List of Star Wars DVD reviews starting with K
Keep an Open Mind (DVD rating - 5/5)
Keep it simple stupid. (DVD rating - 2/5)
Keep telling yourself, "It's only a movie.... " (DVD rating - 3/5)
keep this movie far far away (DVD rating - 1/5)
Keep your old VHS/Laser Disc version of Star Wars!!!! (DVD rating - 1/5)
Keep your VHS! A New Hope sounds like crap... (DVD rating - 2/5)
Kevin Smith said it best (DVD rating - 4/5)
Kids Love Jar-Jar (DVD rating - 4/5)
Kind of disappointing... (DVD rating - 3/5)
Product: Star Wars Trilogy (Widescreen Edition)
Rating: 4/5
Rating: 4/5
It STAR WARS on DVD. Its STAR WARS with pretty darn good sound and pic. So what are people's problems with sound, special editions and specks here and there ?????
Unbelievable !!!!
If you like the movies (as most do) then get the set as its the best quality you wil see these films in and for a good price. I don't actually sit right up close to the tv to note down every bit of grain or dot that i see, nor am i a jedi nut or lives and breathes this stuff because i have no life of my own and must rely on some good movies to create a mythos that i can live by. I mean seriously, for the normal, sane, have my own life viewer who likes STAR WARS you will think that the pic and sound are pretty bl**dy excellent.
These are movies that everyone has seen and have been re-glossed, re-worked and re-packaged for DVD. So if u want to own them then get the pack as they really are wonderfully presented and just forget the over-anaylitical reviews of those stating that there is a speck here, a sound drop out there and so forth because for most people this set will be good value for money and i doubt (unless your a zelous fan) your not going to notice any flaws.
As far as the movies only being presented on dvd as 'Special Editions'......BIG DEAL....It is not like he has completely stripped the movies and changed it. I tend to think the re-mastering of some scenes and addtional footage of others ADDS more to both the movies and for the fans to enjoy even more of thier beloved Galaxy far, far away.....but no u got whine about it. Director's cuts have been common for years and thus this fits well with GL re-working of these movies. I mean overall he did a pretty good job and didn't take anything away. Granted it would have been nice to please everyone and release the orginal theatrical versions but he didn't so get over it.
I wish Steven Speliburg would re-work JAWS, u know make the shark look abit more realistic for this day and age and a few other movies that i like could use some re-working so it really doesnt bother me. I don't think GL has ruined his classics by what he has done to them and i still enjoy them as i did when they were first released.
The package loses on star though for Return of the Jedi which is a good 1/2 of a movie trapped in a really bad bear film. I mean those Ewoks !!!! WHYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYY ?????
Product: Star Wars Trilogy (Widescreen Edition)
Rating: 2/5
Rating: 2/5
I'm not a big science fiction fan. In fact, the first time I viewed Star Wars in the theater as a fifth-grader, I simply didn't "get it." I'll always remember walking out thinking "What's the Force? Darth Vader..is he a robot or human in costume? A Wookie...is he from the Planet of the Apes, or Dogs, or what? Rebel forces...are they the good guys or bad guys? Sand People? Alderan? etc., etc. etc. What the heck is this stuff all about? Why do people like it so much?"
I loved the spaceship special effects, but that was about it. Luckily, my dad hadn't seen the movie, and after all the huge publicity, he wanted to see it, but not alone. So I agreed to go with him (what the heck, why not?) For some reason, upon the second viewing, my eyes were opened. I suddenly understood it all, and loved it!! There's so much introduced in the first movie that it was more than my brain could process and understand the first time around. It's definitely one of those movies (at least for me) that needs a second viewing to truly appreciate and understand. It's not your typical Star Trek type of science fiction (which I've never liked).
Empire Strikes Back came out, and I was blown away. Not only had I grown a little older, but the characters had as well. Darker, deeper themes throughout the movie. More exciting as well. It's ultimately my favorite of the bunch. Revenge of the Jedi? Well, we all know it was pretty lame, but at least it finished the story.
