DVD Star Wars Trilogy: Lucas does whatever he wants

Lucasfilm came out with a statement today concerning yet another set of changes to the original Star Wars trilogy of films.

Originally Han Solo shot first in the famous cantina scene, then in the 1997 Special Edition version of the film Lucas had Greedo shoot first (a kinder, gentler Han?), now Lucas has compromised and has them both fire at the same time… perhaps throwing a bone to the fans who were outraged at the ‘97 change.

Ol’ George Lucas is flip-flopping more than John Kerry on Iraq.

Other changes include:

- Improving the Jabba the Hut scene inserted into the original film, hopefully not making it look like Harrison Ford briefly entered a video game.

- In Empire Strikes Back, Ian McDiarmid’s face has replaced the face of the non-credited actor who originally played the part of the emperor.

- And yes, at the end of Return of the Jedi, Hayden Christensen’s ghostly image will replace that of original actor Sebastian Shaw, although Shaw will still be the person shown when Vader’s helmet is removed.

The spokesman from Lucasfilm stated that George Lucas believes very strongly in artist’s rights, and that they should be able to improve on their work. Thank goodness Rembrandt and Da Vinci left their works of art alone when they were done, eh?

You know, all this fan angst could be immediately diffused if Lucas would just include the original versions of the films with this boxed set. It’s really weird how he wants to bury the original films that catapulted him to being a star and a multi-millionare. It’s almost like they were his first, ugly girlfriends that he wants remembered in a better light.

Considering his statements and actions, I find it extremely ironic that Lucas is such a strong opponent of colorizing black and white films….

The Star Wars Trilogy DVD set hits retailers on Sept. 21.

Source: Sci Fi Wire