Review of Star Wars Trilogy (Box Set)

Introduction

As I write, Star Wars fever once again pervades cinemas the world over, with the final instalment in the saga being released to a fan base salivating in anticipation. It seems the perfect time for me to revisit the original trilogy as part of my desire to watch the six films in order, although I hardly need an excuse. Now that Episodes I to III are comfortably out of the way in my schedule, it`s time to turn to IV, V and VI, and add my two pennies worth to the mountain of criticism already written about these films. The original Star Wars came out in 1977, The Empire Strikes Back in 1980 and Return Of The Jedi in 1983. From the first, George Lucas showed a tendency to tinker, changing scenes in Empire even after the film`s premiere. Still, the films remained largely untouched until 1997, when George Lucas decided to re-release the films in cinema for the 20th anniversary. Finding the original prints for Star Wars in a less than acceptable state, it was decided to completely restore all three films, and Lucas also saw the opportunity to `complete` the films to match with his vision. Deleted scenes would be restored, new ones added, and the state of the art in CGI and effects technology used to spruce the films up. It didn`t hurt that this exercise would serve as a trial run for the imminent Phantom Menace, as well as create a visual style that would remain consistent through the saga.

In the summer of 1997, the Special Edition of Star Wars, re-titled A New Hope was released to a mixed reception, quickly followed by its sequels. While the films looked glorious, not all the changes met to universal approval, provoking much debate among the fans. Up to this point, the only way to watch Star Wars on the home theatre was on VHS, or laserdisc for those lucky enough. Then some bright spark in a laboratory far, far away invented the DVD, and fans waited eagerly for their favourite films to appear, and they waited, and they waited some more. The Phantom Menace and Attack Of The Clones came and went, and still there was no sign of the original films on DVD. Rumours would abound, that they would be released in a mega set with both the original and Special Editions, that there would be at least one disc of extras per film, that George Lucas was tinkering again. Only one of these rumours would be true. Practically the last of the major titles to make it to DVD, the original Star Wars trilogy made its debut on the small shiny disc in September of 2004, presented on three discs, with a fourth bonus disc for the extra features.

In a sign that all previous versions of the film have been rendered obsolete or incomplete, the Special Edition moniker has been dropped, signifying that this is Star Wars as Lucas intends, as he sees it to be. And yes, he has been tinkering and tweaking once more, to correct more errors, change further scenes and dialogue, and further tie in the films to the prequel trilogy. I won`t go into detail about all the changes, merely refer you to Chris Gould`s excellent articles on the subject at DVD Answers.

I will point out the alterations that bug me though. You`ll probably want to skip the Greedo paragraph to avoid excessive bile. Still some of the changes are good, some less so, and certain flaws remain that still need to be addressed. This much is certain, while Star Wars has made it to DVD, these are not yet the definitive versions of the films. I get the impression that George Lucas will still be tinkering with these films when the HD/Blu-Ray debate is resolved.


A New Hope

The blurb on the back of the case has been altered slightly to tie in with the Prequels, beginning with, "The Jedi Knights have been exterminated and the Empire rules the galaxy with an iron fist…" The story remains the same however; the rebels have stolen the plans to the Death Star, and are trying to escape the Empire`s clutches. Darth Vader`s star destroyer tracks Princess Leia`s ship to an out of the way planet called Tatooine. While the ship is captured, the droids R2D2 and C3P0 escape with the plans and make it to the planet`s surface, where they encounter a simple farm boy named Luke Skywalker. But Luke is heir to a remarkable legacy as revealed to him by the eccentric hermit Obi Wan Kenobi, the power of the Force. Before he can come to terms with this however, events drive Luke to go head to head with the evil Empire, hooking up with a cocky smuggler and his hirsute sidekick, and rescuing a princess along the way.


