Star Wars -- A New Format Reviews of the THX Widescreen Laserdisc & THX Pan & Scan Videos By BrianOO7 [Ed. Note: O as in the letter, not the number] E-Mail: BrianOO7 (BrianOO7@aol.com) [Ed. Note #02: We found both versions of Brian's reviews to be worthy of publication, the first is a nitty-gritty review, while the second is more of an overview] By Brian Anthony O' Rourke Brian OO7@aol.com The new release of the Star Wars Trilogy, which is formatted in THX, has added many great improvements to the sound and picture quality. The Widescreen (or Letterbox) version of the Trilogy in THX is even better. In widescreen, none of the picture is left out, and in conjunction with the improved sound and picture, it is the perfect complement to any Star Wars collection. Comparing the THX movies to the previous ones, I note several improvements: • The color and picture quality is far superior to that of its predecessor. The previous videos had a yellowish tone and were too light, which caused the discolored mats around some of the ships against the black of space. THX has almost entirely eliminated that with a crisp, dark picture, with wonderful color tones. The picture is more like it was in movie theaters. • The improved sound is crisp and centered, rather than tinny and muffled, as it was with the previous releases. THX separated the sound so as to allow for clearer dialog and background sound effects. There were also some sound effects added to ANH. • The panning sequence(for Pan/Scan videos) has much less panning, and focuses on more important elements of a scene. The picture is also slightly thinned, so as to allow more into the view. • Through a high fidelity sound system, the rear channel sound is better thought out than that of the previous, giving a more "theater" effect. • Finally, each movie contains an exclusive interviews with George Lucas. I would unreservedly recommend the Trilogy in THX format. It is noticeably better than all previous releases, and finally presents the original Star Wars trilogy as it was meant to be seen. What You See Isn't Actually What You Should Get These are a few of the things you DON'T see on Pan/scan, but can see on Letterbox: Note: The Following is a scene by scene comparison of the THX Pan & Scan Return of the Jedi with the Letterbox THX Return of the Jedi. If you'd like to see future comparisons, let us know! ALWAYS: The Rebel or Imperial fleets are much more massive and many more ships can be seen. ALWAYS: When in groups, much more of Jabba's men, Imperial officers, Rebels and Ewoks can be seen in the background. All of the captions are within the bottom black bar, so as to leave the picture free, a quality that not even the movie theaters had. • You can see more Star Destroyers as the shuttle approaches. • The hanger where the shuttle lands seems more massive. • You can see a TIE fighter wing on the rack in the long shot of the hanger. • As C-3PO and R2-D2 walk up the road to see Jabba, his massive palace can be seen in the background. • When 3PO and R2 approach the front gate, the immense size of the door becomes apparent and noticeable. • A Gamorrean Guard is seen at a close view as Bib and the other guards escort the droids into the audience chamber. • Immediately into view is Yack face, Gargan (the fat dancer), and a more numerous compilation of aliens in Jabba's Palace as the droids enter. • Surrounding Han's Carbonite chamber, clearly in view is Amanaman, Hermiodle, and a skiff guard. • When 3PO and R2 are being brought to EV 9D9, a hand reaches for 3PO, causing him to retreat to the opposite side of the hall, saying, "OH! How horrid..." (Note: The hand reaching out can be seen in the previous release to the THX ROTJ, but not clearly enough. You have to know that there's a hand there.) • Upon his entrance into the droid punishment center, you can see a protocol droid (the same appearance as 2-1B) being stretched from all four of his limbs. 3PO stares at the droid through his conversation with EV 9D9, until the victim is finally ripped apart. (You don't really know what 3PO is staring at, or why he keeps looking over because Pan/Scan leaves out the troubled blue droid until his arm is torn off). • Max Rebo's Keyboard has a set of covered lights on the side, which open and light up when he strokes a key. You can see this on the Pan/Scan version of the THX release, but not as clearly. • On the long shot of the band, Bib Fortuna is seen hobnobbing, holding a drink, and Salacious crumb is studding to the beat of the music, sitting on Max's drum. • A long shot facing Jabba's throne from a booth during the musical episode reveals Squid Head and Amanaman enjoying the music with a couple of Jawas. • The shot of Boba Fett reveals other aliens behind him as well. • A close up of Sy Snootles shows Lando behind her to her right. • Before Oola is thrown into the pit, Gargan can be seen close to her, staring. *When Oola's dropped, aside from seeing many more aliens rush the viewing grating, the back of Jabba's throne can be seen. • Upon Boushh's entrance, the back of an unidentified white droid can be seen. • When Boushh pulls the detonator, Boba draws his rifle as a guard behind him jumps behind a pillar. • A night-time shot of the Jabba's massive palace shows the beautiful moons of Tattooine, and is complete by the horizon, and a beast eating his small prey. A much prettier shot than pan/scan. • Han is taken away by a Gamorrean Guard and