My 2004 Review of the Star Wars Trilogy DVD Set

At last! Where have you been?-- C-3PO to R2-D2, A New Hope

Part One: A Fan's Dream Comes True at Last.

On Tuesday, Sept. 21, 2004, Lucasfilm Ltd. and 20th Century-Fox Home Entertainment released -- some might say unleashed -- the DVD edition of one of the most anticipated movie collections since the invention of this increasingly popular format: The Star Wars Trilogy. And despite some opposition from fans who (a) wanted the DVD set to include both the 1977-83 versions and the 1997 Special Editions and (b) are unhappy with further alterations made to the "Classic" trilogy especially for the 2004 DVD editions, The Star Wars Trilogy four-disc set has been selling briskly. (It's No. 1 in DVD sales at Amazon.com.)

I've been a Star Wars fan since 1977, so not only have I seen the existing five Episodes of George Lucas' space fantasy set "a long time ago, in a galaxy far, far away" at the cinemaplex, but I've owned every VHS release since I purchased my one and only (and now long gone) videocassette recorder. When each film of the Trilogy came out on video, I'd go to the store and get my copy. When CBS-Fox Video offered the first boxed sets for Star Wars' 15th Anniversary, I plunked down whatever it was that it cost. When Lucasfilm and 20th Century-Fox Home Video re-issued the three cassette THX enhanced version in '95, I upgraded (giving my first boxed set to my older sister), even though I had to settle for the dominating pan-and-scan format; there was a specially packaged widescreen "collector's edition," but even the enticement of the superior format and a snippet of actual film frames from one of the films wasn't enough to get me to spend $100 on a VHS boxed set. I also have owned not one but two sets of the Star Wars Trilogy: Special Edition (SE) boxed set: I bought the first one in the fall of 1997, but after part of The Empire Strikes Back became unwatchable after someone had a mishap with the tape, I replaced it with the rare widescreen version of the 2000 re-issue. (I didn't toss the first set into a garbage can, however; I sent the boxed set to one of my dearest friends on the Internet so her three boys could enjoy them.) I never did buy a laserdisc player -- the direct precursor to the DVD player -- but I did watch A New Hope on one of my early consulting clients' laser disc players; I was amazed how nice the picture and sound were, but I also saw how unwieldy the laser discs could be. About the size of an old 33.3 RPM long play album and made of delicate materials, you had to handle them with extreme care.

Obviously, when Amazon.com e-mailed me on March 31st to tell me that The Star Wars Trilogy was available for pre-order, I promptly ponied up to my computer and, Visa in hand, hit the "Order" button for the widescreen edition faster than the Millennium Falcon can jump to light speed. At first I opted for Standard Shipping for "same-week" delivery, but three days before the release date I upgraded to One Day Shipping, and on Sept. 21st I had my four-disc set.

Part Two: "Now we find out if the Trilogy is worth the price we paid."

The three films that make up the Star Wars Trilogy (A New Hope, The Empire Strikes Back, and Return of the Jedi, aka Episodes IV, V, and VI) comprise the second half of a six-film series that includes the films Episode I: The Phantom Menace, Episode II: Attack of the Clones, and the upcoming Episode III: Revenge of the Sith. Set against the larger backdrop of the rise and fall of the Galactic Empire, both trilogies center on the Skywalker family, specifically on Anakin, the powerful but headstrong Jedi Knight who falls out of grace and becomes Darth Vader, Sith Lord and servant to Emperor Palpatine, and his twin children, Luke and Leia, whose role in the Galactic Civil War is chronicled in the "Classic" Star Wars Trilogy.

Star Wars Episode IV: A New Hope: Originally released in May of 1977 sans Episode number or subtitle, the film still simply known as Star Wars is actually the midway point of the entire six-film series, but at the time of its production neither writer-director George Lucas nor the executives at 20th Century-Fox expected much from this Flash Gordon-inspired space opera about Luke Skywalker's heroic quest to rescue a captive Princess from the evil Galactic Empire and the beginning of his chosen path to follow in his murdered father's footsteps as a Jedi Knight. Although Lucas had written a complex screen treatment and outline that would evolve into the present two trilogies, he ended up paring down Star Wars' script into a workable three-act movie that would be able to stand on its own rights as a filmgoing experience, and at the same time be the launching pad for further adventures if it earned enough box-office "take."

