I read Holly E. Ordway's DVD review of Star Wars Trilogy at http://www.dvdtalk.com/reviews/read.php?ID=12228 and...

I enjoyed the review except for one thing:

IT'S THE PAST. Unless that's been changed too, the movies started Long, Long, Ago... Lucas doesn't present a usable future at all, it is a useable past

holly, are the endings given away on the plot synopsis on the back of each keep case?

am_dragon: hehe, good point. I'd argue, though, that it "feels" like the future even though the story is technically set in the past. And the term "used future" comes right out of the commentary/documentary material, so clearly Lucas & co. think of it as the future, too!

Rypro: no, the keepcase blurbs are nicely spoiler-free. Well, they do give away stuff from the previous film (though not much) but they don't spoil the ending of that particular film.

Lucas probably forgot he set these in the past. Heck, he'll probably change the taglines in the NEXT editions:

"A long, long time from now, in another universe where fanboys don't complain about directors updating their films..."

Holly, regarding the Indiana Jones dvd set (stay with me) I felt that IMHO the theme music became a little overbearing at times and drew my attention away from the on screen action. Did you feel this at all with the Star Wars set?

Did you think that any of the surround usage felt artifically enhanced or overdone?

Thanks for the great review.

Thanks for the kind words!

I thought the surround sound was extremely well done, and not overdone at all; my feeling was that the surround effects were chosen from sounds that made sense as surround effects, rather than just shoe-horning in any old part of the soundtrack. As I mention in the review, the only thing that wasn't as good as it could have been was the volume, which gets a bit too aggressive in some of the action scenes. But I don't give 4 1/2 stars lightly, so the soundtrack really does deserve it

For the music, I found it to be very well integrated into the film, probably because the *whole* score is excellent, not just the "trademark theme." It's hard to say if anyone would find it overbearing; I didn't at all, but I also think that the music is one of the really outstanding elements of the film to begin with. In any case, there weren't any sections that really "stuck out" more than other musical sections - if you pay attention to the music, it'll be because you really like it, not because it's thrust in your face.

also, do they keep away from the biggie revelation at the end of esb in the rotj blurb? (i have a friend who wants to watch these, that has never seen the films before, and doesn't know the endings)

There's an oblique reference, but it doesn't spell it out. I'd recommend that your friend not read any of the blurbs, frankly - no need to even risk spoilers if they're not necessary.

It's refreshing to see someone (else) recognize that NOT the entire world knows the storyline inside and out. Note that I don't include any spoilers in my review! Even if you've seen the films before, it's nice to be able to re-watch them after they've dimmed in memory somewhat, and have it be a fresh experience. (For that reason, I'm not enthused with the spoiler-ish background images on the menus, but at least you can skip past them quickly.)

Why don't you just tell him/her not to read the back of the case?

I find it hard to believe that there are many human beings left on this planet who aren't familiar with the general storylines and biggest "Luke, I am your....." twists of these films even if they haven't actually seen them.

Everybody knows what Rosebud is, even if they haven't watched Citizen Kane.

Star Wars and Kane are just so permeated into the pop culture consciousness that it's practically impossible to not know all about them unless you've willfully avoided them, fingers in your ears and singing "La la la..." for years.

The tricky thing with spoilers is that if YOU (the generic you, not you personally, Josh) know something, it's really hard not to assume that *everyone* also knows it... but there will be those who don't.

I don't know what Rosebud is.

And personally, I *do* try to actively avoid finding out the details of films or books that I might be interested in. Granted, I think it would be really hard in the case of Star Wars, but not impossible. As part of a community of (let's be frank here) geeks, we're likely to overstate the familiarity that other people will have with the material. (I'm guilty of that with Star Trek. I mean, doesn't *everybody* know what a Vulcan is?!?)

