Customer Reviews

If you take film seriously, this is an absolute must-buy - By: Mr. M. A. Reed, 14 Aug 2008
Nothing polarises people like Star Wars. For many of us, it was a fundamental part of growing up. We watched the films, we fellin love with the universe of Star Wars, we bought the toys. Star Wars is,in many ways, part of our childhood. And being so universally loved makes it difficult to take a step back & review it objectively. Star Wars is either something you love, or don't care about, & there's little middle ground.

So how does one review something that means so much to you dispassionately? With difficulty. Difficult to see, dispassionately this is.

So what are these films? They're not the same way you remember them.

This is classic film-making : the type of film-making that changed the shape of films & filmgoing. Despite beingin the top ten films ever on pretty much every poll, everywhere, these are not the best films ever made. In many respects they're not even good. The dialogue is as awkward as a stripper at a wedding, & is of a comic-book standard; I recognised the foul stench of Lucas' last-minute, rushed dialogue the moment I came aboard. The acting is as subtle as a brickin a sock. And the underlying themes of the trilogy ("Buy toys", "Baddies Don't Win", "Forgive Your Dad", "English Accents Bad, American Accents Good") are often writ large across galaxies. These are not & never will be works of art. But they are what they are : greatly entertaining, ambitious works of pop art, tapping into familiar themes & dilemma's that face us all.

These films aren't "The Godfather" or "Lost In Translation". Or even "Star Trek; The Motion Picture". What this is is vastly superior epic sci-fi the likes of which had never been seen on the cinema screen before, & never equalled since. No one has dared to make a trilogy that even comes close to it's epic scale & balls. (Not even "Lord Of The Rings", because they were successful booksin their own right long before the screen beckoned).

Maybe it's because we grew up watching slavish clones of this film ("Battle Beyond The Stars" anyone?), we forgot exactly how revolutionary these films are. Before it, the blockbuster was a big names-pitted-against-a-plane/building/the-boche type affair. After it, anything went. In this particular instance, it's the good, old-fashioned father-son redemption theme through laser swordfights, stolen plans being smuggled across galaxies, & weapons the size of the moon that can blow up a planet. Got that? Good. Strap yourselves in. It's a bumpy ride ahead.

The films? Sheesh. You know these already. If you don't, crawl out from under that rock & enjoy the decadent caress of six & a half hour of psuedo-intellectual spaceship related nonsense. (A fact that Lucas alludes to on the commentary, calling the plot of the original film "A blatant McGuffin").

So here we go :

THE DVD's :
Each film looks perfect. Star Wars has never looked or sounded better (despite what some ubergeeks say about reverse channel-switching on the 5:1 THX 104" surround sound 6 speaker home cinema setups). For the vast majority of viewers, these films will look & sound perfectin every respect. For films that are between 20 & 30 years old, they look as if they were filmed yesetreday. Image resolution & detail is flawless. Only the slight crudity of some of the very original effects, & the haircuts, give away the age of the films.

But it's certainly one of the cleanest & sharpest looking DVD transfers I've ever seen, & certainly comparable - if not superior - to films only just being issued on DVD 27 weeks after their cinematic release, never mind 27 years. My childhood lies to me : the colours were always were this bright, the effects always so believable, & now, it looks like the fond memories have been vindicated. It's like a dream come true. It's the way I remember it. Almost. Greedo still shoots first.

THE CHANGES.
Everyone knows of the changesin the 1997 Special Edition. Jabba The Hut. Greedo shoots first. And that Ewok song has been cruelly excisedin favour of the risible "Jedi Rocks", that sees Return of The Jedi as much of as musical as it is an epic.

These versions have been tweaked even more, bringing the Original trilogyin line with the Prequels : Jabba The Hut (1997) has been replaced by a far more convincing, but no less jarring, CGI puppet. Greedo still shoots first, but Han no longer dawdles, waits, & picks his nose before shooting him back. In this edition, Solo appears to have pre-empted by a rash Greedo by a faction of a second, no longer caught unawares. Short of having Han shoot first (as it always should have been), it's a satisfying change. Minor effects shots, wipes, & sound effects have been updated &in the most part, none of these are noticable. They certainly don't degrade or change the sheer excitement & fun of watching the films again.

