Star Wars: Episode IV - A New Hope [Blu-Ray] [Region Free] (English audio)

Great quality

Hope I can all ways get to it now I payed for this

Like many other Star Wars fans i was not that impressed with many of the changes George Lucas made in the digitally remastered versions, even if the overall quality of the image was improved. My old from-TV VHS recordings are long gone, and i've been waiting since then (circa 1990) to get hold of a DVD version of the original, pre-remastered, films for the original triology.This is that version. A two disk set with both the remastered and original film version in the case. With the slew of Star Wars re-releases we've had over recent decades it's been hard to tell the wood from the trees in relation to getting the original films, so here are a few pointers to help. For the first film, Star Wars Episode IV, A New Hope:1. The ASIN code is: B000FMH8UI2. The code on the base of the spine is: 33919010013. The cover is as shown in the amazon listing for this review, with the 'Limited Edition' banner in gold along the top.4. On the back it will say: "Disk 2: Original theatrical (1977) version of Star Wars"Now i've seen people remark that the quality of the original version is terrible, and i can't agree. Maybe we have become too used to over-saturated HDR and computer enhanced visuals? Certainly my viewing of the original versions in this set was no different to the VHS version i had previously or the countless times i watched it on TV as a kid. It's an old film, and these are old recordings of an old film, but in no way is the quality so bad as to ruin your enjoyment of the best of sci-fi stories in film.It is also possible to adjust the settings on most modern TV sets, or even in the software you use if viewing on your PC to get the 'best' viewing you can, i had to darken it slightly to suit my TV, but in general these are not destroyed by blurring or artifacts, certainly no more than the original film was.And finally, thank you George Lucas for eventually listening to the many Star Wars fans that really wanted these versions, it's been a longtime coming, but awesome none the less.

Star Wars: A New Hope, is one film everyone knows about and to some extent it merits it praise and enthusiasm. In the 70s apocalyptic and dystopian Sci fi was mostly in fashion and some the best science fiction came out of these genres (Soylent Green, The Omega Man, Andromeda Strain): these are classic and highly intelligent films that painted a bleak and at the time realistic depiction of the future: as overpopulated, destroyed and ruled by intense fatalism. However Star Wars to some extent attacked that form of sci-fi and delivered a more light-hearted and fun approach: it mined the idea of intergalactic war, heroes and villains, aliens, good versus evil and large space battles-its everything a fun sci fi needs and it delivers the goods. Star Wars is not attempting to be serious, profound or clever like the films it competed with but present an alternative view of the future as populated with adventure, excitement and new frontiers rather than decaying cities and bleak landscapes. There's a lot to like in Star Wars a New Hope: plenty of compelling and exciting set-pieces, a sympathetic if fresh-faced hero and an exciting plot that is at times silly but also entertaining and gripping (most notably the brilliant Death Star escape sequence). The film tells the tale of Luke a young farmer on a distant planet who goaded by a search for adventure enters a war between the powerful and evil Empire and the good Rebellion. Along the way he develops from fresh-faced and naïve youngster to experienced and clever youngster and meets some interesting characters: the cool rogue Han Solo and Chewbacca, wise Jedi master Obi-Wan and the irritating but endearing C3PO and R2D2. When it comes to depth, the film is not highly intelligent and thematically rich, however it is a clever re-working of the fantasy and fairy-tales of youth (the brave hero, the beautiful princess who needs to be saved from the evil villains). Whilst the characters aren't particularly well developed they are still well handled and are indeed made up of a collection of compelling caricatures (wise mentor, rogue captain, comedy-duo, beautiful princess). Its very much a film that deals with archetypes and genre characters but that doesn't make it any less interesting. Some of the weak aspects include some poor quality dialogue, a problem with slow-pacing in the first 40 minutes of the film and under-developed characters but the film excels at special affects, excitement, plot and action and is indeed a lot of fun. In a recent interview George Lucas explained how his friends, which include auteur directors Martin Scorsese and Francis Ford Coppola asked him, "why don't you make a film expressing an artistic statement like Taxi Driver, why are you making kids films?" He simply replied because that is what, "I like to do" and Star Wars is all the better for it and in some ways a light-hearted and compelling antidote to the bleakness of brilliant films like Taxi Driver.