Star Wars Trilogy DVD
20th Century Fox Home Video
Rated: PG
Genre: Sci-Fi
Length: 387 minutes
Director: George Lucas
Year: (1977, 1980, 1983)
Britt Gillette's Star Wars Trilogy DVD Review
It all begins, "a long time ago, in a galaxy far, far away…" And the Star Wars saga continues to this day.
No personal film library can possibly be complete without the greatest trilogy in cinema history (sorry Lord of the Rings fans, but Star Wars is the true king). The complete DVD trilogy offers the three original episodes (which are really episodes four, five, and six) with even more changes made by creator George Lucas for the DVD release.
The three films - A New Hope (1977), The Empire Strikes Back (1980), and Return of the Jedi (1983) - follow the adventures of young farmhand turned rebel fighter-pilot Luke Skywalker (Mark Hamill), his sister and comrade in the rebel alliance Princess Leia (Carrie Fisher), and their mutual friend Han Solo (Harrison Ford) as they work with the Rebel Alliance to wage a galactic war of liberation against the Empire, an evil regime headed by the all-powerful Emperor (Ian McDiarmid) and his notorious henchman Darth Vader (David Prowse with voice by James Earl Jones).
Following the release of the first Star Wars film, the settings and characters brought forth by the imagination of George Lucas took the world by storm. The Director's personal fascination with political history, adventure, and space fantasy is brought to life through the use of ground-breaking special effects and truly original space creatures. Without a doubt, Star Wars is the defining movie series of its generation, spawning entirely new industries to sell its merchandise and quench the desires of its loyal fans for more of anything whatsoever that's Star Wars related. Each film is summarized below…
Episode IV - A New Hope
When a small rebel ship is taken captive by one of the Empire's star-destroyers, one the alliance leaders - Princess Leia - is taken hostage by Darth Vader. But prior to her capture, Princess Leia loads the stolen blueprints for the Empire's new space station, The Death Star, into a droid named R2-D2. Along with the blueprints, she records a message requesting the help of Jedi Knight Obi-Wan Kenobi in successfully delivering the blueprints to leaders of the Rebel Alliance. R2-D2 and his companion, a protocol droid named C-3PO, board an escape pod that jettisons down to the desert planet of Tatooine.
But Darth Vader suspects the blueprints were placed on board the escape pod, and he sends a contingent of Imperial Storm Troopers to retrieve them. Meanwhile, the two droids are picked up by jawas, a scavenger species which sells the droids to farmer Owen Skywalker. When Owen's nephew Luke discovers the secret message that R2-D2 carries, he decides he'll search for Obi-Wan. But before he can do so, R2-D2 runs away. Luke is assaulted by Tusken Raiders while trying to recover the droid, but his life is saved when the sand people are scared away by the arrival of Obi-Wan Kenobi.
Obi-Wan, a friend of Luke's father, tells Luke stories of the clone wars and introduces him to the Jedi weapon of choice, the lightsaber. R2-D2 plays the message from Princess Leia for Obi-Wan, who asks for Luke's help in returning the stolen plans to the alliance.
When Luke returns to the farm to find that Imperial Storm Troopers have killed his aunt and uncle in search of the droids, he follows Obi-Wan to the notorious city of Mos Eisley, where they hope to charter transportation to the planet of Alderaan. In a seedy tavern, the two encounter smuggler Han Solo and his Wookiee partner Chewbacca. Obi-Wan promises a great reward to Solo who is desperate for money to paid his debts to the infamous gangster Jabba the Hutt. Together, they narrowly escape the planet of Tatooine in Solo's ship, the Millennium Falcon, under the spray of heavy fire from Imperial Forces. With Imperial Tie-Fighters hot on their trail, Han and Chewy quickly make the leap to hyper-space, narrowly averting disaster. On the trip, Obi-Wan teaches Luke about the mysterious power of the Jedi Knight - the Force.
Meanwhile, the Empire's Death Star has become fully operational, and its first order of business is to destroy the planet of Alderaan out of punishment for Princess Leia's failure to tell the Empire the location of the Rebel's secret base.
When the Millennium Falcon is brought out of hyper-drive, it's rattled by the presence of an asteroid field which is the leftover remnants of the now destroyed planet of Alderaan. Outside of the field is a large moon which gives the crew an eerie feeling, but before Han and Chewy can turn the ship around, it gets caught in a tractor beam which draws the Millennium Falcon into one of its hangar bays. Since the ship is normally used for smuggling, Han and Chewy manage to conceal themselves, Obi-Wan, Luke, and the droids in a secret compartment while the ship is boarded and searched.
