Star Wars The Complete Saga Blu Ray

[Maryetta Worm]

Let me get this right out in the open in an attempt at full disclosure. I have never been, nor will I ever be, a 'Star Wars' purist. I really enjoy the Original Trilogy, and I can find bits and pieces of the prequels that I like, but overall I've never been so enamored with the movies that I hang on every bit of news about George Lucas and his endless revisions.

I would really like to avoid an internet flame war if at all possible. I understand people have intergalatically strong feelings about these movies, but I don't. I appreciate them as entertaining movies, and especially when it comes to 'A New Hope' and 'The Empire Strikes Back' I am genuinely enamored by their overall greatness in a cinematically historical context.

I start this review by discussing this, because you won't see me discussing, ad nauseum, all of George Lucas' changes for this Blu-ray release. I may mention them off-hand, but I feel they've been covered enough. I have no interest in debating digitally inserted rocks (no matter how extraneous and useless they are) or if Obi-Wan's new yell sounds completely ridiculous. Truthfully, I've reached my George Lucas Hatred Saturation Point. Do I think he's nutty for wanting to change the original movies so much? Yes. Is this whole review going to be me complaining about said changes? I sure hope not. I understand that for some, the changes are too great. Too much of an abomination to the source material that they simply refuse to buy this set. More power to them. I'm not here to say whether I think they're right or wrong, or if I even have an opinion about it.

Contains 'Star Wars: Episode I - The Phantom Menace,' 'Star Wars: Episode II - Attack of the Clones,' ''Star Wars: Episode III - Revenge of the Sith,' 'Star Wars: Episode IV - A New Hope,' 'Star Wars: Episode V - The Empire Strikes Back,' and 'Star Wars: Episode VI - Return of the Jedi.'

This is, by far, the most anticipated Blu-ray release since the HD home video formats were introduced into the market place. The only other set of movies that I can see that will even come close to the hype surrounding 'Star Wars' on Blu-ray is whenever the 'Indiana Jones' trilogy gets released and even then it'll have a hard time topping this.

We've all watched the original trilogy (and yes probably the prequels, even though that's hard for some to admit) numerous times. The original trilogy is infinitely rewatchable. It's become an indelible slice of Americana. These movies have become so engrained in our everyday culture as Americans that you'll be hard-pressed to find someone in this country that hasn't even heard of 'Star Wars.' Yes, they're that popular.

I'd rather not go over each and every movie in this six-part set giving an individual review for each. I'm sure you'd get bored halfway through and skip down to the technical aspects anyway. While I'll still give individual star scores for each film, this review will be split into two sections: The Original Trilogy and The Prequel Trilogy.

Let's face it. The Prequels were a missed opportunity. They could have been so much more, but they're put together like Lucas was thinking about the inevitable video game rather than thinking of enriching the 'Star Wars' universe.

'The Phantom Menace' is, by far, one of the most grating cinematic experiences out there. Not only because we had such high hopes for it when the prequels were announced and eventually released one by one, it being the first, but simply because it's a bad movie from top to bottom.

People hate on Jar Jar, and I have nothing against that. His inclusion in the movie is completely flabbergasting, and after the first few lines, the character is utterly exhausting. However, Jake Lloyd, as young Anakin, is an abomination. His mere presence brings that movie and its lofty expectations way down. The podracing scene, as bloated as it is, is still overshadowed by the absolute travesty of Lloyd's acting here. Granted, most of this falls on Lucas' shoulders because he was directing the kid to act like an annoying brat.

'Attack of the Clones' and 'Revenge of the Sith,' for me, can be enjoyed on a purely unengaged plane of consciousness. They've got some cool, although way-too cluttered battles, and some fun sequences. As far as adding richness and depth to the 'Star Wars' story, they've lost me completely. The installation of Hayden Christensen is too much to take. Like Lloyd, his acting extracts you from the movie and places you somewhere where suspension of disbelief is impossible, because it's absolutely impossible to believe this is good (even decent) acting.

This is the first time I've ever watched 'Star Wars' all the way through chronologically. And I can tell you this is something that saddened me. Watching Christensen turn into Vader in 'Revenge of the Sith', and then seeing Vader in 'A New Hope' didn't have the same effect as it usually does. I felt like a little part of Vader's badassness had died. I felt like his veracity as the most fearsome villain ever had dissipated ever-so-slightly. In short, after watching 'Episodes I thru III,' and then starting the Original Trilogy directly after, I felt it actually affected the integrity of the original films.

