Star Wars Trilogy, The [Widescreen, Special Edition: A New Hope, The Empire Strikes Back, Return Of The Jedi]

So the cover art at last. I have to say Im a bit disappointed with the figures on the front. They look really strange. Maybe its just me. But I do like the back with the Vadar helmet. Cant wait til 9-21-04!

Dude! Those figures are classic! They've been used even on the original Star Wars posters in 1977!

I rather had the gold edition for the widescreen version.

How are they able to get dolby 6.1 out a movie that was made in the 70's

Audio engineers usually get 6.1 (or 5.1 or 4.0) tracks from a movie released to theaters only in two-channel stereo by going back to the original master tapes, which were often multi-track (sometimes six or eight or twelve tracks or more) and remixing from there. (Even movies in the forties were often recorded on the set in more than one channel and then mixed down to mono because that's all theaters could reproduce in those days and all the film storage medium would allow.) For the rear middle channel, the engineers probably use various methods of ambiance extraction and synthesis.

John

It looks as if they've taken after the new trilogies style with actual pictures as opposing to paintings. Or is it the other way around? Were those the original theatrical posters from way back in the day?

No, these are new, obviously to look like eps I and II...
the discs themselves are older, I remember these from the comics of the movies, possibly from the special edition releases(?)
the bonus disc is obviously concept art:)

I do love the cover for the bonus disc:D

Pretty cool menu

Am I out of line by saying that the extras on these discs are a tad skimpy? Granted they are much better than the Indiana Jones DVDs (Could I insult LucasArts anymore than this?) in terms of extras, and I'm sure the audio and video will be demo quality, but I just feel 3 hours of video docs are not enough to fully describe and explain these movies. The commentaries of course will shed some much needed light on the production of these films, but in the end we are left with 2 and a half hours to describe the making of 3 films (Hellboy' doc was the same run time, and it was one film! With 2 (3?) audio commentaries to boot, and branching features!), meaning about 50 minutes for each masterpiece, a lot of promo's for the third film, audio commentaries and some video game footage? Worthy of the iconic epic that is the Star Wars Trilogy? To quote Neo (from the good Matrix film):"...that is a choice I leave to you...":.(

Hello -

I found a link to a site which compares the DVD versions to the `97 theatricals. The rumors appear to be true. there are some changes, most of which appear to be right on the money...

- EXTERNAL LINK -

Also, there are some interesting re-dubbings: Take a listen...

- EXTERNAL LINK -

- EXTERNAL LINK -

What do you think? Fan boy dreaming :.(

or

Haza - Reality :p ?

John and Eddie,

Great review! Lot of people have talked about the new changes in the SW movies. Are those changes disappointing? ok? or good for the movie.

--Ranjan

DAMN THEM!
Putting in Hayden Christensen just like that! :.(

The changes are basically acceptable and are even desirable (such as putting McDiarmid into Episode V). However, the Han-Greedo scene was fudged again, and the way that Han jerks to his right is AWFUL.

eddie
do u have original SW on VHS?

No, I didn't bother buying "Star Wars" on either VHS or on LD.

It is great that you remember frame by frame and can compare it with the new changes.:). I don't even remember the movies, so I guess I won't notice it.
--Ranjan

Well, everyone has seen the movies so often, from theatrical re-releases, movie parties, and TV showings. Plus, the Han Solo jerk looks awful and fake, regardless of whether or not it was a change from any of the previous editions.

If they left in Greedo shooting first, I'm guessing Luke still screams like a little girl when he falls at the end of Empire?

Sean (I know his hair is girlie, but c'mon...);)

Luke no longer screams as he falls down the shaft

i just came across this page with screenshots of what has been changed from the 1997 special editions and the DVDs. enjoy

http://www.thedigitalbits.com/reviews3/starwarschanges.html

-matt

Hm, apparently, there's a problem with the "A New Hope" audio mix. Basically, John Williams's music score was reversed in the rear channels, even though the sound effects appear to be correctly aligned.

How do you mean reversed?

Hock,

In an orchestra, the violins are on the left, and the cellos are on the right. Other intruments are also on either the left or the right. Good mixes of orchestral music usually have the instruments coming from the general direction of their orchestral placements.

