Star Wars Episode IV: A New Hope

Here I sit, after years of waiting, with the DVD firmly in my sweaty palms. Much ado has been made which in the ultimate course of all history and futurity, amounts to very little. However, within the realm of those who understand the power of the dark-side, those of us who are Jedis like our fathers before us, those of us who are no good, stuck up, scruffy looking Nerf herders, all us scoundrels, and, yes, even those of us who are simply as clumsy as we are stupid, this means a lot to us. We've looked forward to this day, perhaps even had a wet dream or two about it, and now it's here. The only thing that remains: was it worth the wait? A delicate question that is.

I'm going to break that into two separate things: one it is good to finally have the DVDs. My wide-screen VHS copies of the original edit are wearing thin. The soundtrack fades in and out of existence at the beginning and end of each movie. I needed a replacement. So, part on is wether or not the DVDs in and of themselves are worth it, yes they are. The print quality is superb, the sound quality is excellent (I'll get to sound editing later, if ever) and the bonuses are okay. But the wait? Is there something here to justify the fact that we weren't looking at this box four years ago? Well, all too much of that is going to depend on Episode III and wether or not the Special Editions should have ever existed. With that, as I only watched Episode IV last night, I'm going to only talk about Episode IV.

Seven, almost eight years ago the Special Edition was released I left the theatre unsure of what to think. I never really saw Star Wars for the first time. I'd seen it so many times as a kid that I have trouble remembering a time when I couldn't recall some image from these movies, it along with Princess Bride have just perpetually existed in my life. This was different though. I had seen the original footage of Han talking to Jabba on the cassette "Star Wars to Jedi" that came with our Wide-screen boxed set, pre SE era, and I also remembered that footage in the context of George Saying "we wanted to do this, but we didn't have the means, or even really an idea of what Jabba was like." they then go on to discuss the several different conceptual renditions of Jabba produced for Return of the Jedi. So, when I saw the footage with the CG Jabba my thoughts traced a line somewhere along the lines of "Jabba doesn't look real" and "this doesn't look like the actions of the Jabba we see later." The reason why Jabba sent Greedo in the first place also comes to mind. the scene is redundant and included largely to show off, in my mind. I'm not really going anywhere in particular with this, so I hope you don't feel like I have a point. Greedo. Why can't Han just ice the bastard? Han being so self centered later in the movie with his "I'm in this for the money" speech is more believable when we know he's willing to shoot first. At least in the current incarnation their shots are all but simultaneous. It makes Han's actions seem more premeditated (well, he does sit there and loosen his blaster) as if he's still planning on shooting Greedo regardless, but also anticipating Greedo's actions. In all honesty, those are the only two things from the Special Edition of this film that upset me. The final assault on the Death Star was disorienting that first time in the theatre, but mostly because I was expecting to see what I'd seen dozens of times before. This edit retains it's ultimate purpose, builds up to the same end, and in many ways makes more sense, especially in relation to Luke's interactions with Edge and Biggs. I remember for years before the SE I wondered why he made the comment "It'll be just like Beggar's Canyon back home." This always struck me as odd because in my mind no one else there would know what Beggar's Canyon was. It's a weak comfort to tell people "don't worry, at least I'll be able to pull out."

Okay, I think this has been more than aimless enough for the time being. I'll leave it with this: I'm very glad to have them on DVD as now I can watch them, really, wherever I want, and the changes to this version definetly show (along with the disapearance of Metachlorian references after Episode I) the George is willing to make concessions to the fans, but he's still a curmudgeonly old man when it comes down to what he wants.

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