Return of the Jedi was one of the first movies I remember watching in a movie theater. I was five back then and till this day I still can’t figure out how my parents sneak me in the São Jorge movie theater in Lisbon, in a after noon screening. Anyway, the experience was so memorable that I can still recall that day thirty years later. There is something magical in watching your first Star Wars movie in a theater, like it was mean to be seen.
Thirty years later, I would pay to watch it again, unchanged, unmodified, more than I would pay to watch Episode VII… Happy b’day RotJ.
Ralph was one of the main reasons why the original Star Wars trilogy was is so damn awesome. His work gave shape to what Star Wars came to be, in such a spectacular way that still to this day I gaze to the artwork he created, sometimes enjoying his artwork more than the movies themselves.
He’s early concepts of the main characters like Darth Vader, Luke and the droids are indeed one of the best representations of the true Star Wars spirit.
Rest in peace Ralph, may the force be with you… always.
So George… here we are again. One more release. This time, the entire saga. Of course you took my money, but this time, I offered some resistance.
First of all, let me put this straight: I’m not a Star Wars purist. While I prefer the original trilogy, I can watch any of the first 3 episodes without pulling my hair out. Having said that, here’s my 2 cents on this new Star Wars compilation on Blu-ray.
Image quality is astonishing, like it was expected, but Ep. I shows a bit of aging in the CGI… the textures seem somehow low res compared to the rest. Ep II and III are great, still they could have used a bit more quality control on the color correction.
The original trilogy is where this pack shines, image quality wise. It’s more crisp than ever, but it’s normal since we’re getting a transfer from the remaster made in 1080p for the previous DVD release. If you had the chance to watch the HDTV versions, you won’t notice too much differences… except for the obvious changes GL did… again…
As I said before, I’m not a purist, but I grew up watching the original trilogy, untouched. I watched Return of the Jedi when it came out… it was probably one of the first movies I watched in a movie theater. Later, I watched the tv versions, the Beta versions, the VHS versions, and only in the 90’s I would get the chance to watch Star Wars again in a movie theater, with the Special Edition release. Seeing some of those changes was odd back then as it is now, but I accepted the minor tweaks, some of them actually improved the story telling. I even digged Jabba’s appearance in Ep. IV! But Han shooting first! WTF?! Censuring blaster wounds in Imperials! That stupid musical act in RotJ and in the end, again, cutting off Yub Nub Ewok celebration for an entire new scene!? Jeez!
A new release, this time in DVD, and we got more changes… Hayden Christensen’s force ghost in the end of RotJ was the nail in the coffin for me… or so I thought before seeing how George Lucas screw one of the best scenes of the entire saga.
Vader’s silence while throwing the Emperor to the pit was poetic. We could feel the light and dark sides of the force battling inside his mind, the man vs the machine combat and the reaction at the very end, all in silence. Now we get a “NOOOOO!”, a stupid change that ruined it completely…
Unless a new version with the remastered original original trilogy is released, this will be the last time I pay for a Star Wars compilation.
I’m done. I rather have my Star Wars fix from one of the many fan edits you can find on the web, than watching ruined official versions. If you want to watch the original trilogy as it was released, try Harmy’s Despecialized Editions or OmegaMattMan’s Hyperspace Edition, both amazing versions of the original trilogy, you won’t be sorry.
In the end, there’re good reasons to buy the Blu-Ray versions:
The Extras, 40 hours of deleted scenes and documentaries that will make the Star Wars fanboy in you glee like a little girl. I was glad that they included an interview with all the original trilogy movies director’s, it was very good to watch Irvin Kershner.
Having Yoda’s horrible puppet in TPM replaced by the CGI version.
The remasted 6.1 audio is awesome.
It’s HD 🙂
I’m not saying that you should or shouldn’t buy the Blu-Ray pack. It’s up to you and your love for Star Wars, if you can, borrow from a friend or rent it from a video club… May the force be with you.
I’m a Star Wars fan, angry but still a fan. I come to dislike the way that George Lucas prostitutes the saga with the low quality cartoons and lousy merchandizing… In September the six movies will come out on Bluray and I’ll probably buy them, but I stopped collecting figures and other items from Star Wars. Unfortunately, this is the way I found to keep the Star Wars saga close to my heart.
If you are a fan, you will definitely love them because they document the aspects that made us all fall in love with Star Wars in the first place: the story, the movies, the characters and the people behind them.
