Star Wars Complete Saga Blu Ray Review 2013
It'south been a couple of weeks since the release of Star Wars on Blu-ray, and nosotros've all said our share of "NOOOOOO"s over the whole "NOOOOOO!!!" unpleasantness. Once again, fans lamented the further erosion of their dear franchise thanks to an owner/creator who at present seems to view it all less equally a cinematic archetype and more every bit an extended game of chicken between him and the audition. The nine-disc Blu-ray set continues that grand tradition… and one time again, later on swearing that they would stand firm, the fan base of operations caved. The set appeared to record sales, and complaints about the new changes were rapidly drowned out by the sound of cash registers.
With that in mind, the question now becomes whether the fans have bought a bill of appurtenances: whether the Blu-ray set delivers nothing but another box to sit on the shelf and gnaw at the souls of true believers. I'grand happy to report that – unwelcome tweaks notwithstanding – Lucasfilm delivers a magnificent set that does justice to the iconic saga. Hit the jump for the total review.
Overview
The set contains nine discs in a handsome case: i for each of the six films, plus iii discs containing a staggering array of additional features. Presumably everyone is familiar with the movies themselves, so nosotros'll focus more on the discs than the narrative they incorporate. We'll suspension each disc down individually, covering the good, the bad and the in-between of each one.
Disc 1: The Phantom Menace
The ready presents the films in narrative order rather than by the date of release; correct off the bat, that may get under hardcore fans' skin. The Phantom Menace further suffers from the fact that it was the terminal of the six to exist shot on 35mm film instead of digital cameras. That makes the visual transference a trivial catchy, and the resulting image possesses a certain "video-y" quality. That said, it however looks spectacular and the pic's stunning set pieces – too hands overlooked – retain their wonder and astonishment. The incredible lightsaber duel, stellar pod race and little-mentioned underwater sequence on Naboo make the not-insignificant flaws (the awful dialogue, the dodgy performers, gratuitous use of Jar Jar) easier to swallow, and while CGI technology has advanced considerably in the ensuing decade, the effects still hold true.
The biggest change here is the insertion of a digital Yoda to replace the onetime puppet. It works quite well: making the film more of a kind with Episodes Two and III, while eliminating the distracting contrast betwixt real-world animatronics and the CGI scenery surrounding it. It'south a pity the wizardry can't address the picture'south more serious problems – or at to the lowest degree lower the urge to strangle Mr. Binks with his own earflaps – merely we've all made our peace with that (or not) long ago.
The existent selling points hither are the 2 audio commentaries included on the disc. The first is identical to the one on the older DVD: practiced, but nothing worth rushing out for. The second 1 holds the real juice: archived excerpts from simply about every person associated with the product (including George Lucas, Dennis Muren and most of the principal bandage). It's pure gold, full of enough insight and tidbits to make even the biggest Menace hater to finish a screening with a smile on his confront. The best comments come up with sound designer Ben Burtt, who talks about the methods he used to develop each audio event. Liam Neeson and Ewan McGregor deliver solid textile also, and McGregor'south thoughts on following in the footsteps of Alec Guinness are quite sweet.
Disc two: Attack of the Clones
I maintain that Attack of the Clones is the weakest of the entire series. The romance between Anakin Skywalker and Padme Amidala arrives stillborn from the get-go, with embarrassingly cheesy lines and a lack of chemistry betwixt the two actors that borders on the criminal. Every bit with Phantom Menace, the visuals make upward the difference, from the showdown betwixt Obi-Wan Kenobi and Jango Fett to the lengthy climax that features Yoda busting out with his lightsaber for the first time e'er. The film was shot digitally, which helps the images stand up out much more readily, and the tinkering remains absolutely minimal. The audio commentaries follow the aforementioned design every bit Menace, with the DVD track copied over to Blu-ray and a second track added that whatsoever real Star Wars fan will relish.
