin.



When the evil Trade Federation plots to take over the peaceful planet of Naboo, Jedi warrior Qui-Gon Jinn and his apprentice Obi-Wan Kenobi embark on an amazing adventure to save the planet. With them on their journey is the young queen Amidala, Gungan outcast JarJar Binks, and the powerful Captain Panaka, who will all travel to the faraway planets of Tatooine and Coruscant in a futile attempt to save their world from the Trade Federation.



Screen Shots:

http://i120.photobucket.com/albums/o168/VixenofVenus/ScreenShots/StarWars/sw1.jpg






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Star Wars - Episode II: Attack of the Clones

Poster Art:

http://i120.photobucket.com/albums/o168/VixenofVenus/ScreenShots/StarWars/pstarwarseii-attackoftheclones.jpg


IMDB Link:

http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0121765/




While this film is important to the saga as a whole, this particular film is important to fans of Star Wars for one reason: Yoda fights with a lightsaber. When nine-hundred years old you reach, fight as good you will not!



Set 10 years after the events in "The Phantom Menace". After an assassination attempt on the life of Senator Padme Amidala, Jedi Obi-Wan Kenobi and his Padawan learner Anakin Skywalker are sent to investigate. After tracking down the assassin, she is killed before any information can be driven out of her. The two Jedi are then sent on two different missions, Anakin is sent to Naboo with Padme and Obi-Wan is sent to the planet of Kamino where he will investigate the assassination attempts. Little does he know, he is investigating some of the biggest events of the Star Wars saga, as he finds out that there is a connection between the assassination attempts and a separatists movement led by a former Jedi against the Republic. The Galactic Republic finds itself at the brink of a civil war.



Screen Shots:

http://i120.photobucket.com/albums/o168/VixenofVenus/ScreenShots/StarWars/sw2.jpg






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Star Wars - Episode III: Revenge of the Sith

Poster Art:

http://i120.photobucket.com/albums/o168/VixenofVenus/ScreenShots/StarWars/pstarwarseiii-revengeofthesith.jpg


IMDB Link:

http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0121766/




As some fans might agree, the prequel trilogy of films was only made to lead up to the final scenes of this particular film. For years, the rumor and stories of the birth of Vader were nearly legendary in their origins. From the novelization of the original trilogy films was a reference to how Vader was so severely injured he must be encased in a suit which would breathe for him ... and ever since, fans have wanted to see this famous duel between Jedi Master Obi-Wan Kenobi and Dark Lord of the Sith Vader in a volcano. Lucas has always said the novels are not really how he sees things, but are a nice way for fans to experience what isn’t on the screen. So when Lucas took the fantastic story and expanded it from a single volcano to a planet of molten lava, fans rejoiced ...



Three years after the onset of the Clone Wars; the noble Jedi Knights are spread out across the galaxy leading a massive clone army in the war against the Separatists. After Chancellor Palpatine is kidnapped, Jedi Master Obi-Wan Kenobi and his former padawan, Anakin Skywalker, are dispatched to eliminate the evil General Grievous. Meanwhile, Anakin's friendship with the Chancellor arouses suspicion in the Jedi Order, and dangerous to the Jedi Knight himself. When the sinister Sith Lord, Darth Sidious, unveils a plot to take over the galaxy, the fate of Anakin, the Jedi order, and the entire galaxy is at stake. Upon his return, Anakin Skywalker learns his wife Padme Amidala is pregnant, but he is having visions of her dying in childbirth. Anakin Skywalker ultimately must choose between the Jedi and an alternative that may have the answers he so desperately needs to save his beloved wife.



