September 11, 2004
"It's the ship that made the Kessel Run in less than 12 MPG."
Posted by pete at September 11, 2004 11:00 AMMore word is starting to come out about the changes included in the upcoming Star Wars DVD release:
The first reviews are going up in the media for the upcoming original "Star Wars Trilogy" DVD boxsets, and answers are at last coming through about all the rumoured new changes in regards to certain shots and scenes in the movies.
The biggest change that will have fans screaming is the confirmed replacement of Sebastian Shaw with Hayden Christensen as Anakin's ghost at the end of "Return of the Jedi". Why Christensen is there but McGregor hasn't replaced Obi-Wan seems a glaring continuity error.
Other changes will receive a more mixed reaction. The hologram of the Emperor in "The Empire Strikes Back" done by an old woman and voiced by Clive Revell has been replaced by Ian McDiarmid who played him in the prequels and "Return of the Jedi". The speech has been changed too and gives away the Luke-Vader connection early on.
Most other scenes have just been cleaned and tidied up a bit with more detail - the lightsabers, the Jabba the Hut scenes in "A New Hope", Naboo being included in the Jedi celebrations (although the Emperor statue demolition has been pulled), Luke no longer screaming during his Empire fall, and now Greedo and Han fire at the same time.
Pics of the assorted changes can be found at Digital Bits. Mark Hamill talked about the release recently (and potential future films), his talk can be found at IESB.
Lucas is like a little kid faced with an unwelcome bedtime. He keeps arguing for fifteen more minutes, then ten, finally his mother gives him five more minutes, and he giggles madly to himself at his victory. That's what the Han-Greedo thing amounts to. Of all the changes in the Special Editions, Greedo shooting first was, to fans, the biggest betrayal of the original characters (I'm surprised Luke didn't scream when he plummeted down the shaft in the original...the whiny little bitch). Of everything that was added or altered, that scene in the cantina was the most obvious and least technologically accomplished, and his ultimate idea of a compromise turns out to be having them both shoot at the same time.
Whatever you do, don't try to take his woobie away.
As for the Sebastian Shaw thing...I suppose it's possible Lucas has some explanation about why Qui-Gon didn't become all twinkly like everyone else, or why Obi-Wan is old and busted Alec Guinness and not new hotness Ewan McGregor, but I'm not holding my breath. Replacing Alec Guinness would've been more problematic, due to the number of post-mortem scenes in which Obi-Wan appears. And I wouldn't be surprised if McGregor balked at the idea of replacing those shots.
Naturally the changes are causing a huge amount of reaction from the SW nutters, so Lucasfilm reps are already out and spoke to Sci-Fi Wire about the changes and why they happened: "It comes down to what [Lucas] has said constantly, which is that he very strongly believes in an artist's right to have his work presented in the way he wants it presented. In terms of your own personal art, and how you want it to be presented, the artist has that right. With the '97 version of the film, or what he feels is closer to his original vision, he couldn't accomplish [certain things] back in 1977, and people either like it, or they don't. We respect that point of view. But at the end of the day George feels very strongly about artists' rights".
Right. Why hasn't he gone back to revamp Howard the Duck, then? Talk about not getting things accomplished. That sucker regularly makes all-time worst movie lists, and we're supposed to believe it ended up exactly as Lucas intended?
Lucas gives a rat's ass about "artists' rights." Otherwise Dave Prowse would've been credited in the original Star Wars, and Shaw wouldn't be getting the digital screw job now. And that's to say nothing of the countless painters and sculptors getting their original work whitewashed in the name of Lucas' "true" vision.
If he "respects our point of view," he'd release the unaltered films, simple as that. Because when it comes right down to it, the only reason Lucas has his vast media empire is thanks to the love people have for the original versions. That he continues to hold out like the petulant brat he is only proves he doesn't respect anything but his own ego and wallet.
At this point, the only way Lucas is getting my money is if they rework the bar scene such that neither Han nor Greedo shoot each other, but instead swiftly turn and blast something just to the left of the screen's field of view, and then you hear a muffled cry, and Lucas himself falls into the picture, his grizzled beard smoking.
In fact, this needs to be a Phantom Edit. Comments minions, go forth and make it so!
Regarding the non-blue-zone Qui-Gon, you are familiar with the "Luke Side of the Force" theory, aren't you?
Can we get some computer generated dialog too? It's got to be better than the crap Lucas churns out. Maybe run Eliza through a Yoda grammar.
Actually, I sort of hate to suggest this, for fear that RotJ will feature Yoda's final good-bye "There is... another... Jar Jar"
HTD on worst ever film lists? I've never understood this. I've said it before and I'll say it again: What's NOT to like about a young Lea Thompson getting it on with a midget in a duck suit?