Star Wars Trilogy: Special Edition (1997) [4102985]

The Movie:
Instead of tackling this box set release of the 1997 Special Edition of the Star Wars Trilogy, I figured I would tackle them one at a time, starting with my favorite of the three: Return of the Jedi.

I know. I know. Who in their right mind would Jedi as their favorite of the original trilogy? Let alone after what Lucas did to it in this release?
Let me first set things straight by acknowledging that this isn't the best of the three original trilogy movies: it takes a lot of things that made the first two great and either ignores them or deconstructs them in a very idiotic manner - Han Solo becomes a bumbling, jealous buffoon, the Rebels are only capable of fighting off the Empire because of some fluffy teddy bears, and bits and pieces of it feel like it's just remaking the first film with a bigger budget and special effects knowledge. But what filmmaker is capable of making a perfect trilogy?
That aside, part of the reason I enjoy Jedi so much is that it drops the seriousness of Empire, and sort of readopts the fun attitude of the first film. Star Wars does work as a serious piece of film, but I believe it works better as a fun, sort of cheesy action romp, and that's exactly what Jedi is.
From the battle over Jabba's sail barge, to the speeder bike chases and the battle on and above Endor, Return of the Jedi represents some of the most spectacular scenes of action ever captured on film. The lightsaber sequences are exciting and emulate some of the most dramatic sword fights of the classic movies of yesteryear.
I guess if all that doesn't sell you on Jedi, there's also the Rancor attack scene, Vader intimidating the man in charge of building the second Death Star, and every scene where an Ewok gets blown up.
The entire third act of the film culminates in a spectacular explosion filled space battle the likes of which we wouldn't see again until 2005's Revenge of the Sith. This scene is essentially a longer, more drawn out version of the original Death Star battle, complete with massive fighter on fighter dogfights, a neat trench run, and plenty of cheesy combat dialogue. They also manage to crash a Star Destroyer into the Death Star. What's not to love?
Overall, the film isn't as strong thematically as it's predecessor The Empire Strikes Back, or as new and as exciting as A New Hope Was when it came to theaters, but I still find myself coming back time and time again to view Return of the Jedi over any of the other Star Wars films.

Video:
Letterboxed into a 2.35:1 frame, Return of the Jedi generally looks spectacular. Compared to the Definitive Collection set and the Faces set transfers, Jedi is less noisy, and carries slightly more vibrant colors and slightly more detail. The film does carry a normal amount of signal noise, but what good film on Laserdisc doesn't? Underneath that, Lightsabers glow brightly and explosions look stellar. This may be one of my favorite Laserdisc transfers of all time, aside from the CGI musicians at the very beginning of the film.

Audio:
Take a deep breath. You ready? Jedi's 5.1 AC3 encoded digital surround track may be one the finest sounding tracks I've ever pumped through my surround setup. Explosions and laser crossfire echo throughout the sound field with excellent driving force. The .1 LFE is so deep and resonating that during certain scenes I could feel it in my chest. I've always loved the sound design present in the 6 channel mix of Return of the Jedi, and it's beautifully reproduced through this Laserdisc's AC3 track. This is a must have if you own a demodulator.

Overall:
It may not be everyone's favorite Star Wars classic, but it gets the job done in a fun and some times frantic manner. With an excellent transfer both video wise and sound wise, it makes up an excellent third of this excellent trilogy box set.

none, and the reason being that "real filmmakers" don't to trilogies

I haven't finished listening to this pressing of "Return of the Jedi" in Dolby Stereo Digital AC-3 but I'm almost certain that Han Solo will not be "panned first" to stage right after they find the speeder bike blow to bits. "Luke"! "Luke"! on stage right.

On the CAV THX edition the dialouge has been repositioned to centre channel
Its the same on the DVD R2 THX and no doubt R1 THX DVD 2004
Its the same on the hopeless rubbish bluray "Noooooooo" Han is not panned first to the right "Noooooooo".

The only pressing is http://www.lddb.com/laserdisc/00874/147 ... Jedi-(1983)


Whew, I was lucky to have found this years ago in shop only for £25.00.

If you doubt what I say is true go ahead and play the scene on the above and then go and listen to the CAV THX and R1 R2 DVD and the bluray, Han Solo no longer pans first. First Lucas cuts him from shooting first now he doesn't want Han's voice being panned?

I'll get out the SE '97 have play the forest scene as I only up until the side change on SE month or so ago when playing the films with AC-3 RF demodulator I just installed.

Checking now and I knew it. Chapter 25, time 15m.21s Luke! Luke 15m.22s What gives with Lucas why does he instruct his team to vandizle these works of classic sci-fi fantasy art? His whole THX program is based on THE AUDIENCE IS LISTENING...! I'm listening and I just don't believe why he would do this step by step over the generation years, what is he trying to cover up?

When I saw Jedi I took a tape recorder into the cinema as the sound was really neat sounding but I was still a few years away from getting a near to trained ear in 1986, but I do recall hearing the voice or dialouge pan at Gaumont 2 downstairs in Dolby Stereo optical. I saw Jedi around 3 or so times when it played nationally in 1983.



Oh and to make matters more worse! Chapter 23 time 10m.56s the princess no longer pans first to stage left. "Well looks like I'm stuck here"? "Trouble is I don't know were here is"? Yes this, does really prove that Lucas has lost the plot! I tell you want Lucas since you said something about STAR WARS A New Hope "the mono mix was the true mix"? why not just f%R*(king down mix them all to mono why your at! sigh

There are more dialouge pans centred like the opening an imperial officers voice I believe is panned to stage chapter 3, time 4m.14s and another pan by the controller I think on stage right? At 4m.18. Most of not all the sound effects appear in the correct speaker location.