The Empire Strikes Back

Indeed they do, with the Rebels having been on the run since their victory in the previous film. The Rebellion is a minor matter for Darth Vader and his master the Emperor, as they have learned of a new threat to their Empire. Luke Skywalker is strong with the Force and must not become a Jedi, but turned to the dark side he would be a formidable ally. As Vader hunts for the rebels, Luke, Han and Leia are having trouble of their own on the ice planet of Hoth. The Empire attacks and they barely manage to escape. Han and Leia take a misfiring Falcon and try desperately to evade their pursuers, while Luke follows a ghostly vision to a swamp planet where he encounters a diminutive Jedi Master, and begins his Jedi training in earnest. But the path to the dark side is tempting, and Luke is destined for a confrontation that will cost him dearly, and challenge everything he believes.


Return Of The Jedi

With the Empire building a second Death Star, things have never looked bleaker for the rebels. Luke has to complete his training, and finally learn the dark truth about his heritage, but an opportunity has arisen to strike at the heart of the evil Empire, and rid the galaxy of the Emperor once and for all. The rebels are sorely mistaken though, as the Emperor has a plan of his own, to recruit a new apprentice to serve at his side. The fate of the galaxy will be decided by a handful of guerrillas on a forest moon, a desperate last-ditch battle in space, and the final confrontation between Darth Vader and Luke Skywalker. I hope someone remembers to thaw out Han Solo first.

Video

All three films get 2.35:1 anamorphic transfers, which are to all intents and purposes flawless. The restoration work done to these films is impeccable, there isn`t a speck of dust or print damage, grain is unnoticeable, and the transfer shows these films in the best possible light. It is a stunning transfer that boasts excellent detail throughout.

The visual impact of Star Wars has always been one its strongest points. George Lucas presented us with a fantastic world of starships, aliens, creatures and odd characters that looked lived in, looked alive and above all real. It`s hard to forget, especially with the revisionist nature of the Special Editions, that the trilogy was filmed pre CGI and before the digital age. This was an era of stop-motion, of puppetry and of matte-lines and the emerging technology of motion control. Indeed Industrial Light and Magic pioneered many effects techniques on these films that made it the effects behemoth that it is today. From the first moment that you see the still awesome spectacle of the Star Destroyer looming over the arid landscape of Tatooine, to the mind-blowing climactic battle over Endor, the original Star Wars trilogy set the bar for future fantasy films to reach for. Without it, we certainly would have had no Matrix or Lord Of The Rings. The fact that the first Star Wars film was filmed on what seems like a modest budget of $13 million makes its sheer scope and depth outstanding. Much of this has to do with location shooting. Without the benefit of CGI, exotic locales around the world were used to stand in for exotic planets, and that contributes significantly to the veracity of the tale.

Still, George Lucas wasn`t satisfied with the original films, and the 1997 Special Editions were an opportunity to use a CGI paintbrush to fill in the gaps in the worlds, making Mos Eisley a hustling bustling urban centre, giving Bespin a sense of scale and openness, animating the odder looking denizens of various worlds, restoring deleted scenes, and generally changing the bits he didn`t like originally. I`ve listed some of the major visual changes since the Special Edition for each film separately.


A New Hope

The first time around, Star Wars saw a great deal of work, with the restoration of the Jabba scene, the revised entry into Mos Eisley, Luke`s reunion with his friend Biggs and the spruced up battle over the Death Star. This time, the speeder`s entry into Mos Eisley has been tarted up even more to make it look more natural, and the Jabba scene with Han Solo has seen the galactic crime-lord looking more like his Return Of The Jedi self as opposed to the plastic slug we were previously presented with. Minor changes include the changing of the lettering on the Death Star tractor beam from English to Aurabesh, the Dianoga in the garbage masher now blinks and looks around before grabbing Luke, and most contentiously Greedo still shoots first, although only a split second before Han, and the smuggler also manages to duck unnaturally out of the way.

