Here’s a more detailed comparison to show what else George Lucas has tweaked, with screen shots comparing the 1997 Special Edition (already an “abomination” in some folks’ eyes) and the new 2004 DVD set. Yes, he’s even revising some of the revisions.
So even though Greedo fires first, Han now fires back faster.
Jabba (Ep IV), the arrival at Mos Eisley, and the light sabers (again) have been redone (to the better), and Sebastian Shaw has lost his eyebrows.
Ian McDiarmid gets to play the Emperor in Empire, with some mild dialog alteration.
Naboo is now celebrating in Jedi, and various landmarks have been added to Coruscant’s skyline. Control panels are no longe rin English.
And, of course, there’s Hayden Christiansen in the Final Finale. Eek.
Some of these changes are trivial (cityscapes, Jabba, language), some are more significant but understandable (the Emperor). One can disagree whether George should be polishing the movies at this late date, but these changes don’t matter all that much, and are even arguably improvements (as much so as adding “Episode IV – A New Hope” was to the original’s text scroll).
But having Greedo shoot first still rankles. And having HC be the “Ghostly Jedi” is just goofy.
(via Julia)
I guess that the next go [r]ound of revisions will have Ewan McGregor replace Alec Guinness in the ghostly trio in Jedi.
Plus, Greedo will empty his entire clip at Han (A la A Team), while Han clamly kills Greedo in one shot.
I really liked the original Star Wars movies the way they were and am terribly pissed at GL for messing around with them. So what if the special effects weren’t perfect? Play with your new movies, GL; leave the old ones as they were.
Did Michaelangelo keep dragging in scaffolding and messing around with the Sistine Chapel ceiling 25 years after he finished them? Or did he just go on and make new stuff with techniques he learned in the meantime?
Also as a capitalist it bugs me to see Lucas (if he can’t resist tinkering) skipping the chance to sell multiple copies of the movie. How much would it cost to market both versions on DVD? I will NOT buy the new versions, but I’d certainly buy a set of the old version on DVD. And some dorks would buy both sets and spend hours comparing them! As WC Fields said, “It’s morally wrong to let a sucker keep his money.”
Actually, many artists are infamous for never ending their creations (writing, painting, film). Constant revisions …
“As an artist, all I need is my paints and brushes — and someone to drag me away when the canvas is done.”
— Picasso
Of course, the problem here is that there’s nobody to drag Lucas away.