George Lucas has been tweaking his original "Star Wars" trilogy again, the most dramatic change this time around being the insertion of Hayden Christensen into the final scene of "Return of the Jedi."
In Lucas' new "Star Wars" films — "Attack of the Clones" and the upcoming "Revenge of the Sith" — Christensen plays Anakin Skywalker, who is evolving into Darth Vader. And Lucas feels it unifies the six films to have Christensen also be the face of Darth Vader at the end of "Return of the Jedi."
So Christensen has been digitally inserted into the moment where Vader, Obi-Wan Kenobi and Yoda are seen standing together as spiritual, ghostly figures. Of course, if that's Lucas' logic, shouldn't Christensen be standing next to Ewan McGregor, who plays the young Obi-Wan in the new films, instead of Alec Guinness, who played the older Obi-Wan in the original films?
There are, of course, rabid "Star Wars" fans who are unhappy that Lucas keeps making minor changes to his original movies. But the filmmaker says he has always wanted the movies to be the way they are now; he just didn't have the money to do it the first time around.
In the end, does it really matter whether Greedo or Han shoot first in the cantina or if Han meets up with Jabba the Hutt in the first "Star Wars" film or if the Ewoks are all digitally erased? (Just kidding about that last one.)
No, it doesn't matter, because we're all still going to go out and buy the "Star Wars Trilogy" box set (Fox, 1977-83, PG, $69.98, four discs, available in widescreen or full-frame editions), which arrives in stores today.
And Lucas knows it.
As you might expect, the movies look and sound fabulous. And watching them again still provides an amazing rush. Each film — "A New Hope," "The Empire Strikes Back" and "Return of the Jedi" — holds up very well, though "Empire" remains the best of the three.
What you might not expect are the audio commentaries (especially since Lucas' pal Steven Spielberg refuses to do any). Each film has the option of Lucas providing information and anecdotes, along with Carrie Fisher (who plays Princess Leia in the films), sound wizard Ben Burtt, effects genius Dennis Muren, director Irvin Kershner (for "Empire") and screenwriter Lawrence Kasdan (for "Empire" and "Return"). Some of that commentary gets a bit arcane . . . strictly for die-hard buffs. But much of it is fun, and Fisher is hilarious. (And innovator Lucas also comes up with something that other DVD audio commentaries with multiple talent could use; each time someone speaks, his or her name comes up as a caption.)
The fourth disc contains the other bonus features, chief among them a 2 1/2-hour documentary, "Empire of Dreams," about the trilogy, which includes tons of on-the-set footage, including some bloopers, and even has some of the auditions held for the first film (Kurt Russell and William Katt reading as Han Solo and Luke Skywalker!).
It also has Harrison Ford talking about how Lucas initially didn't even want to consider him for the part of Han Solo . . . and how he got it anyway. And Ford and Kasdan say they wanted Han to be killed early in "Return of the Jedi"!
Many colleagues and contemporaries of Lucas are among the talking heads in this documentary, but, as with the audio commentaries, Fisher also stands out as welcome comic relief, with witty observations — and complaints about Lucas' impenetrable dialogue and the "iron bikini" she was forced to wear in "Jedi."
There are also trailers and TV spots for the three films, along with featurettes about "Star Wars" creatures, the creation of the light sabre and the upcoming "Revenge of the Sith."
Of all the bells and whistles here, however, I think I most enjoyed the "Legacy of Star Wars" featurette, which looks at the explosion of the first film, particularly its impact on moviegoers. It's a reminder of how exciting the discovery of "Star Wars" was the first time around, and the way it changed moviegoing during that summer of '77.
It also shows how "Star Wars" motivated future moviemakers. Top writer-directors Kasdan, James Cameron, Ridley Scott, Dean Devlin, Roland Emmerich and John Singleton talk about being invigorated by what Lucas had accomplished, and how it motivated them to make their own movies.
E-mail: hicks@desnews.com