Customer Reviews

Star Wars Trilogy (Widescreen Theatrical Edition)

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I had a chance to watch the Star Wars disc from this supposedly unaltered set and was bummed out that even these are not the version that were in theaters back when I saw them. I know this because when I was 8 I got to watch a bootleg Beta Max version of the first film nearly 50 times at a friends house. I had also seen it the year before in theaters in 1977.

This disc is missing 3 items that were in the original theatrical release. I will list all three.

1. When they are all in the control center(in the death star), C3P0 points and tells Kenobi where to release the tractor beam in 3 different points at the same location. (This was not on the DVD)

2. This one is the most obviuos ommission. When Luke and Leia are at the Chasm before Luke throws the grappling Hook to swing across. In the theater version , he puts the grappling hook in his gun and fires it at the ceiling so it will hook on. Unfortunately it misses for them and it falls down. Luke then needs to coil the whole cord up again with the hook and this time he tosses it and it catches. If you watch any version of the film you will see a really poor edit of Luke pulling up the cord from his belt multiple times as if it had fallen once. But Lucas couldn't just shorten the scene because it would have thrown off the music so he copied and pasted Luke pulling up the cord 2 times. For what ever reason, he felt the first time using a gun was not needed to be left in.

3. This one is minor but when they get through the blast door in the death star to avoid Vader, you can hear the Storm troopers tell the door operator (somewhere) to "Close the blast Doors" and then after it closes, you hear someone say "open the blast doors". In all the versions since the movie came out in theaters the "Close the blast Doors" line has been edited out. It is possible it is still on the non THX version of the Laser Disc.

There is also a shortened scene in the Return of the Jedi but that is for another day. George shortened that as well.

George if you are reading this (And I know you are not) Why don't you actually put the "REAL" theatrical version on DVD and not this Psuedo version of Theatrical. All these DVDS are is of a transfer from the THX Laser Disc Version. I think the original Laser Disc version might have a little more in them, but I am not sure.

BTW, George even did this with Episode III as well. He took out a 15 second scene of General Grevious climbing out side of the crashing ship as it was going down at the beginning of the film. he deleted it because he later realized that General Grevious could not breath outside in space. We know he breathes because of his coughing all through out the film. Those 15 seconds never made it to the DVD or the deleted scene section. Woops ;o)

I don't knwo why he does this to all of his films.

I wish my friend still has his Beta Max copy but it has been long gone for 20 years.

i just want to clear one thing up right here and now.regardless of what anyone else says,the theatrical original versions are included with these movies on disc 2 of each movie.i know they are the unchanged original versions from before Lucas changed them,and not because i have a great memory,I'm from the 60s after all,but i played the dvd version and my original 1992 VHS version at the same time side by side and they played in sync throughout the entire movie second for second.if there were any changes made then one of the movies running would have fallen out of sync.my 1992 versions are from way before Lucas changed them and added new parts.you should be able to find these versions included with these best buy tin versions on the normal [paper] box set 2 disc versions also,as long as they are from 2006 or beyond.the VHS version looks alot worse than the DVD could ever look.the DVD looks great!however,in my opinion,the sound on the VHS is clearly superior to the DVD.its much louder and the stereo separation is much more defined.there is also a touch of extra re-verb in the sound on the VHS which gives it a movie theater feel.anyway let the debates continue and may the force be with you!

Watching the original versions of the original Star Wars trilogy on DVD is like travelling back in time - not so much to the innocence of youth but more to the days when picture quality was never much of a consideration on video releases and Fox had the reputation for the worst transfers in the business. Watching these DVDs is to step back into an age of low resolution standards conversions with all the loss of detail and motion blurring that that entailed: certainly if you've got one of the old remastered video releases you might as well hold on to that, because the quality isn't as poor as this. The sound quality is pretty awful as well. From Lucas' past track record it's all too easy to imagine this is just a scam to allow him to sell a remastered version a couple of years down the line, but it's even harder to dispel the notion that somewhere Lucas is whining "See how soft the focus is? How can you say these are better films?"

Although commonly blamed for the death of cinema as we knew it, in truth Star Wars was a huge breath of fresh air after the increasingly stale and formulaic week-in, week-out reality of woefully unimaginative and derivative downbeat on-the-cheap 70s cinema. It wasn't merely a matter of having a happy ending, more that there was a sense of panache and unapologetic adventure that had been missing for too long at the time (even the decade's best adventures, such as The Wind and the Lion and The Man Who Would Be King, saw their heroes destroyed by society in an age that had no place for them). Looking at it for the first time in years, its much better directed than remembered, extremely well constructed and beautifully designed, introducing the `future is old' concept that many would attribute to Ridley Scott. It also, unlike the prequels, has the saving grace of Han Solo, a character whose deprecating sense of humor undercuts the more solemn and potentially pretentious moments in a way that would be much missed amid the talk of apprentices, trade embargoes and midi-chloridians in the prequels. It's still fun and it still works, even in the very worst transfer of the originals.

