Star Wars Trilogy (Special Edition) [VHS]
The Star Wars trilogy had the rare distinction of becoming more than just a series of movies, but a cultural phenomenon, a life-defining event for its generation. On its surface, George Lucas’s original 1977 film 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.The Star Wars trilogy had the rare distinction of becoming more than just a series of movies, but a cultural phenomenon, a life-defining event for its generation. On its surface, George Lucas’s original 1977 film 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.
In the first film, Luke Skywalker (Mark Hamill) gets to live out every boy’s dream: ditch the farm and rescue a princess (Carrie Fisher). Accompanied by the roguish Han Solo (Harrison Ford, the only principal who was able to cross over into stardom) and trained by Jedi master Obi-Wan Kenobi (Alec Guinness), Luke finds himself involved in a galactic war against the Empire and the menacing Darth Vader (David Prowse, voiced by James Earl Jones). The following film, The Empire Strikes Back (1980), takes a darker turn as the tiny rebellion faces an overwhelming onslaught. Directed by Irvin Kershner instead of Lucas, Empire is on the short list of Best Sequels Ever, marked by fantastic settings (the ice planet, the cloud city), the teachings of Yoda, a dash of grown-up romance, and a now-classic “revelation” ending. The final film of the trilogy, Return of the Jedi (1983, directed by Richard Marquand), is the most uneven. While the visual effects had taken quantum leaps over the years, resulting in thrilling speeder chases and space dogfights, the story is an uneasy mix of serious themes (Luke’s maturation as a Jedi, the end of the Empire-rebellion showdown) and the cuddly teddy bears known as the Ewoks.
Years later, George Lucas transformed his films into “special editions” by adding new scenes and special effects, which were greeted mostly by shrugs from fans. They were perfectly happy with the films they had grown up with (who cares if Greedo shot first?), and thus disappointed by Lucas’s decision to make the special editions the only versions available. –David Horiuchi
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(out of 2366 reviews)
List Price: $ 49.98
Price: $ 7.99
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What you’ll get here are the 2-disc limited editions of the original trilogy in a handy-dandy box. What are the limited editions? Two disc packages that contain the recent special editions and a “bonus disc” for each film that contains the respective originals. And by originals, I mean the complete un-altered films the way audiences saw them back in 1977, 1980 and 1983. Even the added-in-’81 “A New Hope” in the title crawl of the first film is no longer there. It is simply STAR WARS. Simply put: these are the versions audiences (who were born before the 90s) fell in love with. These are the versions that made Star Wars a phenomenon. The versions that are worth a damn. Does anyone seriously know ANYBODY who prefers the special editions to the originals?
Unfortunately, these are still the same old non-anamorphic transfers. They look great (and are light years better than my fullscreen VHS tapes), but how much effort does it take to enhance these films for widescreen televisions? It’s not messing with the legacy or “raping childhoods.” It’s simply updating the format for 2008. Even two years ago, when these editions were first released, letterbox was outdated. Get with the program, Georgie. These are not simply programs on a bonus disc. They’re the films that made you a trillionaire. And they’re the films everybody who buys this set wants.
Also unfortunate is that they’re not including the bonus disc from the 2004 set of the special editions. However, if I had to choose between that set and this one, I’d go with this one all the way. Special features are nice, but it’s the movies that count. I’d rather have bare-bones editions of the original trilogy than all the bells and whistles of the special edtions.
Review by Danny for Star Wars Trilogy (Special Edition) [VHS]
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The rumors are true about this DVD set being a “Special Special Edition”. More changes have been made to the original Star Wars trilogy since 1997. Recently, many images, sounds, and even a full-length copy of Return of the Jedi have been floating around on the internet, all of which confirm the changes.
Like it or not, here are some of the major alterations:
A New Hope
1. Greedo still shoots first, but it is slightly improved.
2. Jabba the Hutt is still in the film, but has been completely redone.
3. The lightsabers have been enhanced; they are no longer white rods in certain scenes.
The Empire Strikes Back
1. Actor Ian McDiarmid now appears as The Emperor via hologram, with new dialogue and different music.
2. Actor Temuera Morrison now provides the voice of Boba Fett.
Return of the Jedi
1. Naboo has been added to the end celebration montage.
2. Actor Hayden Christensen appears as the ghost of Anakin Skywalker at the end of the film.
Review by mg for Star Wars Trilogy (Special Edition) [VHS]
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I am a huge fan of Star Wars. YEs, I am an ‘Original Fan”. And why is being an ‘Original’ fan percieved so negatively? If you are an original Beatles fan, the newer fans ask you with reverence what it was like seeing them in concert, etc. etc. (No, I am not fortunate enough to be an ‘original’ Beatles fan. I wasn’t even born in 1964.) Original Star Wars fans are called oldtimers and accused of not letting go of the past and not appreciating that times change.
