Star Wars: Episode IV - A New Hope (Special Edition)
See also:
Star Wars: Episode IV - A New Hope (Uncle Cliff)
Star Wars: Episode III - Revenge of the Sith (Uncle Cliff)
Star Wars: Episode III - Revenge of the Sith (Noah K.)
I remember when these “special” editions were released to cinemas. I saw the first one and didn't bother about the rest. It's almost like everything I thought was magical and great about the film were the exact things that George Lucas hated, was embarrassed by, and then changed when he got the chance.
Now that Lucas has issued the original editions on DVD – as a Bonus Feature - and made sure they came with the Special Editions - just to remind us what editions he considers gospel - I'm forcing myself to watch them all, more as a measure of comparison than anything.
Obviously Greedo-shooting-first is an appalling change. In the original it is this moment that sets up the Han Solo character so beautifully, and that he changed it is just further proof that he is a very different man than the one who made this film so many years ago. Just how exactly does altering this moment fit into your “we didn't have the technology back then to fulfil my ultimate vision” line you love so much Mr. Lucas?
Skinny Jabba looks crap, adds nothing to the film whatsoever, and looks really, really crap, and I hate the constant addition of extra CG monsters/creatures/ships/stormtroopers galore throughout nearly every scene, although it does serve to make the film fit in more to the saturated-CG of the prequel trilogy - not that that's a good thing, in case you were wondering.
The only change I actually like is the addition of a small scene between Luke and his old mate Biggs before they go to take on the Death Star, but I would have been just as happy watching this on a Special Features DVD disc. Sure, a lot of the special effects are spruced up and do look great, but personally as a Star Wars geek I'm still more impressed with the groundbreaking things they did with puppets and miniatures rather than the run-of-the-mill cartoon CG Lucas is so fond of now.
Oddly, I didn't find this nearly as grating or frustrating as I did the first time, and after the skinny-Jabba scene the film pretty much sucked me in as usual and I almost forgot what edition I was watching at times. I guess the new films have lowered my expectations of all things Star Wars so much that even a molested version of the original still shits all over them.