STAR WARS THE PREQUEL TRILOGY [Episodes I – III] [Limited Edition SteelBook] [Blu-ray] [1999 / 2002 / 2005 / 2013] [UK Release] May The Force Be With You!
The prequel trilogy is the second instalment of films of the STAR WARS saga. They were released from 1999 to 2005.
The prequel trilogy describes what had taken place 32 years up to 19 years before the events of STAR WARS: Episode IV – A New Hope. It primarily focuses on a young Darth Vader, then Jedi Anakin Skywalker, and an accompanying Obi-Wan Kenobi and the story of how they went from being friends to enemies and the tragedy of Anakin Skywalker's descent into the dark side, as well as the origin of how the Galactic Republic became the Galactic Empire.
The STAR WARS THE PREQUEL TRILOGY concludes with STAR WARS: Episode I – The Phantom Menace; STAR WARS: Episode II – Attack Of The Clones and STAR WARS: Episode III – Revenge Of The SITH.
The last three STAR WARS films were reworked by the creator George Lucas intended. Using state-of-the-art technology, STAR WARS Lucas and his team cleaned up the prints, updated the special effects and added new footage.
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FILM FACT No.1: STAR WARS: Episode I – The Phantom Menace: Awards and Nominations: 1999 International Film Music Critics Award: Nominated: Film Score of the Year for John Williams. 1999 The Stinkers Bad Movie Awards: Win: Worst Screen Debut for Jar-Jar Binks. Win: Worst Supporting Actor for Ahmed Best (voice of Jar-Jar Binks), Win: Worst Performance by a Child in a Featured Role for Jake Lloyd. Win: Most Botched Comic Relief for Ahmed Best for The Annoying Sidekick, Jar-Jar Binks. Nominated: Worst Screenplay for a Film Grossing More than $100 Million Using Hollywood Math for George Lucas. Nominated: Biggest Disappointment. 1999 YoungStar Awards: Nominated: Best Performance by a Young Actor in a Drama Film for Jake Lloyd. Nominated: Best Performance by a Young Actress in a Drama Film for Natalie Portman. 2000 Academy Awards®: Nominated: Best Sound for Gary Rydstrom, John Midgley, Shawn Murphy and Tom Johnson. Nominated: Best Effects and Sound Effects Editing for Ben Burtt and Tom Bellfort. Nominated: Best Effects and Visual Effects for Dennis Muren, John Knoll, Rob Coleman and Scott Squires. 2000 BAFTA Awards: Nominated: BAFTA Film Award for Best Sound for Ben Burtt, Gary Rydstrom, John Midgley, Shawn Murphy, Tom Bellfort and Tom Johnson. Nominated: BAFTA Film Award for Best Achievement in Special Visual Effects for Dennis Muren, John Knoll, Rob Coleman and Scott Squires. 2000 Grammy Awards: Nominated: Best Instrumental Composition Written for a Motion Picture, Television or Other Visual Media for John Williams. 2000 Motion Picture Sound Editors, USA: Nominated: Golden Reel Award for Best Sound Editing Effects & Foley for Ben Burtt (supervising sound editor), Tom Bellfort (supervising sound editor), Matthew Wood (supervising sound editor), Teresa Eckton (sound editor), Christopher Scarabosio (sound editor), Bruce Lacey (foley editor) and Marian Wilde (foley editor). Nominated: Golden Reel Award for Best Sound Editing Dialogue & ADR for Ben Burtt (supervising sound editor), Tom Bellfort (supervising sound editor/supervising dialogue/adr editor), Matthew Wood (supervising sound editor), Gwendolyn Yates Whittle (dialogue/adr editor) and Sara Bolder (dialogue/adr editor). 2000 Razzie Awards: Win: Worst Supporting Actor Ahmed Best (voice of Jar-Jar Binks). Nominated: Worst Picture. Nominated: Worst Screen Couple for Jake Lloyd and Natalie Portman. Nominated: Worst Supporting Actor for Jake Lloyd. Nominated: Worst Supporting Actress for Sofia Coppola. Nominated: Worst Director for George Lucas. Nominated: Worst Screenplay for George Lucas. 2000 Young Artist Awards: Win: Best Performance in a Feature Film for Young Actor Age Ten or Under for Jake Lloyd. Nominated: Best Family Feature Film in a Drama.
