Customer Reviews

Star Wars: The Complete Saga (Episodes I-VI) [Blu-ray]

5 star:		(681)
4 star:		(149)
3 star:		(71)
2 star:		(69)
1 star:		(1,059)

 

 

This is a genuine review. One that I refused to write until I watched all 6 blu-ray movies (with my girlfriend -- more on that later), all deleted scenes, listened to 8 of the 12 commentaries and sampled the other 4. In other words, this review is -- unlike so many 1 star reviews written prior to the release of this collection that were based on rumors and the person doing the critique's imagination -- REAL.

All changes and alterations will be noted, for better or for worse, so you can decide if this collection is for you. Also, for the alterations/changes, I'm adding THE GIRLFRIEND TEST (she likes the movies, but never "loved" them) and THE FANBOY TEST (I have seen all 3 sequels at least a hundred times and the prequels at least 15 times each). Now - onto the reviews ...

PHANTOM MENACE Review:

I debated going in the order the series was filmed, but I've never watched them in chronological order so figured I'd take a chance. The Phantom Menace has went from a beloved Star Wars' film in most fanboy eyes ("Not as good as A New Hope and Empire, but better than Return of the Jedi" was the common refrain) to the most hated of the prequels. The movie definitely isn't all that it could be. It isn't even close. But it has the best lightsaber battle of the trilogy, an awesome opening sequence, and WAY less Jar Jar than you remember (it's just that he's so SHRILL whenever he appears). It's also the only Star Wars' prequel that FEELS like Star Wars. It has plenty of real sets and is structured much like the original 3.

The Movie Itself: 7 out of 10

PHANTOM MENACE Picture Quality:

The picture quality of The Phantom Menace is the worst of the bunch. It's filled with TONS of annoying Digital Noise Reduction (DNR) leading to a LOT of clayface. And even with that, the digital FX are still much sharper than the filmed shots of actors (this was the last Star Wars' film to actually be shot on film), which leads to the actors oftentimes looking out-of-focus or "blurred" when compared to their annoying digital counterparts. This one still needs a lot of work, and I'm sure that was what George intended -- as he wants to sell us this set all over again in 7-10 years. In 3D.

Picture Quality: 6 out of 10 (still WAY better than the DVD)

PHANTOM MENACE Sound Quality:

The sound in the film is INCREDIBLE. It is some of the best surround sound ever produced on blu-ray. It genuinely sounds better than the the theatrical version. The Pod Race is, in my opinion, the best sounding segment of film ever put on a blu-ray disc.

Sound Quality: 10 out of 10

PHANTOM MENACE 2011 changes:

The horrible cross-eyed, stoned looking Yoda puppet has been changed to CG.

THE GIRLFRIEND TEST: Yes, she noticed. Yes, she liked it better.

THE FANBOY TEST: Yes, I noticed. Yes, I liked it better.

The HORRIBLE FX when Obi and Qui run away from the droid destroyers down the hall where you could see THROUGH them (Obi and Qui) is removed.

THE GIRLFRIEND TEST: No, she didn't notice. Yes, when compared to the DVD she liked it better.

THE FANBOY TEST: No contest. It is a GREAT improvement.

ATTACK OF THE CLONES Review:

Attack of the Clones has always been -- prior to this blu-ray release -- my least favorite of the 6 movies in the saga. This release won me over. The movie is the best paced of the prequel trilogy and second to Empire Strikes Back in pacing, overall. The downfall is the HIDEOUS "romantic" dialogue between Anakin and Padme. What a load of garbage. It's still as laughable and as intolerable as it was at the midnight screening a decade ago. Fortunately, the rest of the movie holds up very well. This is the best directing Lucas has done since A New Hope (aside from his poor direction of actors). It moves at a brisk pace and keeps the viewer involved from start to finish.

The Movie Itself: 8 out of 10

ATTACK OF THE CLONES Picture Quality:

Sadly, the movie suffers from the same DNR as Phantom Menace. As it was shot digitally, it isn't as glaring, but there are a few moments of waxy-face that are nearly intolerable. On the other hand, the CG in the movie has never looked better. The end battle (which is essentially one big cartoon) has some breathtaking moments.

Picture Quality: 7 out of 10

ATTACK OF THE CLONES Sound Quality:

Incredible. Amazing. Ear-shatteringly awesome! Every bit as great as Phantom Menace. If TPM and AoTC lived up to their soundtracks, they'd be the best movies ever!

Sound Quality: 10 out of 10

ATTACK OF THE CLONES 2011 Changes:

Anakin hears junk (such as his mother) while he's dreaming -- indicating it's a terrifying dream, instead of a wet one.

