Star Wars Episode IV: A New Hope, 2004 release, SINGLE DISC FROM TRILOGY
1 Wow! Whatta movie!
In 1977, the world was taken by storm by this. Many years later, 6 movies, lots of books, games, toys, and geeks, SW is one of the most succsesful movie series of all time.
The story is like this, in a galaxy far away, the evil Darth Vader has taken over the galaxy. Princess Leia, part of a rebel army, sends two robots, R2-D2 and C-3PO to send a message to a planet. At the planet, they get caught, and a poor farmboy named Luke Skywalker takes them and finds the message, a girl who wants a guy named Obi-Wan. And so the story begins...
The movie is epic. Wonderful special effects for the time, lots of action, and an unforgettable story, this movie is a must see!
2 They finally fixed the lightsaber!
Too much of a Star Wars geek, methinks... In the original Star Wars, right after Obiwan's death, Darth Vader can be seen wandering around with his lightsaber...except it wasn't coloured red, because they'd forgotten to colour it in. In the Special Edition, back in 1997, I had expected this fixed, but they somehow had time to add in all sorts of special things, but not to fix this bug. Well, finally, on the new Star Wars DVD, its finally fixed.
3 The start of the greatest film saga ever conceived!
:-)
I have read the reviews on line here at Amazon.com about "Star War: Episode IV - A New Hope," some I agree with, others I don't. I was 2-years-old when this movie was released in the theaters so I had to wait till the television & VHS versions to see and remember that which I saw as an infant.
Still when I saw the original cut of this movie it was like WOW! The greatest movie ever and I was ecstatic when Lucas re-released it in the theaters. Those who complain about the re-cut of the movie were able to see this movie for the first time in the theater, those my age either do not remember or did not see it, and those younger than I were never given the chance till the re-cut.
One person complained that Mos Eisley was ruined in the re-cut because this person said that Lucas changed it from "...the furthest planet from the bright center of the universe," to "all the hustle and bustle of downtown Manhattan." But this person fails to take in the fact that Luke was referring to Tattoine and that even on our planet we have places that are rather isolated but still have ports or airports that make a portion of it like a booming metropolis.
The re-cut was necessary for us in the younger generation after being spoiled by movies like "Terminator 2: Judgment Day" and the "Star Trek" & "Babylon 5" TV shows & movies of the late 1980s through the 1990s. I for one am only really disappointed that Lucas decided not to include the original opening scene with Luke seeing the battle from Tattoine and then telling Biggs about it at Tosche Station (Mr. Lucas if you are reading this, this is a big hint for your next touch up).
I for one loved the updated scenes and the inclusion of both the Jabba scene and the Greedo shooting first scene - and no it is not the politically correct way of changing the scene as the same critic from before has stated - for if it was a politically correct change Han would have talked Greedo out of situation and the fact that Han had carefully removed his blaster and shot so quickly after Greedo is only indicative of Han trying to beat Greedo to the trigger - in essence both versions are self defense.
Nonetheless this movie is what began the Skywalker Family Saga and I whole hardily recommend this movie and also recommend that people watch only the wide screen versions and in a home theater atmosphere to get the most enjoyment out of this modern classic movie.
4 The Force is still with us
I saw Star Wars in the cinema on its original release in 1977 and I was not slow to buy a ticket for an encore. The sheer experience of that film was exhilerating at a time when movie SFX were still a fair distance away from the quality we know and expect today. Few cinemas had stereo sound then because Dolby Stereo was in its infancy, and to actually be in a cinema so equipped at that time was a rarity. If you were really lucky, in addition to Dolby stereo, it might have a 70mm facility which would give you an enhanced picture, plus a 6 channel stereo split instead of the normal 4 channel of standard Dolby. Nowadays digital stereo in the cinema and home makes that sort of differentiating pretty irrelevent.
Seeing Star Wars in stereo and with its incredible effects really was an experience . After that sound and SFX were never going to be the same, and neither have looked back since.
Only just behind The Empire Strikes Back in terms of enjoyability sits Star Wars itself. The film remains one of those viewing experiences which just remains in your mind as a milestone. What effects, what imagination, the ability to lift you out of every day life and take you to a galaxy, far, far away. Who can forget seeing that opening shot of the huge Star Destroyer bearing down on Princess Leia's fleeing vessel?
