STAR WARS DVD BOX SET

Directed by: George Lucas, Irvin Kershner, Richard Marquand

1977, 1980, 1983, SPECIAL EDITIONS released in 1997

Reviewed by: Teri Tom

Watson Scale (0 being worst and 6 being perfect):

A NEW HOPE (aka STAR WARS EPISODE IV): 5.5

THE EMPIRE STRIKES BACK (EPISODE V): 6.0

RETURN OF THE JEDI (EPISODE VI): 3.5

I’ve come to the conclusion that there’s no way for me to review the original STAR WARS trilogy objectively. I’ve had a love/hate attitude towards Episodes IV, V, and VI since I was 11 years old, and for the most part, those feelings have not changed over the years, even with all the Controversy. 

Ah, yes, we might call this DVD WARS. STAR WARS fans have been up in arms for quite some time now. It seems that Mr. Lucas can’t stop tinkering with his films, spending a whole lot of time and money on minor characters (the CGI Jabba the Hut, anyone?) and minor details. Does anyone really care if there are now more people bustling around Mos Eisley? I have mixed feelings about this. I do believe creators should have ultimate control over their works, but with so much time and energy going into such trivial matters when Episodes I and II sucked so badly, it just seems wrong. It’s obvious Mr. Lucas’s time could’ve been better spent.

The seeds of where it all went wrong can first be found in RETURN OF THE JEDI. Even at age 11 I knew the jig was up. A friend recently asked me what it is about ROTJ that I hate so much. My reply: the dialogue, Mark Hamill, Carrie Fisher, the Emperor, Jabba the Hut, that fish head Admiral Ackbar, and those goddamned Ewoks. Even John Williams’ scores started to dry up around this time. In ROTJ, Lucas reveals the simpleton he really is—or had become. What happened to the man behind AMERICAN GRAFFITI? The Emperor is excruciatingly cartoonish. A little subtlety, please! What was great about Darth Vader was he was a man of few words and that exquisite mask always kept us guessing. It’s always more menacing to have something left to our imaginations. In JEDI, we’re expected to fear two pasty shriveled prunes.

It’s a shame ROTJ is such a letdown, because there are some intriguing Eastern-tinged themes hinted at in THE EMPIRE STRIKES BACK. But JEDI is executed so badly, it’s hard to believe there was ever anything there of real substance in the first place. And Mark Hamill, still gee-whiz boyish, is SO unconvincing as a Jedi Master. ROTJ was truly the beginning of the end. The real George Lucas hasn’t been seen since. And even worse, while I do love the first two films, they can be blamed for the current ruin of American cinema—the endless march of shallow, SFX driven, shoot ‘em up summer blockbusters ready-made for merchandising and sequels.

As for Episodes IV (STAR WARS) and V (EMPIRE), I found that George’s tinkering does not ruin them as some have argued. Nor does it make these films any better. It’s sort of pointless. The Special Editions stand up just fine, though I really could do without the scene of Han Solo and that Super Slug Jabba the Hut.

It just seems morally reprehensible that Lucas refuses to release both versions, especially when his most loyal fans so desperately want to see the originals. How hard could it be to release both versions as was done with the ALIEN box set? 

Including additional footage is one thing, but completely wiping people out and CGI-ing someone else in is criminal. Yes, Sebastion Shaw has been completely erased into celluloid oblivion and replaced by Hayden Christensen at the end of ROTJ. What’s special about art, in any medium, is that we are dealing with time and space. To truly appreciate STAR WARS—especially a groundbreaking film like STAR WARS—is to know the context in which it was made.  The time period, the limitations.

And frankly, as John Boorman says in the EXCALIBUR commentary, CGI takes the fun out of moviemaking and movie going. No more, “How did they do that?!” No more fun blowing up model spaceships. Now we just wave our hand and say, “Eh, computers.” Much has been made of Lucas’s gigantic ego, and perhaps this isn’t far off. It seems the rules of time and space do not apply to him.

Okay, that’s the hate part. Now for a little love. Truthfully, as I tried to watch EPISODES IV and V as if for the first time, George’s meddling didn’t diminish the fun so long as I didn’t think about the CGI. From the very first shot of the underbelly of that Star Destroyer (yes, I know all the names of the ships), STAR WARS is every bit as brilliant as when I first saw it in the theater.  The John Williams soundtrack is one of his best. I did cringe a little when I heard the soundtrack “remix” as the end credits rolled by, presumably to account for all the extra work done on the Special Edition. Yes,  I’m embarrassed to admit I know the soundtrack that well. But never mind. Only a minor hiccup. How can you go wrong with a cast that includes Alec Guinness, Harrison Ford, and Peter Cushing? 

And it gets better with EMPIRE—still my favorite. It’s the darkest, most character-driven installment of the trilogy. And it’s beautifully executed in atmosphere and mood by director Irvin Kershner. The abysmally caricature-ish CGI Yoda in EPISODE II (am I the only person who burst out laughing when he started to wield that lightsaber?) made me homesick for the original. So I was quite comforted by the puppet Yoda in EMPIRE. And even though his voice sounds like a combination of puppeteer Frank Oz’s other alter egos—Miss Piggy and Fozzie Bear (wacka, wacka, wacka!)—this Yoda is a helluva lot more endearing and convincing.

I know I’m going to upset the purists with my final verdict, but regardless of the purposeless revisions and the disappointment of ROTJ, this box set is certainly worth getting. There are still too many great moments. The hum of lightsabers, Yoda pulling X-Wings out of swamps, R2’s paving the way for his friends’ escape from Bespin, John Williams’ stirring score, the flight arc of the Millenium Falcon. [Sigh…]

I told you I’m unable to objectively review these films. Maybe this is just nostalgia talking.  Maybe not. Perhaps these films just remind me of a time when I was too young to snicker at movies like these. All I know is that they are still as thrilling as they once were, and I feel like I’m six years old again. How can I not recommend something that makes me feel like that?