Round One: The Arrrival On Bespin

Unaltered: The Millenium Falcon approaches the scenic cityscape, then cut to an image of the Falcon landing.

2004: The Falcon travels through a bustling metropolis, and even after landing, a great cityscape is seen through the windows.

THE WINNER: 2004. It put the "City" in "Cloud City".


Round Two: Han vs. Greedo

This is an obvious one, so let's get it out of the way. Unaltered wins.

We're tied, 1-1.


Round Three: Mos Eisley Spaceport

Unaltered: While there were buildings, ships, and plenty of people, it took a little imagination to view Mos Eisley as a bustling spaceport.

2004: An extened arrival and a revamped matte shows ships arriving and leaving, a massive cityscape, and tons of new additions which make the spaceport come alive.

Winner: 2004. You can't beat the new Mos Eisley.


Round Four: The Sarlaac Pit

Unaltered: It's a pit that you die in and are eaten. Seemed dangerous and realistic enough to me.

2004: While it certainly made the Sarlaac more lively which is a plus, that beak is two steps forward and three steps back.

Winner: Unaltered. The beak isn't really a big deal, and a more lively Sarlaac is better, but really I had no issues with the original, so I'll give it to Unaltered, just barely.

Tied again, 2-2.


Round Five: The Emperor's Message

Unaltered: The voice and actor (actress, actually) look and sound nothing like Ian McDiarmid. With the advent of the PT and making Ian have an even bigger role in the saga, this is a drawback.

2004: Ian's in full swing, and the makeup is done well to match up. But, you couldn't just stop there, could you? You had to tinker with some lines. But, not a big deal.

Winner: 2004. The unecessary and even spoiling extra dialogue is a non-issue compared to the satisfaction of having Ian in ESB.


Round Six: The End Celebration, ROTJ

Unaltered: Yes, it's a bit silly, but the Ewok song is uplifting a fitting to end the saga.

2004: It's nice to have that shot of Luke and Wedge, and new shots of celebration on Endor and elsewhere (especially Coruscant) are good. The downside is that I personally think the new music is too mellow and even a little depressing. Rather than being thrilled at the Rebel victory, I'm saddened because it's the end of the saga.

Winner: Unaltered. Open for much debate, and while the 2004 footage is better, I just prefer the uplifting original song (which my mom always said she hated, even when we watched ROTJ in the 80s before the idea of a special edition had even dawned.)

Tied yet again, 3-3.


Round Seven: Jabba in ANH (or lack thereof)

Unaltered: The scene didn't exist

2004: The scene as you all know of Han and Jabba making a deal, and Jabba gets his tail stepped on (seems silly, but it had to be done because original footage had Han circling Jabba's stand in). Better looking than 1997 for sure.

Winner: 2004. As a fan of old school SW, I liked this scene which was in the original novel in 1976. I completely agree on this being in the film.


Round Eight: Lapti Nek vs. Jedi Rocks

Unaltered: The Max Rebo band sings a song, and footage of them is seen in an appropriate length of time.

2004: A full blown musical number.

Winner: Unaltered. I like the idea of a music sequence, but Jedi Rocks was over the top. The Max Rebo Band didn't need 80,000 members. It would have been fine to just CGI the original three bandmates and make an expanded music sequence, but no. The original is better.

Now we're tied, 4-4. The final battle is at hand!


FINAL ROUND: The Ghost Of Anakin

Unaltered: Sebastian Shaw, who played Vader unmasked, is seen as a kind old man in Jedi robes and in ghost form.

2004: Hayden Christensen, who played Anakin and Vader in the PT, looks and smiles (NOT GLARES!) at Luke.

WINNER OF FINAL ROUND: 2004. It just makes sense to have the Anakin we know come full circle, and to see Anakin (the good man who was Luke's father before he ceased to exist and become Darth Vader, thank you very much) look at Luke, who has restored him to the Light Side and the Force.


ULTIMATE WINNER: DVD Technical Issues Aside (which will be fixed for the ultimate box set, I'm sure), the 2004 version is artistically superior, despite its flaws, which, through glaring, are far fewer than the Unaltered version. As time goes on, and the Ultimate Version is made, this version will only improve to the inevitable final product.


Feel free to post your own version of the battle and your winner.