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Star Wars Trilogy (Full Screen Edition)
- Color
- Dolby
- Full Screen
- Box set
The Editors Desk:
Was George Lucas's Star Wars Trilogy, the most anticipated DVD release ever, worth the wait? You bet. It's a must-have for any home theater, looking great, sounding great, and supplemented by generous bonus features. The Movies
The Star Wars Trilogy had the rare distinction of becoming a cultural phenomenon, a defining event for its generation. On its surface, George Lucas's story is a rollicking and humorous space fantasy that owes debts to more influences than one can count on two hands, but filmgoers became entranced by its basic struggle of good vs. evil "a long time ago, in a galaxy far, far away," its dazzling special effects, and a mythology of Jedi knights, the Force, and droids. Over the course of three films--A New Hope (1977), The Empire Strikes Back (1980), and Return of the Jedi (1983)--Luke Skywalker (Mark Hamill), Princess Leia (Carrie Fisher), and the roguish Han Solo (Harrison Ford) join the Rebel alliance in a galactic war against the Empire, the menacing Darth Vader (David Prowse, voiced by James Earl Jones), and eventually the all-powerful Emperor (Ian McDiarmid). Empire is generally considered the best of the films and Jedi the most uneven, but all three are vastly superior to the more technologically impressive prequels that followed, Episode I, The Phantom Menace (1999) and Episode II, Attack of the Clones (2002). How Are the Picture and Sound?
In a word, spectacular. Thanks to a new digital transfer, you've never seen C-3PO glow so golden, and Darth Vader's helmet is as black as the Dark Side. And at the climactic scene of A New Hope, see if the Dolby 5.1 EX sound doesn't knock you back in your chair. Other audio options are Dolby 2.0 Surround in English, Spanish, and French. (Sorry, DTS fans, but previous Star Wars DVDs didn't have DTS either.) What's Been Changed?
The rumors are true: Lucas made more changes to the films for their DVD debut. Hayden Christensen (Anakin Skywalker) has been added to a scene in Jedi, Ian McDiarmid (the Emperor) replaces Clive Revill with slightly revised lines in Empire, Temuera Morrison has rerecorded Boba Fett's minimal dialogue, and some other small details have been altered. Yes, these changes mean that the Star Wars films are no longer the ones you saw 20 years ago, but these brief changes hardly affect the films, and they do make sense in the overall continuity of the two trilogies. It's not like a digitized Ewan McGregor has replaced Alec Guiness's scenes, and the infamous changes made for the 1997 special-edition versions were much more intrusive (of course, those are in the DVD versions as well). How Are the Bonus Features?
Toplining is Empire of Dreams: The Story of the Star Wars Trilogy, a 150-minute documentary incorporating not only the usual making-of nuts and bolts but also the political workings of the movie studios and the difficulties Lucas had getting his vision to the screen (for example, after resigning from the Directors' Guild, he lost his first choice for director of Jedi: Steven Spielberg). It's a little adulatory, but it has plenty to interest any fan. The three substantial featurettes are "The Characters of Star Wars" (19 min.), which discusses the development of the characters we all know and love, "The Birth of the Lightsaber" (15 min.), about the creation and evolution of a Jedi's ultimate weapon, and "The Force Is with Them: The Legacy of Star Wars" (15 min.), in which filmmakers such as Peter Jackson, Ridley Scott, and James Cameron talk about how they and the industry were affected by the films and Lucas's technological developments in visual effects, sound, and computer animation. The bonus features are excellent and along the same lines as those created for The Phantom Menace and Attack of the Clones. Each film has a commentary track, recorded by Lucas, Ben Burtt (sound design), Dennis Muren (visual effects), and Carrie Fisher, with Irvin Kershner joining in on the film he directed, The Empire Strikes Back. Recorded separately and skillfully edited together (with supertitles to identify who is speaking), the tracks lack the energy of group commentaries, but they're enjoyable and informative, with a nice mix of overall vision (Lucas), technical details (Burtt, Muren, Kershner), and actor's perspective (Fisher). Interestingly, they discuss some of the 1997 changes (Mos Eisley creatures, the new Jabba the Hutt scene) but not those made for the DVDs. There's also a sampler of the Xbox game Star Wars: Battlefront, which lets the player reenact classic film scenarios (blast Ewoks in the battle of Endor!); trailers and TV spots from the films' many releases; and a nine-minute preview of the last film in the series, Episode III, Revenge of the Sith (here identified by an earlier working title, The Return of Darth Vader). Small extra touches include anamorphic widescreen motion menus with dialogue, original poster artwork on the discs, and a whopping 50 chapter stops for each film. "The Force Is Strong with This One"
The Star Wars Trilogy is an outstanding DVD set that lives up to the anticipation. There will always be resentment that the original versions of the films are not available as well, but George Lucas maintains that these are the versions he always wanted to make. If fans are able to put this debate aside, they can enjoy the adventures of Luke, Leia, and Han for years to come. --David Horiuchi
Avg. Customer Review: 
 Must-Have DVD
STAR WARS-A NEW HOPE(1977), THE EMPIRE STRIKES BACK (1980) and RETURN OF THE JEDI (1983) are three of the greatest movies ever made. So its difficult to differentiate between them. The Battle of Yavin, AT-ATs on Hoth, Luke and Vader on Bespin and the destruction of the second Death Star are all among
the most memorable movie moments in history. Who could forget the sardonic smuggler turned-rebel alliance hero Han Solo and his faithful wookie companion Chewbacca. Or the whiny but heroic Luke Skywalker saving the striking Princess Leia and the accompanying droids R2-D2 and C-3PO on the death star. Throw in some tusken raiders, stormtroopers, an ageing jedi master, a dark lord, an unlucky rodian and you've got a great movie. Just like JAWS before it, John William's fantastic soundtrack adds so much to all three films that it becomes another character in the story.
