In Defense of George Lucas

Toni and I have now watched our new Blu-ray editions of the original “Star Wars” trilogy, and I have to say I don’t have much of a problem with them, changes and all.  Honestly, I remember when the Special Editions came out, and I think most of the changes then were for the better.  Most of them (Han no longer shooting first notwithstanding).  For instance:

In Episode 4:

• Shots of the stormtroopers examining the escape pod look more like a real detachment of troopers instead of a couple of troopers looking at a metal ring.
• The new sound made by Obi-Wan when he scares off the Sandpeople was different, but I didn’t mind it.
• The rocks in front of R2-D2 in the same scene, however, do look like he would have had trouble getting in and out of that nook around them.
• Activity shown around Mos Eisley makes it look more like a big city, at least by Tatooine standards.
• Explosion of the first Death Star looks more appropriate, and the last sentry TIE Fighter explosion is no longer the biggest one in the film.

In Episode 5:

• Emperor Palpatine via hologram replaced by Ian McDiarmid makes this more consistent with his portrayal in episode 6 (and the prequels).
• Boba Fett’s voice dubbed to be the same as the actor who played Jango in the prequels.  Not that many lines, anyway, so who cares, IMHO.

In Episode 6:

• The band in Jabba’s palace needed a lot of work before, and I think the Special Edition and Blu-ray version is better.
• The central mouth-like thing in the middle of the Sarlaac is still fine.
• Wicket’s blinking eyes don’t look bad at all.
• Darth Vader’s “No”s near the climax on the new Death Star:  There are 2 of them. The first one, said rather simply, sounded absolutely fine, IMHO.  The second one isn’t nearly as jarring as I expected.  I had heard it was supposedly taken directly from the end of Episode 3, but it doesn’t quite sound like I remember – it’s not as long or whiny.  Doesn’t really need to be there, IMHO, but it doesn’t diminish my opinion of the film or this version.
• I still like the new music in the celebration scene, and the shots around various planets during it.
• Replacing old ghost Anakin with Hayden at the end didn’t really need to be done, but it doesn’t bother me.

In general I was hoping for some consistency for replacing black R2-D2 in Luke’s X-Wing with his true blue self, but it still seems inconsistent in the three Blu-ray versions.  I also wish they had cleaned up even more of the compositing in the rancor cage scene and the background matte paintings of the Millenium Falcon on the rebel cruiser.

Granted, before the Blu-ray discs were released and I had first heard of the changes, I was rather annoyed initially, but, unlike some have claimed, I have never thought Lucas had no right to make such changes.  He absolutely does.  I was just lamenting the lack of an original version.  But, considering most of the changes as I have above, I think they do improve things overall.  Your mileage may vary.  And despite what I or anyone may think of Lucas’ product, especially the prequel films, I still like the man.  He has always seemed to be able to laugh at himself, and he’s been very receptive to parodies of his work, such as “Troops” or the “Family Guy” and “Robot Chicken” episodes.  All the way to the bank, of course, but he does still seem to have a sense of humor.

Originally published at Abnormality Locality. You can comment here or there.