Most fans were looking forward to the upcoming Blu-Ray box set of the six Star Wars films, scheduled for release Sep. 16, because Lucasfilm seemed to have embraced the idea that the project was a rare opportunity not only to reveal the greatness of (the three original) films in full hi-def glory, but to go beyond that by compiling a rich trove of seldom- or never-seen auxiliary material, giving fans unprecedented access to the vast clockwork innards of their beloved franchise.

But all that goodwill has started to die a harrowing, agonizing death as the last-minute news spread that George Lucas, failing to understand the importance of his own films as sci-fi landmarks whose countless unforgettable moments have had a profound effect on science-fiction cinema and on the lives of their fans, has once again deliberately disfigured them by introducing unnecessary and even perverse changes for the Blu-Ray editions.

Fan Backlash

Some infuriated fans are urging a boycott of the Blu-Ray set in response to Lucas's unwanted, shudder-inducing alterations. In advance of the set's release the Amazon page for the Blu-Ray release has attracted a glut of one-star reviews (508 at the time of this posting), a cascading indictment of what is to these fans Lucas's dead-wrong inability to understand that the Star Wars franchise, particularly the original trilogy, is no longer his alone to screw with as he likes--that, because these films are a part of us, he's screwing with us, too.

The changes, according to several online reports, include:

• In Return of the Jedi, in the scene in which Darth Vader stops Emperor Palpatine from electrocuting Luke with Force lightning by picking up the Emperor and hurling him into the bottomless shaft of the Death Star, Vader now screams "Nooo! Noooo!!!" as he does so. This is repulsive. One of the reasons that scene, arguably the culmination from a story perspective of all six films, worked so well was that, as Luke screamed in agony and Palpatine indulged more and more deeply in pure, visceral hatred, Vader silently came to a resolve that protecting his son is more important than serving the Emperor, and, with great strength of will, acted on it. Having him scream "Nooooo!!" erodes the monumental nature of Vader's decision and instantly converts him into a pathetic Sally Field Lifetime movie mom: "Noooo!! Noooo!! Not my son!!!" This change, confirmed explicitly by Lucasfilm, is the most obnoxious to fans, and rightly so: among the many speaking out is famed Star Wars geek Simon Pegg, who tweeted that he always "loved Vader's wordless self sacrifice" and called the change a "clueless revision."
• One of the hundreds of indelibly memorable moments in A New Hope, the original Star Wars film, is the arrival of a howling hooded figure who scares of the Tusken raiders crowded around Luke's prone form--a figure that turns out to be Ben Kenobi. For some reason, Lucas has now altered this howl, supposed to be Ben's simulation of a Krayt Dragon cry, to make it much more shrill and unpleasant--and startlingly less scary. Why?
• Another reported, but unconfirmed, change is to have the Ewoks' eyes blink. I think the change draws attention to any artificiality of the Ewok mask, rather that ameliorating it; but it's relatively minor. In one version uploaded to YouTube, you can hear a clicking sound effect added to the second blink, as if the eyelids were made of porcelain.
• One change may be an improvement, but your mileage may vary: use was made of a puppet Yoda in The Phantom Menace, as in the original trilogy; but the same (excellent) CGI animation used in the final two prequels has been retrofitted to Phantom Menace.

Other very minor changes are expected to be found throughout the two trilogies addressing continuity and production issues in the original filming. We'll be following up this article with more details of what changes were actually made, and reaction to the controversy from various quarters, over the next few weeks.

A History of Revisionism

Lucas has done this before; everyone who saw the Special Edition of the original trilogy had a chance to cringe in their seats at the revisionist "improvements" Lucas introduced in the first and third films -- most notoriously by retroactively undermining the all-important dark edge he'd wanted for Han Solo by making Greedo shoot first (a change also retained in the Blu-Ray version, apparently, despite hope that Lucas had repented). But the fans at least at first saw the Special Edition as an alternative; at the time of its theatrical release there still existed, theoretically at least, the original versions as Lucas had first made them and the fans had first seen them.

But this, in my opinion, is something worse. The Blu-Ray release of any film -- particularly and especially a landmark film -- is supposed to be a conversion of our memories, what we love about the film, into permanent form for repeated, future enjoyment. Instead, for a significant group of fans Lucas has tainted the works with changes that, for those like me who remember every frame of the original Star Wars films, amount to a gesture of contempt for the audience.