Don’t Screw Around With MY Memories…
On September 12, LucasFilm and 20th Century Fox Home Video is going to be releasing the “Star Wars” trilogy (episodes IV-VI) on DVD as separate, two disc packages. Disc one of each will contain the Special Edition version of each film, while disc two will contain the original theatrical version of the movie in question.
George Lucas, Rick McCallum (the producer of episodes I-III) and other spokespeople from LucasFilm have said that the Special Editions (SEs) are the ONLY versions that will ever be released from now on. They are the de facto versions; period, end of sentence.
The original theatrical versions are considered “supplemental material” or “DVD extras.” However, this begs a question. Why are they releasing them in their entirety in the first place? I do not have the trilogy box set, but I understand that there is no footage comparing the SEs against the original versions. This is not good for people who have a casual interest in what changed from one version to the other. The “Star Trek: The Motion Picture” director’s edition has an extensive section comparing the footage in the theatrical version and video versions to the footage changed by Robert Wise for his DVD release. The release of the original versions of episodes IV-VI is good for people who do have this casual and not-so-casual interest in what changed from one film to another.
“Star Wars” was released with that title in 1977. It has gone through so many subtle changes over the years since then (including the Special Edition treatments), that it is hard to remember what the original was like. The thing that sticks out to me having seen it six times on actually getting a seat in the theater the first time was the fact that it was not called “Episode IV-A NEW HOPE” at the start of the crawl. George Lucas and Fox were not sure that the movie would make any money, let alone be a hit, and so they hedged their bets and left the numbering off. It was only after “Empire Strikes Back” came out that they initiated the chapter or episode system.
The reason that LucasFilm is releasing the originals on DVD is fan pressure. Now, I am sure in his mind, George Lucas was thinking that episodes IV-VI were “works in progress” because since day one, he was never happy with the disparity between his vision and the final result. So, he made changes. He owns all the films, he has a perfect right. In fact, I like the SEs probably better than the original theatrical versions, because they are George’s original vision, or as close as CGI can get, and that is what matters to me. However, I do know a lot of people who aren’t happy.
No one can give me a good objective answer, either. We aren’t talking about colorizing or “improving” some dead or retired director’s movies either. We are talking about the original creator/director/executive producer/co-author of three films, making changes he thinks are artistically necessary to enhance his vision and make it better for everyone. The one answer I constantly get from people who protest this treatment of anything is “It’s because I want to have the version I remembered when I…:
1. “…was a kid or…
2. …saw it in the theater in 1977.”
That may be the bigger issue. People don’t want their precious memories taken away or altered. I don’t think anybody would have minded as much about the DVD boxed set release of the SEs had the originals been concurrently made public as well. However, George was adamant for a number of years saying that the SEs were the only version of the trilogy available going forward. He caved in to the pressure.
The only objective reasoning I can see for releasing the originals, especially “Star Wars”, is that there is some historical and archival value to it. It was one of the first blockbuster summer films and it was the highest grossing film of all time until it was supplanted by “E.T.”
I constantly hear this argument regarding the original Star Trek. However, it has happened. Star Trek: TOS will be premiering with “Balance of Terror” with enhanced audio and CGI on September 16 (8 days after Star Trek’s 40th anniversary). I assume some Trek fans are going to blow like Superfly TNT, “They’re screwing up the original!” However, the reason they are doing this is to transfer the film elements to HDTV and the old effects just won’t hold up to that. Star Trek used a lot of stock footage and they didn’t have time back in the day to keep it in a pristine condition. HD would reveal every imperfection, gate scratch and hair on those shots. Better to do them in CGI if they can do them right.
What really interests me is the whole issue of not screwing around with childhood or adolescent memories. Some people remember exactly where they were when they saw “Star Wars”, who they were with, what they ate for breakfast that day, etc. Lucas’ “screwing around” with the film tarnishes its memory for many. It brings back a better or simpler time. Sounds like nostalgia.
Filed under: Entertainment
