Star Wars: The Complete Saga Blu-ray Edition DVD Review

geekjosh

No one is more fan friendly than George Lucas? Really!? At least Steven Spielberg came out recently and apologized for all the scenes he changed in E.T. , and he was meet with resounding praise when he told interviewers that he would be putting the original 1980's version of E.T. on blu-ray. Chris Gore said that we the fans don't really have the right to complain just because George Lucas allows us to make fan films? But we do have that right. I don't want to see George Lucas's 'fan film' of Star Wars, I want to see Star Wars he originally made. Its like he could have EASILY put the original unaltered trilogy on blu-ray with his new new remastered one to appease everyone...but he didn't. Because, unlike what Chris said, he doesn't care about the fans anymore. George created an amazing universe, he just hasn't done anything else since then except mess with it instead of expanding on it himself. Now we have way better Star Wars stories and characters thanks to some amazing writers out there. When other directors go back and alter their movies with digital crap, they are met with resounding resistance and usually rectify it at some point. The reason its never happened to Star Wars, is because its Star Wars. We want to love it as much as we did growing up, so we overlook the stuff that has been added and hurt the film. I mean, who gets excited for that extra scene in A New Hope where Han Solo and Jabba the Hutt talk about his recent smuggling failure? No one! And not just because it wasn't in the original, but because it looks awkward and breaks the suspension of disbelief of the movie (hence it not making the cut in the original). When I'm watching Star Wars I get excited for the stuff that has always happened. Han shooting Greedo, Luke finding out Vader is his father, and Vader taking out the Emperor. I'm not opposed to all the changes, just as Chris Gore isn't opposed to all of the changes. But I am opposed to MORE of the changes than Chris Gore is. In fact, the only changes I really liked were from the 2004 remastered Return of the Jedi. Not all the crappy CG aliens in Jabba's palace, but the ending. Seeing places like Naboo and Coruscant celebrating the Empire's defeat at the hand of the rebels really added to the overall emotion of the scene. I even liked them putting Hayden Christensen as a force ghost along side Obi-wan and Yoda. It feels like a better scene, seeing Anakin as he was when he was a Jedi. I always thought why did he come back as a force ghost looking like and unharmed older version of himself, when he never reached that point in his life? He never looked like that, obviously because of what happened in Revenge of the Sith. But other than that, all other changes to the movies are too gaudy and don't mix very well with the older footage. I was never one of those fans that said, "I'm not buying this garbage, I'll wait for the original unaltered version to come out!", because at the time I was younger and just wanted to watch Star Wars. And I mean, who thought he would change it again? Now that the Prequel trilogy was starting to be released, why should he ever change the original movies again? I would have honestly bought this Blu-ray release if it was the previous remastered versions. The last ones to come in, back in 2004. But I'm drawing a line at these changes. Its just too different from what I remembered growing up. I didn't have those feelings I had as a kid when I watched these new blu-ray versions. I'm sorry, but I guess its finally time for me to say "I'm not buying this crap, I'll wait for the original unaltered versions to come out!". You can disagree with me if you want, which is totally fine as these are my opinions of the blu-ray set, and yours may differ, no big deal; however I just want people to understand that George Lucas could have (and maybe someday will) easily given everyone what they wanted along with his new versions of the film on blu-ray and he simply chose not to.

p.s. I liked everything in the prequel trilogy for this blu-ray release. CG Yoda is a welcome sight in Episode I.