a black Skiff guard. The Skiff guard isn't shown in pan/scan. • When Han is hauled away, behind Leia can be seen a stairwell with Jabba's minions descending, including Boba Fett and Klaatu. • When Luke visits, before being dropped into the pit, Boba Fett can be seen at Jabba's side through the ordeal. • When Luke approaches Jabba, he glances over at Lando, but Pan/scan focused on Bib (Note, THX pan/scan focused on Lando, but both Lando and Bib were in the scene. • Many more villains can be seen sneaking up on Luke. • When Luke is dropped into the pit, C-3P0 runs behind Jabba to get a better view, and the back of (allegedly) Dengar, who is holding a gun. • As Jabba's throne moves over the hole, dozens more creatures rush to watch, and you see another shot of Dengar. The Rancor is more massive, and you can see both of his giant claws. • More spectators can be seen cheering above as Boba Fett remains at Jabba's left. • (funny point) As Jabba orders the retrieval of Han and Chewbacca, an alien with a green complexion is flipping out, jumping around and grabbing his head, but when the scene cuts to Lando, the green guy is standing behind him, very calm, not jumping around or making a move. • Behind the weeping Rancor keeper, the entire Rancor head is seen. • When 3PO briefs everybody on the Sarlacc, a creature's head can be seen behind him, and its tongue sticks down. • The sail barge and the two skiffs are seen in one view on the way to the pit. • Squid Head stands next to Max Rebo, strumming to the beat of the music. • As Leia watches Han and Luke out the window, on the skiff, the Weequay turns to Luke and Han, as if to shut them up. • When Jabba pulls Leia over from the window, Bib pushes her against Jabba, with his hand against her neck. • More guards and spectators are viewed in individual shots. • Lando's struggle with the Skiff pilot is seen in the background when Luke strikes the Weequay, and when going to free Chewbacca. • As Fett ignites his jet pack, a Gamorrean Guard rushes to uncover the cannon on the top deck of the sail barge in the background. • Another guard assumed control of the cannon firing at the skiff with Han. • As Luke and Leia swing to the skiff, Lando preps the controls for a flight. • The fleet of TIE fighters seems much more massive when the emperor arrives, as is the docking bay and the assembled troops. • Much more swamp can be seen on Dagobah. • The rebel briefing room is huge, and has many rebels within it. • The Death Star hologram in the briefing room is fully viewed. • More rebel ships in the hanger. • In the Emperor's throne room on the right, there is an active display screen similar to the one in the bunker on Endor. • Wicket and Leia are both seen conversing on the log. • The Emperor, on his throne, has a more powerful aura, because of the mass of the window behind him, and because the filming camera is at an angle facing upward, giving him a sense of highness. • In the Ewok village, when 3PO tries to free the others, R2 is filmed several times not bound by ropes, yet when the Ewoks are convinced to free the others, R2 is cut from ropes. • In the control bunker, as Leia tells Han to hurry, a view screen displays the Death Star, with the rebel fleet on the approach (represented by dots). • Lando and Nien Numb often appear together in a single shot of the cockpit. • An unlucky Imperial Scout gets an arrow in the back of his neck. • In the cockpits of the Rebel fighters, the background space can be seen, along with TIE fighters in pursuit. • Both pilots of the AT-ST that Chewbacca takes over are seen in one shot. • The little red Ewok with Chewbacca seems to yell something at the Wookiee, as if in defiance. • When Leia is shot, it's two stormtroopers, not one, who approach and are shot. *In the bunker, you can see who the three squads the order is given to. • A Wonderful blue light is behind Luke when he hides from Vader in the throne room. • The Ewok celebration contains many Rebels, including a hard to spot Prune Face. • When Leia gets Luke, as he watches his father, Ben and Yoda, in the background Han affectionately puts a hand on Chewbacca's shoulder, and says something to him. Note: The THX pan/scan version of ROTJ shows the group shot and the ending credits in widescreen. (And now, the other half...) Star Wars: A New Format "It was a period of technological achievement. Lucasfilm Ltd.'s technicians, adding the THX format to the Star Wars trilogy, have won their first victory over the formats of old! During the battle, technicians have seized the home theater market, with improved special effects powerful enough to destroy entire room's worth of windows. Pursued by sinister competitors, George Lucas races to his desk, custodian of the secrets to be written, that can save Star Wars fans, and bring entertainment to the galaxy......." When I viewed the Star Wars Trilogy, formatted in THX on video cassette, I was delighted with the improved picture and sound quality, and the difference in the way the scenes were scanned-for better viewing (with the absence of widescreen viewing). I also noticed that the picture was slightly more "thin" than the previous releases of the trilogy, allowing more to fit into the view in the Pan/Scan format. However, when I bought the THX widescreen trilogy on laserdisc, I was dazzled and amazed to be sure. I had never realized what an injustice Pan/Scan did to these movies. I have always been unfavorable