![Star Wars Trilogy (Widescreen Theatrical Edition) [DVD]](https://m.media-amazon.com/images/I/51wdAFSITQL._AC_UL140_SR140,140_.jpg)
I loved the original theatrical release of this film -- and, after seeing the horrible slapstick moments and overenthusiastic use of CGI (creatures and ships) by Lucas in Episodes I, II, and III, I was worried about how a restoration of this (Episode IV) film might have included similarly repulsive elements.
But, it's impossible to buy an approved 4K version of this film without the added elements. So, I gambled on this version.
Although the added elements were obvious and distracting, taking me out of the film with their forced moments of background drama or humor, they ultimately constituted a forgettably small fraction of the film -- and the bulk of the film was simply a very good restoration of the original film !
This restoration eliminated all of the visual artifacts in the original film which were due to technical limitations of their filming methods. One of the most significant improvements was the elimination of faint rectangles around spacecraft (originally due to the way films of individual ships were composited together in a final film frame). Such artifacts were rather distracting in the original -- and so it's really nice to see this film again without those ghostly rectangles throughout the film.
And although I have not done a side-by-side comparison between the original theatrical version and this restored version, and I am relying heavily on my vague impressions of the original, I get the sense that the whole film has undergone subtle and truly positive visual improvement. Little details, like the color gradient of skies, or the way light glistens on the metal surfaces of the robots, or the glow of various lights. However, one glaringly bad effect are the laser "bullets" shot by pistols and guns; somehow they seem especially "unrealistic" or obviously CGI, which is very surprising given that clearly the technology was available to do essentially whatever an artist could imagine.
If you were a fan of the original theatrical release, but won't fret about the tiny revisionist rehabilitation of Han Solo (Han shot first!), then I think you will be pleased with this excellent restoration of the film.
| Additional DVD options | Edition | Discs | Price | New from | Used from |
|
DVD
September 22, 2019 "Please retry" | 2019 | 1 | $9.96 | $3.17 |
|
DVD
June 1, 2015 "Please retry" | — | 1 | $7.93 | $7.33 |
|
DVD
September 11, 2006 "Please retry" | Limited Edition | 2 | $14.78 | $10.94 |
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Expecting this to be the "limited edition", with a graphic novel included...it was not as advertised. There were two seperate releases of this product. I got the one that wasn't in the picture as advertised. However, this came in a perfectly conditioned case. Very little to no scratches on the discs. And it had both discs along with the scene index insert!!! These are rare, and extremely hard to come by. I had them in junior high. I just had to get them back after I'd traded them out of ignorance as a preteen. For that. I have utmost respect for the vendor who sold these to me.
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