Star Wars - The Theatrical Cuts

The first time I saw the original trilogy of Star Wars was in the late ‘90s; in other words, I saw the Special Editions. For a little while, I thought Han had always shot first and walked on Jabba’s tail in A New Hope rather than Star Wars. Then the prequels came out, and I was hooked. And until the Disney stuff started, I was perfectly happy with the six George Lucas films and their little changes with each updated release. I knew fans were upset with the changes to the original trilogy, but when you don’t have the theatrical cuts to compare there isn’t anything to be upset about. And since the theatrical cuts have never been all that widely available, and I didn’t feel like going the bootleg route, I just accepted that I might never see the truly original Star Wars trilogy. Until I randomly stopped in a Goodwill a few weeks ago. 

I had a few minutes to kill, so I stopped in a Goodwill to check out their records and movies. It was a disappointing selection until I spotted the original trilogy packaged in a way I hadn’t seen before. In a three-pack of slim cases, this set claimed to have the 1997 Special Editions and the original theatrical cut of each film. I ponied up the $3.99, and here we are. After a quick Google search, I found out this was a legit release, and it’s the last time these have been officially made available. 

I’m always looking for a good excuse to revisit Star Wars, so I watched all three theatrical cuts followed by the newest versions streaming on Disney+. I’m not going to get into every single difference (other sites have done that in much greater detail than I could ever do), but I did want to offer my reaction to these films from my perspective growing up with the Special Editions.

A New Hope

First off, this wasn’t even A New Hope back then, so there’s that. No one seems too bothered about that change; the main two issues with this one concern Han Solo. I’ve already mentioned Han shooting first and the added Jabba the Hutt scene. 

I agree that Han shooting Greedo first does make him more badass, but having Greedo sneak a shot off first didn’t ruin that for me. In the Special Edition, I still thought it made Han look like someone who can take care of himself and is willing to kill someone, if need be. In no scenario was Greedo presented as a harmless person, so it’s not like Han was originally portrayed as some heartless murderer, and then Lucas ruined it. Then there’s the infamous “Maclunkey!” addition on Disney+. I suppose the issue here is the main issue fans have with most of these changes in general: it’s not necessary. Why change who shoots first? Why add a Huttese phrase? Clean it up, make the laser blast more impactful, whatever. But don’t fix what isn’t broken. It doesn’t ruin anything for me, but I can see why people hate it.

As for the Jabba scene, in general I’m okay with it, but only because I already knew who Jabba the Hutt was before I ever saw a Star Wars movie. If I had the chance to watch the first two films originally, only knowing Jabba the Hutt as a gangster who wants Solo, then the reveal of his appearance in Jedi would have been amazing. Without that experience, I don’t really care that he’s inserted into A New Hope. I don’t even mind that Boba Fett is tossed in there for fan service. The walking over the tail moment (which I remember Lucasfilm people being really proud of in behind-the-scenes material), does look janky, even on Disney+, but, once again, whatever.

As for everything else, I enjoyed seeing the ‘70s grime of the theatrical cut and all the rough edges of the special effects work. But, in general, I prefer the updated stuff. I know it takes some people out of the movie because it’s different from what they remembered, but that’s not the case with me. I’m glad I got to see Star Wars the way it was originally released, but I’ve made my peace with Lucas’s alterations long ago, so I’ll take the cleaned up version with its controversial changes. 

The Empire Strikes Back

This is easily the least controversial Special Edition of the original trilogy. They mainly just cleaned up the space effects stuff (though I kind of like seeing the outlines in these original cuts). One of the main changes in 1997 was adding a scream as Luke fell near the end, and that’s gone from the latest version now, which makes me oddly nostalgic for the Special Edition version. 

With this one, the changes made after the Special Edition caught some flak. The first is putting Ian McDiarmid in the Emperor scene and changing up the dialogue a bit. I miss the monkey-eyed old lady Emperor, but I’m okay with it. The changes in dialogue are minimal, but some argue it changes things regarding Vader knowing about Luke. Vader’s knowledge of Luke is a whole can of worms unto itself. The new version makes it seem like Vader is learning about it at that moment. I guess that’s okay, but shouldn’t he be more pissed? I get that he’s the Emperor’s bitch at this point, but how do you just brush off that the dude has lied to you about Padme for twenty years? But that’s a weak point in the series no matter what happens in this scene.