to the widescreen because the bars on the top and bottom of the screen annoyed me, as I'm sure it does many people. But when I measured the benefits of the movies in widescreen as opposed to pan/scan, the bars became less distracting, and quickly transformed into an accepted part of the film; you will lose your awareness of them but five minutes into the films. The benefits are clear, in short: With pan/scan, you are robbed of half of the movie; you miss a lot of the scene. The Letterbox trilogy, formatted in THX, is the perfect complement to anyone's home theater, movie collection, or Star Wars collection. Star Wars IV: A New Hope, even with its minor effects was all the more terrific: better views in the Mos Eisley Cantina, a Tusken Raider actually walks into Luke's macrobinocular view when he states so, the Millennium Falcon seems more impressive in size, and an assortment of other things. In The Empire Strikes Back, the Hoth battle is more intense especially in the cockpit! In the battlefield, there are more blasted turrets, rebel bodies, background AT-ATs, and my favorite, views of other snowspeeders viewed out of the window of Luke's cockpit. Even the space scene, where the Millennium Falcon struggles to maneuver around several Star Destroyers, has more intensity to it. Bigger ships, more happening at once, more excitement! When I watched Return of the Jedi, it captivated me from the very start to the very finish! The Jabba's palace sequence has always been one of my favorite things of the entire trilogy, and with widescreen, I was thrilled all over again, just as I was in 1983, when I first saw it. I saw things I had never seen at home or in the theaters! Jabba's palace became a new experience for me, I saw creatures and occurrences that were carelessly left out in pan/scan releases. If ever I disliked the annoying bars on the top and bottom of my screen, I have learned to love them, as widescreen is the only way to receive the full effectiveness of these movies There are also three short interviews with George Lucas along with each movie. They are good interviews if you can ignore the annoying Leonard Malton, the interviewer. In the first, Lucas reminisces and describes Star Wars success and evolution as unpredictable, reflecting on the writing of the script, how his ideas were first rejected, shooting the film, casting, and more. On the ESB interview, Lucas talks about making a sequel, the increased effects, Frank Oz, and John Williams. Finally, for the ROTJ interview, Lucas explains the idea behind the Ewoks, talks about Jabba and Jabba's role in the upcoming special edition of ANH, and the three prequels. On videocassette(pan/scan) the interviews are before the movies, and on the laserdiscs, they're after the movies. I feel the Laserdisc method is a better idea because the interviews lose their appeal after being watched once, even twice, and by putting them before the movie, you are forced to watch or forward through them. The overall THX format Releasing the trilogy in THX was a good idea. As I compared the THX movies to the previous ones, I note several improvements. For Panning and scanning. As opposed to previous releases, the THX version tends to better focus on the importance of a scene rather than just placing the view in the middle. It also has less, if not none, of those "rush scans", used to capture the entire screen with a quick, horizontal scan. this tends to make some viewers dizzy. Color. The color and picture quality of the THX format is extraordinary compared to its predecessor. The previous videos had a yellowish mustard tone to them, they were too light, and the color was off. This brought out the infamous off-colored mats around the ships, seen against the black of space. THX has almost entirely eliminated that problem with a crisp, dark picture, with wonderful color tones! You have the ability to see a lot more than you did before, and to see it better. Sound. Anyone who has a Dolby surround sound system and a hi fi VCR will be in their glory! Using a surround sound setup with front, center, and rear speakers, watching the trilogy was like being in the cinema! The rear sound under the THX format is much better and more well thought out than that of the previous, which seems to put a little of everything in the rear channel. For the people without home theaters, who don't care to alienate themselves from their neighbors with window-breaking sound, THX videos have a more defined, crisp and centered sound than that of its predecessor, where the sound quality was tinny and muffled, almost as if there was a poor audio transfer. THX allows you to hear the main dialog and effects, while catching other sounds and voices previously unheard. There were also sound effects added to ANH, namely where the Falcon came out of light speed into the asteroid field, and the firing of the TIE fighter upon the Falcon. The asteroids made a "passing" sound, and you can hear the TIE fighters' laser cannons firing. There're no two ways about it; anyone who likes Star Wars, and cares about the quality of a video, will be happy with the new THX format. I would recommend the purchase of them, especially the Letterbox versions, to allow the enjoyment of the optimized sound and picture quality, as well to enjoy the movies as the whole, uncut masterpieces that they are. Good work, Mr. Lucas! by BrianOO7 (BrianOO7@aol.com) Used with permission, The HoloCroN Issue #08