The Prequels don't suck; they're just not as great as the Classic Star Wars Trilogy (review)

On November 4, 2008, roughly seven years after Lucasfilm Limited and 20th Century Fox Home Entertainment released the two-disc DVD set of Star Wars – Episode I: The Phantom Menace and slightly four years after the unveiling of the somewhat controversial Star Wars Trilogy box set, the two companies went ahead and issued the first box set of Star Wars: The Prequel Trilogy in tandem with a redesigned Star Wars Trilogy box set comprised of the 2006 Limited Edition DVDs which contain – due to high demand from fans – both the enhanced Special Edition and original theatrical release versions of A New Hope, The Empire Strikes Back and Return of the Jedi.

For some reason, Lucasfilm and 20th Century Fox Home Entertainment waited a bit over three years to produce a box set of the Prequels – Episode I: The Phantom Menace, Episode II: Attack of the Clones and Episode III: Revenge of the Sith – which had previously been released in separate 2-DVD sets.


(A careful search of either Epinions or its parent site Shopping.com shows that some stores offer “bundles” of the 2001 The Phantom Menace and 2002 Attack of the Clones original DVD releases , and Amazon often offers low-priced deals if customers buy the three separate sets in the same order.)


What's New?  



As is often the case with DVD reissues, the big differences between the 2008 Star Wars Prequel Trilogy box set and the original "individual two-disc" 2001-2005 DVD releases are in packaging and price.

In addition to being bundled together in a Sith-themed slipcover dominated by a Drew Struzan illustration of Anakin Skywalker and Obi-Wan Kenobi's lightsaber duel and featuring dark side-related red, orange and black colors,Episodes I, II and III now come in the same space-saving slimcases used in many multi-disc sets a la 24: Seasons 5 and 6.
These slimcases I prefer because they don't have any parts that wear out or can break, and they also take up a bit less shelf space than the traditional DVD cases.

The Star Wars Prequel Trilogy box set is also now a bit more affordable; if you have not yet bought any of the Star Wars DVDs or if you want to purchase a "backup" set to tide you over until the inevitable ultimate collection of all six Episodes is released in the high-definition Blu-ray format, getting this box set is a good option.

Consider: I purchased the original DVD editions of The Phantom Menace, Attack of the Clones, and Revenge of the Sith at Amazon for what was then a reasonable $22.00 each.  (That's $66.00, plus shipping and handling).  Currently, Amazon is selling the entire trilogy at $38.99. which is 22% less than 20th Century Fox Home Entertainment's MSRP of $49.99.  (The older DVD editions are, of course, still being sold and are a bit cheapernow, but even if purchased at their current $14.99 prices, the complete trilogy will still cost $45.00 - $6.00 more than the 2008 box set.)

What's Old?

If you own the 2001, 2002 and 2005 two-disc editions (Disc 1 with the feature film, Disc 2 with the extra features) and hope to find anything new added to the 2008 re-issues, forget it.  With the exception of the slipcover and slimmer DVD two-disc cases, you're going to get exactly the same content. The feature films and extra features have no revised materials.

The 2-disc sets even have the same "blurbs" on the back panels of the slim DVD cases as the original 2001-2005 "first editions" with minor edits to reflect the changing times (Episode I no longer boasts its For the first time on DVD status here).  

My Take : 
Although I own the original 2001-2005 DVDs, I decided to get this Star Wars Prequel Trilogy box set anyway.  First, the wear-and-tear factor has crept in; the little stud which holds Disc 1 to its tray in the Episode Ipackage is worn out and no longer grips the movie disc securely.  This has forced me to swap the Feature Film disc with the Extra Features disc, since I really hate it when a good movie gets so badly scratched that it needs to be replaced. (So far, the Extra Features disc hasn't gotten too many dings, but it does get jostled whenever I takeThe Phantom Menace from its place on my DVD shelves....)

Also, people do ask me to lend them my movies from time to time, and though so far I've always gotten them back in good shape, I consider the Star Wars and Indiana Jones movies to be my "crown jewels" and tend to be overprotective of them, so a backup set seems to be a good investment...just in case something untoward doeshappen.

On the whole, this set will appeal more to consumers who are first-time buyers of either the Prequel and/or Classic Trilogy or Star Wars fans who like Episodes I-III and want a just-in-case backup DVD compilation to tide them over until the definitive Blu-ray editions – with new extra features and interviews – come out.

For reviews on the individual Prequel films, please see:

Star Wars – Episode I: The Phantom Menace

Star Wars – Episode II: Attack of the Clones

Star Wars – Episode III: Revenge of the Sith

Recommended: Yes

Viewing Format: DVD
Video Occasion: Better than Watching TV
Suitability For Children: Suitable for Children up Ages 

© 2012 Alex Diaz-Granados.  All Rights Reserved

Comments

Popular posts from this blog

How many movies have been made based on Stephen King's 'It'?

Talking About Tom Clancy's 'Ryanverse': Was Jack Ryan a Republican or a Democrat?

Movie Review: 'PT-109'