Reviewing this box set when it is out in stores and in all probability snapped up by eager Star Wars fans seems a little unnecessary. The promise of a shiny high def transfer and the long awaited deleted scenes from the Original Trilogy conspire to tempt you to part with your cash once more, to enjoy the long time ago all over again.

But there’s a problem. A wave of negative reaction to some of the changes made by Lucas for this box set became clear a few weeks prior to the release as rumours of some important scenes ruined by needless additions and more handy work by the CG Replacement Bureau. Then video clips were uploaded to confirm the changes and boycotts were threatened and those unhappy with the Special Editions and 2004 DVD ‘improvements’ found new voice and dusted off their VHS copies and chided those who had their pre-orders booked.

So, who’s right? Are the changes too much for those who loved the originals, or is the HD transfer and wealth of extras enough to make the purchase worthwhile? As with many things, both are right, from a certain point of view.

We’ve already looked back over the films this past week in our Video Vault series, so if you’re looking to find out more about Episodes I to VI then click here to read them; there is an assumption that you’re not going in totally blind here. If you’ve never seen the films at all and can spare the cash then this box set is an instant recommendation – just make sure you watch them in the order they were made, don’t be tempted to start your journey to the dark side and out again with The Phantom Menace.

The more pertinent question is perhaps asked of those who already own the DVD set (and probably the VHS copies as well): Do I need to buy this set too?

The HD transfer is most obvious in Episodes IV to VI, and what I found strange were the additions for the 1997 Special Editions and how they showed their age. The advancement of computer technology is so rapid and is  noticeable when some of the visual effects which impressed in the late nineties now look very out of place. The additions to Mos Eisley are not as polished as the 1977 footage, with some very messy compositing of the newer elements over the old and some problems with the focus in certain shots. It surprised me as the original footage looks incredibly sharp for the most part, occasionally there is a very muddy shot in between the crystal clear original footage which itself isn’t completely free from problems.

Looking on the positive side there are moments when I saw things I had never seen before, and I’ve watched these films a lot. In truth I’ve never seen the sparks that fly off the colliding lightsabers in the duel between Vader and Kenobi. At first it looks a little like CGI sweat and it may have always been in there but this was new to me. Obi-Wan Kenobi’s new scream to scare off the Sandpeople is a strange addition to those of us who have known the original but isn’t a huge offence overall. It was a genuine thrill to see the detail and the dirt of the first film in particular, not least in contrast to the clinical green-screenery of the prequels; the forests on the moon of Endor look lush and verdant and the ice planet of Hoth is so sharp you could shave a Wookie with it. The occasional transfer quirks aside this is the most beautiful version of the films we’ve seen and when I first saw the discs at the Big Screen event I was sold.

The additions will irk some, and infuriate others. I’m sure a lot of people may not even notice the newly CGI Yoda in The Phantom Menace or question Vader’s new, and controversial, cry of ‘Noooooooo.’ just before he saves Luke from the Emperor’s final attack, but you’ll know which applies to you. In all honesty the films remain some of the most exciting science fiction films we have and they have never looked better. I’d question the need to buy this new set if you already have the DVDs and aren’t too fussed about the HD, but as we’ll see there is a reason to keep your old copies around even if you do.

The menu system on the main discs are simple and won’t blow your mind but they are a vast improvement over those found on the three discs of extras which invite you to select a film, then a location (Tattooine, Hoth, Bespin etc) and then to select a category (interviews, deleted scenes etc) and then a further click to play them. It’s not fun to navigate this menu every time you want to see a particular special feature. The interviews to introduce each film’s extras are short and drawn from cast and crew and are a nice addition. The deleted scenes are a lot of fun, with the early scenes of Luke and Biggs on Tattooine being the most substantial. The scene with Han and a female companion in the Cantina is here, as is an extended scene in the land speeder with Luke and C3PO searching for R2D2 and while most of these have been seen before on various multimedia releases it’s good to have them all in one place.

