The “Star Wars” Special Editions

The added scene of Han Solo, played Harrison Ford, confronting Jabba the Hutt in the Special Edition of “Star Wars” received criticism for the CGI depiction of Jabba as well as its pointless nature given how it reveals the same information as the Greedo scene.

If there’s anything more controversial than the prequel trilogy and “The Last Jedi” combined, it’s the Special Editions of the original “Star Wars” trilogy. In 1997, George Lucas re-released the original trilogy on the big screen nationwide, not only to celebrate the twentieth anniversary of the original release of “Star Wars,” but to also generate interest in the first installment of the prequel trilogy: “The Phantom Menace” which would be released in 1999. 

Not only did Lucas re-release the films, he also digitally remastered them due to the deterioration of the original film stock and even added additional scenes and special effects. This was because George Lucas wasn’t completely satisfied with the original trilogy. He had a distinct idea of what the world he created would look like and, due to the budget of the films or the technology of the time, not everything he envisioned for the “Star Wars” trilogy ended up on the big screen. 

Now that Lucasfilm evolved into a powerful media company and the rising use of Computer Generated Imagery in blockbusters like “Terminator 2: Judgement Day” and “Jurassic Park,” Lucas had the tools he needed to update his trilogy. So, using this technology, he was able to update some of the explosions and lightsaber effects, make some of the monsters (like the Sarlacc) have additional body parts and expand some of the planets to make them feel less like sets. 

Now why would something like this be so controversial? Many great films have their directors come back to, recut and distribute them in order to satisfy the director’s original vision for the project. Some of my favorite films, like “Alien,” “Watchmen,” “Blade Runner” and “Brazil,” all have director’s cuts that are far superior to the theatrical cuts. 

But the difference between these films and the original “Star Wars” trilogy is that after the Special Editions were released, they were the only version of “Star Wars” that you could watch. As of now, the only ways to view the original trilogy is on the VHS tapes made during the 80s and 90s or on the 2006 DVD releases of the original trilogy which have the non-Special Edition cut as a “bonus disk.” 

Following the release of the 1997 VHS tapes of the Star Wars trilogy Special Edition, this cut of the film was the only cut widely available to consumers.

Now it’s apparent why these Special Editions are so controversial. Because, to many fans, it feels like George Lucas is erasing the original cuts from existence and now it’s difficult to view them because VHS is practically dead and the 2006 DVD is no longer being made.

On top of that, as the prequels were being made, even more changes were made to the original trilogy like Boba Fett’s voice, originally being done by Jason Wingreen, being replaced with Temuera Morrison who plays Boba’s father in “Attack of the Clones.” Sebastian Shaw, who played a redeemed Anakin Skywalker in “Return of the Jedi” was replaced with Hayden Christiansen who played Anakin in the prequels. These changes not only affect the original films, but also remove two cast members from a film that they had been a part of for years. 

Also, the visual effects being updated also feels weird because it’s taking Oscar-winning effects that people praised as timeless and needlessly adding to them. On top of that, it’s difficult to believe that the CGI effects are legitimate because most people watching know that the films were made in the 1970s and 80s when CGI wasn’t used that much in film. Seeing a CGI creature integrated with many puppets and costumes in the original trilogy feels as weird as seeing a few live action characters put into an animated film like “Beauty and the Beast.” No matter how hard you try to convince us that they belong in the story, the audience won’t believe it.

But overall, I don't hate the Special Editions. Because, when you get down to it, it’s still “Star Wars.” I actually like them and, as they continue to be changed, it’s cool to compare all of the versions of “Star Wars” and see what changes work and what don’t. I prefer to view the Special Editions as a director’s cut: a way for George Lucas to create the “Star Wars” he always wanted to see. 

However, we need to have access to the original cuts of the trilogy on DVD, Blu-Ray and 4K Ultra HD. Because even though Ridley Scott says that “Blade Runner: The Final Cut” is the best version of “Blade Runner,” the original cut and the director’s cuts are still available. “The Ultimate Cut” of “Watchmen” is the most faithful version to the graphic novel but Zack Snyder hasn’t demanded that all other cuts never be shown again.

Even “Brazil,” which has a cut (called “The Lover Conquers All Cut”) that director Terry Gilliam had no involvement with and actively hates, had all three versions (the theatrical, “Love Conquers All” and director’s cuts) released by the Criterion Collection which Gilliam praised. 

Now that Disney owns the rights to release the original cuts of the original trilogy, they have a responsibility to display the original films as well as the special editions for the sake of preserving three revolutionary films.