So if you want the versions near to the release its the early versions on letterbox laserdisc I can live with odd framing as odd as might look but at least the Dolby mix is in-tact, minus discrete Dolby AC-3 its too bad Dolby AC-3 didn't come around earlier otherwise we'd all have these films legitimately preserved on Laserdisc and he can then keep the '97 and 2004 and 2011 failed format bluray disc where force doesn't shine.

If you want to hear some wild wide dialouge panning Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom and Last Crusade, or you can try Always, Howard the Duck and Willow so why is Lucas dumping all the dialouge panning on his early STAR WARS fllms?

STAR WARS episode II has few tight dialouge pans but mostly they're half pan you have to listen hard! Its where that spunker appears on the hologram before palpatine just after the big explosion.

Also in STAR WARS episode III some dialouge panning is heard first one is one of those spunkers in X-wing thingy on stage left but its heard more like a half left pan, just when Obi-Wan gives an order to lock wings or what ever that dialouge is?

Also Palpatine pans first from centre channel to stage right. "Now we must go before more security droids arrive".

You can call me the Jedi Listener.

The "no, no noooo, ohhhhha=ghhhh" droid pan is still in Jedi when being tortured with red hot heat as half right stage pan. Chapter 5, 13m.18-21 I think Lucas is prejudice about human STAR WARS dialouge panning but not with Alien panning? The Green girl chapter 6, time 14m.35s stage right.

This is why I think words like lossless and lossy is bullsh!t the overall mix is what matters to me not how many bit numbers it has.


I think the sarlacc is a rip off from The Little Shop Of Horrors. "Feed me, feed me" Skywalker "feed me now", as he dices up the bad guys with his lightsaber.

I read somewhere that it's Dolby that's pushing for all dialogue in the center channel, and not the filmmakers. They say it sounds better, but I'm not so sure. I really like dialogue panning and although I've only heard it in a few movies, I really enjoy its effects. I'll have to pick up the 1989 release of the entire trilogy, as it is the only American widescreen set that I'm missing.

You do that and if you listen to real life dialouge never ever takes place in one spot! Never! If you listen to a conversation of two or more people standing on left and right and your in the middle listening you'll hear voices in discrete space of its own.

I say Dolby are dead wrong with their findings. Not sure if its Ioan Allen (Senior Vice President at Dolby Labs) but in this video listen to what he says about 70mm five-screen "the result was a big foggy mess".

The Birth of 5.1 SOUND
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qaXiJSofaMY

Its down to how its mixed. Keep all the dialouge tracks separate and positioned to play ether fixed or panned say if some one starts of at off-screen left and is yelling and shouting at the wife while walking across and exiting of to stage right, while wife on stage left says "well f%*k you"! Its like listening to real life when you hear the neighbours having a rant.

Keep the effects of atmosphere equal on all stage channels and surrounds if its an outdoors scene which never ever happens? Unless its on strange planet where atmospheric air and pressure is only noticed in one spot?

I think its down to the mixing tools they had in the early 70mm days. If done today with SDDS8 I'd guess if monitoring each of the left left-centre centre right-centre and right would reveal an interesting mix over common three-screen of today.

If your sat nearer or if the performers faces or bodies are located on screen to where the five or three screen stage channels are I think that is where the dialouge should come from, it creates a greater sense of reality over TV shows mixed in Dolby with voices coming from the centre for most of the time sounds like its playing mono.

after balancing levels of the analouge track to match as closely to the digital discrete track so when switching from format 10 Dolby Stereo Digital to format 60 non-sync Dolby pro-logic levels should be the same across LCR but the surrounds are way off or appear louder on the matrix due to LCR crosstalk of the X-wings noise filtering into the mono matrix surround.

While ignoring the effects and listening to the music track which I find it easier to raise the digital track level for the surrounds until they match as close as possible tends to work and go a little unnoticed at times, but even the music on the mono matrix surrounds is also carrying music from the stage channels that adds up a few db and some instruments or how its arranged in discrete form is miles apart from the matrix.

Listening to the t-fighters swarming around the rebel fleet sounds like cats been swag around the room on the stereo surrounds. It sounds better with Dolby-EX or matrix extra switched to ON on the CP45 I can see the signal levels lighting up as some passes across each of left-right others with centre phantom imaging moves at the back of the room and some crosstalk onto the overhead surrounds sometimes I hear discrete on some films thou very rarely I do but it adds extra, Jedi listening fun to the film.

The Ewoks are all around! In front and on all 4 surround outputs. Help me R2!

I like the stage channel bass with Mini-At-At scout at chapter 36, time 46.38/41 the bass of its footfalls are on left and centre channel as its moving off to left of the screen produces tone that I hear on left and a little on the right at different times, make me lift my hand to cover my ear, no its not loud its a strange tonal sound that I rather like, and I call it "crazy bass" when listening to TITANIC (1997) at the cinema some 14 times. Other times I might only hear it from stage left/right.

"Oh R2 hurry"!
"R2 why did you have to be so brave".

As far as picture colour goes no common signs of whites and blues producing cyan green around whites, not a bad transfer.

At least there is no, Vader "Nooooo" in this one! I have to wear ear defenders on the bluray from the lossless sonic offensive of the dtshdma 6.1 "Nooooo". has it happens on all channels LCRS expect the mono duel rear which is only ever active a few times and only carries sound effects only.