What I alluded to earlier about keeping the DVDs handy is one of the more puzzling elements of this collection as the deleted scenes for the Prequel Trilogy do not include those found on the DVD releases. This is a strange omission and a real shame, nice though it is to see a brief cameo by Dominic West as a Naboo guard pushing over a defeated Battle Droid there were some substantial scenes excised from the original cut that would have fitted alongside the new scenes perfectly. Maybe there’s a definitive box set coming our way – maybe when the 3D version are put out…

When I was a kid the only way you could have Star Wars in your own home was as part of the documentaries made and televised at the time of release of the Original Trilogy films. These are included on the final disc of extras and proved a highlight for me as I was hit by a wave of nostalgia. Also included, and perhaps the most intriguing extra, on the disc was The Masters – a discussion of the making of The Empire Strikes Back with the late Irvin Kershner proving a wonderful guide through the difficult second movie.

So in the end I was won over by the new transfer and the decent, if limited, set of extras. If you have the DVDs and are annoyed at the constant tinkering by Lucas then be warned – this won’t light your saber. If you’re a fan and want to see Star Wars in the best way possible then the choice is clear. The galaxy far, far away has never looked better.

This may be an exercise in futility, or at least an attempt to distill down a real wealth of material into a fairly artificial concept, however in honour of the Star Wars franchise finally making its way onto Blu-ray, here are my considered nominations for the best set pieces, one per film, of the whole blessed saga.

You may not (indeed most likely will not) agree with me, which is what the comments section below is for. Let me know what gets your vote, tell me if you think I’m missing an obvious highlight.

In the interests of kicking it a little old-skool, only those set pieces comprised in the original theatrical versions are eligible, so Han’s meeting with Jabba in the Special Edition of Episode IV is out (as if it were ever going to be in), as are any of the seemingly absurd tweaks rolled out for the Blu-ray editions. Okay, enough preamble, let’s do this, in numerical order.

Episode 1: The Phantom Menace – The Duel of the Fates

This is one of the easier choices, though the pod race runs it close. That set piece owes a real debt to Ben Hur and since the whole thing was essentially manufactured in a computer, I’m going to go with something that feels a little more real, albeit it obviously CG-augmented. There are a few really good lightsaber fights in the saga, but this is the daddy, Qui-Gon and Obi-Wan at the absolute pinnacle of their powers (before Obi-Wan lost his recklessness and Qui-Gon lost his, well, livingness) and Maul wielding a never-before seen double-ended lightsaber. The surprise of that particular weapon was of course shamefully spoiled by the trailer, but it was still a great moment.

Ewan MacGregor’s penchant for destroying his aluminium prop lightsabers by smashing them too hard and forcing scenes to have to be re-filmed by making sound effects with his mouth while fighting have been well documented, but the sequence is simply brilliant, with Qui-Gon and Obi-Wan working together and complementing each other seamlessly and Ray Park’s considerable martial arts ability adroitly deployed.  Although other lightsaber duels would have more narrative or emotional significance, none would match this for fight choreography or jaw-dropping vigour, with John Williams’ soaring choral and orchestral score bringing added resonance. Enjoy. Go on, treat yourself, you know you want to.

Episode II: Attack of the Clones – Little Green Bundle of Fury

That summer, my beloved wife got me tickets for a midnight screening of  Episode II, the first night of its release. As tired as we and everyone else around us were, there was plenty of anticipation. Episode I was by now widely acknowledged as a misfire, but word was this was a considerable improvement. It could hardly have been otherwise. In fact Episode II proved to be, much like the rest of the prequels, a film with some good sequences, frustratingly shackled to narrative imperatives that left in unable to stray into surprising or inventive territory. My selection for Episode II is perhaps the most shamelessly fan-pleasing moment of any of the films. As the film wore on into the small hours of the morning, Yoda shuffles into a cave, with both Obi-Wan and Anakin having been bested and rendered unconscious by Darth Tyranus himself, Count Dooku. Yoda and the Count exchange little blue lightning bolt things, before Dooku announces what we all wanted to hear, that lightsabers would settle this one.

Yoda uses the force to take his lightsaber in his hand, before transforming into a 900 year-old green version of the Tazmanian Devil, leaping, twisting, spinning, fighting, parrying. The entire cinema auditorium cheered. Although on reflection I feel a little sorry for Christopher Lee, already at that point well short of the athleticism needed to do the fight scene justice and reduced to swinging a metal pole at a tennis ball on a stick, the end result is so much fun, so satisfying, that I can think of no sequence in the film more deserving of its place on this most exclusive of lists. Though if it could have been Miss Piggy vs The Count from Sesame Street, that would have been something truly special.

