Written by: Chefelf
Edited by: Jacques

Introduction

The Special Edition DVDs are like the greatest tease I've ever experienced. The tease comes with the first ten or so minutes of the movie remaining relatively unchanged. Absent are the bells and whistles that Lucas has stuck all over the remainder of the movie. Seeing the pristine digital image of the unblemished movie lets you get lost in the moment, thinking that you're watching the Star Wars from your youth. Seeing the scuffed up C-3PO and R2-D2 is like a breath of fresh air after being mostly exposed to the squeaky clean images of droids and landscapes presented by the prequel trilogy. The first ten minutes simply show a beautifully touched up digital version of the original movies, finally in digital format.

Then you are jarred back into your reality when you spot the first changes creeping in. A change in Tatooine's sky, an additional droid, a new sandcrawler. Finally the Mos Eisley scene occurs and slaps you in the face. There may as well be a ticker at the bottom of the screen that displays a message reading: THIS IS NOT THE ORIGINAL TRILOGY! THIS IS NOT THE ORIGINAL TRILOGY!

Special thanks go to:

  • civilian_number_two for sending me the Star Wars Special Edition DVDs! Without his genorosity none of this nitpicking would have been possible.
  • Jacques for continuing to be the editor for all of this nonsense. Without his help, these articles would be littered with typos, grammatical errors and grievous punctuation errors even more grievous than General Grievous! And that's pretty grievous!
  • Everyone who participates in The Star Wars Fan Convention Forums. All of your continued enthusiasm for these lists is what keeps me writing them. Thanks for all your kind words and criticisms. Thanks to all the bashers and gushers who are more alike than they'd like to think.

Rating Key

The Lando Calrissian Scale of Greatness
This scale is used to rate changes in the Special Edition DVDs that are positive and actually enhance the quality of the movie and the viewing experience. The more Landos, the better the change.

The Wampa Scale of Insignificance
This scale is used to rate changes that don't really affect the movies in a postive or a negative way. Things that make you go, "Ehh." The more Wampas, the less signifcant the change.

The CGI Jabba Scale of Special Edition Stupidity
This scale is used to rate the Special Edition changes that make the viewer wish computers were never invented.

The Flying R2-D2 Scale of Sequel to Prequel Inconsistency This scale is used to rate a scene from the original Star Wars release that is now ruined because of the prequel trilogy.

The Chewbacca's Tarzan Yell Scale of Changes that Should Have Been Made
This scale measures flaws in the original movie. Normally these flaws could be left alone but it makes you wonder why Lucas didn't fix these things while he was fiddling around with computers anyway.

The Yaddle Scale of Prequel Stupidity
This scale is used to rate changes in the DVDs that slap you across the face to remind you that the prequels exist. The more Yaddles, the worse the change.

On to Reasons to Hate Star Wars:
Episode IV: A New Hope "Special Edition"...

Back to Chefelf's Main Star Wars Page


Reasons to Hate Star Wars

Episode I (78 Reasons to Hate!)

Episode II (64+ Reasons to Hate!)

Episode III (91 Reasons to Hate!)

The Nitpicker's Guide to Star Wars

Episode IV: Special Edition (12 Nitpicks!)

Episode V: Special Edition (8 Nitpicks!)

Episode VI: Special Edition (17 Nitpicks!)


Join the Discussion!
Chefelf's Star Wars Forum

Back to L & E