Baumann

For anyone that has an inkling of what I’m all about, when it comes to my interests, it’s easy to nail the first as Wine and Fine Dining (my entire life is centered around it), but no matter what I am faithful to the most, the next on my list will always be Star Wars. These films, especially The Empire Strikes Back, have been so ingrained in my life, it’s impossible to imagine a scenario without them. My relationships with friends and even some family would be different without the common ground to relate to, I’d likely have had little interest in Sci-Fi and Fantasy until say Alien and The Matrix trilogies were seen, and least importantly, I’d be less of a couch potato, but let’s be realistic; there is no greater joy that I get from any other media I’ve laid eyes on. And I LOVE watching films and television. Star Wars will always hold a special place in my “very soul, tormenting me.”

That said, it really kind of upsets me when people, specifically childish morons on Internet boards, can’t respect the product and want it “their way”. If it were “their way” it wouldn’t be Star Wars at all. Let’s be clear first: This is not a complaint. This is a descriptive review of the latest release to grace my Blu Ray player but also a response to the unbelievably scathing remarks that the Internet is aflame with once again because George Lucas decided to alter the original films even more from the Star Wars Saga, with my unbridled enthusiastic take on the whole experience. That’s right, it’s a Saga. For me, it is impossible to look at the films of the “original” trilogy without including a reference to the impressive work done on the more recent prequel trilogy of films. Let’s be honest, if most people had approached watching these three new films as I had (knowing damn well that my age at the time came with some level of analytics and critical thinking as well as the facile ability to be pessimistic), and remembered what it meant to watch the first three as a child, these complaints would (hopefully) largely not exist at all. Fortunately, one of my oldest friends; someone with whom I shared many sleepless and/or drunken nights discussing rhapsodically the effect all six films had on us, still agrees with this point of view. Also, the most important person in my life watching these with me is as enthusiastic about the films now preserved in High Definition as I am. To quote a certain goldenrod professor: “Thank the maker!”

Fair warning: This is one of those rants where I ask myself questions and immediately answer them for an emphasizing effect.

The Star Wars Saga is now available on Blu Ray, showcased in a simple, yet elaborate book-like packaging that immediately gives a sense of wonder knowing that what’s inside is something special. 9 discs: The films themselves, plus about triple the length of them in bonus features separated into three categories (Prequels, Originals, Documentaries) and organized by “Location” (e.g. “Hoth” then “Dagobah” instead of a simple chapter type listing). The added bonus of the features on these discs is not just the ability to simply play through them all as an option, but to resume where you left off if stopped. Amazing, given the immensity of the extras alone. Included here area few documentaries dating back as far as ’77 that are very entertaining, the more recent Star Wars Tech look at the validity of physics and technology used in the films compared to our world (very cool) and a 90 minute compilation of various spoofs and cultural references throughout film and television over the years. Notably, the Robot Chicken Parodies, Tom Tom and SpikeTV Commercials, and several references from SNL including Kevin Spacey’s ridiculously hilarious impression of Christopher Walken’s “Han Solo Screen Test” and Bill Murray’s Lounge Singer rendition of the title theme. Outstanding. At first I lamented the omission of two amazing documentaries: Empire of Dreams and The Beginning. I realized though, that purchasing them again was unnecessary given that a 1080p presentation wouldn’t have an added effect. Still, it would’ve been cool if the packaging had some extra room to slip those DVDs in. Keep in mind that all of these extras from the Lucasfilm Archives are exactly that: different archival interviews and footage not previously released. So don’t throw out your special feature discs from the DVDs just yet.