A New Hope introduces us to a civil war-torn galaxy where a small number of worlds is forming a Rebel Alliance against a tyrannical Empire. In an effort to crush all opposition to the Empire's New Order, Emperor Palpatine (offscreen in this film) has placed Grand Moff Tarkin in command of the Death Star, a huge space station with enough power to destroy entire planets. But after the Rebellion's first victory against the Empire, the secret plans to the Death Star have been stolen by rebel spies and entrusted to Princess Leia.

But the Imperial Star Destroyer Devastator intercepts Leia's Tantive IV over the desert world Tatooine, and after a short and brutal firefight, Imperial stormtroopers led by Lord Darth Vader overwhelm the tiny ship's defenders and capture Leia, unaware that the Death Star plans have been entrusted to R2-D2, a short astromech droid who has fled with his protocol droid counterpart C-3PO aboard an escape pod.

The droids land on Tatooine's desert wastes and are snatched by the scrap-hunting jawas, who eventually sell them to Owen Lars and his "nephew" Luke Skywalker, who live in a remote homestead and make a living as moisture farmers. While cleaning the droids, Luke accidentally activates a hologram with a desperate plea from Princess Leia: "Help me, Obi-Wan Kenobi, you're my only hope."

With those words, Luke's life as a moisture farmer on Tatooine will change forever as he is thrust in the middle of the Galactic Civil War. Rescued by Obi-Wan Kenobi from the marauding Sand People, Luke learns that his father had once been a Jedi knight and friend of Obi-Wan before his murder by the evil Darth Vader. Though he is reluctant to go off on a mission to Alderaan with Kenobi, the Empire's slaying of his aunt and uncle push him to join Kenobi so he "can learn the ways of the Force and become a Jedi."


A New Hope's second half, starting with the fateful meeting in the now famous Mos Eisley cantina with Han Solo (Harrison Ford) and culminating with the climactic space battle over the Death Star, is a fast-paced chain of cliffhangers intended to be an homage to the cheesy-but-thrilling movie serials of the Thirties and Forties. Will the Rebels get past the detention cell? Will the droids stop the trash compactor in time? Will Darth Vader face off against his former Master? Will Han Solo and Chewbacca go off to pay Jabba the Hutt, or will they save Luke during the last attack run down the Death Star trench?

A New Hope: The DVD: Although the 2004 DVD edition of Episode IV: A New Hope is essentially the same as the 1997 Special Edition re-release, there are a few tweaks Lucas added, mostly cosmetic changes to the additional material created for the controversial 20th Anniversary re-release. For instance, the scene where Greedo shoots first at Han Solo in the Mos Eisley Cantina is still there, but it looks less jerky and added on than it does on the Widescreen VHS edition. Also, the CGI Jabba generated for the restored confrontation between the Hutt crime lord and Han looks a bit more like he does in both Episode VI: Return of the Jedi and the prequel Episode I: The Phantom Menace. Finally, the only onscreen English-language labeling (on the tractor beam control unit aboard the Death Star) has been replaced by glyphs in a Star Wars written language.

Glitch Report: As good as the DVD's content is, there appears to be a widespread glitch in this disc. When a viewer selects the Audio Commentary feature on the A New Hope disc or the English 2.0 Dolby audio track, the "a long time ago, in a galaxy far, far away...." card suddenly switches from English to Spanish then back to English, then freezes at the 24-second mark. I've experienced this on not one but two DVD players, and I've heard some of my friends griping about similar issues.

