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(More customer reviews)There are times it's important to lower your expectations so that you don't end up disappointed. This appears to be one of those times.
If you haven't seen the specs for this set, they're listed on the official site, and this review is based on those released specs so that fans can better judge whether they want to invest the money in films that have been released quite a number of times in the past. This review will be updated as new information comes out, but since the press release claimed to "reveal all," then I don't feel it's inappropriate to discuss exactly what they're selling us, and if it's worth buying.
Note: As regards the original version of the classic trilogy, it's not here. While it was made known that Lucas wasn't including them at this time, that information wasn't widely disseminated, so unless you happened upon that interview where Lucas said "no original versions" at this time, you had no idea that it wasn't going to be included. Frankly, as with this entire set, I think it's a major misfire to continue to court the ire of fans and film purists by not giving them a proper anamorphic widescreen release of the originals, and then claiming it's too expensive (which is disingenuous at best. Check out the article in the site, The Secret History of Star Wars: Saving Star Wars). Now, personally, I prefer the Special Edition versions for the most part, so I can't say I'm "missing" the originals (though I feel for those who rightly expected their release). What I'd like to see, and every fan should expect, is the best version of the Special Editions, which is not what we got with the 2004 DVD set, which should have been recalled for the all issues it had. (Discussed at length in the article "Saving Star Wars").
At the outset, it's important to state that I'm not a "hater," and have supported the Star Wars franchise since its inception. But neither am I one of those non-thinking talifans who believes that Lucas is a god who can do no wrong.
The fact is that, sadly, this set is not the equivalent of the Blade Runner or Aliens blu-ray sets, which contained all of the different versions of the films (including new versions) via branching technology. This isn't the Ultimate Edition box set that fans had been teased with for years, and, frankly, were right in expecting.
Putting that aside for now, however, the single biggest problem with this set is the lack of a new HD transfer for all the films except The Phantom Menace, which means that, while this will be in high-definition, they're taken from the same old transfer that was used to create the terrible 2004 DVDs. That is a big issue, as it means the films will not be presented in the best quality currently available and in use by practically every film that's been released on blu-ray for the last few years. Several industry insiders predicted this would be the case, so I can't say I'm shocked. But it's unacceptable.
What does that mean to most people? Probably not much. It will very likely look better than the DVD versions, just not as good it could've or should've. There will still be crushed blacks (which can't be fixed since they're in the 2004 digital negative). No word yet on whether or not they fixed the numerous other issues from the 2004 set, though the audio is, at least, a new mix.
So, the films will look and sound better. But it seems clear to me that a proper 4k/8k transfer won't be done until the next set. The only problem with that is that there is no official word as to when/if that's coming down the pike since the corporate-powers-that-be are counting on all of us buying THIS set first, which is a classic case of intentional double-dipping.
And that's what bugs me. Rather than spend the money to do a superior transfer now, Lucas chose to take the cheap path and go with an older, inferior transfer that, while suitable for DVD, is rather low-level quality for high-def blu-ray. If you want to learn more in-depth information on Star Wars and its sordid history on video/digital, including some of the reasons four of the six films have been intentionally degraded in image quality, check out the revealing site The Secret History of Star Wars (and the article: "Saving Star Wars.")
Frustratingly, there's still no indication that they corrected the many errors that appeared on the 2004 DVD editions, and speculation abounds. We don't even know if the rumored replacement of puppet Yoda in TPM with a digital version has occurred. But, as should be evident, it would be foolish to assume anything with this release. This information should've been put out there. The deceitful press-release, promoted as a "reveal all," was rather a "reveal a little bit more." In this day and age, this kind of smoke-and-mirrors marketing doesn't fly, particularly as it appears to be by design to obfuscate the facts and distract the buying public with bells and whistles.
Lets examine those. Fans had been teased with "100 hours of new documentary footage," which Rick McCallum excitedly talked about in 2007 for the upcoming blu-ray set. Where is it? Apparently it's all being held back for an as-yet unannounced future version. But the fact that McCallum felt free to discuss them four years ago demonstrates that THIS set was supposed to be the Ultimate Edition. Why the change?
Ok, so what is on here?
Well, there's roughly six hours of interview clips, documentaries about various aspects of the film broken up into a hundred 2-5 minute segments. Six hours is a lot, but short segments don't allow room for any kind of depth on any particularly subject. Not sure why they chose to go that route. The commentary from the 2004 is being ported over, and there's a second commentary track culled from old cast/crew interviews. That's fine. There's also an overly short 25 minute documentary about TESB. Finally, there are some niche documentaries: 84 minutes about the 501st (a group that dresses like stormtroopers and other armored characters from the films). The other is a fluff piece called "Spoofs" and it's 91 minutes of clips from some of the spoofs that have been available online for years. Why this is here when so many things that should've been aren't is something I don't understand. "Anatomy of a Dewback," is about the special effects that went into making the '97 Special Editions. Considering that some of those effects were later redone for the 2004 version (e.g., Jabba), this seems a rather pointless inclusion without the '97 versions of the films. The last documentary is Star Wars Tech, which is the shorter (and far less interesting) of the two History Channel documentaries that aired a few years back. Unfortunately, The Legacy Revealed (the superior doc) isn't included.
On the positive side, there are some classic documentaries from '78, '80 and '83, namely The Making of Star Wars; The Empire Strikes Back: SPFX, and Classic Creatures: Return of the Jedi. If you're like me, these hold a special place in your heart. On the down side, however, there's no From Star Wars to Jedi doc, no Empire of Dreams, no The Beginning. The former is likely being suppressed as it doesn't conform to the fabricated story Lucas likes to tell these days that the saga was always his singular vision of the Tragedy of Anakin Skywalker. As to the absence of the others, I think we can take bets that they're being held back for the next set.