As for the film themselves, holy shit. Yes, I know that the scans of these films were done in 2004 for the DVD release at the then state of the art 2K resolution and that they are not the highest quality possible these days (most film scans for an HD restoration go as high as 8K), but when I watch these in this “minimal” high definition, the result is still breathtaking. Yes, there are still problems, artifacts, goofs, and garbage mattes, but seriously, these films have been through a lot in the last 30 years. Thanks to the attention put into the mastering process by Lucasfilm amd Lowery Digital, most of those problems are now fixed. Gone are muted lightsaber glow and colors; the original films’ sabers now have the luminosity and consistency of the prequels save for two exceptions. When Luke uses his Father’s blade for the remote training it still doesn’t look quite as good. Better than before, but not yet perfect. Also, in the Death Star lightsaber duel, there is still that shot of Obi-Wan holding the saber straight out and its clearly the prop. Oddly, amongst things that I think should be fixed, one glaring error still stands out inexplicably. When Obi-Wan slices that guy’s arm off in the Cantina, the shot of it on the ground is still covered in blood. Don’t lightsabers cauterize? At least most of the other problems are now a thing of the past. Unless of course, you insist on watching the theatrical versions, then I guess you must enjoy the flaws. The matte boxes around the TIE fighters and Star Destroyers are now gone and thank god. As impressed as I was seven years ago with the visual quality of the films on DVD, that mastering process actually made those problems even more clear and very irritating. I couldn’t help but think: if Lucas is so apt to add new CGI effects, why wouldn’t he polish up the old ones so that they don’t look like models over a painted background with fuzzy shadowboxes around them? I finally got the answer. There really is no comparison to any previous version as far as sound and picture quality. That said, one of the chief complaints about this release is that once again, Lucas chose not to include the original theatrical versions of the films. Did I miss something here? I seem to remember that after the uproar in 2004, Lucas caved and offered the originals on DVD just to shut everybody up. It didn’t work; most people saw it as a real “fuck you” to the fans because not only were the originals not cleaned up at all for that release, but they were given a non-anamorphic transfer and left with only one 2.0 surround track. For any film enthusiast, this is a clear oversight, for Lucas, it’s the minimal showcase of these original films and I believe I know what he’s thinking. I grew up watching Star Wars. My first memory of it was seeing Return of the Jedi when I was wee. Read: way too young to remember what that experience was like. Instead, I remember countless repeated viewings of the three films on crappy, non boxed-set, non THX-Certified, Pan and Scan VHS tapes that would often disintegrate from so many passings through the machine head. I remember being plagued by the 4:3 aspect ratio when I was a kid when Luke declares “there’s sandpeople all right, I can see one of them now.” I would always frustratingly say “WHERE?!?” I was part of the generation of fans that had only experienced it on the small screen. Hell, that was a focus for advertising the 1997 Special Edition re-release. Fortunately, once I got that chance it was responsible for my insistence that all films I owned from that point be Widescreen, soon after came DVD then 16:9 Televisions and it became a non-issue. That 1997 re-release was magical. It not only gave me the chance to view the films in their “upgraded” theatrical splendor, but also reinvigorated my passion for them and excitement for the next installments. Gasoline on an already roaring fire. I still remember getting those VHS cassettes and hearing my father comment on how visually stunning the restoration was. It was impressive then, it’s reached critical mass now. The restoration and high definition mastering of these films is amazing. Are the changes and additions necessary? Some of them absolutely are, others aren’t. But seriously, if you think that Lucas is the first filmmaker to go back and alter his work to match his creative vision you’ve got to have your head examined. Why do some people think it detracts from the viewing experience? I’m with George on this one because, with a couple of exceptions, the changes enhance the saga entirely. I have watched the original theatrical versions of the films on DVD. I don’t need to again. It doesn’t evoke a sense of wonder in me that is any more significant than the updated versions. In fact, because their effects are so dated when compared to the prequels, try watching all six together and to me, that would detract from the experience. Since the very first alteration of Star Wars in 1981 with the opening crawl reading Episode IV: A New Hope, Lucas has modified these films to conform to his ultimate vision. Will he ever be finished? Of course not. Captain Nemo has to get his whale. Is this something you should be concerned with? Absolutely not. Wether you like the prequels or not, you simply have to acknowledge their existence by the fact that there is a backstory and it revolves around the Fall (and eventual Redemption) of Anakin Skywalker. The original trilogy’s focus was Vader; all of the other characters and events revolve around Vader. The prequels not only enrich the storyline with the tragedy of Anakin’s transformation, they are pretty fucking cool. Since they were made with state of the art CGI and filmmaking methods it’s only natural for Lucas to want to have all six of his films to not only have a similar look and feel, but that when now watching them in order, there is a seamless transition between trilogies. The Blu Ray finally accomplishes this. The prequels were shot with the latest in CGI technology enabling them to be spectacles of worlds and environments people can only dream of. Coruscant alone is the best example of this. The special effects are elaborate, detailed, and everywhere, adding to the depth and complexity of this imaginary galaxy for one reason, to make it more of a reality. The difference here is that it’s digital effects added to sets, models, and matte paintings. It’s still the same style, just evolved. The most satisfying shot is aboard the Tantavie IV at the end of Revenge of the Sith. Obi-Wan and Yoda join Bail Organa (Jimmy Smitts) in that familiar hallway to figure out what to do about the slaughter of the Jedi. The shot is gorgeous, with clean and bright lighting that especially evokes a feeling of newness and stability. Switch to the first scene in A New Hope and it looks not only like the same set, but the dated, and now weathered coloring of the ship can finally be explained with one answer from the storyline itself: it’s 18 years later. It’s not perfect, nothing is. However, it did make both me and my girlfriend gasp at the quality and interrupt the dialogue with commentary between ourselves at just how damn impressive these 30 year old films actually look. Watching all six in chronological order is a joy. The 1997 versions gave us new creatures at Mos Eisley, and a scene with Jabba that aside from one overdubbed line in the previous scene, is cleverly done given it was originally shot with an actor playing Jabba and it establishes Boba Fett as a presence in the film. Even if for a second; entirely advantageous given his involvement in Attack of the Clones. They gave us a Cloud City that had windows and really looks like “a city in the clouds.” Han shoots first? Let’s clarify this. Han shoots. There was no other shot. There is still quite a fanboy war over this one. Since the 2004 restoration, both Han and Greedo shoot simultaneously. Personally, I think Lucas didn’t want little kids walking away with their first impression of one of the film’s protagonists being that of a cold blooded murderer. Just my opinion. Fortunately, the dialogue in the scene was restored. I found it much more irritating that Han would mouth the words “I’ll bet you have.” 2004 also gave us not only the image of Ian McDiarmid as the Emperor in The Empire Strikes Back, but also additional dialogue between him and Vader that I think is quite fitting. Why does everyone get upset because they removed the woman who was the emperor in that original shot and obviously dubbed by Clive Revell? I really don’t get it. Changes like that are valid and in my eyes make the whole thing better.