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FILM FACT No.2: STAR WARS: Episode II – Attack Of The Clones: Awards and Nominations: 2002 Rondo Hatton Classic Horror Awards: Nominated: Rondo Statuette for Best Genre Film for George Lucas. 2002 Teen Choice Awards: Win: Film for Choice Actress, Drama/Action Adventure for Natalie Portman. Nominated: Film for Choice Movie, Drama/Action Adventure. Nominated: Film for Choice Actor, Drama/Action Adventure for Hayden Christensen. Nominated: Film for Choice Chemistry for Hayden Christensen and Natalie Portman. 2002 The Stinkers Bad Movie Awards: Win: Worst Supporting Actor for Hayden Christensen. Nominated: Most Annoying Non-Human Character for "Jar-Jar Binks." Nominated: Worst Screenplay for a Film Grossing More than $100 Million Using Hollywood Math for George Lucas and Jonathan Hales. 2002 World Soundtrack Awards: Nominated: Best Original Soundtrack of the Year for John Williams. 2003 Academy Awards®: Nominated: Best Visual Effects for Ben Snow, John Knoll, Pablo Helman and Rob Coleman. 2003 Broadcast Film Critics Association Awards: Nominated: Critics Choice Award for Best Digital Acting Performance for Frank Oz for playing "Yoda." 2003 Motion Picture Sound Editors, USA: Nominated: Golden Reel Award for Best Sound Editing in Domestic Features for Sound Effects & Foley for Ben Burtt (supervising sound editor/sound designer), Matthew Wood (supervising sound editor), Teresa Eckton (sound effects editor), Bruce Lacey (sound effects editor), Christopher Scarabosio (sound effects editor), Mary Helen Leasman (foley editor) and Kevin Sellers (foley editor). 2003 Razzie Awards: Win: Worst Supporting Actor for Hayden Christensen for "Star Wars/Episode II: Yada-Yada-Yoda." Win: Worst Screenplay for George Lucas and Jonathan Hales for "Star Wars: Episode II: The Boredom Continues." Nominated: Worst Picture. Nominated: Worst Supporting Actress for Natalie Portman for "Star Wars: Episode...Who Cares?" Nominated: Worst Screen Couple for Hayden Christensen and Natalie Portman for "Star Wars/Episode II: Send in the Clones." Nominated: Worst Director for George Lucas fFor "Star Wars/Episode II: Attack of the Groans." Nominated: Worst Remake or Sequel for or "Star Wars/Episode II: What-Ever” (2002). 2003 SFX Awards, UK: Win: Best Science Fiction or Fantasy film Actress for Natalie Portman. Nominated: Best SF or Fantasy Film. Nominated: Best SF or Fantasy Film Director for George Lucas. Nominated: Best SF or Fantasy Film Music for John Williams. 2003 Visual Effects Society Awards: Win: Best Matte Painting in a Motion Picture for Jonathan Harb, Paul Huston and Yusei Uesugi. Nominated: Best Visual Effects in an Effects Driven Motion Picture for Ben Snow, John Knoll, Pablo Helman and Rob Coleman. Nominated: Best Character Animation in a Live Action Motion Picture for Chris Armstrong, Hal T. Hickel, James Tooley and Rob Coleman. Nominated: Best Models and Miniatures in a Motion Picture for Brian Gernand, Geoff Campbell, Jean Bolte and Russell Paul. Nominated: Best Visual Effects Photography in a Motion Picture for Carl Miller, Fred Meyers, Martin Rosenberg and Pat Sweeney. Nominated: Best Effects Art Direction in a Motion Picture for Alex Jaeger, Doug Chiang, Erik Tiemens and Ryan Church. 2003 Young Artist Awards: Nominated: Best Performance in a Feature Film for Supporting Young Actor for Daniel Logan. Nominated: Best Family Feature Film in a Fantasy.
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FILM FACT No.3: STAR WARS: Episode III – Revenge Of The SITH: Awards and Nominations: 2005 Hollywood Film Awards: Win: Hollywood Movie of the Year for George Lucas. 2005 Rondo Hatton Classic Horror Awards: Nominated: Rondo Statuette for Best Film for George Lucas. 2005 Teen Choice Awards: Win: Choice Movie: Action Adventure. Nominated: Choice Movie Actor: Action Adventure/Thriller for Hayden Christensen. Nominated: Choice Movie Actress: Action Adventure/Thriller for Natalie Portman. Nominated: Choice Movie Bad Guy for Hayden Christensen. Nominated: Choice Movie Bad Guy for Ian McDiarmid. Nominated: Choice Movie Rumble for Ewan McGregor for Obi-Wan Kenobi vs. General Grievous. 2005 The Stinkers Bad Movie Awards: Nominated: Worst Screenplay for a Film Grossing More than $100 Million Using Hollywood Math for George Lucas. Nominated: Worst On-Screen Couple for Hayden Christensen and Natalie Portman. 2006 Academy Awards®: Nominated: Best Achievement in Makeup for Dave Elsey and Nikki Gooley. 2006 Awards of the Japanese Academy: Nominated: Best Foreign Film. 2006 Costume Designers Guild Awards: Nominated: Excellence in Fantasy Film for Trisha Biggar. 2006 Empire Awards, UK: Win: Scene of the Year for the birth of Darth Vader. Win: Best Sci-Fi/Fantasy. Nominated: Best Film. 2006 Grammy Awards: Nominated: Best Score Soundtrack Album for Motion Picture, Television or Other Visual Media for John Williams. 2006 International Film Music Critics Award: Nominated: Film Score of the Year for John Williams. Nominated: Best Original Score for a Fantasy/Science Fiction Film for John Williams. 2006 International Online Cinema Awards: Nominated: Best Visual Effects. Nominated: Best Makeup and Hairstyling. Nominated: Best Sound Editing for Ben Burtt and Matthew Wood. 2006 Motion Picture Sound Editors, USA: Nominated: Golden Reel Award for Best Sound Editing in Feature Film in Sound Effects & Foley for Ben Burtt (supervising sound editor), Matthew Wood (supervising sound editor), Teresa Eckton (sound editor), Steve Slanec (sound editor), Kevin Sellers (foley editor), Ellen Heuer (foley artist), Dennie Thorpe (foley artist) and Jana Vance (foley artist). 2006 MTV Movie + TV Awards: Win: Best Villain for Hayden Christensen. Nominated: Best Hero for Ewan McGregor. Nominated: Best Fight for Ewan McGregor and Hayden Christensen. 2006 Razzie Awards: Win: Worst Supporting Actor for Hayden Christensen for Star Wars III: No Sith, He's Supposed to Be Darth Vader?!?!. 2006 Visual Effects Society Awards: Nominated: Outstanding Visual Effects in an Effects Driven Motion Picture for Denise Ream, John Knoll, Rob Coleman and Roger Guyett. Nominated: Best Single Visual Effect of the Year for David Weitzberg, Jeff Sutherland, Jill Brooks and John Knoll for the "opening space battle." Nominated: Outstanding Created Environment in a Live Action Motion Picture for Brett Northcutt, Hilmar Koch, Jonathan Harb and Yanick Dusseault. Nominated: Outstanding Models and Miniatures in a Motion Picture for Brian Gernand, Kevin Reuter, Pamela J. Choy and Ron Woodall. 2015 Creativity Awards: Win: Communicator Award for Print Poster Advertising for Ciara McAvoy (poster artist/art director) and CMCV Studios (ad agency/film art) for the Anniversary poster for the Award of Distinction. Win: Communicator Award for Print Advertising for the Poster for Ciara McAvoy (poster artist/art director) and CMCV Studios (Ad agency / Film art) for LUCASFILM Ltd (Distributor).
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Image Resolution: 1080p
Aspect Ratio: 2.35:1
Audio: English: 6.1 DTS-HD Master Audio
English: 5.1 Descriptive Audio
Spanish: 5.1 Dolby Digital Audio
French: 5.1 DTS-HD Audio
Português: 5.1 Dolby Digital Audio
Subtitles: English SDH, Spanish, French, Dutch, Português, Finnish, Swedish, Norwegian and Danish
Running Time: 126 minutes / 127 minutes / 134 minutes
Region: All Regions
Number of discs: 3
Studio: 20th Century Fox / LUCASFILM Ltd
Andrew’s Blu-ray Review: STAR WARS THE PREQUEL TRILOGY [Episodes I – III] George Lucas's three prequel trilogy films to arguably the most iconic trilogy in the history of STAR WARS cinema and to fans of STAR WARS franchise feel these three films are less enjoyable than recounting my experience watching the previous STAR WARS Episodes IV, V and VI, but despite this, I really enjoyed this STAR WARS THE PREQUEL TRILOGY [Episodes I – III].
For true STAR WARS fans watching these films for years, viewing them in full high definition was almost like seeing these iconic films for the first time. The STAR WARS THE PREQUEL TRILOGY [Episodes I – III] being more recent, have undergone hardly any changes and, because of their digital production within the last 12 years, look incredible on these three Blu-ray discs. What has not been improved sadly on these three prequels are some of the flat delivered lines and cheesy dialogue but they are still enjoyable to watch in high definition on these three Blu-ray discs.
Obviously some of the biggest revelation of the films – “I am your father” and Yoda’s introduction on Dagobah. I’d suggest anyone watching these films for the first time should watch them in the order they were made – Episode IV, V and VI and then Episodes I, II and III. This way those iconic moments will maintain their impact before going back to where it all began.
There are even more to view on these three Blu-ray discs. One of the biggest changes is the “Krayyt Dragon” cry from Obi-Wan Kenobi to scare off the Tusken Raiders who have just attacked Luke Skywalker. It’s puzzling to work out why George Lucas goes to the trouble of making changes which too many appear random while leaving some other shots where characters and vehicles clearly appear to be placed on a backdrop or matte painting.
This is a must have STAR WARS THE PREQUEL TRILOGY [Episodes I – III] collection for any STAR WARS fans who wants to enjoy them in the highest quality. First time viewers will enjoy the image and audio quality as well as the amazing story which spans generations. For true die-hard STAR WARS fans, like me, who have been watching these films for years, it is a chance to pick up things we have not noticed before. The changes are not too grating and thankfully the spirit of the STAR WARS films have been maintained and I also feel have now been 100% improved with these three prequel remastered STAR WARS films.
With a third STAR WARS trilogy on the way, for the first time without any involvement whatsoever from George Lucas, there's no doubt that a great many STAR WARS fans will be hoping the new films will match the success of the original three. It's also undeniably true that many will be tempering their expectations as a direct result of the prequel trilogy's underwhelming nature, hoping that current franchise owners Disney and the writers and directors they hire create something a lot better than the last time we ventured back a long time ago to a galaxy far, far away.
This second brand new collectible SteelBook packaging is very attractive, featuring the character image of Yoda on the front cover and a brilliant illustrated and dramatic image of Anakin Skywalker on the rear. The STAR WARS logo on the front cover looks amazing. The three Blu-ray discs inside are held securely in place by a standard push button release holder. All in all it is a very handsome package and indicative of SteelBook packaging we have seen before. Here is a brief synopsis of each of the three prequel trilogy STAR WARS films and they are as follows:
STAR WARS: Episode I – The Phantom Menace [1999] Released 16 years after the final film in the original trilogy, and takes viewers back to an earlier time, when the Galactic Republic was in full swing and the Jedi were truly a force of peace and justice throughout the galaxy. Jedi Master Qui-Gon Jinn [Liam Neeson] and his "padawan" protege, Obi-Wan Kenobi [Ewan McGregor], are dispatched to protect Queen Padme Amidala [Natalie Portman] of Naboo from the forces of the evil Trade Federation, who are acting as the pawns of the mysterious Darth Sidious. Eventually, Naboo is invaded forcing the Jedi to evacuate the planet with the Queen and her court. They travel to the desert planet of Tatooine where they meet a slave boy named Anakin Skywalker [Jake Lloyd] who is evidently one with the Force. They enlist his help in fighting the war, while the Jedi confront one of the Dark Jedi behind the invasion, Darth Maul, while his master Darth Sidious continues to lead the invasion as a "phantom" behind the scenes.
