Patrocles
Member
I've heard mix responses about the 'tweaks' made to the DVD release of SW IV-VI.
www.thedigitalbits.com/reviews3/starwarschanges.html
'Star Wars,' With Even More Digital Tweaks
By DAVE KEHR
Published: September 21, 2004
'The Star Wars Trilogy'
George Lucas has taken his own sweet time preparing "Star Wars" for DVD, but most fans will find the results worth the wait. Coming out today from 20th Century Fox Home Video, the four-disc "Star Wars Trilogy" box set presents faultless transfers of the first three films in Mr. Lucas's continuing trilogy of trilogies, otherwise known as "Episode IV: A New Hope" (1977), "Episode V: The Empire Strikes Back" (1980) and "Episode VI: The Return of the Jedi" (1983).
Owners of high-end home theater systems will now have new demo disks with which to annoy their friends, as they point out the incredibly crisp edge definition, the rich shadow detail and the satisfyingly deep blacks that Mr. Lucas and his engineers have brought to this collection.
Mr. Lucas has never stopped updating these films, which were made back in the Neolithic era of analog special effects. Though the editions here are based on the digitally refurbished prints that Mr. Lucas prepared for the 1997 "Special Edition" release, he has added a few more digital tweaks, most notably a completely reanimated Jabba the Hutt in "Episode IV."
Hard-core "Star Wars" fans continue to be divided over the merits of the revisions. (There are some revealing screen-shot comparisons at www.thedigitalbits.com/reviews3/starwarschanges.html.) Some support Mr. Lucas's determination to keep the series on the cutting edge of visual effects, while others regret that the films can no longer be seen as they were first released. Though this isn't quite the same as re-releasing "The Jazz Singer" in Dolby 5.1, the revisions do strip some of the patina - the pleasing marks of time - from the series. No longer rooted in late 1970's America, the films have become timeless in a banal sense, kicked outside the historical moment that produced them. $69.98. PG.
www.thedigitalbits.com/reviews3/starwarschanges.html
'Star Wars,' With Even More Digital Tweaks
By DAVE KEHR
Published: September 21, 2004
'The Star Wars Trilogy'
George Lucas has taken his own sweet time preparing "Star Wars" for DVD, but most fans will find the results worth the wait. Coming out today from 20th Century Fox Home Video, the four-disc "Star Wars Trilogy" box set presents faultless transfers of the first three films in Mr. Lucas's continuing trilogy of trilogies, otherwise known as "Episode IV: A New Hope" (1977), "Episode V: The Empire Strikes Back" (1980) and "Episode VI: The Return of the Jedi" (1983).
Owners of high-end home theater systems will now have new demo disks with which to annoy their friends, as they point out the incredibly crisp edge definition, the rich shadow detail and the satisfyingly deep blacks that Mr. Lucas and his engineers have brought to this collection.
Mr. Lucas has never stopped updating these films, which were made back in the Neolithic era of analog special effects. Though the editions here are based on the digitally refurbished prints that Mr. Lucas prepared for the 1997 "Special Edition" release, he has added a few more digital tweaks, most notably a completely reanimated Jabba the Hutt in "Episode IV."
Hard-core "Star Wars" fans continue to be divided over the merits of the revisions. (There are some revealing screen-shot comparisons at www.thedigitalbits.com/reviews3/starwarschanges.html.) Some support Mr. Lucas's determination to keep the series on the cutting edge of visual effects, while others regret that the films can no longer be seen as they were first released. Though this isn't quite the same as re-releasing "The Jazz Singer" in Dolby 5.1, the revisions do strip some of the patina - the pleasing marks of time - from the series. No longer rooted in late 1970's America, the films have become timeless in a banal sense, kicked outside the historical moment that produced them. $69.98. PG.