Anyway, I recorded the original Star Wars and Empire Strikes Back from TV about 12 years ago. I'm so glad it did. I actually love the graininess of the film and the lower quality special and sound effects. If anything, I think it adds to authenticity of the story. It's almost like a new film that has purposely been film in black-and-white with fake scratches to make it look older. It's fitting, especially since it takes place "A long time ago, in a galaxy far, far away." It takes you to that place as you would expect to view it today--appearing like some ancient relic recently dug up from an archeological find. This is especially true for those of us who viewed it as children.
Now, look at the "new, improved" Special Editions. They may as well be New Coke. The computerized special effects look more fake to me than the original ones. Everything looks so clean, so perfect...too perfect to be real. At times, I feel like I'm viewing some cheesy "Star Trek - Deep space nine" TV show. The mystic is gone, ruined forever.
If Lucas really wants to make more money (which we ALL know it's what he does best), he'll re-release the original films on DVD. He recently said you could still buy the originals on VHS, but I can't find them anywhere. The demand for originals is huge. Why won't he do it is beyond understanding.
Product: Star Wars Trilogy (Widescreen Edition)
Rating: 2/5
Rating: 2/5
I just spent the day watching the newly released Widescreen DVD edition against my Laserdisc (LD) CAV Definitive Collection (for those unfamiliar with it, a 9 laserdisc box set THX remastered in 1993 that remains the highest quality version of the unenhanced originals until now and if you're lucky is the source for the bootlegs.) For technically inclined types, I'm watching on an old Pioneer CLD-704 (reasonably high end LD player but 10 years old) versus a Sony DVP-7700 (5 year old reference DVD player) on an 6 year old 32" analog Trinitron. Your mileage may vary if you have a HLD-X9, line doubler, and a plasma HDTV.
My judgment is that the DVD release is simply a milestone in DVD sets, comparable to nothing I've ever seen in terms of video quality. While watching, the thought occured to me that I was surprised to see VH1 showing heavy people in their 50s doing interviews for the set; the sheer sharpness of images and completely deartifacted frames is astounding and makes me think this came out last week. Colors are magnificent. Space blacks are deeper, planet and ship scenes against them cleaner, troubling things like contrast with white-walled interior scenes look more realistic, and the good part of CGI has been to enhance detail of such things as C3POs wiring and making Jabba look as good as Yoda did in II.
I love the soundtrack as well. The subwoofer and center channel additions of Dolby 5.1 versus the LD Dolby Surround (2 front, 2 back, no distinct subwoofer) are noticable, especially in battle and space scenes. (Listening to the wind blow across Tattoine and the tympani sequence upon Death Star ignition is a reason to own a subwoofer.) It is a technical achievement of which the folks in Marin should be proud.
Now for the other side.
First, the extras are impressive at first glance but in comparison aren't that great. The commentaries are similar to those on the LDs, with both sets having a couple exclusives the others don't. Photo stills are good but basically identical to the LDs. There are a couple of nice featurettes that aren't available on the LDs (and a couple on the LDs that aren't on DVD), but the best one - a great 2 hour making of the trilogy special - has already been broadcast on cable several times. What is most frustrating is that deleted scenes - most notably the famous early Luke and Biggs scene in IV that appeared in picture books but not in the movie - still didn't make the DVD set.
More noticably, as you have probably read elsewhere these are in fact the 1997 versions of the movies. That means that you do get the Jabba scene in IV - the one great add - along with several things that purist fans (usually born between 1963-1973 who saw the originals in the theaters as young kids) simply hate. What is more amazing is that Lucas has tinkered _again_, making the Rodian bounty hunter Greedo in the cantina shoot only slightly before Han Solo rather than long before as in the 1997 film, as well as substituting Hayden Christensen for the anonymous actor who played the old Anakin in the pyre scene. (This last one made my jaw drop as the internet gossip was right. At least he didn't sub in Ewan MacGregor as Obiwan.)
So be it. It is Lucas' right to do what he wants with his baby. He's earned it given what he had to go through to make Star Wars in the first place.