As for the new additions and changes in this release, what’s the problem? The Ewoks blink now. Pause. Watch the documentary from 1983 on the “creatures” created for Return of the Jedi. They could always blink. Vader says “Noooooo” when throwing the Emperor down the shaft. Did you watch it yet? He not only says “Noooooo” as he lifts the Emperor off the ground, but right before that there is a resounding “NO” that seems to envelope the sound field and resonates through every channel and is actually pretty cool. Yoda is now all digital in The Phantom Menace. The puppet in that movie wasn’t the same puppet as in The Empire Strikes Back. It looked like shit. You know it. I know it. I seem to remember shrieking like a little girl when Yoda’s lightsaber first ignited and he spun around like a top slashing away at that stunt guy swinging at air with Christopher Lee’s face superimposed on his head. I know it’s fake. Does it look fake? Nope. Does it look even better on Blu Ray? Absolutely. Is it still one of my all time favorite moments in any of the six films? You bet your ass it is. Digital Yoda: A. Fucking. +. After watching that I still love the puppet Yoda in Empire but would I be upset if Lucas decided to put the digital version in? Doubtful, only because now when you watch them in sequence, Yoda looks strange because he’s not digital. I read that they had tests done and couldn’t make it work with the live sets of Dagobah. Probably in the next revision…

That brings up another point I have read countless times. “What about the artists other than Lucas whose hard work is invalidated because he cuts it from the film or changes it to digital?” This argument is completely baseless. How many countless scenes, actors, models, effects, and ideas have been left on the cutting room floor in the entire history of motion pictures? Way too many to even quantify. Weren’t these people all paid for their work, even if their entire contribution isn’t seen on one single frame? Shit, if that’s your argument, then shouldn’t the voice of Darth Vader be David Prowse? After all, he’s the one in the suit speaking to the actors as they filmed it all. So, that’s ok? But say, doing the reverse for Frank Oz by removing his physical puppetry of Yoda with animation and keeping only his voice is wrong? Sure. I know one thing that Lucas has never changed are the original credits.

Bottom line is that there may be reasons that people think that Lucas is crazy for “ruining their childhood” by changing these things. Am I one of them? No. Will these new discs get the paint worn off from the centrifugal force of being spun around endlessly in my Blu Ray player? You betcha.