As for not reading the back of the case - that's the most sensible thing to recommend, but it's also good to *know* whether there are spoilers or not. I've been known to recommend a book to my husband with the warning "Do not under any circumstances even LOOK at the back, since it gives away a huge spoiler!" I'll also go through some DVD menus with my eyes half squinted shut to avoid the ^&^%$! spoiler images. (I'm actually more likely to do this with a movie that I *have* seen before, since a "spoiler image" or reminder about the plot could spark that 'Oh yeah... I'd forgotten about that!" moment that I try to delay as much as possible. Yes, I cherish narrative surprises more than perhaps most people. It's a simple pleasure and I like it.)

Your brain can assimilate information faster than your conscious mind can say "Aaargh! Don't read that!!!" It's just kind of nice that the SW packaging (if not the menus) is pretty spoiler-free.

I, for one, am completely excited for this. The changes don't p*ss me off like the others here. Yes, he should preserve the originals as well as offer us these, but oh well. Here they are-Did you see the restoration of these films? Good God!!! I've never seen them this pretty. go to http://www.thedigitalbits.com and click on their review to see shots, you'll be amazed.

Can't wait, can't wait, can't wait!

A bit off-topic, but why don't you treat yourself this weekend and fire up Citizen Kane?

Man, to be able to see something like that for the first time...

I don't know who Rosebud is, and I guarantee you that many ppl in my peer group(college) don't.

I'm in college too, and just saw Kane for the first time a few weeks ago. I didn't know what Rosebud was beforehand either, and had made a conscious effort to avoid finding out. Y'know what? The film doesn't suck But seriously, I wasn't disappointed at all. In fact I was so impressed by it that I went to the library the next day and got a biography on Orson Welles. To be only 25 and make a movie that good is hard to believe.

Sorry to get off-topic. Great review Holly. I've already pre-ordered my box-set, and it sounds like I won't be disappointed

Thats the best SW Trilogy DVD Review I've read!

hey, i didn't know the ending of either of those 2 movies when i first saw them (97 for empire) about 2002 for kane.

Thanks for the great review. Especially for not including any spoilers, since I am one of the five people on the planet (or so it seems) who has never seen this trilogy. It's good to know that the changes from 1997 and now blend seamlessly, so I won't even notice them.

Thanks for all the kind words!

Not only do I know what "Rosebud" was in "Citizen Kane," but I also know what the real "Rosebud" was.

Of course, eventually when all six movies are released, if you watch them in actual "episode" order, just about EVERY surprise from the original trilogy is spoiled by the so called prequals!

Nice Review

I have a question. While I didn't mind many of the changes in the special edition, there were a few that disturbed me. The famous Gredo exchange, and the hideous yell that luke did when falling in cloud city after his confrontation with Darth Vader. From my understanding, this DVD edition has the yell removed, and further changes to the Gredo scene which which makes Han and Gredo fire much closer together, rather than Gredo clearly firing first (unlike the original version where Han clearly fires first, or is the only one firing...it's been so long, i'm starting to forget).

Anyway, my biggest complaint about the special edition was the scene in Empire in the Ice Cave....no, I didn't mind the additional shots with the creature (wampa?), that was fine. What threw me was the way they changed the soundtrack/score during this scene. In the original version, it was very dark, and scary. However in special edition, half way through, the music becomes uplifting, and doesn't seem to fit the scene very well. This is probably my biggest complaint about the special edition, as I thought John Williams score in the original, was far superior then what was done in the special edition. Perhaps they did this due to time syncing issues when doing the special edition.

Can you confirm that the snow cave scene, still has this changed, uplifting soundtrack, or did they tweek this a bit and make it more like the original score, for this scene? I'm sure I'll know in one weeks time, but I've seen no mention of this anywhere, and it isn't usually mentioned by those who griped about the S.E. changes.

P.S. Great review.

I'm going to buy the Holy Trilogy and enjoy it if its the last thing I do. Only George Lucas has the arrogance to deny the original theatrical releases to fans of the movies, but I'll buy these 'updates' since its either that or worn out VHS tapes.

You can't be serious about the Ewoks. They very nearly ruined Return of the Jedi with a bad case of the Cutes. By the end of it I was waiting for someone to give Chewbacca a tummy rub while Luke and Leia tap dance around the trees. I mean really!

More changes found here :

http://**************.com/articles.php?a=2374