Finally, the deleted, alternate, extended scenes: There appear to be 45 of them, and are really the major point of interest for many fans, and admittedly, the one thing that's tempting me to pick this set up. But I'm nowhere near convinced that they alone are worth the price, especially as I suspect that: a) in too many years time, there will be another set that features these scenes in extended editions of the films, which is how they aught to be presented, and what many fans had been expecting; b) someone will do what Lucas should've done and insert them into bootleg versions of the films.
There's as yet no detailed listing of the scenes in question besides the one shown at Celebration (and now on Youtube). Based on the trailer, it seems that many of them have not even been cleaned up. That's surprising, and, frankly, a bit shoddy to not remove dust, hair and damage. They deserve better for their world debut. But, of course, Lucas has no problem presenting his films in less than half the resolution of their native 35mm source (four of the films were shot in 35mm; two in digital 1080p), as the 2004 transfer was done in a decidely low-tech 1080p. Unfortunately, the lack of a proper transfer may have been by design. AOTC and ROTS were foolishly shot on 1080p digital cameras (put simply: because it's easier to make a movie that way) and cannot be digitally upscaled. Compared to 35mm film, however, that's less than half the resolution! So, to disguise their lower-res quality, the remaining four films were downgraded to match! That's just unacceptable. Lucas made a mistake to shoot AOTC and ROTS (but especially AOTC, which looks like it was shot on video) with digital cameras that were in their infancy. But it adds insult to injury to reduce the quality of the other four films to try and disguise that fact!
Audio: As noted, this is being presented in a newly mastered DTS 6.1 audio track, and it's great to finally have DTS for Star Wars! To nitpick, it could've been 7.1. But I suspect, yet again, this is being saved for the next set.
The bottom line is that unless it's revealed that a ton of work went into improving the 2004 transfers, what this set currently represents is mediocrity at best, and greed at worst, particularly if it's to rake in the cash until a proper set is released in another six or seven years that will include a new HD...Read more›
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Star Wars: The Complete Saga (Episodes I-VI) (1977)Star Wars: The Complete Blu-ray Saga will feature all six live-action Star Wars feature films utilizing the highest possible picture and audio presentation.Star Wars Episode I: The Phantom Menace(32 Years Before Episode IV) Stranded on the desert planet Tatooine after rescuing young Queen Amidala from the impending invasion of Naboo, Jedi apprentice Obi-Wan Kenobi and his Jedi Master discover nine-year-old Anakin Skywalker, a young slave unusually strong in the Force. Anakin wins a thrilling Podrace and with it his freedom as he leaves his home to be trained as a Jedi. The heroes return to Naboo where Anakin and the Queen face massive invasion forces while the two Jedi contend with a deadly foe named Darth Maul. Only then do they realize the invasion is merely the first step in a sinister scheme by the re-emergent forces of darkness known as the Sith.
Star Wars Episode II:Attack of the Clones(22 Years Before Episode IV) Ten years after the events of the Battle of Naboo, not only has the galaxy undergone significant change, but so have Obi-Wan Kenobi, Padmé Amidala, and Anakin Skywalker as they are thrown together again for the first time since the Trade Federation invasion of Naboo. Anakin has grown into the accomplished Jedi apprentice of Obi-Wan, who himself has transitioned from student to teacher. The two Jedi are assigned to protect Padmé whose life is threatened by a faction of political separatists. As relationships form and powerful forces collide, these heroes face choices that will impact not only their own fates, but the destiny of the Republic. Star Wars Episode III: Revenge of the Sith(19 Years before Episode IV) Three years after the onset of the Clone Wars, the noble Jedi Knights have been leading a massive clone army into a galaxy-wide battle against the Separatists. When the sinister Sith unveil a thousand-year-old plot to rule the galaxy, the Republic crumbles and from its ashes rises the evil Galactic Empire. Jedi hero Anakin Skywalker is seduced by the dark side of the Force to become the Emperor's new apprentice--Darth Vader. The Jedi are decimated, as Obi-Wan Kenobi and Jedi Master Yoda are forced into hiding. The only hope for the galaxy are Anakin's own offspring.Star Wars Episode IV: A New HopeNineteen years after the formation of the Empire, Luke Skywalker is thrust into the struggle of the Rebel Alliance when he meets Obi-Wan Kenobi, who has lived for years in seclusion on the desert planet of Tatooine. Obi-Wan begins Luke's Jedi training as Luke joins him on a daring mission to rescue the beautiful Rebel leader Princess Leia from the clutches of the evil Empire. Star Wars Episode V: The Empire Strikes BackLuke Skywalker and his friends have set up a new base on the ice planet of Hoth, but it is not long before their secret location is discovered by the evil Empire. After narrowly escaping, Luke splits off from his friends to seek out a Jedi Master called Yoda. Meanwhile, Han Solo, Chewbacca, Princess Leia, and C-3PO seek sanctuary at a city in the Clouds run by Lando Calrissian, an old friend of Han's. But little do they realize that Darth Vader already awaits them.Star Wars Episode VI:Return of the Jedi(4 years after Episode IV) In the epic conclusion of the saga, the Empire prepares to crush the Rebellion with a more powerful Death Star while the Rebel fleet mounts a massive attack on the space station. Luke Skywalker confronts Darth Vader in a final climactic duel before the evil Emperor.
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