THE GIRLFRIEND TEST: No, she didn't notice. No, she didn't care.

THE FANBOY TEST: I noticed something was different, but not exactly what (which led me to look it up). It did make the scene slightly less humiliating to watch.

REVENGE OF THE SITH Review:

Revenge of the Sith is a bleak film. If you're a diehard fan, it comes close to being traumatic. Lucas didn't sell this one short. Not at all. Sure, it should have been at least 3 hours and expanded further on Anakin's change to the Dark Side. That said -- the Emperor thought he could change Luke in a matter of seconds in Return of the Jedi. So at least it makes a bit more of an effort. The opening space battle is incredible. The banter from the original trilogy is back and nearly lives up to its predecessors. This is a very good movie. It still suffers from some of the inane "romantic" dialogue between Anakin and his lover, but Star Wars' fans have learned to deal with some cheesiness. Honestly -- no SW film, like no pizza (at least no good pizza), is without cheese -- not even Empire.

The Movie Itself: 10 out of 10

REVENGE OF THE SITH Picture Quality:

Unlike the first 2 DNR destroyed prequels, Revenge of the Sith looks GREAT! As a matter of fact, it's the best looking of all 6 films. The opening space battle is right up there with Avatar and Planet Earth as the best looking thing you'll ever see on blu-ray. This movie is, visually, reference quality. If you're proud of your set up and don't own this film, you no longer have a reason to be proud.

Picture Quality: 10 out of 10

REVENGE OF THE SITH Sound Quality:

I guess -- if you're a Star Wars' fan -- you can't have it all. This mix is muddled and doesn't sound nearly as good as the other 5. Still -- they set a very high standard and RoTS definitely impressive.

Sound Quality: 8 out of 10

REVENGE OF THE SITH 2011 Changes:

I noticed none.

A NEW HOPE Review:

What can be said that hasn't been said already? A New Hope introduced us to this crazy universe. It was like nothing we had ever seen. It was Flash Gordon for a new generation. It was pure amazement. It literally defined the word "entertainment" and, because of that, lines of geeks and non-geeks surrounded every theater playing the film. Aside from the dated 70s looking computers (which is a change I wish George Lucas WOULD make) and a few clunky lines from the actors (mainly Mark Hammill), the movie is pure perfection.

The Movie Itself: 10 out of 10

A NEW HOPE Picture Quality:

There's quite a bit of DNR toward the beginning -- especially on Princess Leia's face, but it lessens throughout. There's also some terrible dirt during the Tatooine scenes and a few blurry looking shots. That said, the film looks GOOD. Almost too good. Better than I thought I'd ever see a movie this dated appear.

Picture Quality: 9 out of 10

A NEW HOPE Sound Quality:

Picks up right where Attack of the Clones left off (Sith was a misfire). The sound is so tremendous, you'll have trouble believing this movie was released in 1977. It sounds better than 99.9999999999% of movies released today!

Sound Quality: 10 out of 10

A NEW HOPE 2011 Changes:

R2 hides behinds some CG rocks that look pretty real.

THE GIRLFRIEND TEST: No, she didn't notice. No, she didn't care.

THE FANBOY TEST: I noticed and didn't care until the rocks suddenly vanished. Sorta lazy, Lucas.

Luke's lightsaber is color corrected during his training.

THE GIRLFRIEND TEST: No, she didn't notice. No, she didn't care.

THE FANBOY TEST: I noticed (because I was LOOKING for it) and was happy Lucas corrected the error.

EMPIRE STRIKES BACK Review:

As a fan of film and a fan of "event" films, I believe Empire Strikes Back to be the BEST event film ever made (along with Raiders of the Lost Ark). It is absolutely perfect, from beginning to end and, frankly, my favorite movie of all time. 'Nuff said.

The Movie Itself: 10 out of 10

EMPIRE STRIKES BACK Picture Quality:

Best it's ever looked. Yes, there's some grain in the scenes on Hoth, but at least the scenes on Hoth are WHITE again -- instead of blue! Not quite reference quality, but VERY close.

Picture Quality: 9 out of 10

EMPIRE STRIKES BACK Sound Quality:

Let me just repeat what I said for the other ones and double it: Incredible. Amazing. Ear-shatteringly awesome! Wait 'til Han flies you into the asteroid field!

Sound Quality: 10 out of 10

EMPIRE STRIKES BACK 2011 Changes:

Can't see the puppeteer's hand on the Wampa anymore.

THE GIRLFRIEND TEST: No, she didn't notice. No, she didn't care.

THE FANBOY TEST: I noticed because I read about it and I didn't really care.

