Star Wars Trilogy DVD

IMDB Star Rating: 8.8/10
IMDB All Time Favorites: #12
Rotten Tomatoes Rating: 93% Fresh

The first of the Star Wars movies, even though it came out with the baffling moniker of Episode IV, blew people away with its gigantic opening crawl, and majestic score by John Williams.

Shortly after the opening crawl we are treated to instant action as a tiny ship is pursued and fired upon by the LARGEST SHIP EVER SEEN which takes seemingly forever to drift into view. Once captured we are introduced to the fleeing Princess Leia, the villainous and mysterious Darth Vader and the droids C-3P0 and R2-D2 who escape to carry away the plans, to the desert planet Tatooine, that Vader and the Empire are after.

The droids are purchased by Luke Skywalker, a young pilot who dreams of greater things, and they lead him to old hermit Ben Kenobi. Kenobi reveals that he is among the last of the Jedi, a monastic order that helped keep order back in the day and were one with the Force, the energy that permeates the entire galaxy and allows them to perform the amazing feats that they are capable of, including wielding the graceful and deadly lightsaber.

This is a lot for young Luke to absorb, but once they discover that the droids carry a message from Princes Leia and plans for the evil Empire's new battle station, the Death Star, they realize they have no choice but to get the plans to the rebel alliance, the last remnants of the old republic, that fights the Empire at every turn.

The Empire arrives on the planet, and searching for the droids, manage to kill Luke's adopted parents, his aunt and uncle. Having nothing left to return to, Luke agrees to go with Kenobi and the droids to Alderan to join the fight against the Empire and deliver the plans.

They meet up with hunted pilot Han Solo and his Wookiee co-pilot Chewbacca. The 6 of them escape the Empire and the bounty hunters searching for Han aboard the Millenium Falcon and make way for Alderan, home of Princess Leia.

Meanwhile, Leia is in Vader's clutches aboard the Death Star. Leia boldly fights against all attempts to gather information from her, and to punish her, the Death Star's secret weapon, a planet destroying super laser, is deployed against her home planet, and Alderan is destroyed.

The Falcon and it's passengers arrive where Alderan used to be and discover the Death Star. Captured by a tractor beam, they are taken on board and once they discover that Leia is a prisoner on the giant battlestation, they act to rescue her and make their escape. Leia is rescued in daring fashion, only to have Kenobi encounter Darth Vader. The enigmatic Vader and Kenobi have a history, but this encounter ends in Kenobi's death, or so it would seem.

Solo, Skywalker, Leia and the others escape the Death Star but were let go to be pursued. They travel to Yavin where the rebel fleet is stationed. With the Death Star plans intact and a ragtag group ready to fight, they are briefed on the only weakness to the giant station. They fly into battle, outnumbered and outgunned, but with the help of Kenobi's spirit guiding Luke, Skywalker's own apparent strength with the Force and timely interference by Han Solo, Luke is able to destroy the Death Star and the remnants of the fleet fly back to Yavin to celebrate. Darth Vader escapes the defeat and flys off to be a threat in the future.

Star Wars is a contradiction in terms, being both the newest thing at the time, with stunning special effects, amazing creatures and brilliant ship and space models, and yet it is admittedly a combination of several story themes and homages to older films including Kurosawa samurai movies, westerns and others. Even so, it is one of the most original movies at the time, and well done at the same time, spawning not only sequels but also copycats and wannabes that still use the epic story of Star Wars as a template for sci-fi, action, drama and storytelling.

IMDB Star Rating: 8.8/10
IMDB All Time Favorites: #10
Rotten Tomatoes Rating: 97% Fresh

On the heels of their victory at Yavin, the rebels find that they are now paying for their resistance. On the freezing planet of Hoth, the Empire is preparing to bombard the rebel base there. Prior to the attack, Han Solo and Chewbacca discover droid sent to find them, and despite destroying one are found and the assault begins. Meanwhile, Luke Skywalker is out on patrol and is captured by a bloodthirsty Wampa. In it's cave, Luke demonstrates that he is growing stronger with the Force and still has his father's lightsaber, vowing to take on Darth Vader, who Kenobi told him killed his father.

The assault begins in earnest and the rebels try to hold them at bay long enough to escape. The heroes of the first movie all manage to escape the Imperial dragnet, with the Millenium Falcon doing some fancy flying to get away, but another bounty hunter is on their tale. Here the heroes split up, Solo, Chewbacca, Leia and C-3P0 going to Cloud City to look up an old friend of Han's and make repairs, while Luke and R2-D2 go to Dagobah to find the last remaining Jedi, the wise and powerful Yoda.

Dagobah turns out to be a lush but impassable planet and Luke manages to crash his X-wing fighter, stranding himself and the droid there. With luck, they find Yoda although he isn't quite what Luke was expecting. Regardless, he is who Luke was hoping for, and he begins his training with the last of the Jedi.

Meanwhile, Han and company get a joyful welcome from his old friend, Lando Calrissian, who has wisely given up being a gambler and adventurer to run his own mining colony. Unbeknownst to the Falcon's passengers, the Empire has been tipped off and is already in place to spring its trap on the rebels.

Luke on faraway Dagobah senses his friends are in trouble and prepares to leave the planet, despire Yoda's pleadings to stay and continue training. Luke has made great advances but struggles with fear and anger, the same detriments that doomed Darth Vader. Yoda begs him to stay, but Luke can't be stopped, and he promises to return. Yoda chats with Kenobi's spirit and tips us off to another of the familial secrets that is the trademark of the old trilogy.

