Star Wars Trilogy on DVD - Reviews, Notes, etc.

I was just going through a bunch of different articles and reviews of the Trilogy DVD's and I figured I'd post a few links here. I am only posting links because all of the articles and reviews contain SPOILERS!! Once again, all of these links contain SPOILERS!! As expected, most everyone agrees these films have never looked better, but as always, the changes are going to annoy some. Anyway, here are a few links and I'll probably add more as I come across them.

DVD Net - Out of Australia, pretty indepth review of each individual disc. Also some screen shots included.

Chicago Sun-Times - More an article discussing the changes and how they annoy some purists. Includes a quote or two from one of the owners of theforce.net. Nice little extra discussing other things Star Wars fans may enjoy, including the Holiday Special, Troops, Droids, Ewoks, etc.

DVD Review - Right now there's just a quick introductory piece on the main page mentioning the advance screening last week. A full review should be coming out shortly.

The Digital Bits - Extremely indepth review of each disc. Also, a list of the Easter eggs and how to open them.

Film Threat - The funniest of the reviews. Yes, it still has spoilers and some foul language, but the guy is on his pulpit about getting the originals on DVD and it was pretty funny.

 

Stand by for a very weak transmission.......
Hello everyone it's me. Hop-along Hodges. Okay, I'm very excited about the new dvds. I wished they would leave the Han and Jabba bit out of Episode 4. Has anyone heard anything about the new Xobox game coming out (I think it's Star Wars Battlefront or something)? Oh and by the way, I may not be in G-vegas, but I am still a member damn it! I hope you all are doing well. Dalton I am coming to see you. The last time I was in I was moving and I wasn't planning on seeing anyone, but I managed to go out late one night. Anyway I've got to see you soon.

Tommy

 

What's up Tommy? Glad to hear from you. How's the new job going?

Dalton, thanks for the update. How's the new little one doing with sleep?

JMK

 

Two new articles - and these two are spoiler-free! They mention that changes have been made, but do not get specific as to what they are . . .

Yahoo Movies - Interesting article with Lucas, discussing why he will not release the originals, his opinions on the fans who don't like the SE's, and a little blurb about the upcoming TV series.

DVD Review - They finally have their full review up and it's pretty informative from a technical standpoint.

 

From the Holonet:

Retailer Round Up: The Star Wars Trilogy DVD
Sat, Sep 18, 04 09:17:35 AM EDT

Special thanks to Kenneth Chui from OSWCC for the list!

Amazon.com: $41.49 (before STL discount)
Best Buy: $42.99*
Circuit City: $44.99
Costco: $43.99
Target: Target reportedly shows an ad price of either $44.99 or 45.99 (neither has been confirmed)
Toys "R" Us: $49.99*
Wal-Mart: N/A (as prices vary by store)

Blockbuster Video: $54.99*
Buy.com: $44.95 (free S&H)
Coconuts.com: $49.99 (free S&H)($34.99 after $15 mail-in rebate)
DeepDiscountDVD.com: $41.88 (free S&H)
DVDImport.com: $39.86 (free S&H)
DVDPlanet.com: $44.99 ($1.80 S&H)
DVDSoon.com: $44.96 (free S&H)
FYE: $49.99 ($34.99 after $15 mail-in rebate, but MIR only applies to pre-orders)
Gamestop: $49.99 ($29.99 with trade-in of 3 movies)
Outpost.com: $36.99 ($4.83 Ground shipping) (1 per customer)
Overstock.com: $40.99 ($1.40 S&H)
SamsClub.com: $44.88
The Laser's Edge: $48.99 ($3.00 USPS S&H)
Walmart.com: $41.88 ($5.89 S&H)

Other details:
* Best Buy is offering a free copy of the mockumentary DVD R2-D2 Beneath the Dome with the purchase of the Trilogy (online pre-orders only).
* Best Buy will be offering a 50-page Star Wars Insider magazine for in-store orders.
* Blockbuster Video is offering a deal to buy the Trilogy and seven rentals for $59.
*Toys "R" Us is offering a free $10 gift card w/ purchase.

UPDATE: Jawa01 writes in: Hey guys. I work at Target and right now it's in the system for $49.99. If it's going to be cheaper it won't show in the system until Sunday when the sale prices for the week take effect. On a different note, we are offering a $10 gift card with the purchase of Star Wars Battlefront. So, if you buy Battlefront and the DVD set, get the game first and then have them ring up your DVD set seperatly and use the $10 gift card on it. Hope this helps.