The whole scene in Cloud City with Chewie retrieving 3PO has been color corrected and sparks have been added.

THE GIRLFRIEND TEST: No, she didn't notice. Yes, she cared a little bit when I compared the two.

THE FANBOY TEST: I noticed and cared. It looks a LOT better, now.

RETURN OF THE JEDI Review:

This is the suckiest of the original 3 films. In a lot of ways, this is the worst Star Wars' film ever made. Yes, there is an awesome puppet creation in Jabba the Hutt, but it also has teddy-bears destroying the Empire. It's ridiculous. Han Solo acts like he's been brain-damaged by the carbonite. Luke isn't as much of a Jedi as he is Luke who we're told is a Jedi. The "sister" angle is wedged in and embarrassing. The premise of being told you HAVE to DESTROY Vader and yet being told you'll turn to the Dark Side if you strike him down is pure insanity. Another Death Star with basically the same exact weakness is silly and shameful. C3PO being this great storyteller after claiming he's not very good at telling stories in A New Hope is lazy or ignorant. This movie was George just wanting to get his "9 part" saga over in 3 sections. I'm sorry if your child blinders are blinding you, but this is, hands down, the junkiest of the Star Wars' films. It makes all 3 prequels look like Citizen Kane. Complaining aside, it does have an AMAZING space battle and a pretty groovy speeder bike chase through Endor.

The Movie Itself: 7 out of 10

RETURN OF THE JEDI Picture Quality:

The picture quality of Return of the Jedi is second only to Revenge of the Sith. There's less DNR than in any of the other 5 and it really does look like it did on the big screen. If not for the large amount of uncleaned grain during the Tatooine scenes, I'd say it looked better than it did theatrically.

Picture Quality: 10 out of 10

RETURN OF THE JEDI Sound Quality:

Like every movie in this box, excluding Sith, the sound is as good as modern technology gets.

Sound Quality: 10 out of 10

RETURN OF THE JEDI 2011 changes:

Jabba's palace has a bigger door made of CG.

THE GIRLFRIEND TEST: No, she didn't notice. When I showed her the DVD, she liked the new version better.

THE FANBOY TEST: Yes, I noticed. I liked both about the same.

Han thawing from carbonite is slightly different (through CG).

THE GIRLFRIEND TEST: Yes, amazingly, she noticed. She liked it "way" better.

THE FANBOY TEST: I noticed. I thought it was a little cheesy, but was fine with the change.

A Dug is added to one scene, but takes away from nothing.

THE GIRLFRIEND TEST: She didn't notice or care.

THE FANBOY TEST: I noticed and thought it was awesome. Perfect tie-in to the original trilogy. Just wish they made it look SLIGHTLY less CG.

Ewoks have blinking CG eyes.

THE GIRLFRIEND TEST: She didn't notice, but when I showed her the older version she thought the new one was "10 times better!"

THE FANBOY TEST: I noticed immediately and thought the new version was, let's say, 3 times better.

R2D2's attack is now over-the-top CG.

THE GIRLFRIEND TEST: She didn't notice. When I compared, she didn't care.

THE FANBOY TEST: I HATED this change. It looked fake and I can't think of a single reason why they changed it. It sucked.

Darth Vader says "No" and then says, "Noooo." Contrary to rumor, he never screams "NOOOOOOOOOOOOO" like he did in Revenge of the Sith.

THE GIRLFRIEND TEST: She noticed. She didn't care.

THE FANBOY TEST: I noticed and, to be honest, didn't really care. It's tactfully done. It doesn't take away the silent moments where we see Vader, just through his eyes, starting to hate the Emperor and sympathize with his son. It ties together well with the original and if you're whining about this by writing a fake 1 star review before even watching the blu-ray, you need to get a life.

EXTRAS:

Awesome. But I won't give them a 5 out of 5, as they should have included ALL deleted scenes and ALL extras from the DVD releases AND the blu-ray releases (this is George's greedy way of making us all hang onto our DVDs instead of selling them used). Billionaire George is into making billions more. Still, this is the best set of extras the Star Wars' saga has ever had. By far.

Overall? This is easily the best Star Wars' release ever. This is an event. If you want to deny yourself the pleasure of owning this treasure because the original versions aren't included, I more than understand. But, if you are a huge fan of the saga AND writing a 1 star review before even seeing the blu-rays, you are both lying to your audience and denying yourself to the point of being pathetic. May the force be with you. Always.

I'm going to make this short and sweet. There is no need to review the story lines contained in these 6 movies. That has been done in the past. Everyone now knows that Lucas has made further changes to the films - if you aren't aware of it, then google it.

This is what you do NOT know: How is the audio and video quality of this Blu Ray Release?