Episode III: Revenge of the Sith – Rise Lord Vader

So much of Episode III was a frustrating effort to fit a square peg into a round hole, to retro-fit the backstory so that it matched seamlessly with what must happen in Episode IV. Clumsy steps like getting Jimmy Smits to order the wiping of the droids’ memories, or Palpatine’s face symmetrically deforming and wrinkling when trying to zap Mace Windu sit alongside slightly more considered attempts to meld the loose edges. One element that worked pretty well was the destruction of Anakin’s body by Obi-Wan and therefore the necessity of the donning of the suit of suits for Vader. Although with one word (“Noooooooooo”) the entire character, perhaps the whole saga was undone, before that the fitting of the mask, the first rasped breaths, the click as mask, helmet and suit meet up was effectively and affectingly staged.

Obviously the entirety of the arc of the prequels was telling the story of how the boy Anakin became the peerless villain that is Lord Vader and suddenly here he was, that none-more-iconic metallic wheeze, that suit, James Earl Jones’ baritone delivery. As unsatisfying as the backstory with Amidala undoubtedly was, there was still an undeniably strong spine-tingle moment when we finally see Vader as we had always known him to be.

Episode IV: A New Hope – The Trench Run

An awful lot of the content of Star Wars has become iconic. The duel between Vader and Obi-Wan, the visit to the Mos Eisley Cantina, the rescue of Leia and the predicament of the rubbish compactor, Luke & Leia’s swing to freedom, that Stormtrooper who bangs his dead, Greedo definitely not shooting first. The list goes on. The trench run at the end though, as the Rebel Alliance seeks to exploit the weakness of the exhaust port on the newly constructed Death Star, trumps them all.

The initial dog fight between X-Wings and TIE-fighters, before our motley band of heroes hit the deck and try to get to the target before they get blown to smithereens, Han Solo returning to redeem himself, Vader getting in on the piloting action, Obi-Wan’s ghostly voice exhorting Luke to Use The Force, the “now you think about it I can’t believe I didn’t pick up on it before” worryingly Freudian subject of the none-more-phallic small X-Wings shooting into a small opening which in turn leads to the centre of the much larger, spherical object of everyone’s attention. Crikey.

Admittedly now that it is refracted through the prism of the current state of the art in effects, the model work for the surface of the Death Star shows a little wear and tear, but the thrill, the engagement, the emotional pay-off are undiminished. The trench run has become perhaps the most instantly recognisable set piece of the whole saga, second only to the lightsaber in iconic status. The opening credits of Naked Gun 33 1/3 threw the famous flashing lights into the canyon and we all recognised it immediately (try the below clip at 1:56). Watch the scene now, for the zillionth time and you will still find yourself on the edge of your seat. Is Luke going to make it? Will Vader get to him first? Will he hit the target without using his onboard computer? Of course he will, but you’ll still feel tense. And that is what makes the scene great.

Episode V: The Empire Strikes Back – AT-ATs att-attack Hoth

I’ve already cast my vote (as have most other right-thinking people) for Empire as the finest film of the saga. So what is the best of the best? A compelling case could be made for any of the duel between Vader and Luke at the end, Luke’s dream-like walk through the darkness on Dagobah, Lando’s treachery and Han’s trip to the cooler, but the appearance of the AT-ATs does, I would maintain, top them all.

With ILM providing yet more ground-breaking effects and model work, iconic designing and genuine excitement as rebel craft swoop in and out of the marching legs of the advancing AT-ATs, it begins the film at such a highpoint that it takes something as sensational as Vader’s shock declaration to Luke during the finale to return the film to that seemingly untouchable opening level.

To quote Forrest Gump, that’s about all I have to say about that. So I’ll leave you to enjoy it, before pressing on with Jedi.

Episode VI: Return of the Jedi – The Pit of Sarlacc

Jedi is a film absolutely packed full of incident. It is only because of the stratospheric quality of Episodes IV and V that it doesn’t get more kudos. Consider Jabba’s palace and the Rancor, the Sarlacc pit, speeder bike chases on Endor, the dogfight in and around the new Death Star, Luke/Vader/Palpatine – there is an awful lot going on and it is all coherently staged and edited, with underlying narrative cohesion to keep us engaged. If only that could be said for all large-scale sci-fi threequels (*cough* Dark of the Moon *cough*).