In "A New Hope", the instruments sound correct in the front, but in the back, you hear the violins from the right and the cellos from the left. This is a reverse of both orchestral placement as well as what is being emitted from the front speakers.

Oddly, sound effects are not reversed, just music cues.

Eddie

Thanks for the explanation.

Whatever it is, nothing's gonna stop me from enjoying "A New Hope" tonigh!!

Hock,

Trust me, you're gonna want replacements when the recall is announced. :)

Eddie

As mentioned in the review and as discussed at the press junket by Jim Ward, the previous DD 5.1 mixes weren't true 5.1. This leads me to believe that they were 4.1 mixes like "The Sound of Music" and "The Abyss". This also might be the source of the problem with the reversing of the music cues in "A New Hope". Basically, someone made an incorrect extrapolation when creating the new 5.1 mix.

Got mine from Deepdiscountdvd.com yesterday, and whoa! is the picture amazing. From what I've seen so far, I'm with Eddie that this is an astounding transfer of older material.

Haven't gotten to encounter the whole "reverse orchestra" thing yet as I have only checked out a couple of scenes, but I do have to say that Jabba in EP IV still looks like crap (especially in that he doesn't even resemble the animatronic character in EP VI), and that in agreement with Eddie, and using my wife's terminology, the whole Han dodging Greedo's shot is "janky." No real definition for it, but suffice it to say that the shot is lame.

On the plus side: woo-hoo to getting rid of the Goofy-esque scream that Luke belted out at the end of the EP V Special Edition.

Now for the real kicker: now that I've got these DVDs in my hot little hands, I'm actually okay with this set overall. A tad disappointed that the original versions aren't out there, but I'm impressed with the transfers and sound upgrades to where I almost (stressing almost) don't mind.

Sean (course, you have to have a mind in the first place to mind, I guess...):)

p.s.: any definite confirmation of a recall on EP IV?

Incorrectly regarded as goofs: It is frequently claimed that upon returning to the Rebel base after destroying the Death Star, Luke exclaims, "Carrie!" when he hears Leia ( Carrie Fisher) call "Luke!" Sound designer Ben Burtt has confirmed that, after extensive listening, it appears to be "Hey" or "Yay"; 'Mark Hamill' reports that he said, "Hey! There she is!" but mumbled the last word.

Here is George Lucas's response (as reported elsewhere) to fans who say the rear channels are reversed on the "Star Wars Trilogy":

"We are always impressed with how closely fans listen to the many different sound mixes we have made for the Star Wars movies over the years. It is flattering to know that, indeed, the audience is listening. Consequently, each mix comes out differently and any changes that you hear on the all-new Dolby Digital 5.1 Surround EX tracks on the Star Wars Trilogy DVD set are deliberate creative decisions. We can confirm that there are no technical glitches as reported."

The first "Star Wars" movie was not miked for surround-sound playback. DD 5.1 sound did not exist in 1977. But the sound was miked and mixed down to two channels from original multi-channel sources.

Usually, to get a rear-channel effect from music not originally recorded in the rear, the sound engineers direct out-of-phase front-channel sound into the rears. To make it more "directional," they can boost the loudness of one or the other rear channel. In any case, it is going to be artificially created, and I suspect any oddness in the rears for "Star Wars" was the result of the engineers trying to make the surround channels sound as ambiant and "spacious" as possible.

John

Well the fact - most of the DVD review sites did not even notice it until this problem was public 2 days ago. Just makes me wonder how many people will notice. Of course now I know where the problem is, I might notice it.:)

rpruthee,

I've been trying consciously to notice any problems ever since I heard about the concern. It is not noticeable from the listening position, as you say, or reviewers would have heard it. It is only noticeable if you stick your ear to a rear speaker and try to identify if what you're hearing is supposed to be on the left or the right. Most of the time, even then, it's hard to tell.

As I said, I'm sure that the finest audio engineers in the world from Skywalker Sound, ILM, Dolby Labs, and THX wouldn't have missed so glaring an error as reported. Lucas says the new rear-channel sound mix is the result of "deliberate creative decisions." I believe the engineers were trying to open up, make more spacious, the sound in the rear speakers of what was originally a front-channel recording, and they do it nicely.