George Lucas' incredibly detailed universe and its accompanying multitude of great characters make New Hope imminently re-watchable and timeless. A perennial favorite of most film buffs, what's not to like? The 'Special Edition' re-releases in 1997 added several impressive CG vistas and creatures, but the shots are sometimes jarring. No matter how compelling a story is, or how good the acting is, special effects will kill any scene they're used in if they're not up to scratch. Jabba the Hutt's conversation with Han Solo was in my opinion badly done, and Darth Vader and Obi-Wan's lightsabers weren't even touched. Thankfully, all the quibbles about the effects can now be forgotten, as the aforementioned scenes have all be rectified for this highly-anticipated DVD
release.
But SFX, 20-odd years of fan obsession and subsequent classic status aside, is NEW HOPE actually a good movie when you sit down and watch it? While its a good start to the saga, EMPIRE outranks NH in terms of action and character depth. JEDI is commonly regarded as the lesser of the three, however there are some great action scenes and the characters prove to be more likeable when they've all gone full circle; especially Luke, from quiet farmboy to powerful jedi. And the end lightsaber fight with Darth Vader and Luke is one of my favorites. Any film fan must own these classic films on DVD.
A long time ago, in a trilogy far away....
STAR WARS EPISODE IV, V, & VI: TIMELESS CLASSICS It was history in the making in the world of Hollywood, before George Lucas went over to the Dark Side with the prequels. In 1977, Lucas created Star Wars Episode IV-A New Hope, little expecting that this movie would go to box-office light-speed and gain him a name in cinema history. This was the saga of an idealistic farmboy named Luke Skywalker, son of a fallen Jedi Knight, and his quest to seek out not only a princess but his own destiny. Luke, Obi-Wan Kenobi, two droids, the squat but very versatile R2-D2 and the cowardly Tin Man, C-3PO, Corellian space pirate Han Solo and the Wookiee Chewbacca immortalized themselves in the psyches of Boomer and Generation-X'ers. The Mos Eisley Cantina, with its plethora of exotic creatures, the desert world of Tatooine, the moon-sized planet-destroying Death Star of Grand Moff Tarkin, the rickety saucer-shaped Millennium Falcon, and dogfights between X-Wings and Tie Fighters set the standard for science fiction films thereafter. Viewers would also meet Darth Vader, Dark Lord of the Sith, who would symbolize the evil that was the Galactic Empire. Menacing in his skull-like helmet, armour, black cloak, and his ominous breathing apparatus, Darth Vader became my favorite Star Wars character. Indeed, he gained prominence in The Empire Strikes Back, the best of the trilogy, featuring Snow Walkers, asteroid fields, some hot-shot flying by Han Solo, cities in the clouds, and wizened Jedi Masters from whom we learned that "luminous beings are we, not this crude matter." Yoda demonstrated the triumph of the human will when he levitated Luke's X-wing from the swamps of Dagobah. Luke's harrowing adventure in the cave was a clue to what he would learn later. Empire featured the proper debut of the bounty hunter Boba Fett, whose armoured array of weaponry, cunning, and guile served the Empire well. A pity the other bounty hunters were seen all too briefly. The trilogy wrapped up in Return Of The Jedi, where Luke, Lando, Princess Leia went to rescue Han Solo from Jabba the Hutt, then prepare in time for the climactic battle against the Empire and Death Star Mark II, and a shot at getting Emperor Palpatine himself. Luke learned the truth about his father and readied himself for the confrontation with Vader and the Emperor. The monsters at Jabba's palace exceeded the cantina scenes, with Jabba representing the ultimate in Phil Tippett's creations. However, I do prefer the original Max Rebo music number. And as for the Ewoks, yes, "short help is better than none," and at least the revamped edition did away with their cutesy dance number. And the space battle was the perfect special effects triumph with just the right excitement, not the numbing digital blast of sound and noise that permeates today's movies. All three of these movies played a formative role in my childhood. These three videos are the revamped editions, and most of the new scenes add to the original cuts of the movies without ruining them. It is the triumphant dialogue and appealing characters that make the original trilogy classics in their time. Who can forget such memorable lines as "I felt as if millions of voices had cried out, and were suddenly silenced," "Don't you call me a mindless philospher, you overweight blob of grease!", "Garbage! What a really wonderful idea! What an incredible smell you've discovered!", "Look at the size of that thing!" and "He's got to follow his own path, no one can choose it for him." So remember, a Jedi's strength flows in embracing the Good Trilogy, A New Hope, Empire, and Jedi. But beware the Dark Trilogy--Menace, Clones, and the one yet to come. Once you start down the dark path, forever will it dominate your destiny. So trust your feelings, and may the Force be with you.
A Classic!
I just recently purchased a DVD player and knew that the Star Wars Trilogy would have to be in my collection ASAP. Of course I've these three movies many, many times, but for some reason I never tire of seeing them again. The first one brings back many childhood memories (my brother had a Star Wars themed bedroom!) and it's comforting to put it on just to have as background noise when my apartment gets too quiet. I guess that is the true meaning of a classic movie - you love it so much that it becomes a part of yourself. The added interviews and such on this DVD were pretty insightful to me and the bonus disc of "never before seen" footage from making the three movies had me giddy with delight! I can't imagine anyone not wanting to have this set in their collection!
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