Star Wars - Dazzled Me in 1977, Still Dazzling Me Now

When I was a young lass of 11, Star Wars was released to the world. Those of you who know me and have read my reviews probably are figuring that I am a sci-fi geek-ette anyway so of course I headed out to see it.

You are wrong.

For months my parents bribed, begged, cajoled and practically stood on their heads to get me to see this movie. I wouldn't budge. You see, a friend at school had told me it was a scary movie and I refused to see it. At 11 I already believed my friends more than my parents.

Finally round about the end of August it ended up at the $1.50 movie theater about a mile from my home. A friend and I finally walked down to see it.

And I went back the next six nights.

The Star Wars: Special Edition was released to theaters several years ago. George Lucas took the opportunity of the movie's 20th anniversary of release to jazz it up a bit.

On VHS, the movie includes a documentary of Lucas talking about the original film versus this version. It is interesting to hear him talk about all that he wanted to do back then, but was impossible from a technical aspect. The crew was already inventing technology to do things in this movie that had never been done before.

One part of the documentary showed how Lucas and crew created the scenes of the X-Wing and TIE Fighter battle around the Death Star. Using various pieces from the model kits of the time, Lucas created a huge set-up in a parking lot. He then put the camera on the back of a pick-up truck and drove by it to capture the illusion of space flight.

The documentary also includes interviews with other members of the crew, as well as Mark Hamill, Carrie Fisher and Harrison Ford.

The movie itself in the Special Edition form has been tweaked as well as having scenes added to it. Lucas cleaned up the original print of the film which had deteriorated very badly at the point they went back to look at it. The scene as Luke Skywalker and Ben Kenobi look over Mos Eisley Spaceport has been jazzed up - ads well as their entrance into Mos Eisley. What looked like a hole-in-the-wall in the original film now looks like a fairly bustling place.

Lucas mentions his affinity for "whimsy" in the documentary, and I believe this is largely his motivation in the additions. There are more scenes that bring a smile or smirk to the face as we watch computer-generated creatures carry on in the background. This is why this movie is ripe for watching several times; there is always some nuance that you didn't catch the first time that will give you a chuckle.

Another scene that was greatly improved was the scene of the X-Wing fighters going into battle. We can now actually see the heads of the pilots in the cockpits as they make their way to attack the Death Star.

A scene of Han Solo with Jabba the Hut was filmed back in the seventies, but was deleted from the movie since Lucas couldn't figure out how to do what he wanted with the character of Jabba. It has now been added in, and gives some support to Jabba's relentless pursuit of Han Solo. It is also funny to watch Han walk around Jabba and step on his tail.

One scene that was revamped that I don't think needed it was the scene of Han Solo with Greedo in the Cantina. The point is made in the new film that Greedo shoots at Han first and misses, while in the original Han takes him out before he has a chance to get off a shot. Supposedly people objected to this, but I think the scene speaks to Han's instincts as a smuggler and as a not-so-nice guy at this point. He is a character we are supposed to see transform between the first film and the third film. The scene as it is in the Special Edition really weakens the character for me.

But Star Wars was, is, and always will be one of the greatest film I ever had the privilege to see. It is a classic story of good versus evil; of people rising up against an oppressive government; of how a farm boy on a desert planet can save the universe. The story is wonderfully simple and makes it easy for children of just about any age to comprehend.

This is one reason why this movie is one the whole family can enjoy. Because it is set in space with battles that are more fantasy than any reality we will know for many lifetimes, it is not a violent movie the way Die Hard or Terminator is. It is pure fantasy, and at the end of this one, the good guys win.

The Special Edition comes in widescreen format - and that's how I like my movies. I know Lucas is reluctant to release these three original movies on DVD, and I think it is because the DVD format is a much less forgiving one. The technology used to create the original movie was not computer generated imaging, but mostly models and bluescreen. This means in any scene not set in space, you will see a black outline around the ships. I have noticed this on quite a few of the DVDs of movies made before the age of CGI.

What Lucas has managed to clean up with the special edition probably isn't to his satisfaction to release the movies on DVD, but I hope one day he will. The music and THX sound from this deserves to be heard in theater-like quality. I would hope that people can understand just how ground-breaking this movie was, and look at it with a less critical eye and a more appreciative one.

Check out my reviews of the other Star Wars films at:

Star Wars: The Empire Strikes Back
Star Wars: Return of the Jedi
Star Wars: Attack of the Clones


Star Wars novel reviews:

Star Wars: The Truce at Bakura
Star Wars: Heir to the Empire
Star Wars: Dark Force Rising
Star Wars: The Last Command
Star Wars: The Courtship of Princess Leia

© 2001 Patti Aliventi