Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #18270 in DVD
• Released on: 2006-12-11
• Rating: Universal, suitable for all
• Aspect ratio: 1.78:1
• Formats: Anamorphic, Box set, PAL, Special Edition
• Original language: English
• Number of discs: 6
• Running time: 371 minutes

Synopsis
STAR WARS EPISODES 4-6 is available in a limited edition tin box set, which includes both the digitally remastered and original cinema versions of each film. STAR WARS - A NEW HOPE, George Lucas's stunning sci-fi masterpiece, is arguably one of the most inventive and entertaining films ever made, garnering generations of loyal fans who are forever imprinted with the memory of its characters and dialogue. As the adventure begins, Luke Skywalker (Mark Hamill), an impulsive but goodhearted young man who lives on the dusty planet of Tatooine with his aunt and uncle, longs for the exciting life of a Rebel soldier. The Rebels, led by the headstrong Princess Leia (Carrie Fisher), are fighting against the evil Empire, which has set about destroying planets inhabited by innocent citizens with the Death Star, a fearsome planet-like craft commanded by Grand Moff Tarkin (Peter Cushing) and the eternally frightful Darth Vader (David Prowse, with the voice of James Earl Jones). When Luke's aunt and uncle are murdered by the Empire's imperial stormtroopers and he finds a distress message from Princess Leia in one of his androids, R2-D2 (Kenny Baker), he must set out to find Obi-Wan Kenobi (Alec Guinness), a mysterious old hermit with incredible powers. On his journey, Luke is aided by the roguish, sarcastic mercenary Han Solo (Harrison Ford) and his towering furry sidekick Chewbacca (Peter Mayhew) as they run into a host of perilous situations while trying to rescue the princess--and the entire galaxy. THE EMPIRE STRIKES BACK is considered the most morally and emotionally complex of this original trilogy and continues where Lucas's epic saga STAR WARS - A NEW HOPE left off. The Rebel Forces--which still include young adventurer Luke Skywalker, rogue pilot Han Solo, and the beautiful but seemingly humourless Princess Leia--have been successful in destroying the Evil Empire's Death Star. However, the Empire's top commander, the terrifying Lord Darth Vader, is scanning the galaxy for the Rebels' secret location. After a visually stunning-showdown on the ice planet Hoth, the Rebels are forced to flee, and Luke separates from Han and Leia. Masterful storytelling weaves multiple, archetypal plotlines that pit Vader against Han and Leia as he desperately attempts to capture Luke for political--and, secretly, personal--reasons. Luke, meanwhile, finds himself under the tutelage of the tiny but powerful old Jedi Master Yoda, who teaches him the ways of the Force and warns the impatient but talented student against the threat of the Dark Side. Greek tragedy meets a philosophical hero's journey in the film, a remarkable sci-fi epic in which the performances are as powerful as the spectacular special effects.In RETURN OF THE JEDI--the final part of the trilogy--Luke Skywalker embarks on a mission to find out if one of his enemies is a relation of his. Along for the ride are Princess Leia, Han Solo and other familiar faces from the first two movies. Jabba the Hut and the furry, adorable Ewoks are just some of the bizarre new creatures they encounter in this third action-packed, special effects-filled installment of the phenomenally popular STAR WARS series.

Customer Reviews

They are the original versions
Warts and all.
The scenes related by the previous reviewer were never in the movie.
1 and 2 are famous cut-scenes and can be found on the making magic CD Rom from about ten years ago but never appeared on the big screen.
3 is from the paperback adaptation, to my knowledge never filmed.
Personally I would wait before buying this set simply because this year (2007) is the film's 30th birthday and it would be very surprising if they don't release a special anniversary addition (Maybe with those deleted scenes) that will blow this release out of the water, unless you really want to watch the films in rose-tinted-spec-o-vision!

