The Star Wars Trilogy was originally releases beginning the year 1977 as the films Star Wars: A New Hope directed by George Lucas then Star Wars: The Empire Strikes Back directed by Irvin Kershner,was released in 1980 then Star Wars: The Return of the Jedi in 1983 directed by Richard Marquand. The trilogy was re-shot in 1997 as part of the Star Wars 20th anniversary to which audiences found they were watching an altered set of films with various edits and inserted scenes.
One of the more notable scenes in which altering took place was in the Cloud City on the planet Bespin, in the original film the environment proved to be an overly complicated set up which would have involved multiple matte paintings and limited movement for the actors. In the image below a still from the original film shows the technique used to close off the outside sky city from the view of the camera avoiding the issues of the matte painting.
Below this is a film still of the same instance of the 1980 re-mastered version, CGI had greatly advanced sub-navigating the problems of matte painting logistics and allowing Lucas to truly represent the Cloud City of Bespin. "This opens the city up a great deal, making it more believable as a floating habitat." (Gould, 2004) This does however have a backlash against the working artists of the film towards their professional work, the individuals that worked on the film designing it into a way which can be utilised for the time have their work squandered due to editing. This is something which unfortunately can't be avoided even if it is arguably heartless or destructive to their legacy, the film is a machine which requires updating and progression, the people working on it were employed to fulfil a duty to the film, if the work they do is now outdated and can be improved then the creators owe it to the film to make it all that I can and should be.
George Lucas as the creator of the series went back and re-worked the films to be firstly in keeping with the technology, and secondly in order to give the existing audience and new audiences the experience of his world which he envisioned. It is arguable that with goals like these the creator should be able to re-envisage his work to re-make it into what they truly wanted it to be. It worked well due to a change in the audience gratification too. Audiences evolve slowly to be come comfortable with more experimental film, hence the rise in gory/graphic films. To emphasis this: The Scene at the beginning of The Empire Strikes Back involving the moment Skywalker is suspended from the ceiling by his feet, in the original the presence of the wampa is only implied, you only see a shadow and hear its call. In the re-master the wampa ominously sits chewing the tattered meat of another victim, the brief fight ensuing between the two characters is altered from this point, in the original the wampa arm falls to the floor, there is a cry of anguish, then Skywalker leaves the cave. In the re-master the wampa is cut back to with its severed arm. This change was made firstly due to changes in audience gratification, then secondly due to advancement in technology, and thirdly in the pursuit of good story telling to dramatise the situation, which is 100% more dramatic than the original.
It is important to ask ourselves if George Lucas, when making these changes really had the right to make them when he did. The question of who owns Star Wars has two answers, firstly in 2012 when George Lucas sold the company to The Walt Disney Company he legally gave them the rights to 'grounds keep' the business, to sell merchandise and have a say in its personnel. although LucasFilm still operates as it sees fit. A more abstract answer is summed up by Scott Tobias by saying the fans own Star Wars because "Once artists put something out into the world, they no longer control the way it’s interpreted, or how it finds its path into the culture." (Tobias, 2014) meaning that in a mushy way the fans have taken it into their hearts and cherish it for what it is, it then becomes in part property of the public consciousness, or the fandom, the public create their own stories, trivia and theories based around the Star Wars universe which is owned solely by the public. It is debatable that the audience didn't want the changes because of how it alters their perception of the characters, events and environments.
For Example: The 'Who Shot First?' debate, where in the original film of A New Hope Hans Solo used the element of surprise to get the upper hand on the character Greedo by shooting him before he can react but was edited in the re-mastering so that Greedo pulls a gun and misses a shot allowing Solo the opportunity to shoot him in self-defence. This changes the character of Solo from how he is originally perceived as a gritty, dangerous vigilante into a hero.
Illustrations:
Figure 1: Star Wars: The Empire Strikes Back. (1980). [film] Directed by I. Kershner. Elstree Studios, Lee International Studios: Lucas Film.
Figure 2: Star Wars: The Empire Strikes Back. (1997). [film] Directed by I. Kershner. Elstree Studios, Lee International Studios: Lucas Film.
Figure 3: Star Wars: The Empire Strikes Back. (1997). [film] Directed by I. Kershner. Elstree Studios, Lee International Studios: Lucas Film.
Figure 4: Star Wars: The Empire Strikes Back. (1997). [film] Directed by I. Kershner. Elstree Studios, Lee International Studios: Lucas Film.
Bibliography:
Gould, C. (2004). Star Wars: The Changes - Part Two - Articles - DVDActive. [online] Dvdactive.com. Available at: http://www.dvdactive.com/editorial/articles/star-wars-the-changes-part-two.html [Accessed 26 Sep. 2018].
Tobias, S. (2014). Who owns Star Wars?. [online] The Dissolve. Available at: https://thedissolve.com/features/exposition/838-who-owns-star-wars/ [Accessed 26 Sep. 2018].
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