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11,000 Words on the Star Wars Trilogy DVDs
The Barking Dog writes "On Monday, September 27th DVD Verdict posted a bantha-sized review of the Star Wars Trilogy. Written by ten people and weighing in at over 11,000 words, it's probably the net's most thorough, extensive review of not only the DVDs, but Star Wars's impact on sci-fi and filmmaking in general. And as one of the contributors, I think that's a good thing."
Hardware Wars
Collector's Edition - 1977 (2002) - Michael Wiese Productions
review by Bill Hunt, editor of The Digital Bits
Program Rating: B
Disc Ratings (Video/Audio/Extras): B/A-/C+
Specs and Features
13 mins, NR, full frame (1.33:1), single-sided, single-layered, Amaray keep case packaging, audio commentary with director Ernie Fosselius, Producer's Comments featurette (5 mins), Antiques Sideshow "prequel" (5 mins), Foreign Version (11 mins), Director's Cut (10 mins), Creature Feature (6 mins), photo gallery, Hollywood Gift Catalog, DVD credits, Easter egg (?), animated film-themed menus with sound effects and music, program access, languages: English (Dolby Pro Logic compatible LPCM), subtitles: none
"You'll laugh... you'll cry... you'll kiss three bucks good-bye!"
Yes, it's true. Hardware Wars - that sprawling space saga of romance, rebellion and household appliances - has finally made its way to DVD. Hardware Wars is the original Star Wars spoof - the fan film that inspired all fan films. And as such, it holds a special place in the hearts of every film geek (or film geek-at-heart). I recall the first time I ever saw the short, at a sci-fi convention in Fargo, ND, way back in 1980 or '81. They were playing it as part of a triple bill with Bambi Meets Godzilla and Closet Cases of the Nerd Kind. And it was the hit of the show. Ham Salad? Augie Ben Doggie? The evil Darph Nader? You had to love it. And we did. And now you can pick it up on your favorite 5" disc.
Video-wise, the flick looks about as good as you can expect for 25-year-old 16 mm film. Which is to say that it looks as good as it ever has, but it isn't gonna win any awards. The print is grainy, it's dirty, but that's all part of the charm. The audio is actually better than I expected, in Pro Logic compatible LPCM. You get the illusion of surround, with surprising ambience (wind noise, etc...), some panning and dialogue that moves around the front of the soundstage in cheesy but appropriate fashion. It's fun and it works.
To be honest, you get a surprising amount of extras on this disc, but all of it is the sort of thing that's probably really only funny to the folks who were involved in the making of the film in the first place. There's a tongue-in-cheek audio commentary with director Ernie Fosselius, that's cute for a few minutes but is way too scripted to be funny and too short to contain anything substantial. There's a made-up pirated "foreign" version of the film that would like you to believe it came from Russia. There's a briefly amusing Antiques Sideshow spoof "prequel" wherein an antique expert appraises the only remaining copy of the film. There's a video clip of the producer talking about the film. There's a video segment of the director being interviewed on what looks like a cable access show (from the early 80s judging by the quality). There's also a "director's version" of the film made up of outtakes and unused footage from the original production (the cat swatting at the opening titles is a funny touch). Beyond that, there's a photo gallery, a spoof Hollywood Gift Catalog and what looks like an Easter egg that will "detonate the DVD" (I couldn't figure out how to work it - maybe that's the joke). There's also supposed to be the film's script (according to the packaging) but I couldn't find it.
I'm frankly surprised, what with all this stuff, that they didn't include the goofy CGI-enhanced Special Edition version of Hardware Wars on this disc. It was done in 1997 to spoof the Star Wars Trilogy: Special Edition. I actually bought the VHS tape a few years ago, but every time I see a VHS tape these days I get the urge to chuck it in the trash. I'm miffed that it isn't on this disc in the very same way I'd be miffed if George Lucas released only the original theatrical version of Star Wars on DVD without the Special Edition version. To be complete, you gotta have both. Yeah, I'm picking nits. But it's an obvious nit. I mean, it's not like there wasn't room on the
Three?
1. Fox video stereo edition
2. "THX" edition
3. Laserdisc
4. Special Edition
5. Special Edition - Letterbox
6. Special Edition on DVD
That's just what I'm sure of off the top of my head. I would guess that the Fox video version was also available on Betamax, but I'm not sure.
-Peter
Well, I bought them today and found the movies quite good (some small sound problems in the beginning but almost nothing). What I loved is that although George Lucas cleaned the movie and added a lot of SFX, it is so kitsch you still see the original SW behind (all the costumes, haircuts...). You can buy it safely, your "child's dreams" have not been destroyed ;)
The biggest changes that I noticed:
- Ep 4 - Jabba was redone and looks a lot better than in the original special edition. Still obviously CG, but at least it's an improvement and not something worse. Also, Han and Greedo shoot at the same time.
- Ep 5 - The emperor is now the actual emperor when you see Vader talking to him through the big communicator. Before it was a fugly emperor that looked nothing like the Ep. 6 emperor. Also, they added dialogue about Luke being the son of Anakin Skywalker and yada yada.
- Ep 6 - At the end, it is Hayden instead of the original Vader guy. They did it well, but that one's left up to personal preference as to whether it's Good or Bad.
So if all you have is the VHS special edition, this is worth picking up. Even if you have the originals, the improved picture and sound is nice.00101010
(actually, I have mixed feeling on this one -- I know that the Emperor was killed, but would the Empire crumble that quickly? We are talking about hours to a day or so from the destruction of the Death Star II to Vader's funeral pyre.)
Timothy Zahn's first trilogy of SW novels explains this. The gist is that the Emperor was using his powers in the force to keep the Empire together and when he died the power structure sort of 'snapped out of it'
If you have a modded Xbox, do NOT put dvd 4 into it or your modifications will NOT work anymore! The DVD forcefeeds updates into the console, causing it to disable any mods of hacks that the console has in it.
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I tried posting the warning to be put on as news, but it appeared that the editors has bigger things to do, like figuring out who to line up for barfights.
http://www.boingboing.net/2004/09/24/lucas_put_
http://www.xbox-scene.com/xbox1data
http://forums.xbox-scene.com/index.
First rule of holes; When in one, stop digging.