Star Wars V: The Empire Strikes Back (Limited Edition) [DVD]

It's great to see what people can do when they shout loud enough, in this case to get Mr. Lucas to release his orginal theatrical cuts of some of the most popular films in cinematic history.

The Empire Strikes Back has always been my favourite film of the trilogy as it has all the elements needed for a great film with a touch of magic too. When Mr. Lucas revealled he was tinkering with his films over 10 years ago I thought this was actually a good idea. To be fair he didn't actually mess around with any of the 3 films content too much plus they needed remastering anyway. I still think this is the case and the newer versions look stunning.

However in recent years I think George Lucas' biggest mistake was to basically forget about the original versions of the films and not to allow people to make a choice of which version of the films they would like to see. After all it was these original versions that made him all his money in the first place. Plus even though they were his films, they are of course incredibly popular so if he didn't expect a large amount of backlash when he tinkered with them then he must have been stupid.

Now George Lucas has released the original versions it appears he has taken all the cries for them to be released very, very literally and given us the original bare bones films. As for what we have here, yes the picture and sound quality is far inferior to the special editions but I think some reviewers have been a little extreme in their words on this aspect. I personally feel that they hold up very well even when viewed on a widescreen TV.

As for George Lucas himself, well he's an astute businessman. People seem to keep lambasting him for trying to squeeze every penny out of the Star Wars fans. Well, it's the fans that keep buying the films again and again.

*** This review may contain spoilers ***

Luke, Leia and Han are fighting with the rebels in the hope of defeating the Imperial forces. But Luke gets a calling to to the planet Dagobah, where under the tutelage of Jedi Master, Yoda, he hopes to become a Jedi himself, but that also brings him closer to his, and Leia's, destiny.

Lets tell it as it is, The Empire Strikes Back is a better film than Star Wars, not as impacting of course, but most definitely better. Technically, in story telling and in tone, it holds up well today and certainly warrants the amount of times it crops up in best sequels debates. That it's not actually a sequel is irrelevant, it is of course the filler in a wonderful sci-fi sandwich, because as second instalments go, Empire has few peers. With Empire Strikes Back we get all the whizz bang adventure strewn heart of Star Wars, but George Lucas (stepping aside for Irvin Kershner to direct) has also fleshed the story out with a serious dark tone that oddly becomes a bedfellow to the romantic fun on offer, where new and engaging characters (and creatures) add spice to this wonderful fantastical broth.

Aided by the considerable writing talent of Leigh Brackett (The Long Goodbye, Rio Bravo, The Big Sleep), Lucas took the bold and ingenious step of giving the bad guys the upper hand, in fact it could be argued that he was taking a considerable risk with his ending. Forcing his viewers to wait for the final chapter (three years later), after tantalisingly setting us up with a corker of plot twist (one which is still to this day as potent as it was back on release), Lucas pulled perhaps one of the cheekiest carrot dangles in cinema history.

Tho more famed for its dark undertones, Empire is for sure still a very fun movie, C3PO goes into camp overdrive and Han Solo ups his quip quota by some margin. Then of course there is Yoda, in himself a comedic joy. The action sequences beg for repeat viewings, a battle on the ice laden planet Hoth is a marvel and the choreography for Skywalker's fight with Darth Vader is out of the top draw. But ultimately it's with the dark side that the picture excels. Complex and amazingly posing moral quandary's, The Empire Strikes Back is quite an experience, one that will forever hold up to repeat viewings for this particular viewer. 10/10

Im not even going to talk about the 1st disc, beyond to say its almost the same as the one in the triology box set. Now, on to the good stuff - DISC TWO!

Presented on DVD for the 1st time, the 1980 Theatrical Version of the film. The video quality is like a very high quality VHS transfer to DVD (much like a budget DVD release), a little grainy but otherwise in perfect condition.

The Audio is crystal clear 2.0 stereo, on my 5.1 system I thin it actually sounds better than the 5.1 of the remastered edition!

And if this info isnt enough for you - surely the fact that the verison of "The Empire Strikes Back" that those of us saw 1st time around, and grew up loving, is worth buy or if your like me, double dipping after the dissapointment of the boxset.