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Dom Robinson reviews

THX Widescreen

Distributed by
Encore Entertainment

Cat.no: EE 1232
Cert: U
Running time: 371 minutes (120/122/129)
Sides: 7 (6 CLV/1 CAV)
Year: 1977/80/83
Pressing: 1997
Chapters: 125 (17/18/18/18/19/11/21+3)
Sound: Dolby Surround
Widescreen: 2.35:1 (Panavision/J-D-C Scope)
Price: £99.99
Extras : The Making Of "Star Wars: Special Edition", "Empire Strikes Back: Special Edition", and "Return Of The Jedi: Special Edition".

Directors:

George Lucas (Star Wars)
Irvin Kershner (Empire Strikes Back)

Richard Marquand (Return Of The Jedi)

Producers:

Gary Kurtz (Star Wars, Empire Strikes Back)
Howard Kazanjian (Return Of The Jedi)

Screenplay:

George Lucas (Star Wars)
Leigh Brackett and Lawrence Kasdan (Empire Strikes Back)
Lawrence Kasdan and George Lucas (Return Of The Jedi)
- all from stories written by George Lucas

Music:

John Williams (E.T. - The Extra Terrestrial)

Cast:

Luke Skywalker: Mark Hamill

Slipstream, The Flash 2, Mutronics, "Wing Commander III"

Han Solo: Harrison Ford

Raiders Of The Lost Ark, Clear And Present Danger, Air Force One

Princess Leia: Carrie Fisher

When Harry Met Sally, Soapdish, Hannah And Her Sisters, The Blues Brothers

Grand Moff Tarkin: Peter Cushing

Dracula, At The Earth's Core, Dr. Who And The Daleks

Ben (Obi-Wan) Kenobi: Alec Guiness

Bridge On The River Kwai, Lawrence Of Arabia, Doctor Zhivago

Lando Calrissian: Billy Dee Williams

Batman, Driving Me Crazy, Nighthawks

C3PO: Anthony Daniels

I Bought A Vampire Motorcycle

R2-D2: Kenny Baker

Time Bandits, The Harvey Girls

Chewbacca: Peter Mayhew

Darth Vader: David Prowse

Voice of Darth Vader: James Earl Jones

Patriot Games, Clear And Present Danger, Field Of Dreams

Voice of Yoda: Frank Oz

Housesitter, The Indian In The Cupboard, Little Shop Of Horrors

Wedge (SW: Red Two/ESB: Rogue Three): Denis Lawson

Local Hero, Natural Lies

General Taggi: Don Henderson

The Baby Of Macon, "The Paradise Club" (TV)

Admiral Ozzel: Michael Sheard

Indiana Jones And The Last Crusade, "Grange Hill" (TV), "Blake's 7" (TV), "Doctor Who" (TV)

A long time ago in a galaxy far, far away... - well 1977 to be exact, the fourth a nine-strong series of books collectively known as Star Wars hit the big screen and became one of the first cinema films to make use of Dolby Stereo, which translates in the home as Dolby Surround.

Featuring a group of mostly unknown actors, the first film was simply known in cinemas as Star Wars, but with this new special edition set which includes new scenes, enhanced sound and improved visual effects, it has been given it's correct full title, Star Wars Episode IV: A New Hope.

The idea behind these special editions is to bring the whole trilogy as close as possible to the original vision of its creator, George Lucas. Improvements include a new scene in the first film in which Han Solo engages in conversation with Jabba The Hutt. Usually not known for his conversational skills, this Jabba was a circa-1997 CGI creation interacting with a circa-1977 Harrison Ford.

One other slight difference I noticed was that whereas the voice of Darth Vader, James Earl Jones, was never credited until the third film but this time round he is credited in all three.

More importantly though, this is the first PAL Laserdisc title to be given the THX approval, something of a regular feature for NTSC discs, but for which can be seen as something of a milestone for PAL discs. However, whereas titles such as Braveheart and Independence Day were not stated as THX on the disc cover, the master used for the VHS tapes had been so approved and the cassette covers carry the logo. Since the laserdiscs were made from a digital clone of the THX-approved master these may as well have been THX-approved as well.

The trilogy of films here cover episodes four, five and six in the nine-book series. Work has already begun on episodes one, two and three, which will star Trainspotting's Ewan MacGregor and the first episode will reach cinemas in 1999. The first film will also be directed by George Lucas - his first since Star Wars as his confidence in directing was knocked after severe criticism.

In Star Wars Episode IV: A New Hope, we are introduced to Luke Skywalker, an only child living with his aunt and uncle, who gets the unenviable task of having to buy some new service droids, C3PO and R2-D2, instead of playing with his friends. One of the droids carries a message from a mysterious princess named Leia who is in need of help, but he doesn't know for what exactly.

His inquisitiveness to find out more takes him in the direction of master of the Jedi ways, Ben Obi-Wan Kenobi, who teaches him the powers of the force. He also meets up with bounty hunter Han Solo and sidekick Chewbacca; together they set off to find Princess Leia who, it transpires, has been taken hostage by the evil Imperial forces in their effort to quell the rebellion against the Galactic Empire. Will they be able to destroy the Death Star and rid the universe of the evil Darth Vader? ...someone may have to make the ultimate sacrifice if they are to succeed.

The adventure continues in Star Wars Episode V: The Empire Strikes Back, travelling between the Ice Planet of Hoth and Dagobah, the home of Yoda who will take Luke's training one step further.