Here is the plain and simple answer: AWESOME

Do I love all of the movies for their content? No.

Was I completely blown away by the superb audio mix? YES.

Is the video quality great? YES.

If you are a fan - even a casual fan - with any kind of decent home theater equipment, then you owe it to yourself to buy this box set. It is FANTASTIC.

Having seen the films, here's my very brief updated review.

It's not as bad as some feared it would be (given that they're older transfers -- a route I still maintain was a cheap way to go). But it could still stand to be improved in a lot of ways with a new trasfer.

As to the films themselves:

1. There have been changes. Some work; some have caused even more fan contention. I'm one of those that actually wishes for more changes. I think TPM, AOTC, ROTS could stand to have major editing and fx work done to them. So put me in the camp of wanting even MORE special edition changes to both the special effects and narrative.

2. There's no original versions. Even though I prefer the SEs, I think fans should be able to get the version they grew up with.

3. Special features: Everything from the past DVD set should've been ported over. It hasn't, so hold on to your DVD copies if you want those documentaries. There are still features from the old videos that haven't been released on digital.

Hopefully, one day the equivalent of the Blade Runner or Aliens blu-ray sets, which contained all the different versions of the films (including new versions), will come out. This isn't the Ultimate Edition box set that fans had been teased with for years, and will not include extended versions of all six films. Additionally, the "100 hours of new documentary footage" fans had been teased with by Rick MaCallum in 2007 isn't here, which implies an eventual later set, likely in another 7/8 years.

In the meantime, the films look great, and this is the best version available for home viewing. Some good news: the grotesque puppet Yoda in TPM was (thankfully) replaced with a digital version that looks like Yoda. It helps TPM quite a bit (though, as I said, more is needed for that film).

For those who want to look deeper, take a moment to read about Star Wars' sordid history on video -- including the reasons four of the six films were downgraded in image quality -- on the site, The Secret History of Star Wars (in the article: "Saving Star Wars.")

These latest scene changes are the final proof that George Lucas has lost his mind, however they are NOT the main reason why I just cancelled my blu-ray pre-order. I had been excitedly counting down the days until this release, but this time George/Lucasfilm has given the whole Star Wars community the middle finger by not correcting many of the problems (color) which plagued the 2004 release. This blu-ray has virtually all of the same issues as the DVD. I'm talking about Vader's bubblegum pink lightsaber, the super high orange or purple explosions opposed to the more realistic white hot/yelow effects. These were especially noticable during the Battle of Yavin, Tantive IV shootout, and the carbon freezing chamber duel. They stuck out to the point to where they were almost distracting. After seeing the prequels, it's hard enough to still view Vader as that ultimate bad a** villian I feared in my childhood, but it's now near impossible to do it when he's chasing after Luke with a pink lightsaber.

Lucasfilm has been made well aware of these issues thru complaints made by ticked off fans since the DVD launched 7 years ago. Now in the last year of hyping up of this Blu Ray release, Lucasfilm has assured us Star Wars fans that our complaints had been heard and addressed in this release, the Blu-Ray would NOT have the same color and audio problems as the dvd's, they went back to the original negatives and spent 3 years fixing these particular problems, they manually went thru frame by frame in the problem scenes fixing and making other color corrections to bring them close again to the original theatrical versions.

Heck Starwars.com displays a screenshot of Luke's fixed blue lightsaber on the Millenium Falcon in ANH, boasting about how they went back and fixed these problems. I have seen the Blu-Rays myself and I can confirm this is NOT the case!! Yes it is fixed for that particular frame and a few other frames, but the next shot of the same scene his lightsaber shifts back to green, just like in the screwed up dvd release, then goes to bright white, then back to a very pale blue color. Yes they fixed ONLY a small portion of that scene, left the rest of it untouched with the wrong color, while implying that the whole thing has been corrected. The lightsaber scenes in the other movies, Empire Strikes Back & Return of the Jedi, are practically UNTOUCHED WITH THE SAME color and timing problems that the DVD's have. It's like Lucasfilm is only willing to put in a half a** effort in anything they release anymore.... and why not?? If it says Star Wars on the box it's going to sell.

Now for the changed scenes:

A New Hope

- When R2-D2 hides in the shallow cave from the Sand People, there have been CGI rocks added in. The new rocks now cover up half of R2's body which makes him hidden better. However when he leaves a few seconds later, he just pulls forward and the rocks simply disappear!! Did they just forget to alter that scene too?

