03. Review: Star Wars Trilogy DVD

Friday, March 25, 2005

May 19th. That day might not mean anything to the normal person, but for those that began a journey nearly thirty years ago to a galaxy far far away, that day means the end of an era and a way of life. That is the day that the final installment of the Star Wars Saga will be released, Episode III Return of the Sith. In this final movie, we will see the final transformation of the young boy we met on Tatooine in Episode I to the villian we all grew to hate in the Star Wars trilogy, Darth Vader.

I love the Star Wars movies. I don't think anyone could really know how much I love them. In 1977, at the tender age of one, it is the first time I went to a movie and remember it. Mom and dad went to a drive-in to go see it, and I remember watching it from the backseat. I then saw the next two in the trilogy at my mother's side at the theater we would always go to near my house. It was the only place near my house at the time.

Star Wars became a part of my life. I remember standing in these long lines for hours just to get in to theater to see Empire Strikes Back and Return of the Jedi. I remember the story. The triumph of good or evil in one battle only to be followed by another until the final battle takes place, and then it is all over. Following the final film, I heard of the books that followed telling the continued stories of the main characters. I remember buying them and reading them. I remember reading about Luke and Leia and Han. Leia and Han got married and had a couple of kids, and that used to make me laugh. I had almost the entire collection of books untul the eathquake in 1994 hit Northridge, and my building was codemned. I lost so much during that time.

Then I heard there was new movies coming out. I became so excited and enchanted once again by the story. This time not being told after the fact but before. I remember anxiously awaiting both the release dates for Episode I and II, and now my excitement is renewed with the release of Episode III coming soon.

I received the Star Wars Trilogy DVD set this past Christmas, and when I began to watch I was given a small sign that I was indeed a part of this huge thing during the documentary. The very theater I had gone to with my mother once shown for a five second period during the behind the scenes, and it brought me back a bit. These DVD's do bring you back to an earlier time in your lives. A simpler time perhaps.

within the DVD, you have the three original movies remastered and updated for the now. The sound is excellent, and the movies are just as beautiful as they were all those years ago on the big screen.

The fourth disc includes four hours of bonus features which are longer than the movies themselves. You have the trailers and tv spots that were released for each movie, three featurettes explaining the lightsaber, the characters and the impact the movies have had on the film industry. The longest portion of the fourth DVD is the documentary, The Empire of Dreams. This documentary goes through the entire making of the movie from the first moment it was thought of, through filming and afterwards to the ideas for the new films that are now being made.

The documentary showed the struggles that the creator of the films had during their filming. The problems with production and money that almost hendered the making of the saga that we now know. It gave you insight to what was possible to happen if things had gone differently. It showed audition tapes for those that were considered for the roles, and those that were showed are also big names in the business now. Little facts like the main character's original last name was not Skywalker but Starkiller and that Luke wasn't originally the twin they wanted to be the leader but Leia was originally.

For those interested in the new movies, there is a preview of the making of Episode III with a behind the scene look at Darth Vader specifically. This was probably the only bad part of the DVD. Not for its content because that was excellent. It seemed the audio was off from the video track, so it played funny. The rest of the DVD is fine though. It was only this one portion that did not mesh together well.

These DVD's are a wonderful addition to anyone's library. There are not many in the world that are not at least somewhat aware of these movies. Any person would do well by adding these DVD's to their collection.