I'm by far the biggest Star Wars nerd in the group and even I had no idea there was such a thing as Star Wars Day. Apparently every fourth of May, the month in which all of the Star Wars films were originally released (and George Lucas' birthday to boot), fans of the greatest film saga of all time quietly celebrate the movies that ensure their nerddom and virginity. Honestly, I had no clue. So happy belated Star Wars Day, y'all.
I guess the folks at Lucasfilm are down with the whole May 4th tradition, because yesterday they put out the word that finally, after about a decade, they are going to release the original theatrical versions of the original Star Wars Trilogy. While I pretty much considered it an inevitability, I honestly thought Lucas would make all of the whiners wait a little longer, possibly for the 30th Anniversary of the first movie (coming up in May 2007). But, regardless, they're coming out, which is a good thing.
It's good because Lucasfilm will be cashing in, and hopefully some of that dough can go into the upcoming CG cartoon and live-action TV series that are coming sometime this decade (we think). Surely whatever happens in either of those will be lambasted by "purists," but as a fan who just loves him some Star Wars (yes, even the prequels), I'm excited about them. But by far the biggest positive out of all this is that a large chunk of the whining will finally subside and I won't have to read about how George Lucas is raping nerd-America's childhood in every article any Internet loser writes about anything even remotely related to science-fiction (I'm looking at you, IGN). There's practically a cottage industry that's built up around bitching about Greedo shooting first and I'm happy that it finally has to close up shop.
The other piece of exciting news from yesterday is that LEGO Star Wars II: The Original Trilogy is hitting stores on the same day (September 12th), as the new DVDs, and I'm excited. The first LEGO Star Wars is really fun and really funny, and this one looks like it's going to be just on a whole 'nother level. Kind of funny that one of my most anticipated games of the year is a kid's game I'll be getting for a current-generation console.
So Lucas has finally made good on at least some of the things disenfranchised nerds are bitching about (he's not going to re-make or erase the prequels from our minds, so I think they'll just have to learn to live with that one). The only thing I can find to possibly ask the big G.L. for now is a special edition (as in full of features, not re-edited or anything) Star Wars Holiday Special on DVD. C'mon, man! Bea Arthur and a wookiee named "Lumpy?" That's frickin' awesome!
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It should be noted that now it looks like these DVDs will not be new, fresh transfers, but instead those used for the old Laserdiscs. In other words, George Lucas is still saying "suck it" to all of those folks who want their pure original trilogy. Which means whining continues. I don't get it. If you're willing, in fact begging, to put up with some REALLY dated special effects, why do you need to see them in a super-clear transfer with Dolby 5.1? I would argue the current plan is more authentic. Now it's not just the movie the way it was back in the day, it's how all movies were back in the day. And those tranfers weren't that bad.
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