Cast: Liam Neeson, Ewan McGregor, Natalie Portman, Jake Lloyd, Ian McDiarmid, Pernilla August, Oliver Ford Davies, Hugh Quarshie, Ahmed Best (Jar Jar Binks), Anthony Daniels (C-3PO), Kenny Baker (R2-D2), Frank Oz (Yoda voice), Terence Stamp, Brian Blessed (Boss Nass voice), Andrew Secombe (Watto voice), Ray Park, Lewis Macleod (Sebulba voice), Warwick Davis (Wald / Pod race spectator / Mos Espa Citizen), Steve Speirs, Silas Carson, Jerome St. John Blake, Alan Ruscoe, Ralph Brown, Celia Imrie, Benedict Taylor, Clarence Smith, Samuel L. Jackson (Mace Windu), Dominic West, Karol Cristina da Silva, Liz Wilson, Candice Orwell, Sofia Coppola, Keira Knightley, Bronagh Gallagher, John Fensom, Greg Proops (Fode voice), Scott Capurro (Beed voice), Margaret Towner, Dhruv Chanchani, Oliver Walpole, Katie Lucas, Megan Udall, Hassani Shapi, Gin Clarke, Khan Bonfils, Michelle Taylor, Michaela Cottrell, Dipika O'Neill Joti, Phil Eason, Mark Coulier, Lindsay Duncan (TC-14 voice), Peter Serafinowicz (Darth Maul /Battle Droid Commander /Gungan Scout voice), James Taylor (Rune Haako voice), Chris Sanders (Daultay Dofine voice), Marc Silk (Aks Moe / Sil Unch voice), Toby Longworth (Senator Lott Dodd / Gragra voice) and Amanda Lucas (Tey How / Diva Funquita voice)
Director: George Lucas
Producers: George Lucas and Rick McCallum
Screenplay: George Lucas
Composer: John Williams
Cinematography: David Tattersall, B.S.C. (Director of Photography)
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STAR WARS: Episode II – Attack Of The Clones [2002] Set ten years after the events of "The Phantom Menace," the Republic continues to be mired in strife and chaos. A separatist movement encompassing hundreds of planets and powerful corporate alliances poses new threats to the galaxy that even the Jedi cannot stem. These moves, long planned by an as yet unrevealed and powerful force, lead to the beginning of the Clone Wars and the beginning of the end of the Republic. Jedi Knights Obi-Wan Kenobi [Ewan McGregor] and Anakin Skywalker [Hayden Christensen] discover there is more than meets the eye behind an assassination attempt on Naboo Senator Padmé Amidala [Natalie Portman] and her life. Meanwhile, a Sith Lord orchestrates events between the forces of good and evil, all the while waiting to play the final move that will ensure him control of the galaxy. But when a tragedy strikes Anakin Skywalker's life, he begins slipping away from the Light Side of the Force, and perhaps from the Force itself.
Cast: Ewan McGregor, Natalie Portman, Hayden Christensen, Christopher Lee (Count Dooku / Darth Tyranus), Samuel L. Jackson (Mace Windu), Frank Oz (Yoda voice), Ian McDiarmid, Pernilla August, Temuera Morrison, Jimmy Smits, Jack Thompson, Leeanna Walsman, Ahmed Best (Jar Jar Binks / Achk Med-Beq voice), Rose Byrne, Oliver Ford Davies, Ronald Falk (Dexter Jettster voice), Jay Laga'aia, Andy Secombe (Watto voice), Anthony Daniels (C-3PO / Dannl Faytonni), Silas Carson, Ayesha Dharker, Joel Edgerton, Daniel Logan, Bonnie Maree Piesse, Anthony Phelan (Lama Su voice), Rena Owen (Taun We voice), Alethea McGrath, Susie Porter, Matt Doran, Alan Ruscoe, Matt Sloan, Veronica Segura, David Bowers, Steve John Shepherd, Bodie 'Tihoi' Taylor, Matt Rowan, Steven Boyle, Zachariah Jensen, Alex Knoll, Phoebe Yiamkiati, Kenny Baker (R2-D2), Jerome St. John Blake (Oppo Rancisis) (archive footage), Hassani Shapi (Eeth Koth) (archive footage), Gin Clarke (Adi Gallia) (archive footage), Khan Bonfils (Saesee Tiin) (archive footage), Michaela Cottrell (Even Piell) (archive footage) and Dipika O'Neill Joti (Depa Billaba) (archive footage)
Director: George Lucas
Producers: George Lucas, Lorne Orleans (IMAX version) and Rick McCallum
Screenplay: George Lucas (screenplay/story) and Jonathan Hales (screenplay)