At Last!!
Well it's taken long enough but for all of those waiting to see the version of the Star Wars trilogy that they remember from the cinema, before Mr. Lucas decided to make an extra buck or two by 'improving' them, the wait is over. Contrary to the statement made by another reviewer these are the original theatrical releases (two of the three scenes he says are now 'missing' were cut before Star Wars was ever released and although stills do exist of those scenes they were never part of the film as seen at cinemas. The third he mentions is still there, though he is remembering it incorrectly.) Don't expect 5.1 Dolby, cleaned negatives or anything other than the films as they were thirty years ago (and yes, it looks like 30 year old film stock), and that's exactly as it should be. If you want the cleaned, enhanced, 'special' editions they are here as well but for me they just serve as a reminder of why George should have left the originals alone.

The originals - with every effort spared
Watching the original versions of the original Star Wars trilogy on DVD is like travelling back in time - not so much to the innocence of youth but more to the days when picture quality was never much of a consideration on video releases and Fox had the reputation for the worst transfers in the business. Watching the PAL DVDs is to step back into an age of low resolution standards conversions from NTSC to PAL with all the loss of detail and motion blurring that that entailed: certainly if you've got one of the old remastered video releases you might as well hold on to that, because the quality isn't as poor as this. The sound quality is pretty awful as well. From Lucas' past track record it's all too easy to imagine this is just a scam to allow him to sell a remastered version a couple of years down the line, but it's even harder to dispel the notion that somewhere Lucas is whining "See how soft the focus is? How can you say these are better films?"

Although commonly blamed for the death of cinema as we knew it, in truth Star Wars was a huge breath of fresh air after the increasingly stale and formulaic week-in, week-out reality of woefully unimaginative and derivative downbeat on-the-cheap 70s cinema. It wasn't merely a matter of having a happy ending, more that there was a sense of panache and unapologetic adventure that had been missing for too long at the time (even the decade's best adventures, such as The Wind and the Lion and The Man Who Would Be King, saw their heroes destroyed by society in an age that had no place for them). Looking at it for the first time in years, its much better directed than remembered, extremely well constructed and beautifully designed, introducing the `future is old' concept that many would attribute to Ridley Scott. It also, unlike the prequels, has the saving grace of Han Solo, a character whose deprecating sense of humor undercuts the more solemn and potentially pretentious moments in a way that would be much missed amid the talk of apprentices, trade embargoes and midi-chloridians in the prequels. It's still fun and it still works, even in the very worst transfer of the originals. (Incidentally, the 'missing scenes' with Biggs that reviewer Leonard Kennedy complains about were never in any version of the film, although they were shot.)

The Empire Strikes Back suffered the least in the special edition reworkings (although the clunky rewriting of the scene with the Emperor shows Lucas' leaden touch with dialog only too clearly) and as a transfer suffers the least of the original versions, but it's still not good enough. The film itself holds up surprisingly well, fully deserving its reputation as the best (and naturally least commercially successful) of the series. A lot of the credit has to go to co-writer Leigh Brackett, with the film's verbal sparring having a classic Hollywood feel to it that gives it a mixture of the best of both worlds, while keeping things moving at a brisk pace. Irvin Kershner's direction brings the best out of the cast too, while the action scenes - particularly the battle on the ice - are the best in the series. It's just a shame that the film's (genuinely unexpected at the time) cliffhanger was thrown away in the follow-up.

Return of the Jedi isn't as bad as the scarred memories of working at a movie theatre showing it five times a day for 12 weeks would have it, but it's still the least of the series. With no producer or studio to rein him in this time, Lucas offers something that's little more than a rehash of the first two films, but with bigger Death Stars, more spaceships, more teddy bears and far, far too many Muppets, it's crippled by an atrocious opening section where one after another the heroes try to rescue Han Solo only to get captured in the most tedious ways possible. Richard Marquand's inability to direct action is much to the fore in this section, and he's not much better in the rest of the film, while Harrison Ford gives a particularly bad performance that's all too indicative of a bored man with nothing to do but stuck here anyway because of contractual obligation. If you can forget the dire first third, the rest of the film is okay when it's dealing with the Skywalkers' family feuds but less successful on the ground in the Teddy Bears Picnic - sorry, Ewok scenes. Still, it does have Princess Leia in the slavegirl outfit...

The discs also include the revised special editions released a couple of years ago, which at least boast excellent picture and sound quality, though are all extras-lite with only a commentary and a Star Wars Lego promo.