McDiarmid was added to create more similarities between the prequel trilogy and the original, and with that in mind they also changed Boba Fett’s voice from Jason Wingreen to Tamuera Morrison. I still like the original voice, but I understand it makes no sense at this point for Fett to not sound like Morrison. This is just another messy element created by the prequels that they tried to fix later. I get it, but I still like the old version more. Maybe he just had a cold that day that made his New Zealand accent sound more American? Who cares? It’s sci-fi; make something up. 

But Fett’s voice and Luke’s scream aside, I still like watching the cleaned up version more.

The Return of the Jedi

Finally, some changes that truly annoy me. Even when I first saw the Special Edition at age twelve, I thought, “What the fuck is this shit?” when the CG muppets started a full on music sequence in Jabba’s Palace. Jedi has always been derided for being a bit too kiddie what with the muppet band and the Ewoks, but this is just too much, even for someone as forgiving as me. Not to mention, the original song during this moment is better! This change is unforgivable because it is only there to show off the CG effects of the time. Why else do we get that stupid close up of Joh Yowza (I had to look that up; I’m not dorky enough to just know that name) with spit dangling out of his stupid CG mouth? (By the way, the Max Rebo Band has its own Wikipedia page. God help us all.)

I guess I’m okay with them bringing back the original actress to film what happens after she falls into the Rancor pit, but was anyone really confused about what happened to her?

Speaking of pits, the Sarlacc has a beak and some tentacles added to it, but I preferred the simplistic hole with teeth. It honestly looks creepier than the CG monster they added to it. 

Back to the music, most people are most upset with “Yub Nub” being taken out of the ending. This one didn’t bother me as much because, dare I write it, I’m not a big fan of “Yub Nub.” The new song is fine, and I definitely like the addition of prequel locations to the ending showing how the entire galaxy has been saved…only to immediately be fucked again by Disney, however.

The changes to the ending I dislike concern Vader in the more recent editions. First off, adding the “No!” as he kills the Emperor is just weak ass shit trying to make his crazy “Nooooooo!” at the end of Revenge of the Sith make a little more sense. It just makes him look stupid. I also don’t care for the addition of Hayden Christensen to the Force ghost lineup. It doesn’t make sense. Why would the younger version show up? There is an argument that his form is that of when he was last a Jedi, but didn’t he redeem himself in the end? So it should still be the older version. I also don’t like that look Christensen is giving directly to the camera. It’s just another way to tie the prequels visually to the originals, and it doesn’t work for me.

Because of these changes, I prefer the theatrical cut to any of the later additions. But it looks like such shit on the DVD I bought that I’ll still most likely watch the streaming version just because I’m spoiled by HD now.

Final Thoughts

Watching the theatrical cuts wasn’t all that impactful for me as a fan. It was definitely interesting, and I’m glad I finally saw them in this form. But my nerd mind has calmed down a bit these days (but not too much since I’m still writing articles like this), so I’ll just stick with the best looking version of the trilogy offered on streaming. But I’m glad I have some options since I have this set, the original DVDs of the prequels, the original Special Edition VHSs, the Special Edition DVDs, and the Blu-Ray release. It’s stupid that Disney doesn’t clean these up and put them on Disney+ or sell them on 4K, though. It must be a condition with Lucas or something that they can’t do it until he dies, or maybe ever, because they would surely make a profit if they just restored the theatrical cuts and put them back in theaters for a bit before releasing on home video. I hope it somehow happens in my lifetime, because I would love a chance to see an HD version of these instead of digging out my janky Goodwill DVD set.

The Rise of Skywalker - Big, Fun, and (Hear Me Out) Simple

Note: For reference as to why I’ve mellowed out so much on this trilogy since The Last Jedi, check out this article I wrote about my changing feelings regarding Star Wars. In short, I’ve stopped putting Star Wars on a pedestal, to quote The 40-Year-Old Virgin.

