Product Details

• Actors: Mark Hamill, Harrison Ford, Carrie Fisher, Alec Guinness, Peter Cushing
• Format: Box set, Closed-captioned, Color, Special Edition, THX, NTSC
• Rated: PG (Parental Guidance Suggested)
• Number of tapes: 3
• Studio: 20th Century Fox
• VHS Release Date: August 26, 1997
• Average Customer Review: 3.3 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (2,583 customer reviews)
• ASIN: 6304539282
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #24,855 in Movies & TV (See Top 100 in Movies & TV)

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com

The Star Wars trilogy had the rare distinction of becoming more than just a series of movies, but a cultural phenomenon, a life-defining event for its generation. On its surface, George Lucas's original 1977 film is a rollicking and humorous space fantasy that owes debts to more influences than one can count on two hands, but filmgoers became entranced by its basic struggle of good vs. evil "a long time ago, in a galaxy far, far away," its dazzling special effects, and a mythology of Jedi Knights, the Force, and droids.

In the first film, Luke Skywalker (Mark Hamill) gets to live out every boy's dream: ditch the farm and rescue a princess (Carrie Fisher). Accompanied by the roguish Han Solo (Harrison Ford, the only principal who was able to cross over into stardom) and trained by Jedi master Obi-Wan Kenobi (Alec Guinness), Luke finds himself involved in a galactic war against the Empire and the menacing Darth Vader (David Prowse, voiced by James Earl Jones). The following film, The Empire Strikes Back (1980), takes a darker turn as the tiny rebellion faces an overwhelming onslaught. Directed by Irvin Kershner instead of Lucas, Empire is on the short list of Best Sequels Ever, marked by fantastic settings (the ice planet, the cloud city), the teachings of Yoda, a dash of grown-up romance, and a now-classic "revelation" ending. The final film of the trilogy, Return of the Jedi (1983, directed by Richard Marquand), is the most uneven. While the visual effects had taken quantum leaps over the years, resulting in thrilling speeder chases and space dogfights, the story is an uneasy mix of serious themes (Luke's maturation as a Jedi, the end of the Empire-rebellion showdown) and the cuddly teddy bears known as the Ewoks.

Years later, George Lucas transformed his films into "special editions" by adding new scenes and special effects, which were greeted mostly by shrugs from fans. They were perfectly happy with the films they had grown up with (who cares if Greedo shot first?), and thus disappointed by Lucas's decision to make the special editions the only versions available. --David Horiuchi

Product Description

Star Wars Trilogy (Special Edition) [VHS]

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

1,439 of 1,486 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars BE CAREFUL!!!, December 31, 2010

By 

Christopher - See all my reviews

This review is from: Star Wars Trilogy (A New Hope / The Empire Strikes Back / Return of the Jedi) (Widescreen Edition with Bonus Disc) (DVD)

This is just an alert since there seems to be some confusion about a trilogy release with the original unaltered versions along with the special editions vs a trilogy set that only contains the special editions and no copies of the original unaltered versions.

The reviews for both sets are merged together... that is why you are seeing people claim that it has the original unaltered versions, and people complaining they do not. THIS set that I specifically clicked on to make this comment on is on the 2004 release which DOES NOT CONTAIN THE ORIGINAL UNALTERED VERSIONS. The box image is silver and has Darth Vader's mask on the box. This set ONLY contains the SE along with a 4th bonus disc of making of features and trailers and a sneak peak at episode III. If you want the trilogy set that contains both the SE and the unaltered versions but no bonus features, make sure when purchasing from Amazon, that the picture is a picture of Darth Vader and Luke clashing with light sabers and the box has a lot of blue coloring. It also says IV V VI along the bottom. Scroll down to DVD info and it should say release date: 2008. THAT is the version you are looking for.

If you place an order on the Trilogy with the Silver box with Darth Vaders mask on it, you are going to get the 2004 release of the trilogy and that's probably not the one you want... This review is going to appear on both sets though... So make sure before you buy, that you are on the correct trilogy page. Check the picture. Check the release date.

There are plenty of reviews of the actual product so I'm not going to go into that. Just wanted to clear up some confusion.