The film begins with Luke searching for signs of life upon Hoth and finding more than he bargained for when he comes across the cave of the ice creature. A fierce battle ensues later against the AT-ATs, a scene which was later realised in the PC and Nintendo 64 computer game, "Shadows Of The Empire".

While Han Solo, Princess Leia and Chewbacca go forth to attack the Imperial forces, Luke goes for training in the ways of a Jedi with the master of them all, Yoda, who teaches him all he needs to know.

Finally, all is not well for our two main characters as Han Solo finds himself up against an immovable barrier and, in a lightsaber battle, Darth Vader reveals a deep secret to Luke Skywalker, Darth proving he's a card-sharp as Luke literally loses his hand.

The trilogy concludes in Star Wars Episode VI: Return Of The Jedi, with Luke returning to Yoda to complete his training after having previously broken off to save the lives of Princess Leia and Han Solo by rescuing them both from Jabba The Hutt. It is only by completing his training that he can become a true Jedi Knight, and thus defeat Darth Vader and the dark side of the Force.

Creatures from all round the galaxy rally round to help our heroes, notably the Ewoks of the Forest of Endor, the scene for a thrilling high-speed chase early on in the film, as the Galactic Empire have constructed a new Death Star.

Now a fully-fleged Jedi Knight, Luke leads the attempt to finally get rid of the Death Star once and for all and in the meantime discovers certain home truths involving Darth Vader and Princess Leia.

If there's one thing that's becoming particularly obvious following the Star Wars Trilogy, it's that the only newcomer to films to succeed big-time in the movie business was Harrison Ford. Since this series, each of his action heroes have all had the same cocky personality as Han Solo who showed it off perfectly when trying to communicate with a guard over an intercom. Realising that talking was a waste of time he shot the control panel up, commenting in a wry fashion, "boring conversation anyway (!)".

Be it playing professor-cum-archeologist Indiana Jones, or taking over from Alec Baldwin as CIA action-man, Jack Ryan in Patriot Games and Clear And Present Danger, the latter in which he went against the wishes of the President of the United States, it was quite ironic that he then went on to play the said President in 1997's Air Force One.

Established actors such as Peter Cushing and Alec Guiness have always found their place in Hollywood, but the future hasn't been as bright for Mark Hamill who starred in a number of flops such as Slipstream, The Flash 2, Mutronics - The Movie, and the FMV (Full Motion Video) sequences of the computer games, Wing Commander III and Wing Commander IV.

The same can be said for Carrie Fisher who has had bit-parts in When Harry Met Sally, Soapdish, Hannah And Her Sisters and The Blues Brothers, as well as writing the autobiographical script for the Meryl Streep/Shirley Maclaine-starrer, Postcards From The Edge.

Finally, it has to be noted that Michael Sheard makes an appearance as Admiral Ozzel in The Empire Strikes Back. Not sure who he is? He's only the most famous deputy headmaster of all time, playing Mr. Bronson in BBC1's Grange Hill, as well as playing Adolf Hitler in Indiana Jones And The Last Crusade - so no change in character required there...

As stated earlier this is the first time the Star Wars Trilogy have been released on PAL Laserdisc in widescreen, although fullscreen analogue discs were available in the early 80's which are best forgotten about.

The picture quality is first-rate throughout the trilogy bringing out the detail perfectly in the special effects old and new. New incidental characters appear in all shapes and sizes from small creatures hopping about on Tatooine to a huge mammoth-style character which waddles across the screen just as Ben Kenobi is about to prove to the Stormtroopers that they don't need to see Luke's identification. There are also more rebel forces lining up to take a pop at the Death Star at the end of the first film, not to mention a more spectacular destruction scene.

Similarly, the sound quality is also up to the usual high THX standards with directional effects aplenty in the battle scenes, as well as the perfect ambience settings for the occasional quiet scene. The only thing missing in this respect is that due to their increased quality in picture, PAL discs can only carry the Dolby Surround soundtrack, and don't have room for the Dolby Digital soundtrack which was one of the highlights of the special edition releases. If you don't have a Dolby Digital setup, then you'd be well advised to get Encore's box-set for better picture quality than the NTSC release.

Another plus point is that the films are very well chaptered indeed. The three films attract 35, 36 and 51 chapters respectively, as well as one each for the 'making of's for each film. I did notice however that in the case of Empire Strikes Back, the sleeve shows the chapters split as 19 on side one, and 17 on side two, when there is actually 18 apiece.

It's also interesting to note that each film is on a separate disc, something the NTSC Trilogy cannot benefit from, as well as the fact that the CAV side of the box-set contains the bike chase from Return Of The Jedi.

There are no trailers included in the set, but this is down to Lucasfilm who did not licence these for use in any video or Laserdisc release in PAL format. The NTSC box-set does however carry the trailers for each film.

Overall, if you're a Star Wars fan and a Laserdisc owner, you'll have no need convincing that this will be your next purchase. Even if sci-fi isn't always your cup of tea, this box-set is the perfect material to demo your surround system to your friends. Now let's blow this thing and go home...

Films: 5/5, 4/5, 4/5 (respectively)
Picture: 5/5
Sound: 5/5

Review copyright © Dominic Robinson, 1997.

Check out the official sites of both Star Wars and THX.

The following is a list of all the Star Wars reviews online to date :

1997	Star Wars Trilogy (PAL Laserdisc)
2001	Star Wars Episode I: The Phantom Menace (DVD)
2002	Star Wars Episode II: Attack of the Clones (Cinema - Dan)
2002	Star Wars Episode II: Attack of the Clones (Cinema - Dom)
2002	Star Wars Episode II: Attack of the Clones (DVD)

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