The Empire Strikes Back - Star Wars At Its Best, Nearly

I had always planned on writing about The Empire Strikes Back for my 250th review. I just had the luck (good or bad - I may not get as many hits simply because people are sick of reading Star Wars reviews) to have this fall so soon after seeing Attack of the Clones. 

My impression I came away with after seeing these two films is something I wrote in a comment to someone else: Just because you can do something, doesn't mean you should do it. 

What am I talking about? 

In the original release of The Empire Strikes Back, George Lucas was held back a bit on showing some things because of the technology of the times. The video I was watched was of the Special Edition where he went back and "fixed" things that he felt were problems with the original release. 

One of the first additions we see is a better glimpse of the Wampa - the creature which attacks Luke Skywalker while out on patrol and drags him back to the cave. In the original release, we were only given a few glances at it while now it is clearly shown. To me, the creature looks like The Abominable Snowman from the Rudolph the Red-Nose-Reindeer Christmas special. This was something that I felt was much better left to the imagination. 

This is one of the problems which carries through to the current movies, I believe. There is no room anymore for using our imagination to fill in the blanks - everything needs to be "shown". While I have no problems with many of the enhancements which Lucas talks about in the introduction to the Special Edition, this is something I felt could've been left out, but was a sign of things to come. 

Other enhancements are removing the matte lines from around the cockpit windows during the battle scenes. This was something not crucial, but the lines were a peeve of mine in the release of the original Battlestar Galactica DVD since it was very obvious and could have been taken out. There also were enhancements made to Cloud City which make it seem more like a real, operating mining city. These also are good and don't really detract from the imagination. 

The opening sequence with the Wampa was added after actor Mark Hamill (Luke Skywalker) was nearly killed in an accident with his corvette which caused facial damage. Apparently, George Lucas though the difference in his facial features between A New Hope and The Empire Strikes Back were significant enough to need explanation. How the movie would have begun otherwise, I do not know. Another hidden gem in this film is John Ratzenberger (Cliff Claven of Cheers fame) appearing briefly as one of the Rebel commanders. 

The relationship between the characters is really what makes this film work so well, and credit must be given to the actors for that. Harrison Ford's Han Solo is believable both in his almost brotherly protection of Luke as well as his increasing interest in Leia romantically. Luke's brooding and impatience are played perfectly to really show how far he still has to go. I see a lot of the same characteristics between Luke here and Anakin in Attack of the Clones, I just feel that Mark Hamill was better able to pull it off. Leia is also strong and vulnerable at the same time. Again, I see similarities between Leia here and Amidala in the most recent film. 

Yoda is first introduced in this film, and is somehow believable as a old Jedi Master, despite his side and stature. The puppetry used here is wonderful and the expressions on his face are perfect, making him as believable as the rest of the cast. 

Thankfully, this movie was released way before the advent of the Internet the way we know it today. Why do I say that? There was no greater impact than when we heard Darth Vader utter the words: I am your father... for the first time. I can remember hearing hints about it from friends before I saw the movie, but I was sure it wasn't true. It was a joke; they were lying to me. After I actually heard it, I spent at least one lunch hour a week debating whether it was true or a trick by Vader. Only now I can look back and realize what a cop-out and disappointment it would have been on Lucas' part to not have Vader really be Luke's father. 

The effects are good, but not overpowering. I like the use of miniatures and stop-action animation much better than CGI effects. The battle scene on Hoth is well done, and though it occupies a great deal of time, it doesn't seem to drag on. The lightsaber duel between Vader and Luke is also effected and choreographed well. 

There is not a thing wrong with this film. While most fans consider this to be the best of the Star Wars movies, I liked Return of the Jedi just a bit better. 

Star Wars: A New Hope - Dazzled Me in 1977, Still Dazzling Me Now

When I was a young lass of 11, Star Wars was released to the world. Those of you who know me and have read my reviews probably are figuring that I am a sci-fi geek-ette anyway so of course I headed out to see it. 

You are wrong. 

For months my parents bribed, begged, cajoled and practically stood on their heads to get me to see this movie. I wouldn't budge. You see, a friend at school had told me it was a scary movie and I refused to see it. At 11 I already believed my friends more than my parents. 

Finally round about the end of August it ended up at the $1.50 movie theater about a mile from my home. A friend and I finally walked down to see it. 

And I went back the next six nights. 

The Star Wars: Special Edition was released to theaters several years ago. George Lucas took the opportunity of the movie's 20th anniversary of release to jazz it up a bit. 