That`s one scene that needs to be dumped wholesale in favour of the original of course, but another issue is the lightsabers. While the duel between Obi Wan and Vader looks much better than before, the training sequence on the Falcon looks quite unfinished, with Luke`s lightsaber looking a sickly green rather than a vibrant blue. Incidentally, Luke`s electrobinoculars as well as the Death Star tactical display still have the Roman alphabet used for lettering and numbers, rather than Aurabesh.


The Empire Strikes Back

The first time around, not a lot was done to the middle film, other than extending the Wampa scene, adding a shuttle ride for Vader, and giving Cloud City a makeover, as well as sprucing up the special effects. Again, it`s not really worth changing a film that borders on perfection, but there are changes nonetheless. Perhaps the most important is the new Emperor`s hologram scene, with Ian McDiarmid recording new footage for the audience with Vader. The quality of the footage is much better, and the new hologram adds some much needed continuity. Another nod to continuity, involves digitally altering Han Solo`s freezing scene so he no longer looks as if he is wearing a jacket. Apparently some of the Imperial rank insignia has been corrected, although I would be hard pressed to tell you exactly where.


Return Of The Jedi

A lot of the changes to Jedi were made for the Special Edition, and they remain unchanged for the 2004 release. The Sarlacc still has a beak, there`s some CGI rock and roll in Jabba`s palace, and the end celebration was lengthened and broadened in scope. The biggest changes for the DVD occur at the end of the film, it`s been lengthened once more, with Naboo entering the celebration, and the Jedi temple and the Senate building added to the Coruscant sequence. Anakin`s eyebrows have been digitally shaved, but the most contentious issue of all has been the replacement of Sebastian Shaw with Hayden Christensen for the Force Ghost scene. I`m personally for this change, if only in terms of mathematics. Hayden Christensen has two films under his belt as Anakin, Jake Lloyd one, and Sebastian Shaw has about 3 minutes at the end of Jedi. The scene doesn`t work in terms of the film alone, but as part of the saga it makes sense to me. If only Hayden didn`t look so menacing in it.


The work done to the films is certainly splendid, in terms of updating the effects and cleaning up the print. Watching the imagery of Lucas` universe is a joy. But small niggles remain, with a couple of effects shots that could use a little more work. My own personal bugbear is the occasional scene, such as in Jedi, where a shadow can be seen cast by a lightsaber. How a light source can cast a shadow is beyond me, and annoys me every time I see it. I`m sure that revisionist George Lucas will continue to make changes with each successive release.

Audio

I`ll use that word again, `stunning`. The DD 5.1 EX soundtracks on these discs are enveloping vibrant affairs that bring these films alive in the best possible way. I`ll go back to that Star Destroyer again too, as the visual spectacle would be anorexic indeed without the thunderous rumble that accompanies it as it passes overhead, firing at the fleeing Blockade Runner. Just as Star Wars revolutionised the visual side of the film industry, it did no less for the sound, Both ILM and THX are a sign of the significance of these films, indeed the idea of multi-speaker set-ups in home cinema would probably have been ridiculous without the existence of these films. They are that important. There are DD 2.0 Surround tracks too if you require.

When the end credits roll and the cast appears. I occasionally feel that the first name under `Starring` should be `The music of John Williams`. To put it simply, without John Williams, there would be no Star Wars, at least not in any recognisable form. It`s difficult to overestimate the importance of his themes in complementing the characters, punctuating the action, invoking the emotions and archetypes that run through the films. There aren`t many orchestral film soundtracks that I own on CD, but the two-disc sets for the original trilogy were easy purchases, which makes what has happened to A New Hope all that more heinous.


A New Hope

There are some small changes that I noticed in the film. Obi Wan`s Krayt dragon call has been changed from the dewback roar to more of a prolonged hooting, the stormtrooper who bumps his head on the Death Star gets a comedy clunk, and the echo in the scene where Luke and Leia swing across the Death Star chasm has been greatly improved.