Disc iii: Revenge of the Sith
Copious "NOOOOOO!!!" yet, most fans agree that Sith represents the best of the iii prequels. It also looks the all-time on Blu-ray also, with sterling clarity that makes those lava fields really pop. The image shakes the glassiness dogging Parts I and II, and the storyline corrects a lot of glaring problems that troubled earlier prequels. Lucas delivers a sterling trio of bad guys – Count Dooku, General Grievous and the Emperor himself, who almost redeems the whole trilogy single-handedly cheers to some terrific work from Ian McDiarmid. (Keep hiring those Scotsmen George; they do good piece of work.) Lucas understands how to deploy their villainy to maximum consequence, and John Williams' score delivers the searing emotional beats missed past the nonetheless-atrocious dialogue.
Which isn't to say that the motion picture is perfect. Lucas plants a big, wet continuity error in our laps right at the terminate, when the mother remembered past Princess Leia dies the instant she's built-in. Similar boners ingather up throughout the picture and the climactic duel between Obi-Wan and Anakin – intended to be the best of the series – gets swallowed upwards by the greenish-screen landscape surrounding them. That said, Sith still helps the prequels terminate on a high notation and keeps the nearly rabid fans more or less placated.
The 2nd audio commentary here is an absolute must-hear, with tidbits on the origins of the Wilhelm scream amongst other tasty goodies.
Disc 4: A New Hope
A number of fans wrote off the prequels as a total loss, pregnant that Episodes Iv through Half-dozen need to justify the expense of the Blu-ray assault their ain. They largely do, though they even so suffer unduly from mail service-theatrical pokes. Kenobi delivers a new krayt dragon call that sounds more like a barber losing her wig than annihilation truly frightening. Other shortcomings are all-as well familiar: the unconvincing addition of Jabba the Hutt, the wonky dewbacks, the "Han shot first" debacle subsequently obliterated past a shortened version of the central shot in the DVD release.
Just frankly speaking, a lot of A New Hope's problems have nothing to exercise with the Special Edition changes… and in fact herald some of the difficulties of the prequels. Lucas couldn't write dialogue whatever meliorate in 1977 than he tin can now, and some of the lines hither will bend your spine. The performances lag behind Empire and Jedi as well, masked past the fact that no one had ever seen a film like this when it was first released. Notwithstanding, it's A New Promise, and the gorgeous visual transfer highlights both the original material and the better CGI elements (like the Ten-wings in the final fight) beautifully.
(It goes without proverb that Lucas could have erased a huge amount of ill will by remastering the theatrical cuts of IV-Vi and including them in this set. Their absence keeps an otherwise terrific set up from approaching perfection.)
The audio commentaries are as stiff as they are in the rest of the set; the 2nd i includes comments from the late Alec Guinness, as well as the unremarkably reluctant Harrison Ford, and key figures similar Kenny Bakery and Peter Mayhew. Carrie Fisher'southward razor-sharp wit steals the show, simply Mark Hamill gets some adept digs in likewise.
Disc 5: The Empire Strikes Back
At present this is pod-racing. When Lucas made the determination to footstep back from writing and directing duties, he instantly alleviated the serial' biggest issues: poor dialogue and stiff performances. Irvin Kershner arrived behind the camera, bringing a close rapport with the bandage and an understanding of the humanity within the spectacle. On the screenplay front, Lawrence Kasdan keenly grasped the differences between writing and speaking: crafting conversations with rhythm, meter and genuine wit instead of amateurish exposition. The result is the unquestionable high betoken of the series: a perfect space opera with all the excitement, romance, and mythic tropes that any fan could enquire for. The Special Edition elements enhance and improve the original rather than acting as a distraction, and the characters' journeys hit their darkest and most circuitous menses of all six films. Zero feels out of place, and the twin audio commentaries continue to justify the purchase all on our own.