I remember watching these as a kid. I remember the awe I experienced watching that Star Destroyer slowly move into the frame during the opening of 'A New Hope.' I remember being mesmerized by the lightsabers. As a child the only thing that ever held a candle to coolness of lightsabers were the Ghostbuster packs. 'Star Wars' was definitely a big part of my movie watching life early on.

'Star Wars' currently ranks number 13 on the AFI top 100 movies list. It's continued on as a cultural phenomenon despite the myriad of renovations it's gone through at the hands of its creator. Whether that ranking deals with the entire trilogy or just the first episode isn't quite clear. As I've said, what is clear though, is the fact that the original three movies are deeply embedded into the American way of life. The movies and characters are referenced on a daily basis. We all remember these movies.

Beginning with 'A New Hope' it truly felt we were entering a different universe altogether. Lucas and crew had created an engrossing movie environment that completely sucked you in. The attention to detail bordered on the insane. Life-forms that you saw literally for two seconds, ended up having names and extensive backstories (and action figure tie-ins). It was easy to get lost in the world of 'Star Wars' due to its sheer scope.

'A New Hope' introduced a wide array of characters that we'd come to know and love. Even with the drawbacks of Mark Hamill's acting, 'A New Hope' still managed to capture imaginations. The characters felt deep and resonant here. Han Solo was the universe's coolest dude, and Harrison Ford played him with machismo and bravado. An everyday macho man taking on a galactic empire. Yes, it was nice to meet our new friends, but the best thing about 'A New Hope' is that it introduced cinema's baddest villain ever. The American Film Institute might have named Hannibal Lecter as the all-time great bad guy, but all Darth Vader would have to do is look at Lecter and he'd be strangled to death.

Vader represented a villain that posed a real and imminent threat to the heroes in the story. That's what was so interesting about him. You could actually picture a scenario in which he could win, take over the galaxy, and rule with an evil iron fist. Good always triumphs, but it's always nice to have just that little bit of doubt in your mind.

While 'A New Hope' may have hooked us, it was 'The Empire Strikes Back' that really made us collectively realize just how good 'Star Wars' could be. Easily the best of the original trilogy, 'Empire' is wonderfully understated in its drama and complex familial issues.

This is where Vader really came into his own as the universe's premiere badass. 'Empire.' Stuck right in the middle, 'Empire' actually contains most of the 'Saga's heart, soul, and characterization. I remember sobbing as a kid when Han got frozen in carbonite. I truly believed he'd stay like that forever. It was a traumatic experience for me.

'Return of the Jedi' didn't come as close to perfection as the first two movies did. While there are some candid moments here, the ending always felt a little silly. The entire Ewok civilization really pulled me out of the world that had been created during the first two films. They felt too much like characters that were solely made to produce a line of toys.

However, 'Return' isn't without its moments. The scene where Vader throws the Emperor down the shaft once and for all was a resoundingly dramatic scene. A scene that has lost much of what made it great by the asinine addition of Vader yelling "Nooooo!" as he does now. Many of the changes made to the Blu-rays don't affect the movies in the grand scheme of things. We can laugh at the digital rocks and smirk at the blinking Ewoks, but this is something different. This added exclamation dims an otherwise emotional scene. It dumbs it down. Kills its energy. In essence, it lessens the entire film, since everything is building up to that point. I can get over most of the changes, but this one really hurts.

I thought this would be as good a place as any to list some of the much more noticeable visual changes that the 'Star Wars' films have undergone for this Blu-ray release. Some of the changes are minor, some not so much. If there are noticeable visual changes that have been tweaked by Lucas then they are listed right before each review in a bullet point.

It looks extremely dated, and in HD even more so. Almost every face in the movie is devoid of any real fine detail. Pores have been scrubbed away. Hair comes to us in giant matted masses instead of standing out individually. Blacks are flat and at times take on a bluish tint. They have no depth to them. Crushing is a standard offender, swallowing up faces, textures, and characters.

At the timestamp of 50:28 there's an extremely ugly shift in the blackness of the sky above Qui-Gon. It shifts very noticeably almost like unfinished animation is suspended above him. Very ugly. As for noise, I didn't notice any really. It's just the incessant DNR, and general flatness that really bring this presentation down.