On VHS, the movie includes a documentary of Lucas talking about the original film versus this version. It is interesting to hear him talk about all that he wanted to do back then, but was impossible from a technical aspect. The crew was already inventing technology to do things in this movie that had never been done before. 

One part of the documentary showed how Lucas and crew created the scenes of the X-Wing and TIE Fighter battle around the Death Star. Using various pieces from the model kits of the time, Lucas created a huge set-up in a parking lot. He then put the camera on the back of a pick-up truck and drove by it to capture the illusion of space flight. 

The documentary also includes interviews with other members of the crew, as well as Mark Hamill, Carrie Fisher and Harrison Ford. 

The movie itself in the Special Edition form has been tweaked as well as having scenes added to it. Lucas cleaned up the original print of the film which had deteriorated very badly at the point they went back to look at it. The scene as Luke Skywalker and Ben Kenobi look over Mos Eisley Spaceport has been jazzed up - ads well as their entrance into Mos Eisley. What looked like a hole-in-the-wall in the original film now looks like a fairly bustling place. 

Lucas mentions his affinity for "whimsy" in the documentary, and I believe this is largely his motivation in the additions. There are more scenes that bring a smile or smirk to the face as we watch computer-generated creatures carry on in the background. This is why this movie is ripe for watching several times; there is always some nuance that you didn't catch the first time that will give you a chuckle.

Another scene that was greatly improved was the scene of the X-Wing fighters going into battle. We can now actually see the heads of the pilots in the cockpits as they make their way to attack the Death Star. 

A scene of Han Solo with Jabba the Hut was filmed back in the seventies, but was deleted from the movie since Lucas couldn't figure out how to do what he wanted with the character of Jabba. It has now been added in, and gives some support to Jabba's relentless pursuit of Han Solo. It is also funny to watch Han walk around Jabba and step on his tail. 

One scene that was revamped that I don't think needed it was the scene of Han Solo with Greedo in the Cantina. The point is made in the new film that Greedo shoots at Han first and misses, while in the original Han takes him out before he has a chance to get off a shot. Supposedly people objected to this, but I think the scene speaks to Han's instincts as a smuggler and as a not-so-nice guy at this point. He is a character we are supposed to see transform between the first film and the third film. The scene as it is in the Special Edition really weakens the character for me. 

But Star Wars was, is, and always will be one of the greatest film I ever had the privilege to see. It is a classic story of good versus evil; of people rising up against an oppressive government; of how a farm boy on a desert planet can save the universe. The story is wonderfully simple and makes it easy for children of just about any age to comprehend. 

This is one reason why this movie is one the whole family can enjoy. Because it is set in space with battles that are more fantasy than any reality we will know for many lifetimes, it is not a violent movie the way Die Hard or Terminator is. It is pure fantasy, and at the end of this one, the good guys win. 

The Special Edition comes in widescreen format - and that's how I like my movies. I know Lucas is reluctant to release these three original movies on DVD, and I think it is because the DVD format is a much less forgiving one. The technology used to create the original movie was not computer generated imaging, but mostly models and bluescreen. This means in any scene not set in space, you will see a black outline around the ships. I have noticed this on quite a few of the DVDs of movies made before the age of CGI. 

What Lucas has managed to clean up with the special edition probably isn't to his satisfaction to release the movies on DVD, but I hope one day he will. The music and THX sound from this deserves to be heard in theater-like quality. I would hope that people can understand just how ground-breaking this movie was, and look at it with a less critical eye and a more appreciative one. 

Men In Black: Protecting the Earth From the Scum of the Universe

Okay, has anyone out there not seen this movie? Raise your hand. 

You! Yes, you! Go out and rent this movie right now! 

Men In Black has to be one of the all-around best movies I have seen. On DVD, it comes loaded with special features that are worth viewing. 

Barry Sonnenfeld directs this marvelous foray into our imagination that makes the impossible seem possible. Aliens are here, living among us, right now. They are third-grade teachers, congressmen, actors, and basketball players. 

Tommy Lee Jones portrays K, one of the MiB agents in charge of policing the aliens that reside and visit Earth. His partner, D decides it's time to quit the force, and K is in search of a new partner. 

Will Smith as James Edwards of the New York City Police Department catchesK's attention after he chases down a rather fast alien. Their first encounter sets up the tone for the rest of the movie. Edwards is in an interrogation room after trying to explain exactly what happened to his boss, when K comes in to question him. Edwards tells him that the "man" in question told him the Earth was going to end.K asks totally deadpan, "Did he say when?" 

Edwards eventually becomes known as J and teams up as K's partner. J is the slick, wise-cracking novice who thinks he can put up a front of knowing everything while on the ride of a lifetime. K is the always-serious been-there-done that veteran. 

