Go right to the featurettes of the new “Star Wars Trilogy” DVD set.
It’s right there – in small tantalizing bites, of course, but it’s there – sneak peaks of the lightsaber duel to end them all, a chilling glance at the doning of the Darth Vader mask.
George Lucas knows how to whet the appetite of his fans. He knows how to tempt and tease and stir up the anticipation for next summer’s “Star Wars III: Revenge of the Sith.” So we see actor Hayden Christensen fitted for his Darth Vader mask; later we see him put it on. And we watch the awe-struck reaction of the Industrial Light & Magic crew at the sight of him walking on the set.
And that’s nothing. This four-disc “Star Wars” set, long overdue in its release, is out of this world. The only downside is that these aren’t the original theatrical releases. Lucas did a bit of tinkering a few years back for the “special edition” versions; he’s done more here – most of what we could do without. A universe-wide celebration scene added to the end of “Return of the Jedi,” for instance, feels phony.
But overall, this is fantastic. The much-anticipated and highly debated lightsaber duel between Anakin and Obi-Wan (the battle leading to the creation of Darth Vader) is shown as actors Christensen and Ewan McGregor practice it and then act it out in front of a bluescreen. That bluescreen footage is short but makes the point of how powerfully aggressive young Anakin has become.
Want more? Each of the three films in this middle trilogy – “Star Wars,” “The Empire Strikes Back” and “Return of the Jedi” – has commentaries by Lucas, actress Carrie Fisher, sound designer Ben Burtt and effects supervisor Dennis Muren. “Empire” also has commentary by director Irvin Kirshner, whose robust voice and clear memories are very entertaining.
It’s intriguing to hear Lucas discuss his shortcomings and admit mistakes, including killing off the ever-popular Boba Fett. Listen carefully: He also throws out tidbits that could be clues (or decoys) for “Revenge of the Sith.” He refers to the “death” of Anakin, something sure to ignite growing Internet debate that Anakin didn’t merely go to the dark side but that he was killed by Obi-Wan.
A fourth disc includes featurettes and “Empire of Dreams: The Story of the Star Wars Trilogy,” a wonderful documentary that never bores during its 150 minutes. It includes new, very open interviews with Lucas, Fisher, Mark Hamill, Harrison Ford, Anthony Daniels, Peter Mayhew and many others.
Wondering what all the fuss is about with “Star Wars”? Check out the featurette, “The Force is With Them: The Legacy of Star Wars” and hear filmmakers including Peter Jackson, James Cameron, Ridley Scott and John Singletary discuss seeing “Star Wars” for the first time and how it affected them.
Cameron quit his truck driving job to become a filmmaker; Jackson based his “Lord of the Rings” trilogy on the “Star Wars” ethos; Singletary, then 9, knew what he wanted to do from that moment on.
And Scott? It was so good, he says, that he “was depressed.” And also inspired. His next film was the sci-fi masterpiece “Alien.”
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