The Special Editions and their changes remain divisive among “Star Wars” fans to this day with many saying that both the Special Editions and the original cuts should be available on DVD, Blu Ray and 4K Ultra HD.

LIKE: 

• The expanded worlds of Mos Eisley and Cloud City: In the original films, both Mos Eisley spaceport and Cloud City, while having some establishing shots, kept things very close in small sets. After a while, it feels apparent that these are sets instead of open worlds but the characters and story still kept us invested. With new technology, George Lucas was able to add windows to Cloud City and make it feel like a larger environment. In Mos Eisley, Lucas has additional creatures added using CGI like Jawas riding beasts of burden, Stormtroopers riding moving Dewbacks and robots roaming the streets which helps add to the credibility of the world.

• Some of the updated special effects: Seeing Luke’s lightsaber be a more vibrant blue, having the Death Star explosion be more visually spectacular and adding the X-Wings leaving the Rebel base on Yavin IV makes the visuals of “Star Wars” be more epic and creates a more pleasing spectacle. 

• The added scenes in “The Empire Strikes Back:” For the second film of the original trilogy, Lucas had extra scenes added which did explain a few of the film’s issues. Like when Lando speaks into a comlink for Cloud City to evacuate as the Empire takes over, they show the entire city reacting to this news. After Vader tells the truth of Luke’s parentage to him, the next time we see Vader is in space on his Star Destroyer with no explanation as to how he got there. But in the Special Edition, we see Vader get on a shuttle which flies him into space. We also see more of the Wampa, the snow monster that attacks Luke, which helps add to the fear of the monster. 

DON’T LIKE:

• The dance scene in Jabba’s palace: In the original cut of “Return of the Jedi,” the band playing at Jabba’s palace is more subdued with a cool song being played by aliens. It’s neat and perfectly sums up the environment of Jabba’s palace: cool but threatening. However, in the Special Edition, George Lucas replaced this with a full-blown musical number. It’s off putting and doesn’t fit with the rest of the imagery seen at Jabba’s palace. I seriously doubt that a slug-like gangster who feeds people to monsters would want a song and dance number in his palace.

• The changing of actors: Replacing the force ghost of Anakin, originally played by Sebastian Shaw, with Anakin from the prequels is not only insulting to Shaw (who did an incredible job as the unmasked Vader), but also doesn’t make sense. Seeing the ghost of Anakin from the prequels next to Alec Guinness as Obi-Wan Kenobi and a puppet Yoda is just confusing because we are seeing how Anakin looked 20 years ago next to the older versions of Obi-Wan and Yoda which doesn’t fit. Also, switching out Boba Fett’s original voice with the actor who played Jango Fett also seems weird because Boba’s original voice was incredibly threatening and his current voice isn’t as effective.

• The overabundance of CGI creatures: This is especially evident in the Jabba’s palace sequence in “Return of the Jedi” because half of the characters were puppets and now there’s plenty of CGI creatures present and they’re not well integrated. Also, the addition of a mouth to the Sarlacc also seems off putting, especially when you have to see the obvious computer effects next to a puppeted creature.

• The Jabba the Hutt scene in “Star Wars:” During the filming of “Star Wars,” Jabba the Hutt was actually meant to be in the original film and a scene was even shot with Han Solo interacting with a human stand-in for Jabba the Hutt, played by Declan Mullholland, who would be replaced with a creature later on. It explained that Han owed Jabba a large sum of money and that Han was being threatened if he didn’t get it. However, due to the small budget of “Star Wars,” this scene had to be cut and was ultimately replaced with the famous confrontation with Greedo in the cantina. For the Special Edition, the scene was completed with Mullholland replaced with a CGI Jabba the Hutt. But the original CGI for the 1997 edition looked very fake, especially when compared to the amazing puppet in “Return of the Jedi,” and a subsequent redo looked just as unconvincing. Plus, since the Greedo scene remains in the film, it’s also a pointless scene.

• Han not shooting first: Now I’m not one of those people who say that Han not shooting first was a betrayal of his character but I do understand why this angers so many fans. A scene where Han kills one of Jabba’s cronies in cold blood has been changed to him killing in self defense which does change Han’s personality somewhat. However, for the most part, Han still remains the same character. The main reason that I don’t like the change is that everytime this scene gets edited, no matter if Greedo shoots first or if Han and Greedo shoot simultaneously, it never looks good. If Greedo is sitting across from Han at a table and shoots at point-blank range, the fact that Greedo misses is a near impossibility.