I have read elsewhere that the music on the rear channels have been reversed, although my musically uncultured ears couldn`t tell to be honest. What I did notice was the absence of the Force fanfare just prior to the Death Star battle as the X-Wings dive in towards the battle station. A key moment in the score is completely erased, and anyone with any familiarity with the film will be jarred immediately by the wrongness of the scene. I recall reading a press release from Lucasfilm in which they stated (no doubt to avoid replacing millions of discs) that this was a creative decision, not a mistake. This is a creative decision on the order of Leonardo da Vinci deciding one day, that the Mona Lisa would look better without the smile. This mars a splendid film, and I feel I have to mark the overall sound down for this.


The Empire Strikes Back

Far greater than the visual alterations to this film are the aural changes. The first thing that you`ll notice is that Temuera Morrison has re-recorded the dialogue for Boba Fett, giving him an Antipodean twang reminiscent of daddy Jango. I`m not too bothered with this, as Boba was always an ancillary character, whose appearance in the films attracts undue fan attention given the character`s importance in the grand scheme of things. More important is the new dialogue between the Emperor and Vader. The first time I saw this, I didn`t think much of it. It was lengthy and ponderous and slowed the pace of the film down. Having seen the scene again after watching Revenge Of The Sith, I must admit that the dialogue works very effectively given the conclusion of Episode III. Luke`s dialogue has been changed once again, after the swamp monster spits R2 out, but as this seems to change with every release, I`m hard pressed to tell what the original dialogue was now. Finally the change I hated most in the SE has been reversed for the DVD version. In the original film, when Luke fell from the platform after fighting Vader, he did so silently. For the SE a scream was added. This was an alteration in character on the order of that wretched Greedo scene. For this release, the scream has been consigned to the dustbin. It is a wholly welcome change, and one that means I have absolutely no complaints about my favourite Star Wars movie as presented on DVD.


Return Of The Jedi

I was hard pressed to notice any audio changes for the final film in the saga, beyond the changes made for the special edition. I`m not fond of the Jedi Rocks sequence in Jabba`s Palace, although it is a visual and aural improvement over the original film. My feeling is that, both it and the original sequence, feature music that is just a little too contemporary. Just like Dex`s diner in Attack Of The Clones, it brings a little too much of Earth into a galaxy far, far away. As for the end sequence, the music is once again an improvement over the original Ewok jaunt, but I have other issues with the sequence that have nothing to do with the music.

Features

The original Star Wars videos had covers based on the original poster artwork. For the special edition video boxsets, you had a choice of silver or gold Vader masks, depending on whether or not you preferred widescreen. The cassette covers were once again based on the poster art, this time for the special editions. For the DVD boxset, we get a silver and black box, with a Vader mask on one side, and on the other side the classic hero pose of Luke, Leia, Han and the droids, seen in one form or another since the original release. Inside, the Amaray cases now have cover art that I have seen described somewhere as Photoshop rush jobs. Indeed, the character montages do nothing to sell the films, looking cluttered and clumsy in all but A New Hope. The bonus disc has a close up of Vader`s mask, and if you have a magnifying glass, you can see some behind the scenes images in the eyes. Worse, the inside of the Amaray sleeves looks like an arsonist`s been let loose in a crayon factory. At least the disc labels mirror the original artwork. The box is flimsy, and the artwork uninspiring. Still, it`s what`s on the discs that count.


A New Hope

Following the trend set by the prequels; the menus on each disc have three schemes that are chosen from at random when you insert the disc. A New Hope boots up with menus based on Tatooine, Yavin or the Death Star.

Accompanying the film is an audio commentary with George Lucas, Carrie Fisher, Ben Burtt and Dennis Muren. It`s a cut and paste commentary with each contributor recorded separately. It`s a fine track if you are not a Star Wars fan, but the average fan will know much of what is related already. I was frustrated quite frankly, as there were things that I wanted to know that were never addressed. There is a tendency to talk about the original film, and there`s hardly any mention or explanation of the creative changes that have taken place since the original film. I wasn`t realistically hoping for a Mea Culpa from George Lucas regarding that Greedo scene, but it would have been nice for the change to at least be acknowledged. Muren and Burtt are understandably technical, Lucas talks about the story, and Fisher`s comments are sparse. As such there`s little mention of the filming process, the other actors or any interesting anecdotes. All in all a rather disappointing commentary for me.


