What I Think Of The Star Wars Blue-Ray Changes

I never cared that much that the Star Wars films suffered tremendous changes throughout the years. I never cared that Greedo shot first, or that Han Solo stepped on Jabba the Hutt's tail, or that Boba Fett's voice in The Empire Strikes Back was dubbed by Temuera Morrison. Those things never really took away the essence of the story George Lucas was trying to tell for me, and like the newly added effects in the original films or not, that is how George Lucas would have made the films from the start if he had the technology and the money back in the 70s. Sure, it was a bit funny to hear a gungan yell WESE FREE at the end of the restored Return of the Jedi or that Han Solo quickly moves his head to dodge Greedo's blast, but I love Star Wars so much, I can look past this and accept it in all it's glory. I think George Lucas is trying to distinquish each re-release of Star Wars from one another. I think he is just trying to make changes to the films so he can have a variety of Star Wars films for the fans to choose from, each with the definative special effects of the time they were made. But as Lucas continuously tampers with the material the fans hold dear, the fans attack him like raviting wolves and bash his hard work and dedication for all it's worth. It's quite sad that just about all the people I have discovered on the web despise the prequel trilogy and that they continuously nit pick about how George Lucas changed the original films to tie in with those films. Seriously, if I had a dollar bill for all the people who hated the prequel films and the special editions, I'd be up there ranking with Bill Gates. But I certaintly don't hate the newer trilogy nor do I hate all the special editions George Lucas has put out throughout the years. It's just George Lucas' way of making the Star Wars universe diverse and unique and the changes made to the original films show how each film compliments the other, makes the stories seem more whole.



There is no prequel trilogy or original trilogy, there is only Star Wars, a prominent concoction of elements spanning mythology, religion, folklore, theology, and just about every movie of every movie genre you could think of. It's a blend of all the things we love about movies, all the things we love about life, and we can relate to the characters of Star Wars, for their stories can be somewhat heroic and also tragic at the same time. Who cares if Lucas inserts a CGI Jawa into the Hoth battle in The Empire Strikes Back? Who cares if he has Luke Skywalker team up with a dancing rubber chicken in A New Hope? I don't, and that's not going to take away the Star Wars feel for me, because Star Wars is the very thing that got me into films and making films and Star Wars gives me the confidence, the pride, and strength to go out and do things despite the risks. Star Wars teaches us, well, many things in general, but if I was to pick one thing that it taught me, it was to never give up. When something terrible occurs, keep moving forward, look on the bright side of things, and eventually, it will pay off. Star Wars taught me to believe in myself, taught me to use the force to get the power to do just about anything. And most importantly, Star Wars taught me about redemption, how we can become angry, tyrannical beings out for power and blood, but we could still have that one spark of good within out souls that ultimately makes use do the right thing in the end. It's a story for one man's redemption, one man's quest to return to normal life. That man's name is Anakin Skywalker, and in my opinion, he is one of the most tragic figures ever to walk the silver screen, Vader or not.

Who cares if the force ghost at the end of Return of the Jedi is the "whiny" Hayden Christensen instead of Sebastian Shaw? It's still Star Wars. It's still the same epic story I have known years beforehand. And people can rant all they want about how Anakin's turn to the dark side was "anti-climatic" or how Jar Jar Binks made them throw up into their laps, but it's doesn't really bother me one bit, nor does the changes Lucas makes to Star Wars, because it's still the Star Wars I know and love, just presented in a different shell, a different form. Star Wars is Star Wars, and the saga shouldn't be discriminated for what it's supposed to be, it should be appreciated for what it is. The prequels had flaws, I will admit that, but so did the originals, and in it's own weird way, that's what makes Star Wars great. There shouldn't be no entitlement of the two saga halves, the Star Wars saga should be treated like one film, one epic telling of a character's rise and fall. And because Star Wars has changed my life in so many ways, I can't help but compare it to some of my other favorite films like King Kong, The Day The Earth Stood Still, and the series that is considered to many to be Star Wars' mortal nemesis, Star Trek. Am I the only one that sees Chewbacca in Lt. Worf's character?

So, yeh, I don't care that Vader shouts NOOOO just as he throws the Emperor to his doom, or that the krayt dragon noise sounds like someone taking a dump the size of New Hampshire, or that the Ewoks blink (hey, all creatures blink!), it's still Star Wars in all it's glory, and no matter how much these films get crapped upon by the media, they will still be golden for many years to come, the ENTIRE saga and it's mixture of all the things the world has to offer. Why else would people be drooling over the release of the next film in the series! And to be honest, I will not be purchasing The Complete Saga on Blu-Ray because of one key element. I DON'T HAVE A BLU-RAY PLAYER nor do I intend to buy one anytime soon. I don't think seeing the films in HIGH RESOLUTION is going to change my overall view of the films and I don't think I will see anything I didn't see before. I'm just going to stick to my DVDs and VHS tapes for like Star Wars, they have a sedimental value to me.