- Obi-Wan's introduction, he scares the Sand People away with a Krayt dragon call, has been redone again and now sounds like a jr. high kid making funny noises in Windows sound recorder. When I first heard it I thought no way, it's someone pulling a joke. It's sounds so bad and is so out of place, they made absolutely no effort to mix it in at all. You'll just have to hear it for yourselves... but sadly it's real. Unbelievable

- Greedo still shoots first. It is alot better than the DVD version.

Empire Strikes Back

- Wampa's arm in fixed. Looks good about time.

Return of the Jedi

- Jabba's Palace has a bigger door... ok?

- New CGI alien walking around in Jabba's palace as everyone sleeps. Poorly done and sticks out worse than a sore thumb... looks like Sebulba from Episode I?

- Ewok's now have CGI eyelids, blink, and sometimes make a clicking noise when they do. (maybe a tribute to Muppets/Fraggle Rock?)

- Darth Vader now screams "Noooooooooooo" as he picks up and throws the emperor, much like the way he does at the end of Episode III.... now twice!! This ruins a great and one of my favorite scenes. It's bad. The voice doesn't even sound like Vader's and it's just lazily pasted over the rest of the audio. Lucasfilm didn't make the effort to blend in at all..... what are they thinking????? If you really feel you need to add something like that, at least attempt a decent job.

This has just gotten laughingly ridiculous. There is no excuse this time for ignoring what the fans want and taking away more of the original magic the movies had back in the 70's and 80's. Besides the deleted scenes, this is not a quality release. I've cancelled my pre-order and I'm done with anything new to do with Star Wars. This includes the new upcoming 3d versions which will no doubt have even more stupid changes and conveniently opens the door for yet another Blu-Ray release. I have my unaltered copies on my bonus DVD and that's all I need.

I urge anyone who feels the same way to NOT fill the pockets of George Lucas anymore!! I don't understand how they think it's necessary tinker with new stupid voiceovers and Ewok eyes, but not fix the more obvious and distracting problems of this and the previous release. All the while Lucasfilm insinuated, just as recently as last week, that they had indeed corrected those problems..... THAT IS FALSE ADVERTISING!! They also claimed to have exhaustively sent this set thru 3 levels of quality control which is either another lie or Lucas has the most elite team of a** kissers ever assembled. I've defended the first two prequels, the Special Editions, and George Lucas himself over the years, but I'm done. For the first time in 25 years they will not be getting another dime of my money.

***UPDATE 9/9/11***

I've viewed the bonus content which the deleted scenes are no doubt the best of all the extra features. As for the Prequels, the previously released DVD deleted scenes are NOT included, so hang onto your old discs. The older movies include scenes that have been Star Wars folklore for years. Some are good and the quality is what you expect for deleted scenes cut over 30 years ago. However some of scenes I particularly had interest in, seem to be made from degraded alternate shots... since there are productions stills and video snippets that Lucasfilm released, over the years in different supplemental products, showing the same scenes taken from higher quality sources. On another note, the deleted ESB content shows the scenes leading up to and the aftermath of the wampa fight with rebel soldiers in Echo Base. The battle itself is completely omitted in this release, which is a shame since the battle scene was filmed and possibly finalized before it was cut from the final release. Luckily there are various stills of this scene still floating around and it was covered by Star Wars Insider years back. The rest of the content is very good and it's great finally seeing some of the other scenes... however after viewing I get the impression Lucasfilm is purposely holding back some of these materials for a future release.

In 1978, Star Wars was nominated for 10 academy awards (including best picture, best screenplay, best supporting actor, etc.) ultimately winning 7 including awards for editing, sound mixing, and special effects. The AFI lists "Star Wars" as #15 on its list of all time greatest films. Make no mistake, this isn't just a fun romp, it is a very significant and important film.

Understand that the version in this box set is NOT that version, but a version that has been largely painted over with 21st century computer graphics, does NOT include the academy-award-winning sound mix, and with many different and more recent editing decisions. On this version, the effects and edits you see may be from 1977, or they might be from 1997, or maybe 2004, or maybe 2011... they might be the original academy-award-winning animatronics of Stears Dykstra, Edlund, and McCune that have never been equaled, or they might have been replaced by dated-looking 1990s computer-graphics, or they might be new things that were thrown in a couple of months ago. The choice of scenes and editing of those scenes might be the academy-awarding winning ones made by Paul Hirsch and Marcia Lucas, or they might be newer ones made by people who are preparing the movie for future 3D-a-rama. The glorious academy-award-winning sound mix by MacDougall, West, Minkler and Ballhas remains unavailable and has been replaced here by a yet another new one, and into which the young remixer even inserted his own voice.

In short, this release not only fails utterly to preserve a major artifact of our cinematic heritage, it goes further in that its producer has made it clear that he will never allow that seminal work to be accurately preserved. This is not simply a bad product, it is a serious blow to art history and to our popular cultural heritage.