Once the coast is clear, they devise a plan which entails Obi-Wan disabling the tractor beam so they can escape. However, Luke soon learns that Princess Leia is being held captive on that very space station, so he convinces Han and Chewy to help him rescue her. Along the way, they almost get killed in a trash compactor while fleeing Storm Troopers, but they escape back to the Millennium Falcon. Just before boarding, Luke witnesses Darth Vader's murder of Obi-Wan.
With the Empire having placed a tracking device on the Millennium Falcon, the secret location of the rebel base is revealed. The Death Star slowly navigates its way into range to obliterate the moon on which the base resides while the Rebel Forces gear up for battle against the massive space station. Having pinpointing the one weakness of the space station via the stolen plans, the entire Rebel fleet sets out on the near impossible mission.
Under intense fire, several of the Rebel Force's best pilots are shot down or disabled. Luke Skywalker maneuvers himself into position to fire the victory shot when Darth Vader sneaks up behind him. Vader is about to fire on Luke when Han Solo soars down behind Vader and fights him off, clearing the way for Luke.
Luke, hearing the voice of Obi-Wan, uses the Force to concentrate on hitting the target. Letting the mystical power flow through his body, he delivers a perfect shot that triggers the necessary chain reaction to destroy the Death Star just before it fires on the Rebel base. The Rebel Alliance is preserved, and Luke, Han, and Chewy receive a heroes welcome…
Episode V - The Empire Strikes Back
Reestablishing its base on the remote planet of Hoth, an icy wasteland on the outskirts of the galaxy, the Rebel Alliance plots its next move in the insurgency against the Empire. But while Han and Luke are scouting the surface of the frozen planet on their tautauns (one of the few creature indigenous to Hoth), they encounter an Imperial probe droid - one of thousands dispatched by the Empire throughout the galaxy to find the rebel base. While doing battle with the droid, it self-destructs. Alerted by the droid's presence, the Rebels begin immediate plans for evacuation.
It doesn't take long for the Empire to react to its newly gathered intelligence. Several star-destroyers from the Imperial Fleet encircle the planet and Imperial Walkers are deployed on the planet's surface. The alliance fights valiantly, but faces a major setback as they must flee their headquarters in haste and regroup elsewhere.
Escaping the Battle of Hoth, Luke Skywalker sets off for Dagobah, a swamp-like planet where he hopes to encounter the Jedi master Yoda. Luke crashes his ship, and along with R2-D2, he meets up with sought after Jedi Knight. Yoda teaches Luke the ways of the Force, putting him through a rigorous training schedule that includes a brief interlude with the Dark Side of the Force. When Luke feels that his friends are in danger, he wants to go save them. Yoda discourages him because his Jedi training is not yet complete. He warns Luke that his friends are in danger because Darth Vader hopes to lure him into a trap.
Meanwhile, in the aftermath of the Battle of Hoth, Han, Chewy, and Princess Leia seek refuge from Han's old friend Lando Calrissian, Baron-Administrator of Cloud City - a majestic trading post suspended in the clouds of Bespin. However, the fugitive crew does not realize that they've been followed by the notorious bounty hunter Boba Fett who seeks to cash in on the reward offered up by Jabba the Hutt for Han Solo. Boba Fett tips off the Empire, and Darth Vader arrives in Cloud City.
Hoping to capture Luke Skywalker alive so he can convince him to join the Dark Side of the Force, Dark Vader lays a trap with the hopes of cornering Luke inside a chamber where he will frozen in carbonite. Not wanting the Emperor's prize to be damaged, he has the technique employed on Han Solo with Han's encased body given to Boba Fett as a reward.
When Luke Skywalker arrives, the city is locked in battle between the forces of the Empire and the independent mining colony. Luke encounters Darth Vader and the two engage in an exciting battle of lightsabers. Cornered, Luke has his hand cut off by Darth Vader who then reveals to Luke that he is his father. Vader makes an effort to convince Luke to follow him and the two of them can overthrow the emperor and rule the galaxy together. Rather than give in, Luke falls down a long trash shoot where he is rescued by a fleeing Millennium Falcon. Lando, Chewy, and Leia safely retrieve Luke and fly off to fight the Empire on another day…
Episode VI - Return of the Jedi
Returning their home planet of Tatooine, C-3PO and R2-D2 knock on the door of notorious gangster Jabba the Hutt's palace. Once inside, the two droids are asked to state their business which is message to Jabba that R2-D2 will only deliver personally. R2-D2 plays the message from Luke Skywalker which calls for the liberation of his friend Han Solo. In act of good faith, Luke offers his two droids. The offer is news to C-3PO who wonders if he heard correctly. Jabba laughs and claims he will never part with the prize possession hanging from his wall, the Corellian smuggler Han Solo entrapped in carbonite.
