On February 10, 2004, Lucasfilm officially announced that the original Star Wars Trilogy will finally be released on DVD in September, 2004. It was a great day filled with all kinds of press coverage and non stop discussion on fan site forums. Press releases were issued, web sites reported the news with happiness and for a day, and people seemed to be happy that three of the most requested DVDs of all time were finally going to see the light of day.
The next day, however, fans started to actually think about the whole thing. What bonus features would be included? How much would it cost? What would be on the covers? Would they be sold as separate films as well? Will there be deleted scenes? The most popular question was: Will the original versions be on the DVDs as well as the Special Editions? The answer to that question, of course, was a resounding no. According to the press releases, Lucasfilm’s Jim Ward says the Special Editions are what’s coming to DVD in September. The USA Today quotes him as saying, “The original versions technically don’t exist. [Lucas] wanted to represent the films as they exist in his mind, and that’s the special-editions versions.” The AP Wire also quotes Ward as saying, “The official definitive versions are the 1997 special editions. That’s the version the artist, in this case George Lucas, intended to be seen.”
Now we can debate Original vs. Special Edition until the Banthas come home, but I’m going to try to stay out of that arena for now. I personally prefer the original versions to the Special Editions, however, there are some aspects of the Special Editions I really enjoy. Those mostly fall into the “maintenance” category: cleaning up Cloud City windows, fixing matte lines and transparency issues, fixing the landspeeder or lightsaber effects, and so on. If they could come up with way to mix your own version by selecting what changes you wanted to see, that would be a fun experience. For now, I have good quality bootlegs and I watch them all the time. A vanilla DVD is fine by me, as long as there’s something better coming down the pike in a few years, and I’m sure there will be. I have so many versions of the films on VHS that I’d almost feel ripped off if there weren’t a few on DVD too. As new technology comes and goes, these films will be re-released over and over again. It’s just how the industry works. The Star Wars films are so near and dear to me that as long as I’m still drawing breath on this planet, I’ll be buying new copies as they’re released.
The alarming thing is the reaction by the fans at this announcement. It still boggles my mind how fickle and picky fans can be at times, especially the younger ones. No one ever seems to be happy or satisfied. When Lucas came around a while back and stated that the original films wouldn’t be out on DVD until after Episode III was out, many fans went crazy complaining. I was one of the fans who asked for just the films on DVD, whatever versions (minus the complaining.) Now it appears he’s giving us just that and people are still complaining. “No deleted scenes? One little bonus disc?” Then they go on to compare the DVD set, which they don’t know much about yet other than it’s coming out in September, to something like the new 9-disc Alien set. “What about the 9 disc Alien Quadrilogy set?! Why can’t they give us a Star Wars 42 disc set complete with every cut of every film, every deleted scene, George’s soiled undies from 1977 when he got the first box office numbers, Carrie Fisher’s report card from 7th grade, and a partridge in a frickin’ pear tree?!” Yes, we have a nice new, shiny Alien box now, but I dished out my money for the previous set too. All the franchises do the same thing. Some of them are even greedier than Lucasfilm. Imagine that.
People seem to think that there are all these ulterior motives for releasing the DVDs this year. The first is always money. That’s the usual disgruntled fanboy line. “He just wants to cash in again.” If that was the case, why wait so long? No. If he wanted the money, it would have been in his account long ago and you’d still be home complaining, asking when the next Star Wars DVD set is coming. George Lucas doesn’t need more money. He has 600 ways to make money and releasing these DVDs is just 601 to him. Also, if he was so money-hungry, he’d probably overcharge for these discs, making a greater profit. Why not make the sets $75 and have it come with a little Episode III preview? He knows every one of you suckers is going to buy it no matter how much you bitch and moan. I have news for you, people. More than just fans love these films. Most people have seen them, most people love and respect them as great, groundbreaking, fun films. Everyone wants these things on DVD. He could get away with charging whatever he wants for this set, but it’ll end up being the same price as the Indiana Jones set (most likely) and that’s that. That whole cashing in theory is very tired.
Before I go any further, I want to address the subject of deleted scenes, which are always the first bonus features I watch on any DVD that features them. I love knowing why things were deleted and what led the filmmaker to that decision. So the real question is this: Will there be any deleted scenes from the Star Wars films on this DVD set? If I was a betting man, I’d have to say that I don’t think we’ll see anything like we saw on the prequel DVDs, but we may catch a glimpse of something in the documentaries and featurettes. That Indiana Jones set doesn’t boast any deleted scenes. Was I upset about that? Sure. However, I feel that this is a slightly different scenario. Spielberg may be a busy guy but I think if he wanted to, he really could have put a few on there. I heard a rumor that he actually nixed the idea himself, not being a big fan of deleted scenes as apparent on some of his last few DVD releases. I think in this case, it’s more of a choice by the filmmaker to not include them, not a matter of having no time. They were most likely looked at and prepared a bit but then left off at the request of Spielberg. Again, this is speculation but based on what I’ve heard from friends in the industry. With Star Wars, there’s so much footage and archives to go through and loads of work attached involved. I just don’t think Lucas had the time with the prequels on his plate to go view hours of footage from older films of his when he should be concentrating on things like making Episode III really great. Everyone wants it to kick ass in a major way and if keeping Lucas focused on that instead of deleted scenes for my Original Trilogy DVDs then I say, “Get back to work, George.” Don’t worry about those deleted scenes, just give me them in 2005, 2007, or whenever when the prequels are over and done with.