Ok. Maybe some fans will consider me a sellout. But I don't understand why. I have loved these movies since I was a kid. I am 37 now. Just saw this blu ray edition complete. Haven't watched special features yet. But holy crap! The sound and picture on the original 3 are freaking amazing! I have seen them a hundred times and in my theater room it is like watching them for the first time! They are amazing. Picture and sound like you have NEVER seen before. All of the changes help the films on the high def big screen! Truly. First of all the packaging for the boxed set is amazing. The artwork and the layout of it is great. You can't buy the 2 trilogies separately and it look the same. I am extremely happy to own this set and am more than extremely happy that I did not listen to the naysayers. I was for awhile, then decided to take a leap of faith because I wanted to see them on blu ray. I was NOT in the least disappointed. This is my prized possession besides Lord of the Rings Extended Edition on Blu ray.

The Lucasfilm Limited/20th Century Fox Home Entertainment team has, over the past 10 years, released the six live-action Star Wars Episodes which make up"The Tragedy of Darth Vader" on DVD several times; the Prequels initially as individual 2-disc sets (2001-2005) and the Original Trilogy (or Classic Trilogy, if you prefer) originally presented in a four-disc box set (2004).

These initial releases have been followed by two more re-releases, the first being the 2006 Special Limited Edition re-issues of the Classic Trilogy which include the "transfer from laserdisc" theatrical versions of Star Wars (1977), The Empire Strikes Back (1980) and Return of the Jedi (1980) because fans weren't thrilled that they had only the 2004 "for DVD" versions of the 1997 Special Edition re-edits. Two years later, Lucasfilm re-issued both trilogies in separately-sold box sets with slimmer DVD cases.

For the 2011 Blu-ray release of the movies set a long time ago in a galaxy far, far away, George Lucas has authorized a first-time ever box set, Star Wars: The Complete Saga, which presents all six films in one collectible package, which also includes three bonus discs with making-of featurettes, interviews, documentaries and even a selection of Star Wars spoofs.

What is in the box set? Well, unfortunately for many fans, Star Wars: The Complete Saga doesn't include the original versions of A New Hope, The Empire Strikes Back or Return of the Jedi either. Instead, the set includes the "official" versions from the Classic Trilogy 2004-2008 DVDs, with several additional tweaks added for the 2011 Blu-ray editions.

(Note: All six Episodes of the saga received digital fixes, not just the '77-'83 movies. Some are very noticeable, including an all-digital rendition of Yoda which replaces that garish-looking dark-green puppet in The Phantom Menace, while some, mostly involving sound edits or added off-screen dialogue, are fairly subtle. Additionally, some glaring visual goofs spotted in the DVD releases have been either partially or completely corrected.)

To be honest, I am one of those rare Star Wars fans who aren't upset that Lucas did not offer the original 1977, 1980 and 1983 versions of the Original Trilogy with the Blu-ray set. I have those already on DVD and though I am fond of them, I prefer the updated versions.

As is often the case with Blu-ray reissues of movies already available on DVD, Star Wars: The Complete Saga offers viewers a mix of the old and the new.

For instance, the original 2001-2005 (from both Trilogies) DVDs' audio commentary tracks have been retained, but the menu design is different, more foreign language tracks and subtitle options have been added, and new audio commentary tracks - edited from archival interviews featured in "making of" specials and other sources - can be heard while watching each Episode.

The Bonus Features:

This, dear reader, is the only source of disappointment about the Star Wars: The Complete Saga Blu-ray set, albeit one that I will eventually will learn to live with.

To be sure, the complete "carryover" of extra features from the DVD version to Blu-ray would have made the set a bit more unwieldy and even more expensive, and I have seen a few Blu-ray versions of movies I own on DVD that don't duplicate all the extra features from the older format. The Blu-ray edition of Superman: The Movie, for instance, eschews at least one featurette found in the DVD's extra features section, and Terminator 2: The Skynet Edition doesn't include a Windows Media Player-only version of the original 1991 theatrical version that comes with Artisan's 2003 T2: Extreme DVD.

For me, Star Wars: The Complete Saga's only major weak point is the selection of documentaries on Bonus Disc 3, which has quite a few good bits (The Making of Star Wars, The Empire Strikes Back: SPFX and A Conversation with the Masters: The Empire Strikes Back 30 Years Later are my favorites), but also includes a few less-than-riveting ones.

While I am not knocking 2007's Star Wars Tech, a documentary which delves into the sci-fi aspects of the saga and its comparisons to modern Earthbound technology and aired on cable's History Channel, I would have preferred to have seen that same year's Star Wars: The Legacy Revealed, which is an examination into how George Lucas borrowed from mythology and Earth history to create a story with themes that are relevant and universally appealing.

