Star wars is my all time favourite film and one which I have watched so much growing up, I can recite every line even now. The reason is it is one of the most entertaining films you will ever watch, the action never stops, the characters are engaging, the special effects still look great today and most importantly the film is believable.

But can a film made so long ago still stand the test of time today. Well it consistently appears in lists of classic/best/most entertaining films of all time. It also one of the most important Science Fiction films ever made and would easily make most people's top 5 sci-fi. It is a classic tale of the struggles between good versus evil, of love and sacrifice and ultimate triumph which has been the blue print of many stories for centuries. Where Star Wars is different is the way it retells this story in a futuristic setting. It is that simple and yet it is so much more. You actually believe in the characters and that there is a galaxy far, far… more »

Star wars is my all time favourite film and one which I have watched so much growing up, I can recite every line even now. The reason is it is one of the most entertaining films you will ever watch, the action never stops, the characters are engaging, the special effects still look great today and most importantly the film is believable.

But can a film made so long ago still stand the test of time today. Well it consistently appears in lists of classic/best/most entertaining films of all time. It also one of the most important Science Fiction films ever made and would easily make most people's top 5 sci-fi. It is a classic tale of the struggles between good versus evil, of love and sacrifice and ultimate triumph which has been the blue print of many stories for centuries. Where Star Wars is different is the way it retells this story in a futuristic setting. It is that simple and yet it is so much more. You actually believe in the characters and that there is a galaxy far, far away. Everything from the set design to the costumes is looks authentic and the story doesn't take the audience for granted giving reason and purpose.

For example when the bounty hunter Gredo wants to 'speak' to Han Solo, it may look like nothing but so much goes on before it that is hinted at (but not revealed until later if at all) to give you this meeting that you never question it. Also when Obi-One talks to Luke about The Clone Wars, even though you never see it you can imagine it as it is described so well and makes you understand why things are the way they are now. The script is complex in this respect but within the context of this film work perfectly.

Credit should also be given to John Williams whom, yet again, manages to create such a memorable theme tune as well as a soundtrack of rising, stirring and dramatic music which fits this film probably better then any soundtrack I've heard. You can listen to it and understand the story without ever seeing the film.

For 1977 the special effects were way ahead of their time and was a big a leap for the FX industry as Terminator 2 was in 1991 and The Matrix was in 1999. From this ILM (Industrial Light and Magic) was formed and more budget was given to special effects companies and in particular science fiction (Star Trek: The Motion Picture was going to be Star Trek Phase II series until Star Wars came out, due to it's success they decided to turn it into a film). It is also one of the most recited, satired and talked about film ever made.

Star Wars also introduced us to some of the greatest concepts in cinema namely the Jedi, the force and the best movie weapon ever, the Light Sabre. Any of these things in one film would have made it good, but to put them all together was a work of genius. The Jedi knights are based on Japanese Samurai as it was George Lucas's love of Akira Kurosawa's films and American Westerns that inspire this film (he describes it as a western in space). George also often says that his is not a new story, simply an old story retold. That may be true but it is the way the story is retold that created a landmark in movie history, a film which will never be beaten.

Is it really that good? Well it won 7 Oscars and if you are a man or a fan of any science fiction then it is like breathing (in other words essential). People have differing views on the later films (past the Sequel Empire Strikes Back), but there is no arguing over this film. If you love science fiction of any description then you are going to love this, if you don't you are among the 0.000000001% of people that don't.

I feel the same way about this movie as "movieaddict" as I remember all too well seeing this movie 7 times at the cinema.
The problem with the original version of Star Wars on DVD lies in the subtitles (Not hard of hearing subtitles). The DVD is non-anamorphic and as such needs you to expand the picture to 16:9 on a widescreen TV. The subtitles are put on screen on the black portion of the screen, so when you come to watch the film after expanding you may well be able to see Han shoot first but you can't see what Greedo is saying!

These original versions of all three movies seem to be the direct copies of the first 5 widescreen films ever put onto tape by Fox in the UK. The other two were Die Hard and Alien. These were released in the early 90's and because Widescreen TV's were definately not the norm, watching these across the middle of a 4:3 TV would not present a problem seeing the subtitles.
It is a shame that George Lucas gave us what we wanted i.e. the original… more »

I feel the same way about this movie as "movieaddict" as I remember all too well seeing this movie 7 times at the cinema.
The problem with the original version of Star Wars on DVD lies in the subtitles (Not hard of hearing subtitles). The DVD is non-anamorphic and as such needs you to expand the picture to 16:9 on a widescreen TV. The subtitles are put on screen on the black portion of the screen, so when you come to watch the film after expanding you may well be able to see Han shoot first but you can't see what Greedo is saying!

These original versions of all three movies seem to be the direct copies of the first 5 widescreen films ever put onto tape by Fox in the UK. The other two were Die Hard and Alien. These were released in the early 90's and because Widescreen TV's were definately not the norm, watching these across the middle of a 4:3 TV would not present a problem seeing the subtitles.
It is a shame that George Lucas gave us what we wanted i.e. the original unaltered versions of his trilogy but failed to put any effort into the DVD's at all.
What I would of liked is the original trilogy, unaltered, cleaned up, 5.1 surround sound, anamorphic and carrying the original cinema poster on the sleeve. The original cinema poster is on the reverse side of these DVD's.

While I'm on the subject - I do think the sleeves to ALL the Star Wars saga DVD's are the worst sleeves ever put onto DVD. Why can't we have the glorious original cinema posters ?

On the whole the picture quality is still excellent compared to VHS and although the sound on the original versons is only 2.0 compared to 5.1 on the special editions this is still excellent.

Anyway as this is the ONLY way you are going to see the original versions of these films on DVD at the moment and at this price they are well worth parting with your hard earned cash.