The Empire Strikes Back

This time the menus are based on Cloud City, Dagobah and Hoth, and once again it`s potluck as to which one you`ll get when you insert the disc. The commentary is of similar form to A New Hope, except that the same four contributors are joined by a fifth, director Irvin Kershner. I had hoped that he would provide more of a human viewpoint, but I quickly realised that his input amounted to stating the obvious and pointing out the gags. There is little to recommend this commentary any more than the one on A New Hope I`m afraid.


Return Of The Jedi

The menus are based on Jabba`s Palace, Endor and Death Star II. The audio commentary lacks the insight of Irvin Kershner, but it was still a slightly more interesting track than the one on A New Hope, if only to hear Carrie Fisher`s opinion of that bikini.

All three of the movie discs have THX optimisers for you to get your system just right. All discs have a weblink to the official site, promising exclusive access to extra Star Wars goodness. The commentaries all have English subtitles if you require, but there is no changing of subtitle or audio tracks on the fly, you`ll have to come back to the main menu first.


Bonus Disc

The bulk of the extras are on the Bonus Disc, which is unsurprisingly presented with animated menus based on scenes from the film. The extras are all subtitled.

The Easter Egg that has come to be associated with all Star Wars discs is located here, providing almost 5 minutes of bloopers from all three films.

There are trailers and TV spots for all three films. The teaser, launch, and re-release trailer for all three films accompany 11 TV spots. Tucked away on an MSE droid is the Special Edition trailer, the one with an X-Wing flying out of a TV set. The teaser for `Revenge Of The Jedi` offers a glimpse of deleted scenes.

In the section called Videogames and Stills Galleries, you`ll find… videogames and stills galleries. If you have an X-Box, you can play a demo of Star Wars: Battlefront, otherwise you`ll have to make do with the game trailer. There is a 6-minute featurette going behind the scenes of the Episode III game. This would be dull, but it has behind the scenes footage of that duel from Revenge of the Sith, as well as input from the cast and crew of the film. There are uncounted (because I haven`t counted them) still images from the first three films in an image gallery. There is the occasional hint of a deleted scene, and you can see the pictures with or without captions. In addition, the captions are provided in all the languages that this disc is subtitled in. Finally there is a poster gallery of some of the artwork that has advertised the first trilogy down the years.

The Episode III Preview looks at The Return of Darth Vader, again with interviews with the cast and crew, more behind the scenes duel footage, clips from the first five films as well as the forging of that mask.

The Documentaries and Featurettes section of the disc contains the meat of the extras.

The Characters Of Star Wars lasts 19 minutes and has snippets from the cast and George Lucas about the genesis of, and the inspiration for the characters of Star Wars.

The Birth Of The Lightsaber (16 minutes) looks at the inspiration for the weapon, and its use as a storytelling device. There is also a look at how the effects were realised, with plenty of behind the scenes footage. There are scenes without music so you can appreciate the hum of the weapon, and there is also a chance to hear David Prowse deliver Darth Vader`s lines in a West Country accent.

The Force Is With Them: The Legacy Of Star Wars gives various directors 14 minutes to talk about Star Wars and its influence on their careers. Expect to hear from Steven Spielberg, Ridley Scott, James Cameron, Peter Jackson and Dean Devlin. Conspicuous by their absence are Ken Loach and Mike Leigh.

