I am very dissapointed with this release of the Original Trilogy. With somuch time to prepare there is no excuse for this second rate release. Once again Lucus has seen fit to make changes to the films I saw as a child, but more to the point he has neglected to make use of the technology available to him to provide his vision _and_ what fans want: The films they grew up with!
The recent release of the Alian Saga on DVD utilised DVD technology to present both the original cut and special edition cuts on the same disc without replicating data and therefore allowing for a top quality transfer.
Why was this not done for the this Starwars Trilogy set?
The reason for not doing this on this Starwars Trilogy set that springs to mind is money. One presumes Lucus will release the set fans actualy wanted at a later date so we have to pay again. :/ Personaly, I'll be watching a friends copy and waiting patiantly for a better release.
I have only given one star because the changes are needless and the original cut is not provided. The original movies obviously would get 5 stars.
Help other customers find the most helpful reviews
If you loved the original movies in 1977 and 1979 you will not buy this butchered set. These are not the movies we originally loved and which fans did so much to make a success. Lucas would not be where he is today without the support of those fans, and yet he has chosen to spit on them. I would not have any problem with Lucas tinkering with these movies as long as, like Spielberg, he allowed the originals to circulate as well. But his attempt to bury the originals ought to clue you in as to his confidence in his alterations. He knows he's destroying these movies but his ego is too inflated to let him stop. And to those of you who say "These are Lucas' movies, he can do what he wants." I would argue that is not the case. A movie is a collaborative effort, hundreds of individuals came together to make these movies. Lucas was the guiding spirit but he is not solely responsible for their success, nor should he have sole veto on our right to see the original movies we loved.
Help other customers find the most helpful reviews
I'm sure I'm not the only one that's noticed how these new changes have created plot holes that weren't there before. I've been led to believe that the Storm Troopers have all been dubbed to sound like Janga Fett, for instance . . . but if that's the case, then how come the controllers just before the 'trash-masher' scene didn't realise sooner that Han was an imposter when he was speaking to them? How come nobody noticed that one was shorter? And of course, if Anakin now appears at the end of RotJ in his Hayden Christianson form, then how come Obi-Wan is still Alec Guinness and not Ewan McGregor? I'm sure there are others, but I've only read up on these - I refuse to buy the DVD release as it is. It's a great shame because both my fiancee and I ordered these months back, and had to return them. I know some fans don't mind the changes, others hate them, but the thing that truly annoyed me was this: these changes weren't mentioned in the write-ups when the pre-orders were first being taken. I feel that we as a fandom were being sold goods under false pretences, and that is why I'm not keeping it.
To quote Tolkien, possibly the best story-teller ever: "The most critical reader of all, myself, now finds many defects . . . but being fortunately under no obligation either to review the book or to write it again, he will pass over these in silence."
Please, George Lucas, release both; it'll only mean more money and less moaning for you, anyway.
I should add that like other reviewers before me, I give this set 1 star, but the films in themselves deserve 5.
Help other customers find the most helpful reviews
19 of 44 people found the following review helpful:
I WANT THE ORIGINALS!!, 24 April 2004
By A Customer
Special editions? Rubbish. Why can't the original theatrical versions bereleased, before Lucas started tampering with them and adding loads ofmuppets and OTT amounts of CGI which look completely out of sync with therest of the films? He might as well put a CGI hat on Han Solo and be donewith it. These special editions weren't the ones I loved as a kid, and ithonks that Lucas refuses to release the original ones. To know he's addedeven more 'special footage' to these chills my bones. No doubt, the end ofEpisode One will reveal Jar Jar Binks' Dad was also on the death star whenit blew up, and during the Empire Strikes Back, R2-D2 will find a posterof Ewan McGregor buried in some snow. Nothing but a cynical attempt toget the new 'kids' interested, in a hope they'll buy more of Lucas' toys.Stick it, George. Stick it.
Help other customers find the most helpful reviews
The original films were exceptional aboth for the time they were made andnow. Why does Lucas insist on tampering with the originals, fair enoughhe wants to make money, but the majority of fans want the original so whynot include them as well or as an alternative. I'm sure there are manygullible fans who would buy both sets.
Help other customers find the most helpful reviews
9 of 21 people found the following review helpful:
Big Disapointment, 26 Sep 2004
By A Customer
The scenes have been speeded up, in places the voices of the actors don't match their lips - like poorly dubbed foreign films. The sound is uneven throughout. It was obvious why the new scenes that were added were left out of the original - they didn't fit and they still don't. The battle scenes look like computer animation of 10 years ago - very poorly done, obvious square colored halos around the fighters when the Millenium Falcon escapes in the Death Star in Episode IV. The ending of VI the Return of the Jedi was changed. The music is some dopey syrup from Rocky or a spaghetti western. The character of Anakin(?) Skywalker in the very last scene is a new guy -some young bearded stud - not the old Dad Skywalker who died in Luke's arm. Definitely goes back to the store tomorrow.
Help other customers find the most helpful reviews
George Lucas does not realise the damage he has done with these special edition Star Wars films. The original versions had scenes in which I grew up with and which blew me away in the power of the shots, which are now gone, and that thrill will never be the same again. I would only buy the originals and nothing else. I have the complete original full length Star Wars on Super 8 and the original Empire is available on Super 8 full length, so this shows that the original films are still around.
Help other customers find the most helpful reviews
If you like the original trilogy, the changes that Lucas made in these re-release you'll find them stupid and you won't like to spend any money on these. At first, i didn't like the change in ROTJ on the special edition when they replaced the ewok theme at the end (shub nub!) for that lame chorus theme. Now he's done it, one of the key sequences at the end of ROTJ (the ghosts) is changed for worse... With all these changes, Lucas doesn't seem to feel any respect for the people that worked for him, but it also seems that he doesn't have any respect for the fans or the viewers either.
Don't waste any money on these....
Help other customers find the most helpful reviews
If it aint broke then dont fix it! These films are a mockery of the originals, a sham. If you have any respect for the original films then avoid this spoof of what really should have been a essential release. CGI extra footage cries out for attention,the apparently notorious Jabba the Hut is made a fool out of, Luke is made out to be a wimp and Star Trek rip-off explosions are plentiful! AAGHHH! Why O Why!
Help other customers find the most helpful reviews
When I heard Carrie Fisher talking about the original Star Wars movies coming out on DVD,I was overjoyed and ordered it immediately but now to learn it's not the originals..I'm so dissappointed.. ..Why Mr Lucas must you do this, When I went to the cinema to see the movies as a child, I was completely blown away by them,for me they were perfect as they were, at least you could have given us the choice between Originals and Special edition (choke)...sigh..
Help other customers find the most helpful reviews
![Star Wars Trilogy (Episodes IV-VI) [DVD] [1977]](http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/41VAGE71DYL._SL160_SL90_.jpg)
Amazon Home
![Star Wars - The Original Trilogy [DVD] [1977]](http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/P/B001FVKUA8.01._SL160_PE60_OU02_SCLZZZZZZZ_SL90_V262112597_.jpg)
![Star Wars - Prequel Trilogy [DVD] [1999]](http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/P/B001FVKUAI.01._SL160_PE60_OU02_SCLZZZZZZZ_SL90_V263930926_.jpg)
![Star Wars Trilogy (3 Disc Edition) [DVD]](http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/512TGDWQSFL._SL160_SL90_.jpg)
![Star Wars Trilogy Box Set [Deluxe Remastered Version]](http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/212HMX8JJ4L._SL160_SL90_.jpg)