My Recommendation: If you own a high-definition TV and a Blu-ray player, you probably think that the Star Wars movies will look and sound better on Blu-ray than in any other home viewing format. And guess what? You'd be right. The digitally-remastered audio and video elements give home viewers clearer sound and sharper images than previous formats can, although the "old" DVDs still look nice when played on a Blu-ray player with an HDMI cable.

Sure, the fact that Lucas's team of digital artists has - again - tweaked both Trilogies and not included the older versions may still rankle some diehard fans, but to me, Star Wars: The Complete Saga is, despite its few shortcomings, really worth buying.

I was honestly surprised how much I enjoyed watching the new trilogy again. With all the expectations gone, it works great watching them back to back to back. It doesn't make the plot holes or bad dialogue better, but it's enjoyable. If you're on the fence, it'd be tough to reccommend. But if you're a Star Wars fan, you won't be disappointed.

The films look beautiful and the bonus features are pretty interesting... I would have loved to get digital copies or more docs that were oddly left out, but the set still works and provides plenty of entertainment. And as for the infamous "no"... when watched as a trilogy or as the saga, it's pretty inconsequential and didn't bother me at all.

Glad I bought this.

I grew up wearing out tapes of Star Wars, Empire and Return of the Jedi. Back then I had the original theatrical cuts, which happens to be the one thing that Star Wars fans can absolutely not purchase short of finding old tapes online or hoping to inherit 35mm copies from an unknown uncle who asks only that you spend a night in his haunted mansion to receive the prints (guess what, I'd do it).

No, instead the most anticipated Bluray release ever since we all bought our Bluray players at 5am the day after Thanksgiving is not only going to deny fans the original theatrical cuts that we've all asked for, but also contains an even further "enhanced" version of the films. Yay! This is almost as welcome as the time my mom took all of my baby pictures and photoshopped in a bunch of other babies wearing cowboy hats; or when dad edited those Christmas home movies of us opening up gifts and finally digitally inserted a bunch of elves and replaced the Super Nintendo I was opening with the Mogwai I'd always wanted; or like the time George Lucas gratuitously made changes to Star Wars by adding eyelids to Ewoks and making Vader scream "No" in the same terrible way he did that made me cry in shame and disappointment when I saw Revenge of the Sith, oh wait...........it's exactly like that.

I can't understand why fans are denied access to a great, respectful Bluray or even DVD edition of the original theatrical cuts of the original trilogy when it is obvious that ever fan would buy them bundled with whatever crazy editions Lucas crammed in there to make it a super edition. I'm admittedly one of the biggest Star Wars nerds within shouting distance and I've cringed through the prequels, even tricking myself into thinking they were good for at one denial filled moment. I even had a blast when the special editions came out and I got to see Star Wars in 35mm even though I was forced to sit through that weird song in Jabba's palace; but this is just too far.

I love the original Star Wars trilogy, the three movies that need no back story, no corrections, no additional dialogue or extra aliens in the background. The movies that I grew up watching, the ones that made me pretend my bike was a speeder bike on Endor, the one that made me perfect lightsaber and blaster sounds effects so the playground would sound more official, the one that made me want to see a Rancor in real life, to hang out with Ewoks, to have Chewbacca beat up the bullies at school, the one that made my childhood and all of our childhoods what they were. The original Star Wars trilogy gets 5+ stars in my book, however this disrespectful money grab gets the lowest rating I can give.

Until I get the originals in a worthy format I'll be boycotting anything Lucas decides to put out, I hope you'll do the same.

Wow, this was the nerdiest thing I've ever written, but it feels pretty good. Boycott the Blu.

Oh, and Han shot first.

Instead of fixing the problems with the 2004 prints that these blu rays are based on we get MORE tinkering, tweaking, and changes to the original trilogy.

George himself has said that he wishes people would just forget about the original unaltered films. That's kinda hard, because those are the versions that most of us grew up watching. Those are the versions that made many of us fall in love with the Star Wars universe, and what should be blazingly apparent to Mr. (I hate my fans) Lucas is that the ORIGINALS are what made him the filthy rich bastard he is today.

Some of us tolerated the special editions, some of us enjoyed them, some hated them. No matter what you thought it was ok, because the majority of us still had unaltered copies to watch should the mood to do so strike. However as the release date of this blu ray abomination set grew closer many of the previous versions went "out of print." Most notably the 2006 two disc editions that contained both the special edition, and the unaltered originals. If the originals could be released in 2006 why couldn't they be cleaned up and released as part of this "complete" boxed set?

