Ever since the introduction of the DVD format, “Star Wars” fans have been clamoring for the arrival of George Lucas’ sci-fi trilogy. (“Star Wars” fans do a lot of clamoring.) It has been a few years in the making, but at last the original “Star Wars” trilogy set — 1977’s “A New Hope,” 1980’s “The Empire Strikes Back” and 1983’s “Return of the Jedi” — is here on DVD (Fox, 1977-1983, 387 minutes, PG, $69.98), looking better than ever.
That’s partly because of the work of John Lowry, the restoration expert behind Lowry Digital Images and one of the most respected technicians in his field. Lowry reportedly spent about a month on each film and removed millions of specks of dirt, dust and other distracting elements. But the other reason these “Star Wars” films look better than they’ve ever looked is because no one has ever seen these “Star Wars” films, at least not in the form they’re found on the DVDs.
While indicated nowhere on the box set itself, director George Lucas has once again tweaked the trilogy, adding effects and dialogue here and taking them away there, tidying not just the negatives but also tying up a few loose plot ends as well, many raised by his subsequent “prequels.”
There’s really no excuse for not making the original, theatrical version of “Star Wars” and its sequels available in some shape or form. But Lucas maintains changing a work is an artist’s prerogative.
This version of the trilogy may actually sate some of the grumbling from fans burned by the 1997 theatrical “special edition” re-releases, the first versions to showcase Lucas’ radical revisions and alterations. (These and the original releases have appeared in earlier video formats.) Yes, some elements have been completely changed. Hayden Christensen, for example, who plays Anakin Skywalker in the recent prequels, has been substituted into the final celebration at the end of “Jedi,” replacing actor Sebastian Shaw.
But in other ways, these new versions feel like compromises between the original theatrical releases and the later special editions. Questionable computer effects added to the film in ’97 have been refined, while some dubious additions have been excised. The controversial “A New Hope” shootout between Han Solo (Harrison Ford) and the bounty hunter Greedo — in which the latter was made to look the instigator — remains changed, but the cadence of the scene plays slightly better (if still implausibly).
Not surprisingly, these new changes are barely mentioned during the excellent 2 1/2-hour documentary “Empire of Dreams.” The ever-secretive Lucas seems long since divorced from his nitpicky (and often implacable) fans. Fortunately, as comprehensive overviews go, “Empire of Dreams” is an eye-opener, including a wealth of material — alternate takes, behind-the-scenes footage, new interviews with virtually every living participant — most people have never seen.
Conspicuously missing are any deleted scenes, surely a disappointment given the wait. Getting Jim Ward, Lucasfilm vice president of marketing and distribution, to even acknowledge the existence of more unseen material is like getting a politician to go off message during a policy speech.
“Just because you have hours of stuff doesn’t mean it’s all golden,” Ward says. “Frankly, I think George and we have been very open with that kind of stuff, within the context of the format of the DVD. Ultimately, there are many uses for anything archival that George has, beyond even DVDs, but that’s something that he’s going to have to figure out.”
It’s even harder to get Ward to explain what has happened to the original “Star Wars” negatives or the original theatrical version of Lucas’ first film “THX 1138” (Warner Bros., 1970, 88 minutes, R, $26.99), which also has been recently reworked by the director (and dubbed “The George Lucas Director’s Cut”). “Theoretically, it exists,” reveals Ward, not very helpfully. “The elements and all that? Absolutely. But does it exist from the filmmaker’s standpoint? I guess not, because this is the version he feels represents his vision.”
“Star Wars” fans who have never seen “THX 1138” would be well served seeking out the minimalist sci-fi flick, about an unfeeling future society. But “Star Wars” detractors might find the film worth a look as well. On one hand, the film itself — slow, austere — is the antithesis of “Star Wars” flash. But the new “THX 1138” also includes its own impressive documentary, “A Legacy of Filmmakers: The Early Years of American Zoetrope”
If “Empire of Dreams” focuses on George Lucas, the man who revolutionized special effects and marketing, “A Legacy of Filmmakers: The Early Years of American Zoetrope” shows Lucas’ role in the young Hollywood revolution, placing him alongside such pioneering peers as Francis Ford Coppola and Martin Scorsese, young directors taking advantage of widening cracks in the old-school Hollywood studio system.
“It is important that people understand that George is multidimensional, and goes beyond `Star Wars,'” Ward notes. “Each one of his pieces of work is very dear to him. [`THX 1138′] represents the first major motion picture he did, so it’s probably as important, if not more important [than `Star Wars’], in the sense that it was his first go around. But each of the films he’s been involved in, whether `THX’ or `American Graffiti’ or `Willow,’ is important to him. They’re works of art to him, and represent a point of view, a vision.”
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