The Eternal Struggle

September 12 will see the latest re-re-re-re-re-re-re-re-re-re*slaps self*-release of the "Original" Star Wars Trilogy (hereforth to be known as "the OT"). Since the 1997 release of the "Special Edition" OT, Star Wars has been surrounded by endless debate, ridicule, and frustration. Who is to blame for it? Is it the mastermind behind the series, George Lucas? Or is it the overzealous Star Wars fans? Actually, it's a little of both.

Many already know the story behind the OT. George Lucas has said on many occasions that the OT was released in an "unfinished" state. There were certain things he wanted to do with the films, but was unable to do so, due to lack of time, money, and most importantly, special effects technology. But by the time of the original movie's 20th anniversary, CGI was in regular use, so Lucas saw the opportunity to complete his work. Thus, the "Special Edition" OT was released in 1997, with updated special effects, restored picture, digital sound, and "a few surprises." The surprises turned out to be entirely new scenes that couldn't be realized before. Oh. And Greedo shooting first.

Oh horror of horrors! The sky is falling! Run for shelter!

Yes, instead of getting kudos for releasing this "fully realized" version of his movies, George Lucas got bombarded with derision, with the most common of insults being "Lucas raped my childhood!" Most of these insults came as a result of Lucas' altering of certain scenes in the movies, the most famous being that instead of Han Solo shooting the bounty hunter Greedo before he can fire a shot, Greedo shoots first, misses, and is killed by Han. Other scenes had lines replaced with alternate takes, and a completely new musical number was added to Return of the Jedi.

Hardcore fans felt betrayed that the beloved movies that they grew up with were changed in what they perceived to be horrible, nasty ways. Han can't fire back in self-defense! Shooting first is what made him cool to begin with! And it makes Greedo look like a moron since he misses at point blank range! etc. etc. Other little details were nitpicked, such as the alternate lines.

Well, get ready for a shocker.

I DIDN'T NOTICE THESE ALTERATIONS.

Sure, I recognized the new scenes. I marveled at how good the picture looked. But for the life of me, the scene that has drawn so much ire just went by like normal. To me, they were the same entertaining movies with a simple facelift. And when one really looks into it, take away the redone special effects and the added scenes, (but keep the "altered" ones) and its still 99% the same movie. And I'm still at a loss as to why people fuss so much about it.

Anyway, the fans started getting riled up, and then 1999 saw the release of the first film in the "Prequel Trilogy" (PT). The Phantom Menace made a ton of money, but the movie was chastised as not living up to the OT. The war of words was on. By now, Internet chat boards had become a big thing, and people banded together to bash the movies and George Lucas. Lucas didn't seem too upset at first. His defense was that they are his movies, and he can do with them what he wants (though not quite in those words). He again mentioned that the Special Edition versions of the OT were closer to his original vision of the series.

The first ever DVD release of a Star Wars movie came in 2001 when The Phantom Menace was released. Again, fans were annoyed. It was over the fact that the PT was being released on DVD before any of the OT were being released.

The years and the insults went on. George Luca$, as he was now called, was blamed for anything and everything having to do with Star Wars. If a kid poked himself with a Star Wars toy, you could be sure that some guy on the Internet was blaming Luca$.

Lo, behold! A light on the horizon. Lucasfilm announces they'll release the OT on DVD in 2004, complete with Dolby Digital 5.1, loads of features, and commentaries with George Luca$ and crew!

Oh wait, they're the "Special Edition" versions. Despite us asking for Star Wars being released on DVD, and us getting our wish, we're outraged that its the "Special Edition" versions. Hardcore fans wanted the untouched versions to be released (fans like me couldn't care less). Luca$ insisted that the untouched versions of the films no longer existed on celluloid, that they were damaged beyond repair, or were destroyed in the restoration process for the SE releases.

Still, those naysayers probably bought the OT DVD set, only to again pout and moan. This time it was over the sound mix used for the DVDs. The claim was that some of the new sound effects drowned out the musical score, the stereo channels were reversed in some cases, and some of the dialogue was "inconsistent" in certain areas. Lucasfilm passed these off as "creative decisions." Fans didn't buy it (the excuse, that is).

But wait, there's more!

Further alterations were made to the movies. The Han vs. Greedo scene was altered to give a more "neutral" version, with Han and Greedo shooting about the same time. Further changes were made to make the OT more in line with the PT, including adding PT star Hayden Christensen to the end of Return of the Jedi as Anakin Skywalker. Fans..upset..blah blah blah.

But Lucasfilm apparently relented. They announced that the unaltered versions would be released on DVD this year. Fans rejoiced and claimed victory. Years of bitching and whining to get their way had paid off. Luca$ was a liar for saying that the unaltered versions didn't exist anymore.

Oh no, don't say it..

Fans found more reasons to complain.

THIS time it was because a)the movies would only contain a stereo track, not Dolby Digital 5.1, b)no restoration was done to the video, and c)the video would not be anamorphic (look it up, I don't want to take the time to explain it).

Luca$, a hero one minute, was vilified the next.

And so, the struggle continues. Luca$ makes one move, the fans counter with more complaints. Even if said move is apparently made to appease the fans. So why can't anyone get things right?

It is Luca$' fault? People paint an ugly picture of him. Fans seem to envision him sitting on his throne in a castle atop a mountain, thunder in the background, drooling pitbulls at his side, laughing maniacally as he releases another version of the OT on video. While he would obviously have some say in the release of his movies on video, it's hard to imagine every decision as a brainchild of Luca$'s. He has a vast empire, and a family to take care of. To think he's some kind of puppetmaster is absurd. To be fair, Luca$ has brought a lot of it on himself. The almost continuous tweaking of the OT with every home video iteration somewhat debunks his comments about the '97 versions being his "original vision."

Is it the fans? Nothing seems to please the more hardcore ones. They type away at their keyboards, finding new ways to insult Luca$. They say the same movies that they saw in theaters now nearly 30 years ago should be what they're watching on video. And yet despite all these complaints, they buy the products. They play the games. They build upon Star Wars' hype by talking about it endlessly. Do they have a right to speak out? Of course. Do they have the right to criticize Lucas for making changes to films he made? Changes he's wanted to make for years? No, not really. George Lucas once said in an interview, and of course I'm paraphrasing, "Let's say I buy a house and paint it red. Someone walks by and says the house would look much better painted white. That very well may be, but it is my house, and I can do with it what I please."

Sadly, the practices of Lucasfilm (and not necessarily Lucas himself) continue to reinforce the image of moneygrubbing jerks who could care less about the feelings of fans. And the fans just continue to reinforce the stereotype of the nerd, constantly expressing displeasure on some message board on the Internet. I don't think any release of the OT will ever satisfy fans. And if there is one, well..that will be a most interesting day, indeed.