'Star Wars – Episode IV: A New Hope' (Limited Edition Steelbook) Blu-ray review
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| (c) 2015 20th Century Fox Home Entertainment |
Star Wars – Episode
IV: A New Hope (Limited Edition Steelbook)
On November 10, 2015, five weeks before the premiere of “Star
Wars: The Force Awakens,” 20th Century Fox re-released Blu-rays of the six
existing “Star Wars” saga films in “limited edition” steelbook packaging. This
is the second time that Fox, which owns the distribution rights to the five
Episodes produced by George Lucas’s Lucasfilm Limited until 2020 and owns “Star
Wars – Episode IV: A New Hope” outright, reissues the Blu-ray versions of the
popular space-fantasy series since 2011.
Of course, this is not a new development in the long history
of the “Star Wars” franchise. When videotape was the dominant home media format
in the 1980s and 1990s, Fox reissued the unaltered editions of “Star Wars –
Episode IV: A New Hope” and its sequels “The Empire Strikes Back” and “Return
of the Jedi” at least three times between 1982 and 1995. After Lucasfilm
modified the Classic Trilogy in 1997 for its Special Edition 20th Anniversary
re-release, Fox produced two sets of VHS tapes; the last one was released in
2001, shortly before the DVD of “Star Wars – Episode I: The Phantom Menace”
made its home video debut.
And since 2004, DVD editions of “A New Hope” and its two
Classic Trilogy stablemates have been issued and reissued several times, the
last time being in 2013 when they were bundled with the 2011 Blu-ray versions.
The 2015 Steelbook
Edition
“Nearly two decades
after the rise of the Empire, young farmer Luke Skywalker (Mark Hamill) meets
Obi-Wan Kenobi (Alec Guinness), who has lived in seclusion on the desert planet
of Tatooine. Obi-Wan begins Luke’s Jedi training, telling him of the Rebels’
battle against the Empire and the power known as the Force. Soon, Luke,
Obi-Wan, and a charismatic mercenary named Han Solo (Harrison Ford) and his
Wookiee sidekick Chewbacca, join forces to rescue Princess Leia (Carrie Fisher)
from the Empire’s massive warship, the Death Star, controlled by Darth Vader.”
– “Star Wars – Episode IV: A New Hope” Limited Edition Steelbook blurb
Like most movie studios – Paramount Pictures does this with
its “Star Trek” franchise, too – 20th Century Fox uses various marketing tricks
to squeeze every penny it can from the “Star Wars” films. With this Blu-ray
release, the studio focuses its attention to the packaging rather than the
content.
The new steelbook edition of “Star Wars – Episode IV: A New
Hope” consists of one 50 gigabyte (GB) Blu-ray disc (BD). The disc is identical
in appearance – it even has the same label – as the BD in Fox/Lucasfilm’s 2011
“Star Wars: The Complete Saga” box set and its 2013 re-release.
As far as the movie itself is concerned, this edition
doesn’t offer fans anything new, either. Neither the studio nor Lucasfilm have
announced any more edits or changes to “A New Hope” by the now-retired George
Lucas. Nor did Fox listen to fans’ pleas to include the original 1977
theatrical release of “Star Wars.” The version of “A New Hope” that comes in
this re-issue is the same one as in the 2011 box set, and the only extras are:
- The 2004 DVD edition’s audio commentary track by writer-director George Lucas and various cast and crew members
- The 2011 BD edition’s audio commentary track culled from archival interviews with Lucas, various actors and production crew members
For casual fans who already own the 2011 “Complete Saga” box
set, the limited edition steelbook with “A New Hope” may be somewhat redundant
if they’re not into “Star Wars” collectibles. A few, of course, may buy it (and
the other five films of the saga) as insurance in case the 2011 disc gets badly
damaged. Many consumers may take a pass, although per Amazon, sets were selling
briskly in early November.
Clearly, though, Fox is targeting those fans who not only
love the movies – even the much criticized Special Editions – themselves but
also enjoy collectible items, including limited edition packaging.
For the 2015 re-release of “A New Hope,” 20th Century Fox
Home Entertainment has created a cool-looking steelbook case. The front cover
art features a right-leaning close up of Darth Vader's face mask and helmet,
the silver “Star Wars” logo on the bottom left corner, and the subtitle “A New
Hope” under it. In a nod to Disney/Lucasfilm’s marketing for “The Force
Awakens,” the “Episode IV” element of the film’s subtitle has been omitted.
The back cover art is a partial reproduction of Tom Jung’s
classic 1977 “A” one-sheet poster. Jung’s painting features a sexy, leggy Leia,
a bare-chested and lightsaber-wielding Luke, and R2-D2 and C-3PO in the
foreground, and the nebulous but menacing visage of Darth Vader in the
background. (The summary blurb, contents listing, cast and crew info, and other
“back cover” copy is included in removable cardboard inserts that come off once
you remove the protective plastic lining that all new discs come in.)
Fox also includes a nice graphic touch for the inside covers
of the box. For “A New Hope,” the studio added a still image of the Lars
homestead on Tatooine, with Luke standing off to one side and looking at the
binary sunset. (The BD compartment is located so the disc rests on top of young
Skywalker’s picture, so it needs to be removed in order to reveal the complete
image.)
Overall, since the 2015 reissue doesn’t have any new extras
(or, thankfully, any editorial changes), it’s not exactly an essential purchase.
However, for fans who like nice-looking collectibles or want a backup copy as
insurance for their 2011 “Star Wars: The Complete Saga” BDs, this reissue might
be worth getting.
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