Star Wars, Episode IV- A New Hope (1977)

Star Wars (Episode IV - A New Hope) Original & Update #1

This is the classic sci-fi film, folks. If you are any kind of Star Wars fan, this DVD is a must for your collection. I've heard that George Lucas did not want to produce a DVD of the original theatric version of Star Wars, but felt compelled by fan demand. Even though the 1977 version is a mediocre-quality dub of the original film (& not anamorphic), it is wonderful to see it much the same way as I did when it was in the theater. Get it while it's still at a decent price, & still available! September 19, 2008

Restoring hope

I was born in April of 1972. My earliest memory is of the Bicentennial celebrations. I seem to remember watching people playing around with fireworks at our neighbor's house. But I'm not 100% sure these memories are accurate.

The first memory I know for sure is accurate is seeing "Star Wars" in 1977. This was back when it was just "Star Wars". Not "Star Wars: Episode IV: A New Hope". No, it was just a simple, single film.

But what a film it was! I am pretty sure I'd seen movies in theatres before this one, but I don't remember doing so. The first movie I remember seeing after this one is "Star Trek: The Motion Picture". When I got a little older, I remember being very happy every time I went to visit my Aunt Judy because she had HBO, and there was a decent chance they'd be showing Star Wars, so I'd get to see it again. When Christmas and birthdays rolled around, one of the things I'd always ask for was "Star Wars" action figures. My mom always made me use a magic marker to color their feet black so they wouldn't get mixed up with any owned by any of the neighbor kids.

Through the 1980's a lot of my life centered around the "Star Wars" films. I remember seeing "The Empire Strikes Back" and "Return of the Jedi" when they were first in theatres. Hell, I've even seen the abortion best known to the world as The Star Wars Holiday Special!

I provide this rather lengthy digression because I want to make it clear that this movie has had a huge impact on my life, and that's something reasonably common to my generation. We're called "Generation X", but in many ways we're really the "Star Wars" Generation. The earliest members of the generation would've been only twelve or thirteen when the first movie came out. The last ones were born when "Return of the Jedi" was still fresh.

With Star Wars George Lucas managed to take several diverse elements (mythology, Japanese cinema, westerns, etc), and combine them into a film that was truly universal in nature. You can take the movie to just about anywhere in the world and people will recognize elements familiar to them, even if they've never seen the movie before.

Even now, thirty-one years after the movie first premired, it's casting a shadow over the world of film. Along with such movies as "The Birth of a Nation" and "Citizen Kane", it completely recreated the way movies are made. Certainly it's one of the most influential films ever made. It's also far more accessible than either of those other two great movies.

Of course no real reflection on this movie could go by without taking notice of the amazing score by John Williams. Even now, I bet you can remember the sound of the music playing as Luke looked out at the twin suns setting, or the music playing as everyone but Chewbacca got medals, and of course you'll remember the amazing theme to the film's opening titles. The film's score gave a gravitas to science fiction music that had been previously reached only by "2001 - A Space Odyssey" (a film not nearly as good and very overrated), and even that movie's score was made impressive by the fact that it was lifted from the classical masters.

Of course back in 1997, many fans screamed, "Murther! Murther most foul!" when George Lucas released the special edition versions of the movies with enhanced special effects and the like. Me, I like the special edition versions of all three movies, especially the first. They don't change the story any, they are prettier to look at, and it was nice to see the movies in the theatres again.

The film is not without flaws. The dialogue is a little clunky and wooden (to those bitching about the prequels being shallow on the dialogue, I suggest you go back and listen to the first three films again). The characters are pretty one-dimensional for the most part.

But despite those flaws, the movie is spectacular, and even now has an impact that cannot be underestimated. I remember a few years ago, after it had first come out on DVD, I had a couple friends over for Christmas. We were talking, playing video games and just generally goofing around. While we were eating, I popped on the movie, and even though we'd all seen it a half a gazillion times, we were still enthralled and gave it our almost undivided attention to a film that came out in 1977. Now that's praise!