Following the visit by the two droids, a mysterious bounty hunter arrives with Chewbacca in tow. He demands a reward for the Wookiee, a well-known companion of Han Solo. Jabba relents when the bounty reveals his willingness to set off a bomb to get what he wants. Later that night, the bounty hunter sneaks into Jabba's lair and deactivates the carbon freezing process that had entrapped Han Solo. Blind from carbon sickness, the confused Solo asks who has freed him. The bounty hunter takes of his mask and reveals himself to be Princess Leia.
But Jabba and his minions are watching from behind a screen, and Leia is quickly taken captive and chained around Jabba's neck. Han Solo is placed in holding cell with Chewbacca until his execution can be carried out.
The following morning, the door to Jabba's palace is opened and the Jedi Knight Luke Skywalker moves untouched through its hallways. Employing the use of his Jedi powers, he bypasses the guards and faces down Jabba. Luke demands that his friends be set free or else he will kill Jabba. But Luke is unaware that he is standing on top of a trap door. At Jabba's word, Luke falls into a pit where the rancor (a vicious two-legged predator with long teeth) is set loose to devour him. When Luke successfully kills the rancor, Jabba slates his execution for the Sarlacc (a tooth-lined pit located in the desert sands where victims will be slowly digested over the course of a thousand years).
Han, Chewy, and Luke are taken out on a sail barge where they're to be dropped into the Sarlacc for Jabba's entertainment. Luke gives one last warning to Jabba, incurring further laughter from the criminal mastermind. Then, at Luke's signal, R2-D2 launches Luke's lightsaber into the air. Luke catches it, and with the help of Lando Calrissian (who lay in wait disguised as a Jabba henchman), he begins to annihilate all of the guards on the sail barge. Luke and his friends quickly destroy Jabba and his criminal outfit and leave Tatooine to rejoin the Rebel Alliance.
Meanwhile, the Empire is moving forward with its plans to rebuild the infamous Death Star. The deadly battle station is protected by a deflector shield located on the nearby moon of Endor. The Rebels devise a plan to infiltrate the moon using a stolen Imperial Shuttle to penetrate its atmosphere. Once they reach the moon, the small contingent (which includes Han, Chewy, Luke, and Leia) is tasked with disabling the massive shield generator which powers the deflector shield. Once they destroy the shield generator, the entire Rebel Fleet will move in on the Death Star and destroy the vulnerable space station before it becomes fully operational.
However, once the Rebels reach Endor's surface, they encounter several Imperial Scout Troopers who threaten to tip off the Empire as to their presence. Luke and Leia chase after and destroy the Scout Troopers, but get separated from the group and each other in the process. Leia eventually befriends Wickett, a scout for nearby village of Ewoks (furred bipeds native to the moon of Endor). When Han, Chewy, C-3PO, R2-D2, and the rest of the Rebel forces are captured by the Ewoks, it's Leia (with the aid of Luke's C-3PO magic trick) that lead their being set free. The Ewoks befriend the Rebels, and Luke informs Leia that they are brother and sister and that he must leave to go face down Darth Vader.
Turning himself over the Imperial Forces, Luke is taken into the personal custody of Darth Vader who presents him the to the Emperor. The Emperor reveals his intimate knowledge of the Rebel plans and insists that the rebellion will be crushed. He attempts to seduce Luke with Dark Side of the Force, and a lightsaber battle between Dark Vader and Luke ensues.
Meanwhile, the Rebels Forces are captured while attempting to destroy the shield generator, but thousands of Ewoks come to their aid. Outnumbering the Storm Troopers, the Ewoks and Rebels employ many primitive traps, such as rolling logs, to topple the superior technology of the Imperial Forces. Eventually, the Rebels manage to break down the door of the field generator and destroy the power source of the Death Star's deflector shield.
On board the Death Star, Luke manages to slice off Darth Vader's arm, but refuses to kill him for the Emperor. Angered by his refusal to turn to the Dark Side, the Emperor shoots deadly electrical charges from his fingertips and into Luke's body. He is intent on killing the young Jedi, when Dark Vader makes the decision to pick up the Emperor and hurl him into a bottomless pit. With the Rebel Forces winning their battle against the Death Star, Luke tries to convince a dying Vader to come with him. He boards an Imperial Shuttle and escapes the Death Star just as the Rebel Fleet, spearheaded by Lando Calrissian, strike the space station at its core and destroy the Empire once and for all.
Back on the moon of Endor, the Rebel Alliance celebrates the destruction
of the evil Empire in the treetop village of the Ewoks. Luke lays the
body of Darth Vader to rest, and he sees the friendly ghosts of Yoda,
Obi-Wan Kenobi, and Anakin Skywalker. Han and Leia enjoy their newly consummated
romance, and the galaxy celebrates the Rebel victory and liberation from
the Emperor's reign…
Britt Gillette
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Posted on 21 November 2004