Lucas Films Goofs

Rating: 9/10 (17 January 2007)

When talking about Return of the Jedi, it's impossible to discuss the movie without mentioning its two versions: the original one released in 1983 which was a touch of genius and the digitally restored version released nearly a decade and a half later. Recently, Lucasfilms has launched a DVD release that contains both versions; original and digitally restored. That's one big mistake; you can now compare them at your leisure in the coziness of your home. Digitally restored, my butt. Digitally meddled and messed and demeaning are a list of more proper descriptions of what Mr. Lucas did to its work. Most of the changes in the second version were disruptive at best; a few were interesting to see and they complement and flesh out some details but only proving out that Mr. Lucas was only stupid and/or lazy enough of not doing them from the start, marring one nearly perfect film. Other changes were totally disruptive, showing that he doesn't care of his fans' memories and he's more than willing to alienate any possible new following. At the end of both movies it's a big celebration sequence: The original one was plain though heartwarming; simple yet self-contained. In the digitally restored mess, this same sequence loses the carefully timed rhythm of the first version and adds footage that only rabid Star Wars fans would get and tolerate. The Cloud City and Imperial Coruscant sections are to be understood only by those who have faithfully followed the series from the very start. One final note: with this dual DVD release, Lucas made another terrible mistake. He didn't provide us with nice and clean copies of the originals; they're not restored, they're scratched, dusty and a few frames were distorted by age. The digitizing was lousily done, allowing for some heavy flickering in some scenes. And yet somebody ought to tell Mr. Lucas that I'll cherish its original work with all its flickers and flaws and put it in a place of honor in my film collection. His updated work will be more useful as a Frisbee for my dog.