The Rise of Skywalker is a big, ambitious end to the Skywalker saga. It answers a lot of questions and presents even more, all while planet hopping and sprinting to an action-packed, (hopefully) crowd-pleasing conclusion. The pace of the film, along with the decision to keep the core group together for most of the story, make this the simplest and most enjoyable film in the new trilogy. 

Some might scoff at the idea that this film is “simple,” but it is, from a certain point of view. To be fair, there are a ton of questions raised by this film (this article does a great job at listing them), so in that regard the movie is quite convoluted. But if you can just let those unanswered questions go, you’ll find yourself enjoying a refreshingly straight-forward adventure. 

The Rise of Skywalker is about Rey and company trying to find the resurrected Emperor Palapatine, so they can stop his new planet-destroying fleet of starships and save the world twice and for all (yeah, right). This causes them to pick up the search where Luke left off, going from planet to planet following clues and battling Kylo Ren and the First Order along the way. It’s action packed, funny, and you always know exactly why the characters are doing what they’re doing. Like I said, simple.

Many fans (like the guy I overheard right after my screening who said, “That is probably the worst out of all of them”) will not be able to get past the questions raised by this film and/or its dismissal or lack of followthrough with some themes presented in The Last Jedi. And that’s a shame, because the one thing that should be undeniable about this trilogy is that the new characters are likable and have great chemistry, and this film allows them to spend the most time together.

In most Star Wars films, the main characters have to split up early on, only reuniting briefly at the end (and sometimes not even then; I’m looking at you, Empire). But The Rise of Skywalker presents the importance of friendship as a theme many times. So instead of a character taking off because they have something they have to do on their own, we get characters flat out telling them, “Okay, but we’re still coming with you.” It’s a little cheesy, but it’s also the strongest aspect of the film. For all the action of this new trilogy, it pales in comparison to the joy of watching Rey, Finn, Poe, Chewbacca, C-3PO, and BB-8 work together for most of the film.

But this is still an action movie at heart. In that regard, it’s very satisfying. All the blasters and stuff blowing up is fine, but the lightsaber work here is the best it’s been in the trilogy. This is by design, since Rey and Kylo became more powerful as the series progressed. Rey, in particular, has been training since the last film, so she’s much more formidable this time around. I was so used to seeing adept Force users in the prequel trilogy that I assumed anyone in this trilogy with a lightsaber would be badass with it. Looking at the trilogy as a whole now, I can appreciate the development of Rey and Kylo Ren rather than be disappointed by their initial clumsiness (Rey) or lack of control (Kylo Ren). (I admit that the throne room sequence in The Last Jedi is pretty awesome, but aside from that, the lightsaber stuff is pretty sparse in that film.)

Speaking of The Last Jedi, it does seem like this movie is more of a direct sequel to The Force Awakens than to Jedi, and that might bother fans of The Last Jedi. But this was bound to happen with Disney’s plan of going from one filmmaker to another for each film only to go back to J.J. Abrams for the third film. Of course, Abrams was going to focus on more of the stuff he set up with his film than with Rian Johnson’s. Still, it’s understandable if some fans are disappointed with this film in that regard.

For me, I went in to The Rise of Skywalker with new expectations after my disappointment with The Last Jedi.  I just wanted to see the story wrapped up with a lot of fun character moments and plenty of action. And that’s exactly what I got. 

It might sound like I'm actually a bit lukewarm with this movie, but I sincerely loved it. It's just that these movies are never going to be on the same level as the George Lucas films for me, and I've made my peace with that. I'm just happy to see a big, fun Star Wars movie. I left the theater wanting to immediately watch The Rise of Skywalker again, and that's all I can hope for from my favorite franchise.

..

I'm Just a Star Wars Fan

*Note: Since this article is about Star Wars, some fans will completely disagree with everything I write. That’s fine. I’m not saying any of this is fact. I’m just writing about my experience as a fan through the years. 

