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Why I'm Glad Star Wars Isn't On DVD
With a headline like that, I might have to start this rant off with a bit of clarification:
I'm a Star Wars fan and have been from the beginning. I remember standing in lines wrapped around the block back in 1977. I remember when it was just "Star Wars" (the "A New Hope" thing was still a couple years off). I owned all the toys. I had all the collector's cards. I wore Star Wars clothes and slept in Star Wars sheets. I was a member of the Star Wars Fan Club and eagerly read each new edition of Bantha Tracks. Are you getting the picture yet? I was your typical pre-adolescent kid -- out-of-his-mind obsessed with Star Wars for a good part of my childhood.
I also want to make one other thing perfectly clear: I want to see the original trilogy on DVD as much as anyone. Hell, if I'm not privileged to screener copies when they come out, I'll be first in line to buy them.
So, having said that, why, you ask, am I glad the films aren't on DVD? This is a response to the insane fanatics out there (you know who you are) who seem to think that George Lucas personally owes us the films -- RIGHT NOW. Ironically, many of these are the same folks who are convinced that Lucas is only interested in raping each and every one of our wallets. As far as these guys are concerned, Star Wars belongs to them personally and Lucas has no right to tinker with it or deny it to them.
This mentality really started getting out of hand back when the "Special Editions" were released. The general opinion being that the changes ruined the films. Personally, even though I prefer the original versions, I can get past the alterations and still enjoy the films. Granted, some changes are a bit corny and don't quite fit, but it was still the first new Star Wars material to appear on the big screen in a long time (keep in mind that at the time, the prequels were only speculation as far as the fans were concerned).
I find it absurd that so many people would spend so much time and energy hating the special editions. Does making Greedo fire first reduce the edge in Han Solo's character? Perhaps. Is that worth generating a seething, vengeful hatred against George Lucas? Give me a break.
The problem is that some fans are trying to take ownership of the Star Wars franchise. And this brings us to the DVD release of the films (or the lack thereof).
If you spend any amount of time in DVD related newsgroups (such as alt.video.dvd), you'll eventually stumble upon one of the weekly crusades against Lucas (or Luca$, as he's often called) and his "fascist desire to keep Star Wars DVDs away from the fans." Logic and reason rarely enter into these hate-fests. Instead, great amounts of creativity are expended to find new ways to insult Lucas for not personally delivering Star Wars DVDs to their doorsteps. Great proclamations are made to boycott the Star Wars franchise, because that will "show him how powerful we really are."
My advice to these people is to stop talking about it and do it. Maybe a break from Star Wars is exactly what they need to settle down and return to a little thing I like to call reality. Besides, that will be one less person I'll have to stand behind at the premier of the next film
Unfortunately, the lunacy isn't limited to newsgroups. I've seen supposedly respected members of the DVD community also succumbing to illusions of grandeur surrounding the ownership of the Star Wars franchise.
There seems to be an opinion going around that Lucas is somehow obligated to release these films to DVD. Even more, some have gone so far as to claim that he "owes" us the original versions of the films.
What I'd like to know is where is it stated that Lucas owes us anything? I mean, the Star Wars universe is his creation, is it not? Does the copyright notice state "Lucasfilm" or "the Fans?" The fact is, there are very few people on this planet who can say they had any real influence regarding the shaping of the stories, and even then, Lucas has always had final say on everything.
The bottom line is that no matter how much people try to convince themselves (and others) otherwise, the Star Wars franchise belongs to George Lucas. They're his toys and he just lets us play with them. To put it another way, if you don't like the words I write in this article, do I "owe" you a change? What about if I make some edit to the article at a later date -- do I "owe" you the original version? Don't be ridiculous. I wrote this. I own the copyright. I can do whatever I want to it. In a much larger scale, the same is true for Lucas and Star Wars.
What has a lot of fans upset is that there is no version of the original trilogy available on disc. Lucas has stated that he has every intention of bringing the films to DVD, but he wants to do them right and at the moment all of his energies are devoted to the prequels. This isn't good enough for many fans. They demand that Lucas at least release a bare-bones set now to hold us over until his deluxe editions are available. These are the same people who crucify the studios for releasing special editions after having forced the public to buy a movie-only disc (I love how the studios are always forcing people to buy the discs -- do they have Vinnie the Squid threatening to break kneecaps with a baseball bat or something?).
The argument is that Lucas has practically an army working for him at Lucasfilm. He could easily devote a small group to develop a simple DVD release.
I'm sure he could. But why?
There certainly isn't any financial pressure for Lucas to do this -- I mean, the guy ain't hurting for money. Despite a track record of releasing a new set of the original trilogy just about every couple of years on VHS, Lucas has shown no indications of following this trend on DVD. Rather than put out Phantom Menace as a movie-only disc, and then follow it up later (or simultaneously) with the longer cut and special edition, he only released the latter. He did the same for Attack of the Clones.
Lucas has made it clear, through his statements and actions, that he wants to personally oversee the DVD productions of the Star Wars franchise. There is nothing at all wrong with this (and, in fact, I wish more filmmakers had such direct involvement with their films' DVD releases).
Of course, those loony fanatics have a response to everything and they wonder just how hard it would be for Lucas to take a bit of time to make the DVDs. Nevermind that these same people would be just as angry if the Attack of the Clones DVD had been delayed, or the production of the third trilogy film got off track because of this. The guy just can't win.
So, given that Lucas is spending his efforts trying to give us new chapters in the Star Wars franchise, I'm glad he hasn't taken the time to deliver the original franchise on DVD. I can wait, content with the knowledge that when they do come, they will be great. As for what version of the films we'll eventually get, well, I hope that Lucas has the consideration to offer both the original cut and the special edition cut of the films. However, this fan understands that Star Wars belongs to Lucas and he has the right to give us whatever version he wants.
And we have the right to take it or leave it.
[Edit: Now that Star Wars is on DVD, was it worth the wait? Read the Review and find out... May 26, 2005]
Robert Wurth
8 / 9 / 2002