Mr. Rehnquist wrote in his review “I ask, who would want to see old, outdated movies in this age of advanced technology? ” Well, I hope the answer is “Many People”. My love of movies is not based on the level of special effects. Should we no longer watch the great old black and white films of the past because they are ‘old and outdated’? No more Bogie and Bacall? No more Hepburn and Tracy? What about Gene Kelly? Jimmy Stewart?
The thing Mr. Lucas is forgetting is that more is not always better- in an interview when the movies first came out, he was quoted as saying that the problem with the Sci-Fi genre in general was that so many moviemakers forgot about the story. The movies ended up being built around the special effects.
Unfortunately, Mr. Lucas is adding all of these scenes and filming the newer movies (Phantom Menace and Attack of the Clones) with nothing but the possibilities of these special effects in mind. He has lost the story; it had become secondary to the special effects.
I had no problem with the celebratory scenes added at the end of “Return of the Jedi” but I do have a problem with some of the other scenes. Han shot Greedo. Greedo did not shoot first. It is ridiculous to change this. Han’s change of heart and redemption are more powerful when you know he was a mercenary! He was always looking out for himself. That’s how he survived! He was in it for the money, and found himself inexplicably drawn to the people of the Rebellion. That’s good story-telling.
The problem is that Mr. Lucas has taken the liberty of CHANGING much of the story with these scenes.
Mos Eisley was supposed to be a dusty, deserted town. Tatooine is on the outer rim of the galazy. It’s an unimportant, dusty, underpopulated planet. What I saw in the “Special Editions” was a thriving, well-populated town.
I would happily buy the special edition versions if I knew Lucas intended on eventually releasing the original versions on DVD as well. I’d buy both.
We’re not trying to erase the movies you love. If you like the “Special Editions” Great! I am glad. I would never tell any of you to shut up or that your opinions were stupid and your views outdated as we have been told by Mr. Rehnquist.
We original fans aren’t telling you new fans that the version we grew up with should be the only one out there. Please have the courtesy of relizing we are only asking for the opportunity to buy these movies the way we fell in love with them.
Review by Mary Parisi for Star Wars Trilogy (Special Edition) [VHS]
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I see this box set is getting a lot of bad reviews so I thought I’d chime in.
Most people giving it one star are just mad that there is another boxset release. This doesn’t bother me at all. I never bought the other boxsets because of all the CG that was added, those aren’t the movies I love.
People are also upset that the originals aren’t in anamorphic widescreen and are poor transfers. Yeah an anamorphic version would have been nice and maybe they could have been retransfered, but these movies look a lot better than my old VHS set. Most likely these movies look better now than they did in the crappy theatar I saw them in.
In conclusion, this is a very affordable way to get all the original versions of the original trilogy, plus you get all the touched up versions.
Review by Neil Edward Mullen for Star Wars Trilogy (Special Edition) [VHS]
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This box contains the previously released “limited edition” 2-disc sets, now in 3 slim-line cases, which means you get STAR WARS, THE EMPIRE STRIKES BACK, and RETURN OF THE JEDI in both the original theatrical versions (for the first time on DVD!) and the re-worked “special editions” from the mid 90′s.
I purchased these mainly for the original theatrical versions and my comments relate to those versions only.
The Original Theatrical versions are in their original 2.35:1 Widescreen aspect, letterboxed within a 3×4 screen format – not anamorphic – which is clearly indicated on the packaging. You can view this “full-size” on your 16×9 TV by setting your DVD player’s HDMI output to 3×4/pillar-box if necessary, and then setting your TV to “zoom” so that the screen is filled side to side with the picture. There will be slim black bars on the top and bottom, just as there are on anamorphic DVD’s with a 2.35:1 aspect ratio.
Even with the zoom in effect, the picture is crystal clear and the color great. I’m using an upconvert DVD player with HDMI output (1080p), and a 50-inch plasma HD television. Some have said in reviews that the picture quality is poor, even “VHS quality”, but that’s totally false. I’ve read that the originals here were taken from the laser-disc masters done in the early 90′s; well, they look great however they were sourced. The sound is Dolby 2.0 Stereo (as indicated on the package) and sounds excellent. I get some center-channel and sub-woofer action as well as the stereo music and sound-effects on my system.
If a blu-ray/HD version is ever issued, that will be great and an improvement; but this is the only way to get the original films on DVD at this time, and they look great, so this set is essential for fans who saw these movies in theatres when they were released between 1977 and 1983 and want to see them once again in their original glory.
Review by Bill Anthony for Star Wars Trilogy (Special Edition) [VHS]
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