Star Wars Trilogy (Full Screen Edition with Bonus Disc)

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?

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.

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.) There have been a few quibbles with the audio on A New Hope, however. A few seconds of Peter Cushing's dialogue ("Then name the system!") are distorted, and the music (but not the sound effects) is reversed in the rear channels. For example, in the final scene, the brass is in the front right channel but the back left channel (from the viewer's perspective), and the strings are in the left front and back right. The result feels like the instruments are crossing through the viewer.

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

Includes:
* Episode IV, A New Hope
Commentary by George Lucas, Ben Burtt, Dennis Muren, and Carrie Fisher
* Episode V, The Empire Strikes Back
Commentary by George Lucas, Irvin Kershner, Ben Burtt, Dennis Muren, and Carrie Fisher
* Episode VI, Return of the Jedi
Commentary by George Lucas, Ben Burtt, Dennis Muren, and Carrie Fisher

* "Empire of Dreams: The Story of the Star Wars Trilogy," the most comprehensive feature-length documentary ever produced on the Star Wars saga, and never-before-seen footage from the making of all three films
* Featurettes: The Legendary Creatures of Star Wars, The Birth of the Lightsaber, The Legacy of Star Wars
* Teasers, trailers, TV spots, still galleries
* Playable Xbox demo of the new Lucasarts game Star Wars Battlefront
* The making of the Episode III videogame
* Exclusive preview of Star Wars: Episode III

Customer Reviews:

May the Force be with you!
Who says the special edition isn't as good as the original? It's better! I saw the films when they first came out--I saw Empire once a week until the employees at the movie theater knew me on sight--and I think the additions in the special editions only improved what was already a great series of films, as well as bringing out more aspects of the Star Wars universe. And Jedi had a fine and compelling plot, the Ewoks were comidy relief. Some critics should take a refreasher course in theator, drama, and the newances of plot. Perhaps I'm not a tipical Star Wars fan--I liked Jar Jar Binks too--but I see no reason why the special edition should be considered any less than the original.
--2006-12-04

This Trilogy Package Rocks
I remember being about 5 or 6 years old when I saw my first Star Wars movie in the early 1980s. I also remember running to the back of the theater screaming when Darth Vader appeared on the screen. Mother had to come get me as I was trying to hide behind a poor couple's seats.

Now I'm almost 30 years old and had the chance to see the digital re-makes and upgrades that George Lucas did over the years, plus his legendary prequels over that same time. The news about Lucas Films digitizing everything (including the first movies) around the time Episode I was released only intensified the fervor of Star Wars mania some 20 years later.

Now that I am a respectable and employed adult, I decided to drop my cash on this fine trilogy as I wanted the first movies for my home set. I knew what I was getting into: these are not the original releases. For me, I prefer that, because watching 1970s and 80s technology is not as appealing to me as 2000's technology. And besides, these movies now tell a better story as a result of George Lucas' upgrades.

So let me review the darn package after all that now!

For about $50, you get three movies and a bonus disc. That means each disc will cost you a little more than $12 each, together.

If you are wondering if the bonus disc is worth $12, I would give an emphatic Yes. The disc chronicles the making of the movie and all the side business, the science of creating the movie, and actors'/directors'/etc. viewpoints on the whole thing. It lasts over 240 minutes, and every drop of information will rile even the slightest Star Wars fans.

Next, on the question of digitization, the three films (Episodes 4 - 7) not only had a slick digital transfer (making them compatible with today's machinery and offering the capability to excel over yesteryear), but they revamped certain scenes that could have used the facelift.

For example, now the speeder coming into the Mos Eisley spaceport doesn't look like it was a 1977 carousel. It actually looks futuristic in its movement. Also, they replaced Anikan Skywalker with Hayden Christensen instead of the original fellow when his ghost looks upon Luke at the end of Return of the Jedi. (That was the best addition/change, I think.)

I like action/adventure movies, so the digital upgrades Lucas did are welcomed by me. I know there are purists out there, but they tend to follow a religion more than the excitement of the movie. (Reminds me of people who do not like the Designated Hitter in baseball, now that I think about it. But I digress.)

To close, I recommend the purchase of this trilogy if you were in my situation: you didn't have any of these movies. And I mean the digitized versions. Get them. The old ones are collectibles, but if you want a completed collection to show your kids, this trilogy fills the gaps, and the bonus disc is worth it as well. Also, if you can beat $12 per disc individually to complete your collection, I'd say go that route instead, though you may have to forego the bonus disc.
--2006-11-27

The Star Wars Trilogy... NOT
These are not the original theatrical realeases. In addition to the changes made in the special edition versions of the films, American Cinematographer noted in their review of the DVD release that they had gone so far as to change the color-timing of the transfer so that the color scheme more closely resembled the more recent prequels. Though they are an impressive technical achievement, I'll be buying the academy award winning films that I saw when I was younger.
--2006-11-16

I love it!!
The Star Wars Trilogy are my favorite movies of all time, to be able to own the first edition of it's DVD release is a Star Wars fan's dream come true!
--2006-11-03

almost perfect
These films look really good cleaned up, only thing George shouldn't of changed/added was the Greedo/Han scene in episode 4, the Han walking over Jabbas tail scene in episode 4, and the change to the end scene in episode 6 at the end where yoda, obi-wan, and anakin are all standing together smiling at luke. Replacing the old darth vader with the actor from episode 3 was just plain out dumb.

--2006-10-20

- 20th Century Fox