Top Five Worst Special Edition Changes
The Star Wars Special Edition. Just those words send chivers down fans' spines. What was originally supposed to be a simple visual upgrade of the original films, has become just as hated, if not more hated than the prequel trilogy. Why? Because good old George Lucas decided to change certain things about the films. Some things I actually liked, such as putting in Ian McDarmid as the Emperor in Episode 5. However, most of them are really bad, infuriating. So, with rumors spurring that Disney will release the original theatrical versions of the films this year on blu-ray, let's look back at my personal least favorite special edition changes.
5. All the Needless CGI (A New Hope)
This can apply to all of the re-released films, but especially to this one. The orginal films used CGI at some moments but a lot of the effects and set-pieces of the film was used with real sets and practical effects. Therefore, when Obi-Wan, Luke, and the Droids enter Mos Eisely, the new added shots with CGI stick out like a sore thumb. I don't mind CGI, in fact, I'm more tolerant of it than a lot of people, but the new shots here really look bad and not impressive at all.
4. The Jabba Scene in 1997 (A New Hope)
This actually wasn't a bad idea in theory. This scene in the 1997 re-release was actually a deleted scene. So, it was cool to see a moment that wasn't in the original cut. However, the CGI on Jabba is utterly repulsive. Seriously, what the hell is this thing? It doesn't even look remotely close to the version of him in Return of the Jedi. The scene was fixed in the 2004 DVD re-re-release, and the CGI on him looks better.
3. Hayden Christensen Ghost (Return of the Jedi)
This is going to be a very unpopular opinion, but I like the special edition ending of Return of the Jedi than the original one. I mean, I don't hate the original ending of the film with the "Yug Yug" song. However, I need the new music better and I like how I goes threw some of the planets in the galaxy showing celebrations. What I don't like is that the put in Hayden Christensen as Anakin's ghost instead of the original actor, Sebastian Shaw. No, it is not because of his questionable peformance in the prequel trilogy. I just don't think he belonged there.
Lucas's original excuse was that it was the last time he was good. Um, did he not just rescue his son and destroy the Sith a few hours ago? Plus, How it Should Have Ended made this good point with one of their jokes. How would Luke be able to recognize his father in his younger form?
2. Han Shot First (A New Hope)
I know what you are thinking: how is this not number one? Well, this is my personal list, so there is one change that pissed me off more. However, this is the granddaddy of all the changes, the one that is the most infamous and pisses off people the most. Han somehow dodging a blaster shot at point-blank range (with bad effects by the way) then killing Greedo. All because Lucas didn't want Han to be a villian in the eyes of children. Oh boo hoo!
Look, I can go on and on about how the change goes against Han's character and moment of bad-assery. However, I just want to say that I am mainly mad at the change because of how bad it looks just seeing it. It's laughably bad, especially if you see the original 1997 version.
1. Vader's Second No! (Return of the Jedi)
One of the most infamous moments in the prequel trilogy was in Revenge of the Sith when Vader first got his suit and screamed no when he found out about Padme's death. The scene has been mocked to no end and has become some what of a meme. So why in the world would Lucas want to do it again?
In the blu-ray release of Return of the Jedi, during Vader's redemption scene, when Vader goes to kill the Emperor to save Luke, he screamed "NO" at the top of his lungs again. This pissed me off to no end. First off, the audio is off in the moment, but more importantly, it ruined my favorite moment from the movie. What made the original moment great was that the conflict was all going on internally in Vader's head. There was no dialouge necessary to show what was going on and what emotion he was in. By doing this, Lucas is just heavy-handing the message down our throats. He is basically doing the tell method, instead of the show method. Besides, what is Lucas's fascination with having Vader scream "NOOOOO"?
