World Famous Comics: Star Wars Episode V - The Empire Strikes Back (1980 & 2004 Versions, 2-Disc Widescreen Edition)
Star Wars Episode V - The Empire Strikes Back (1980 & 2004 Versions, 2-Disc Widescreen Edition)
Starring: Mark Hamill, Harrison Ford, Carrie Fisher, Billy Dee Williams, Anthony Daniels Directed By: Irvin Kershner Average Rating: Aspect Ratio: 2.35:1 Audience Rating: PG (Parental Guidance Suggested) Binding: DVD Format: AC-3, Closed-captioned, Color, Dolby, Dubbed, DVD-Video, Subtitled, Widescreen, NTSC Label: Twentieth Century Fox Home Entertainment Number of Items: 2 Release Date: September 12, 2006 Running Time: 129 minutes Theatrical Release Date: May 21, 1980
Amazon.com: The 2006 limited-edition two-disc release of The Empire Strikes Back is not only the first time the movie has been officially available by itself on DVD. It marks the first-ever DVD release of Empire as it originally played in theaters in 1980. What does that mean exactly? The film is without the various "improvements" and enhancements George Lucas added for the theatrical rerelease in 1997 as well as the DVD premiere in 2004. So no more of Ian McDiarmid (the Emperor) replacing Clive Revill with slightly revised lines, or Temuera Morrison rerecording of Boba Fett's minimal dialogue.
What do you lose by watching the 1980 version? Dolby Digital 5.1 EX sound, for one thing (only 2.0 Surround here), and digital cleanup. But for home-theater owners, the biggest frustration will be from the non-anamorphic picture. On a widescreen TV, an anamorphically enhanced (16x9) picture at a 2.35:1 aspect ratio will fill the screen with the exception of small black bars on the top and bottom. The original edition of Empire, however, on a widescreen TV will have large black bars on the top, the bottom, and the sides unless you stretch the picture (and distort it in the process, especially considering the substandard picture quality). If you're watching on a standard square-shaped (4:3) TV, though, you won't notice a difference.
Yes, it's true that serious home-theater lovers who want spectacular sound and anamorphically enhanced picture can always watch the 2004 version of the movie also included in this set. But chances are good that they already picked up the trilogy edition of all three films, so their decision to buy the 2006 two-disc edition depends on how much they want the original film. The official LucasFilm stance is that this is an individual release of the 2004 version of The Empire Strikes Back, and the 1980 version of the film is merely a "bonus feature." Common speculation is that the only reason the original versions are seeing the official light of day at all is to undercut the booming black market for the laserdisc version. Star Wars fans will have to decide for themselves if that's worth the purchase. --David Horiuchi
Product Description: For the first time ever and for a limited time only the enhanced versions of the Star Wars: Episode IV A New Hope Star Wars: Episode V The Empire Strikes Back and Star Wars: Episode VI Return of the Jedi will be available individually on DVD. Plus these 2-Disc DVD's will feature a bonus disc that includes for the first time ever on DVD the original films as seen in theaters in 1977 1980 and 1983.System Requirements:Running Time: 127 minutesFormat: DVD MOVIE Genre: SCI-FI/FANTASY Rating: PG UPC: 024543263838 Manufacturer No: 2236383
The best of the six. I'm finding it kind of hard to review the best Star Wars film. What do I say? Where do I begin? It's bigger, better and superior to A New Hope in every way. Vader, who barely had a small presence in A New Hope, truly takes over in this installment. Vader........gotta love him. The red lightsaber, the black outfit, the eternal voice of James Earl Jones. Am I a fanboy? Yup. I can't believe there are people out there that haven't seen this movie. Non stop action from start to finish, and the lightsaber battle between Luke and Vader still amazes. I didn't care for some of the changes Lucas made to the original three. But, it is his creation and he is free to do with it as he pleases. It doesn't mean he should. This is easily the best of the six and no home should be without a copy. I'll review each one but here's my order and why. Empire Strikes Back - The best. Revenge of the Sith - The best of the new three. Return of the Jedi - Loved the movie, hated the teddy bears. Phantom Menace - Darth Maul, need I say more? A New Hope - Ground Breaking but dragged in too many places. Attack of the Clones - UUGH!!!!!!
What a nice gift! This dvd made a great gift! I gave it to my boyfriend who's a big "Star Wars" fan. The only likes the original versions, so this made the perfect gift. He was so happy to finally be able to watch the original " Star Wars" movies on our flat screen tv in widescreen format.
"Yoda, You Seek Yoda" The year '80 marked the release of the highly anticipated second installment of the Luke Skywalker trilogy, `Star Wars - The Empire Strikes Back'. Not too surprisingly with all the money the first film made for George Lucas he had loads of capital to spend making Part II one of those rare cinematic occurrences where the sequel exceeds the original. Most obvious amongst the improvements were the astonishing special effects and the fleshing out of the main characters personalities adding texxture and substance to their interaction and thought processes.
However the most fascinating and imaginative addition to the storyline was the marvelous little Jedi Master Yoda. The sequences with Yoda and Luke on Dagobath are inventive and profound. It's the presence of this enchanting little green warrior with big ears that make the film for me.
My Rating: Yoda makes this a -5 Star- film for me. Why you ask? To quote the Jedi Master, "There is no why."
The ultimate Star Wars film Star Wars Episode V: The Empire Strikes Back is by far my favorite movie of all time. Once again, I prefer the 2004 version to the 1980, or even the 1997 version of the film, even though I grew up loving the 1980 version. This is the film where the ultimate villian, Darth Vader, shows his true might. If someone fails Vader, he kills them. Love it! This is the film for every fan of Darth Vader. Of course the 1980 version of the film is not in anamorphic widescreen, and is only presented in 2.0 sound. While this might anger people, it does state that these are unaltered. Presenting it in anamorphic widescreen and 5.1 sound would require that the films be altered to present them that way.
This applies to all three Star Wars DVDs with the original and altered versions To everyone complaining about the non-anamorphic transfer for the orginal DVDs...stop it! Don't you remember a time when it looked like that George Lucas wasn't even going release the original versions? George Lucas was obviously trying to throw a bone to the fans when he release these DVDs and I for one am grateful for them. He didn't have to release the orginal versions and he may not do it again, so this should be considered a gift.
However, I do dock the DVDs two stars, one because both Steven Spielberg and Ridley Scott released the original and special versions of Close Encounters of the Third Kind and Blade Runner, respectively. Ridley Scott, in particular, didn't like the original cut of Blade Runner, so he could've easily have ruined the presentation of the original cut, but he didn't for the fans of the film. In that respect, George Lucas could've done a better job with his original versions and therefore see the point of view of those unhappy with these releases, but I still appreciate George Lucas for even touching the orginal versions again.
My only real complaint, and reason for the lack of another star, is that these sets are what should've been in the earlier boxset. That way, we get the 2004 version, the 1977, 1980, 1983 version of the films, and the bonus disc with the documentry. I had to go to the Amazon Marketplace to get the bonus disc. Personally, this bugs me more than the presentation of the original versions.
As for the films themselves, they are awesome. They all have great stories and great characters. No matter what version you are watching, these are great films. I would recommend any one of them. They are great. Buy these DVDs and enjoy three of the greatest sci-fi films ever. While these wasn't the best releases, they are still worth the buy, or you can get the box set if you are more worried about the documentry and special features.
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