The Empire Strikes Back suffered the least in the special edition reworkings (although the clunky rewriting of the scene with the Emperor shows Lucas' leaden touch with dialog only too clearly) and as a transfer suffers the least of the original versions, but it's still not good enough. The film itself holds up surprisingly well, fully deserving its reputation as the best (and naturally least commercially successful) of the series. A lot of the credit has to go to co-writer Leigh Brackett, with the film's verbal sparring having a classic Hollywood feel to it that gives it a mixture of the best of both worlds, while keeping things moving at a brisk pace. Irvin Kershner's direction brings the best out of the cast too, while the action scenes - particularly the battle on the ice - are the best in the series. It's just a shame that the film's (genuinely unexpected at the time) cliffhanger was thrown away in the follow-up.

Return of the Jedi isn't as bad as the scarred memories of working at a movie theatre showing it five times a day for 12 weeks would have it, but it's still the least of the series. With no producer or studio to rein him in this time, Lucas offers something that's little more than a rehash of the first two films, but with bigger Death Stars, more spaceships, more teddy bears and far, far too many Muppets, it's crippled by an atrocious opening section where one after another the heroes try to rescue Han Solo only to get captured in the most tedious ways possible. Richard Marquand's inability to direct action is much to the fore in this section, and he's not much better in the rest of the film, while Harrison Ford gives a particularly bad performance that's all too indicative of a bored man with nothing to do but stuck here anyway because of contractual obligation. If you can forget the dire first third, the rest of the film is okay when it's dealing with the Skywalkers' family feuds but less successful on the ground in the Teddy Bears Picnic - sorry, Ewok scenes. Still, it does have Princess Leia in the slavegirl outfit...

The discs also include the revised special editions released a couple of years ago, which at least boast excellent picture and sound quality, though are all extras-lite with only a commentary and a Star Wars Lego promo.

I was a freshman in college when I took my new girlfriend, (now married for over 30 yrs.) to see George Lucas' 1977 film "Star Wars: Episode IV - A New Hope." This movie literally blew our minds!!! Audiences were not used to the great special effects this film introduced to the world! Even more compelling for me was the story. The movie had a visceral magnetism that took hold of me. It was only years later when I found out why that was, and the answer that I found is going to be the basis for my review. Let me first say that I love finding out about the "back story" of the great works of artists, the answer I found to this work of art filled me with joy and a sense of satisfaction beyond my dreams!!!

I saw a several part series on PBS moderated by Bill Moyers talking to George Lucas about the inspiration for his "Star Wars" story. Lucas gave most of the inspirational credit to a book he read by one of the world's preeminent scholars on religion and myth, Joseph Campbell; his book is "A Hero With A Thousand Faces." I gained a whole new perspective on religion after reading this book and understood why it was so compelling to Lucas. What Campbell was able to ascertain by studying religion and myth is that in every culture there is a foundational "monomyth" describing a "hero's" journey that is at the center of every culture's belief system. I am going to describe the "monomyth" cycle within the "Star Wars" movie to make the point.

Campbell discovered through extensive research that humankind shares a universal monomyth in its various religions and legends especially pertaining to the creation of the world and humankind. Campbell borrowed the term monomyth from James Joyce's book Finnegan's Wake. Campbell's intuitive insight in human myth proves that for thousands of years these myths display a certain standard structure, which he summarizes beautifully in his book.

A hero ventures forth from the world of common day into a region of supernatural wonder: fabulous forces are there encountered and a decisive victory is won: the hero comes back
from this mysterious adventure with the power to bestow boons on his fellow man (Campbell 30).

There are at least four major stages that a monomyth has however, in his book, Campbell goes on to describe seventeen stages that some monomyth's posses. The four stages making up the cycle of a monomyth are "passage: separation-initiation-return:" In the first stage, known as the passage stage, the hero is summoned to journey or embark on an adventure by some kind of event that takes place or from a message, he receives. The hero may embark on this passage willingly or reluctantly. For instance, in the movie, the young Lukeskywalker returning to his farm from performing some errands finds his aunt and uncle killed by shock troops of the Empire. He had been itching to leave the farm to go to the flight academy, so faced with this tragedy he finally has a reason to leave the farm, to start his "journey."

