Star Wars: The Complete Saga 1977-2005 Blu-Ray

Let me start out by saying this and just get it out of the way. Regardless of how you feel about the changes that George Lucas has made to his movies you would be doing yourself a large dis-service to not watch these blu-ray discs. The very fact that you are reading this review means you have an interest in the best possible picture and audio quality and that is what Lucas delivers here. That being said these blu-rays are not going to be the greatest thing you ever saw on Blu-Ray just because it is Star Wars and while your hopes are justifiably high you have to realize that the original trilogy is over 30 years old there are only so many things you can do to old film. Don’t be discouraged however because this is a top notch set of discs and rest assured you are getting them in the highest quality that they will ever achieve, and quite frankly they look un friggin believable. The final disclaimer, there is a very good chance that George Lucas will ever release a set that is absolutely perfect, there are just way to many fans to try to please them all with everything you have ever wanted and the biggest question everybody has is, are the original untouched versions of the original trilogy included in this set? I’m just going to rip the band aid off right now, no they are not. Why they are not I can’t really come up with an answer, people have wanted them for years and as far as I know they were only released on DVD once in a set that I bought in 2006 at best buy with an exclusive tin that had the 1997 released Special Edition copies and a bonus disc with a full screen version of the original un altered films, you know the one where Han Solo was the only one that shot, not Greedo. As for now it looks to stay that way, I was really hoping that they would be included in a remastered wide screen format and they were not. That was the biggest let down for me. But enough about the negative let’s move on to the tech specs. Below is the limited edition Best Buy collector set that included the original untouched trilogy

I am not going to give everyone or judge the merits of this set the details of the movies. Everyone has seen them probably multiple times and there really is no point to it. Your feelings on the Prequels vs. the original trilogy does not really matter in this set. Simply if you don’t like the prequels you don’t have to buy them they make separate sets but I’ll tell you this if you skip the prequels you will miss out on the best looking disc of the set and if you don’t get the complete saga you will miss out on three bonus blu-rays filled with over 40 hours of special features. So if you want to get it I strongly recommend you spend the extra to grab the entire set. The format will be as follows, I have not done a review of this size and quite frankly this important to home video so I will go in order by movie and give a couple of general thoughts and a number rating for those who want something concrete, the number system will be out of 5 stars and after the films are discussed I will give a brief breakdown on the special features.

Episode I - The Phantom Menace

Strangely this is the worst looking of the entire set, and also the worst movie if you want to know my opinion. That being said it still looks nice, in fact it looks easily better than you have ever seen it, no joke. It’s almost so good you can look past the terrible acting and Jar Jar Binks. This movie was shot on 35mm film back then and it was before George Lucas and Lucas film ltd. switched over to digital and you can tell in some spots. To use a technical term there is a lot of DNR Digital Noise Reduction which is a technique done to try and clean up an image digitally without the proper full and much more expensive way. When this is used too much it can wash out your black levels and give a soft appearance to the film and that happens in episode I more than a few times. It also can take away from some fine detail and that is what episode I was lacking in more than ever was lack of extreme detail. It's not all bad though it’s really not. A lot of the film looks incredible, mostly the stuff done with cgi. The battle of Naboo, the underwater world of the Gungans and The pod races at Tatooine all look incredible and are the highlights of the disc. Also the first of the changes occurs; they swapped out the puppet Yoda with that of a CG Yoda that matches up with the other two films of the prequels. Picture quality is a 3.5 borderline 4 The Audio is a perfect 5!

Episode II - Attack of the Clones

Episode II fares much on Blu-ray, a lot of the detail has been restored and much less of DNR is present. Lucas had started the switch over to digital at this point and you can tell. The end battle and the scenes on Camino look the best out of this disc and the Naboo scenes look impressive as always and an upgrade from episode I. This happens to be a much better movie in my opinion as well. The Picture quality of this disc is a 4.0 borderline 4.5 and the audio is a perfect 5!

Episode III - Revenge of the Sith

This movie is a pure Stunner! Easily the best looking of the entire set and it is also the 2nd best looking blu-ray I have ever seen behind Avatar and some scenes came close to even that. This disc is incredible people I cannot state that enough! It looks light-years ahead of the other movies as Lucas was shooting all digital by this time. The colors leap off the screen, the black levels are perfect and just the general sense of the magnitude of what you’re watching followed by the technical flawlessness of it all just makes for a world class experience. The opening space fight sequence, the light saber battles with General Grieveace, the laser beams, the end climax on the lava planet, it all just looks so incredible! You have never seen Star Wars like this and it is 100% pure awesome! Call it reference quality if you will but this disc is perfect! Picture and audio quality are perfect 5's

The Original Trilogy Episode IV - A New Hope, Episode V - The Empire Strikes Back, and Episode VI - The Return of the Jedi.

I am reviewing these all together because they all do not differ very much if at all. If you are like me these are the ones you wanted to get your hands on the most and were hoping the quality is up to snuff. Rest easy my friends our beloved childhood classics have never EVER looked better. I can say that with ease. Black levels look great the exterior shots look gorgeous and a lot of care has gone into making these beloved films look the best that they possibly can. I mean that too, I really don’t see how these movies could look any better than this, they certainly won’t sound better. You can see the scuffs on Darth Vaders helmet and some of the details you were never able to tell before you can now because of the upgrade in clarity and fine detail. I give the picture quality on all three 4.0 borderline 4.5 and the audio is a perfect 5.

 Changes of note, in episode I Obi Wan makes a different sounding call to scare off the sand people, it doesn’t really make any difference but its weird if you watched the movies as many times as I have. The Ewoks blink, and it’s really kind of creepy and weird and Darth Vader says "No, Nooooo" before he throws the emperor over the side. There were a couple other minor changes but those were the major ones.

 A note on the audio and that is that it really is perfect. I don’t just use the term lightly I mean it’s the best thing I have ever heard in a home theatre setting. I have never watched movies in my house that have sounded better. Perfectly mixed with sounds coming at you from every direction. The DTS 6.1 Master Audio Lossless track is absolute perfection and it will blow you away!

 The special features rounding out this epic set are spread over 3 blu-ray discs and features all kinds of stuff such as new documentaries and deleted scenes and more, the deleted scenes are around a hour and a half or so as well over 90 minutes of Star Wars spoofs from all kinds of sources and it was pretty awesome, plus a history channel feature on Star Wars technology and so much more great stuff.
 The Packaging is a very nice booklet like appearance with painted artwork on the inside for each movie and bonus discs. It is very much like the Alien ultimate Anthology set that came out earlier this year. I found the artwork and packaging to be sturdy and beautiful. Looks great on any shelf!

The movie alone should be enough for anyone to run, not walk out and buy this set. It is arguably the biggest and most anticipated set to ever hit blu-ray and it does not disappoint. No it’s not the most perfect and complete set you’ve always wanted but its close and I don’t think anyone will ever get the perfect set, so don’t be stubborn and neglect yourself from seeing something you love in a totally different light. The quality of the films themselves is epic whether it be love or hate for these films, but that’s not what this review is about and from a technical standpoint I’m pretty sure these movies will never look or sound any better than they do right now. No Brainer folks this is THE must own set along with the extended Lord of The Rings that will define your Blu-ray collection! It gets my Highest recommendation.