Choosing the best out of so impressive a bunch can feel a little unkind to what is left out, such is the embarassment of riches available for consideration. But choose I must, thems are the rules. And Sarlacc it must be.

Before Lucas got his hands on the film and decided to stick a Little Shop of Horrors mouth into it, the pit was truly terrifying, at least it was for me, seeing a Star Wars film for the first time at the Enfield ABC with my Dad and big brother. Teeth running down the sides out of sight, sentient tentacles reaching out for prey and the prospect of a millenium-long digestion. Added to that you have a bikini-clad princess throttling a morbidly obese slug/gangster, Boba Fett meeting his demise, Luke behaving like a properly cool Jedi ninja, Lando nearly buying the farm and lashings of explosions and lightsaber deaths.

It is thrilling stuff, operating as a brilliant set-piece, yet feeling like an organic part of the whole, as all the best set pieces should. There is a reason why they find themselves there and a logic to how the scene develops and concludes, showing up so many blockbuster set pieces these days which only serve to enable the director to say, “ooh, look what I can do”. It’s great. Really great.

Well, those are my choices. Other scenes are available. What do you think?

Another hugely anticipated film to hit cinema screens this summer is the Jon Favreau-directed Cowboys & Aliens, and this new posters features a familiar-looking figure next to lead, Daniel Craig.

Adapted from a comic book series (surprise, surprise!) which offers an alternative timeline where aliens end up making life hell for a town in Arizona during the Wild West era, not only do they have to contend with James Bond, but none other than Han Solo himself, Harrison Ford, is on hand to give those no-good UFO’s a-whupping. If this image of the duo isn’t enough to send waves of excitement through the geek community, I’ll eat my darn Stetson!

Ford’s garb can’t help but bring to mind his last his tussle with those pesky ET’s (who, incidentally, infiltrated another past period in US history in that film too), but let’s hope Cowboys & Aliens manages to put to rest memories of his dalliances with the Crystal Skull Kingdom.

The film opens in the UK on 19th August. A big ‘yee-ha!’ goes out to IGN for the poster.

On the 13th November 2009, almost 32 years after the legendary Star Wars film was first released in the UK on 27th December 1977, A good friend (who shall remain anonymous) came to my house to watch the Original Holy Trilogy: A New Hope, Empire Strikes Back and Return of the Jedi for the first ever time.

He is the same age as me (31) and I’m sure he watched the same TV channels as me at Christmas in the 80′s and 90′s when Star Wars was played religiously each year and families crowded round the TV to watch them as they became a part of tradition.

He must have heard about Star Wars in the 80′s but for some reason he never sat down and watched them or even played with the Star Wars toys, which were probably found in almost every home back then.

I know some of his friends and they all have seen Star Wars and so he wasn’t influenced by peer pressure to see them, so what happened?

I personally can’t imagine my life without Star Wars, the good and the bad, and it’s Star Wars that brought me close to my friends when i was a kid. I’m still very close with these friends even today and we still talk about watching the films, the toys or of the times we had role playing Star Wars, I had a black dog when I was a kid who took on the role of Darth Vader that chased me (Han) and my friend Paul (Luke) around the house and garden and those are some of my favorite childhood memories.

How someone has gone their entire life without witnessing these films is quite a shocking thing to hear, he has however seen the travesty that was Episode 1 and i can understand why he didn’t see any Star Wars films from that point, but what happened previously.
He did say when he saw Episode 1 that he was going to watch them in sequence but I’m glad this has been brought to an end!

I thought i would look into what he did know about Star Wars so I asked him what he knows about it, he said just five things (even though he has seen episode 1 which can’t have registered that much)

Darth Vader
Luke Skywalker
Princess Leia
Millennium Falcon
X-Wing

Quite a predictable selection i suppose as peers or popular culture have referenced Star Wars in one way or another over the years and it’s actually impossible to avoid, Like in Friends, Family Guy, The Simpsons, used by comics, sampled in music, mocked in adverts, shown in magazines, heard from work colleagues, friends, friends of friends, family, it’s endless and a phenomenon that has never been matched and i presume everyone has heard of Star Wars in one way or another.

I told a few friends what i was doing with this friend and the similar response was WHAT, HE’S NEVER SEEN STAR WARS!!! and generally that will be the response of a majority of film fans, but my friend isn’t a film fan, he chooses other things in life which is fair enough and i fully respect that, but still, never seen Star Wars, it’s quite a statement.