1,458 of 1,582 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Another Vote for "ORIGINAL THEATRICAL RELEASES", June 1, 2010

By 

Bartholomew Boge - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Star Wars: The Original Trilogy (Episodes IV - VI) [Blu-ray] (Blu-ray)

It's real simple, George. The vast majority of people who will buy the Blu-Ray versions are middle-aged nostalgia hounds. These people will NOT pony up more of their hard-earned dough for CGI "enhancements." They WILL, however, whip out their credit cards for the ORIGINAL THEATRICAL RELEASES faster than Han Solo's draw-down on Greedo.

Find your best exant print each film of the original trilogy. Have the ILM lab boys scan in every frame @ 4k. Do the LEAST amount of color correction and dust/scratch removal--only in a restoration sense, not "improving color" or anything like that. Approach it like archivists.

Use your technical advancements to do the finest BR encoding of those individual frames. I want to see film grain, dude. Matte lines. Pancake makeup. Absolutely naked and unvarnished. The final result should be a monument to the format, really.

Do the same with the audio.

If your ego won't let you "let go" of your CGI meddling, then make every feature a two-BR set--your best "improved" version + the original theatrical release. You can charge more that way, have your final vision, and still satisfy the fans who want the '77, '80. and '83 prints. And line your pockets with more filthy lucre as you sell the same product to us for the umteenth time.

Call it a "Special Edition Archivist Series" or something like that.

1,394 of 1,563 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Star Wars Legacy, September 10, 2004

By 

Mary Parisi (Woodbury, NJ USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Star Wars Trilogy (A New Hope / The Empire Strikes Back / Return of the Jedi) (Widescreen Edition with Bonus Disc) (DVD)

I am a huge fan of Star Wars. YEs, I am an 'Original Fan". And why is being an 'Original' fan percieved so negatively? If you are an original Beatles fan, the newer fans ask you with reverence what it was like seeing them in concert, etc. etc. (No, I am not fortunate enough to be an 'original' Beatles fan. I wasn't even born in 1964.) Original Star Wars fans are called oldtimers and accused of not letting go of the past and not appreciating that times change.

Mr. Rehnquist wrote in his review "I ask, who would want to see old, outdated movies in this age of advanced technology? " Well, I hope the answer is "Many People". My love of movies is not based on the level of special effects. Should we no longer watch the great old black and white films of the past because they are 'old and outdated'? No more Bogie and Bacall? No more Hepburn and Tracy? What about Gene Kelly? Jimmy Stewart?

The thing Mr. Lucas is forgetting is that more is not always better- in an interview when the movies first came out, he was quoted as saying that the problem with the Sci-Fi genre in general was that so many moviemakers forgot about the story. The movies ended up being built around the special effects.

Unfortunately, Mr. Lucas is adding all of these scenes and filming the newer movies (Phantom Menace and Attack of the Clones) with nothing but the possibilities of these special effects in mind. He has lost the story; it had become secondary to the special effects.

I had no problem with the celebratory scenes added at the end of "Return of the Jedi" but I do have a problem with some of the other scenes. Han shot Greedo. Greedo did not shoot first. It is ridiculous to change this. Han's change of heart and redemption are more powerful when you know he was a mercenary! He was always looking out for himself. That's how he survived! He was in it for the money, and found himself inexplicably drawn to the people of the Rebellion. That's good story-telling.

The problem is that Mr. Lucas has taken the liberty of CHANGING much of the story with these scenes.

Mos Eisley was supposed to be a dusty, deserted town. Tatooine is on the outer rim of the galazy. It's an unimportant, dusty, underpopulated planet. What I saw in the "Special Editions" was a thriving, well-populated town.

I would happily buy the special edition versions if I knew Lucas intended on eventually releasing the original versions on DVD as well. I'd buy both.

We're not trying to erase the movies you love. If you like the "Special Editions" Great! I am glad. I would never tell any of you to shut up or that your opinions were stupid and your views outdated as we have been told by Mr. Rehnquist.

We original fans aren't telling you new fans that the version we grew up with should be the only one out there. Please have the courtesy of relizing we are only asking for the opportunity to buy these movies the way we fell in love with them.