Stars: Mark Hamill, Harrison Ford, Carrie Fisher, Peter Cushing, Alec Guinness, Billy Dee Williams, Anthony Daniels, David Prowse, Kenny Baker

Director: Irvin Kershner

Summary: The Star Wars trilogy is available as a four disc box set with the fourth disc containing a host of special features. STAR WARS - A NEW HOPE finds Princess Leia abducted by the Imperial Forces and rescued by Luke Skywalker and Captain Han Solo. THE EMPIRE STRIKES BACK tells the story of Luke Skywalker, Princess Leia and Captain Han Solo facing an attack by the evil Imperial Forces. Luke escapes to search for Yoda. RETURN OF THE JEDI finds Luke Skywalker on a rescue mission to save Princess Leia and Captain Han Solo from Jabba the Hutt while Luke completes his training with Yoda. Bonus features include a documentary detailing the Star Wars films called EMPIRE OF DREAMS which traces the evolution of the trilogy from low budget films into a movie phenomenon which elevated science fiction from lowly B-rated material into the big league. Also includes film footage from the making of the three films.

The complete original STAR WARS trilogy in one set, in their 1997 remastered Special Edition versions, with an extra disc containing a documentary and other amazing extras. STAR WARS - A NEW HOPE, George Lucas's stunning sci-fi masterpiece, is arguably one of the most inventive and entertaining films ever made, garnering generations of loyal fans who are forever imprinted with the memory of its characters and dialogue. As the adventure begins, Luke Skywalker (Mark Hamill), an impulsive but goodhearted young man who lives on the dusty planet of Tatooine with his aunt and uncle, longs for the exciting life of a Rebel soldier. The Rebels, led by the headstrong Princess Leia (Carrie Fisher), are fighting against the evil Empire, which has set about destroying planets inhabited by innocent citizens with the Death Star, a fearsome planet-like craft commanded by Grand Moff Tarkin (Peter Cushing) and the eternally frightful Darth Vader (David Prowse, with the voice of James Earl Jones). When Luke's aunt and uncle are murdered by the Empire's imperial stormtroopers and he finds a distress message from Princess Leia in one of his androids, R2-D2 (Kenny Baker), he must set out to find Obi-Wan Kenobi (Alec Guinness), a mysterious old hermit with incredible powers. On his journey, Luke is aided by the roguish, sarcastic mercenary Han Solo (Harrison Ford) and his towering furry sidekick Chewbacca (Peter Mayhew) as they run into a host of perilous situations while trying to rescue the princess--and the entire galaxy. THE EMPIRE STRIKES BACK is considered the most morally and emotionally complex of this original trilogy and continues where Lucas's epic saga STAR WARS - A NEW HOPE left off. The Rebel Forces--which still include young adventurer Luke Skywalker, rogue pilot Han Solo, and the beautiful but seemingly humourless Princess Leia--have been successful in destroying the Evil Empire's Death Star. However, the Empire's top commander, the terrifying Lord Darth Vader, is scanning the galaxy for the Rebels' secret location. After a visually stunning-showdown on the ice planet Hoth, the Rebels are forced to flee, and Luke separates from Han and Leia. Masterful storytelling weaves multiple, archetypal plotlines that pit Vader against Han and Leia as he desperately attempts to capture Luke for political--and, secretly, personal--reasons. Luke, meanwhile, finds himself under the tutelage of the tiny but powerful old Jedi Master Yoda, who teaches him the ways of the Force and warns the impatient but talented student against the threat of the Dark Side. Greek tragedy meets a philosophical hero's journey in the film, a remarkable sci-fi epic in which the performances are as powerful as the spectacular special effects.In RETURN OF THE JEDI--the final part of the trilogy--Luke Skywalker embarks on a mission to find out if one of his enemies is a relation of his. Along for the ride are Princess Leia, Han Solo and other familiar faces from the first two movies. Jabba the Hut and the furry, adorable Ewoks are just some of the bizarre new creatures they encounter in this third action-packed, special effects-filled installment of the phenomenally popular STAR WARS series.

WIN DVDs by rating this DVD

Average User Rating:

WIN DVDS by being amongst the first to review this DVD. Reviewing DVDs earns you bonus entries and lets you WIN DVDs!Please login before reviewing this DVD. If you're a new user, register for free and enter to WIN FREE DVDs!

As with George Lucas's other movie franchise, there's a vein of mysticism running through the Indiana Jones Trilogy. Watching all three back-to-back it's possible to unravel the chronology and chart the spiritual journey of our hero: the idealistic Young Indy ("It belongs in a museum", implores River Phoenix in the opening escapade of The Last Crusade) grows up to become a cynical fortune-hunter seen trading archaeological treasures with Chinese gangsters at club "Obi-Wan" in The Temple of Doom. From there we follow his path to redemption via three mystical religious objects: respectively Hindu (the Shankara stones in Temple of Doom), Jewish (the Ark of the Covenant in Raiders), and Christian (the Holy Grail itself in Last Crusade).

But that's just the subtext. Along the way, this knight-errant archaeologist undertakes improbable adventures (featuring spiders, snakes, rats, insects and Nazis galore), rescues damsels in distress (even when they really don't want to be rescued, such as Kate Capshaw in Temple of Doom), and still finds time to bond with his dad (Sean Connery, in one of cinema's great cameo roles as Dr Jones Sr.)

Steven Spielberg revels in Lucas's recreation of 1930s cliff-hanger serials, infusing every scene with kinetic energy and infectious enthusiasm and creating any number of iconic sequences that have become touchstones of cinematic history. Director and producer are more than ably assisted by regular composer John Williams, whose swashbuckling Korngold-inspired "Raiders" theme casts Harrison Ford as a modern-day Errol Flynn. Although a fourth movie is promised, this trilogy plays like a self-contained whole that leaves nothing wanting: from the witty dialogue and breathtaking action choreography to the near-perfect casting, this is popular movie-making at its very peak.

On the DVD:The Indiana Jones Trilogyfour-disc box set, as has been widely noted, contains the slightly edited version of The Temple of Doom--1 min 6 seconds of cuts according to the BBFC--though this is exactly the same version that was originally shown in UK cinemas and released on video (missing is a bit of extra blood and gore during the heart-ripping scene). By way of compensation, the digitally remastered anamorphic 2.35:1 picture and Dolby Digital 5.1 sound for all three movies are joyfully impressive, the screen crammed full of colour and rich detail accompanied by one of Hollywood's most glorious soundtracks. The fourth bonus disc contains about three hours of additional material, most of which can be found in the new 127-minute documentary that takes the viewer chronologically through the making of the series and includes plenty of interviews and fascinating nuggets of background information. There are also independent featurettes "From the Lucasfilm Archives" on John Williams's music, the sound design, stuntwork and the special effects. There are subtitles in various European languages. --Mark Walker

Aspect Ratio:	16:9 Anamorphic Wide Screen
Main Language:	English
Region:	Region 2
Special Features:	Audio commentary By George Lucas and cast and crew members on each film, Empire Of Dreams documentary, Behind the scenes preview of the return of Darth Vader, The birth of the lightsaber, The characters of Star Wars, The legacy of Star Wars, Trailer for video g
Year:	1977
Release Date:	December 11, 2006
Runtime:	361 minutes
Certification:
Catalogue Number:	27233 D V D
Keywords:	New, Star, Back, Wars, Box, General, Four, Empire, Wide, Screen, Strikes, Fiction, Jedi, Hope, Set, Science, Return, Trilogy, Horror, Vi, V, Discs, Episode, Sci, Fi, Iv
Genre:	Science Fiction