Composer: John Williams
Cinematography: David Tattersall, B.S.C. (Director of Photography)
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STAR WARS: Episode III – Revenge Of The SITH [2005] It has been three years since the Clone Wars began. Jedi Master Obi-Wan Kenobi [Ewan McGregor] and Jedi Knight Anakin Skywalker [Hayden Christensen] rescue Supreme Chancellor Palpatine [Ian McDiarmid] from General Grievous [Matthew Wood], the commander of the droid armies, but General Grievous escapes. Suspicions are raised within the Jedi Council concerning Supreme Chancellor Palpatine, with whom Jedi Knight Anakin Skywalker has formed a bond. Asked to spy on the chancellor, and full of bitterness toward the Jedi Council, then finally Jedi Knight Anakin Skywalker embraces the Dark Side. Three years after the events of Episode II, a new threat emerges. The commander of the Droid Army, General Grievous, kidnaps Supreme Chancellor Palpatine. The Jedi send Jedi Knight Anakin Skywalker and Jedi Master Obi-Wan Kenobi to rescue the Chancellor Palpatine and put an end to the Separatists wrath on the galaxy. But with an unfortunate turn of events, things don't turn out the way they had envisioned...
Cast: Ewan McGregor, Natalie Portman, Hayden Christensen, Ian McDiarmid, Samuel L. Jackson (Mace Windu), Jimmy Smits, Frank Oz (Yoda voice), Anthony Daniels (C-3PO), Christopher Lee (Count Dooku), Keisha Castle-Hughes, Silas Carson, Jay Laga'aia, Bruce Spence, Wayne Pygram, Temuera Morrison, David Bowers, Oliver Ford Davies, Ahmed Best (Jar Jar Binks), Rohan Nichol, Jeremy Bulloch, Amanda Lucas, Kenny Baker (R2-D2), Matt Sloan, Peter Mayhew (Chewbacca), Rebecca Jackson Mendoza, Joel Edgerton, Bonnie Maree Piesse, Jett Lucas, Tux Akindoyeni, Matt Rowan, Kenji Oates, Amy Allen, Bodie 'Tihoi' Taylor, Graeme Blundell, Trisha Noble, Claudia Karvan, Keira Wingate, Hayley Mooy, Sandi Finlay, Katie Lucas, Genevieve O'Reilly, Warren Owens, Kee Chan, Rena Owen, Christopher Kirby, Matthew Wood (General Grievous voice), Kristy Wright, Coinneach Alexander, Olivia McCallum, Michael Kingma (Wookiee), Axel Dench (Wookiee), Steven Foy (Wookiee), Julian Khazzouh (Wookiee), James Rowland (Wookiee), David Stiff (Wookiee), Robert Cope (Wookiee) and David Acord (GH-7 Medical Droid voice) (uncredited)
Director: George Lucas
Producers: George Lucas and Rick McCallum
Screenplay: George Lucas
Composer: John Williams
Cinematography: David Tattersall, B.S.C. (Director of Photography)
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Blu-ray Image Quality – Once again, 20th Century Fox presents these three upgraded Blu-ray discs with a brilliant 1080p image and of course enhanced with a 2.35:1 aspect ratio. Again with the images you get to view, I found the quality both met my greatest expectations. Bright sequences tend to look the best and offer the widest range of eye catching options. The CGI computer crafted effects, are vividly pleasing colours and boldly applied contrast generally make for visually stimulating imagery although the higher resolution makes the seams between live action and CGI more readily apparent. Shadow detail is consistent and revealing of subtle degrees of delineation. Images are crisp with subtle refinement, resolute sharpness and exquisite dimension that at times can be visually arresting. Contrast is boldly applied which energizes the colours, and engages the whites and greys really well. Flesh tones are beautifully textured with subtle description and lifelike complexional depiction, with a very pleasing and pristine quality that works hand in hand with the film’s stark visuals and provides an incredibly entertaining experience that looks superb when view on your 3D Television display.