Once at Cloud City, Luke finds that Han has been sold off to bounty hunters at the request of Jabba the Hut, Leia and Chewbacca are prisoners and Darth Vader is waiting for him. The two of them duel with lightsabers, but the more powerful and experienced Sith Lord disables Luke and then drops the bombshell of who Vader really is and what became of his father. Luke manages to escape and is rescued by Lando and the others who escaped after Calrissian's double-cross. Having been sucked into the alliance's cause, Lando flies them to the waiting rebel fleet as Luke heals from his encounter with Vader.

This movie blew people away when it came out, compounding the first film's excitement with more amazing space and lightsaber sequences, but also solidified the familial themes that permeate the story. Seen after Episodes I-III, these revelations aren't that amazing, but back in 1980, the relationship of Leia, Luke and Vader effected the plot tremendously and paid off in the conclusion.

IMDB Star Rating: 8.3/10
IMDB All Time Favorites: #111
Rotten Tomatoes Rating: 75% Fresh

Jedi opens with the intrepid droids R2-D2 and C-3P0 having returned to Tatooine with instructions to go to Jabba the Hut's palace with a message for the slug-like gangster. The message is from Luke Skywalker, now a self-styled Jedi knight, and Jabba is far from impressed. After being gifted with the droids, they disappear into the bowels of the palace as slaves.

Soon, a secretive bounty hunter arrives with Chewbacca in chains. After a hectic negotiation, payment is agreed upon, and the Wookiee is taken into custody. Later, this same bounty hunter reveals herself to be Leia, and frees Han Solo from his carbonite tomb, only to be captured, with Han and Chewie reunited and Leia chained to Jabba's dais for his personal pleasure. It turns out that Lando is skulking in disguise within the palace as well, keeping an eye on the activities there.

With everyone more or less reunited, although not under the best circumstances, Luke arrives and struts into Jabba's chamber. He requests that Jabba let them all go, then threatens to destroy him if he does not comply. After a rancor fight and a botched execution by Sarlacc, Luke makes good on his threat, his companions defeating Jabba's guards and destroying his sail barge, while Leia uses her tools of imprisonment to dispatch the odious Jabba once and for all.

The band reunited separate again, Luke and R2-D2 returning to Dagobah to fulfill Luke's promise to Yoda, while the others rejoin the alliance to plot against the newly discovered second Death Star, still under construction.

Luke returns to Dagobah to find Yoda in ill health. After advising him one last time, Yoda passes away and joins Kenobi with the Force. Having fulfilled his training, Luke leaves to rejoin the others.

The rebels have a plan but it will be difficult to execute. The unfinished Death Star is protected by a shield that is projected from the nearby moon of Endor. The planet is crawling with Imperial forces but the shield generator must be destroyed before they can assault the improved spacestation, this time by flying into the superstructure and destroying the power core at its heart.

A small crew consisting of Han, Luke, Leia, Chewie and the droids take a contingent of troops to the forest moon to disable the shield generator. Luke and Vader sense each other and Luke considers his options, eager to get another crack at Vader, and Vader eager to deliver Luke into the clutches of the Emperor, Vader's Sith master.

Planetside, the heroes are separated after some fierce fighting and an exciting sequence on speeder bikes, and Leia befriends an Ewok, one of the primitive indigenous beings there. Leia is taken to their treetop homes and is treated well until she is reunited with Han and the others who are captured due to Chewie's carelessness. They are destined to be killed and eaten until Luke manages to convince the primitive little beings that C-3P0 is a god, and they are eventually able to explain their situation and gather the ewoks to help with their assault of the shield bunker.

Meanwhile, Luke thinks he would be of better use elsewhere, and turns himself in to Imperial guards and is sent to the Death Star. He has an audience with the Emperor, getting a front row seat of the coming space battle that the rebels are about to launch, and after trying to kill the Emperor, Luke and Vader resume their lightsaber grudge match from Empire.

The rebels have arrived with their entire fleet on a win or die attempt to destroy the Death Star and defeat the Emperor once and for all. They hope to time their assault with the loss destruction of the shield bunker. Due to complications on the ground, the fleet begins to get creamed, especially when the Emperor reveals that the Death Star's planet vaporizing superlaser is operable and equally effective against the alliance ships.

Meanwhile, our heroes on the moon with their Ewok allies are struggling to destroy the bunker, but manage to win the day, disable the shields and allow the fleet's fighters to fly inside the Death Star. Led by Lando in the Falcon, they make their way deeper into the superstructure, chased by Tie Fighters.

Luke disables Vader, but is waylayed by the Emperor. Vader, wanting to reconcile his past more than he wants to serve the Emperor, saves Luke by taking his assault and eventually throwing his master to his death from the height of his chambers. Now dying, Luke makes peace with his father and gets his body to a shuttle to escape the crumbling space station.

Lando and his wingmen penetrate to the core of the Death Star, destroying their target and blowing up the second space station in spectacular fashion. The remnants of the Imperial fleet retreat and the alliance parties down on Endor.

Jedi resolves the ties between Luke and Leia, and Luke and Vader and caps the history of the universe that starts way back in Episode I. Seen in 1983, the trilogy was rewarding and complete by itself. It didn't answer every question, which the new trilogy did; questions such as how did Vader become who he was, and how did the Emperor come to power, what were the Clone Wars that Kenobi spoke of and what was the role of the Jedi in their heyday, and what was the basis for the relationship between Luke, Leia and Vader? The questions are hinted at in the old trilogy and are the main focus of the new trilogy.