Episode V:The Empire Strikes Back picks up the narrative some three years after the events of Episode IV: A New Hope. Despite their impressive victory at Yavin, the Rebels' destruction of the Empire's Death Star marked only the true start of the Galactic Civil War. Darth Vader, last seen heading into deep space in his damaged TIE fighter, made his way to Imperial territory and was given the assignment of eradicating the main resistance cell of the Rebellion. Somewhere along the line (and the movies never explained this), Vader discovered the identity of the X-Wing pilot who destroyed the Death Star. Some time after the Battle of Yavin, the Empire forced the Rebels to flee from their hidden base and pursued them across the galaxy. Now, as the title crawl narrates, Vader, "obsessed with finding young Skywalker, dispatches thousands of remote probes into the deep reaches of space."

One of these probes crashes on Hoth, an icy world in the backwaters of the galaxy and so inhospitable that even smugglers avoid it. Its fiery descent is seen by Luke Skywalker, now a commander of Rogue Squadron, as he rides on his trusty tauntaun. However, before he can check it out, he's attacked by a Wampa ice creature and dragged off to its cave for future consumption.

Meanwhile, unaware of his friend's plight, Han Solo returns to the Rebel base and tells the commanding officer that he's leaving the Alliance to pay the vile gangster Jabba the Hutt the money he still owes from an incident predating his involvement with the Rebellion. When Princess Leia reacts angrily to his decision to leave, he tells her he knows she wants him to stay not because he's "a natural leader" for the Rebel pilots but "because of the way you feel about me." But their sparring is interrupted when Luke (now hanging by his ankles on an ice cave's ceiling) is reported overdue and Han recklessly rides out into the bitter cold of a Hoth night to find him.

Skywalker, aided by his untrained Jedi abilities, manages to escape from the Wampa before he becomes its dinner, and runs out into the teeth of a Hoth night storm. Before collapsing in exhaustion, the spirit of his slain mentor Ben (Obi-Wan) Kenobi appears before him and tells Luke he must "go to the Dagobah system. There you will learn from Yoda, the Jedi Master who instructed me." Ben disappears and Luke falls unconscious to the snow, but Han reaches him in the nick of time.

Although Han's tauntaun dies and the two friends must themselves be rescued by Alliance pilots, Luke survives and everyone is briefly reunited. But the Imperial probe that Luke failed to investigate discovers the Rebel base and reports to the Imperial fleet. Soon, Vader and his hordes of Imperial forces, supported by a fleet of Star Destroyers and lumbering armored transports, descend on Hoth, and the band of Star Warriors scatters. Luke and his astromech droid R2-D2 fly off to Dagobah to find Yoda, while Han, Leia, Chewbacca and C-3PO are pursued relentlessly by Imperial ships and the bounty hunter Boba Fett, who chases them all the way to Bespin's Cloud City.

The Empire Strikes Back took very big risks, such as surprising fans with its Episode V subtitle, having its big battle take place during the first half of the movie, giving the director's chair to Irvin Kershner, and making the ending a big cliffhanger with so many story threads left dangling. Would Luke complete his training with Yoda? Could Lando Calrissian be trusted? Who did Leia really love, Luke or Han? Most importantly, was Vader really Luke's father, as he claims at the end of the de rigeur lightsaber duel on Cloud City?

For three years, fans theorized and conjectured many different scenarios and grumbled about the unfinished feel of the ending, but Empire was a resounding critical and popular success. The script and directing gave Episode V depth and more personality shadings to the characters, the effects were even better than the first film's, and John Williams' brilliant score built on A New Hope's established musical themes and added new and more interesting leitmotivs that gave the Star Wars saga its operatic sweep. Empire is one of those rare sequels that in some ways surpasses its predecessor film, and almost 25 years after its release it still thrills and chills its many fans.

The Empire Strikes Back: The DVD: Like A New Hope, the 2004 DVD edition of The Empire Strikes Back is essentially the same as the 1997 Special Edition, except for one revamped scene; Ian McDiarmid, who plays Darth Sidious/Supreme Chancellor Palpatine in the prequels and personified Emperor Palpatine's aged version in Episode VI: Return of the Jedi, appears in the hologram that confers with Lord Vader and warns him they have a new enemy, Luke Skywalker. McDiarmid, who replaces both a heavily disguised woman and the voice of Clive Revill, has a new bit of dialog that implies that it took a while for the Emperor to figure out who had destroyed the Death Star, even though it seems Vader figured it out some time before.

