The Star Wars Trilogy

A directors cut, is a specified edit of a version of a film (or video game, music video, etc.) that is suppose to represent a vision closer to that of the director. In 2004, director George Lucas had an interview with Associated Press, and states that the Star Wars series only represented “25 or 30 per cent” of what he wanted it to be. In the following paragraphs, I will show you how editing scenes differently can and will change the outlook of characters and the story of Star Wars IV: A New Hope.

Due to the great commercial success of the Star Wars series, George Lucas was given the opportunity to rerelease Star Wars Episode IV: A New Hope along with the two other movies in the Star Wars Trilogy. Fox spent a reported $15 million on giving the trilogy box set a facelift with the latest and greatest in digital technology.

In 2004, the DVD box set received John D Lowry’s visual enhancement and was digitally restored. The changes were meant to help conceal the time gaps between both trilogies. However, many of these changes were not received well by fans, especially ones that altered the storyline or character development. One of the more controversial changes in Star Wars IV: A New Hope would be a seen between Han and Greddo.

In the scene, Greddo, a bounty hunter, encounters Han Solo at the Mos Eisley Cantina and confronts him about the money that is owed to Jabba the Hutt for dumping cargo. Han tells Greddo that he has Jabba’s money and he was just going to go see him. As Han and Greddo have a conversation, we see Han reach down below the table to grab his blaster. Han then utters, “Yeah, I’ll bet you have.” After that line, the scene is then different depending on which version you are watching.

In the 1977 theatrical version, the...

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...more high definition and contrast with the amounts of blue added, but it also changes the look of the explosions during the battle. Because of this change, the explosions look simulated. The added HD does something with the explosions that makes it more obvious that it was digitally added into the scene where the lack of HD in the 1977 version has the explosions nest nicely within the frame.

Star Wars IV: A New Hope will forever be a classic and beloved by fans of all ages. Although these changes are controversial to die hard fans, you can’t help but to understand where George Lucas was coming from stating that “I think it's the director's prerogative, not the studio's, to go back and reinvent a movie.” Lucas wrote the movie, so he should be allowed to present it in whatever way he wants. He didn’t change the story; he altered the way the story was presented to us.