Also Tom R. reports: Just seen COMPUSA ad for S.W. Trilogy on sale for $39.99!

Chuck Mutch writes: Fry's is advertising it for $36.99 Tuesday only. I have had chain stores match the Frye's ad.
Reported by Rebelscum.com

 

So who got 'em? I was gonna go Tuesday but the Best Buy Reward Zone website was screwed up, so I couldn't print out my gift certificates. Supposedly it'll be fixed today and maybe I'll swing over to BB tonight and get them.

 

I'm going to wait until Saturday to pick it up. Actually, I'll have Stephanie pick it up so Alex (my eldest son, 3 1/2) can get it for me. He'll be dressed as Boba Fett.

JMK

 

After watching them each a couple of times, I just cannot get over how visually stunning these discs are. All the locations, particularly Bespin and Dagobah are incredible thanks to the touching up of the films. The colors are unbelievable and I love the carbonite freezing chamber now. The orange and blacks really give off a sinister look.

Most of the changes for the sake of continuity, I can live with it. I was shocked to realize that Hayden in ROTJ did not bother me like I thought it might. Ian McDiarmand in ESB was nice, since that particular effect never looked that good in the original anyway. ANH Jabba, while better, still looks bad. And the Han/Greedo shootout is still horrible with the tweaking. Despite opinions on who should shoot first, the actual shot just looks bad. Watch it frame by frame and it's even worse. The addition of Naboo to the celebration scene was a nice touch.

As for the audio problems many have mentioned on the ANH disc, I can hear them also. The reversed score on the rear channels seems noticable during the opening scroll and the throne room. I guess the sound effects do a better job of hiding it during the actual film. The dropout on some of the vocals is there too. Tarkin and Leia both have some horrible audio problems for a couple of lines on my disc. As for ESB and ROTJ, the mix is beautiful. The asteroid chase, particularly when the Falcon shoots one of the asteroids that rains down onto the ship, and the space Battle of Endor are really dynamic and fill up the room with some great ambient sound. I've rewatched those scenes numerous times and continue to get chills just listening to them.

The bonus disc has been good so far. I've only watched the Birth of the Lightsaber and the Characters of Star Wars so far and some of Empire of Dreams. They've all been excellent and the bloopers and gag reels at the end of these featurettes actually seem better than the Easter egg blooper reel on the disc. I have not watched the Episode III preview and probably won't until after the movie comes out. The old trailers are great too. Anyone notice the original pronunciation of Lando on the ESB teaser?

I don't know what they'll do in a few years when they put out the mega-super-ultra-edition box set. I'm sure there are more deleted scenes and such they can throw in there for the geek crowd that'll get us to cough up some more dough. As of now, I'm quite thrilled to finally have these movies on DVD and I guess I'll always have my DVD rips of the laserdiscs for the pre-SE editions which may be the best I can hope for. Here's hoping ROTS ties these suckers together and gives us the true mega-movie Lucas always claimed he's making.

 

I have read that there is a wide spread problem in the scene where Tarken tells Vader that Leia lied to them. Apparently it skipps a bit. A trooper on the 501st message board said that if you call Fox Customer Service and tell them your disk skips at this point, that they'll replace the disk. Another trooper found this at thedigitalbits.com
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While we're on the subject of the Star Wars DVDs, we've been getting many, many questions and complaints about the audio changes and "music issues" on A New Hope. All we can tell you is that Lucasfilm claims the audio on the disc is exactly as they intended it to be. HOWEVER, we are also getting a lot of complaints from readers who have been experiencing a disc playback problem with A New Hope. Apparently, on many players, the disc freezes for a few seconds (we suspect near the layer switch point) and then skips ahead several minutes. Fox Customer Service is taking the names and addresses of people who are experiencing this problem so they can arrange to send you a fixed replacement disc. You can call them at 888-223-2FOX. Again, this addresses the freezing problem only. This is not a replacement for any sound issues. Just FYI.
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and Dalton, in my disk, she fully says "aren't you a little short for a stormtrooper?" i would suggest calling customer support and asking about it.

Anyway the number is
(888-223-2FOX) M-F, 8-5 PST

I'll give my opinions at a later time on the dvds and extras.