If this sounds like a cliche, it is in many ways. It is a great credit to the acting abilities of Tommy Lee Jones and Will Smith that this movie works so wonderfully.

Vincent D'Onofrio steals every scene he is in, however, as the elusive "bug" alien, Edgar. His mannerisms and trying to appear normal (He is actually an alien bug in a human's skin. Sounds gross? Trust me, it works.) are hysterically funny and reminiscent of Peter Sellers in Dr. Strangelove (this is mentioned in the commentary between Tommy Lee Jones & Barry Sonnenfeld that is on the DVD). 

Rounding out the lead cast is Rip Torn as Zed, the leader of the MiB agency and Linda Fiorentino as Dr. Laurel Weaver, a New York City Medical Examiner who always seems to be in the wrong place at the wrong time and ends up on the wrong end of the neuralizer. 

This movie was filmed in and around New York City and on sets in Los Angeles. I was surprised that so much of the final battle scenes that depict Flushing Meadow Park (where the 1964 World's Fair was held) were actually shot on a set. We go to this precise location every year for my daughters' dance recital and the replication is authentic. 

The aliens are created using puppets as well as computers. Watching the movie with the commentary from Sonnenfeld and Jones (like Mystery Science Theater 3000) gives you a lot of insight into just how they pulled off so much of the tricks of this movie. If you'd prefer not to know and keep the mystery, skip the commentary.

It was also interesting to learn that the movie's ending had been completely changed after filming had ended. This was done by changing only two scenes leading up to that point. 

The only drawback to this movie is that kids will most certainly want to watch it. And they would probably enjoy it a great deal. The reservations come with some of the coarse language, that, coupled with a few violent scenes, give this movie a PG-13 rating. Edgar kills an exterminator in a rather grotesque way and slaughters two other aliens in a restaurant (where he has also killed a waiter by breaking every bone in his body and folding him in half - we only see the body afterwards, not the actual murder). Both of my kids have seen the movie, but it is up to each parent to know what their child can handle. 

The DVD has a tremendous amount of bonuses that make it worth having in your collection. The best I have found were the running commentary I mentioned, the documentary Metamorphosis of Men In Black, and the character animation studies and tunnel scene deconstruction using angles. Anyone who is curious to know "just how they did that" will get a lot of information from these three bonuses.

On blu-Ray, Terminator 2:Judgment Day is Pure Eye Candy

Having a house with three children ages 10 and younger, means I rarely get to watch an R rated movie straight through. In this case, that was a benefit. 

The first time I had to pause Terminator 2: Judgment Day on our DVD player was during one of the scenes of the future where the machines are hunting down the humans. As I climbed the stairs, I turned to look at the television screen and was greeted by a perfect image of one of those shiny, skeletal machines against a backdrop that included an explosion. There was absolutely no way to tell what effects had been filmed separately and meshed together to create the scene. 

I knew right then and there that I was in for a treat. 

Terminator 2: Judgment Day continues the story that we saw in the first movie (worth watching - if you haven't seen it, go rent it!). The machines of the future send back a prototype model T1000 (excellent portrayal by Robert Patrick) Terminator to kill the leader of the humans as a pre-teen boy. The leader of the humans, John Connor steals a T800 model Terminator and sends it back to protect him. So now Arnold Schwarzeneggar is the good guy instead of the bad guy. Only problem is that everyone thinks he is the guy responsible for all the deaths in the first movie, so the police are hot on his trail. It doesn't help that the T1000 took on a policeman character right from the beginning. 

The effects in this movie are incredible. This was the first time we saw widespread use of the morphing technique that allows the liquid-metal T1000 to take on all different characters. The depiction of the nuclear explosion in Sarah's dream is also excellent and chilling. 

My only problem with the movie is the story itself where young John Connor orders the T800 not to kill anyone. So he goes around shooting people in the leg. We're supposed to believe that really makes him better? We know that the T800, John, and Sarah are trying to prevent the nuclear holocaust that was slated to occur in 1997, and seeing people writhing on the ground in pain after Arnold shoots them in the leg occasionally comes off as just plain stupid. Still, I do see something of the point to it, since John Connor does evolve into such a leader of the humans that he must place an very high value on a human life, but I think it was a very weak spot in an otherwise excellent story. 

Terminator 2: Judgment Day is a movie I would recommend someone watch as their first movie when they buy a DVD player, it is that amazing to watch! After that first pause, I deliberately paused it during a number of special-effects scenes just to see the picture quality of the still shots. At different times, I had to scroll back to the scenes where I had to stop the movie (pesky kids again) and again, I saw that the quality was truly amazing. This is a movie that will show you the true difference between a video tape and a DVD. 