Blu-ray Audio Quality – Here again, 20th Century Fox brings these three upgraded Blu-ray discs with a stunning 6.1 DTS-HD Master Audio experience. Across the board these are reference quality audio tracks each containing demonstration quality moments perfect for showing off the prowess of your home theatre system. These recordings have wide dynamic range and boast superlative clarity and high level detail that is impressive. Dialogue is definitive and appreciably lucid through the centre channel as it reaches far into the room. It’s located just slightly in front of the left/right speakers within the acoustic space it occupies in the sound field. I never had any trouble distinguishing even the slightest changes in even the slightest changes in the pitch or inflection of voices. Front channel separation and imaging is excellent. This draws out both large and small sound elements allowing their directional correlation based upon the onscreen events to be definable. The audio mix makes effective and often aggressive use of the surround channels to elongate the front soundstage and reproduce the spatial and discrete sounds of these demanding soundtracks. The listening position is frequently submerged in a rotating web of sound that occasionally bombards the senses with a combination of well-placed effects and musical ambience. Low frequency effects are applied with authority to underscore the bombastic and aggressive aspects of the audio experience. There is lots of active use of the entire surround platform which delivers a well-integrated audio experience that is highlighted by solid impact, defining clarity, and John Williams' incredible and awesome composed music. Each of these audio presentations adds a defining element that enhances the enjoyment of STAR WARS while at the same time taking us on a nostalgic journey that is reminiscent of seeing it in the cinema.
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Blu-ray Special Features and Extras:
STAR WARS: Episode I – The Phantom Menace:
Audio Commentary by George Lucas, Rick McCallum, Ben Burtt, Rob Coleman, John Knoll, Dennis Muren and Scott Squires
Audio Commentary from Archival Interviews with Cast and Crew, with Ewan McGregor, Liam Neeson, Ray Park, Natalie Portman, Samuel L Jackson, Ian McDiarmid, Ahmed Best, Gavin Bocquet, Ben Burtt, Doug Chiang, Rob Coleman, Nick Gillard, Jake Lloyd, George Lucas, John Knoll, Rick McCallum and Scott Squires
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STAR WARS: Episode II – Attack Of The Clones:
Audio Commentary by George Lucas, Rick McCallum, Ben Burtt, Rob Coleman, Pablo Helman, John Knoll and Ben Snow
Audio Commentary from Archival Interviews with Cast and Crew, with Ewan McGregor, Hayden Christensen, Christopher Lee, Temuera Morrison, Jimmy Smits, Natalie Portman, Samuel L Jackson, Ian McDiarmid, Ben Burtt, Rob Coleman, Nick Gillard, Pablo Helman, John Knoll, George Lucas, Rick McCallum, Ben Snow and John Williams.
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STAR WARS: Episode III – Revenge Of The SITH:
Audio Commentary by George Lucas, Rick McCallum, Rob Coleman, John Knoll and Roger Guyett
Audio Commentary from Archival Interviews with Cast and Crew, with Ewan McGregor, Hayden Christensen, Anthony Daniels, Christopher Lee, Temuera Morrison, Jimmy Smits, Natalie Portman, Samuel L Jackson, Ian McDiarmid, Silas Carson, Gavin Bocquet, Ben Burtt, Rob Coleman, Nick Gillard, Roger Guyett, George Lucas, John Knoll and Rick McCallum
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Finally, this second STAR WARS THE PREQUEL TRILOGY [Episodes I – III] Limited Edition SteelBook is again totally awesome and equally amazing. Personally, I thoroughly enjoy everything about the STAR WARS THE PREQUEL TRILOGY [Episodes I – III] universe, despite a lot of criticism, they have paved the way for no end of STAR WARS adventures. For all their flaws, no collector would be complete without them. These much maligned Prequel Trilogy finally comes to Blu-ray with image and sound quality that looks considerably improved over the inferior DVD releases. If you want extras, you have unfortunately purchased the wrong Blu-ray disc set, as all you get here are the audio commentaries per film. To get to view all of the other amazing Blu-ray Special Features and Extras, you will have to purchase the STAR WARS Complete Saga. But despite this, I am more than happy to have both of these Limited Edition SteelBook in my Blu-ray collection. Very Highly Recommended!
Andrew C. Miller – Your Ultimate No.1 Film Aficionado
Le Cinema Paradiso
United Kingdom
