So you are probably wondering, which of these stormtroopers wins best dressed? (the blue shirt 😉 )
Around the US last night a midnight release party took place at Walmarts and other stores. People lined up to grab one of the most controversal and high-anticipated movie releases of the year.
Star Wars has spanned 3 generations and inspired hope for almost 30 years. The release of this franchise on HD Blu-Ray has been a long time coming.
As mentioned its not without controversy. George Lucas decided to make some changes and enhancements to the movies that he couldnt do back when they were first created. Most of the changes enhance the experience, but some have fans screaming foul ball.
Of all the changes made, these are the ones causing the most fuss:
- A New Hope: Obi-Wan’s Krayt Dragon roar. It is much louder and to some “hideous”. But he is trying to get the sand people to leave isnt it?
- Return Of the Jedi: Vader’s “NO’s” have been added to the scene where he picks up the emperor and throws him down the death star shaft. Given the internal struggle, it seemed a little odd to me back on the original that vader said nothing as he picked up Palpatine.
Do these changes stop people from buying the Blu-Ray set? 100% No and here is why.
Priced at $79.99, the set of all 6 movies comes out to just $13.33/movie which is half the price of a normal blu-ray movie currently and you get lots of extras shown below.
- 40 Hours of behind-the-scenes extras including never before released auto commentary
- 45 Deleted or Extended Scenes
- Cast/Crew Interviews
- 90 minutes of star wars spoofs
For a complete list of the changes made look at the list compiled by WeLoveCult.
A New Hope
01. Escape pod launcher lights now have heat trails over them, making them flicker.
02. Escape pod hatch is no longer blue.
03. More moisture vaporators added.
04. Leia hologram now looks more blue and prequelish.
05. Treadwell droid behind Uncle Owen while talking at the table (Was this there before?).
06. Binary sunset still has the passing clouds added.
07. The area beneath the Landspeeder actually looks GOOD.
08. As pointed out by Adywan, there are now rocks in front of R2 in his hiding spot in the canyon.
09. If you thought the DVD version of Obi-Wan’s Krayt Dragon roar was
hideous, keep your thumb on the Mute button. That’s right. It’s WORSE
now.
10. The new CG rocks that covered R2 are magically gone after he comes out of hiding.
11. 2004 detention center hallway still there and actually looks good.
12. Obi-Wan/Vader duel on Death Star lightsaber blades are bright and
more consistent, though Vader’s is a bit pink in some of the shots.
13. Millennium Falcon vs. Sentry TIE’s, the shot that was revealed to us
by LFL at the press event with the partial laser bolt IS FIXED in this
MKV.
14. Brass can now be heard during X-Wing dive to the Death Star.
15. The glitch under Vader’s TIE and his escorts after “Three marks at two-ten!” has been fixed.
16. Energy wave sound from Death Star explosion sounds more balanced.
17. Vader’s breath sound can be heard when his TIE is spinning, but is very faint.
Empire Strikes Back
01. Flames added to probe droid “crater.”
02. Most of the blue tint on Hoth is gone. I said MOST.
03. Wampa arm is fixed, but not properly (See number 03 above).
04. When Obi-Wan appears to Luke, he can be seen better than before.
05. Snowspeeders look better against white snow than blue!
06. Garbage matte appears to be gone when the Rebel Transport and escort X-Wings leave Hoth.
07. Hamill’s “The first transport is away” is still there.
08. SE 1997 Luke goes up the grappling hook under the Imperial Walker.
09. R2-D2′s black panels in space are blue.
10. C-3PO still says “There’s nowhere to go” after saying “Oh this is suicide.”
11. On Dagobah, Luke still tells R2 “You were lucky to get out of there” instead of “You’re lucky you don’t taste very good.”
12. When Vader contacts the Emperor, it is still the altered 2004 version.
13. In the cave on Dagobah, the lightsaber blades are brilliantly colored red and blue and bright with white cores.
14. Boba Fett’s voice is still the 2004 “Kiwi” accent from Temuera Morrison.
15. When Yoda raises the X-Wing, the model shot is still the 2004 version with an attempted shadow under the vehicle.
16. Inside the Falcon cockpit while approaching Cloud City is no longer zoomed in.
17. All Cloud City 1997 and 2004 changes are still there, and still look out of place.
18. Shadows still removed from Han’s shirt as he goes into carbon freeze.
19. Vader’s “Alert my Star Destroyer….” crap is still there, unchanged.
20. The Imperial Shuttle leaving Bespin is still there, and the sunlight can still be seen through it.
21. The “double” top hatch on the Falcon is still there.
22. The alternate take of Vader’s arrival on the second Death Star in ROTJ is still used as his Star Destroyer.
Return of the Jedi
01. Static shot of droids approaching Jabba’s palace door is now a wide pan with a huge door.
02. “Jedi Rocks” is still there and unchanged.
03. The Binary sunset still shows the suns setting.
04. Han’s carbonite “thaw” has been replaced with CGI.
05. After Luke “Force chokes” the Gamorrean Guards, a prequel Dug walks
across the floor where the residents are sleeping. It looks VERY fake,
like it was “last minute.”
06. The fake shadows and artificial darkness are still present in the Rancor sequence.
07. The plastic looking herd of Banthas is still there.
08. The 1997 SE fake looking beak, tongue, and tentacles are still present on the Sarlacc.
09. Luke’s lightsaber blade is HUGE.
10. The Falcon and Luke’s X-Wing look good as they depart Tatooine. No transparency.
11. No blue engine hue from the Falcon.
12. Luke’s X-Wing engines are red with a white core.
13. When Obi-Wan appears to Luke on Dagobah in spirit form, his aura is white.
14. Rebel briefing graphics unchanged, but the reds are darker.
15. The Emperor’s throne room is now a dull blue color. It is almost white now compared to the 2004 DVD blue.
16. The greenery of Endor’s forest looks vibrant and greener than ever, but actually in a good way.
17. Wicket’s blinking eyes.
18. The fine hair of the Chewbacca costume can really be seen in HD.
19. The first Wokling’s eyes blink.
20. The colors are really off in the throne room.
21. The Emperor’s “face slugs” are no longer visible.
22. The shield generator energy arcs can no longer be seen through Ben
Burtt, and the stuntman in the next shot can still plainly be seen.
23. When R2-D2 malfunctions from the blaster shot, the sparks look like
purple Force lightning instead of blue-white electrical colors.
24.
The only time the lightsaber blades look decent is when they are crossed
in front of the Emperor’s face. The rest of the time, the colors and
brightness fluctuate like the 2004 DVD.
25. The color settings of this file make the Emperor’s Force lightning
look like it’s from a VHS copy. There’s no sharpness to it, like a
filter is over it.
25. Vader’s “NO’s” have been added. The first sounds like it has been sloppily laid on top of the mix, the second is from ROTS.
26. Vader’s unmasking is STILL Sebastian Shaw. Don’t believe the idiots
that say it’s Hayden Christensen. At least, not on THIS MKV it isn’t.
27. 1997 SE and 2004 version revisions, “Weesa free!”, and Hayden Christensen still at the end.
