Revisit the classic about a boy, a girl, and a far away galaxy!
Star Wars fan of the 1977 Generation, John Williams fan, Long-time reviewer, Collector of Star Wars figures, Star Wars fan, a writer
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DEC
9
2007
Star Wars —
This review examines the 2006 Special Limited Edition two-disc DVD set which contains the 2004 "revised" Special Edition of Star Wars - Episode IV: A New Hope and the original 1977 theatrical release version."A long time ago, in a galaxy far, far away...."
It's hard to recall a time when I, like millions of moviegoers who belong to the "1977 Generation, hadn't seen the most famous opening "card" in cinematic history or heard the phrase "May the Force be with you" uttered either by characters on-screen or by fans who love George Lucas's film about "a boy, a girl, and a Universe."
It's also hard to believe, considering how big a fan of Star Wars I am now, but I didn't see it on opening day (Wednesday, May 25, 1977). To be honest, I didn't really want to see it; at the age of 14 I was more into history and World War II, so I was actually more excited about Richard Attenborough's film version of Cornelius Ryan's best-selling A Bridge Too Far, which opened a few weeks later (June 15, 1977). In fact, my initial reaction when I saw the short TV teaser was: Oh, I'm not going to see that movie. It looks like a bad Japanese sci-fi flick.
It wasn't until October of 1977 - before VCRs and DVDs, if a movie became a big hit, studios kept it in "first run" for months - that I gave in to peer pressure from my friends and some curiosity on my part about this Star Wars flick that seemed to have taken the world by storm. I convinced my mom to drive me to the Dadeland Twin Theaters on a nice South Florida weekend afternoon, and after sitting through the mandatory concession stand ads and trailers for other films, I watched as the 20th Century Fox and Lucasfilm Ltd logos came up, followed by the moment of silence that accompanies the now-legendary card of "A long time ago, in a galaxy far, far away..." Then, when the Star Wars logo and crawl appeared on screen, accompanied by John Williams' now-classic Main Title theme, I took a deep breath, which I held all the way during that stunning first appearance of Princess Leia's blockade runner and that massive Imperial Star Destroyer.
Unless you've been living on a desert island since May 24, 1977 and been isolated from civilization until, oh, 30 minutes ago, you know that Star Wars introduced us to a galaxy in turmoil. A tyrannical Emperor (not seen in this film) rules a formerly democratic collection of star systems with an iron hand, aided by men like the ambitious and ruthless Grand Moff Tarkin and a Dark Lord of the Sith named Darth Vader. Faced with a growing insurrection which aims to restore the Old Republic, the Empire is building the Death Star, a battle station which can destroy entire planets.
But the Empire's scheme goes awry when, after events not seen in the movie, the Rebels make off with the Death Star plans and entrust them to Princess Leia, a young Senator from Alderaan and cell leader of the Alliance. It's her starship that we see being intercepted over the desert world of Tatooine, and because she sends the data tapes down to that inhospitable planet in the memory system of a feisty astrodroid named R2-D2 in the hopes that they'll reach a former Jedi named Obi-Wan Kenobi, it's Leia who sets in motion the life-changing quest for the Classic Trilogy's central hero, Luke Skywalker.
Of course, when we "first-gen" viewers saw Star Wars in '77, it didn't have Episode IV: A New Hope tacked on to the title nor did we know that this movie was actually pulling us into the middle of the story arc. To us, it was a spellbinding space-fantasy full of exciting cliffhangers, old-fashioned (yet Space Age) heroes vs. villains conflict, humor, and classic mythological themes couched in a fun and entertaining manner.
Now that the entire saga is complete, we now see the events of Star Wars differently. Lines such as Beru Lars' remark to Owen Lars that Luke Skywalker isn't a farmer and that he has too much of his father in him "sort of" made sense back in 1977, but of course we now know about Anakin Skywalker and what happened to him.
Assets: Although all the films in the series - in my view, anyway - are fun and entertaining, Star Wars (either the 1977 original or the somewhat less popular 2004 re-edited version) is the one I'm fondest of. Maybe because when I watch the movie it takes me back to when I was 14 and got swept up, albeit a bit late, by the sheer excitement it generated. Or maybe it was my identification with Luke, the earnest, naive personification of good and whose quest to become a Jedi Knight is at the heart of Star Wars.
Despite intentional 1930s-style adventure-serial corniness, or maybe because of it, Star Wars' mix of traditional mythological themes, war drama, and coming-of-age storyline works. It has a good mix of young actors (Mark Hamill, Harrison Ford, Carrie Fisher) and seasoned veterans (Peter Cushing, Alec Guinness) who do well in their roles, a good script by writer-director George Lucas, exciting visual effects by Industrial Light & Magic, and - of course, a magnificent score by composer Williams.
Liabilities: As a fellow reviewer noted about Episode III: Revenge of the Sith, it's hard for a fan to be objective about Star Wars. And for the most part, there are not too many flaws in the 1977 film that started off the saga. Some of the lines are pretty cheesy, true, and some contain "facts" that don't jive well with others in later movies, but the fact that the characters aren't really well-defined and that the film's backstory is deliberately vague is due to the film being, well, Episode IV. Both those issues, obviously, are resolved by the existence of the other five Episodes, so they're not real Liabilities.
Final Thoughts: The 2006 Limited Edition DVD is a fair deal for the two camps of Star Wars fans that exist - the Original-Version-Is-Best gang and the I-Love-Both-Versions crowd. Disc One contains the enhanced 2004 re-edit of 1997's Special Edition, which has audio commentary by Lucas, Carrie Fisher, Ben Burtt, and Dennis Muren and improved visuals. Disc Two has the original 1977 theatrical version but no really interesting extras. This allows fans to watch their favorite version, or both, if they so desire.
Although the 2004 DVD edition of Episode IV: A New Hope is essentially the same as the 1997 Special Edition re-release, there are a few tweaks Lucas added, mostly cosmetic changes to the additional material created for the controversial 20th Anniversary re-release. For instance, the scene where Greedo shoots first at Han Solo in the Mos Eisley Cantina is still there, but it looks less jerky and added on than it does in the 1997 Special Edition and its related VHS tapes.
Also, the CGI Jabba generated for the restored confrontation between the Hutt crime lord and Han looks a bit more like he does in both Episode VI: Return of the Jedi and the prequel Episode I: The Phantom Menace. Finally, the only onscreen English-language labeling (on the tractor beam control unit aboard the Death Star) has been replaced by glyphs in a Star Wars written language.
Glitch Report: As good as the DVD's content is, there appears to be a widespread glitch in this disc. When a viewer selects the Audio Commentary feature on the 2004 A New Hope disc or the English 2.0 Dolby audio track, the "a long time ago, in a galaxy far, far away...." card suddenly switches from English to Spanish then back to English, then freezes at the 24-second mark. I've experienced this on not one but two DVD players, and I've heard some of my friends griping about similar issues. I had hoped that the 2006 re-issue would have fixed this, but apparently the problem has never been addressed.
Last edited on Dec 09, 2007
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