In addition, because Episode II established that Boba Fett is a perfect clone of the bounty hunter Jango Fett (Temuera Morison), Jeremy Bulloch's lines (all four of them!) have been dubbed over with Morison's voice.

The only other change I discerned is that in the 1997 Special Edition version, Luke actually screams as he plummets several hundred feet down the Cloud City tubes and onto a thin weather vane. In the 2004 DVD, Lucas has deleted this tacked-on revision and restored the quiet "I'm going to die, but at least the Force is with me" freefall.

Episode VI: Return of the Jedi, written by Larry Kasdan and George Lucas and directed by the late Richard Marquand, closes the Classic Trilogy that chronicles the adventures of Luke Skywalker, Han Solo and Princess Leia during the Galactic Civil War, which pit the Heroes of the Rebellion against Emperor Palpatine and his evil minion, Darth Vader. Although many fans consider Jedi to be weaker than The Empire Strikes Back, it is still a fitting conclusion to the beloved film series.

Even though Return of the Jedi was released 16 years before Episode I: The Phantom Menace, George Lucas intended it to be part of a six-film cycle, very much as J.R.R. Tolkien intended each volume of his Lord of the Rings "trilogy" to be part of a single novel. It clearly ties up all the events from both Prequel and Classic Trilogies, leaving it to authorized novelists to continue the Star Wars story in the Expanded Universe books and graphic novels.

As the film opens, it is a dark time for the Rebellion. Imperial forces under the command of Jedi-turned-Sith Lord Darth Vader have defeated the Rebel Alliance at Hoth and elsewhere. The Emperor has ordered Vader to capture Jedi-in-training Luke Skywalker and turn him to the Dark Side of the Force before the boy becomes too powerful and destroys the two Sith Lords. To achieve this goal, Vader uses every means at his disposal -- the Imperial Fleet and bounty hunters -- to capture Han Solo, Princess Leia, Chewbacca and C-3PO and use them as bait to lure Skywalker to Cloud City on Bespin...and into a carefully laid trap.

Luke manages to escape, but now Han is frozen in carbonite and in the clutches of the vile Tatooine gang lord Jabba the Hutt. And as he, Leia, Chewbacca and new ally Lando Calrissian plan a rescue mission they are unaware that Palpatine has ordered the construction of a second, more powerful Death Star. If the Empire completes this planet-killing space station, the Rebellion is doomed.

The first half of Jedi focuses on Han's rescue from Jabba's Palace on Luke's home world. It starts out subtly, with C-3PO (clueless as ever) and his feisty astromech counterpart R2-D2 being "given" as a gift to the Hutt as a token of goodwill by Luke, who hopes -- against evidence to the contrary -- that Jabba will see reason and negotiate. Then, a bounty hunter called Boussh arrives with Han's Wookiee pal Chewbacca, but later, when Han is thawed out in an abortive rescue attempt, it is revealed that Boussh is really Leia in disguise and she is forced to wear a skimpy outfit (later made famous in an episode of "Friends") and chained to the slug-like crime lord.

The film finally becomes full of action once Luke arrives at the palace to get his friends out of this mess. His first attempt to use his Jedi powers seems to fail, but later, at the Pit of Carkoon -- the nesting place of the awful Sarlacc -- the young Jedi uses the Force and his new lightsaber to help destroy Jabba and most of his minions. Han, Lando and Leia have some of their best moments in this sequence, with some of the best lines going to Ford's roguish smuggler-turned-Rebel-hero:

Luke (to Han): Han!
Han: Luke! How we doin'?
Luke: Same as always.
Han: That bad, huh?

***
Han: I think my eyes are getting better. Instead of a big black blur I see a big light blur.
Luke: There's not much to see. I grew up here, you know.
Han: You're gonna die here, you know. Convenient.