Being a Star Wars fan has never been so complicated. It used to be simple: the original trilogy was seemingly loved by all. Then the special editions came out, and a lot of fans were pissed off about changes George Lucas made. Then fans started reevaluating things and realized they didn’t actually like Return of the Jedi that much. Then the prequels came out, and most fans hated them. Then, as some young fans got older, more and more people claimed to love the prequels (I have loved all of them unapologetically since they were released). Then Disney came into the picture and really fucked things up by not only adding a new trilogy, but also introducing spinoff films for us all to argue about. I became a Star Wars fan a couple years before the prequels came out, so I can remember a glorious, pre-ubiquitous-internet time when we were all just fans (who maybe disagreed about Ewoks). There were still debates and whatnot (just watch early Kevin Smith movies for examples of the stupid shit fans would talk about), but it seemed like the fan base was fairly united. 

After the prequels, it became much worse, but it was still fairly straightforward: do you hate or love the prequels? With Lucas claiming to be done, it finally got to a point that the prequel divide was no longer that big of a deal. Then The Force Awakens came out, and it seemed to unite fans anew by bringing back the old gang and introducing some compelling new characters. Sure, it was a borderline remake of A New Hope, but we, or at least I, didn’t care at the time. We had a new Star Wars movie, and it seemed to be more like the original trilogy than the prequels. Now that they established the new characters, they can go anywhere with them. Things seemed okay.

Meanwhile, Rogue One came out. It was a Star Wars movie, kind of? (I loved it, by the way.) It felt weird to see a movie that was adjacent to the main story of the saga. But it was interesting and entertaining. But was Disney really going to be cranking out these side stories until the end of time? Can there be too much Star Wars? 

Then The Last Jedi came out, and all hell broke loose. Fans of the film can claim it’s a vocal minority that doesn’t like the film all they want, but check any comment section about the film, and it seems a lot more like a 50/50 divide than fans of the film want to admit. There’s no way to prove this (I just told you to check comment sections as my source, for fuck’s sake), but in my experience it seems like more than just a vocal minority had severe problems with The Last Jedi. Maybe I just want to believe that a lot of people have issues with it because I have a lot of issues with it (I wrote three articles about it).

I’m not trying to start another debate about The Last Jedi. I’m just going to explain what it changed for me as a Star Wars fan. I left the theater after watching it, and instead of immediately wanting to see it again (which is my usual response to a Star Wars movie), I started to complain about it. I told my brother (who I watched it with) that when they freed the horse things on Canto Bight I thought to myself, “I fucking hate this.” I’ve never had that feeling during a Star Wars movie. I’ve softened on the film since then, but it’s still my least favorite of the series. 

The Last Jedi made me realize I can dislike (even if it’s only momentarily) a Star Wars movie. This made me question whether I was even a true fan anymore. Before this, in my mind, a true fan loved all the movies. So I guess I finally understood how the prequel haters felt, and I didn’t like it at all. I didn’t want to say I was a Star Wars fan, but I don’t like this one or this one. Star Wars is about hope, so I found something good to focus on. My expectations for what a Star Wars movie could be had to change. I didn’t have to love every single film. I could just like a movie. I could even hate large portions of a movie. I stopped seeing Star Wars as this sacred part of my life and started seeing them as just movies. This is a good thing, and I think more Star Wars fans would be happier with their experience if they tried this. (By the way, for those of you who do still hold all the films sacred and love the new movies with all your heart, I envy you.)

With that mindset I watched Solo, and I really liked it. I didn’t understand the hatred a lot of people had for it. I agreed with most of the faults I read that people had with the film, but they just didn’t bother me that much. I just thought it was a fun movie. 

It’s one thing to bring that mentality to a spinoff film, but what about a saga movie? For me, bringing that mentality to The Rise of Skywalker allowed me to completely enjoy my experience. I have so many questions about so many things with the movie, but none of them nagged at me the way they would have before. (Slight SPOILERS for Rise of Skywalker until the end of the paragraph.) Palpatine’s back? Okay. Snoke was just a puppet/clone? Okay. Palpatine has a kid and a grandkid? Okay. No one wanted to help the Resistance a year ago but now the entire galaxy is ready to fuck shit up for them? Okay. Obviously I either have a few issues with some of these things or at least want to know a lot more than the film provided, but none of it took me out of the movie. I just went with it, and I was able to enjoy this movie the most out of the new trilogy.

For me, being a Star Wars fan means enjoying Star Wars movies. If that means I need to alter what I think a Star Wars movie is supposed to be, so be it. I’ll always have the first six movies that are magical to me. And now I’m going to have a lot of different movies that I can enjoy to a lesser degree. I know this sounds a little delusional. It’s okay to not like, or even hate, something, even if you’re a fan of the overall series. I just don’t want to. Star Wars will always be special to me, but there’s a lot more in my life to focus on rather than getting bent out of shape when a movie doesn’t live up to what I want from it. (This only applies to Star Wars for me. As a film journalist, I still plan on hating all kinds of shit.)

I'm done saying I'm a Star Wars fan, and I like the prequels, but I don't like the Disney trilogy, but I do like the spinoffs, and The Force Awakens is okay, I guess, and Rise was pretty great, and I like parts of The Last Jedi, etc. No more qualifiers. I'm just a Star Wars fan.

..

"Solo" - I Like the Spinoffs More Than the Main Movies; What the Hell Is Happening?

*I'm taking a break from reviewing films I own to review Solo, a movie I will own once it's released. I'll return with another article about a movie from my collection next week.

Star Wars has surprised me quite a bit in the last few years, in both good and bad ways. It’s been bad because I don’t care much for the two new main movies: The Force Awakens and The Last Jedi. To be more specific, I think The Force Awakens is okay, and I hate The Last Jedi, and it has made me less excited for future Star Wars films in general. Which is why I was less excited for Solo than I’ve been for any other Star Wars movie. But here’s where the good surprise comes into play: I enjoy the spinoff Star Wars movies very much. If I had to rank the movies since Disney took over, it would go: 1. Rogue One 2. Solo 3. The Force Awakens #4. The Last Jedi.

I expected the complete opposite when the new films were announced. I couldn’t wait for the continued adventures of the Skywalkers and whatnot, and I didn’t understand the need for the side stories. I think I get it now. My expectations are too high for saga movies and too low for the spinoffs (maybe not too low, but definitely lower). I expect a certain feeling from the main movies, and without George Lucas involved, it just doesn’t feel like Star Wars to me, for better or worse. And I can admit that’s on me. Maybe these movies are masterpieces that I am incapable of recognizing, but it is what it is. But with the side movies, I don’t bring that baggage. I don’t need them to feel like the old movies (prequels included); they can be Star Wars-lite. And even though Solo is about a few major characters from the originals, it still feels adjacent to the main story, and I like that even though originally I didn’t care to know Han Solo’s past.

Before I get into spoilers for the rest of the review, I’ll give my general, vague thoughts on Solo. As a standalone film, it moves quickly, is filled with great characters, plenty of action, and a lot of fun. There’s nothing groundbreaking about it, but there’s also nothing that made me wish they hadn’t made it at all. Alden Ehrenreich makes a good Han Solo, and Donald Glover is a perfect Lando Calrissian. The film takes nearly everything you may have wondered about Solo (his name, his gun, meeting Chewbacca, flying the Millennium Falcon the first time, etc.) and explains it.  In other words, it’s a fun, crowd-pleasing film that most fans will enjoy. Now onto SPOILERS, so stop reading if you don’t want some major stuff spoiled for you.

Perhaps my favorite aspect of these spinoff films is that so many characters die. Don’t get me wrong, there’s plenty of death in the main movies (RIP Han, Luke, Ackbar, Snoke, the entire rebellion, etc.), but in these movies it’s nearly the entire primary cast that dies. The folks in Solo fare a bit better than the entire cast of Rogue One, but still the death count is high. When Thandie Newton showed up I expected her to be around until the end, but she was dead less than fifteen minutes after her introduction. That’s a bold move, and I like it. Just like Rogue One, the stakes of the mission are actually high. Usually in movies like this there are plenty of warnings about the danger of a mission, but almost everyone lives (look at The Last Jedi: sure, all the no names die, but with all that death the main guys somehow make it). In the spinoff movies, when someone says something is dangerous that means every character not guaranteed to appear in later movies will probably die.

