Review: Star Wars The Complete Saga (Blu Ray)

Star Wars as you've never seen it before...

One of the most successful film series of all time finally makes its way to blu-ray in a rather unremarkable 9 disc set that doesn’t so much explode onto the HD format as fizzle and pop with a faint smell of fart.

There’s really not much point talking about the films, except to say that anyone hoping for the definitive HD Star Wars experience is going to be disappointed. There are no remastered original cuts of the classic trilogy and as far as extras go there isn’t much here that you won’t have already seen on DVD. If that weren’t enough, I can confirm that the online rumours are true - George Lucas has made even more digital “improvements” to the original trilogy, including one that almost (but doesn’t quite) ruin a pivotal scene in Return of the Jedi.

The good news is that Star Wars has never looked or sounded better. I say this is good news, because while the films make the jump to HD pretty well, the quality really isn’t what it should be for such a major release. It certainly doesn’t do much to raise (or even meet) the bar for a blu-ray set.

The Packaging

The set comes in a cardboard slip-case decorated with a surprisingly understated (read: bland) pastel drawing that draws no inspiration from concept art or the original film posters. The minimalist artwork is a strange choice, but it really does sum up the set as a whole – underwhelming and somewhat shoddy.

The outer slipcase is fairly durable, I’ll give it that, although it isn’t as rugged as some others – most notably the Alien Anthology set. Inside, rather than a gatefold you get a cardboard book with a fan of plastic disc holders held in place with… wait for it… Sellotape... That’s right, a commercial product that sells for between £60 and £70 is held together with Sellotape. I mean seriously… could they not have done something better than that? I’m well aware that I spend way too much money on this crap, I really don’t think I need to be physically reminded of the fact.

Sellotape. It holds things together.

Honestly, it’s surprising that the thing didn't fall apart in the post, let alone what the wear and tear of repeated viewings is likely to do to it. Presumably in a few years when the box finally falls to bits I’ll have a nice set of expensive drinks coasters to put my beer on. Awesome.

In short, it’s nowhere near the level of quality you should expect for the price and not a patch on the recent Lord of the Rings Extended Edition Blu Ray set, which actually costs between £20 and £30 less!

The Movies

As far as the movies themselves go, here too the quality isn’t really up to the standard it should be, with some pretty variable picture quality across the series. I won’t bore anyone with my complete lack of technical knowledge (you can see a more technical review of the films audio/video quality for a more technical review of the films’ audio/video quality here) and I expect most people buying these blu rays will be perfectly happy with them. Certainly they do look pretty good on my TV (32” 1080P Samsung), but there are some issues.

Firstly, while the prequel trilogy looks pretty good for the most part, The Phantom Menace suffers from some weird digital softening, which adds a soft focus effect to some scenes. That might work on a Hallmark Christmas movie, but it’s not really what you want in Star Wars.

The biggest disappointment though is with the original trilogy. Don’t get me wrong, this is the best the Holy Trilogy has ever looked and sounded. The inevitable ‘but’ here is that this isn’t a new digital transfer. Apparently rather than creating a brand new HD master using the 4K process, the producers have recycled the old 2K Lowry Digital master created for the 2004 DVDs and which brings with it a lot of the same contrast and oversaturation issues that plagued that release. As a result the original trilogy has much the same problem as a lot of other old movies converted to HD - close-up shots are pin sharp (enough to reveal some of the films’ budgetary limitations), but a lot of noise and artefacting creeps into the mid-ranges and the backgrounds.

Where things really go off the rails though is in the contrast between the original filmed footage from 30 years ago and the CGI scenes created for the 1997 Special Edition cinema release. That CGI wasn’t created for Hi Definition and it simply doesn’t hold up on blu ray. In some scenes the contrast is so jarring that it’s as if the actors had walked onto the set of Who Framed Roger Rabbit.

In itself that makes perhaps the most compelling argument for releasing a properly remastered edition of the original theatrical cuts (not that George Lucas is listening of course). When we’ve reached the point where technology is leaving older edits of the films behind, you really have to question George Lucas’ ethos in continuing to make further changes. I could care less if Lucas has added blinking eyes to the Ewoks or re-edited ‘Greedo shoots first’ to make it look slightly less naff (it still looks naff), I’m more bothered by Mos Eisley looking like a scene from Jumanji. That said, adding the “No” (two of them in fact) to Vader's redemption in Return of the Jedi really was surely the work of a sadist.

Extras

The extras in the blu ray set are a pretty mixed bag. You get 3 discs – one for each trilogy and a final disc of documentaries. For the most part, there’s little here that you won’t have seen before and unfortunately much of the material hasn’t made the transition to Hi Definition very well. There are three new documentaries:

• Star Warriors (2007, Color, 84 Minutes) – Some Star Wars fans want to collect action figures...these fans want to be action figures! A tribute to the 501st Legion, a global organization of Star Wars costume enthusiasts, this insightful documentary shows how the super-fan club promotes interest in the films through charity and volunteer work at fundraisers and high-profile special events around the world.

• A Conversation with the Masters: The Empire Strikes Back 30 Years Later (2010, Color, 25 Minutes) – George Lucas, Irvin Kershner, Lawrence Kasdan and John Williams look back on the making of The Empire Strikes Back in this in-depth retrospective from Lucasfilm created to help commemorate the 30th anniversary of the movie. The masters discuss and reminisce about one of the most beloved films of all time.

• Star Wars Spoofs (2011, Color, 91 Minutes) – The farce is strong with this one! Enjoy a hilarious collection of Star Wars spoofs and parodies that have been created over the years, including outrageous clips from Family Guy, The Simpsons, How I Met Your Mother and more - and don't miss "Weird Al" Yankovic's one-of-a-kind music video tribute to The Phantom Menace! 

It’s interesting stuff, but aside from the Irvin Kershner interview (his last before his death last year) there’s little that makes for compelling viewing, certainly nothing that helps understand the cultural phenomenon that is Star Wars.

What’s notable about the extras is what you don’t get. The featurettes from the prequel DVDs are notably absent as are some of the documentaries from previous DVD releases – including Kevin Burns excellent Empire of Dreams and Star Wars: The Legacy Revealed. And if you were one of those hoping to see the Star Wars Holiday Special, well… it’s not there either.

Final Thoughts

If you're a Star Wars fan, you probably should (and will) buy this – regardless of what me or anyone says. But if you’re looking for a definitive collection of these films, this is not it. It’s a missed opportunity and one that is bound to disappoint fans hoping for a state of the art digital remaster which could show off their TV home theatre systems to their best potential. Just don't be surprised to see a new blu ray set appearing in the not too distant future after the films are re-released in 3D.