Star Wars Trilogy [WS] [6 Discs]

DVD FEATURES:

• Number of Discs: 6
• Audio: Dolby Digital Stereo, Dolby Digital Surround EX
• Screen: Enhanced Wide Screen Letterbox for 16x9 TV
• Subtitle: English
• Features:
  • Commentaries for each film by Geroge Lucas and crew, plus the original theatrical versions of each movie

AWARDS

• Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences

•     Won Special Achievement - 1983 (Phil Tippett, Dennis Muren, Richard Edlund, Ken Ralston)
•     Won Best Sound - 1980 (Peter Sutton, Steve Maslow, Bill Varney, Gregg Landaker)
•     Won Special Achievement - 1980 (Dennis Muren, Bruce Nicholson, Richard Edlund, Brian Johnson)
•     Won Best Art Direction - 1977 (Leslie Dilley, Norman Reynolds, Roger Christian, Jonathan Barry)
•     Won Best Costume Design - 1977 (John Mollo)
•     Won Best Editing - 1977 (Paul Hirsch, Richard Chew, Marcia Lucas)
•     Won Best Original Score - 1977 (John Williams)
•     Won Best Sound - 1977 (Derek Ball, Bob Minkler, Ray West, Don MacDougall)
•     Won Best Visual Effects - 1977 (John Dykstra, John Stears, Robert Blalock, Grant McCune, Richard Edlund)
•     Won Special Achievement - 1977 (Ben Burtt)
•     Nominated Best Art Direction - 1983 (Fred Hole, Norman Reynolds, James L. Schoppe, Michael Ford)
•     Nominated Best Original Score - 1983 (John Williams)
•     Nominated Best Sound - 1983 (Randy Thom, Tony Dawe, Ben Burtt, Gary Summers)
•     Nominated Best Sound Effects - 1983 (Ben Burtt)
•     Nominated Best Art Direction - 1980 (Harry Lange, Alan Tomkins, Norman Reynolds, Michael Ford, Leslie Dilley)
•     Nominated Best Original Score - 1980 (John Williams)
•     Nominated Best Director - 1977 (George Lucas)
•     Nominated Best Original Screenplay - 1977 (George Lucas)
•     Nominated Best Picture - 1977 (Gary Kurtz)
•     Nominated Best Supporting Actor - 1977 (Alec Guinness)

• American Film Institute

•     Won 100 Greatest American Movies - 1998

• British Academy of Film and Television Arts

•     Won Anthony Asquith Award - 1980 (John Williams)
•     Won Anthony Asquith Award - 1978 (John Williams)
•     Won Best Soundtrack - 1978 (Derek Ball, Bob Minkler, Ray West, Don MacDougall)
•     Nominated Best Picture - 1978 (George Lucas)

• Directors Guild of America

•     Nominated Best Director - 1977 (George Lucas)

• Hollywood Foreign Press Association

•     Won Best Original Score - 1977 (John Williams)
•     Nominated Best Original Score - 1980 (John Williams)
•     Nominated Best Director - 1977 (George Lucas)
•     Nominated Best Performance by an Actor in a Supporting Role in a Motion Pictu - 1977 (Alec Guinness)
•     Nominated Best Picture - Drama - 1977

• Library of Congress

•     Won U.S. National Film Registry - 1988

• Los Angeles Film Critics Association

•     Won Best Music Score - 1977 (John Williams)
•     Won Best Picture - 1977

• National Board of Review

•     Nominated Best Picture - 1977

• People's Choice Awards

•     Won Best Picture - 1984
•     Won Best Picture - 1981
•     Won Best Picture - 1978

ADDITIONAL INFORMATION:

• Cast:

  
       Mark Hamill - Luke Skywalker
       Harrison Ford - Han Solo
       Carrie Fisher - Princess Leia
       Billy Dee Williams - Lando Calrissian
       Peter Cushing - Grand Moff Tarkin
       Anthony Daniels - C-3PO

• Director:

  Irvin Kershner, George Lucas, Richard Marquand

• Producer:

  Jim Bloom, Howard Kazanjian, Gary Kurtz

• Dialogue Writer:

  Ben Burtt

• Screen Story:

  George Lucas

• Screenwriter:

  Leigh Brackett, Ben Burtt, Lawrence Kasdan, George Lucas

• Cinematographer:

  Robert Dalva, Alan Hume, Jack Lowin, Peter Suschitzky, Gilbert Taylor

• Composer (Music Score):

  John Williams

• Musical Arrangement:

  Angela Morley

• Musical Direction/Supervision:

  Don MacDougall

• Songwriter:

  Annie Arbogast, Ben Butt, Joseph Williams

• Editor:

  Sean Barton, Richard Chew, Duwayne Dunham, Paul Hirsch, Marcia Lucas, Arthur Repola

• Production Designer:

  John Barry, Anton Furst, Harry Lange, Norman Reynolds

• Art Director:

  Leslie Dilley, Fred Hole, Joe Johnston, Harry Lange, Norman Reynolds, James L. Schoppe, Alan Tomkins

• Co-producer:

  Jim Bloom, Robert Watts

• Associate Producer:

  Louis G. Friedman, Robert Watts

REVIEWS:

• Proof that a sequel can be as good as (or better than) its predecessor, The Empire Strikes Back is frequently considered the best of the original Star Wars trilogy. The 1980 film, which picks up a few years after the original movie, contains perhaps the most substantial plot developments of the three films, interweaving spiritual and romantic development and serving up a genuinely shocking cliffhanger. It also features more of the special effects that endeared Star Wars to many an audience member, further catering to its audience's growing appetite for bigger, better effects. Dark and downbeat, Empire is at its core the most human of the trilogy, allowing its characters -- generally two-dimensional in Star Wars -- to flesh out to more convincing proportions. Part of this change may be due to Irvin Kershner's directing the film; where George Lucas was a master with technology, he was not really an actor's director, and the actors here seem noticeably more at ease. The film's enormous success was proof that audiences were more than eager to see the Star Wars storyline continued in the years to come, something that still held true when the special edition of The Empire Strikes Back was released 17 years after the original version. Exhilarating and timeless, it remains one of the most compelling adventures ever brought to the screen. ~ Rebecca Flint Marx, All Movie Guide
• Bursting with excitement, and throwing in one wild chase, life-threatening dilemma, and dazzling effect after another, George Lucas' Star Wars packs a remarkable amount of story into 121 minutes; if the characters and dialogue sometimes lack depth, they have plenty of flash and boundless energy, and the film keeps just enough of its tongue in cheek to acknowledge an undercurrent of sly, low-key wit without snickering at either the characters or the audience. In a decade in which cynicism was the order of the day in the film industry (and American culture), Star Wars dared to be hokey. With its wise old men, dashing young pilots, spunky but virtuous princesses, and bad guys who were either deliciously evil or downright slimy, the movie had the courage to take a truckload of Hollywood archetypes, present them with smarts, humor, and no apologies, and make them work for a new generation of filmgoers. The movie in this way forged a totally original amalgam of myth, marketing, and movie serials to become one of the biggest cultural phenomena in movie history. Commercially, Star Wars opened new vistas in merchandizing toys and other movie tie-ins, as it helped transform science fiction from a fringe market into one of Hollywood's dominant genres. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide
• Considered by some a mild failure after the tantalizingly unresolved and morally complicated The Empire Strikes Back, Return of the Jedi nonetheless was a gigantic box-office hit and a beloved conclusion to the trilogy that would change science fiction filmmaking -- and, indeed, modern mythology -- forever. Overrun by furry Ewoks, the sixth episode in the planned nine-part story represented George Lucas' turn toward kiddie sensibilities, which he would continue in force with the much-reviled Jar Jar Binks character in Star Wars, Episode I: The Phantom Menace. Still, with C3PO constantly getting himself into slapstick jams that inspired endless doomsday whining, the saga had always included silly bursts of comic relief, and the Ewoks only furthered that trend. Paradoxically, Jedi is in some ways the most adult film of the series, delving into the dangerous morass of Luke Skywalker's mounting hatred, including images of rage and emotional torture to rival those of Empire. The improving special effects were the true stars of the third installment, among them a memorable Tatooine clash with Jabba the Hutt's minions, a breathtaking speeder bike chase through the trees, and the climactic battles with the Ewoks vs. the walking battle droids and the Millennium Falcon vs. the rebuilt Death Star. Of course, more soap-opera style revelations continued to reinforce the grandeur of the epic story line. Often thought of as the least effective of the original three Star Wars movies, Jedi's inferiority is relative, to say the least. Lucas' trilogy created such a vast empire of devoted fans that any chance to see laser blasts and light sabers sent them flocking to the multiplexes, instantly forgiving the sometimes hammy dialogue and overly theatrical acting for the opportunity to absorb more of the magic. ~ Derek Armstrong, All Movie Guide

CUSTOMER REVIEWS: