...in a galaxy far, far away...

Sure, it's Harvest Festival time here in Big Ditch, California. But I've still spent the better part of the past two days basking in the Star Wars Trilogy, the original three George Lucas movies now finally available on DVD. Whew. Six and a half hours of movies are in this four-disc package, plus oodles of extras and a 150-minute documentary about the making and marketing of these masterpieces.

Now, there's been a lot of online and offline bitching and moaning that these are not the films as we first saw them in 1977, 1980, and 1983. That's true. These are the "Special Editions" that Lucas issued about seven years ago, with both major and minor alterations, including a few new scenes, reimagined scenes, new music, and new CGI effects. Actually, these are MORE than those late-'90s editions. Not only have the films been digitally restored and remastered, Lucas has made even further refinements and alterations, sometimes to keep these originals in sync with his three prequels.

To those who argue that Lucas has no right to fiddle with these movies -- bah! As the creator of the series, he has every right to do whatever he wants with them. That's what property rights are all about, friends. As for whether Lucas's changes have lessened the Star Wars experience, they haven't. These three movies -- Star Wars (aka A New Hope), The Empire Strikes Back, and Return of the Jedi -- are as exhilerating as ever. The characters are the same, the stories are unchanged, and the series' warnings against unchecked power remain unaltered. (Oddly, the only thing I truly miss is the Ewoks' cornball "Yub Yub" song that closed the saga in Jedi. It's been replaced by music similar to something from Lord of the Rings. But I can live with that. And I still have the old laserdisc of that film, after all.)