Star Wars Blue-ray=3.5 out of 5. Original Movies still=5.5 out of 5

I thought it was a they were kidding, but apparently the interwebs weren't telling me a joke. The Blue-ray version of Star Wars has released it self all over my childhood on Blue-ray. And it isn't pretty. More blah blah blah after the jump.

Here are some snippets of Jamie Benning's (Wired) review of the new crap box set.

Discs 1 – 3 The Prequels
They are what they are. I am not a fan, I never have been. That said, the transfers are of a good resolution with a good level of detail. Colours are over saturated for my taste but they sit well alongside the Clone Wars animated series as a live-action companion. The biggest change here is swapping out the puppet of Yoda in Episode One for a CGI version – at least this fits better with his fight scenes in the other two prequels.

Rating: 2 out of 5"

Discs 4 – 6 The Original Trilogy
Rating: 4 out of 5 (though only because of the commentaries)

Disc 7 – The Prequel Bonus Disc
I didn’t look yet! There are so many original trilogy extras to look through first. But I hear it’s full of deleted scenes and interviews. I wonder if I will find time to watch it, ever.
Not yet rated

Disc 8 – Original Trilogy Bonus Disc
This really is the disc I paid £60 for, and I am glad I did. As I have now become somewhat of a Star Wars historian, it’s so pleasing to finally see these infamous scenes. I also like to think, if only in some small part, that my filmumentaries may have influenced the producers of the box set. Maybe I have delusions of grandeur, but there must have been pressure on them to get these deleted scenes released in some official capacity.
Rating: 4 out of 5


Disc 9 – The Star Wars Documentaries
The Making of Star Wars, The Empire Strikes Back: SPFX and Classic Creatures: Return of the Jedi, have previously been available on VHS and with the VHS Executor box set. I was therefore surprised to see them appear here, particularly without the the best in the ’series’ From Star Wars to Jedi: The Making of a Saga. They are great documentaries nonetheless and very much products of their time."

In summary then: this box set is exciting as much as it is disappointing. The color correction problems and silly additions aside, this set does tick many boxes for me as a fan of both the Original Trilogy and the process of getting the films to the big screen. With simple discussions with the fan community maybe we could have got something to please the masses as well as the hardcore fans. Steven Spielberg just this week asked an audience at the Raiders of the Lost Ark screening about their preference for the E.T.Blu-ray. Do you know what they said?
One more thing, please leave the remixing to the (non) professionals George.
Overall rating: 3.5 out of 5

For the full review, and trust me it is FULL, go to Geek Dad on Wired
Photos via Wired and Lucas Film