Here’s what I’ve heard about deleted scenes. Things have been found that have been forgotten. The archives have been raided and all kinds of footage recovered. There are clips and scenes or never-before-seen Star Wars footage being looked at and being prepped for the next set of DVDs (the ones after this first set.) Why can’t we have this stuff now? Again, Lucas has to look at the stuff and approve it. He also needs a team to clean it up, fix the audio, and transfer it to DVD which takes time and manpower away from Episode III. It will happen down the road. The conclusion, from what I’m hearing, is that while there may not be any deleted scenes on this first DVD set, the seeds are sown and the plans are in motion already for the next set—and that makes me glad.
Let me run something past you and let’s see if it sticks. This is my opinion of how this whole DVD thing went down, which could be entirely wrong but it’s a theory nonetheless. See if you can follow this. George Lucas announced some time back that the Original Trilogy DVDs wouldn’t happen until after Episode III. I believe that at the time he made that call, he really believed that to be true. Those accusing the guy of intentionally lying back then, knowing he was going to do this now, need to go to marketing school. If you’re planning on releasing DVDs of this magnitude, you don’t say something like that to drum up interest. You say, “Yea they’re coming, and pretty soon, so get those wallets ready,” or something vague like that which increases interest and keeps people talking. You don’t say, “No, they’re not coming for a long time, sorry.” That eliminates some of the mystery. So, when Lucas made his announcement the first time, I think he really intended it. I believe that he’s the kind of person that likes to have things done correctly, especially when it comes to things like sound mixing and remastering.
So time went on and people got used to the idea. The fans weren’t as happy about it but they at least knew the DVDs were coming at some point. Somewhere along the line, however, Lucas either realized or was made to realize that this DVD thing could actually happen if certain planets aligned the right way. He made a call to give the go ahead on making the basic DVD set. As long as it was just adding a few documentaries and some commentaries, it wouldn’t take much time. From there, he sent out the press releases and set free the marketing hounds once more. Now, in about eight months from this writing, everyone will have the original Star Wars trilogy DVDs and that’s a good thing, people. I don’t think Lucas woke up one morning and said, “Hey, I need some more money. Let’s put out those DVDs now.”
So where does that leave us? Well, it leaves me pretty happy knowing I’ll finally have the DVDs. At the same time, however, it leaves me slightly disappointed that I won’t (officially) have the original versions. It would be great to have a set with both versions of each film. In the extras could be all those featurettes that came out explaining all the Special Edition changes and why they were made. There could be a bonus 7th disc reserved for things pertaining to the saga as a whole, like this new documentary they’re talking about, all the screen tests, random interviews, and whatever else. I want to hear George Lucas talk about the films and the choices he made with affection as opposed to disappointment in the final result. Speaking of commentaries, I hear they may be included with this first set, so that’s a positive thing. Somehow I get the feeling we won’t be hearing from the people we really want to hear from, though. Gary Kurtz would be great, Irvin Kershner would be a blessing, Lawrence Kasdan would be extremely important, but I fear they won’t be included, and that’s a shame. Kasdan did show up on the Indiana Jones set in the documentary, so we may see him again somewhere, but I’d really love to hear a full length Kasdan commentary on The Empire Strikes Back. If they could get the three K’s (Kasdan/Kurtz/Kershner) together for this set, that would really rock.
George Lucas is a busy guy. I see these DVDs coming out as sort of a gift in a way, yet fans are still complaining. It’s really incredible when you think about it. How spoiled are the fans? He says, “No DVDs yet.” They say, “Hey, at least give us the plain ones!” He says, “OK, well I’ll give you a nice set like we did with Indiana Jones with a few extras on a fourth disc.” They say, “That sucks! Give us the whole package!” He sighs, groans, and goes home thinking that he’s created a monster he’ll never make happy. I’m sure he doesn’t hate the fans but I have to say I don’t think he’s quite happy with some of them either. We’ve waited this long; we can wait a bit longer. Lets just hope it’s not too long after Episode III that a new set comes out. Until then, we’ll have this initial set as a stopgap. Remember the VHS videotape releases? There was a stretch of time when every year or two there was a new set to buy. This is par for the Star Wars course.
In conclusion (because this has gone on for far too long), let me make my editorial opinion clear:
1. These DVDs are not strictly a money-making ploy. He doesn’t need your money. He’s giving us these DVDs as a gesture of good will and a reward for our patience, promising something better down the line—and you know he always delivers.
2. The bonus disc might not contain all the things you want it to, but there’s no way to cater to individual tastes. These films are not being released just for fans, but for the general public, most of whom don’t even watch the bonus material anyhow.
3. It’s a grave mistake (and I’ve said it before) to not release the ORIGINAL versions of these films on DVD along with the Special Editions. I like them both and I want to see them both on DVD. It’s my one gripe with this whole DVD thing, but let’s not give up hope.
4. Stop comparing it to other sets. Star Wars films are not like other films. Alien had other DVDs before the 9 disc set. The Indiana Jones set is a different story, especially since there’s another director involved who most definitely had a say in the way everything went down. There will be more Star Wars DVDs down the line. Patience.
5. Remember when you all said that you’d take a vanilla version of the film for now instead of waiting years for a bigger set? Well, your hand has been called. Before you go complaining about this first set, think back to the time when Lucas first said, “No DVDs until after Episode III.” Not everyone falls into this category. You know who you are.
The first Star Wars trilogy is coming to DVD and that’s a good thing. Be happy. 🙂