Screen Shots:

http://i120.photobucket.com/albums/o168/VixenofVenus/ScreenShots/StarWars/sw3.jpg






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Star Wars: Episode IV - A New Hope

Poster Art:

http://i120.photobucket.com/albums/o168/VixenofVenus/ScreenShots/StarWars/pstarwarseiv-anewhope.jpg


IMDB Link:

http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0076759/




Set twenty years after the events of "Revenge of the Sith", Episode IV was the first film ever released. Initially, with no guarantee of sequels, Lucas released the film, simply titled as "Star Wars". However, in re-releases (of which there were several), it was re-titled to include the subtitle and episode number.



In a distant galaxy eons before the creation of the mythical planet known as Earth, vast civilizations have evolved, and ruling the galaxy is an interstellar Empire created from the ruins of an Old Republic that held sway for generations. It is a time of civil war, as solar systems have broken away from the Empire and are waging a war of rebellion. During a recent battle technical schematics for a gigantic space station, code named The Death Star, have been unearthed by Rebel spies, and a young woman who is a dissident member of the Imperial Senate, under the cover of a diplomatic mission to the planet Alderaan, is trying to smuggle these plans to the Rebellion. But her spacecraft is attacked by a vast warship of the Empire and seized. The dissident Senator is captured, but the plans for the Death Star are nowhere to be found. While soldiers of the Empire search the nearby planet Tatooine, a series of incidents sweeps up a young desert farmer with dreams of being a fighter pilot in the Rebellion ...



Screen Shots:

http://i120.photobucket.com/albums/o168/VixenofVenus/ScreenShots/StarWars/sw4.jpg






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Star Wars: Episode V - The Empire Strikes Back

Poster Art:

http://i120.photobucket.com/albums/o168/VixenofVenus/ScreenShots/StarWars/pstarwarsev-theempirestrikesback.jpg


IMDB Link:

http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0080684/




For many fans, the last two films of the Star Wars Saga are claimed as personal favorites. For me, Empire is my personal favorite. Until the prequels were released, never before had I seen a film where evil triumphs. The title even explains this fact ... as the Galactic Empire is striking back against the Rebels. But not only are the bad guys winning, one particular bad guy reveals a secret to a particular good guy which shocked the world as we know it. To this day, this sequence is probably the most quoted, referenced and parodied film sequence in history.



After receiving a vision from Obi-Wan Kenobi and fleeing the ice world of Hoth with his friends after an Imperial attack, Luke Skywalker travels to the marsh planet of Dagobah, where he is instructed in the ways of the Force by the legendary Jedi master Yoda. Meanwhile, Han Solo and Princess Leia make their way to planet Bespin, where they are greeted by Han's old friend, a shifty gambler named Lando Calrissian. Ambushed by the Empire shortly after their arrival, Han and his friends are imprisoned by Darth Vader. Luke leaves Dagobah to rescue his friends, and is met by Vader and a startling revelation.



Screen Shots:

http://i120.photobucket.com/albums/o168/VixenofVenus/ScreenShots/StarWars/sw5.jpg






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Star Wars: Episode VI - Return of the Jedi

Poster Art:

http://i120.photobucket.com/albums/o168/VixenofVenus/ScreenShots/StarWars/pstarwarsevi-returnofthejedi.jpg


IMDB Link:

http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0086190/




In the final part of the six-part Star Wars Saga, Return of the Jedi is both a coming of age story, an action extravaganza, and just try and not be topped by the revelation of its predecessor, another familial connection is revealed!



As the Emperor himself oversees the construction of the new Death Star by Lord Darth Vader and the evil Galactic Empire, smuggler Han Solo is rescued from the clutches of the vile gangster Jabba the Hutt by his friends, Luke Skywalker, Princess Leia and Chewbacca. Leaving Skywalker Jedi training with Yoda, Solo returns to the Rebel Fleet to prepare for to complete his battle with the Empire itself. During the ensuing fighting the newly returned Skywalker is captured by Vader. Can the Rebels, and their new found friends, the Ewoks, help restore freedom to the Galaxy?



Screen Shots:

http://i120.photobucket.com/albums/o168/VixenofVenus/ScreenShots/StarWars/sw6.jpg






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Additional Info

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