We have all heard the talk of additional changes to the upcoming Star Wars Trilogy DVDs set for release on Sept 21st, and now even more talk and even some description come from SCI FI Wire as they have received an advanced copy of the set along with some justification from Lucasfilm for the changes.
Star Wars fans worldround seem to have always been in an uproar over the fact that the original films will never see the light of day on DVD, and the chant “Han shoots first!” has become their motto.
Well over at Lucasfilm spokesman Jim Ward told SCI FI Wire that the company strongly defends Star Wars creator George Lucas’ right to make controversial alterations to his beloved original trilogy of films in the upcoming DVD release. “It comes down to what [Lucas] has said constantly, which is that he very strongly believes in an artist’s right to have his work presented in the way he wants it presented,” Ward said in an interview at the press preview of the DVD set in Los Angeles. “In terms of your own personal art, and how you want it to be presented, the artist has that right.”
Apparently, though the 1997 changes weren’t enough and so fans that were up in arms will have more to complain about, or possibly have their complaints lessened as additional changes have been made to the DVD editions.
Ward continued with his conversation saying, “With the ’97 version of the film, or what he feels is closer to his original vision, he couldn’t accomplish [certain things] back in 1977, and people either like it, or they don’t. We respect that point of view. But at the end of the day George feels very strongly about artists’ rights.”
As far as the changes go SCI FI Wire listed the following:
- In Episode IV: A New Hope, the controversial confrontation in the cantina in Mos Eisley has been changed yet again. The villainous Greedo now fires shots at Han Solo (Harrison Ford) at the same time Solo fires back. In the original film, Solo fired first; in 1997, Lucas changed the scene to have Greedo fire first.
- Also in Episode IV, 1997’s added computer-generated footage of Jabba the Hutt appears to have been improved, with more fluid motion.
- In Episode V: The Empire Strikes Back, the hologram image of the Emperor has been altered to feature Ian McDiarmid, the actor who played the Emperor in Return of the Jedi and appears in all three prequel films. The scene’s dialogue has also changed to clarify the progression of Luke Skywalker’s training as a Jedi, as well as to acknowledge the relationship between Luke and Vader. In the original release of Empire, the Emperor’s image was played by an unbilled old woman wearing prosthetic makeup, with chimpanzee eyes superimposed in post-production into darkened eye sockets, the official Star Wars Web site reported. The original voice was provided by Clive Revill.
- In Episode VI: Return of the Jedi, Hayden Christensen’s Anakin Skywalker is added as a ghostly image in the final scenes of the film, alongside Yoda and Alec Guinness’ Obi-Wan Kenobi. But Sebastian Shaw remains as the face of Darth Vader/Anakin in the scene in which Luke removes Vader’s helmet, and not Christensen, as had been rumored.
Either way, happy about it or not, this DVD is the hot ticket and with less than two weeks until its release it remains the number one seller over at Amazon.com.
