|
Years ago - I can't remember quite how long - Lucasfilm issued a laserdisc intended for home theater dealers to use as demonstration material in the showroom. On it were a number of instructional segments and an outstanding demonstration sequence that was wonderfully entertaining: THX WOW. It was a montage of clips from the original Star Wars films (A New Hope, The Empire Strikes Back, and Return of the Jedi), the three Indiana Jones films, and Willow. Artfully edited together, set to John William's terrific orchestral scoring, and liberally punctuated with dialog and sound effects, it was structured to represent the essential components of the action-adventure and science fiction genres: define the villains, define the heroes, define and dramatize the conflict, and offer resolution.
Many copies found their way into the hands of lucky laserdisc collectors. I skipped the laserdisc format (I found the interruptions required to flip or change discs to be more annoying than the awful resolution of prerecorded VHS). But after DVD's rollout and success, laying my hands on that laserdisc became the search for the Holy Grail; I intended to transfer that one short montage to DVD. Even without the anamorphic squeeze and with the laserdisc's chroma noise, I would have that fabulous little demo piece to enjoy. And then The THX Ultimate Demo Disc came along. It holds the original THX WOW demo in anamorphic video and DTS 5.1 that decoded perfectly with EX enabled. The Holy Grail finally had been found. The video is a little messy by today's standards, but the presentation is leaps and bounds ahead than the laserdisc.
The THX Ultimate Demo Disc distribution is even more restrictive than the original THX WOW laserdisc, but that issue now has been rendered moot. Imagine sixteen such amazing demonstration pieces strung together on a DVD that you might obtain essentially for free. George Lucas has prepared a gift for his loyal fans. Tucked away within the deceptively thin jewel case that houses the Sony Classical CD of John William's very strong score for Star Wars Episode III: Revenge of the Sith is a bonus DVD entitled Star Wars: A Musical Journey .
The DVD's sixteen chapters are partially chronological. The overriding structure defines the Star Wars saga from Anakin's childhood to his redemption. But each individual chapter has its own theme that might include sequences from some or all of the six Star Wars films. As with the THX WOW demo piece, the editing is remarkably tight. Some specific onscreen events are timed precisely to crescendos in Williams' orchestral score. Each chapter is backed by one - sometimes two - of his musical sequences. And each chapter may stand alone as a terrific home theater demo.
They may be played either sequentially with the ìplay allî option or individually. They may be played either with or without an dramatic introduction by Ian McDiarmid (Senator Palpatine). My advice? Play them sequentially (runtime 1:01:43) without the verbal introductions. Then go back and repeat the process with the intros enabled, but use your next chapter button to skip the musical segments; you'll then be able to hear what Ian McDiarmid has to say as a sequential set of readings. His introductions have an aggregate runtime of 8:45.
Lucasfilm very considerately avoided revealing any Episode III spoilers in the Musical Journey , but the new film's included footage looks absolutely amazing. No trailer for the new film is necessary; this is quite enough to increase the anticipation of any fan.
This may be a site dedicated to DVD, but I would be remiss if I didn't offer a few comments about John William's score for Revenge of the Sith. This is a very strong orchestral score, blending many new themes into motifs found in the saga's three original chapters. Luke's theme, Vader's theme, the Imperial March, and the fanfare heard at the close of A New Hope are all woven into the musical structure. I scrupulously avoided reading the titles of the fifteen bands of music found on the score CD fearing that they might reveal a spoiler. Regardless, one musical sequence featuring a solo violin was so poignant that I suspect things will not end well for our favorite senator and ex-Queen. Williams conducts The London Symphony Orchestra and a substantial chorus, elevating the drama of familiar themes. And I was struck by a musical cue that hints of an opening that deviates considerably from all the previously released films. If Williams' work is any indication of what we might expect from Episode III, it may very well rank among the best films in the series.
The Video: How Does The Disc Look?
The main presentations are in the films' theatrical aspect ratios of 2.35:1, appropriately in anamorphic video. Ian McDiarmid's introductions are presented in 1.78:1 anamorphic video. Now, I'm going to make the assumption that you wouldn't be reading this if you weren't enough of a fan of these films to have bought them on DVD. So you're very likely intimately familiar with the quality of the video on those discs. The video quality of Phantom Menace was very disappointing; soft and badly contaminated by edge halos, it was the biggest DVD letdown of 2001. (And apparently wasn't corrected when recently taken off moratorium. I would have bought a better transfer, wouldn't you?)
Ah, but Lucasfilm and THX responded to our cries in 2001 and Attack of the Clones was, in my humble opinion, the best-looking DVD of 2002. Two years later, we were again dazzled by terrific presentations of Episodes IV, V, and VI. So allow me to make this simple comparison: Star Wars: A Musical Journey is far better than Phantom Menace but not up to the quality of the other four Star Wars releases. Color rendition, shadow detail, and grayscale are all first-rate. But the images are slightly softer than the four better theatrical film DVDs and some edge halos are present, again unlike the better four. Very good but not state of the art. I would have gladly given up the PCM track's bit budget in exchange for better video.
I must mention that for dramatic effect and to better synchronize the images with the music, there are several sequences in which the editors found it necessary to repeat frames to create the illusion of slow motion. There are a couple of such sequences that look quite - for want of a better word - jerky. They are brief and do not spoil the show.
The Audio: How Does The Disc Sound?
The Dolby Digital 5.1 track is quite nice. I found as I listened to the first chapter that the strings and brass didn't have quite the top end I expected. I paused the DVD and switched off the THX re-equalization that rolls the frequency response down at 3 dB/octave above 2 KHz to remove film's X-Curve pre-emphasis. Much better. If you have a THX-certified audio decoder, disable re-equalization for an airier top end. The bass is quite strong, with a pleasant extension into the bottom most octave. The surrounds aren't as active as they are in the WOW sequence of The THX Ultimate Demo Disc , but despite the occasional dialog and sound effect, this is supposed to highlight Williams' music in the context of the films. The surrounds are used predominantly to provide spaciousness to the soundstage; this becomes quite obvious when switching to the alternate sound track.
There is an alternate PCM audio track that should provide a higher level of fidelity due to its inherently higher sampling rate and the avoidance of all the pitfalls of lossy compression. I found comparing difficult. The PCM track is between 3 and 5 dB lower than the Dolby Digital track (implying greater dynamic range?). And my B&K decoder takes its time locking onto the PCM bit stream; the delay must be about four seconds. After much switching and gain manipulation I find that the PCM track's bottom end isn't quite as robust. And I have to admit that whatever subtle improvements may exist in PCM's timbre (and if they are there, I simply couldn't perceive it, unlike the subtle difference I frequently hear between Dolby and DTS), I decided that I prefer the Dolby Digital 5.1 track.
There are no alternate languages, no subtitles, and no Closed Captions.
Supplements: What Goodies Are There?
How about a second disc - a CD - that contains John Williams' terrific score for the film? Okay, I jest. This is a score release with a bonus DVD, but, we aren't called CDfile, are we?
There is one supplement on the DVD, a preview for a new Star Wars video game.
Exclusive DVD-ROM Features: What happens when you pop the disc into your PC?
There are no DVD-ROM features on this DVD.
Final Thoughts
Readily available for fewer than fourteen dollars, this two-disc set is one of the best values I've ever seen. A wonderful orchestral score CD and a collection of demo pieces on DVD presented in very respectable anamorphic video and very fine Dolby Digital 5.1 audio, this is a must buy for any fan of the films or of John Williams scores. Very highly recommended.
|