The substantial extra, and the one that`s truly worth revisiting in this boxset is the hefty Empire Of Dreams documentary, clocking in at 2½ hours. This documentary takes you through the history of Star Wars, from its genesis in the mind of George Lucas, fresh off the success of American Graffiti, all the way to the release of the prequels. There`s input from the cast and crew in several interviews, and plenty of behind the scenes footage from the filming of all three films. You`ll see snippets of deleted scenes, outtakes and bloopers, as well as looks behind the scenes. It also takes us through the process of making the film, from script to release, and the trials and tribulations George Lucas had to endure getting his vision on the screen. It`s a pretty balanced documentary, Harrison Ford doesn`t mince words about Lucas` directing technique, but the documentary still comes across as a lengthy ode to the bearded one. It doesn`t matter too much, as it is still an informative and interesting watch. I did note that many of the comments made during the documentary popped up again in the commentaries for the features.

I think The Lord Of The Rings Special Editions has spoilt me for extra features. Each film got not one but four audio commentaries, as well as two whole discs of extra features detailing every aspect of production with comprehensive documentaries and featurettes. When it comes to the impact of Star Wars on cinema history and on film audiences, the original trilogy far outweighs Peter Jackson`s epics in terms of significance. Three commentaries and a bonus disc seem pretty meagre in that light. It doesn`t help that I found the commentaries dull and piecemeal, as if no one felt enthused talking about the films. This is one area that could have done with a little delineation. Two commentaries per film, one technical and one artistic would have been better, and there needed to be much greater input from the actors.

While the main documentary is a worthy and interesting watch, it`s heavily weighted towards Star Wars. The first film gets a whopping 1½ hours of screen time, Empire a mere half hour and Jedi, 20 minutes, with 10 minutes devoted to the Special Editions and sequels. Again the LOTR approach of separating aspects of the productions into individual featurettes would have helped. Each film richly deserves a disc of extras devoted to it, and I felt the two sequels were a little hard done by. For those of you looking for deleted scenes proper, I hope you`ve hung on to the Behind The Magic CD-ROMs, as they are still the only place you can see them in anything approaching their full lengths. What I find most dismaying is the apparent attitude that changes made to the films are irrelevant and unworthy of comment. The Special Edition videos all came out with featurettes for each film detailing the changes, and even showing how they were accomplished. Here there is no acknowledgment of the changes made to the trilogy unless it is absolutely necessary. It feels like an attempt to erase the original films from history, and that rankles me just a little bit.

Conclusion

I think its fair to say that the passion for home cinema, the reason why sites such as this exist, would never have permeated society to such an extent were it not for the original Star Wars trilogy. Today, people of an age to buy widescreen televisions, DVD players, and multi-speaker set ups, are those very same people who first ventured into a galaxy far, far away when they were children. The sheer spectacle of George Lucas` opus, the visual imagination and the enveloping audio of the original trilogy made us expect more from our cinema going experience, and still remain benchmarks when it comes to the movie going experience. Now that the original Star Wars trilogy has finally made it to DVD, it`s fair to say that except for one or two flaws, the experience is as impressive as it could get in the home cinema. I`ve written some of my thoughts regarding the films below.


A New Hope

Star Wars: A New Hope is the film that changed cinema as we know it. Lightsabers, twin sunsets, Jawas and Droids, a galaxy of aliens, and a host of fantastic worlds and characters are all really just window dressing that spruces up the most fundamental and enduring of myths. An orphan discovers his legacy and embarks on a great adventure filled with danger and excitement, meeting a host of characters that will assist him on his quest. Given what we learned about Luke and his legacy in the subsequent films, A New Hope is remarkably mythology free. This is a film that introduces the characters and the universe they inhabit. Any hints that not all should be taken at face value are subtle indeed, such as Obi Wan`s hesitation before telling Luke about his father, and his first steps towards becoming a Jedi. Despite these, this is just a rip snorting adventure, filled with swashbuckling action, and culminating in an exciting space dogfight that manages to hook me without fail every time I watch it.

In the commentary, George Lucas makes a telling statement regarding the film. When it was first released, Star Wars was considered remarkably fast paced, as audiences were taken with the fantastic worlds and characters of a galaxy far, far away. Now that audiences have grown up with the films, have become used to the story, A New Hope as it has been re-titled actually drags in portions. From a man whose reputed to favour "Faster and more intense" as directions, that could be a telling statement, but after nearly thirty years and just as many viewings, I tend to agree, although he hasn`t helped by restoring some scenes that are totally superfluous.

