This Easter holiday, the Event team will be spending at least six hours in a cinema watching the revamped Star Wars trilogy. Matthew Doyle explains exactly why we need to see Luke Skywaker duelling with his pa, Darth Vader, one more time sk most people at university what their biggest regret is, and selling their Star Wars figures is high on the list. Twenty years ago, the film which launched a thousand little plastic figures, first arrived on the big screen, and now, George Lucas's masterwork has been given the five-star treatment and arrives specially polished for its re-release this month. Not only that, extra scenes have been added which Lucas wasn't able to include due to technology restraints. lt was this search for new technological back in 1977 that caused him to form the company Industrial Light And Magic which has revolutionised the world of movie special effects ever since. After ILM's triumph in films such as Jurassic Park, Lucas wishes can now be fulfilled. Three years of hard work by a team of film-makers and restorers has revamped the definitive versions of Star Wars, The Empire Strikes Back and Retum of the Jedi. "I wanted to preserve the Trilogy so that it would continue to be a viable piece of entertainment into
A
them the way I originally envisioned them." Apparently, the inspiration for releasing the Star Wars Trilogy Special Edition stemme-d from the approaching anniversary of the original American release of Star Wars, which took place on May 25, 1977. "Several years ago, we began to wonder what we were going to do for the anniversary," says Lucas. "I suggested we try to release all three films as a trilogy within a few weeks of each other; this would allow audiences to experience them like Saturday matinee serials, which they closely resemble. Because I've always seen the three films as one epic story, this seemed to be a very appropriate way of celebrating the 20th anniversary." Before the special edition bandwagon could roll in to town, Lucasfilm Ltd and Twentieth Century Fox had to address a significant and unexpected problem: the original Star Wars negative, from which pristine 35mm prints would be struck, was in such bad condition that it was impossible to use. The colours had faded by 10-15% and dirt embedded in the six reels of the negative could produce scratches and pit marks that would loom
process, which since its inception in 1932, had been considered the finest printing process available; it is now almost a lost art. George Lucas himself provided one of those original Technicolor prints, which had been in storage in his home. "That's the Star Wars I made," says Lucas. Since making Star Wars, Lucas has pioneered the THX sound system in cinemas, and consequently the Special Editions will have super-duper, clear, crisp sound quality so you can hear Darth Vader's clock swish as he walks, or the stormtrooper swear as he bangs his head on the door in Star Wars. Rnally, the new bits could be added in. Lucas explained, "A famous filmmaker once said that films are never completed, they are 路 only abandoned, so rather than live with my abandoned movies, I decided to go back and complete them.n That completion is exactly what makes the release of the Special Editions such a top event. Perhaps the most exciting encounter restored to
the 21st century," gushes Lucas. "Nothing has " " " - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - . . . . . . . _ the Special Edition comes between Jabba ' ' the Hutt and Han Solo at Mos Eisley. previously been done on this scale. I enjoyed the chance to re-work the movies and finish In 1976, the Han Solo/Jabba encounter was filmed using an actor to play the' part of 'the Hutt', with the hope that the double 路 could have been replac~d by a puppet or
I wanted to preserve the Trilogy so that it would . continue to be a viable piece of entertainment into the 11 st century. ' '
stop-motion creature. However, due to time and budget constraints, that never happened. Since the Han/Jabba relationship became a major plot point in the rest of the
George Lucas large on the big screen. Precautions had been taken. In 1977, the original Star Wars negative was carefully stored in a subterranean vault in Kansas, at an optimum temperature of 50 to 53 degrees. But due to unforeseeable circumstances, such as now-discontinued colour stock that proved susceptible to fading, the filmmakers were faced with the daunting challenge of first restoring the negative before any changes could b e made. The restoration was carried out by Lucasfilm and Twentieth Century Fox, by various top notch experts. Special Edition producer Rick McCallum, who first came into contact with Lucas working O[l the Young Indiana Jones television series, says "lt has been the most difficult and collaborative portion of the whole process, and was our major accomplishment. "There is a group of about 30 people who worked for three years cleaning the negative with a sponge, frame by frame. These are really the unsung heroes, because the restoration is what this was all about in the first place." Twenty years ago, two Star Wars prints were struck in the three-strip Technicolor
scene for the Special Edition. "!'really wanted to put that back in there," he explains, "because it was relevant to what happens to Han at the end of the movie and in The Empire Strikes Back and Return of the Jedo. I wanted to be able to connect the first film with the next two, the way it was meant to be." So with the help of new techie tricks, the actor could be
replaced with a Jabba that was built by a computer. Clever, eh? The ILM team deliberately designed Jabba to look younger than he does in Return of the Jedi, and he also moves under the power of his own undulating organs. Says sound effect guru Ben Burtt, "We had a lot of fun creating Jabba's unique sounds. I went to the Foley stage and filled up a garbage can with wet towels, with which I produced a very smushy, squishy sound for Jabba as he slithers around and gesticulates while conversing with Han Solo." Indeed, Mos Eisley itself has also had a space lift, to show it really is a hive of scum and villainy. To this end, Lucas populated the streets with several new creatures, droids and people. In addition, the computer graphics team at ILM doctored Luke Skywalker's landspeeder so that it is now floating as it arrives in Mos Eisley. "A lot of work has gone into enhancing the entry into Mos Eisley," Lucas says. "Twenty years ago I couldn't make it into the bustling spaceport it was meant to be. I only had路half of one street to shoot on, and no real special effects or matte paintings to work with. Now we're able to travel through the town, see how big it is, see that it truly is a spaceport and make the scene a more interesting experience." Later on April 11 , The . Empire _ Strikes Back Special Edition with a jazzed up Cloud City, scarier Wampa and enhanced Hoth battle at the start, will be released, closely followed on April 25 with Retum Of The Jedi Special Edition. Again effects are , enhanced, \ especially in Jabba's palace. Of course, some cynics may suggest that this all a big seam to get a new generation of kids, plus a whole bunch of nostalgic older kids, and wring more money from a movie which is already one of the top five grossing films ever. But heck! I'm willing to ignore this in exchange for seeing this modem masterpiece on the big screen again.
THE EVENT, WEDNESDAY, MARCH 5, 1997