Empire Strikes Back sees another couple of minor changes : The Emperor, previously an old woman voiced by Clive Revell, has been changed to an altogether more satisfying Ian McDiarmid, reprising his role as Emperor from "Return of The Jedi". This is something that certainly should have been fixedin 1997, & the dialogue has also been changed very slightly, so it now doesn't sit quite as comfortably as it previously did. Previously, I always thought that sense of purpose was that Vader knew he had lost his son, & was trying to find him, using his quest for the rebels as cover, was part of his devious plan to overthrow the Emporer using the combined power of the family bloodline.

Darth is no longer as creul & calcuating as we were previously lead to believe. Now, Darth looks like a chump who doesn't even know he has a son - despite all his Force powers - whilst the Emporer, his master & confidante for thirty years, suddenly springs it upon him casuallyin a hologram chat that lasts one minute 48 seconds. And Darth then improvises a "lets take over the universe, father & son,in beautiful tyranny" masterplanin a matter of hours.

When Darth, Half-Man, Half-Humvee, reveals it to Luke later onin the film isn't anywhere near as revelatory as people think. Darth could, after all, be lying to him. Evil mixes lie with truthin such a way that everything & nothing is believable. Darth's evil, & long-cunning plan then, has been neutered, which removes his turn back from the Dark Side & reduces the sense of moral redemption by undoing the past 30 years where he was just Evil Unthinking, as opposed to Evil with A Cunning Plan. It's a minor change, but one that degrades the moral redemption of the whole trilogy, akin to someone changing the ending of 1984 from the number "2+2= " or "2+2=5" to "2+2=4".

Temura Morrision, the voice of Jango Fett, meanwhile has revoiced all of Boba Fett's lines. It's a nice link to the prequels, & one I don't care much for, but it doesn't really make sense (unless you revoice all the Stormtrooper dialogue as well): it makes no great difference to the filmin the end. Even if I don't know anyone who sounds exactly like their Dad, complete with intergalactic New Zealand accent & all. Boba Fett is still cool as hell - & very likely survives his ultimate fatein Return Of The Jedi (he has a rocket pack, after all). Overall, effects shots have been tweaked again slightly, but not so much that you'll notice too much. There are no new shots that seemed as obviously wrong as the CGI Jawas on speeder bikesin the 1997 editions, & that can only indicate that maybe even Lucas thought he want too far with some of the revisions of the 1997 Special Editions.

Finally, Return Of The Jedi features, again, minor cosmetic changes. The Rancor, for example, no longer looks like an obvious back projection. Matte lines & edge problems have been tidied up. The only major changein this film is the replacement of Sebastian Shaw by Heyden Christiansen at the film's climax. And it stinks.

If you have never seen Attack Of The Clones this is merely baffling. Who IS that guy? If you have seen it, mind you, one either has to perform mental gymnastics (oh, when you return to the Light Side of The Force, you become the age you were when you defected, easy! DUH!) , or ponder how Luke can recognise someone he's never met before as his own father. Oh, yeah, that kid standing next to Yoda & Obi-Wan - he's my Dad! He just doesn't look like him & I've never seen that kid before.... It's rubbish. You half expect Lucas to be waving his hands around performing a Jedi mindtrick on the commentary track saying "This Is The Anakin Skywalker You Were Looking For... Move Along, Move Along. "

Opinion on these changes are controversial. So much so that several people at Lucasfilm have left, rather than continue to be part of Lucas' revisionist history. I'm no longer surprised by these revelations.

Like them or not, the changes are here to stay. The bottom line is that these are Lucas' films to use & abuse as he wants. And ultimately, all our moaning about it isn't going to change anyting much. Yes, it would be wonderful to see the films as they were originally released, but that probably isn't going to happen. As it stands, the 2004 editions of the films are a vast improvement, overall, on the 1997 Special Editions, & it is brilliant to finally experience the whole `hexology' of Star Wars films to see how the six films work as one cohesive unit. In the meantime, these films are no less exciting, no less important, & no less enjoyable than they were at their first release.