It is true that the Jabba scene essentially reiterates information supplied just previously in that mangled Greedo scene, but there is a certain charm in seeing the slug again. Far more draining in terms of the film pace is the insertion of Luke`s reunion with Biggs. It`s a completely superfluous scene in that Biggs was cut from the start of the film, rendering the character a throwaway. Not only that, the scene has to be edited to remove the statement from Red Leader where he tells Luke that he flew with his dad in the Clone wars. It`s an edit that looks obvious, despite the skill with which it is done. The fact that both Hamill and the actor playing Biggs poorly perform the scene actually makes me dread it whenever I watch the film.

The good still outweighs the bad though, and A New Hope is still an enjoyable experience that entertains without fail.


The Empire Strikes Back

The middle film of the trilogy has always been my favourite Star Wars ever; so don`t expect anything less than unadulterated gushing in this section of the review. What`s surprising is that it bucked the trend, a sequel that actually exceeds the original film, and one that has the good guys lose, the villains triumph, and perhaps the biggest plot twist in cinema history. This film builds on Lucas` strengths, the mythology and the eye candy, the overreaching epic nature of the story, and also compensates for his weaknesses. It`s perhaps only in this film that the characters get proper screen time to develop, their feelings are explored satisfactorily, and above all the dialogue doesn`t make my teeth itch.

When you look at The Empire Strikes Back, you can see scenes that are mirrored in the prequels. This film did them first, and despite the 30-year-old effects, did them better. The battle on Hoth is a case in point, more thrilling than anything in Attack of The Clones because it`s not droids fighting faceless clones. The ponderous advance of the AT-ATs in the face of resistance inspires dread because you get the time to witness their relentless advance. "Faster and more intense" is not necessarily better. It makes so much more sense for the audience to actually see what`s going on, rather than being distracted by or blinded by a screen full of CGI. The Millennium Falcon`s escape into the Hoth asteroid field thrills me more every time I see it, because I care about what happened to the characters, I feel like cheering as they manage to elude their pursuers, the amazing music from John Williams combining with the breathtaking visuals to keep me on the edge of my seat. In that way, while the climactic lightsaber confrontation doesn`t hold a candle to the choreographed ballet of combat that grace the prequels, the actor performance and what we know about the characters makes it an intense and exhilarating experience.

Having seen Empire in the light of Revenge of the Sith has helped me re-evaluate it, and as I mentioned before I have become accepting of the new scene with the Emperor. But I must mention another moment that the prequels have affected. When Yoda is dithering over whether to train Luke or not, he sighs and says, "I sense much anger in him, like his father." I swear that when I heard it this time, I felt a distinct chill. Knowing what I do now of Anakin`s downfall, it makes that scene far more resonant. I`m probably preaching to the converted, but The Empire Strikes Back is a film that only gets better with repeated viewing, and by itself is reason enough to buy this boxset.


Return Of The Jedi

The conclusion of the saga is certainly an exciting adventure in the vein of the first two films, but I always get the feeling that this was the point where Lucas` priorities shifted. It often seems that this film was crafted primarily with the merchandising in mind, and the Endor scenes seem at odds with Luke`s confrontation with Vader in the Death Star. Indeed the two parts of the film, Jabba`s palace and the forest moon of Endor seem specifically designed to appeal to the toy purchasing demographic. I must admit that the Endor scenes grow ever more tiresome the more that I watch them.

