The Movie That Revitalized Sci-Fi for Future Generations | Star Wars Episode IV

Star Wars review | Star Wars Episode IV - A New Hope (1977 & 2004 Versions, 2-Disc Widescreen Edition) | Mark Hamill, Harrison Ford

DVDs:


	• Star Wars Episode IV - A New Hope (1977 & 2004 Versions, 2-Disc Widescreen Edition) Mark Hamill, Harrison Ford Twentieth Century Fox Home Entertainment, 2006 average customer review:based on 805 reviews view larger image
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Original Theatrical Version - Definitive

The Original Theatrical versions are in their original 2.35:1 Widescreen aspect, letterboxed within a 3x4 screen format - not anamorphic - which is clearly indicated on the packaging. You can view this "full-size" on your 16x9 TV by setting your DVD player's HDMI output to 3x4/pillar-box if necessary, and then setting your TV to "zoom" so that the screen is filled side to side with the picture. There will be slim black bars on the top and bottom, just as there are on anamorphic DVD's with a 2.35:1 aspect ratio.

Even with the zoom in effect, the picture is crystal clear and the color great. I'm using an upconvert DVD player with HDMI output (1080p), and a 50-inch plasma HD television. Some have said in reviews that the picture quality is poor, even "VHS quality", but that's totally false. I've read that the originals here were taken from the laser-disc masters done in the early 90's; well, they look great however they were sourced. The sound is Dolby 2.0 Stereo (as indicated on the package) and sounds excellent. I get some center-channel and sub-woofer action as well as the stereo music and sound-effects on my system.

If a blu-ray/HD version is ever issued, that will be great and an improvement; but this is the only way to get the original films on DVD at this time, and they look great, so this set is essential for fans who saw these movies in theatres when they were released between 1977 and 1983 and want to see them once again in their original glory.

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The Movie That Revitalized Sci-Fi for Future Generations

Note- for this and the subsequent films, I will be reviewing the theatrical releases, not the re-released special editions.

Science fiction was hugely popular in the 50s with the Jet Age and the Space Race. There were even the Flash Gordon serials earlier than that. But once the sixties hit, especially the late sixties, movie makers went with more realistic stories. I know 2001: A Space Odyssey and Star Trek were made in that time frame, but they were still along telling a more realistic (for that genre anyway) story. Then this came along! With cutting edge special effects (for the time) and an interesting story made this one of the highest grossing films in history. And also influenced the people behind the Bond films (FYEO was supposed to be after TSWLM but due to the popularity of this, was pushed back and MR was filmed instead.) and the people behind Star Trek (though two totally different things, this did influence them to change the Phase Two TV project into the first film).

That's enough backstory. The acting is better than what we'd get in episodes 2 and 3 (especially from Hayden Christensen). Mark Hamill, better known today as the voice of the Joker on the various DCAU projects, plays Luke Skywalker with innocence and sincerity as we see the young hero thrust from his average lifestyle into the battle to save the galaxy. Harrison Ford plays Han Solo with a cockiness yet is the rogue with a heart of gold (I think he was just warming up for Indiana Jones). Carrie Fisher as Princess Leia, I think though I maybe wrong, is the first female movie character during the women's libs of the seventies to be able to take charge of a situation (like during the rescue in the prison cell) and hold her own in a gun fight. Darth Vader (suit actor David Prowse and voiced by James Earl Jones) is one of the more intimidating villains in cinema history and just as formidable in a lightsaber duel and a dog fight in space. Along with Tarkin, played by an impressive Peter Cushing, is almost as cold as Vader himself (since Tarkin is pretty much ordering Vader around in this), especially when he threatens Leia to blow up Alderaan. And lastly, Alec Guinness plays Obi-Wan Kenobi as a gentle, caring teacher to Luke though an old man, can still be pretty formidable in a fight. And the only human character who actually retains any dignity with his portrayal in the recent films. Again the incomprable John Williams is at the conductor's position, with another rousing score of action and suspense, though this is when his movie scores started to share some similar cues (most, if not all his scores are done by the London Symphony Orchestra).

Now I will say that I saw the Special Editions before I saw the original prints and I did enjoy them. But after seeing the original release (though it should've recieved the same treatment that the other editions got), I will say that it is the superior version. Lucas needs to stop "improving" his movies and leave them the way they are (like his Young Indiana Jones series, I heard they filmed new stuff and removed whole episodes from continuity). He totally dishonors all the work that went into these original productions and only does it so he can re-release it on whatever video format and make a profit. I don't think he cares so much for the most popular film in his vault.

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Star Wars review

The original "Star Wars" (A New Hope) is by far the best of all the "Star Wars" six film series. There are many memorable moments. The special edition of 1997 updated the film in line with modern filmaking techniques.

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Hello again its garry

Hey guys I am back and on Channel 2 in San Luis Obispo California, getting my show up to once a week, one hour, now on once a month and on debut showcase whatever the heck that is, not afraid of stalkers, will take them on, will talk more, the Gary Tyler Moore, the bionic woman, the flying cloistered nun, and Cindi the jungle girl, doing fine in SLO, hope to get to NBC soon, love Garry Hixon your favorite client, last time you got me a job was as a tomatoe, also in love with Emily Osment , will marry her and give children , spread the word, Emily will not go out with Miley Cirus, love garry hixon-44 years of age

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Star Wars: The Unaltered Version.. in terrible quality

The Movie:
Star Wars is a classic movie that will impress generations with its majestic good vs. evil story. The movie itself deserves 10 out of Amazon's 5 stars. People will always love this timeless movie.

Background:
As most Star Wars fans know, George Lucas decided in the 1990s that technology has finally caught up with his vision. He re-released it in theaters in 1997 with these new effects and called it Star Wars: Special Edition. Of course, Lucas caused controversy by deciding to make the Special Edition definitive and deciding to never release the original unaltered award-winning version. In 2004, George Lucas released an even more improved Star Wars (Super Special Edition). Because the unaltered version was not released on DVD, bootlegs containing transfers from the laserdiscs got spread. George Lucas finally relented and released the unaltered version on DVD in 2006. It was named by fans George Original Unaltered Trilogy (GOUT).

Technical:
Unfortunately, Star Wars GOUT is not sourced from a new high definition transfer as some expected. Instead, it is sourced from a 1993 laserdisc master with an original crawl ironically from the best film in existence. This release is non-anamporphic and uses the stereo laserdisc audio instead of the original theatrical audio. It looks terrible on a widescreen TV. It is however better than most bootlegs because it is sourced not from a laserdisc copy but the laserdisc master. The opening crawl sourced from the best film begs the question why George Lucas did not source GOUT from the anamporphic best film and rayher chose to source it from the laserdisc master. Additionally, GOUT is not the main movie but instead a bonus feature disc of another release of the Star Wars: Super Special Edition. Compared to the Super Special Edition's quality, GOUT is an outrage. Basically, GOUT is the least George Lucas could do to release the original unaltered trilogy without being worse quality than the bootlegs.

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For the first time ever and for a limited time only, the enhanced versions of the Star Wars: Episode IV A New Hope, Star Wars: Episode V The Empire Strikes Back and Star Wars: Episode VI Return of the Jedi will be available individually on DVD. Plus, these 2-Disc DVD's will feature a bonus disc that includes, for the first time ever on DVD, the original films as seen in theaters in 1977, 1980 and 1983.