I began the day today going to the Dutchess County Department of Health in Poughkeepsie to get the recommended vaccinations for my trip to China. This may be a boring way to start the day for others but I have a very strong fear of needles which usually results in my eyes rolling into the back of my head while I lose consciousness and most of my skin color. If you've seen my profile picture, you know that I don't have a lot of color to begin with but I can assure you that if you've had the pleasure of witnessing one of these episodes, you'd get a good idea of what I'd look like if I were a vampire. This reaction coupled with the side effects of a minor fever, and an achy arm muscle has left me incapacitated for most of the day. Almost twelve hours after my 10:30 appointment I peeled off the two band aids covering up the two injection sites on my arms and I nearly put myself into shock. Despite my fear and its physical repercussions though, the worst thing to happen to me today was my decision to watch SpikeTV, a decision that usually ends poorly for me. On another day I could be complaining about the plot holes on any episode of CSI:NY or the many issues I have with the Hills Have Eyes, but today it's the updated version of Star Wars Episode VI: Return of the Jedi that severely breaks my spirit.
On the dresser in the corner of my bedroom is a 13" white TV with a built in VHS player that almost never gets any use and sitting next to it is the copy of the Star Wars Trilogy I got when I was ten years old. I pulled out the trilogy recently because I haven't seen it in years and I've been meaning to reinvigorate my faith in the Jedi. My interest is purely in the fiction of it however, I don't take it as dogma. According to wikipedia there are half a million people registered as Jedi in the English speaking world alone, and I am not one of them. I have no problem with them, the problem I have is with this new version of Return of the Jedi as shown on SpikeTV. The original epic trilogy I became accustomed to courtesy of a VHS copy has been updated with all sorts of digital garbage to enliven the Star Wars universe and it completely ruins the experience.
On any given weekend as a kid, I would watch Star Wars several times. I had the movies; I had the action figures, including the millennium falcon; a tie fighter rocket that I never launched, several video games set in the world of Star Wars and even a few novels. I was a dork, and I was convinced in the power of the force. I too thought at one point that if I tried hard enough, I could feel the force "flowing through me". It never happened. I got over it, unlike my fear of needles. I never stopped enjoying the experience though except when I saw the rerereleased version shown on Spike.
George Lucas deserves credit for having the ability to create the world of Star Wars that inspired a worldwide phenomenon. He deserves credit for the ingenuity with which he made his film and for the special effects and overall atmosphere he created. The story is truly epic as well, and for all of these reasons it is appalling that he would even consider his films "unfinished" and in need of the cutting edge computer generated images courtesy of his company Industrial Light and Magic. What is quite possibly the most awful reminder that the original trilogy inspired the "prequel trilogy" featuring jar jar binks and a horribly thought out CGI Yoda is the image of Hayden Christensen's halo at the end of the movie replacing the image of Sebastian Shaw who played Anakin Skywalker's spirit following the death of Darth Vader. This was absolutely unnecessary for revising the plot, and the only purpose it could possibly have served was to push DVD sales.
Signs that George Lucas is a control freak have been showing up for quite a while with the prequel trilogy being an exhibition of his company Industrial Light & Magic's abilities as well as the latest Indiana Jones film. In fact, as far back as when my vhs was released you can see how far reaching his influence is. On my copy of the trilogy every movie is preceded by a one on one interview between Leonard Malten and George Lucas. You might think this would be a compelling interview if it wasn't so obviously made to stroke George Lucas' ego while Malten frequently calls Star Wars an international phenomenon. Another testament to George Lucas' talent is the absence of any evidence that Leonard Malten has been kidnapped. No smoking gun in that interview. It seems like every question is asked with the aim of validating every move George Lucas made while making these films. He conveniently forgets to cite Joseph Campbell's influence on his ability to tell a story when he explains the nature of the trilogy summarizing his trilogy with the laconic, "That's drama".
When I watch Star Wars I will only watch the VHS copy I had as a kid. The quality is terrible, and quickly getting worse as is the case with most magnetic tape video or audio, but it is a more accurate portrayal of the original theatrical release. Those movies should be preserved with the aim of improving their quality if possible, but not to the extent that the feeling of the original trilogy is compromised. George Lucas' attempt at re-imagining his greatest work is a disappointment that other film makers should avoid.