THE COMMENTARY :

Generally the commentaries, are dry fact laden affairs that, like most of Lucas/Spielberg's DVD extras focus on the mechanics of events & not the artistry involved. Carrie Fisher spends most of the Carbonite freezing section talking about how they all had hangovers after partying with The Rolling Stones, & others spend inordinate amounts of time rehashing previous DVD extras with discussions of how they achieved certain sounds by bashing things with hammers. Kershner spends large portions of his commentary telling Exactly What Is Happening On Screen, the ultimate crime of a commentary, & thus, whilst these commentaries are interesting & intriguing at first listen, they fail to have that mysterious X-Factor that makes the viewer want to return to them again. The commentaries were recorded seperately, & so it sounds like you are eavesdropping portions of several monologues at once. There's no sense of interaction or vitality to the yack tracks. They're a nice place to visit, but you won't want to come back again.

THE EXTRAS
You all know that you'd end up buying this because it's Star Wars, if nothing else. But what that means is that Lucas could have easily chucked out a vanilla edition with no extra's, & we still would have bought it.

(Yes, you know you would've...)

Despite the comprehensive nature of the extras (four hours of documentaries on a separate disc), overall, the Stan Wars nutter still feels shortchanged. There's a distinct lack of deleted scenes & replaced footage - most of which resurfaced on a 1996 CD-Rom (and should have shunted off the adverts for videogames that clag up the far reaches of bonus disc), & at least another five & a half hours (and four separate documentaries) that could easily have fit on the original movie discs. Even the mention of the fact that the films have been changed drastically since their original 1977 release is conspiciously lacking, & a documentary about that would go a long way to pleasing the Jedi Fanboy Geek.

The jewelin the crown is "Empire Of Dreams", a 148 minute documentary that exhaustively details the film & it's cultural heritage. Archive footage from previous documentaries is cleverly recycled so you don't feel that you are missing out on anything, The documentary cover the trilogy from Lucas' original ideasin 1973 through to the most recent films, & offers a comprehensive overview of Star Wars that has long been lacking.

Ultimately, though, given Lucas' continual recycling of the films, one can't help but feel that it is only a matter of time before all six Star Wars films are repackaged with even more extras. Some upcoming "Ultimate Edition" duein a few years time that clear out our pre-Christmas wallets.

Overall "The Star Wars Trilogy" is a stopgap package to beat DVD bootleggers & allow Lucasfilm to coinin a bit more cash. And for a stopgap package, this box set is staggeringin terms of what it covers, the quality of the bonus material & the first rate quality of the transfers. You won't leave this box set feeling shortchanged.

But hell, if you don't like the filmsin the first place, all that means nothing. It's a good job then, that the films aren't just historic, but damn fine fun too. No DVD collection should be without these. Sure there's better films out there, sure there's better DVD packages out there, but for now, the Holy Grail of DVD packages has arrived, & whilst it could be much better, it still a damn fine release. Neither visually, aurally, orin terms of entertainment, does it disappoint. You won't walk away feeling disappointed with the Box Set. You'll walk away impressed. Star Wars on DVD is frankly, essential viewing. If you don't have a DVD player, buy one just to watch this. If you have a DVD player, & don't buy this, you're someone who just doesn't take film seriously. The force is strongin this one.

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best films in the world ever. - By: SwordSwingin, 24 Jun 2008
did you know there are still some people who have never watched starwars? i know its weird! its like saying you what!? i need my heart to live!?. anyway i think everybody knows starwars so its hard to write a review but ill write a little somthing as if im speaking to somebody who has never heard of it.
first off these are the first 3 films orin nowdays the last 3 which i agree might seem confusing lol but it isnt really. these films were really based on luke skywalkers becoming a jedi but the story has so much its hard to put into words it has spiritualality , myth & legend, phycology philosphical ideas, love hate i suppose i should of just said emotion. the last 3 movies which are the first 3 movies....are about anaking skywalkers becoming a jedi & his ultimate downfall into evil. watch these ones first then all will be clear. so..a confusing review which didnt really review anything? or did it?....

