EW's Star Wars Trilogy DVD review

[wookiee_cookiee]

*

Star Wars Trilogy
*Reviewed by Dalton Ross

'STAR' POWER At long last: The glorious Star Wars Trilogy, brimming with extras, hits DVD
*

Yes, it’s incredible (save for one unfortunate excursion to Endor). And yes, it looks and sounds fantastic on DVD. But we knew we could count on that. The real question: Would George Lucas treat us to some tasty extras? And would he dare mess with his cinematic classics yet again? The answers are yes and yes.

* Hey, where’s Sebastian Shaw? While the actor still appears as Anakin after Darth Vader’s helmet is removed in Return of the Jedi, Lucas has taken his glowing visage from the very end and inserted a scraggly-haired Hayden Christensen. Regular Palpatine player Ian McDiarmid also pops up, as the Emperor in The Empire Strikes Back. (Goodbye, Clive Revill!) And in one unwelcome alteration, a posse of merry Gungans now cavort in the closing Jedi celebration montage.

* Remember that wimpy yelp Lucas added to Luke’s plunge through Cloud City on the 1997 Star Wars ''special edition'' re-releases? Gone! He’s also fiddled again with the Han Solo/Greedo confrontation. Greedo still shoots first (don’t get me started on that!), but now Han’s reaction isn’t so painfully slow.

* While the commentaries feature too much of sound guru Ben Burtt, there are revealing tid-bits, such as Lucas killing Obi-Wan off because he had nothing for him to do after leaving the Death Star, and Harrison Ford ad-libbing his famous I know” response to Princess Leia’s “I love you” before being dropped into carbon freeze. That scruffy nerf-herding genius!

* The Force is seriously strong with the ''Empire of Dreams'' doc. At 150 minutes, it features bloopers, a scrapped scene on Cloud City, and audition footage from folks who didn’t get the gig, like Kurt Russell (for Han Solo) and Cindy Williams (for Leia).

* But wait, there’s more! doc on the characters reveals that at one point Luke was going to be a dwarf (paging Warwick Davis!); rough-cut duels populate ''The Birth of the Lightsaber''; and Episode III preview shows Christensen being fitted for Vader mask (insert goose bumps here). Most intriguing are photos scenes that never made it final films -- among them, Luke’s visit to Tosche Station and additional wampa attack Hoth. Talk about a tease!

* Supreme films. Supreme treatment. Supreme extras. Yes, I wish Lucas would also make the original versions available (like his pal Spielberg did with E.T.), but that’s just purist geek talking. Regular old geek is still drooling... and this time it has nothing to do with Leia’s slave-girl bikini.

Entertainment Weekly

 

[Darth Boru]

Less that 36 hours to go.......drooooollllll.



Yes, I WILL be first in line at the store, mostly becuase the weather is sooo stinky no-one (except the mental - leave them to it!) will wait out ovennight, and yes, partly because I've booked the day of work.

No prizes for guessing how I'M spending Monday

 

[wookiee_cookiee]

I have to wait until payday on Thursday since I kinda forgot to stash some cash for the OT. :whoops: Oh well.

 

[Borsk]

Careful. If you wait too long to get it, Wuher might be shooting first.

 

[Buzz Bumble]

Less that 36 hours to go.......drooooollllll.

You're a bit slow, it's already out here in New Zealand ... at one chain of stores anyway.

The Harvey Norman chain has been advertising the Trilogy DVDs as being "in store" on the 19 September (today!). I'm not sure if "in store" means you can actually buy one and take it away or whether you only get to see the box "in person" and pre-order.

I can't be bothered facing the hordes of weekend shoppers, but I might find out tomorrow afternoon. I have to go somewhere to work and if I finish there like I normally do the shops will still be open for another hour or so and I'll probably go and see if I can pick up my copy (they're also advertising the cheapest price of NZ$68.95 - although there's still a couple of big chain stores I haven't seen the prices for yet).

Just one small problem ... I don't have a DVD player.

 

[Borsk]

Slightly off-topic.

[vent]
If I see another commercial for the DVDs or Battefront, I'm going to break something. They're in practically every commercial break. It's one of the most anticipated DVD releases ever, you'd think they could chill on the TV spots. Uggghhh!
[/vent]

 

[Buzz Bumble]

The Harvey Norman chain has been advertising the Trilogy DVDs as being "in store" on the 19 September (today!). I'm not sure if "in store" means you can actually buy one and take it away or whether you only get to see the box "in person" and pre-order.

GRRR!!! Sneaky {bepp}ing {beep} {beep}s!! :toed:

It was just a scam to get people in there. They had empty boxes on display, but you could only pre-order it. Well I won't be buying it there, that'll teach 'em.

Oh well, only one night to go and I can pick up the Trilogy DVDs.

The box is quite small. All the images make it look MUCH bigger than it really is.

 

[wookiee_cookiee]

I haven't seen too many commercials, I saw one during the emmy awards.

I wonder if DVD player sales will go up, because some SW fans don't have DVD players like Buzz. They have cheap DVD players at Wal*Mart for $40 now, which is probably cheaper than the DVD set!

Anyone want to share how much their set cost? I wonder who has the lowest price...

 

[AmShak]

i think compusa has the lowest that i have seen, for $39. most of the ads in the paper do not list a price. target usually has a good price on new dvds during the first week of release.

 

[Buzz Bumble]

The price here is about NZ$70 (about US$46) and unfortunately that sneaky retailer above is the cheapest so far, although only by abouts US$0.70. I've still got two big retail chains to check, but I'll probably get it at Whitcoulls where they also have a competition running with it.

 

[Borsk]

I haven't seen too many commercials, I saw one during the emmy awards.

I wonder if DVD player sales will go up, because some SW fans don't have DVD players like Buzz. They have cheap DVD players at Wal*Mart for $40 now, which is probably cheaper than the DVD set!

Anyone want to share how much their set cost? I wonder who has the lowest price...

If you watched *any* football over the weekend, they were in just about every commercial break.

 

[AmShak]

i got mine at best buy so i could get the free issue of the insider and paid $42 i think. price tag on it was $52.

 

[Jedi Freezeman]

Picked mine up at Wal-Mart (12:01 am Tuesday Morning about $42) What can I say ? :worship: I'm a Star Wars nut. Watched EPIV When I got home and V and VI today. Haven't finished Jedi Yet... Picked up the DVD Trilogy Edition Figures since they were only $10.00 each pack...

Does anyone know of a forum or website that has the easter eggs listed for the DVD's? I thought I saw a few somewhere but can't seem to find the link now.

 

[wookiee_cookiee]

I googled and found this:
http://movieweb.com/dvd/eggs/egg.php?upc=024543123453

Insert the Bonus Materials disc. from the Main Menu, access the 'Video Game' and 'Still Galleries' option. Once there, hit a variation of 1138 on your remote control in whatever way you setup allows. If all is working correctly the box next to R2-D2 will light up. Select it by pressing ENTER and revealing a 4 and a half minute long bloopers / outakes reel from all three films!