Anyone who’s played around with Photoshop realizes this, hehe.
Aside from the latter picture obviously being cleaner and sharper, you can see they’ve taken Anakin’s eyebrows off.
Ok, I had to get this entry in before the official Star Wars DVD release (tomorrow). Most of you have probably heard this by now, but at least I have some pics to do a comparison, hehe.
George Lucas has made yet more changes to the beloved Star Wars trilogy. Normally I’d just swallow them like I did with the Special Edition. It was much prettier, but a few changes bugged me. For example:
In Empire Strikes Back, when R2 is spit out of the swamp on Dagobah, Luke says “you’re lucky you don’t taste very good.” In the 1997 SE, he instead says something lame like “you were lucky to get out of there.” Whah? What’s the big deal, I liked Luke’s corny humor. Now he’s just dull.
Then, in Return of the Jedi, when Han is hanging from that sail barge and aiming his blaster at the tentacle grasping Lado’s leg, Lando says “no wait, I thought you were blind!” to which Han originally replied “It’s alright– trust me.” In the 1997 SE this was replaced with an awkwardly hasty “It’s alright, I can see a lot better now.” Why George, why? He’s reduced an intense moment of faith and trust to “I can see a lot better.” Bah.
Of course the one most people seem vocal about is how Lucas changed the scene in the Cantina in A New Hope so that Greedo shoots first instead of Han. Not only does it look less convincing than when Han shot first, but it’s out of character for Han. Gah.
I bought these movies on VHS anyways, because I loved Star Wars– I couldn’t wait to get them.
Now we find out Lucas has made additional changes– and well, these don’t bug me as much as the SE changes, in some cases they’re legit improvements. From CNN (thanks Mel for the e-mail forward):
5. Jedis don’t scream
The 1997 special edition version of “The Empire Strikes Back” was changed so Luke wails as he jumps off the platform in Cloud City. In the only instance of Lucas undoing a later alteration (sadly, Greedo still shoots first on the DVD of “A New Hope”), he’s taken it off the DVD edition. Maybe he realized Jedis (even ones in training) don’t scream.
4. Boba Fett has a new voice
Since Boba Fett is a clone of Jango Fett, and Jango Fett is played by Temura Morrison, doesn’t it make sense that he should sound like him, too? That’s exactly what George Lucas thought, so Morrison was brought in to revoice the four lines of dialogue (yes, believe it or not there are only four!) Boba spoke in the original trilogy.
3. A new and improved Jabba
Remember that dodgy-looking computer-generated Jabba they inserted into the 1997 re-release of “A New Hope”? Well, he looks a little less dodgy this time around thanks to some improved CGI.
2. The emperor’s new clothes
In the original version of “The Empire Strikes Back,” the emperor Darth Vader speaks to via hologram was played by a woman in a mask (!) and voiced by Clive Revill. Again, in the interests of consistency, Ian McDiarmid — who portrays the emperor in “Return of the Jedi” and the prequel trilogy — now appears in that scene with an added line or two of dialogue.
1. The big finale
The 1997 special edition of “Return of the Jedi” added a few “Star Wars” worlds joining the celebration of the Empire’s demise at the end of the film. For the DVD, they’ve added Naboo, a planet that figures prominently in the prequel trilogy. Also, Anakin Skywalker is noticeably different this time around. When he removes his Darth Vader helmet, he now has no eyebrows! It’s probably safe to assume he singes them off in his battle with Obi-Wan Kenobi in next summer’s “Return of the Sith” and a change had to be made.
But the most noticeable change — and perhaps one some “Star Wars” diehards will have a tough time stomaching — is Hayden Christensen (who plays young Anakin in the prequel trilogy) now appearing in the scene where the “force ghosts” of Anakin, Obi Wan, and Yoda smile at Luke. One thing’s for sure, there’s plenty for fans to debate — that is, until the trilogy comes out yet again on another format in the future and Mr. Lucas makes his inevitable changes …
Alas, Lucas didn’t really fix any of my major gripes. Oh well. I’ll probably go pick up this set of DVDs tomorrow anyways… but some geeks online have had me seriously seeking DVD bootlegs of the laserdiscs of the original trilogy, which I will have in a matter of time, on the bet that Lucas never releases the original, un-enhanced trilogy.
I mean really, he could make all the fans happy by changing those things fans don’t like back (like the dialogue I mentioned and the Greedo scene), and just clean it up and leave the other additions… ah well.
hehehe… see what I mean?
This pic of my brother
STILL makes me laugh…
Comments
4 responses to “George Lucas just realized how fun it is to photoshop people’s eyebrows off”
the more i learn about lucas the less faith i have in him as a movie maker. i used to give him the benefit of the doubt as the creator of such a great bunch of movies. i stuck by him as weathered considerable criticism about the prequels. but, he has of late taken to belittle the fans which have made his career. imploring us to ‘lighten up’ and not take this stuff so seriously. perhaps noone takes it as seriously as lucas. he’s out of control making everything “the way it was meant to be.” personally, i don’t take it nearly as seriously as some, but i do think the star wars franchise is a classic. i don’t like the way he dismisses fans who liked the originals better. he is the worst kind of artist: a meddling perfectionist who destroys the art itself with his constant nitpicking. star wars is his pet. he owns it. let him photoshop, cgi, whatever he wants. change dialogue, whatever. then he can watch his own private “perfect” version in his little ranch and leave the rest of us the hell alone. i think he’s pissed that the star wars world is getting beyond his personal control what with all the books, video games, comic books, etc. he’s a small man who seems to be a control freak. it’s a shame that such a great movie was conceived by george lucas.
Yeah, it does really make you scratch your head how the original three turned out so well with his subsequent track record. To be honest, a lot of people hated the ewoks and thought Jedi was the worst of the 3 movies, I guess he started downhill early. I was too young to care– Jedi was probably my favorite when I was little (mainly because of the Luke / Darth battle at the end).
But changing dialogue and things like Greedo shooting first– those don’t seem like artistic changes to me, they’re just lame.
As a tech geek I appreciate that Lucas has helped pioneer technology especially for movie theaters to improve the quality of the movie experience– I love THX.
A good counter-example to George is Peter Jackson. His “special editions” are generally more highly sought after than the theatrical cuts of the LOTR films, because they’re expanded and add a lot of stuff that fans love. Of course, perhaps the difference is that Jackson is also a LOTR fan and not the author of LOTR… all the same I think Jackson cares more about what fans want than Lucas does about those who, as you mentioned, have “made” his career.
Um, is that Shawn without eyebrows?
I still hold that LOTR may have just become my favorite trilogy ever – beating out Star Wars by a little, because of George Lucas’s stunts. Jackson gave us something great and knew what he had was great – and didn’t let criticism or praise deter him or make him stray from what he KNEW was great. Not insecure, that man. But Lucas…maybe he’s having a complex.
You gotta admit, though, there’s simply something magical in that opening sequence of any Star Wars film…something that even Lord of the Rings can’t top. It’s our history. It’s what made us buy the toys as kids. And I’m still looking forward to Epidose III, I just hope that opening sequence isn’t the ONLY enjoyable moment in the movie. But I guess we’ll see.
A little tidbit on lucas’s madness. Warning foul language.
http://www.penny-arcade.com/view.php3?date=2004-09-22&res=l