However, Lucas' decision not to include the original versions as an additional disc or two has probably singlehandedly saved Laserdisc as a viable format for the foreseeable future. Honestly, while the DVDs are a magnificent technical achievement, the quality gain over the 1993 THX remastered LD is noticable but not that dramatic...and with the right equipment, you can probably cut that down.
This is why I am keeping my Laserdisc. And this is why I think Lucas has singlehandedly saved the format. For those of us too lazy to transfer the original series to bootleg DVD, we will not part with the defining memory of our childhoods. DVD is a better format than Laserdisc (especialy since no new movies have been released on it since 2000!), but to watch one of our most precious memories as a kid the way we remember them is worth it for some of us. We're not getting rid of the one way we can do it in quality - Laserdisc. Pioneer and Ebay should write Lucas a check.
For others, Lucas has his presentation the way he wants it, and it is magnificent. More power to him, and if you didn't see the films the way they were presented originally as a kid you probably don't mind the changes. For me, I have the DVDs for the commentary and features. However, when I have friends over to watch it, my old Laserdisc will keep humming with the original versions until it breaks. For those of us with several hundred or thousands of dollars to spare, an interesting add to our collection but not essential; others will be somewhat satisified with the fifty dollar DVDs.
Product: Star Wars - Episode II, Attack of the Clones (Full Screen Edition)
Rating: 5/5
Rating: 5/5
Compared to Episode I: The Phantom Menace, this movie is a bright star on the far side of the galaxy that shouldn't be missed.The movie is what I think of as an "apology" for what came from the Phantom Menace. For those who didn't like Jar Jar Binks, you don't have to deal with him this time around as he only has about three lines in the movie and is never seen. If you wanted more R2-D2 and C-3PO then you get them along with less Jar Jar. And to top it all off, there is a love story and for how much action and plot this movie has, the love story actually fits in perfectly with the overall setting.First of all, there shouldn't be a single soul upset about all the CG animated stuff. If you'd been paying attention to the news and reading the paper then you'd know that Episode II features a lot of computer generated actions. George Lucas even told us so himself.As for the plot, the prolouge defines the plot exceptionlly well, and we see the movie ten years from when the last one took place. Anakin is older and is a Jedi in training, Padme is now a senator and is also older and wiser. Plotwise, the movie connects a lot with Star Wars Episode IV: A New Hope then with any other in the series so far. Its the first to unveil the Death Star, the first where Yoda is given accolades for the brave warrior he was described to be in The Empire Strikes Back and Return of the Jedi.Romantically, to me there could have been more as I actually have grown to like love stories, but for reasons that will be explained in the movie its easy to tell why. The way its told is remarkable. While not 100 percent good, the love story had feeling. The movie is somewhat like the Empire Strikes Back. The bad guys win, the light saber duel (which I think is the best one in the entire series so far) at the end turns out to be amazing when the villian has to tell those last few words that will shock you all, and you see the force stronger then ever as near the end you see all the Jedi Knights go into battle, and we see Samuel L. Jackson and Christopher Lee show us what they're really made of.The music is astonishing. While most of the music is from The Empire Strikes Back and The Phantom Menace, the music for the Love theme of the movie is one to be cherished, and actually makes you feel something. As you see life and death happen it could almost move you to tears.The characters shine as we relive the past. We get to see Bolba Fett as a kid, we get to see how brilliant of a warrior Yoda is, we actually KNOW what the clone war they were refering to in Episode IV was, and we get to see Anakin undergo his training, and Obi-Wan will even mention a quick reference to Episode IV that you shouldn't miss. Just listen and you'll see.Overall, this is the best Star Wars movie I've seen since the Empire Strikes Back, and is one that should be remembered forever. Star Wars fans won't be disappointed.
Product: Star Wars Trilogy (Widescreen Edition)
Rating: 5/5
Rating: 5/5
There sure has been a lot of controversy over this series. Even those of you against the changes must admit it's quite a hot topic. How many of you have even seen the new dvd set? I know I haven't, but buy it or not, I sure plan to.