It would be easy for the screenwriters (Lawrence and Jonathan Kasdan) to make the characters one-note since they all die. But I actually cared about all of them, even if I only saw them for a couple minutes. They did an excellent job of establishing character and relationships in short scenes to make their deaths matter later.

I’ll finish with the boldest move Solo makes: bringing back Darth Maul. Apparently he was resurrected on the animated show, The Clone Wars. But I always thought of that show as separate from the movies. Not anymore. Darth Maul is back, though only as a hologram at the very end. Still, I got chills when he appeared. Much like Darth Vader’s awesome scene at the end of Rogue One, this is total fan service, but it worked. I am genuinely excited for some sort of sequel to Solo so I can see Darth Maul in glorious action again. That’s the best compliment I can pay Solo: it made me excited about Star Wars again. Sure, it did it in a very manipulative way, but who cares? When’s the next spinoff coming out? I can’t wait.

Random Thoughts

The action is large and impressive at times (the train heist being a standout), but it’s largely forgettable: a lot of laser gun shootouts and explosions. Ron Howard isn’t exactly known for awesome action, though.

I'm fine with every little thing, even the last name Solo, being explained. I don't hold Solo as a special character, so this movie is very low stakes for me, but I did like the world it created, and wouldn't mind another entry, especially if Maul is in it (apparently the Darth is gone now, since he’s no longer a Sith...or something).

Actually, I take that back. Him being named Solo is pretty damn stupid. The only time he is truly on his own is during his three years in the Imperial Army. After that, he’s with Chewbacca until his death. How about Han Duo?

The Empire theme is played diegetically in a recruitment ad. I’m not sure I like that. So was that music in the original trilogy being played during those scenes, like the drums in Spaceballs?

What was the Lord and Miller version like? Because this was pretty jokey. I read somewhere that it came down to them being able to handle a big budget movie. They were doing too many takes. So Howard was brought in for efficiency. Howard has gone on record saying that the script did not change when he came on board, so it wasn’t the comedic tone of the film that got Lord and Miller fired.

They almost made a Star Wars movie without a lightsaber. I wish they would have, honestly. The reveal of Maul was enough. Why did he turn on his lightsaber, anyway? He’s a hologram!

Han definitely shoots first in this film, playing big fan service to people pissed about the Special Editions.

Truly a movie for the fans as it fixes some dialogue - parsecs were used seemingly as speed in the original, but it’s revealed that Han knows a parsec is a unit of distance (that’s fine, but I’m pretty sure Lucas thought it referred to speed when he wrote it back then), how Lando says Han in Empire (rhyming it with can instead of swan), etc. That does take you out of it a bit, but not so much that it is a problem.

It’s crazy that I like the spinoffs more than the main movies, especially since they both had very problematic productions.

I did have a few issues with it. Lady Proxima was kind of silly. Not Boss Nass silly, but still… and that singing duo was a bit odd at Vos’s place, even though its it's in keeping with classic Star Wars (Max Reebo Band). Still, those few moments when Han is looking around at the party feel much more like classic Star Wars than any of that casino garbage from The Last Jedi.

Also, the Qi’ra relationship left a bit to be desired. It was set up like he would find her near the end of the movie, but he just runs into her randomly, and they don’t really talk that much after they meet up. It seems like it would be a bigger deal to see each other. I guess it’s cool that she didn’t need saving. But after that dramatic separation at the airport(?), it seemed like a pretty big deal. Then when they see each other years later, they act like old college friends who run into each other at the grocery store.

And Woody Harrelson got over Thandie Newton’s death way too fast. I know they live a dangerous life, but come on! And wouldn’t he be a bit more pissed off at Enfys Nest at the end. “Sure, your cause is noble and all, but you did get my girlfriend and buddy killed.”