Disc 6: Return of the Jedi
Of all vi films, Jedi has suffered the virtually from Lucas'south latest tinkering. It gets worse here with Vader'due south climactic moaning and the CGI-blinking Ewoks that frankly give anybody the creeps. The bleakest moment arrived before this set, nonetheless, when Hayden Christensen was inserted into the final shot. (And riddle me this, Caped Crusader: why does Anakin become to spend eternity in his Padme-banging prime, while Obi-Wan "I didn't actually butcher any children" Kenobi is decrepit and old?) Jedi already stood as the weakest of the original trilogy – tasked with wrapping the whole thing up rather than generating whatever energy on its own – and the changes only further harm its case. That said, Kasdan's dialogue still stands head and shoulders in a higher place that in Episodes I-Four, and the copious set pieces (Jabba's palace, the speeder chase, the concluding showdown betwixt Luke and Vader) continue to hold considerable power. The sound and video quality on the Blu-ray highlight them all perfectly. If only they could give us the yub-yub vocal back at the end…
Discs 7 and eight: Archives
The two special features discs are both intoxicating and a little frustrating. They're congenital for casual browsing rather than specific searches: keen for an initial plunge, but hard if you want to find 1 specific piece. Discs 7 and viii break the series in one-half – Disc vii contains material for the prequels, Disc 8 the original trilogy – and organize their material by location in each picture. And then Disc 7 contains an "Episode I" section, further broken into "Naboo," "Coruscant" and "Tatooine" sub-sections. Each "planet" contains interviews, cut scenes, concept images and more: enough to fill entire evenings with blissful immersion in Star Wars minutia. The deleted scenes agree some real gems, such as Luke's conversation with Biggs Darklighter on Tatooine and expanded sequences with the Wampa on Hoth. But every fiddling tidbit carries its share of surprises, including fascinating breakdowns of each prop or model that almost justify characteristic presentations on their own. Finding a given piece takes a little intuition and sometimes leads the viewer downwards blind alleys. But cypher goes to waste and those incorrect turns always lead to something fun.
Disc 9: Star Wars Documentaries
The ninth and last disc carries a series of documentaries on the series. The showcase is three specials – originally shot for TV – on A New Promise, Empire and Jedi respectively. They've been difficult to observe previously and the concur nigh equally much interest equally the movies themselves… though none of them quite friction match From Star Wars to Jedi, a doc released with ane of the VHS sets and conspicuously absent in this i. (You can check it out on YouTube, starting here) The disc too contains four additional documentaries: i covering Star Wars technology, one breaking down the evolution of the dewbacks for the Special Edition, a 30-year retrospective featuring the key players in Empire, and an 84-infinitesimal fauna nigh the 501st Legion (the fans who march equally Stormtroopers for diverse charities.) The tech stuff is a little dry and the dewback feature probably belongs somewhere else, just the 501st Legion piece is an extremely absurd homage to the serial' biggest fans.
The disc concludes with another fascinating/frustrating collection, this one covering various popular culture parodies of the saga. It draws clips from all fashion of sources: Saturday Night Live, That 70s Bear witness, How I Met Your Mother, Family Guy and some of the tastiest cuts from the vivid Robot Craven. It also contains a clever Volkswagen ad featuring a trivial kid as Darth Vader, and a lot of great promo clips from the Spike cable network. Some adequately baroque bits are included every bit well – including an extended sequence from Candid Camera in the 70s and an embarrassing song-and-trip the light fantastic toe number from the Donny and Marie bear witness. (The inclusion of the last bit makes i wonder why Lucas didn't include the infamous Star War Holiday Special here; it'due south mentioned in a couple of places and delivering it on Blu-ray after years of pretending it doesn't exist would seriously blow people's minds.)
The comedy clips are a serious mixed handbag, with some truly funny stuff mixed in with weak or reaching material. Unfortunately, the disc offers no way to access the private bits: you take to watch the whole matter and fast forrard to the parts that piece of work. It's a surprising misstep in an otherwise technically flawless set.
Conclusion
The quality of the Star Wars Blu-ray set easily outshines most of the controversy that heralded its release. The hated changes establish only a few minutes, contrasted by hours and hours of great material that no serious fan should miss. The flaws – and the more conspicuous absence of the original theatrical cuts of IV-VI – only illustrate how corking the rest of the set is. Had Lucas given into his fans and delivered the theatrical versions, he might have had a prepare for the ages. Equally it is, nosotros'll have to "settle" for a truly terrific drove, and hope the Bearded One finally gives the states his initial vision side by side fourth dimension around.
Nearly The Writer
Source: https://collider.com/star-wars-complete-saga-blu-ray-review/
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