The about-to-pop Blurays of the original Star Wars trilogy “are, in a word, amazing,” writes Bluray.com’s Casey Broadwater. “If you grew up watching these films on VHS you’re going to be blown away. And I don’t say that lightly. When I popped in A New Hope and saw that first great close-up of R2 in all his worn-in glory — the scuff marks finely resolved in high definition — I knew I was in good hands. And I kept having moments like this.
“Seeing the weft of the fabric of Obi-Wan’s cloak as he tells the stormtroopers ‘these are not the droids you’re looking for. ‘ The level of detail inside the Millennium Falcon. The mottled facial texture of the Yoda puppet in Empire. The almost palpable ripples of Jabba’s skin in Jedi. You’ll notice background details you’ve never noticed before. Imperfections in the model work. Aspects of the costumes that previously escaped your attention.
“[And the] lossless DTS-HD Master Audio 6.1 surround tracks are perfect. Not perfect like, ‘Yeah, they seem generally true-to-source and, no, there’s no muffling or anything,’ but perfect like, ‘Yes…hell, yes…this is what sci-fi should sound like.’ Perfect as in completely exemplary in all the ways you’d hope they’d be. Superlative. Grade-A. Certified Gold.
“If you’ve yet to experience John Williams‘ Star Wars theme in glorious 6.1 channel lossless audio, you’ve got quite a treat coming. Williams’ cues are some of the most recognizable and hummable in the known universe, and they sound spectacular here, from the lilting and quiet heartswelling of Leia’s theme to the balls-out, brash militancy of Vader’s unstoppable death march, which feels like the brass section of the orchestra is clubbing you in the face with their instruments. In the best way imaginable.
“All of the music is grand, filling every channel, with distinct placement of the instruments in the soundspace. Rich, dynamic, full — you name it, that’s what these scores are.
“And that’s before we even get into the good stuff — the sound effects. Sound design has been a part of the movies since the late 1920s, but the Star Wars series emphasized it in a way that few films had previously done. The audio really is integral to the storytelling. Think ‘Star Wars sounds’ and what do you hear? The electric hum of swinging lightsabers. The crisp pew-pew of laser blasters. The low ambient, oscillating rumble inside the Death Star. The high-pitched language of the Jawas. Darth Vader’s heavy, respirator-assisted breathing. You could go on and on. How many films can claim to have made noises iconic?”
There are no prequels The prequels doen’t exist. I never saw the prequels.