Unfortunately, there will now always be this lingering doubt among some listeners, whether there's a real problem or not, the way our politicians want people to doubt Bush's and Kerry's war records. Once the plate is broken and mended, there is still no way to hide the cracks. The rear-channel argument will dog this release forever, which is a shame.

John

A lot has been made of the Han Solo "head fake" dodge when Greedo shoots in EP IV, but I found out a couple of days ago that it's nothing new!

I recorded the Special Edition of EP IV off of TV a few years ago, and I was going through a couple of scenes to compare the updates, and this was one of them. I was surprised to see that Han dodged the shot in the previously released Special Edition! Perhaps I'm slow on the uptake, and everyone else already knew this, but it was news to me.

So, the "janky" shot is just held over from the 1997 re-releases. Am I the only one who was out of the loop on this one?

Sean (problem is, I'm too big to fit in the loop...)

First thing's first: AWESOME box set. Sweet picture, sound, features, menus and everything is great. I do have a few questions about some possible errors:
1. In ANH, on the Falcon when Luke is training, the saber is green, and then it's a pale blue/white. Was this a mistake, on purpose or an error on my TV settings?
2. Some matte boxes are very visible in ANH, especially when Luke and Han are shooting ties in the Falcon. Once again, purpose or not?
3. Some things that used to be red are pinkish now, like the X-Wing engines and Vader's red saber. Why is that?
4. IS there going to be another 6-episode box set in the future with more features, maybe deleted scenes or something? DId they purposefully not fix some things to wait for that set or are these "errors" intentional? (By the way, I found no audio problems in ANH).

Only thing I didn't like was the chincy box. Felt like something ADV (notorious for flimsy anime boxes) has made. Just look at the Indiana Jones box and compare how sturdy it is.

I mentioned this on another forum and someone brought up the point that this is basically a 'filler' release. Seeing how Lucas had originally planned to wait until Eps 3 was out before releasing the OT on dvd.

That's dumb. Sure, it probably is a filler release but a new release won't have a new commentary or much more in terms of special features. Besides the quabbles I listed above, the picture and sound are nearly perfect. If this is filler, than they purposefully put out a shoddy product just for more money. A new set will basically be a repackaging of this set and the individual prequel DVD's in a box. What more could they have to offer? If Lucas changes the films yet again than he would be wrong again in claiming these to be his definitive versions, and with that mentality than you wouldn't think he'd include deleted scenes since they weren't apart of his original vision. What more could they offer?

I heard that Lucas originally wanted to wait until HDDVD, but the piracy factor pushed them for a sooner release which is what we have. I heard something about deleted scenes which weren't featured here.

I imagine if they release a box set of episodes 1-3 it will be like the lord of the rings trilogy(the regular dvd???s just stuck in a cardboard sleeve.

Well its about damn time.
This is one my favorite dvd box sets ever with all the right special features and great video and audio transfers. Except on A NEW HOPE there is technical flaw with the sound. The biggest crap that pisses me off is Hayden at the end of Jedi. Come on George lets leave it alone. The Empire of Dreams documentary is cool and intersting a very highly recomended dvd to all fans of movie and star wars fans alike. Either though i am a treky all the way ;)

The audio flaws in "A New Hope" and the Hayden ghost are upsetting, but I'm willing to let it go for the greater narrative.

After watching this box set over and over i am pleased but will be very angry if Lucas releases them again. It would be very nice for lucasfilm and fox do have released the movies like this ID4 5 star collection dvd where u can choose between the special edition or Original version but now after seeing scenes of Epiosde III i really dont mind the Hayden ghost that much but still alittle out of place. I am pleased. With this box set.

by the way, this has been mentioned elsewhere but not here yet, so i'm going to add it.

in previous home video releases, you can hear a trumpet fanfare accompanying the x-wings' dive towards battle in the last third of "episode iv". on this dvd release, this trumpet fanfare has been muted to the point where you almost can't hear it any more. this occurs when you watch the movie with the dolby digital 5.1 ex english track. however, if you switch to the dd 2.0 surround french and spanish dubs, the trumpet fanfare is still there!

this means that the sound engineers futzed with english track when they created the new 5.1 ex mix but forgot that the french and spanish dubs would preserve the sound effects and music balances that've been there since 1977.

i find it hilarious that, after all this effort to make the "star wars" movies "consistent" and technologically "complete", these movies are still a mess.