This isn't the best film in the sextology. That honor goes to The Empire Strikes Back. But it is the most important film, and one of the best movies ever made.

With this DVD you get the original film and you get the special edition version that was created for the original DVD release back in 2004. Which is better? Eh, honestly I prefer the special edition version, but that's just me. Either way, it's a wonderful buy. September 12, 2008

Everybody's favourite space fairytale

With Episode 2 currently in the theaters, and many people complaining about how shallow that movie is, and how unbelievable the story and how much better the original trilogy was etc, I think it's time to make a comment. First of all, Star Wars movies have NEVER,EVER,EVER had a good story. They're basically about the age-old tale of good vs. evil, set in various locations in a galaxy far far away. The plot is usually full of holes, the whole thing often depends on extreme coincidences and every Imperial superweapon has a verious obvious flaw that any apprentice engineer could have found in five minutes. This movie, Episode 4, is probably the most basic of them all. The main point is, Star Wars was never SUPPOSED to be about the story. It's basically a lot of (brilliant) nonsense put together, and it works just fine because the makers know that it's nonsense and make the best of it. That being said, the level of creativity in making up all those aliens, vehicles, space ships etc. is unmatched. When we look at Episode 4 specifically, we see a corny story full of lucky escapes and loose ends about a farmboy saving a princess, and the Universe too, while he is at it. The acting is nothing special, the dialogue can be god-awful at times (OK, not a bad as Episode 1), and the first hour of the movie is quite slow. But it's still a lot of fun ! Star Wars is entertainment and escapism in it's purest form. It was 25 years ago and it still is. August 29, 2008

The Original Movie, but it looks Horrible

Once again, Mr. Lucas has delivered crap and we are supposed grateful. With this set you get both movies, the main movie is the re-worked edition with all the silly additions, like the cartoon Jaba talking to Han; and the bonus disk is the old 1977 edition without all that crap. The "Special" Edition looks great and sounds great. The old "Un-Special" Edition looks and sounds horrible, its widescreen, but it looks like someone copied it from a vhs version. I was quite sad when I shove this in my DVD to watch just to get a really bad (I mean REALLY bad) copy of my favorite movie. So if you already have the "Special Edition" and want the original 1977 version, I can't say its worth spending money on this. August 26, 2008

This is why I waited

What do you look for in a STAR WARS DVD?

I have some friends who several years ago were visiting China and saw that the STAR WARS Trilogy was available there on DVD. This was almost a year before it was available in the United States. My friends didn't care that it came with Chinese subtitles. They just wanted STAR WARS on DVD and couldn't wait for a U.S. edition.

Likewise, there were many people like myself who simply wanted just the original movies that we saw in theaters as kids -- the original movies on DVD. If George Lucas wanted to throw in an extra special edition disc, or making-of, or what-have-you, then that would be fine. But that's why I didn't rush out and buy the STAR WARS Trilogy when it was first released -- because I knew it was not going to be the real STAR WARS. And I knew that eventually Lucas would release the originals. And I was willing to wait it out.

Is there another version which may someday catch my eye? Perhaps. I wouldn't mind owning a STAR WARS edition that contained all of the edited footage between Luke and Biggs on Tatooine. Or perhaps they may one day decide to re-do the Han Solo/Jabba the Hutt scene with a Jabba that looks like Jabba in RETURN OF THE JEDI. So, as far as "special editions" are concerned, I have no problem with adding new stuff, as long as it is the stuff that was originally filmed and not some useless musical number in Jabba the Hutt's palace (i.e. RETURN OF THE JEDI).

I suppose the best news is for those who enjoy having the movies revamped and "technologically updated" every few years. Because George Lucas doesn't seem to be slowing down in that area at all. He simply will not leave well enough alone.

But one thing that I hope will never change is the end. STAR WAR EPISODE IV: A NEW HOPE must always end with a victorious applause for our heroes. August 25, 2008

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