An early glimpse at the official Blu-ray edition of Star Wars: The Complete Saga provides a more comprehensive look at the changes implemented by George Lucas.
Fortunately, TheForce.net has compiled a final list of alterations to the Star Wars films.
The first change is early in the original Star Wars film. Kenobi’s dragon call scene has been enhanced with new audio which makes the sound seem a bit more supernatural, giving the hint that Kenobi is relying on the force to create and amplify the creepy sound.
Another change to the film comes later in the same sequence, when R2-D2 is hiding behind some rocks. Now, inexplicably, he’s hiding behind even more rocks.
Most of the changes seem to have come in the final film of the original trilogy.
First, another race is now represented in Jabba’s palace. A Dug has been added to the Hut’s menagrie. The Dug are an ugly race who seem to walk on their hands. We first saw one sabotaging Anakin’s pod in Phantom Menace.
Also in that sequence, the door to Jabba’s room has been digitally enhanced to appear more impossing.
Later in the film, the Ewoks have been made slightly more realistic. They are still the original puppets, but an animator has gone in and given them each an occasional blinks of their eyes.
The Final change for Episode VI is the much derided “noooo!” which Vader now screams as he save’s Luke’s life, a move designed to parallel the climactic change the same character goes through at the end of Episode III, where he makes a similar yell.
There seems to only be one change throughout the new trilogy, and that’s the new Yoda we previously reported on.
Phantom Menace Yoda was originally played by a puppet, similar to the original trilogy, but by the time Episode II was in production, CG character animation technology had improved, and Yoda’s role had become more active, so he was replaced with a CG version.
This CG Yoda is now the only Yoda in the new trilogy. The fear that Yoda puppet had been replaced through the original trilogy as well can now be put to rest, as we know that he has not been.
A couple of the changes, like the new rocks in front of R2-D2 just seem like odd and unnecessary changes, though not really bad for the films.
Others, like the Yoda replacement, seem like true enhancements.
But, I have a feeling that one change to Vader’s final epiphany will go down in Star Wars history as the second worst change that Lucas has made to the films over the years.
Star Wars: The Complete Saga goes on sale September 16, 2011.