Campbell says that during the second stage, the separation stage, the hero meets with a mentor or wise man who gives the hero either an amulet or some words of wisdom to be of help to the hero on the adventure. In the movie this is where Luke meets with former Jedi Knight Obi-Wan Kenobi who gives him a light saber and starts to teach him the ways of the "force."

During the third stage, the initiation stage, the hero goes through several trials or tests. The hero will go through his first transformation, also known as "crossing the first threshold," as he crosses over to another world or dimension leaving behind the old world. The hero often receives help in these ordeals along the way by allies or from a supernatural force. In this case Luke is helped by Han Solo and Princess Leia on his quest to fight against the Empire's dark force Darth Vader.

As the hero completes these ordeals successfully, he proves himself more worthy to continue the adventure. Most importantly, during this stage the hero must pass through a major ordeal that will expand his consciousness, and thereby change his character forever. Often, this ordeal entails the death of an ally or enemy.

This is where Luke's mentor Obi-Wan Kenobi meets his death at the hand of Darth Vader, which enrages Luke and will eventually cause him to fight Vader in a duel with light sabers.

In the fourth stage, once the hero successful accomplishes his ordeal he is rewarded with a gift, it could be intrinsic like the "holy grail, or it can be new found knowledge to better the world with.
This last stage the hero travels is that of the return whence he came. Often the hero will undergo further trials on his return before he is permitted to cross the threshold back to the world he left. During his return journey, the hero will use his newfound wisdom or gift to make a safe return home. Once home the gift is used to cure some ill in the hero's home or to impart new wisdom to his neighbors.

In the case of Luke he will continue with the help of other mentors like Yoda, to become a Jedi master, completing his last stage wherein he receives "enlightenment" the gift that he can bestow on his world.

Campbell points to the significance of the monomyth in the fact that it describes the cycle that Moses, Jesus, Buddha, and the Mahavira had gone through according to their religious adherents. This is not to mention the hundreds of other monomyths told throughout human history. The monomyth proves that humankind shares a common creation DNA in a sense. No wonder Campbell's monomyth was the perfect vehicle for Lucas' "Star Wars" story!!!

I hope you enjoyed the journey!!!

If you are a fan of the theatrical versions of these films this is the absolute best version to have. They have a very cool look when upconverted for hdtv. I absolutely cherish these copies.

It's the "Bonus Disc" that's the original version, when it should be the main one. If they wanted to add the "updated" versions, THAT should be the Bonus Disc.

I was about to complain just before I figured it out.

If they want to release the original version, just release it by itself. We already had the newer version. Now we have two of those and one of the original.

Personally, I'm tired of these add-ins in DVDs, etc, most of which are just plain silly or obviously designed by computer graphics.

Love having the original theatrical versions of the film. It is comforting to know that I can watch Han Shoot first in IV and Sebastian Shaw reappear with Kenobi & Yoda at the end of ROTJ. Everything else is fine that Lucas added to his special editions in my opinion, but the Greedo shooting and Hayden Christiansen reappearing were terrible. I would definitely recommend this purchase!

The tin came prior to Christmas, which is great by itself! The product arrived in great shape; I really haven't looked inside it yet, since it went right into wrapping paper for the tree right after it arrived! If my son opens it and it's empty, that will be another story! However, I have always had great luck with Amazon, so far no let downs!!!

I was really pissed, along with all of the other folks (my generation), that stood in line for over four hours as kids when these movies first came out to the widescreen, only to have "you know who" alter the originals (taking out the original "ghost scene" Vader, and replacing him with the new "young Anakin"). What the hell was he thinking about? That's like taking and Original Shelby Mustang and trying to put new Mustang parts on it.... It just isn't the right thing to do, and everybody will think your retarded! Please pass this on to George!!!

So needless to say, I was very thrilled to find the "un-altered" originals for sale!!! I got them before George could screw them up! Yee-haa!!

Why isn't the 1997 Special Edition on DVD?! Wasn't it supposed to be "George Lucas' definitive vision"?! Now he has YET ANOTHER vision of the Original Trilogy?! Why didn't he make the prequels fit the Original Trilogy, instead of butchering the originals?! Weren't we told that he was releasing the first versions of Episodes IV, V and VI back in 1995 "one last time"?! But no, now he's releasing the versions he said would never again see the light of day, and what he said was the finished product is not available on DVD. I guess the word "logic" is not part of Lucas' vocabulary...

There are much better box sets of the original trilogy that cost far less - see here: Star Wars Trilogy. This set isn't worth it.