Mayhem ensues, but the Rebels manage to escape with their lives. But Luke has unfinished business with his Jedi Master Yoda, and the Rebels have just decoded the data stolen by Bothan spies. The Empire is building a new battle station near the moon of Endor, and the Emperor is supervising the final stages of its construction.

Luke now must go to the Endor system to face Darth Vader one last time, knowing that the fate of the galaxy now hangs on the balance.....

Return of the Jedi was altered in 1997 with CGI graphics to test some of the new digital effects and technology that would later be used in the current prequels, although most of the changes come at the very end, where the victory celebration on Endor is now supplemented by simultaneous parties on Bespin and Tatooine. There is a new musical number that replaces the original version's "Lapti Nek" and the Victory Celebration features new material composed by John Williams.

Return of the Jedi: The DVD: Although all the changes made to the Star Wars Trilogy have met opposition from many fans, most of the criticism is aimed at Jedi, particularly the replacement of Sebastian Shaw as the "spirit" of Anakin Skywalker in the "Jedi Spirits" sequence by current prequels actor Hayden Christensen and a brief shot of Naboo (Palpatine and Padme Amidala's home world in Episodes I-III) inserted into the galactic celebration. (There is a Gungan who shouts "Wesa free!"...and it's presumed that it's Jar Jar Binks...but is it?)

Packaging and Prequel Compatibility Notes:

Presentation is crucial in merchandising, and Lucasfilm knows this, so the design of the packaging is paramount, especially in Star Wars-related items. The slipcover box comes in two basic color schemes: silver with black for the widescreen DVDs, and gold with black for the fullscreen (pan-and-scan). On one side, there is a stylized depiction of Darth Vader's helmet and mask, while on the other side there's a bas relief of The Special Edition's Heroes of the Rebellion. On the spine, big embossed Roman numerals identify each Episode with the title underneath in smaller letters, while on the back cover the classic Star Wars Trilogy logo sits above a photo of the Death Star and a TIE Fighter.

The individual DVDs, including the Bonus Materials disc, have artwork similar in style to the Prequel Trilogy; the only difference is that the lettering of the logos on the front and spines is in silver, while that of the Prequels is in gold. Otherwise the photo-realistic rendition of the characters and the typeface used in credits on the back is identical.

Each disc's label side (upper surface) features poster art from the 1977-83 films rather than the Drew Struzan posters used to promote the 1997 Special Edition re-release.

The DVD opening menus and options selection screens are also identical to the Prequels. After all, it's one complete storyline so it's important that the DVDs from the two Trilogies are consistent in design, just as it's important that the music and continuing characters are part of the whole.

Extra Features of the Star Wars Trilogy

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

Bonus Materials disc:
"Empire of Dreams: The Story of the Star Wars Trilogy," A 2-hour-plus-long documentary about the creation of the Star Wars saga, with interviews and lots of never-before-seen footage from the making of all three films

Featurettes: The Characters 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 video game

* Exclusive preview of Star Wars: Episode III

Update: In November of 2008, 20th Century Fox and Lucasfilm Limited (LFL) released, in conjunction with a similar Prequel Trilogy box set, a six-disc Star Wars Trilogy box set which dispenses with the Bonus Material disc described here. Instead, the new set includes the two-disc "Special Limited Edition" re-issues of A New Hope, The Empire Strikes Back, and Return of the Jedi, which come with both the still controversial 2004 Special Edition upgrades and the theatrical (original) versions.

In keeping with its current trend of downsizing box sets so they take up less space on shelves, the 2008 re-issues come in packages modeled after 20th Century Fox Home Entertainment's "slimcases" for Seasons 5-6 of 24. The cover art of the 2006 Special Limited Edition DVDs was kept, but the DVDs come in the more compact two-disc cases that have no breakable parts yet still can hold both versions of the Star Wars movies.

Also, 20th Century Fox and LFL seem to have fixed the glitch on Disc One of Star Wars - Episode IV: A New Hope. Now viewers who like audio commentaries can select this option without that annoying 24-second freeze and bizarre language version "flip" which plagued both the 2004 and 2006 DVDs of this movie.