The terrific character development that occurred in Empire stalls for Jedi, and it`s more a case of wrapping up loose ends and concluding the story. Once again, it`s these scenes that resonate strongly with the prequel trilogy, especially Revenge of the Sith. Yoda and Obi Wan`s revelations to Luke on Dagobah take on a new meaning, and the final confrontation between Luke and Vader in the presence of the Emperor makes for gripping viewing as a result. Because of that, the final film has actually edged upwards a couple of points in my estimation, despite the prevalence of the little furries. This film also announced Lucas` preference for multiple threads leading to a film`s climax, the sort of thing that was so annoying in The Phantom Menace, when all the audience really wanted to see was the duel with Darth Maul, and groaned when the action cut back to Jar Jar and the Gungans. Here he just about pulls it off, with the emotional confrontation and the stunning space battles more than compensating for the Ewok battle.

Of all the changes to the Star Wars films, it`s the one to Jedi that annoys me the most, beyond even the Greedo shooting first debacle. It was unavoidable given the prequel trilogy that Lucas would want the end of Jedi to also be the end of the saga, hence the extended ending sequence, with the climax of the battle greeted with celebrations on many of the worlds seen in the saga. For one thing it`s hard to envisage the whole galaxy celebrating immediately following the news of the Rebel triumph. Surely some people supported the Empire, and they would have been less than happy. Also, the loss of one battle doesn`t mean the war is over, and I doubt the Empire would lose control over their Capital world so quickly, but that way lies the Expanded Universe and a whole other set of arguments. The thing is, for me the original Star Wars trilogy was always about the individuals who stood up to and fought against the monolithic faceless Empire. The original end of Jedi reflected that, with the victorious rebels celebrating with their new half-pint furball friends. It was a personal and character focussed ending. This new ending now applies to all six films, and turns what was character driven into the faceless politics of the prequel trilogy. It also goes on for far too long, and where once the end of Return Of The Jedi was enjoyable if a little schmaltzy, now it has me looking at my watch.


In Conclusion…

I have a love for the original trilogy that overreaches any thoughts I have for the prequels. Perhaps George Lucas is right in categorising the fans as two discrete demographics, but he is the one who split the fan base by making two different kinds of films. The original trilogy had to deal with a lack of visual effects technology, consequently they compensated with character, humour and emotion. It also helped that the stories that the original trilogy told were intensely personal and character driven. We watched because of Luke, Han, and Leia. The incidental characters like Chewbacca, Lando and the droids were just as compelling, and even the token survivor, Wedge Antilles had enough screen presence to attract his own personal fan base. While the rebels had faces and personalities that we could relate to, the relatively faceless Empire still had the ominous figure of Darth Vader to chill the blood. In contrast, the prequel trilogy began with a battle between a droid army, and a field of computer generated aliens, progressed to a battle between another droid army and a legion of CGI clones, all motivated by arcane political machinations in the Senate. It`s only with the advent of Revenge of the Sith do we see an element of personal drama and tragedy return to Star Wars. Similarly, humour always played a strong part in Star Wars, but the prequels took the rather simplistic route of comic relief, rather than humour inspired by situations and character. The principle jokers in the original trilogy were R2D2 and C3P0, but they also were integral to the plots of all three films. This wasn`t so in the prequels, where they rivalled Jar Jar in terms of relevance to the stories.

Above all though, the films in the original trilogy are pure fun. You care about the characters, you are entertained by the thrills and action, feel a sense of wonder at the strangeness of a distant galaxy, and can laugh at the lighter moments without ever worrying about political machinations or Jedi prophecies. While the prequels, especially Revenge of the Sith lend moments in the original trilogy an added poignancy, there is nothing that these films can do in return, to give the prequels that same sense of fun and sheer excitement.

This boxset isn`t perfect. The sound fault… excuse me, creative decision in A New Hope is both heinous and unforgivable. The films are as enjoyable as always, but the extras are disappointing. The commentaries relate information that many fans would already be aware of, and the technical input gets dry very quickly. The Empire Of Dreams documentary has repeat value, but the presence of the Episode III previews feels a little cynical, even for me. Forget all that though as this is Star Wars, on DVD, and it`s enough to tide fans over until George Lucas inevitably releases the next revision. I`ll be holding out for that day when Han shoots first again.