Star Wars Episode 1 - Video - PAL Widescreen Version

Review by Louis Turfrey

Review equipment - Philips Nicam 757 Video / Sanyo 32 inch Widescreen TV

Who the hell does George Lucas think he is! What a crock!

Nah, just joking!

Episode I on VHS is one hell of a movie by anyone’s standards. Check out my opinions below.

Picture Quality            10/10

Whoever did the transfer from the original master spent a lot of time getting it right. Colours are rich, detail is sharp (but not too sharp), and contrast is excellent. My TV is very good at picking up a poor quality video transfer, and no excess graininess was present. The transfer quality can be seen in the rich crowd detail available in the background of the Pod Race, the sharp pinpoints of stars seen within all the space scenes and the impressive colourisation of the Naboo Palace and surrounding areas. As a direct comparison, I looked at Mark Newbold’s copy on Laserdisc, and there was very little difference in visual quality. If nothing else, this is worth buying the video for.

Sound Quality  10/10

Wow, does that bass rumble. My TV has something called virtual surround, with connections for two extra rear speakers. This means I don't usually get the full surround sound stage. Not this time! With my TV set to Active Surround I got a full Dolby Prologic sound stage. No other video has come close to matching this for quality and sheer impact. This should have won Lucas an Oscar, how the hell didn't it? Lightsabres are fully realised, the pod engines cause you to shiver with excitement and the reverb, placement and echo are excellent. It’s almost a Dolby Digital soundstage. I wish there was a DVD version.

SFX      9/10

What’s that you say, not a 10? Well yes, but only because I know they could have done more. The effects are excellent, but after a while they become a bit samey. There should have been more space battles, with wider shots and more realistic lighting. However, by anyone’s standards the SFX are still good, and far outweigh those in the MATRIX, which won the Oscar. Look out for the incredible depth of field in the first few space scenes.

Story Content 7/10

It works, but it could have been expanded upon a lot more. Having read the book, I am eager to find out how much of the original story was cut from the movie. It works, and I still think there could have been more space battles, longer lightsabre duels and the odd character expansion, but there is a rumour that an extended version will be released on DVD. Come on George, a definitive date would keep us all drooling until the new movie is released.

Packaging        9/10

Black / Gold, rich colours and it looks good next to the rest of my THX / Digital remixes. Cool. The only gripe is that the box isn't as hardy as a plastic one. Oh well, nothing’s perfect.

Conclusion       9/10

An excellent all round package. If you haven't already got one, buy a Widescreen TV to watch it on.