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The BEST Star Wars Trilogy - By: Anonymous, 15 May 2008
I found these 3 films to be very enjoyable.
You could tell straight away that a lot of effort was putin each & every film.
The idea of using a sabre that has a field of light around it which can almost cut through anything is incredible.
Most adults or customers say that these films are really more for children but it can be interesting because this story is about a sweet little boy which becomes the cruel & treacherous Darth Vader.
Watch the intense fights as dramatic music come on.
Who will win will be the question that will be ringing inside your head.
This is what each & every film is mainly about...


A New Hope: Luke Skywalker meets an old Jedi who claims himself as Ben Kenobi + whilst new sith Darth Vader tries to get a word out of Princess Leia.

The Empire Strikes Back: Luke Skywalker tries to train without the help of his mentor who passed awayin 'The New Hope' + Luke finally finds out about a member of his family who had no idea they were related just like Luke + he has to be trained by the great Master Yoda!

Return of the Jedi: Intense battle between Darth Vader & Luke Skywalker + is Darth Vader completely evil after all? + who destroys darth sidious + finally the Sith are destroyed & everyone parties down + a few old friends might popin as imaginative characters at the end.

Hope you enjoy this spectacular trilogy which has the unique abilities of George Lucas inside.
I would recommend to buy these films, if you don't you will seriously regret it!

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Still one of the greatest cinematic experiences of all time - By: Mr. D. Woods, 22 Apr 2008
I can't really begin to do justice to how much I absolutely adore the original 'Star Wars' trilogy but they rank among my favourite movies & still have the power to sweep me away on a fantastical tide of pure excitement & escapism. This first release on DVD only featured the Special Edition versions of 'Star Wars IV: A New Hope', 'Star Wars V: The Empire Strikes Back' & 'Star Wars VI: Return of the Jedi', which has bizarrely had many fans upin arms over their sentiment but, quite frankly, who cares? None of the changes have altered the effect of George Lucas' finest work, though admittedly Han Solo DID shoot first! In fact, one change even improves things, with Ian McDiarmid now appearingin place of Clive Revell as The Emperorin 'Empire Strikes Back'. Any criticism over Lucas' tinkering boils down to nitpickingin my humble opinion. All that Star Wars goodness is baked right in, so just immerse & enjoy yourselfin that galaxy far, far away!

The magic of the original films is still gloriously evident, no matter how many times you watch them. The story is simple but captivating, the characters engaging & memorable & even the 'unique' dialogue works a treat. The effects, while a little dated, remain fabulous & still make you feel as though you'rein a different universe. And Darth Vader has got to be the best damn movie villain of all time! I still tingle when I hear the immortal line, "No! I am your father..." WHAT? No way!

'Empire' is arguably the best of the trilogy, feeling slightly edgier than the other two, but all are great films & the 'Star Wars' experience is best viewed as one epic saga, rather than three separate stories. Forget the bloated CGI of the so-so prequels, forget the additional Stormtroopers & revisit cinema's greatest feat of escapism. A truly wonderful collection that any 'Star Wars' fan should want to own.

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Sci-fi goodness - By: Asmus Neergaard, 04 Apr 2008
I can't boast about having seen the movies when they were releasedin cinemas.
However, I can safely say, that the original Star Wars-trilogy is one of the best collections you can buy.
Sure, you have to accept some changes from the 'original' movies, like Hayden Christensen being digitally plastered into the last scene of Episode 6, Greedo shooting first & stuff like that.
However, while die hard fans might find these changes inexcusable, more casual fans can ignore them.
And the disc with extra materials is quite good to. A feature length documentary depicting the creation of the saga gives a nice, & neutral, look on the troubles & hardships George Lucas, ILM & co. faces.