No audiences had seen spaceships of those looks and dimensions on the big screen before...
The seedier side of intergalactic life is brilliantly realised in the depiction of THAT bar on the desert planet of Tatooine.
Of course you have that unforgettable sequence at the end of the film where a horde of tiny X Wing fighters take on the behemoth that is the Empire's Death Star.
Aside from the main characters you have great supporting roles. Alec Guinness as Obi Wan Kenobi is superb. As is Peter Cushing as the ruthless Governor Tarkin, commanding the Death Star.
As to the controversy of the editing that Lucas has made to the dvd releases, my feelings are as follows:
I loved the originals and have the vhs versions of all three. However, with nearly 20 years between Jedi and The Phantom Menace there were always going to be continuity issues concerning casting and SFX. Play an original vhs version of Star Wars, and you will soon see that the mattes have not aged well and stand out visibly. Yet did we notice them at the the time of the films release? No of course not because the SFX then were state of the art. Now with the passage of time and SFX having come on in leaps and bounds, George Lucas decided to update the former films.In my opinion he has done a good job too SFX wise. The casting editing is more to link with the newer editions of the franchise than to improve the quality of the originals, so my thoughts on that are mixed though. I can see the reason for doing it but I simply prefer the original actors in their roles. Clive Revill's Emperor in Empire Strikes Back I think is the deletion that was most unnecessary.
Overall though I am glad that I have a choice and can either watch the originals on vhs or put on the updated versions on dvd.
I have looked forward to the dvd release of these films for years and am delighted with finally being able to blast them across my home cinema set up. The picture on 16:9 anamorphic is great on a widescreen tv. All sound channels are crisp and totally clear of any distortion. Laser blasts and Tie Fighters shoot across the room to varying degrees...Such is the effect of being able to do that, it has returned me to the awe struck kid seeing Star Wars for the first time in a cinema. Thanks for the dvds, George, it may have taken a while but at least they are here now.
5 The best star wars film!
I found that a new hope was the best star wars film ever made. I would give it 10/10.
6 Best Star Wars movie... horrible re-edditing
Well, most people prefer The Empire Strikes Back, but I found it boring, it's just living off the success of the superior and more successful, "Star Wars."
This movie is good. No doubt about it. Grossed over $307 million in 1977, DESTROYING all other records, took home, I believe, 7 academy awards, and was nominated for 10. In 1997, Lucas reworked Star Wars. And made it crap.
Greedo shooting first is bad. Though some claims he shoots the same time Han does (not true). Han shot at many other things that did not shoot at him first, such as a stormtrooper in Star Wars, a Minoc, space slug, an officer on the Death Star, and hell even Vader's wingman in Star Wars. Why not just change all of this? I mean, Vader's wing man was just trying to protect Darth Vader, it would be CRAZY for Han to protect his friend and millions of others!
Even if Greedo DID shoot at the same time as Han (which he did not), he really sucks, and I am surprised Jabba would choose such an idiot Bounty Hunter to get Han. Even a Stormtrooper could hit Han at this distance! Han shooting first does not make him "cold (blooded)" --- it makes Han COOL. I think I would shoot at someone if they held a gun at me first. This change is so poltically correct it's not even funny. Worse change in the series.
Jabba the Hutt just repeats what Greedo told Han about. It's not good film making when you have 2 of the same conversations in a short amount of time. Worthless scene.
The Mos Eisley change is horrible. Here is a quote from Film Buff Online, http://www.filmbuffonline.com/Editorial/EditorialStarWars.htm
"Originally Star Wars' Mos Eisley spaceport was rather unimpressive as a city, befitting of Luke Skywalker's complaints that his home planet of Tattoine "was the furthest planet from the bright center of the galaxy. (...) The end result is Mos Eisley now has all the hustle and bustle of downtown Manhattan and Luke sounds like a kid complaining about living less than an hour away in the Jersey suburbs."
And some of the music is changed. The music in Star Wars was THE best and George changed it. Well, if he wanted to change it now, why didn't he just do so back in 1977? Same with Greedo, why didn't he make Greedo shoot first in 1977? Easy: For the kids.
Anyways, even though the DVD changes are bad, the movie still kicks tons of ass. And this one (not Empire or ROTJ) will be remembered through history... well, the one that came out in 1977.