I think the answer can be summed up by George's response to a fan's question at a recent meet and greet. Below is an article written about the incident...

"The geeks eventually got their face time with Lucas and I want to stress how respectful these guys were, and that they paid a lot of money for face time with Lucas. This was not a surprise interaction; Lucas came to this event knowing he'd be expected to mingle with the peons. I don't advocate bugging celebrities in their daily lives, but this was a professional event designed to encourage these interactions. The guys were not out of bounds. They started by telling Lucas that they loved him/the movies/grew up watching them. Then they very politely asked why he wouldn't make the original versions of the movies available on DVD/Blu-Ray. They stressed that they don't mind the retroactive edits (doubtful, but they were being nice), they just wanted good digital copies of the original cuts, too. Lucas's response? An eyeroll and a huffy, "Grow up. These are my movies, not yours."

"Grow up. These are my movies, not yours." No sir, you may own the rights to them, but it was the devout and loyal fans who made them the success they are today. It was those same fans that have supported you all these years, made you all your money, and provided you and your family the life you enjoy. So in my less than humble opinion, I think you owe it to the fans to include the original unmolested versions of the original films in a modern format. Is that really so much to ask?

*9/23* Thought I'd add this just so people could see how much of a hypocrite Lucas has become.

My name is George Lucas. I am a writer, director, and producer of motion pictures and Chairman of the Board of Lucasfilm Ltd., a multi-faceted entertainment corporation.

I am not here today as a writer-director, or as a producer, or as the chairman of a corporation. I've come as a citizen of what I believe to be a great society that is in need of a moral anchor to help define and protect its intellectual and cultural heritage. It is not being protected.

The destruction of our film heritage, which is the focus of concern today, is only the tip of the iceberg. American law does not protect our painters, sculptors, recording artists, authors, or filmmakers from having their lifework distorted, and their reputation ruined. If something is not done now to clearly state the moral rights of artists, current and future technologies will alter, mutilate, and destroy for future generations the subtle human truths and highest human feeling that talented individuals within our society have created.

A copyright is held in trust by its owner until it ultimately reverts to public domain. American works of art belong to the American public; they are part of our cultural history.

People who alter or destroy works of art and our cultural heritage for profit or as an exercise of power are barbarians, and if the laws of the United States continue to condone this behavior, history will surely classify us as a barbaric society. The preservation of our cultural heritage may not seem to be as politically sensitive an issue as "when life begins" or "when it should be appropriately terminated," but it is important because it goes to the heart of what sets mankind apart. Creative expression is at the core of our humanness. Art is a distinctly human endeavor. We must have respect for it if we are to have any respect for the human race.

These current defacements are just the beginning. Today, engineers with their computers can add color to black-and-white movies, change the soundtrack, speed up the pace, and add or subtract material to the philosophical tastes of the copyright holder. Tommorrow, more advanced technology will be able to replace actors with "fresher faces," or alter dialogue and change the movement of the actor's lips to match. It will soon be possible to create a new "original" negative with whatever changes or alterations the copyright holder of the moment desires. The copyright holders, so far, have not been completely diligent in preserving the original negatives of films they control. In order to reconstruct old negatives, many archivists have had to go to Eastern bloc countries where American films have been better preserved.

In the future it will become even easier for old negatives to become lost and be "replaced" by new altered negatives. This would be a great loss to our society. Our cultural history must not be allowed to be rewritten.

There is nothing to stop American films, records, books, and paintings from being sold to a foreign entity or egotistical gangsters and having them change our cultural heritage to suit their personal taste.

I accuse the companies and groups, who say that American law is sufficient, of misleading the Congress and the People for their own economic self-interest.

I accuse the corporations, who oppose the moral rights of the artist, of being dishonest and insensitive to American cultural heritage and of being interested only in their quarterly bottom line, and not in the long-term interest of the Nation.

The public's interest is ultimately dominant over all other interests. And the proof of that is that even a copyright law only permits the creators and their estate a limited amount of time to enjoy the economic fruits of that work.

There are those who say American law is sufficient. That's an outrage! It's not sufficient! If it were sufficient, why would I be here? Why would John Houston have been so studiously ignored when he protested the colorization of "The Maltese Falcon?" Why are films cut up and butchered?

Attention should be paid to this question of our soul, and not simply to accounting procedures. Attention should be paid to the interest of those who are yet unborn, who should be able to see this generation as it saw itself, and the past generation as it saw itself.

I hope you have the courage to lead America in acknowledging the importance of American art to the human race, and accord the proper protection for the creators of that art as it is accorded them in much of the rest of the world communities.