The sound was also very high-quality, so it is worth having a quality stereo to hook up to as well. I could hear the glass on one of my picture frames rattling during different times, and I had the sound quite low. 

What makes this a Special Edition is all the bonuses. There are so many that they had to use another disc. There are a few documentaries, including aShowtime presentation as well as a documentary about the ride at Universal Studios. There are teasers and trailers galore. The movie plays in widescreen, and there is the theatrical version and a version with restored footage. 

What didn't you see in this movie the first time around? We miss a scene of the T1000 searching John Connor's room. Sarah Connor has a dream sequence while in the mental hospital that links into the first movie. There is also a scene of the processing unit of the T800 being removed. These are the scenes that I thought may have actually added something to the movie. There are some more, but I didn't think that not having them in the movie made a real difference in the story. All in all, it adds up to a little less than 20 minutes. 

There was so much extra on that disc that I never got around to finishing exploring it before I sent it back to Netflix, but I will be purchasing this DVD - it's really worth it! 

Star Trek: The Next Generation Second Season on DVD

How thrilled I was this week when the package arrived from DVDPlanet! It was here! The Second Season collection of Star Trek: The Next Generation! 

For some reason, this collection was $5 more expensive. Maybe Paramount actually figured out that this was when the episodes started getting good, so they could charge more. However, it was only 6 DVDs where the other collection was 7. 

Did the cram more onto each disk? Did they eliminate the extras that made the first set so good? The answer seems to be that the second season of Star Trek: The Next Generation was made up of only 22 episodes while the first season had 25 episodes, including a 2 hour premier. 

Whew! A load off my mind. Quality is better than quantity. Even if I did have to pay more for less. 

This set contains the same attention to details that Paramount put into the first one. The Introductions to the episodes and menus are all in the form of the control panels we've come to know on the Enterprise these many years. Just watching this is exciting, never mind the actual episodes. 

Some of the highlights from this season is that we are first introduced to the Borg, the changing of the Enterprise doctor, Whoopi Goldberg joining the cast as the proprietor of the 10-Forward Lounge, and an episode dealing with the current state of the Klingon empire. 

Disc 1 contains the episodes The Child, Where Silence Has Lease,Elementary, Dear Data, and The Outrageous Okona. 

Disc 2 contains the episodes Loud as a Whisper, The Schizoid Man, Unnatural Selection, and A Matter of Honor. 

Disc 3 contains the episodes The Measure of a Man, The Dauphin, Contagion, and The Royale. 

Disc 4 contains the episodes Time Squared, The Icarus Factor, Pen Pals, andQ Who? 

Disc 5 contains the episodes Samaritan Snare, Up the Long Ladder, Manhunt, and The Emissary. 

Disc 6 contains the episodes Peak Performance and Shades of Gray, plus all of the Special Features. 

The Special Features are once again a wonderful addition which Paramount has given to Star Trek fans. 

In the Mission Overview there are recent interviews with Rick Berman as well as an interview with Gene Roddenberry from September of 1988. It is interesting to see these Star Trek gurus comment on the fact that the characters seem to come into their own more during this season both as a result of the writers and actors becoming more comfortable. The fans weren't the only ones who noticed. There are interviews with Whoopi Goldberg and Diana Muldaur - the new additions to the cast this year - as well as Marina Sirtis (though I have to say she looks positively awful during this interview). 

The Selected Crew Analysis has each actor talking about finding the footing with their respective characters this season, as well as the changes that came about with their characters this season. 

One of the most interesting pieces is Starfleet Archives in which Penny Juday talks about her maintenance of the archives at Paramount Studios. What began as a labor of love in her own home turned into a full-time job at the studio. She has a vast collection of blueprints, props, models, from the various shows and movies. It is very interesting to see the different props and learn how they are reused as well as what they are made from. 

The Departmental Briefing - Production is an interesting look specifically at this season in regards to how the season was developed. There is talk of how the story arc for the year is hashed out in terms of the development of the different characters. The individual stories are then brought to the table. Costumes and the different "looks" of the various aliens are developed (such as the Borg and the female Klingons). At the end the soundtrack is discussed - which is one of the qualities I have always found to be better in Star Trek than in most television series. 

Finally there is the Departmental Briefing - Memorable Missions which was also present on the set from the first season. In this actors and crew reminisce about various parts of various episodes from the second season which made them memorable to them. 

The set for the third season comes out July 2nd. It's going to be a long couple of months....