But the revelations grew, he also shockingly revealed that he has also never seen any Indiana Jones films, None of them! these along with the Star Wars films are surely classic films that I, and almost everyone I’ve ever met in my life have seen, not necessary out of choice but because they are movies you see as a child, as a teenager, as an adult or as a parent.

I asked him why he hadn’t seen the classic Star Wars films in his life and he told me that he never felt the need to, his parents never encouraged him to watch them or offered to buy the toys, so admirably they refused to bow to the imaginable immense pressure to buy these toys for their children in the late 70′s to mid 80′s, he did however own transformers and He-Man toys so he wasn’t a kid who was without the joy of toys, maybe it’s just one of those things that passed him by.

So after over 6 hours of Light sabers, the force, Ewoks, rebel scum, blasters, Death Stars, Storm troopers, Tie Fighters, AT-AT Walkers, shooting first, John Williams genius and all other roll of the tongue Star Wars magic, we finished watching the classic trilogy, during it he showed no signs of real emotion or enjoyment but had quite a philosophical look in his face and the words he used to describe them all were, “brilliant”. He explained it was better than he thought it was going to be and it was fantastically made, especially for it’s time but he said he would never likely watch them again which is understandable, it’s not going to have an influence at his age as it did when seeing it as a kid, but he is glad he did it which is a great thing to hear and my purpose of this experience.

He said he hated Han Solo…..these words brought a gasp to the others in attendance, he said he was a horrible person, selfish and i suppose he is right, this is Han Solo’s character, but as kids we grew up with Han Solo being the coolest character, iconic and someone most boys wanted to be when we re-created Star Wars in the playground or with our Kenner replica’s and we didn’t see that side to him so to us “The Star Wars Generation” we looked through those flaws and just loved him, he flew the coolest ship every created, had the best lines in the film and was our hero and of our mothers really loved him.

He of course loved the sound and the music and of course who wouldn’t, it’s the perfect accompaniment to the film and without it would never have been as successful.

He really appreciated that Luke had to learn and train to become a Jedi and said films today tend to just let the main character have/find the powers and save the day without having to prove they are ready, he really appreciated the progression in Luke’s and all the other characters stories throughout the three films and really felt they all had a real depth which is a great point, It’s what separates Star Wars from other films, the characters are so perfectly brought to life and their story is the quintessential version of the tale of good vs Evil.

He also talked about his theory of the political side to Star Wars and interestingly kind of compared the characters to countries, Luke Skywalker is America and what America wants to be, the good guy of the universe and all that’s good and Darth Vader is the bad of the world. I don’t personally believe in this, but as a grown up seeing it for the first time i suppose you want to see beyond the meaning of the film and try to make political references or find the true meaning of what the story is trying to say. But for me it’s a simple story that that was inspired by George Lucas love of the genre and brought to the big screen in a truly devoted way that’s not been bettered since.

Another thing he pointed out was that Princess Leia was the only woman who made an appearance in the films and he is quite right, there were the odd roles like Mon Mothma and a few extras but Leia was the only woman to have a major role, in his opinion she’s not that attractive but due to her being the sole woman in a notable role in Star Wars he bet that she would have been top of most men/boys wish list, fair point but he did say that the slave outfit was one of the most sexiest things he had ever seen, SO SAY WE ALL!

So to round up it was a really interesting experience for all, I was fascinated that someone had never seen Star Wars and i wanted to know what their reaction to seeing it for the first time would be. Obviously there is no answer as to why, it’s a choice in life and one that seems so alien that it shocked me, so i felt the need to show them to him as it seemed the thing to do as it’s one of those things in life i feel you should be able to say you’ve done in life

Even today you make new friendships in life and it’s likely that the conversation will eventually lead to Star Wars, and now of course we were so spoiled with the three amazing original films that they were tainted a bit with the abomination of the new trilogy and so it gave another angle to discuss Star Wars but in the end it will always be known as one of the most popular and phenomenal success in film of all time, how many of you clicked on this post because it had the Star Wars Logo? it’s a magical, life shaping film.

And now some of the best of Star Wars comedy, It’s an endless source of enjoyment.

Clerks do the Death Star

Eddie Izzard does the Death Star Canteen

Kevin Spacey does Star Wars – Genius!

Dead Ringers – Obi Wan buys a car